When Paul wrote to the saints in Ephesus about how the Body of Christ builds itself up, he told them that,

…Holding to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things who is the Head, Christ, out from whom the entire Body, being joined together and knit together by every joint of the rich supply, according to the working in measure of every single part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.
— Ephesians 4:15-16

In these verses we see that our normal growth as believers in Christ is related to the growth of all the other members of His Body. We surely should desire to grow in Christ ourselves, but we must realize this will take place only as we care for the growth of our fellow believers as well. Then we surely will be “built up in love” with them as fellow members of the one Body of Christ.

But Paul also showed us another aspect of how the Body grows, when he wrote to the saints in Colossae that we should be those who are

…holding fast to the Head, out from whom the entire Body, being bountifully supplied and joined together by means of the joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God.
— Colossians 2:19

The phrase “grows with the growth of God” in this verse may be taken in two different ways. First, it means the Body is growing with the growth God gives it. And in this sense it is confirming what we said when we began this series, based on Paul’s word to the saints in Corinth, that genuine spiritual growth must come from God Himself:

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.
— 1 Corinthians 3:6

See “How Can We Grow In Christ?” • 1)

Second, however, it also carries the meaning that God Himself is growing within the Body of Christ.

This is because, each time a person is brought to the Lord, the Spirit of God is imparted into that person; and as he grows in Christ, he is partaking of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4), so that more and more, the divine element is being added into his being. And ultimately, Christ Himself will come forth from all of us when we are glorified in Him and fully conformed to His image (Col. 1:27, Rom. 8:29-30). This truly is the growth of God, in terms of His divine life and nature, within His believers, through which we will eventually become His marvelous expression to the entire universe.

So the Body builds itself up in love as the believers care for one another in Christ, and as the divine element is added into our being more and more. In this way the Lord will fulfill His eternal purpose in the church today.

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—  4 June 2025 —