And on the one hand God gave the apostles, and on the other hand the prophets, and the evangelist, and the pastors even teachers, towards the equipping of the saints unto a work of service, unto a building up of the body of the Christ, until we all arrive at a oneness of the faith and the full experiential knowledge of the Son of God, unto a mature man, unto a measure of maturity of the fulness of the Christ, in order that we are no longer inarticulate babblers, tossed around and carried about by every wind of teaching by the craftiness of men in cunning scheming of deceit, but while speaking the truth in love growing up unto Him in all things, Who is the head, Christ – Ephesians 4:11-15.
Nepios (νήπιος), is a word that describes a stage in life when we are under governors and tutors while being trained and brought to maturity. The importance of a good education and the integrity of those teaching is very important for the proper growth and maturity of a student. When the teachers fail to speak the truth, and do not hold the students accountable, maturity is never reached.
…always learning and never coming unto a full experiential knowledge of the truth – 2 Timothy 3:7
This is true in secular and religious settings. Today our government schools are intentionally based upon ideology and propaganda that teaches contrary to the truth and causes a lot of young people to be very confused about history, who they are, and basic truths in life. This same type of atmosphere is present in many large and well-known assemblies claiming to be Christians today. In the book of Revelation seven periods of the Church on earth are revealed. We are in the period as described by the Laodicean assembly, which is the last one before the return of Christ for the Church, Revelation 3:14. Laodicean assemblies focus on wealth and are lukewarm to Jesus; therefore, they heavily rely upon every wind of teaching that comes through the churches, Revelation 3:15-17. Some claim to take the place of Israel, where others boast about those in the assembly committing such immorality that not even the unbelievers would be involved; however, all of these types of assemblies reject properly dividing Scripture. They will claim the name of Jesus and that they do things in His name while denying the Lord who bought them, allowing false teachers to secretly bring in destructive heresies.
Through the apostle Peter we are warned that in these last days false teachers will come bringing in destructive heresies, while speaking false things concerning the truth, 2 Peter 2:1. These are ones who by covetousness will exploit the saints with deceptive words. However, when Christ ascended on high, He gave gifts to men to counter these anti-christs. These gifts are for the edification of the Church so that we mature and are therefore no longer tossed around by every wind of teaching by the cunning trickery of men. These are the men who, through the generations, have been entrusted with the truth to teach others, 2 Timothy 2:2. Their purpose in life is to train us up in righteousness by rightly dividing the Word of truth, shepherding, and teaching to bring us to maturity in the Word of God, 2 Timothy 2:15.
We are instructed to test every spirit to determine what good is present in the things they bring, 1 John 4:1. However, in order to test them we need to know the truth. We do not overcome evil by knowing evil; rather we are to be wise in what is beneficial and harmless in things that lack in character, Romans 16:19. If the saints would simply take the time to learn the basics of the principles of the oracles of God many of these destructive heresies would be rejected. Anyone teaching justification by law, idolatry, covetousness, or any other thing contrary to the grace we have in Christ would easily be identified by a saint who knows even the basics of the Christian life. We need to listen to what the Spirit says concerning the Churches. Let us not lose our first love, which is the love for the saints, as the Ephesians assembly did, Revelation 2:4. Today there is a heavy focus on loving the world at the expense of the saints. Yet, Christ said by our love for other saints all will know that we are His disciples, not our love for the world, and the love of the Father is not in the world, John 13:34-35; 1 John 2:15. Let us reject those who claim to be Jews, who are really of the synagogues of Satan, Revelation 2:9. These are any assemblies claiming to take the place of and promises to Israel. Let us refuse the doctrine of Balaam and the Nicolaitans. These are doctrines that seek stature and wealth among the unbelievers at the cost of the saints and separate out the clergy from the people, Revelation 2:14. These are the assemblies that have priests and clergy that teach the traditions of men over the Word of God and tithing as an element of righteousness. Let us discard idolatry and fornication that comes from the worship of saints and mother Mary, Revelation 2:20. Let us reject the deep things of Satan, holding fast to the truth, Revelation 2:24. Assemblies practicing the deep things of Satan are the ones focusing on casting out demons and exercising authority over the things of darkness. Let us deny those who claim the name of Christ but are dead. These are the covenant and reformed assemblies who bring in false gospels, Revelation 3:1. Rather, let us hold to those assemblies that guard the Word of God, while rejecting those who claim to be Jews and the false doctrines of Balaam and the Nicolaitans. These are smaller assemblies, yet God has opened a door for them that no one can close, Revelation 3:8. In addition, let us cast-off the progressive theology of our day that is lukewarm to God, seeking worldly wealth above all else while rejecting the truth, Revelation 3:16-17.
A Christian who is an inarticulate babbler is one that is carnal and has not trained their senses to discern what is proper from what is lacking in character. This training is not done by trying to live out from law for the law is not out from faith. Due to their focus on the desires of the flesh, divisions, envy, and heresy reign among them. They may have been a Christian for a very long time but have not matured because they are focused on what makes them feel good. This type of mindset allows destructive heresies to enter the local assemblies, such as idol worshipping, spiritual fornication, living by law, tithing for righteousness, false salvation messages, and a lukewarm attitude towards the truth.
However, Christ has given us Pastors even teachers to bring us to a oneness of the faith, unto a mature man to the stature of who we are in Christ so that we are no longer tossed around by the teaching of men who seek to deceive the saints. Therefore, let us take full advantage of these gifts, seeking out those who teach the truth and focus on bringing the saints to a oneness of the faith unto the proper opinion of Jesus Christ, God, and who we are in Christ, so that we truly are those who stand firm on God’s Word even in the storm of progressive heresy that plagues the assemblies today.
