Christ Giving, Pastors Equipping, Saints Working

Over the years there have been many different models and methods for church growth. In America we have experience the Mega Church movement. Or the seek-friendly movement. Out of these man-made movements different models have been developed for how to grow your church.

These movements purposefully research and choose methods that attract unsaved people to come and attend church. The thinking goes, if we give people what they want, then we can grow the church. And, numerically speaking, you can get bodies into seats using these methods.

So then, what do these methods include? Coffee shops in the lobbies, contemporary music and a concert like atmosphere, short pithy “sermons” that avoid the unpleasant issues like sin, judgement, and holiness. These among others have become the methods and models for church growth.

What does the Bible say about all this? Does the Bible have its own model for church growth? Does the Bible give us God’s methods for truly growing a church?

I think it does. Here in Ephesians 4:11-12 Paul wanted the Ephesians to understand God’s model for genuine church growth.

Therefore, if the Scriptures teach a Biblical model for church growth, then we as a church must ensure that we are following God’s methods for growing our church?

What are the Biblical methods of church growth?

In our text this morning I want to highlight three sources of growth in the local church that clearly define what the biblical model of church growth ought to look like.

Source #1:

I. Christ’s Gracious Gifts to the Church

Ephesians 4:11 ESV

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,

The key word in this verse is the verb, “he gave.” This verb draws our attention back to the earlier verses of this paragraph where Paul introduced the idea of gifts.

Ephesians 4:7–8 (ESV)

7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”

Vv. 9-10 focused on the idea that the descended Christ also ascended far above all things. And because Jesus gained the victory over his enemies, namely over sin, death, hell, Satan and his demons, Jesus has the power and the authority to give gifts to men.

Now in v. 11 Paul returns to the idea of the actual gifts given by Christ. And these gifts given by Christ were in the form of gifted people who served in various positions within the church. And I believe these gifted people fall into three broad categories.

A. Foundational Positions

Ephesians 4:11 (ESV)

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,

The first foundational position or gifted person that Jesus gave to the church was the apostles.

Ephesians 2:19–20 (ESV)

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,

1 Corinthians 3:10 (ESV)

10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.

Apostles were foundational to the birth and establishment of the NT local church. They exercised their Christ-given gift and authority to lay the foundation of the church all over the known world.

They were personally taught by Jesus and were instructed by the Lord to pass on that teaching to all future believers.

Hebrews 2:1–4 ESV

1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

No Apostles today: Biblical Criteria for becoming an Apostle: (John McArthur, Strange Fire)

1. An apostle had to be a physical witness of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 1:22)

Acts 1:22 ESV

22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.”

2. An apostle had to be personally appointed by the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 6:13; Acts 1:2)

Luke 6:13 ESV

13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles:

3. An Apostle had to be able to authenticate his appointment with miraculous signs (2 Cor. 12:12; Heb 2:3-4)

2 Corinthians 12:12 ESV

12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works.

God used the Apostles to lay the foundation of the church. They passed on the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. They were heralds of the good news of the gospel, seeing many people come to faith in Christ all over the world. They were instrumental in organizing and establishing local churches from those new converts. Jesus gave the gift and the office to the early church to build the foundation of the church. Yet there is no apostolic succession. There are no apostles today.

Ephesians 4:11 (ESV)

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,

These are the NT counterpart of the OT prophets.

They were active in the early church before the completion of the canon.

Because the church did not yet have the completed NT, Christ gifted the church with prophets who received revelation from the Lord to complete what was needed in the church so that every person could grow unto maturity as is purpose of the church. These individuals were able to understand and communicate the mysteries and revelation of God to the church.

Ephesians 3:3–6 (ESV)

3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.

4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ,

5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.

6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

God used the prophets in the early church to be heralds of divine revelation. He, by means of the Holy Spirit, revealed important truths, mysteries, for the encouragement and growth of the church body. This role is no longer necessary. Why? We have the complete written Word of God. Everything that we need for life and godliness in found in the Scriptures.

There are no apostles or prophets today. They were foundational positions within the church.

