Many Christians think that what is mainly needed on the human side is teaching. Yes, in chapter four Paul does mention shepherds and teachers. However, the concept here is altogether different from the religious concept in today’s Christianity. Christianity has become a religion of doctrine. No other religion in the world has as many doctrines as Christianity has. Consider how many books are put out by Christian writers every year. Surely no other religion can equal it in the number of books published annually. Most of these books merely feed the desire for doctrinal talk. Furthermore, most of these books are related to ordinances. Because someone favors a particular practice, he writes a book in order to advocate it.
Paul’s concept in Ephesians 4 is absolutely different from the concept in today’s Christianity. The basic concept in this chapter is that of growth until we all arrive at a full-grown man. As all mothers know, growth of children comes by feeding, not mainly by teaching. When we all arrive at a full-grown man, we shall no longer be children spiritually. On the human side the main need is not doctrine; it is growth. We need to grow until we arrive at a full-grown man.
We need to become a full-grown man so that “we may be no longer babes tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching in the sleight of men, in craftiness with a view to a system of error” (4:14). Notice that here Paul does not speak of every wind of heresy or false doctrine, but of every wind of teaching. Such teaching may include sound, fundamental, scriptural doctrine. However, even this kind of doctrine may be used by the sleight of men in craftiness with a view to a system of error. Any teaching, even a scriptural one, that distracts believers from Christ and the church is a wind that carries them away from God’s central purpose. Teachings that distract us from God’s economy are instigated by Satan in his subtlety with the sleight of men, in order to frustrate the building up of the Body of Christ. The teachings systematized by Satan cause serious error and thus damage the practical oneness of the Body life. If this matter were not serious, Paul would not use so many strong terms to describe it.
Doctrine may be likened to a baited hook used to catch fish. Ignorant of the hook, the fish go for the bait and are caught. In like manner, many Christians have been lured by the “bait” of doctrine, only to be caught on the “hook” concealed within it. Because many of the Lord’s people are ignorant of the “hook” inside an enticing doctrine, they have been systematized by the enemy in a very subtle way.
In verse 15 Paul goes on to say, “But holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, Who is the Head, Christ.” Paul does not say that we shall grow up into the knowledge of Bible doctrine. On the contrary, he says that we shall grow up into Christ as the Head. This indicates that what is needed on the human side for the fulfillment of God’s economy is growth. Only by growth shall we be no longer children who are carried about by every wind of teaching.
Growth comes through feeding and through eating and drinking. Apart from this process, it is impossible for anyone to grow. Therefore, what we need today is not the mere teaching of doctrine; it is the feeding with processed spiritual food. We need to feed others with the riches of Christ that we have “cooked” and processed in our experience. In this way others will receive nourishment and be able to grow. According to the religious concept, the members of the church need to be regulated through teaching. But the concept in God’s economy is that God’s people mainly need to be fed by having the riches of Christ ministered to them.
Daily my wife serves me nourishing food. For this reason, I am strong, healthy, and full of energy. I do not need my wife to teach me; I need her to feed me. It is the same in the church life. What we need is not more teaching, but more of the riches of Christ dispensed into us. I can testify that throughout the years the saints have grown through being fed.
Growth takes time. Change produced through regulation, on the contrary, comes very quickly. For example, a new believer may be taught how he should dress or cut his hair. This, however, would produce mere outward change, change without any growth in life. The change produced by genuine growth needs time. For example, you can make an artificial flower in an hour, but it takes months to grow a real flower. What the church needs is the feeding that produces the genuine growth in life. Such feeding does not come from mere doctrine.
We have pointed out that Christianity is a religion of doctrine. The so-called Sunday morning services in Christianity are filled with the teaching of doctrine. The meetings in the Lord’s recovery must be completely different. Instead of teaching doctrine, we need to minister nourishment to the saints. We need to feed them with the riches of Christ. In this way the saints will gradually grow in life.
I thank the Lord for all the feeding that has taken place in the church in Los Angeles. Only in a few instances have certain ones become preoccupied with doctrine. This preoccupation has caused great loss both to them and to others. Most of the saints have not been interested in acquiring mere doctrinal knowledge. Instead, they have appreciated the feeding which has nourished them and made them strong. In all the churches in the Lord’s recovery we need more feeding with the riches of Christ and less teaching of doctrine.
I can testify that I have no interest in doctrinal discussion and no appetite for it. When some ask me questions about things such as absolute grace, eternal security, the mode of baptism, speaking in tongues, or various views of the rapture, I simply have no desire to talk about these things in a doctrinal way. My only desire is to minister the riches of Christ to the saints so that they may grow in Him.
Have you ever noticed that in the book of Revelation there is no emphasis on doctrine? By contrast, this book speaks of the sevenfold, intensified Spirit, that is, of the seven Spirits burning before the throne of God. Revelation also speaks of the seven stars, the seven lampstands, the tree of life, and the river of water of life. There is nothing about absolute grace or eternal security. Actually, the Bible as a whole is not primarily a book of doctrine; it is a book of life. We should come to the Scriptures not primarily to learn doctrine, but mainly to be nourished by the living bread. We need to be like the prophet Jeremiah who said, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them” (Jer. 15:16). Let us drop the doctrines and the ordinances and concentrate on nourishment. If we do this, we shall eventually arrive at a full-grown man and no longer be those carried about by winds of teaching. If someone comes to you with doctrinal questions, perhaps you should read him Ephesians 4:14. Those who want to discuss doctrine under the guise of having fellowship may be influenced by the cunning craftiness of Satan. Remember to beware of the “hook” concealed within the “bait.”
We should try our best not to become involved in discussions over doctrine, especially as we contact new ones or visit Christian meetings in other places. Furthermore, we should certainly not criticize others according to a doctrinal standard. Instead of talking about doctrine, we should enjoy Christ and minister Christ to others. This is the Lord’s way in His recovery. In the recovery what we need is not doctrine, but the proper nourishment that leads to genuine growth. Let us beware of Satan’s subtle use of doctrine to distract us from God’s economy, and let us pay attention to feeding, nourishment, and growth. This is the need in the Lord’s recovery today.