(1) The "perfect [full-grown] man" of verse 13 is the _individual_, not the generic man, not "the one [collective] new man" of chapter ii. 15. The Greek words for _man_ in these two places differ.[105] The apostle proposes to the Christian ministry the end that he was himself pursuing, viz., to "present _every man_ perfect in Christ."[106]
(2) "_Sleight_ of men" (A.V. and R.V.) does not seem to us to express the precise meaning of the word so translated in verse 14. _Kubeia_ (from _kubos_, a cube, or die) occurs only here in the New Testament; in classical Greek it appears in its literal sense of _dice-play_, _gambling_. The interpreters have drawn from this the idea of _trickery_, _cheating_--the common accompaniment of gambling. But the kindred verb (_to play dice_, _to gamble_) has another well-established use in Greek, namely, _to hazard_: this supplies for St Paul's noun the signification of _sport_ or _hazarding_, preferred by Beza among the older expositors and by von Soden amongst the newest. _In the sport of men_, says von Soden: "conduct wanting in every kind of earnestness and clear purpose. These men _play_ with religion, and with the welfare of Christian souls." This metaphor accords admirably with that of the restless waves and uncertain winds[107] just preceding it; while it leads fittingly to the further qualification "in craftiness," which is almost an idle synonym after "sleight."
(3) Another rare word is found in this verse, not very precisely rendered as "wiles"--a translation suiting it better in chapter vi. 11. Here the noun is singular in number: _methodeia_. It signifies _methodizing_, _reducing to a plan_; and then, in a bad sense, _scheming_, _plotting_. "Error" is thus personified: it "schemes," just as in 2 Thessalonians ii. 7 it "works." Amid the restless speculations and the unscrupulous perversions of the gospel now disturbing the infant faith of the Asian Churches, the apostle saw the outline of a great system of error shaping itself. There was a method in this madness. _Unto the scheme of error_--into the meshes of its net--those were being driven who yielded to the prevailing tendencies of speculative thought. With all its cross currents and capricious movements, it was bearing steadily in one direction. Reckless pilots steered ignorant souls this way and that over the wind-swept seas of religious doubt; but they brought them at last to the same rocks and quicksands.
(4) As the contrast between manhood and childhood links verses 13 and 14, so it is by the contrast of error and craftiness with _truth_ that we pass from verse 14 to verse 15. "_Speaking_ truth" insufficiently renders the opening word of the latter verse. The "_dealing_ truly" of the Revised margin is preferable. In Galatians iv. 16 the apostle employs the same verb, signifying not truth of speech alone, but of deed and life (comp. Eph. v. 9). The expression resembles that of 1 John iii. 19: "We are _of the truth_, and shall assure our hearts before Him," where truth and love are found in the like union.
(5) The last difficulty of this kind we have to deal with, lies in the connexion of the clauses of verse 16. "Through every joint of supply" is an incongruous adjunct to the previous clause, "fitly framed and knit together," although the rendering "joint" gives this connexion a superficial aptness. The apostle's word means _juncture_ rather than _joint_.[108] The _points of contact_ between the members of Christ's body form the channels of supply through which the entire frame receives nourishment. The clause "through every juncture of the supply"--an expression somewhat obscure at the best--points forwards, not backwards. It describes the means by which the Church of Christ, compacted in its general framework by those larger ligatures which its ministry furnishes (vv. 11, 12), builds up its inward life,--through a communion wherein "each single part" of the body shares, and every tie that binds one Christian soul to another serves to nourish the common life of grace. We may paraphrase the sentence thus: "Drawing its life from Christ, the entire body knit together in a well-compacted frame, makes use of every link that unites its members and of each particular member in his place to contribute to its sustenance, thus building itself up in love evermore."