Being built up... (16)

Christ Himself gave...

To build the body...

This morning we’re going to look at some of the gifts that Jesus has given to the body, and the benefit it brings to the church.

Let’s read Ephesians 4:11-16

Ephesians 4:11–16 NIV

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

As we look at the church, Christ’s body, we can ask

Who gave the gifts to the church?

So Christ Himself gave...

When we look at these five ministry gifts that Christ has given to His body, it is Christ that has given each gift, and each gift has a role and a purpose.

Before we look at the role of each gift that Christ has given His church, lets take a quick look at

The Purpose

Ephesians 4:12 NLT

12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

We’ll dig deeper into this in a bit, but I think for now we know that the purpose Jesus gave these gifts is

“To equip His people to do His work...”

We can’t lose sight of this. Too often, it can happen that we put people who fill these roles on pedestals where we worship them instead of seeing them as gifts that God has given His church to equip us with the tools that we need for the ministry that God has called us to.

You are called to minister. This means that each of us have been called to do God’s work.

As the body of Christ, we are one body, but we have many parts that have different functions. We aren’t all called to do the same works of ministry, but we are called to minister as God has called us to function.

You can minister to people that your pastor or an evangelist cannot fulfill, because God has called you to it.

We live in a day and an age that we are being overwhelmed with information. We can go online and watch any pastor or evangelist that we want. We can read books from many different sources, and many of the authors or ministers that we follow might be good, but a minister or an author should never replace our reading and studying of the word of God.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 NIV

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

We need to be dedicated if we are to be equipped. Our society today doesn’t lend itself to making it easy to be equipped. We can be too busy to be equipped. Our schedules don’t permit it. With our access to information, we can follow whatever wind of teaching is out there, but we need to be careful because as we make ourselves accountable to the word of God and each other, there is safety.

Let’s look at the five gifts that Christ Himself gave to the church.

Ephesians 4:11–12 NKJV

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

As we take a look at these offices, it’s apparent that some Christians believe that some of these gifts have ceased, others believe that each of these gifts are still in operation today. This can cause disunity, but each gift that God has given to the church is for the common good of the body.

Let’s look at each of these gifts:

1. Apostle

What is an apostle?

According to the Life Application Commentary,

Life Application New Testament Commentary (Unity in the Body of Christ / 4:1–16)

It seems that the qualifications for being an apostle were to have seen the risen Christ, to have been sent out by him to preach the gospel, and to be working on behalf of the Kingdom, building its foundation.

We know that 11 of Jesus’ twelve disciples became apostles. Judas Iscariot was obviously disqualified from becoming an apostle.

Here’s some others listed in the Bible.

Romans 1:1 NIV

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—

Here’s some others.

Acts 1:26 NIV

26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

Acts 14:14 NIV

14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting:

Galatians 1:19 NIV

19 I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother.

In 1 Thess 2, Paul refers to Silas as one of the apostles.

1 Thessalonians 2:6 (NIV)

6 We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority.

and finally,

Romans 16:7 NIV

7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.

2 Corinthians 12:12 give us some marks of a true apostle.

2 Corinthians 12:12 NIV

12 I persevered in demonstrating among you the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and miracles.

One thing that is certain is that 1st century apostles were eye witnesses of Jesus. They were sent out to establish the church of the living God, and they laid the foundation for which the church is built.

I personally believe that we need to be cautious to self-label or to label people as apostles, but I don’t believe that this office is closed.

That being said, the only foundation that can be laid has already been laid and that is Jesus Christ. As churches or denominations, we have sent people out to preach the gospel and lay a foundation for the gospel to foreign lands, as well as to unreached people groups. An evangelist may preach the gospel but an apostle with lay the ground work for pastors and teachers.

2. Prophet

The work of a prophet may be to foretell the future, and it is also to exhort and encourage the body of Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:20–22 NIV

20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.

As Christians we have been called to test prophecies. The standard we test them by is according to the word of God and for any that speak to the future, whether or not they happen will tell whether or not it was a prophecy.

Here’s a couple of examples in my life. I’ve heard some that are off the wall and I’ve also seen some with pinpoint accuracy.

Both examples happened at Bri-Ma-Del Camp near Moosomin. Here’s the first one. There was an older man that would often speak a message in tongues. His hand would shake as he did it, and then people would pray that God would give the interpretation. To me, it seemed like they were letting him off of the hook instead of dealing with him gently.

One night at camp, he gave a prophetic word speaking of Jesus in the 1st person. He said that Jesus was coming back soon, which I wholeheartedly agree with, but he went on to say in the next 5-10 years. I believe that he wanted to encourage us to be ready for the Lord’s return, but in this case he should have encouraged and exhorted us instead of putting God’s name into what he wanted to say to give him more authority.

