Ephesians 4:13 13until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature adulthood, to the measure of the maturity of the fullness of Christ,
This verse restates Paul’s goal in writing this letter. As with other situations in the early church, there may have been some tension and misunderstanding between Jews and Gentiles. This letter shows that Christ removes the dividing wall–the law and its regulations–from between these groups and forms a new people purchased from the bondage to sin by the sacrifice of his life on the cross. There is a divine part and a human part in this unity. The divine part is enabled by the grace of Christ (v. 7) through the Holy Spirit (v. 3). The human part of this unity is faith and growth in this grace. The godly leaders of v. 11 help in the human part of this unity. Each individual in the church must then respond by accepting this ministry and committing him or herself totally to the supremacy of Christ by coming to know his love.
The goal is expressed as something we arrive at. The goal is expressed with the accusative noun unity. This is not always an easy goal to obtain because of fallen human nature, which is captured by selfishness and pride. People are prone to fight for their rights, jockey for positions, or push their agendas. All of these can keep people apart and cause friction within the church. This unity can only come from two sources, which are intimately related to one another.
The first is faith. There are two ways to interpret how this word is used here. It could refer to the faith of confession, as in the Christian religion. The focus of this is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The other way is to consider it as faith as in what a person has and thinks and that leads to salvation. These can and should be related. Our personal faith must focus upon the common and only true faith in Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 3:16).
The second is knowledge of the Son of God. This type of knowledge (epignōseōs) is more than head knowledge but is personal and intimate relationship. This is the type of knowledge Paul prayed for in 3:14-21. The focus of this knowledge is the love of Christ. Knowledge can take many forms. There is an emotional sense to it that leads to joy and sense of well-being. There is a factual sense that a person learns the story of Jesus. Factual knowledge provides a solid foundation for emotional experience. And there is relational intimacy that comes as we open ourselves more to the love of Christ through the Holy Spirit.
Paul then uses an illustration of the growth process of a person (using male terms) from immaturity to adulthood to express the outcome of the unity that can and should be experienced within the church. Maturity (teleion) expresses the goal of the Christian life and is marked by having the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) and being remade into his likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18). Paul will write in just a few verses about this maturity as being a new self of righteousness and holiness (v. 24) in obedience to the Holy Spirit (v. 30) resulting in a life of love (5:1-2). No one person can grow to maturity on his or her own effort. It takes others to spur one another on to growth and maturity (Hebrews 10:24).
The final outcome of this transformation as the people of God is to grow into the people whom God created us to be in Christ (Ephesians 1:3-14). Paul expresses this at this point in the letter as the stature of the fullness of Christ. The fullness has already been defined in this letter and will be further described in the following passage. Paul is making a clearer connection here between this ultimate goal and the earthly, daily living of the Ephesians. They would never be able to reach this goal on their own. They need the care and guidance of godly leaders and they need to expressed love of one another. The word stature (ēlikias) is used for obtaining a measure of growth and maturity. The goal of Christlikeness is not something only for heaven but is something we must strive for and achieve in ever increasing degrees in this life. It will not happen by accident but only through the obedience of faith.
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