What does Ephesians 4:16 mean?
After describing Christ as the head, in verse 15, Paul now discusses the rest of the spiritual "body" of the church. Each individual part must work together, according to its design and purpose, and in the intended way, in order for the body to function properly. This means that when one person is weak, the rest of the body of Christ suffers.A healthy body, functioning in harmony, also "makes the body grow." Spiritually speaking, when the members of the body of Christ work together in unity, as we should, the church "builds itself up in love." It attracts others to the gospel of Christ, and those people are added to the family of God (Acts 2:47). A church known for speaking the truth in love will be known as a healthy church, a healthy body. Those in the body all function and function together to accomplish the tasks of the church (Acts 2:42–47).
This is an important message for modern congregations. Church health, rather than church size, is what defines success within a congregation. Vibrant and lived-out Christianity was the critical factor in the rapid numerical growth and spread of the early church.
Ephesians 4:11–16 discusses both the gift of spiritual leaders and the importance of mature, loving, unified Christianity. Some people are endowed with gifts of teaching, preaching, and so forth. It is crucial to the health of Christian congregations that these members use their God-given talents appropriately. At the same time, different members of a church have different abilities. The community of believers functions best when all of those individual pieces are working together, through their unique roles. A healthy church is far more powerful than a ''big'' church.
Truly understanding saving grace, as Paul explained in prior chapters, is the Christian's first motivation for living a godly life. Here, Paul encourages believers to live in way which honors that gift. All saved Christians are part of a single, unified family, part of the ''body'' of Christ. At the same time, different believers are given different talents. Some are called to positions of leadership and authority. All Christians should turn away from the ''old self'' we were prior to being saved. Paul's explanation of the ''new self'' includes some basic, practical steps.