{"id":18213,"date":"2009-03-23T20:14:00","date_gmt":"2009-03-24T01:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=18213"},"modified":"2020-01-10T20:16:23","modified_gmt":"2020-01-11T02:16:23","slug":"what-is-meant-by-speaking-the-truth-in-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-meant-by-speaking-the-truth-in-love\/","title":{"rendered":"What is meant by “speaking the truth in love?”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

“That we [henceforth] be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, [and] cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, [even] Christ:” (Ephesians 4:14-15).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What does the verse “speaking the truth” in love mean?\u00a0 Does it only apply to doctrine or can it also apply to talking to our brothers and sisters in Christ about behavior that is not Christ-like?<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head — Christ — from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love<\/em>” (Ephesians 4:11-16).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the larger context, we see that Paul is discussing how the various roles or offices within the church all work toward the goal of causing the church to grow. “Speaking the truth in love<\/em>” parallels “the edifying of itself in love<\/em>” in verse 16.<\/p>\n

It is the teaching of doctrine so that the church knows what it must do, but it also includes rebuking those who stray because that too is a part of growth. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work<\/em>” (II Timothy 3:16-17). The Scriptures is given for four things:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. To teach us what is right<\/li>\n
  2. To teach us what is not right<\/li>\n
  3. To teach us how to become right<\/li>\n
  4. To teach us how to stay right<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    It takes all four aspects of the Scriptures to make a person complete or mature.<\/p>\n

    The phrase “in love” qualifies how truth is to be taught. No matter whether we are teaching someone the way of righteousness or scolding them for doing wrong, the motivation behind all our words must be love for the person (I Corinthians 13:4-8). It is because you want to see that person saved and in heaven that you make the effort to see that the understand what they need to do be saved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Question: “That we [henceforth] be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, [and] cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, [even] Christ:”…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[451,76],"class_list":["post-18213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-teaching","tag-terminology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21644,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-a-sin-to-change-what-i-believe\/","url_meta":{"origin":18213,"position":0},"title":"Is it a sin to change what I believe?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it a sin to change what I believe? Or what if I am just neutral? Answer: Growth means you are going to change your mind about things. \"Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35736,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-check-my-own-understanding-if-i-misunderstand-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":18213,"position":1},"title":"How can I check my own understanding if I misunderstand the Bible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 7, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How can I check my own understanding in comparison to the Bible, if I misunderstand the Bible itself? Answer: \"Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is\" (Ephesians 5:17). 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This babe in Christ realizes the urgency of studying to rightly divide God's word, and every time he learns he is guilty of sin,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":87311,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-do-people-change-the-teachings-of-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":18213,"position":4},"title":"Why do people change the teachings of Christ?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello there! My primary question is this: How can \"Christians\" claim to love the Lord and accept the Bible as truth, block out, look over, or misconceptualize truths in the Bible that cover their salvation and how to worship? 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