B. Formational Positions

Ephesians 4:11 (ESV)

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,

This gift allowed these individuals to spread the gospel widely and effectively. We are not given much information in the NT on the position of evangelist.

Acts 21:8 ESV

8 On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.

2 Timothy 4:5 ESV

5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Evangelists were uniquely gifted with preaching the gospel effectively and bringing about new local churches. It most closely resembles the modern role of missionaries or church planters that bring the gospel message to new areas and people groups.

I do believe that today the church benefits from those who have been given the unusual ability to bring people to Christ through preaching and personal witness.

Refutation: I don’t have the gift of evangelism so I don’t have to share the gospel.

“Let me emphasize at this point that the ability to turn a conversation around to spiritual things is not a “gift.”  It can’t be found in any of the gift passages in the Bible (I Cor. 12 and so on). But it can be learned! The only requirement is that you be concerned enough about the salvation of your unsaved friend to practice thinking through your own everyday situations and plan ahead what you would like to say in each situation.” — Floyd Schneider

Ephesians 4:11 (ESV)

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,

Grammatically, these two descriptive words describe the same office- that of the pastor. Some believe that these are two separate positions. But, I believe these refer to one position, that of pastor.

Reasons: 1). The word “shepherds” is one of the three terms used to describe the office of the pastor in the NT.

Three terms used:

Pastor- this word means shepherd and describes how the pastor is to take care and guide the people of his church like a shepherd does his sheep.

Acts 20:28 (ESV)

28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for (shepherd) the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

1 Peter 5:2 ESV

2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;

Overseer- leadership, oversight of the church

Acts 20:28 (ESV)

28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

1 Timothy 3:1 (ESV)

1 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.

Elder- maturity, dignity associated with the pastoral role.

Acts 20:17 (ESV)

17 Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.

1 Peter 5:1 (ESV)

1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed:

So when Paul uses the word, pastor or shepherd in Eph. 4:11 I think it is most natural to think of the position of the pastor.

2). And one of the primary qualifications for the NT pastor is that he be able to teach.

1 Timothy 3:2 ESV

2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

This is one of the primary responsibilities of the pastor. The pastor’s job is to shepherd or care for or feed the flock. This is done primarily through teaching or preaching the Word.

Ephesians 4:11 (ESV)

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,

So the shepherd / teacher dual part description is really describing the one role of the Pastor.

A NT Pastor as shepherd cares and guides the church taking the oversight and providing leadership in fulfilling the primary purpose of the church. And they also teach and preach the word. When they do this they nourish the members of the body from God’s Word.

So these two positions- evangelist and shepherd/teacher are formational to the church. They are used by God to begin and equip saints in the formation of the church so that the work of ministry can be accomplished.

C. Functional Positions

The functional position is actually found in v. 12.

Ephesians 4:12 (ESV)

12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

Paul does not leave anyone out. It is not only the leadership positions of the church that Christ has given gifts to.

Ephesians 4:7 (ESV)

7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

Christ includes all of you- the saints. Every believer is gifted by Christ and is part of God’s method for church growth.

Illustration: Pastor I want to bring my friend to church so I can “sick you on him.” What is the implication of that statement?

What are the Biblical methods of church growth?

The first source of true biblical growth is not a coffee shop or an led wall screen with special effects. The first source of biblical growth in the local church is Jesus Christ’s gracious gifts to the church. And Jesus gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherd/teachers, and saints. And if we want to see our church grow we must utilize all of the gifts at our disposal. What does that mean for you personally? 4 questions:

What is growth?

What causes growth?

Am I helping or hindering growth in my church?

How can I help my church be a growing body?

We are really answering questions 2 and 3.

What causes growth? Christ’s gifts to the church.

Am I helping or hindering growth in my church? How can you accurately answer that question? Are you using the gift that Christ has given you in our church? If the answer is yes, then you are helping. If the answer is no, then you are hindering!

Refutation: Wait a minute, I might not be using my gift in the church, but neither am I actively hindering my church.

Body illustration: What happens when your arm just decides it wants to stay in bed for the day. Can you make it through the day without an arm? Yes, but how effective will you be? Can the church make it through the week without you? Yes, but how effective is the church when each part of the body is not functioning together in unity?

