Together, the mission of God

Ephesians 4:11-16

Eph. 4:11-16 “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.

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head,

into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together

by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

I don’t know about you, but whenever I think about what sort of place Ephesus was, I think of a mediterranean city, I think of a vacation destination, a harbor, good food.

Was not unlike Reno.

Similar population about 250, 000

Similar spiritual climate.

Ethnically diverse, lots of Artsy people, pluralistic faith community.

The place where Paul wrote a majority of his letters in the New Testament.

The place where Paul experienced the Seven Sons of Scheva, the riot of the Silver Smiths angry that Paul was ruining their businesses.

Paul wrote Ephesians to help converts grow in their spiritual knowledge of God and the Church; to promote unity, particularly between Gentile and Jewish Saints; and to encourage the Saints to withstand spiritual darkness.

The chapter that contains the passage we are studying today is often titled “Your identity in Christ”

vs 11 begins by identifying the giver of the gifts He Himself, Jesus.

This is important because it sets these functions apart from other ministry organization models in the Bible that may come from apostolic, but human ingenuity.

Also by distinguishing the purpose, “for edifying the body.”

Gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers

i. Apostles, who are special ambassadors of God’s work,

ii. Prophets, who speak forth words from God

iii. Evangelists, who are specifically gifted to preach the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.

iv. Pastors and teachers who shepherds the flock of God

primarily (though not exclusively) through teaching the Word of God. “Teaching is an essential part of the pastoral ministry;

v. These gifts are given at the discretion of Jesus, The importance of having “all four in operation” in any church body cannot be underrated. The job of church leadership is to “promote it into existence.”

For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry

The purpose of these gifts of leadership is also clear. It is that saints (God’s people) might be equipped for the work of ministry (service), so that the body of Christ would be built up (expanded and strengthened).

Equipping also has the idea of “to put right.” This ancient Greek word was used to describe setting broken bones or mending nets. These ministries work together to produce strong, mended, fit Christians.

God’s people do the real work of ministry.

Leaders in the church have the first responsibility to equip people to serve and to direct their service as God leads.

ii. “The primary purpose of the Church

is not just to convert sinners to Christianity, but to perfect (complete and mature) the saints for the ministry and edification of the Body.”

vs 13-16 are important:

Eph. 4:13-16

Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God,

to a whole pereson, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and

carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,

but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head; Christ;

from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies,

according to the effective working by which every part does its share,

causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Till we all come to the unity of the faith:

This is the first goal of God’s work through the gifted offices and equipped saints.

i. Again, by clearly stating that we have to COME to a unity of the faith, Paul did not command a structural or organizational unity, but a spiritual unity around a common faith.

To a perfect mankind, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:

The gifted offices and equipped saints bring the saints to maturity, according to the measure of Jesus Himself. As years pass by, we should not just grow old in Jesus, but more mature; as individuals and as a corporate body.

According to the effective working by which every part does its share:

The evidence of maturity – that the leaders and the saints are all doing their job – is this effective working.

This means every part and joint provides what it can supply in a coordinated effort.

When this happens, it naturally causes the growth of the body (both in size and strength), but especially growth for building itself up in love.

Some people think of the church as a pyramid, with the pastor at the top. Others think of the church as a bus driven by the pastor, who takes his passive passengers where they should go. It is better to see the church as THE bus, with all it’s parts working together.

God wants us to see the church as a body, where every part does its share.

PLURALITY OF LEADERSHIP

Plurality embodies and expresses the New Testament principle of interdependence and the diversity of gifts among members of Christ’s body (Rom. 12:4–6; 1 Cor. 12).

Plurality acknowledges human limitations by recognizing that no one leader can possess the full complement of gifts God intends to use to bless and build the church (1 Cor. 12:21).

This approach, in fact, discourages narcissistic personalities who look to exercise unique and exclusive authority or control within a team.

Plurality creates a leadership structure where men must model the unity.

To which God calls the whole church (John 17:23; Rom. 15:5; Eph. 4:3, 13; Col. 3:14).

Plurality calls forward timid leaders to share the weight of governing responsibility.

Plurality creates a community of care, support, and accountability that guards the calling, life, and doctrine of the leaders (1 Tim. 4:14, 16; Titus 1:6–9; James 5:16).

Where plurality truly exists, pastors and elders remain appropriately engaged, loved, guided, and harnessed together.

Plurality provides a mechanism to deal wisely and collaboratively with the institutional necessities of the local church.

Plurality contradicts the idea of a singular genius and replaces it with what the Bible calls an “abundance of counselors” (Prov. 11:14; 24:6)

Leaders who collaborate, lead, and guide the church together. This isn’t simply a clever constitutional maneuver. It’s a recognition of the New Testament pattern. According to the biblical authors, the authority for the local church was given to the entire eldership, not just to one gifted leader. In other words, the responsibility inheres in the group, not the man.

The strength, unity, and integrity of this shared leadership model infuse the church with durability for mission and care.

The church can’t afford to sidestep this vital issue. Plurality is God’s means of leading the church to fulfill its purpose, but it’s also a means of growing its leaders.