March 2016 Spiritual Development
“Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,” (Ephesians 4:15)
We see Paul describe to the Ephesians the manner in which they were to deal with one another in the church – Speaking the Truth in Love. “Speaking the truth” is actually one word in the original Greek text of the New Testament (aletheuontes) which literally could be rendered “truthing”. This word carries with it the idea of one being able to speak the truth because they are already walking or existing in the truth. In other words, this person is only able to speak the truth because they are actively participating in the truth. For us this means that part of growing in Christ is educating ourselves with the truth of God’s Word and then applying it to our lives so that we are able to speak this truth to others.
But there is a second component of this growth process that Paul is talking about. We must speak the truth in love. Paul tells us elsewhere in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 that if we attempt to minister to others without doing so in love, it is good for nothing. This should inform the way that we engage with others inside and outside the church. As Warren Wiersbe said, “Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy.” We need both truth and love as we seek to grow together in Christ as a church.
I am excited to see our church continue to experience the truth of Scripture so that we are able to speak the truth to one another in love so that we are built up in the way that God desires. The fields of biblical counseling and apologetics are catalysts by which we be able to speak the truth in love more effectively inside and outside our church. The Bible is foundational to this task.
Would you join me in praying that God would continue making us into a church that knows and applies God’s Word so that we are equipped to speak the truth in love?
I am excited to partner with you in this church,
Pastor Nick
