Here we are in week six of our study regarding what it means to be the church family. We have spent the last five weeks focusing on different aspects of who God has called the church to be and what God has called the church to do. We’ve learned that the church is called to be a disciple making community, a devoted community, a generous community, a united community, and a gifted community. This week we’re going to be thinking about what it means to be a truth filled community.

I’m sure it doesn’t surprise you to hear that the church should be a truth filled community. After all, we do claim to be saved by and surrendered to the One who said that we should “know the truth and the truth will set you free” (Jn. 8:32). The church is also the only group of people who claim that our Savior and King is the literal embodiment of the truth, since Jesus said that he “is the way, and the truth, and the life” and that no one can be in a relationship with God except through faith in Christ alone (Jn. 14:6).

TRUTH IS AT THE HEART OF OUR FAITH

The bottom line here is, truth is at the heart of our faith. It shouldn’t surprise us to be reminded then, that our enemy, the deceiver, the liar, the accuser of God’s people, he loves to distort the truth so that he can wreak havoc in our lives. All Satan needs to do is to speak a slightly different variation of a distortion of the truth into the ears of church members, who will gullibly buy his lies, and the result will be an ineffective and weakened church at best; probably a dead church at worst.

The Apostle Paul knows the imminent threat the church faced in Ephesus, regarding the truth. We have already covered Paul’s basic outline for his letter to this church. He wants believers in Ephesus and everywhere to know the truth regarding our identity in Christ, our calling to walk in the holiness of Christ, and our calling to stand firm in Christ against all forms of evil in this present darkness.

Paul knows that the enemy would love to distort the truth of our identity, to distort the truth of our calling to walk in holiness, and to distort the truth of our calling to wage war against evil. This is why Paul’s opening words in our text immediately revolve around the topic of truth.

15Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

#1: THE TRUTH IN LOVE (V. 15)

In verse 15, Paul opens up by saying “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ”. These opening words are centered around “the truth in love”. What does this phrase mean: The truth in love? We know that Paul’s aim is to help believers grow up in every way as he goes on to say but we must remember that he’s also saying this on the heels of a clear description of what spiritual babies look like.

Spiritual babies are unstable, tossed back and forth by every wind and wave of false teaching that tickles their ears, human philosophies that seem logical, and demonic schemes that awaken our sinful appetites (v. 14). Paul knows that a church full of spiritual babies will never make a dent in the kingdom of hell and he wants the church to grow up – to be united in our faith and growing into the image of Christ (v. 13).

This is why he now says that he would rather see the church speak “the truth in love” and to “grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (v. 15). But we will never grow up in every way, into him who is the head, into Christ if we do not have or know the truth. You will be especially useless if you do not have the truth regarding true love. You cannot speak truth if you are deceived and you will not truly love someone if you do not have the truth regarding love; you will operate in a false demonic love that seeks personal fulfillment rather than sacrificial investment.

We can see this everywhere in our culture at this very moment. Everywhere you turn, there is a battle for the truth and a fight over what true love really is. Truth is relative and love is relegated down to personal enjoyment. We live in a time when even the so-called American church is deeply divided over what is true and what is false, and what is true love and what is false love.

I believe Satan is having a hay day right now as we speak. Just look at the arguments over the Super Bowl Half Time shows that have filled our social media feeds. It seems like there is hardly a believer out there who can distinguish the real meaning of truth and love. How else could there be quote-un-quote Christians arguing for the viability of either Super Bowl half time shows being loving, pure, or honoring to God? How could the church be divided over what was a clear display of dishonor and sinfulness being celebrated as truth and love?

Over sixty years ago, Martyn Lloyd Jones spent nearly a decade preaching through the book of Ephesians and he often lamented the sad state of the church in his day because it had failed to hold onto the truth that promises to set us free.2 Jones also explained that our modern translations do not do justice to the original language when we read that we are to be “speaking the truth in love” and that he prefers a better translation which states that we are to be “walking in the truth… having [the truth] or holding the truth in love” which in his mind means that we would automatically speak the truth in love.3 You will speak what you actually have and hold onto!

