Participation in the Church

For the next five weeks we’ll be working through a short series on “Being the Church.” We’ll come back and finish John after that.

It’s important for us to know and remember who we are and why we’re here.

Are we gathered as a social club?

Are we here because of common interests in sports or work or politics or hobbies? Or is there something greater that binds us together and calls us together?

God is the one who has called us together. We are the church of Jesus Christ. We belong to him. He is our Savior, He is our Lord, and He is our highest Treasure.

We owe our lives to him, and we owe our obedience to him, both individually and as a church.

So what is it that he’s called us to do?

What are we here for?

Are we here just to attend church, sing a few songs, maybe give something in the offering, listen to a message, and then go home and go on with our lives?

Or is there something more that God wants from us?

Let’s consider that question as we look at our main passage this morning, Ephesians 4. We’ll be looking at other passages as well, but we’ll start here and spend some time in this passage.

Ephesians 4:1–16 BSB

1 As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received: 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 Now to each one of us grace has been given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 8 This is why it says: “When He ascended on high, He led captives away, and gave gifts to men.” 9 What does “He ascended” mean, except that He also descended to the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is the very One who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things. 11 And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head. 16 From Him the whole body, fitted and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love through the work of each individual part.

PRAY

From our church’s constitution, a statement on the responsibilities of church members here at Antioch (this is not Scripture, but it relates to things said in Scripture):

ARTICLE VIII – MINISTRY

Section A – Responsibility of the Membership

1. All members of this church shall be expected to participate in its ministry, in such measure as talents and circumstances enable them. Such service shall be voluntary and subject to the supervision of the Pastor and Board.

The general principle of this statement is that there is an expectation of every single member of this church to be involved in the ministry of the church.

This statement also recognizes limitations on the general principle. The talents that God has given you and the circumstances God has placed you in may limit your ability to participate in certain ministry activities. This ministry work is to be voluntary, not forced (it must be your decision to participate, not anyone else’s), and it’s carried out under the watch-care of the spiritual authorities that God has placed here.

So let’s examine this statement in light of Scripture.

Is this a biblical statement of member responsibilities? And if so, how are we doing as a church, and how are you doing personally at fulfilling your responsibilities?

What is ministry?

Ephesians 4:12 BSB

12 to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ,

The word translated “ministry” in v. 12 is διακονίας which is very close to the word “deacon” in English.

This word could also be translated as “service” (works of service); so ministry is service, serving other people.

How many ways are there to serve other believers?

My guess is if we took just 15 or 20 minutes we could come up with a list of over 100 specific things we can each do to serve others. It doesn’t have to be big; it doesn’t have to be complicated. We just need to do it.

Here’s a few ideas:

Share a Bible verse with someone.

Write a card to someone.

Pick up trash that someone left behind.

Say something encouraging to someone.

Pray for someone.

Listen to someone.

Here are some specific things that some of you do in service here:

Prepare the Lord’s Table

Pass out bulletins

Collect offerings

Counting offerings

Managing finances

Singing special music

Playing instruments

Teaching children

Preparing food for luncheons

Cleaning the kitchen

Cleaning up after luncheons

Preparing the coffee

Buying supplies for church

Planning special events

Preparing the service order

Running slides

Recording audio

Cleaning the building

Maintaining the lawn

Plowing snow and shoveling

And much, much more, that probably goes unnoticed by most.

Service toward others is the output of genuine biblical love. True biblical love always demonstrates itself in actions of service. Love is giving of ourselves, sacrificing our time, talents, or treasures to meet the needs of others. And this is what we mean by ministry.

Who Is the Minister?

Is the Pastor the minister? Pastors are often called ministers, because the primary focus of their life and work is serving other people’s spiritual needs. But this passage makes clear to us that pastors are not the only ministers. Every single believer is called to minister, to serve other believers. Ministry is not the job of the pastor or a select few church members — it is the responsibility of us all as part of Christ’s church and of this local assembly.

Going back to v. 11, it tells us that God has given specific offices to the church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers (pastors who are also teachers, not two distinct offices); and to the best of our understanding, the final one in the list is the primary office still functioning in the church today in spiritual leadership.

Ephesians 4:11–12 BSB

And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ,

Jesus gave pastors to the Church.

Why did Jesus give pastors to the Church? v. 12 says that the purpose for which Christ gave these offices to the church was for the equipping of God’s holy people (saints R Us) for ministry work and for the building up of Christ’s body, the church.

I hope your expectation of me as your pastor is not that I would do the work of ministry and build up Christ’s body, because according to these verses, that’s your work as well as mine.

