Intro: A Call to Depth (Part 2/5)

There are some sections of Scripture that leap off the page in terms of their power. The one below from Ephesians 4 is such a passage.

Text:

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,  12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from 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” (Eph 4:11-16, ESV).

Context: Paul was writing from his prison cell in Rome in A.D. 62 to believers in Ephesus (a port city on the western coast of modern-day Turkey) about the inheritance Christians have received in terms of wisdom. Christ, Paul tells us in Ephesians 4, gave us apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers (Eph 4:11). Why? To equip the saints (Eph 4:12). To be discerning/to grow deep (Eph 4:14). Again in v. 15, he labors the point by saying “we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.”

Why do we have such passages in Scripture? Because ignorance is to our shame. Because godly leadership entails wise leadership, and wisdom comes from God (James 1:5). Solomon writes so much about how wisdom is inseparable from sagacious leadership: “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law” (Pr 29:18).

Encouragement: There is a world of difference between information, gimmicks of entertainment, and wisdom. May we be shepherd-leaders who are characterized by wisdom, and that means by knowing wisdom’s source (John 4:26).