As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming. — EPHESIANS 4:14
God has given gifts to the church in the form of spiritual leaders: initially apostles and prophets, followed by evangelists and pastor and teachers. Their role is to equip the saints for the work of service, resulting in the edification and maturation of the church. Such a church will then be anchored in the word and able to withstand the wind and waves of false doctrine.
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Have you ever been on a boat being tossed to and fro by fierce winds and mounting waves? If you have, you know that it’s not a pleasant place to be. You feel completely out of control and victim to the whims of the wind and water as they take you wherever they wish. This is the environment described in Ephesians 4:14 for the person without sound doctrine. The blowing winds of the “trickery of men” pushes one to dangerous places, lacking proper navigation to understand the deceitfulness of the devil. And the crashing waves of “craftiness in deceitful scheming” threaten to capsize lives void of a steady anchor to ground them in the truth. This picture describes the lives of the spiritually immature “children” because they haven’t been grounded in sound doctrine from the word of God.
So, how can this situation be prevented or changed? How can God’s people learn to properly follow the compass of Scripture so that they can navigate the storms of life without being shipwrecked by the winds of trickery and the waves of deceitful scheming?
The answer lies in the context of the previous verses (Eph. 4:11–13). God has given gifts to the church in the form of spiritual leaders: initially apostles and prophets, followed by evangelists and pastor and teachers. Their role is to equip the saints for the work of service, resulting in the edification and maturation of the church. Such a church will then be anchored in the word and able to withstand the wind and waves of false doctrine.
Thank the Lord for your pastor today and for those who trained him in the word!