«　WEEK 5　DAY 2　»

　　Eph. 4:14-16 That we may be no longer little children…, but holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ, out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.

　　By holding to truth in love we grow up into Christ in all things. To be no longer little children (Eph. 4:14) we need to grow up into Christ. This is to have Christ increase in us in all things until we attain to a full-grown man (v. 13). The word Head here in verse 15 indicates that our growth in life with Christ should be the growth of the members in the Body under the Head. To grow up into the Head means that we care only for Christ and the church. We grow by caring only for Christ and the church…. We should grow up into Christ, not up into ourselves or into something else apart from Christ. (Life-study of Ephesians, p. 384)

　　Paul clearly says that we are to grow up into the One who is the Head. This indicates that our growth must be in the Body. In order to grow into the Head, we must surely be in the Body. Many Christians are apparently growing spiritually; however, their supposed growth is not in the Body. It is of great importance that Paul does not tell us to grow up into the Savior, into the Master, or into the Lord. He says specifically that we are to grow up into the Head. This can take place only in the Body. If you do not remain in the Body, you may have a certain kind of growth, but it will not be the growth into the Head.

　　In Ephesians 4:15 Paul tells us that we must grow up into the Head in all things. In certain aspects you have grown up into the Head, but in other aspects you probably have not. According to my experience, the most difficult matter in which to grow up into Christ, the Head, is in our talking. Psalm 141:3 says, “Set a watch, O Jehovah, before my mouth; / Keep the door of my lips.” Because it is so hard for us to control our speaking, we should make this our prayer also. Whether you are young or old, a brother or a sister, this is an area in which all of us desperately need to grow up into Christ as the Head….May this need for growth touch our heart and turn us afresh to the Lord. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 384-385)

　　[In Ephesians 4:15] all things means every single thing, whether big or small; we must grow up into Christ in all things. Even today there are still many things in which we are not in Christ but are outside of Christ. We need to grow up into Christ in all things, both big and small. You have Christ in you, but there are still many things in you that have not grown up into Christ. This is entirely a matter of the Spirit. To grow up into Christ is to grow up into the Spirit. Your speaking must be in the Spirit; your actions, your adornment, and your attire must all be in the Spirit; your dealings with others, your managing of affairs, and the way you treat people must be in the Spirit. You need to get into the Spirit in all things.

　　We need to hold to Christ as the truth and grow into Christ, the life-giving Spirit, in all things. This will make us the new man. If we grow up into Christ in all things, then in Christ there will not be this kind of person or that kind of person. There will not be any kind of person but Christ, who is all and in all. This is the new man. When we hold to Christ as the truth in love and grow up into Him in all things, then we will no longer be many different kinds of people. When we grow up into Christ in all things, we all will be just one in Christ. This is the one new man. (CWWL, 1977, vol. 3, “One Body, One Spirit, and One New Man,” p. 339)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 45