Ephesians Series: Ephesians 4:15a-Practicing the Truth By Practicing Divine-Love
Lesson # 243
Ephesians 4:15 Instead, on the basis of each and every one of us as a corporate unit making it our habit of practicing the truth by means of the practice of divine-love, let all of us without exception grow with respect to every area of our character into the state of being like Him, namely, Christ, who is the head. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 4:15 is composed of the following:
(1) Causal participial clause: alētheuontes…en agapē (ἀληθεύοντες...ἐν ἀγάπῃ), “Instead, on the basis of each and every one of us as a corporate unit making it our habit of practicing the truth by means of the practice of divine-love” (Author’s translation)
(2) Hortatory subjunctive clause: auxēsōmen eis auton ta panta (αὐξήσωμεν εἰς αὐτὸν τὰ πάντα), “Let all of us without exception grow with respect to every area of our character into the state of being like Him.” (Author’s translation)
(3) Relative pronoun clause: hos estin hē kephalē, Christos (ὅς ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλή, Χριστός), “namely, Christ, who is the head.” (Author’s translation)
In Ephesians 4:15, Paul is exhorting and encouraging the recipients of this epistle to join with him in growing to spiritual maturity, namely Christ-likeness.
The basis for which this is to be accomplished is making it their lifestyle of practicing the truth by means of the practice of divine-love.
This exhortation and encouragement to do this is presenting a contrast with the contents of Ephesians 4:14, which is a purpose clause, which indicates “the purpose” of the Lord Jesus Christ generously giving the four communication gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11.
As we noted, Ephesians 4:12 presents the first purpose for the Lord doing this, namely for the purpose of equipping the members of the body of Christ in order that they might perform the work of service and in turn build up the members of this body.
Then, in Ephesians 4:14, we have the second purpose of the Lord giving these communication gifts.
Namely, that the members of the body of Christ would no longer be spiritual children.
Paul then describes being a spiritual child as being like a ship tossed back and forth by waves so as to be carried about from place to place.
The means by which this takes place is described by Paul as every wind, that is teaching.
He then elaborates on this by asserting that it is by means of the trickery produced by certain members of the human race that the believer is unstable spiritually and lacking in direction.
These unidentified members of the human race are false teachers according to what follows.
Paul then presents the reason why these false teachers employ trickery to deceive members of the body of Christ.
He asserts that it is because of their craftiness, which is according to their program which is characterized by that which produces deception.
So therefore, the exhortation in Ephesians 4:15 is presenting a contrast between a believer being a spiritual child whose spiritual growth is hindered because of accepting false doctrine as truth to live by and that of the believer practicing the Word of truth by obedience to the Lord’s command to love another as He has loved them so that they grow up spiritually to become like Christ.
This is a contrast because both statements address the believer’s response to the Word of God and in particular the Lord’s command to love another and both are addressing the believer’s conduct.
This causal participial clause in Ephesians 4:15 stands in the emphatic position of this exhortation in order to emphasize the basis and the means by which the exhortation will be accomplished in the lives of Paul and the recipients of this epistle.
The verb alētheuō (ἀληθεύω) is debated among scholars and expositors of Ephesians 4:15 because the word can not only mean “to speak the truth” but also “to be truthful, to be faithful to the truth, to live by the truth, to practice the truth.”
I interpret the verb as meaning “to be truthful, to be faithful to the truth, to practice the truth” or “living one’s life by means of truth.”
This is indicated by several factors.
First, the church age believer does not grow up spiritually to Christ-likeness by only speaking the truth to their fellow believer but also by their conduct which is the result of obeying the Word of truth.
Secondly, the prepositional phrase en agapē (ἐν ἀγάπῃ) modifying this verb speaks of practicing the Lord Jesus Christ’s command to love one another as He has loved the believer, and which command addresses the believer’s conduct.
Furthermore, in Ephesians 4:14, Paul describes a spiritual child as one who rejects the Word of God as truth to live by and accepts false doctrine as truth to live by.
A believer does not reject false doctrine by merely speaking the truth but rather by practicing the truth.
