13 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;
Verse 13 shows us what an edification construct looks like—it turns out to be like the Son of God Himself.
and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
The church needs to attain to “the knowledge of the Son of God.” The issue in this statement is not about knowledge of becoming a Christian but about knowing the Son of God fully. The word “knowledge” means insight knowledge or full knowledge. Knowing Jesus as the Son of God requires accurate and full knowledge of who and what He is.
“Knowledge” is a compound Greek term that implies full experiential knowledge. The word implies personal relationship. “Knowledge” here is more than intellectual knowledge of facts about the Son of God. The idea is to know Him personally (Php 3:10). This is a corporate knowledge as well as personal.
“Knowledge” has a specific object—“the Son of God.” The person of Christ is doctrinally central to the values of the church. It is important to come to grips with the goal of a full comprehension of the exalted Son of God.
PRINCIPLE:
True unity of the faith is when we thoroughly know Christ, the object of our faith.
APPLICATION:
Paul’s desire after being a Christian for many years was “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Php 3:8-10). Knowing Christ in the fullness is a life-long course of study and application. This process will continue until we meet Jesus face-to-face.