What is the second source of church growth in our passage?

Source #2:

II. The Pastor’s Proper Contribution to Growth

If we took a poll of our church and of like-minded churches in our state and we asked this question: “What is the primary way a pastor can contribute to church growth?” What do you think the answers would be?

Witnessing, Visiting, Organizing outreach programs, Preaching salvation messages, Running the best VBS in the town, Attracting new people with a captivating personality, ear shattering sermons, and fancy new technological applications, having a top-notch website and social media presence, getting impressive degrees and writing books or staring a blog.

What is the Bible’s answer to that question? What is the proper contribution of the pastor to local church growth?

A. His Job Description

Ephesians 4:12 ESV

12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

Now, there are many other passages that describe the role of the pastor in the church. Here Paul is primarily concerned with a growing healthy church. So in terms of helping the church to grow the proper contribution of the pastor is what? To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.

What does that mean? We will dig into the meaning in just a bit.

Initially we can ask this question, where does God place the responsibility for church growth? On the back of the pastor or on the back of the saints? Both!

But, both pastor and saint have their own unique roles or ways to contribute to the growth of the church.

“Problems come when one group expects the other to do everything or most things. An environment conductive to growth develops when both groups understand each other’s distinct roles and responsibilities and each supports the other in fulfilling them.” — Dean Taylor

I circled the word “environment” and wrote in the margins “culture!”

One of my goals as a pastor has been to develop a disciple-making culture in our church. What does it mean to develop a culture? It means to create an environment conductive to growth where every one of us understands our roles and responsibilities and we each support each other in fulfilling them.

In terms of church growth Paul uses one word to tell us how pastors contribute to a growing body. What is that word? “Equipping”

B. Its Meaning

BDAG- extra biblical literature, uses this word for “setting a bone” or “preparing someone or something” or “restoration”

Louw-Nida- to make someone completely adequate or sufficient for something—‘to make adequate, to furnish completely, to cause to be fully qualified, adequacy.’ ‘in order to make God’s people fully qualified for (this) work of service’

NIDNTTE- in Eph 4:12 it is used in a broad sense to describe the “equipping” (training? perfecting?) of God’s people for service.

Dean Taylor- Three pictures:

1). Resetting a broken bone. The picture is of a skilled doctor resetting the broken bone back into place and thus restoring usefulness. God uses pastors to equip people to restore them so that they are fully usable for the work of ministry.

2). Use of a ship that is worn and damaged by the sea. To equip this ship would be to repair the ship to a usable sea worthy state. Pastors equip saints by helping them in the process of sanctification to in a sense be repaired from the damages of sin and the fall back to a usable state so they can do the work of ministry.

3). Used in the book of Matthew for repairing nets.

Matthew 4:21 (ESV)

21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.

The word mending is the same word equipping in Ephesians. Pastors help mend and restore people so they can be usable for work.

“Equip- to restore to a right condition so you can fulfill your purpose.” —Dean Taylor

In the present context the equipping ministry of the pastor is accomplish by means of the ministry of the Word.

And he gave …

— the shepherd/teachers

— to equip the saints

— for the work of ministry

— for the building up of the body of Christ

With the primary emphasis on the teaching ministry of the pastor perhaps we could thinking about equipping this way,

Equip: to train or prepare believers so they can fulfill their purpose.

Do you think about the pastor’s role in church growth this way? The most effective thing I can do to cause our church to grow is to spend the majority of my time laboring in the Word for the purpose of training or preparing you to fulfill your God given purpose in the church. Surely I could grow the church more by knowing on every door in the town twice a year. Surely I could grow the church more by becoming an famous internet preacher/personality.

Not according to the Scriptures. God’s method for church growth is pastors who labor in the ministry of the Word in order to train and prepare you the saints to do the work of ministry. Do you believe that? Do you believe that God’s method of church growth can work?