Therefore, the verb alētheuō (ἀληθεύω) is a reference to the believer’s conduct or behavior because the command to love one another addresses the believer’s conduct and a spiritual child is a believer whose conduct is immature because of not obeying the command to love one another and thus is not practicing the Word of God.
Paul’s concerned about the believer becoming like Jesus Christ with regards to their character, which involves not only the believer’s speech but also their conduct.
Lastly, the apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:2 commands the recipients of this epistle to continue making it their habit of living their lives by means of obedience to the Lord’s command to love another, and which command speaks of their lifestyle, which corresponds to Paul’s emphasis in Ephesians 4:15.
In both passages, obedience to the command to love one another is the means by which the recipients of this letter were to live their lives.
Therefore, Paul wants these Gentile Christians to conduct their lives by means of obedience to this command, which will result in spiritual growth and Christ-like character.
In this casual participial clause, Paul employs the noun agapē (ἀγάπη), which we have noted many times in our study of Ephesians, does not refer to the function of human love but rather is a love which originates in the character and nature of the triune God.
It is manifested in the life of the believer who is obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ’s Spirit inspired command in John 13:34 and 15:12 to love one another as He has loved them.
Therefore, this word speaks of “divine-love” because it originates in the essence of God (1 John 4:8) and is reproduced and reflected in the life of the believer when they obey the Lord Jesus Christ’s Spirit inspired command to love one another as He loves the body of Christ.
It also reproduced in the church age believer by the Holy Spirit when they exercise faith in the Spirit inspired contents of Scripture (Gal. 5:22-23).
This post-justification faith provides the church age believer the capacity to practice the Lord Jesus Christ’s command in John 13:34 and 15:12 to love another as He loved them.
This noun agapē (ἀγάπη) contains the figure of metonymy, which means that divine love is put for the practice of the love of God by the believer as a result of obeying the Lord Jesus Christ’s Spirit inspired command in John 13:34 and 15:12 to love one another as He has loved them.
It is the object of the preposition en (ἐν), which functions as a marker of means, which indicates that Paul and the recipients of this letter and ultimately all church age believers were to make it their habit of practicing the Word of God, which is truth “by means of the practice of divine love.”
Ephesians 4:15 is the seventh time that Paul has employed the noun agapē (ἀγάπη) up to this point in the epistle (Eph. 1:4, 15; 2:4; 3:17, 19; 4:2).
As we noted in our introduction, one of the major themes of Ephesians is the love of God.
Both the attribute of each member of the Trinity and the Lord Jesus Christ’s command in John 13:34 and 15:12 to the church that they are to love one another as He has loved them are referred to in this epistle.
That the love of God is a major theme is indicated by the noun agapē (ἀγάπη) appears 10 times in Ephesians (Eph. 1:4, 15; 2:4; 3:17, 19; 4:2, 15-16; 5:2: 6:23), the verb agapaō (ἀγαπάω) 7 times (Eph. 1:6; 2:4; 5:2, 28, 33; 6:24), the adjective agapētos (ἀγαπητός) twice (Eph. 5:1; 6:21).
Ephesians 4:15 is the fourth time in Ephesians that Paul has used the noun agapē (ἀγάπη) in relation to the recipients of this epistle obeying the Lord’s command in John 13:34 and 15:12 to love one another as He has loved them.
He uses this word in order to affirm and commend that the recipients of this epistle were obeying this command (cf. Eph. 1:15; 3:17; 4:2).
The present tense of the verb alētheuō (ἀληθεύω) is a customary present, which expresses the idea of the believer “making it their habit of” practicing the truth of God’s Word by practicing the love of God by means of obedience to the Lord’s command to love another as He has loved in order to grow up to be like Christ.
The participle conjugation of the verb alētheuō (ἀληθεύω) functions as a casual participle, which means that it indicates the cause or reason or ground of the action of the finite verb.
Therefore, this would indicate that the participle conjugation of the verb alētheuō (ἀληθεύω) is presenting “the reason why” or “the basis upon which” the believer will grow up to Christ-like character.
Therefore, this expresses the idea that the believer will grow up to Christ-like character “because” or “on the basis” that they are practicing the truth by means of practicing divine-love as a result of obeying the Lord’s command to love one another as He has loved the believer.
