Bible teachers have a God-Given purpose of equipping “His people for works of service” (Eph. 4:11-12). It results in positive effects not only on individual believers but also on the whole Body of Christ (Eph. 4:12-13). So, how do we know if we’re fulfilling this purpose? How can we tell if people have been equipped through our teaching? To answer those questions, move on to verses 14-15 in Ephesians 4. There we see evidence of equipped people.
Evidence of Having Fulfilled Our God-Given Purpose to Equip Believers
Ephesians 4:14 begins with the word “then” which suggests what happens after people have been equipped as described in Ephesians 4:11-13.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. (Eph. 4:14-15)
Equipped people will no longer be …
1) “infants”
Equipped people will be spiritually mature because they’ve moved on from milk to the solid food of God’s Word and “by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Heb. 5:12-14).
2) “tossed back and forth by the waves”
Equipped people can stand firm when the storms of life hit because their faith has been built on a firm foundation (Lk. 6:48).
3) “blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming”
Equipped people do not compromise truth. They know not only what they believe but why. They’re “prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks” (1 Pet. 3:15).
Instead, equipped people will …
4) “speak the truth in love”
Equipped people become more and more like Christ. Just as He came and lived among us “full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14), so mature, Christ-like followers hold firm to truth, tempering the way they communicate it with love, with grace.
5) “grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ”
Equipped people reflect Christ. They will “not conform to the pattern of this world” because they’ve submitted themselves to God and are transformed by the renewing of their minds (Rom. 12:1-2). As a result, they’re “able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom. 12:2), which is conformity to Christ (Rom. 8:29).
Are you fulfilling your God-given purpose to equip His people? Look at the lives of your students. Do they evidence spiritual maturity built on a firm foundation? Are they non-compromising when it comes to truth, yet able to react to those who oppose it with love? Does their light shine in such a way that it increasingly reflects Jesus in every aspect of their lives?