13 Till 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:
And writing to the Ephesians, he has unfolded in the clearest manner the point in question, speaking to the following effect: "Till we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we be no longer children, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, by the craft of men, by their cunning in stratagems of deceit; but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up to Him in all things".
And the structure's terminating in a cubit is the symbol of the advancement of the righteous to oneness and to "the unity of the faith.".
from glory) till they grow into "a perfect man.".
Of virtue and the increase of righteousness, should obtain a better place in the universe, as tending in each step of advancement towards the habit of impassibility, till "it come to a perfect man".
For by the service of what is best and most exalted, which is characterized by unity, it renders the Gnostic at once friend and son, having in truth grown "a perfect man, up to the measure of full stature.".
Now, of what I may call the passionlessness which we attribute to the Gnostic (in which the perfection of the believer, "advancing by love, comes to a perfect man, to the measure of full stature"
For there is also one Son (or Servant) of God, by whom we too, receiving the regeneration through the Holy Spirit, desire to come all unto one perfect and heavenly man.
He exhorts them to strive to attain to the perfecting of faith, the essence of which is to hold fast to Christ as true and perfect God. Do not measure him by some human measure. Measure yourself by regarding him as perfect God in the fullness of his deity. When he refers to a mature man he does not mean a span of years or physical stature but a maturation into the full understanding of the divinity of the Son of God.
By "stature" here he means perfect "knowledge"; for as a man will stand firmly, whereas children are carried about and waver in mind, so is it also with believers.
"To the unity," says he, "of the faith."
That is, until we shall be shown to have all one faith: for this is unity of faith, when we all are one, when we shall all alike acknowledge the common bond. Till then you must labor to this end. If for this you have received a gift, that you might edify others, look well that thou overturn not yourself, by envying another. God has honored you, and ordained you, that you should build up another. Yea, for about this was the Apostle also engaged; and for this was the prophet prophesying and persuading, and the Evangelist preaching the Gospel, and for this was the pastor and teacher; all had undertaken one common work. For tell me not of the difference of the spiritual gifts; but that all had one work. Now when we shall all believe alike then shall there be unity; for that this is what he calls "a perfect man," is plain. And yet he elsewhere calls us "babes" [1 Corinthians 13:11], even when we are of mature age; but he is there looking to another comparison, for there it is in comparison with our future knowledge that he there calls us babes. For having said, "We know in part" [1 Corinthians 13:9-12], he adds also the word "darkly," and the like: whereas here he speaks with reference to another thing, with reference to changeableness, as he says also elsewhere, "But solid food is for full-grown men." [Hebrews 5:14] Do you see then also in what sense he there calls them full-grown? Observe also in what sense he calls men "perfect" here, by the words next added, where he says, "that we may be no longer children." That we keep, he means to say, that little measure, which we may have received, with all diligence, with firmness and steadfastness.
By maturity he means here the perfecting of conscience. For a grown man stands firm while young boys’ wits are tossed about. So it is with the faithful. We mature until we attain the unity of the faith, that is, until we are all found to share a single faith. For this is unity of faith when we are all one, when we all alike acknowledge our common bond. Until then we must labor. If you have received the gift of upbuilding others, be sure that you do not overthrow yourself by envying someone else’s gift.
We must ask: Who are the all whom he speaks of “coming together in the unity of faith”? Does he mean all the people of God or all saints? Or rather all who are capable of reason? He seems to me to be speaking of all the people of God because there are so “many winds of doctrine” blowing about them. When these blasts and billows are aroused, people in general are carried here and there by diverse errors, uncertain of their course.
According to the traditions of the church and the apostle Paul, our resurrection will “be into a mature man and the stature of the fullness of Christ.” This is the state in which the Jews claim that Adam was created and in which we have read that the Lord rose.
In the future life we shall attain perfection. But in the present life we need all the help we can get from the apostles, the prophets and our teachers.
[AD 215] Clement of Alexandria on Ephesians 4:13
And the structure's terminating in a cubit is the symbol of the advancement of the righteous to oneness and to "the unity of the faith.".
from glory) till they grow into "a perfect man.".
Of virtue and the increase of righteousness, should obtain a better place in the universe, as tending in each step of advancement towards the habit of impassibility, till "it come to a perfect man".
For by the service of what is best and most exalted, which is characterized by unity, it renders the Gnostic at once friend and son, having in truth grown "a perfect man, up to the measure of full stature.".
Now, of what I may call the passionlessness which we attribute to the Gnostic (in which the perfection of the believer, "advancing by love, comes to a perfect man, to the measure of full stature"