That we from now on be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, by which they lie in wait to deceive;
All Commentaries on Ephesians 4:14 Go To Ephesians 4
Jerome
AD 420
Was Paul referring to himself as one who was tossed to and fro and drifting? According to one view, he was saying this in humility, aware that we see in part and know in part. He is aware of how far he is from perfect knowledge and bursts into an expression of his own awareness. If so, anyone who might think himself to be humble should look to Paul as an example. … But another will respond to this that, by comparison with the majority, the apostle had already reached “mature manhood,” even though he still might be here regarded as an infant in relation to those eternal blessings that are stored up for the saints…. The exposition must proceed very carefully after this to meet the possible claim that the apostle really is speaking in humility when he prays that we “may no longer be children, drifting and carried away in different directions by every blast of doctrine.” … Maybe it is out of good conscience and not some false humility that Paul is confessing his own limitations. For he was a man of acute and sharp intellect…. He could see that there was often in the manner of speaking on both sides some distorted motives, such that there seemed to be so much truth in contrary assertions as to cause doubt in the listener. Thus, as a human being and still in his fragile little body, he was at times carried about by every wind of doctrine, though he was not cast against the rocks. .
