Ponderize – Ephesians 4:13
“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:”
The power of this verse, is that it is for all of us, not just the apostles and prophets, but for you and for me.
President Russell M. Nelson quoted Paul’s teachings on the unity of the faith and then explained: “The ministry of the Apostles—the First Presidency and the Twelve—is to bring about that unity of the faith and to proclaim our knowledge of the Master. Our ministry is to bless the lives of all who will learn and follow the ‘more excellent way’ of the Lord [1 Corinthians 12:31; Ether 12:11]. And we are to help people prepare for their potential salvation and exaltation” (“Salvation and Exaltation,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2008, 7–8).
The ‘more excellent way’ of the Lord spoken of here is how we prepare for our potential salvation and exaltation, which is what this verse is all about.
There are 4 parts or steps spoken of here:
- unity of the faith
- knowledge of the Son of God
- unto a perfect man
- unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ
Unity of the faith
Develop and obtain faith in the ‘more excellent way’ of the Lord, which is simply Jesus Christ. Faith that He overcame the world. Faith that in and through His name, we too can become like Him and the Father.
Joseph Smith made this amazing statement.
“It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the character of God and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another, and that he was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did; and I will show it from the Bible…
Father hath power in Himself, even so hath the Son power–to do what? Why, what the Father did. The answer is obvious–in a manner to lay down His body and take it up again. Jesus, what are you going to do? To lay down my life as my Father did, and take it up again. Do you believe it? If you do not believe it, you do not believe the Bible.
“What did Jesus do? Why; I do the things I saw my Father do when worlds came rolling into existence. My Father worked out his kingdom with fear and trembling, and I must do the same; and when I get my kingdom, I shall present it to my Father, so that he may obtain kingdom upon kingdom, and it will exalt him in glory. He will then take a higher exaltation, and I will take his place, and thereby become exalted myself. So that Jesus treads in the tracks of his Father, and inherits what God did before; and God is thus glorified and exalted in the salvation and exaltation of all his children. It is plain beyond disputation, and you thus learn some of the first principles of the Gospel, about which so much hath been said.”
Knowledge of the Son of God
Knowledge is revealed knowledge of Jesus Christ. I will copy and paste from a post I wrote earlier. https://spiritualcrusade.com/2016/12/ye-never-knew-me.html
This same change is in the story of the 10 virgins. “I know you not” vs JST, “ye know me not.” (Matthew 25:12)
That is a very significant change. It puts the focus on us and our actions that prevent us from “knowing Christ” and thus keeping us out of the wedding feast.
Here is some amazing insight from an article I read:
“How is it that the Lord has not known them? The Hebrew word “know” [yada] has a broad range of meanings. One of them is covenantal.” The Lord knows and is known by only those
individuals who have received and kept all of His ordinances and covenants. Elder Bruce R. McConkie further explains: Jesus is saying: “Ye never knew me so fully as to be sealed
up unto eternal life with your callings and elections made sure, and since you did not magnify your callings in the priesthood, you shall be cast out and be as though I never knew you.”
Unto a perfect man
A perfect man, is interesting, because man is mortal. We will not obtain perfection in this life, but we can be a perfect man. As we obtain the faith and knowledge in Christ discussed earlier, we also gain His power and our ability and our desire to be perfectly obedient to Spirit will be enhanced. If we stop looking at the future, for some later date in the next life, but rather believe the scriptures and the words of all the apostles and prophets, we will know that we can strive for perfect obedience now, and we can obtain it. In this verse Paul is telling us that everyone can follow these steps now while we are still in mortality.
Unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ
I don’t know about you, but I simply love this phrase. It is so very descriptive. As I define a couple of words, you will begin to see the power of this statement.
Define measure:
- ascertain the size, amount, or degree of (something) by using an instrument or device marked in standard units or by comparing it with an object of known size.
- estimate or assess the extent, quality, value, or effect of (something).
Define stature:
1 : natural height (as of a person) in an upright position
2 : quality or status gained by growth, development, or achievement
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stature
Fullness is being full, define full:
- completely filled; containing all that can be held; filled to utmost capacity:
a full cup. - complete; entire; maximum:
- of the maximum size, amount, extent, volume, etc.:
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/full
WOW!!! The Savior is not reserving some power, status, or glory for Himself, that only He could possess and enjoy. But rather He is offering us everything and that is why we are to come unto His fullness or completeness. This verse shows forth His perfect love for each and every one of us. The question is, what will we do? Will we believe Christ and know that He would not just tease us, but on the contrary, he is pleading for us to come unto Him, repent of all our sins, obey His voice, and become like Him in His fullness and glory. Don’t delay, stop waiting for a future day or life, and let us begin NOW!!! We will be given His strength and His power and we can and will become like Him!!!
Craig
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