Jones’ argument fits well in my mind since we are in the “walk” portion of Paul’s letter (4:1 – 6:9). It makes sense that we should read this as “instead of being children… walk in the truth… have the truth… hold onto the truth in love”. Jones also goes on to say that “holding the truth in love does not mean a vague, flabby, sentimental notion of niceness and fellowship and brotherhood”.4 Holding onto the truth in love will sometimes cut deeply as it roots out the infection of deception and it will certainly divide truth holders from those who hold onto false doctrine..

Jones also argues that you cannot hold onto the truth unless you know what the truth is, and then he goes on to argue that this is the very reason that we should not neglect the regular study of God’s Word, or the reciting of core doctrines found in the historic creeds and confessions, as well as face-to-face Bible study with other believers.5

As I studied what Jones says about holding onto the truth in love, he reminded me that “the business of the church is not to speculate about God and the person of Christ; it is to teach the revealed truths concerning them, to communicate the principles revealed in Scripture, and to build herself up on her most holy faith”.6

Finally, Jones had this to say about love, he said that “we must realize that love is not sentimental and weak; love is strong, love is true, love is pure. To love a person truly is to desire the very best possible for that person. Love sometimes has to hurt; occasionally we have to be cruel to be kind. The parent who never corrects the child is a very unsatisfactory parent”.7 

So, to hold onto the truth in love and to speak the truth in love, means that what we hold onto and what we speak will sometimes hurt in order to correct and heal the infection of deception. A truth filled community, holds onto the truth in love. I would only ask that you ask the Spirit of the Living God to examine your heart to see if there is any deception in you and then ask him to drag that thing into the light and to put it to death in front of you so that you may hold onto the truth and begin walking in a greater degree of Christ’s unconditional love for you.

#2: CHRIST THE HEAD (V. 15)

The second thing I notice in our passage regarding what it means to be a truth filled community, is the phrase that refers to Christ as the head of the body. In context, verse 15states that we are to hold onto the truth in love so that we might “grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ”. The mark of someone who has become a grown up rather than a baby in Christ, is that they worship Christ in Spirit and in truth (Jn. 4:23 – 24).

Any time I encounter someone who is given over to deception, I begin to question the viability of their relationship with Jesus. I believe I have a biblical mandate to do this because you and I are called to hold onto the truth and to wage war against demonic deception. To do anything else, to stick our heads in the sand, would not be honoring to God and it certainly would not be loving to the person who is in the shackles of demonic deception.

This means that we should be concerned about whether or not a person who professes Christ is actually submitted to Christ as their Lord, their King, and their Savior. Paul’s use of the image of Christ as the head of the body is the image of Christ as the one who alone has the authority to set the direction for the church family. If someone is walking contrary to the truth of God’s Word, then we are right to confront their deception and question their relationship with Jesus in hopes that the Spirit of God would discipline them back to the truth that sets us free.

Where the head goes the body must go. When the body tries to go a different direction than the head is going, the body falls down. Every body has various members – arms, hands, fingers, thumbs, etc. The members are to follow the head. No body was never meant to have two heads because the body would be divided over simple things like how to walk, how to talk, and what to do with its hands.

This is why there is so much division in the church family; far too many members have various heads they are following – or various versions of heads they like to follow. At its base level, this is rock solid evidence of a worldwide church that is divided to its core, never knowing right from wrong and never able to take a unified stand for truth, in love, against all forms of evil within the church family and in this dark world we live in.

This is Satan’s strategy, to divide and conquer. Why else do we see so many falling away from the church in these dark days? Why does the church tend towards celebrating what God calls evil? Why does the church so often become complacent or negligent at confronting sin in its members? Why else would people bounce from one church to the next every couple of years like the world who celebrates so much divorce? Why else would the church have become a product with a sales pitch for consumers rather than a saving center for the lost? Could it be that we in America have lost our head who is Christ?

If a truth filled community, grows up by following Christ alone as its head, then maybe it is time we do some hard thinking about whom we are submitted to as our head. Have we allowed our human desires to rule our heads? Maybe we have surrendered to human philosophy more than we have to Christ as our head. Or maybe we ourselves are compromised with sin to the extent that we have rejected Christ’s headship in favor of what makes us feels good as we are led astray. I wonder what the Spirit will reveal to you about this.

