1.  When Teaching Pastors and other spiritually gifted leaders are not studying, teaching, and living out the Word of God, many bad things happen to the church, two of which are:  Christians are made spectators to the ministry rather than participants in the ministry; and believers are not protected from errant doctrine and lifestyle growing out of the wrong doctrine.

2.  Paul emphasizes the corporate nature of maturity in the church in this passage.  As cogently expressed by Klyne Snodgrass:  “We are one with other people in Christ, like it or not.  We cannot be mature Christians by ourselves, for we cannot give ourselfes everything we need for a life of faith.  Christ could supply our needs directly, but instead He has chosen to grace other people so that they contribute to us and we to them.  Grace comes from God, but it is also conveyed along horizontal channels.  Or as F.F. Bruce put it, ‘The higher reaches of the Christian life cannot be attained in isolation from one’s fellow believers.’”

3.  In Ephesians 4:13-16 Paul teaches that the Body (the church) must grow up to maturity.  The marks of maturity are Christlikeness (vs. 13); stability (vs. 14); and commitment to the truth expressed in love (vv. 15-16).