Devotion 1: Standing Strong Together

January 13, 2025 5:00 AM
Lesson Two | Devotion 1: Standing Strong Together 
Mark Pittenger 

As I have become more bold in representing Jesus, I have noticed that people will often ask similar questions when confronted with the Gospel. It is typically something like, “How do you know the Bible is true? Isn’t the Bible just written by men?” The other day, I was having a conversation with a coworker who proclaims to be a Christian, and he said, “The Bible has great moral teachings but none of the stories can be factually proven.” I was reminded of this conversation when I read Ephesians 4:11-14, which says, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” 

Paul is saying that, within the Church, God has given different abilities to different people so that we need each other. The entire design of the Church is one body with many members and each member plays a vital role. Some are given the ability to teach others the truth of the Gospel, and it is only when we can get on one accord with that truth that we can grow together as the Church.  

As with the story of my coworker, as well as many others, they are not fully grounded in the truth of the Gospel of Jesus. This gives way for these false teachings to persuade them into questioning the very truth of God’s Word. This is what Paul is referring to when he says, “That we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” 

The phrases “wind of doctrine,” “human cunning,” and “craftiness in deceitful schemes” are great examples of the enemy’s only means of battling God: confusion. As he did in the garden with Adam and Eve, and as he does to this very day, the devil creates confusion by saying, “Did God really say that?” When we gather together and grow together as the Church, we become more and more confident in the truth of God’s Word, in the truth of the Gospel, and in our walk with Jesus. Things that were once unclear, become as crystals, and we become more bold in our faith. This is why gathering together with other Bible-believing saints is an important and necessary piece of our ever-growing walk with Jesus.  

Proverbs 27:17 adds, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”  

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