#3: THE WHOLE BODY (V. 16)

Finally, we come to the second and final verse of our text regarding what it means to be a truth filled community. In verse 16, Paul says that as we hold onto the truth in love and as we grow up in every way into Christ as our head, we need to recognize that it is Christ “from whom the whole body, joined together and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love”. When Paul uses the phrase “the whole body” he is referring to the church once again with the visual of the human body.

The human body – and likewise the spiritual body, the church family – was never meant to remain in its infant form. Babies were meant to grow into adults and the same is true of every Christian. Christians are not meant to remain as babies, and neither are the churches they inhabit. Babies don’t know how to walk, talk, feed themselves, clean up after themselves, or take care of anyone else. Adults should be able to do all of that and more and the same is true in the church family.

If it is true that the church is called to be a truth filled community, then it seems like Paul is saying that a truth filled community, holds the body together, and makes the body grow, as it builds itself up in the love of Christ. A truth filled community – the body of Christ – is supposed to be joined together, and held together, by joints that are infused with the very presence of Christ. If Christ animates every joint that makes up the body, then every member of the body will inevitably work together properly so that it grows into the mature adult that God intended us to be. 

The key here is that Christ must be at the center. Being Christian is not about attending a church gathering every few weeks. It’s not about filling big heads with information while hearts remain small in relation to Christ. It’s not about winning social media arguments. It’s not about programs or perfect groups of friends. It’s not about political influence. Being Christian is about becoming like Jesus.

The proof that the body is functioning in a mature and healthy way is the evidence of true Christlike love emanating out of its being. This brings me back to Martyn Lloyd Jones’ statement about love not being sentimental, flabby, soft, false community where everyone sings Koombiyah, ignoring sin, celebrating evil, and pretending that everything is fine just because they show up every couple weeks, sneak out the door early, never get face to face in biblical community. True love is best summed up in Paul’s words in the very next chapter, chapter 5:1 – 21 where he says:

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partakers with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to another out of reverence for Christ.”

Is that not a beautiful explanation of how to walk in love as a truth filled believer? Can you imagine what a force the church would be if every member of the body made this description of walking in love the standard for our lives? If this became the gold standard for us, we would build up the church body in truth and love.

You could take this one step further and look at Paul’s other description of true love nestled in the center of another beautiful description of the body of Christ and its many parts in 1 Corinthians 13:4 – 13 where he says:

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong doing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

The greatest of these is love! I pray we strive to be a truth filled church that sets the gold standard of true Christlike love to one another and to the world we live in. I pray that we would regularly ask the Spirit to examine us and to reveal areas where we have begun to walk in deception and hatred towards God.

CONCLUSION…

In conclusion, we’ve learned, that a truth filled church family will hold onto the truth in the love of Christ, will grow up and follow Christ as the head of the body, and will be held together as it grows and builds itself up in the true love of Christ. True love is the cornerstone of a truth filled church that grows up and wages war against the forces of evil in this present darkness.

When Jesus spoke to the woman at the well in John chapter four, as I mentioned earlier, he told her that our Father is looking for people who will worship him in Spirit and in truth. We know that the Spirit of God is the one who leads us into the truth as revealed in God’s Word. We also know that Jesus is the embodiment of truth – he is truth incarnate. Standing before Pilate before his crucifixion, Pilate asked him what truth is, totally missing the embodiment of truth standing before him. May we never be like Pilate. May we never let go of the truth embodied in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

May we fully surrender to a crucified, risen, and returning Savior and King who walked with us as the embodiment of grace and truth. May we hold fast to him in these dark and evil days. May we grow up and follow him, our head, as we, the body, wage war against the effects of Satan, Sin, and Death in our lives. May we hold fast to that which is true and be glued together by the unconditional love of Christ at that bloody cross and that empty tomb as we look forward to eternity with him. – Amen!

1 Unless otherwise specified, all Bible references are to the English Standard Version Bible, The New Classic Reference Edition (ESV) (Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, 2001).

2 Martyn, Lloyd, Jones, Ephesians: Christian Unity – An Exposition of Ephesians 4:1 – 16, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1980), 241 – 243.

3 Ibid., 241.

4 Ibid., 244.

5 Ibid., 247.

6 Ibid., 249.

7 Ibid., 252.