“Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” —Ephesians 4:15

I started eating raw garlic every day for its amazing health benefits. That statement alone might make you want to take a couple of steps back. But I have also discovered that taking raw garlic with lemon juice significantly tempers raw garlic’s pungency and biting odor, making the digestive process more receptable without diminishing its nutritional potency. It’s as if the two were made for each other.

Do you know what else was made for each other? Truth and love.

Truth can often have an unsavory bite to it. It can even be unbearable for some who don’t want to change their ways. “You can’t handle the truth” is a gem that many quote from popular film culture—and one that came to my mind when trying to chew on garlic without lemon juice! Yet truth was never meant to be digested apart from its counterpart, which is love. In the context of church unity and spiritual maturity in Ephesians 4, Paul has a strong admonition for Christ-followers. “Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).

When truth and love get divorced, the byproduct is Pharisaism. Paul knew that all too well, having himself been dramatically converted out of rigid adherence to Pharisaic “truthing” with no form of love attached to it. He wants the Ephesians to look more like disciples of Jesus than the legalistic crowd he used to run with. In addition to knowing and proclaiming the truth, the Ephesians must be a people characterized by love (John 13:34–35; 15:1–17). Paul understood that Jesus “came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14), and that as His followers who are being conformed to His image (Romans 8:29), we should also have our lives characterized by grace and truth.

Some are all about love or grace without truth. “We just love and accept everybody as they are,” they say while never speaking any ounce of truth that transforms a person. That may have a pleasing aroma to it, but it has zero potency for growth or maturity. Imagine a doctor who knew the remedy for a debilitating disease but refused to prescribe it because it might be offensive to the patient. That isn’t a loving doctor. That’s a fraud being set up for malpractice.

We don’t truly love people if we don’t deem them worthy enough to know the truth that sets them free. We don’t truly love the lost if we are more concerned about them being unoffended than we are of them being born again. Gospel truth, motivated by love for God and love for people, seeks edification and maturity even when it requires the hard stuff of correction and discipline. This kind of self-sacrificial love works for the benefit of the loved one.

Several verses later Paul writes, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29). Our conversations should always be seasoned with grace in a manner that clearly and unapologetically communicates both truth and love (1 John 4:10–12). What will that look like this week around your family meals or small group gatherings, conversations in the workplace, interactions with neighbors, or those debates with colleagues who have opposing worldviews? Think about it as you seek to abide in Him this week.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you for loving me with unconditional agape love. You have always loved me despite my mess, but loved me too much to leave me in my mess. Freedom, deliverance, transformation, growth, and maturity are all part of following the Christ who came in both grace and truth. Holy Spirit, show me areas where I need to receive truth for correction, and help me to walk in love as I share that truth with others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion:

1. When have you seen truth and love divorced? What have been the effects of that?
2. What truths are hard for you to receive, even though you know they are good for you?
3. From the reading of today’s text (Ephesians 4:11-32), how would you summarize God’s heart for the church?
4. Are there experiences/episodes/seasons you need to lament, grieve, or even repent over failing to walk in truth and love as a follower of Jesus?
5. How is the Holy Spirit leading you to speak the truth in love this week? Is there a difficult conversation you need to have with someone?

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