My job as a pastor is to equip YOU to do the ministry work and build up the church. It’s not my job to do these things, but to equip you to do them. I am God’s appointed supervisor over this congregation, and my job is to make sure you have what you need to accomplish the work God has given YOU to do. I need to be a good supervisor and make sure you have the proper supplies you need for your work. But please do not miss this. It is YOUR responsibility to do the work.

I equip you by praying for you and by faithfully teaching and preaching God’s Word to you.

But it is YOUR responsibility, every one of you, to be involved in serving one another, bringing others in as well, showing love to one another, and growing in faith, love and obedience toward Christ. This is on YOU.

If you come to church with the attitude, “What can I get out of it?” or “What’s in it for me?”, you’re here for the wrong reason. If you think you’re fulfilling your duty just by showing up, singing songs, and listening to a message, you have not understood your purpose as a believer.

If you are a believer, you are a new creation in Christ. You are his workmanship. You have been created as a new creation in Christ FOR GOOD WORKS! God prepared these good works in advance for us to live in them.

You will be unfulfilled, unhappy as a Christian if you are not living out God’s purpose for you. And the clearly stated purpose He has for you here is this: serve one another. Minister to one another in love.

The end of v. 16 says this:

Ephesians 4:16 BSB

From Him the whole body, fitted and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love through the work of each individual part.

Each part of the body participates in its growth and health. And any member who refuses to participate is actually working against the body.

If my hand works well but my shoulder is broken, my hand won’t be able to do much.

If my feet work well but my eyesight is poor, I might run into something and hurt myself.

And if you, a part of Christ’s body, are not taking seriously your responsibility to be involved in serving other believers, not only are you missing out on the blessing that it is to serve, but you are also keeping others from being as fruitful and effective as they could be. Your idleness in ministry doesn’t just affect yourself. It affects the body.

So Christ’s expectation is that every member of His Church would be involved in ministry - serving one another out of love, and working for the growth of His Body, the Church.

Divinely Placed Limits

Maybe at this point you’re thinking something like this: I want to participate, I want to serve in some way, but I don’t know how, or I don’t know where to start, or I feel like I don’t have much to offer.

Maybe you’re in poor health, maybe you feel like you have limited resources or opportunities to serve.

Let me encourage you again with this thought. It doesn’t have to look big; it doesn’t have to be up front or visible to everyone. There are thousands or maybe millions of small ways for us to serve one another.

God has placed limits on us by only giving us certain talents and not others.

God has gifted Sarah with baking. I on the other hand don’t even like to get close to the oven. God has given her a talent to serve in this way that he hasn’t given to me.

God has gifted me with playing piano. Sarah doesn’t play very much.

We each have gifts that the other doesn’t. And that’s true of all of us. God has gifted you in ways that He hasn’t gifted me. And all these gifts and talents are to be used to serve Him.

God has also placed each one of us in different circumstances. Each one of us is a different age, some of us are men, some are women; we are all at different places in our health; we all have different family circumstances; we have different jobs; we have different friends and connections, different hobbies and interests, and many other different circumstances.

These circumstances that God has placed us in naturally limit our ability to participate in some ways that we might want to.

Maybe you wish you could be more generous, but your finances are limited.

Maybe you wish you could help clean or maintain the church property, but your health doesn’t allow it.

Maybe you wish you could be involved in more church activities but your family circumstances keep you away.

God won’t expect (and we shouldn’t expect) you to serve beyond your abilities or outside of the circumstances He’s given you. He knows your limitations because He gave them to you. He calls you to serve within your limits. But He does call you to serve.

Voluntary Service

It is never my goal to pressure anyone here to serve in specific ways. Your service must be voluntary — you must do it because you want to, not because you feel like someone is making you do it. But if you want to serve and just don’t know how, I’d be happy to help suggest some ways you can minister to others.

Music ministry and Children’s ministry are a couple of specific areas I’d like to see more people stepping up in, if there’s anyone here that God has gifted in those ways. But this has to be your decision as God leads you to get involved and serve.

And there are ways that we all ought to be serving one another: praying for one another (don’t underestimate how important that is!); speaking words of encouragement to others; sharing what God is teaching us and how he’s working in our lives, and many other things. If you don’t know what to do, ask for help, first from God, then from other believers.

The Supervisors

In God’s wisdom He has placed spiritual authorities in the church who are tasked with supervising the work. The NT tells us of two offices in the church, elders and deacons, and of these two it is the elders who are responsible for the spiritual care and oversight of the church. Although we have a Board, I am currently the only one serving in this particular capacity as elder, as spiritual overseer or supervisor, as shepherd. Both in our church constitution and more importantly in Scripture, it is indicated that the local church should have a plurality of elders, multiple men involved in shepherding and overseeing the spiritual needs of the church. I believe this is God’s desire for us, and one of my prayers for this church is that God would raise up other qualified men to serve the church in this way. It’s certainly not for everyone, but it may be for someone here.

