Grow up, speak the truth in love: A more mature expression of Christ

The Verse of the Day for Biblegateway.com comes from Ephesians 4:15, but to understand the context more fully, we will take a look at the preceding verse as well which relates to our being members of the Body of Christ in Ephesians 4:14-15 in the New Living Translation:

¹⁴ Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. ¹⁵ Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

Throughout the New Testament believers are exhorted not only to speak the truth in love but to walk in love, to demonstrate or manifest love, to put on love. Love is to be the guiding principle in all that we say or do. 

A previous blog entry encouraged us to follow the Scriptures, whereby we “put off, put on, and put away.” Here is an excerpt from that post:

Colossians 3:12-14 in the New Living Translation speaks of how believers should behave:

¹² Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ¹³ Make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. ¹⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

Poetically speaking, we are directed to

Put off the old. Put on the new and leave the past behind.

Follow Christ and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.

As believers, we are encouraged to change our minds and develop new thinking patterns. We are to put off the old man and put on the new man, as we put away lying or any other ungodly practices.  Instead of continuing in the direction that habitually takes us away from the presence of God, our lives should be moving in this direction:

Toward a Mature Expression of Christ

But speaking the truth in love [in all things—

both our speech and our lives expressing His truth],

let us grow up in all things into Him [following His example] who is the Head—Christ.

Ephesians 4:13

With the doctrine established in our younger years,

As we live, maturity should be evident,

For perfected love dispels all our doubts and fears,

Having heard God’s Word and then knowing what it meant.

As we fully mature in Christ, we seek to please

The Lord who watches to see what kind of steward

We have become. As our all-wise Father, He sees

Not just the outward appearance but the inward

Thoughts and motives of the hearts of daughters and sons

Who are no longer children looking to be fed

But as new creations in Christ, His chosen ones,

Not as carnal, we choose to speak the truth in love instead.

Toward a mature expression of Christ, we must strive

And pursue it with passion until we arrive.

We close with Ephesians 4:14-15 Lyric Video featuring Songs from the Loop:

Tags: Colossians 3:12-14, Ephesians 4:13, Ephesians 4:14-15, Speak the truth in love