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 4:15a-Practicing the Truth By Practicing Divine-Love
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday April 3, 2025
www.wenstrom.org
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 4:15a-Practicing the Truth By Practicing Divine-Love
Lesson # 243
Ephesians 4:15 Instead, on the basis of each and every one of us as a corporate unit making it our habit of practicing the truth by means of the practice of divine-love, let all of us without exception grow with respect to every area of our character into the state of being like Him, namely, Christ, who is the head. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 4:15 is composed of the following:
(1) Causal participial clause: alētheuontes…en agapē (ἀληθεύοντες...ἐν ἀγάπῃ), “Instead, on the basis of each and every one of us as a corporate unit making it our habit of practicing the truth by means of the practice of divine-love” (Author’s translation)
(2) Hortatory subjunctive clause: auxēsōmen eis auton ta panta (αὐξήσωμεν εἰς αὐτὸν τὰ πάντα), “Let all of us without exception grow with respect to every area of our character into the state of being like Him.” (Author’s translation)
(3) Relative pronoun clause: hos estin hē kephalē, Christos (ὅς ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλή, Χριστός), “namely, Christ, who is the head.” (Author’s translation)
In Ephesians 4:15, Paul is exhorting and encouraging the recipients of this epistle to join with him in growing to spiritual maturity, namely Christ-likeness.
The basis for which this is to be accomplished is making it their lifestyle of practicing the truth by means of the practice of divine-love.
This exhortation and encouragement to do this is presenting a contrast with the contents of Ephesians 4:14, which is a purpose clause, which indicates “the purpose” of the Lord Jesus Christ generously giving the four communication gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11.
As we noted, Ephesians 4:12 presents the first purpose for the Lord doing this, namely for the purpose of equipping the members of the body of Christ in order that they might perform the work of service and in turn build up the members of this body.
Then, in Ephesians 4:14, we have the second purpose of the Lord giving these communication gifts.
Namely, that the members of the body of Christ would no longer be spiritual children.
Paul then describes being a spiritual child as being like a ship tossed back and forth by waves so as to be carried about from place to place.
The means by which this takes place is described by Paul as every wind, that is teaching.
He then elaborates on this by asserting that it is by means of the trickery produced by certain members of the human race that the believer is unstable spiritually and lacking in direction.
These unidentified members of the human race are false teachers according to what follows.
Paul then presents the reason why these false teachers employ trickery to deceive members of the body of Christ.
He asserts that it is because of their craftiness, which is according to their program which is characterized by that which produces deception.
So therefore, the exhortation in Ephesians 4:15 is presenting a contrast between a believer being a spiritual child whose spiritual growth is hindered because of accepting false doctrine as truth to live by and that of the believer practicing the Word of truth by obedience to the Lord’s command to love another as He has loved them so that they grow up spiritually to become like Christ.
This is a contrast because both statements address the believer’s response to the Word of God and in particular the Lord’s command to love another and both are addressing the believer’s conduct.
This causal participial clause in Ephesians 4:15 stands in the emphatic position of this exhortation in order to emphasize the basis and the means by which the exhortation will be accomplished in the lives of Paul and the recipients of this epistle.
The verb alētheuō (ἀληθεύω) is debated among scholars and expositors of Ephesians 4:15 because the word can not only mean “to speak the truth” but also “to be truthful, to be faithful to the truth, to live by the truth, to practice the truth.”
I interpret the verb as meaning “to be truthful, to be faithful to the truth, to practice the truth” or “living one’s life by means of truth.”
This is indicated by several factors.
First, the church age believer does not grow up spiritually to Christ-likeness by only speaking the truth to their fellow believer but also by their conduct which is the result of obeying the Word of truth.
Secondly, the prepositional phrase en agapē (ἐν ἀγάπῃ) modifying this verb speaks of practicing the Lord Jesus Christ’s command to love one another as He has loved the believer, and which command addresses the believer’s conduct.
Furthermore, in Ephesians 4:14, Paul describes a spiritual child as one who rejects the Word of God as truth to live by and accepts false doctrine as truth to live by.
A believer does not reject false doctrine by merely speaking the truth but rather by practicing the truth.
