“C.” —What is the meaning of the expressions “a perfect man,” and “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,” Ephesians 4:1313Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: (Ephesians 4:13)? Is ανδρα τελειον here the completed mystical Christ of 1 Corinthians 12— “the church which is his body!” Or, is it the individual normal state contemplated for every Christian in contrast with “children” of the following verse?
Is the “fullness of Christ” here the same as in ch. 1:23, the fully developed growth or completeness of the mystic Christ; or is it the growth of the individual Christian to his normal stature in Christ, the effect of the ministry through the grace of Christ, already referred to in the previous part of the chapter?
A.— “A perfect man” in this passage expresses the full-grown normal condition of the individual Christian; “the measure of the stature of the fullness of (the) Christ” being that standard to which he is to reach, and to be conformed. Λνδρα τελειον is also the individual: there is really nothing whatever about the body of Christ—the mystical Christ and the church in this part of the chapter (vv. 7-15.) The expression is used in contrast with the “babes” of v. 14. Remark too that the apostle uses νηκιοι for babes; betokening an unhealthy state, as in 1 Corinthians 2:11And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1), &c.
The “fullness of Christ” here is not the same as in ch. 1:23. Here it is all individual, as effected through the ministry spoken of before, or by whatever means the Lord works to bring about His purpose in result. In ch. 1:23, the body is Christ’s fullness, who is set over all things. In ch. 3, the saint in whose heart Christ dwells, is “filled into all the fullness of God.” (Εις παν το πληρωμα του Θεου). In ch. 4:13, the saint is to grow to a perfect man—the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ—his normal stature, as you say; the effect of the ministry through grace, previously named.