Illustration: “Pastors only work one day a week.” Most of my time is spent in my study laboring in the Word and in prayer. Why? Because that is my job description. That is why we pastors, have provided for you the saints, tools like Foundations. Why we encourage you to study the bible with another mature believer in the church. It is part of equipping you to do the work of ministry. MTP classes, Back to Basic classes. All of these things are overseen and led by the pastors to equip you the saints so you can fulfill your God given purpose in the church.

What is the third source of church growth in our passage?

Source #3:

III. The Saint’s Willing Participation in Growth

Here is God’s third source that describes his model for church growth. It involves every one of you the saints.

Ephesians 4:12 ESV

12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

This source of church growth involves the willing participation by every saint in the church to help the body grow.

A. Passive Participation

What do I mean by passive participation? What is the first step that is necessary before you the saints can do the work of ministry?

Ephesians 4:12 ESV

12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

Before you can do the work of ministry, firstly, you need to be equipped. The pastor/teacher is the one who does the equipping.

What does it mean to equip again? To train or prepare believers so they can fulfill their purpose.

What is the primary means by which the pastor equips the saints? The Word of God.

So, what is your job as the saints in terms of passive participation? You need to allow your pastor to equip you. How can you do that?

How can you allow your pastor(s) to train or prepare you so you can fulfill your purpose?

1). You must put yourself in the place where you can be ministered to. How do you do that? As often as possible you need to come to church and put yourself underneath the public preaching and teaching ministry of your pastor.

Do you come to Sunday worship? Do you come to Sunday morning bible study? Do you come to Wednesday evening service?

Do you put yourself under the ministry of the Word? Do you let your pastor equip you?

2). Not just the public ministry of the Word, but the private ministry of the Word as well. What does that include?

Biblical counseling

Disciple-making- even if it is not your pastor discipling you. The ministry of disciple-making is overseen and championed by your pastor. Are you being discipled by someone in the church. This is one very important way you allow your pastor to train or prepare you to fulfill your purpose.

My prayer is that every single member and regular attender be discipled by another individual in our church. Disciple-making is perhaps one of the most important ways you can be trained and prepared to fulfill your purpose in the church.

Are you allowing your pastor to equip you?

B. Active Participation

Ephesians doesn’t simply refer to passive participation. It primarily speaks of active participation.

Ephesians 4:12 ESV

12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

Big obvious question- what is the work of ministry?

Have you ever used this conversation starter with someone, “What kind of work do you do?” What do we mean? “What’s your occupation?”

When we ask this question in relation to people’s jobs they fully understand. Oh, I’m a teacher, or a baker, or a farmer.

But, what happens when we ask this same question to believers in a local church context?

“What kind of work do you do in the church? What do you do? What is your occupation in the church?”

Unless you are the pastor or you are on staff most people don’t know how to answer that question. Most of us think, “I don’t have a job at my church.”

But, according to our text every single Christ should have a job in their church.

You are equipped for what purpose? To do the work of ministry. What is that?

The idea of ministry in the NT means serving the Lord by serving one another. This word is infused with the idea of activity. It is never activity that is self-serving or self-edifying. Rather, Christ gifts everyone in the church for the purpose of serving one another.

Your job in the church is to serve others.

What is the ultimate goal of this service? Why do we serve?

Our service is for the final goal of building up the entire body of Christ.

You may not have a title or be on full time staff here at our church, but you have a job and there is work to be done. Your full time job in this church is to serve other so that the body is built up. That is God’s church growth model. Every saint actively participating in serving other so the church is built up- so the church can grow.

There are many ways you can serve in this church- from mowing the lawn to teaching junior church. Ministering in music or public prayer. There are many areas of service that are required to help the church grow. The primary ministry we all have is to make disciples of all nations. To help other people become like Jesus.

There is always work to do! How should you respond? - Do you view this work as a privilege? - Are you willing to accept this responsibility? - Are you ready to find a place and serve?

This is God’s method of church growth! It has three sources:

1). Christ’s gracious gifts to the church

2). The pastor properly contributing to growing the church

3). The saints actively participating in the growth of the church

We don’t get to reinvent the wheel. God is the one who determines how things are done in the church. God tells us the proper way to promote growth.

How will you respond?