Therefore, the verb alētheuō (ἀληθεύω) is a reference to the believer’s conduct or behavior because the command to love one another addresses the believer’s conduct and a spiritual child is a believer whose conduct is immature because of not obeying the command to love one another and thus is not practicing the Word of God.
Paul’s concerned about the believer becoming like Jesus Christ with regards to their character, which involves not only the believer’s speech but also their conduct.
Lastly, the apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:2 commands the recipients of this epistle to continue making it their habit of living their lives by means of obedience to the Lord’s command to love another, and which command speaks of their lifestyle, which corresponds to Paul’s emphasis in Ephesians 4:15.
In both passages, obedience to the command to love one another is the means by which the recipients of this letter were to live their lives.
Therefore, Paul wants these Gentile Christians to conduct their lives by means of obedience to this command, which will result in spiritual growth and Christ-like character.
In this casual participial clause, Paul employs the noun agapē (ἀγάπη), which we have noted many times in our study of Ephesians, does not refer to the function of human love but rather is a love which originates in the character and nature of the triune God.
It is manifested in the life of the believer who is obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ’s Spirit inspired command in John 13:34 and 15:12 to love one another as He has loved them.
Therefore, this word speaks of “divine-love” because it originates in the essence of God (1 John 4:8) and is reproduced and reflected in the life of the believer when they obey the Lord Jesus Christ’s Spirit inspired command to love one another as He loves the body of Christ.
It also reproduced in the church age believer by the Holy Spirit when they exercise faith in the Spirit inspired contents of Scripture (Gal. 5:22-23).
This post-justification faith provides the church age believer the capacity to practice the Lord Jesus Christ’s command in John 13:34 and 15:12 to love another as He loved them.
This noun agapē (ἀγάπη) contains the figure of metonymy, which means that divine love is put for the practice of the love of God by the believer as a result of obeying the Lord Jesus Christ’s Spirit inspired command in John 13:34 and 15:12 to love one another as He has loved them.
It is the object of the preposition en (ἐν), which functions as a marker of means, which indicates that Paul and the recipients of this letter and ultimately all church age believers were to make it their habit of practicing the Word of God, which is truth “by means of the practice of divine love.”
Ephesians 4:15 is the seventh time that Paul has employed the noun agapē (ἀγάπη) up to this point in the epistle (Eph. 1:4, 15; 2:4; 3:17, 19; 4:2).
As we noted in our introduction, one of the major themes of Ephesians is the love of God.
Both the attribute of each member of the Trinity and the Lord Jesus Christ’s command in John 13:34 and 15:12 to the church that they are to love one another as He has loved them are referred to in this epistle.
That the love of God is a major theme is indicated by the noun agapē (ἀγάπη) appears 10 times in Ephesians (Eph. 1:4, 15; 2:4; 3:17, 19; 4:2, 15-16; 5:2: 6:23), the verb agapaō (ἀγαπάω) 7 times (Eph. 1:6; 2:4; 5:2, 28, 33; 6:24), the adjective agapētos (ἀγαπητός) twice (Eph. 5:1; 6:21).
Ephesians 4:15 is the fourth time in Ephesians that Paul has used the noun agapē (ἀγάπη) in relation to the recipients of this epistle obeying the Lord’s command in John 13:34 and 15:12 to love one another as He has loved them.
He uses this word in order to affirm and commend that the recipients of this epistle were obeying this command (cf. Eph. 1:15; 3:17; 4:2).
The present tense of the verb alētheuō (ἀληθεύω) is a customary present, which expresses the idea of the believer “making it their habit of” practicing the truth of God’s Word by practicing the love of God by means of obedience to the Lord’s command to love another as He has loved in order to grow up to be like Christ.
The participle conjugation of the verb alētheuō (ἀληθεύω) functions as a casual participle, which means that it indicates the cause or reason or ground of the action of the finite verb.
Therefore, this would indicate that the participle conjugation of the verb alētheuō (ἀληθεύω) is presenting “the reason why” or “the basis upon which” the believer will grow up to Christ-like character.
Therefore, this expresses the idea that the believer will grow up to Christ-like character “because” or “on the basis” that they are practicing the truth by means of practicing divine-love as a result of obeying the Lord’s command to love one another as He has loved the believer.