The second example, I came to camp one night and was just part of the congregation. The man that got up to speak looked at me and started to prophesy about things that God was going to do in my life within the next year. As he prophesied, he spoke of things that he would have no idea about, and yet within the year, God had placed me in a pastorate that I wasn’t looking for, and which would have taken a miracle to make happen. My Dad had become quite ill and had passed away with Pulmonary fibrosis, and Donna and I were engaged to be married.

I didn’t go out of my way to make anything happened, but yet I believe that God wanted to prepare my heart for change that was about to take place in my heart.

Let’s not treat prophecy with contempt, but let’s be obedient to God and test words that are spoken. Cling to what is good and reject any kind of evil.

3. Evangelist

Often we think of evangelists like Billy Graham or Reinhardt Bonke, and these men did great things for God where thousands and even millions have been reached with the gospel of Christ. This can make us feel inadequate to fill this office, and yet God may have given you an evangelistic gift to clearly share the good news about Jesus Christ to your neighbours. Not everybody is called to the thousands, but we must not despise what we see as small things.

Anita Pearce went to the Ukraine to preach shortly after the USSR broke apart, and as she preached to thousands, she gave the invitation for people to receive Christ. The first time the whole crowd stood to their feet. She tried to explain that just those who wanted to give their lives to Christ, and then the interpreter reminded her that they had never heard the message of the cross before.

2 Timothy 4:5 NIV

5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

There are times that people will be gifted in more than one office. Often somebody with an evangelistic gift will minister in more than one of these five gifts to build up the body of Christ.

Four and five can often be conjoined, but also separate.

4/5 Pastor/Teacher

This is geared to the local church. A pastor will shepherd and care for their church. They are there to protect from wolves that would like to come in in sheep’s clothing. They are there to give counsel, guidance, as well as feed and nurture.

The gift of teaching is expounding the word of God and making it applicable to the lives of those who hear. You may see in some churches where people are teaching pastors or even in our Bible colleges people are called to equip the saints for the work of the ministry through teaching.

Why are these gifts given?

To equip and edify...

To build up. Jesus hasn’t called the church to be spectators, but to be about the work of the ministry.

A few years ago, I went to God’s little acre to help pick potatoes. If I had been the only one, it would have taken a long time, but many hands make light work. Each of us working together can accomplish the mission of God in this area.

What is the purpose of these 5 gifts that Christ has given to the church?

Let’s read 12-13

Ephesians 4:12–13 NLT

12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

The purpose of each office is to bring unity in the body of Christ and so that we grow in maturity in our faith and knowledge of God. If somebody is claiming to work in one of these 5 offices, but they are causing division in the body of Christ, they aren’t being obedient to Christ. God’s blessing rests in unity.

Psalm 133:3 NKJV

3 It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing— Life forevermore.

God is pleased when we walk in unity with each other and grow in our faith and knowledge of Christ, until we measure up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

Why is maturity so important?

Ephesians 4:14 NIV

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

Maturity in our faith is so important so that we aren’t deceived. If anyone comes teaching a new doctrine, we need to see how it lines up with Scripture. Sometimes if we aren’t careful we can hang a doctrine on one Scripture, and yet we’ve taken it out of context.

This one might seem absurd, but somebody could use this to say that they can do whatever they want to do, but we know that Jesus will give us strength to go through trials or having everything that we need.

Philippians 4:13 NKJV

13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

The purpose of this strength is to grow closer to the Lord, not for our own desires.

One thing that we need to take seriously when we study Scripture is that God’s word is truth and Scripture will back up

Scripture.

I pray that we would desire to have a greater understanding of God’s word, and that we would not have itching ears and cherry pick the verses we like and shun the ones we don’t like.

When we hear something new, if it’s true, it will stand the test of time.

, Paul moves from believers being tossed back and forth by blown by every wind of doctrine.

So let’s look at verse 15.

Ephesians 4:15 NIV

15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

As Christians we can become so fixated with needing to speak the truth. We can’t stop this, but we need to speak truth with God’s love. When we speak truth in love we grow to maturity and become more and more like Christ.

As we grow as the body of Christ, we need to remember who is our head, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Without love, we miss the very essence of the gospel.

Romans 5:8 NIV

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God is just, so payment had to be made for sin, and yet because of His love, He paid the ultimate price.

Ephesians 4:16 NIV

16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Each member of Christ’s body, each of you are valuable and indispensible to the body to which Christ is the head. As we follow Christ, as we mature and grow, we are joined and held together by every supporting ligament. The body of Christ grows and is built up in love, agape love, as each member does their part.

You have a special role. You have a special calling. As we keep growing and allow God to use us, the body of Christ functions as it’s supposed to. There is no retirement in God’s kingdom. Our roles and functions may change, but God still wants to use us as long as we are willing.

My prayer is that one day, each of us will hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord.”

Let’s pray!