Hebrews 13:17 BSB

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who must give an account. To this end, allow them to lead with joy and not with grief, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Supervising the spiritual welfare of the church is no easy task. It is a very serious thing.

God has tasked me (and every other spiritual leader) with watching over the souls of other people. That’s a very important and serious business. I will not only give account for myself someday, but also for you — for how I serve you and teach you and lead you spiritually. And I take that very seriously.

God’s call to you as church members is “take it easy on your supervisor”; don’t make the work of your spiritual leaders any more difficult than it already is. Make it a joyful work by listening to and obeying God’s Word and serving in the ways he has called you to serve.

I want to look at a few other Scriptures before we close and consider some other things that God’s Word tells us regarding our participation in the church:

Hebrews 10:23–25 BSB

Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

It may be obvious, but in order to serve one another in all the ways God wants us to, we have to spend time together — physically present with other believers. Watching a service online may give you some of the spiritual benefits of the church, but it doesn’t allow you to participate in the way God has called you to. That may be necessary at certain times because of a blizzard or health problems, but it should not be our normal pattern. We must gather together. You need the church, and the church needs you. And in order to participate in the ministry of the church, you have to gather with the church.

1 Corinthians 12:4–7 BSB

There are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord. There are different ways of working, but the same God works all things in all people. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

1 Corinthians 12:11 BSB

11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, who apportions them to each one as He determines.

God’s Spirit in His sovereign wisdom gives different abilities, opportunities, and spiritual gifts to each one. Instead of wishing we had someone else’s talents or opportunities, let’s make the most of the ones he has given to us. And as v. 7 says, the abilities and opportunities to serve come from God and they are for the benefit of other believers. We don’t serve others to make ourselves look good or to receive the praise of man. We do it out of love for others, for their good.

1 Peter 4:10–11 BSB

As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another. If anyone speaks, he should speak as one conveying the words of God. If anyone serves, he should serve with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

We are stewards - managers - of the talents and opportunities that God gives us. He wants us to be good managers and use those talents and opportunities in the proper way.

It is the responsibility of each one of us to us whatever gifts God has given us to serve and minister to one another

Peter mentions two categories of gifts: speaking and serving. Both of these are to be carried out through the power of God and for the glory of God, because he deserves all the glory. We don’t use our gifts or serve others in order to get honor or glory for ourselves, but for the glory of God.

Romans 12:3–8 BSB

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you. 4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all members have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another. 6 We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If one’s gift is prophecy, let him use it in proportion to his faith; 7 if it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is giving, let him give generously; if it is leading, let him lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

v. 3 indicates that proper ministry begins with a proper attitude of humility; having a proper view of yourself will keep you from being lifted up in pride or from thinking that you’re insignificant.

Paul mentions several gifts and opportunities for ministry: serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading, showing mercy.

Some of these things are up in front of people, but some of them are behind the scenes. Maybe you’re gifted with encouragement and you can lift people up and make their day by saying just a few kind words or sharing a verse with them. Maybe you’re gifted at showing mercy - spotting people’s needs and helping meet their needs. Maybe you love to be generous with your finances and you can bless the church or specific individuals who are in need.

Or maybe you’re gifted with teaching or leading, or some other more public ministry. Whatever gifts God has given you, your responsibility is to evaluate your life and your opportunities and use the talents God gives you to serve others.

This is the calling of God on the life of every believer. How are we doing?

Would you please bow your heads for a moment?

Take a moment to reflect and consider whether you are living in obedience to God’s design for his church.

Are you making a priority of attending services at church? You can’t obey God’s commands regarding participation if you’re not even showing up. You need the church, and the church needs you. Make it a priority in your life and for your family.

In what ways are you ministering to other believers in this church (or in your church for those who are part of another congregation)? How might God want you to change or increase your service?

What talents, abilities, spiritual gifts, and opportunities has God given you? How do you need to be using those things in service toward his church?

Maybe you’re not part of the church because you’ve never trusted in Jesus Christ. If so, come to him today. Trust in his death on the cross for you and his resurrection and receive the free gift of eternal life that he offers you. Become part of the Body of Christ and experience the joy of new life in Christ and the hope of eternal life with God forever.

What changes do you need to make in your life today so that you are living in a way that honors him?

PRAY