The Edification of the Church

Having pointed out that our God through Christ led captivity captive and gave gifts to man, Paul now presents the wonderful truth that He realizes the edification of the body of Christ. For in Ephesians 4:11 he wrote that God gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. He then wrote in verse 12, "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ."

These three elements belong together; but the last element is the most important one. The saints are made perfect by the work of the ministry, because God sets out to edify the body of Christ, His church. Or, from a different point of view, the individual child of God is made perfect by the ministry of the Word, so that the whole church, which is the body of Christ, may be built unto perfection.

The beautiful comforting truth here is that we are built up into the body of Christ. We are made more and more to be saintly, that is, holy, so that the whole body of Christ is perfect. That work God performs through the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. All these come with the Word of God. And their work is instructing, but also building up the faith of the members of that body of Christ, so that pretty soon the church is perfect and spiritually beautiful.

We have here a beautiful picture of what God is doing for the child of God. Constantly He is doing that which is necessary for each child of God to be a beautiful and perfect member of the body of Christ. And "perfect" here does not simply mean "complete." It means also to be spiritually perfect, with rich love for God.

Be sure that this church will be perfect, built up as God eternally designed it. Our almighty God never fails. He always succeeds in what He eternally planned to do.

Read: Ephesians 2:11-22

Meditations on the Heidelberg Catechism

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Job 28; Job 29; Job 30 
II Corinthians 2:12-17 
Psalm 42:1-11 
Proverbs 22:7 
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Quote for Reflection:

“Again, do we love the convictions of the Word?  Do we love the Word when it comes home to our conscience and shoots its arrows of reproof at our sins?   It is the minister’s duty sometimes to reprove.  He who can speak smooth words in the pulpit, but does not know how to reprove, is like a sword with a fine hilt but without an edge.  …Dip the nail in oil, reprove in love,  but strike the nail home. Now, Christian, when the Word touches on your sin and says, “Thou art the man”, do you love the reproof?  Can you bless God that “the sword of the Spirit” has divided between you and your lusts? This is indeed a sign of grace and shows that you are a lover of the Word.”