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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.

These four weeks in November we are going through a sermon series that I have titled: Christ Builds His Church. In our first week, we saw how Christ builds the church through us recognizing him as the cornerstone of our faith, that everything in our lives is to be established and measured in accordance to Christ and his Word.

In our second week, we looked at how Christ builds the church through our obedience of proclaiming the gospel, not only to unbelievers, but reminding ourselves of the truth of the gospel. We went over how the good news of Jesus is that we are sinners and our works do nothing to bring us any righteousness. We are in need of the grace of God, and he provides that for us in the works of Jesus Christ and his life, death, and resurrection.

This week, we are looking at how Christ builds his church through members of the church building each other up through love, service, and spiritual gifts leading to maturity and unity in the faith.

There has been a lot of division within churches in America over the last few years, especially since the beginning of Covid. I have seen a lot of anger towards people within the church membership who viewed the pandemic, vaccines, government mandates, how they vote in elections, and the like differently than they did. Not only has it been divisive, it has shown a severe lack of maturity.

Now, before anyone gets too nervous, this is not a political sermon. My job as your pastor is not to be a political commentator, but to teach the Word of God, what it says, what it means, and how we are to apply it. I bring up this example simply due to the fact that it is still very fresh in all of our minds.

In our passage today, Paul tells his Ephesian readers that there is a unity and maturity in Christ that we are to work toward. He also tells us how we are to work for that unity, and what some of the roles within the church are to help bring about a healthy, unified, and mature church.

Big Idea: The church is called to be unified in Christ

Ephesians 4:11

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

God has given gifts and roles to people within the church. The roles that Paul lists here are leadership roles within the body of Christ. There are some who say that all five of these roles should be active in our churches today. They call it the five-fold ministry of the church. This term can give people the idea that these are the only ministry positions that matter. This is FALSE! Paul lists many more spiritual gifts in both Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 and we will get to those later.

I do want to take a moment to describe these roles that Paul mentions here in our passage from Ephesians though. We need to have an understanding of what these roles or “offices”, as they have often been called, entail according to Scripture and not according the thoughts of men.

Apostles - We see the description of apostles in Acts chapter 1 as the eleven living disciples of Jesus are looking to replace Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus. In this passage, Peter is speaking to the group of 120 people that are gathered together in prayer.

Acts 1:21-26

So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 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.” And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Peter outlines the qualifications of who can be an apostle by saying it was to be a man. That man had to have been a follower of Jesus’ ministry from the very beginning - from John baptizing to the day Jesus ascended to heaven. Does anyone today fit that description? No. So there are no apostles today. The only exception to these qualifications was Paul who was called by the risen Christ himself on the road to Damascus to be an apostle to the Gentiles.

Prophets - Prophets in the Scriptures were the ones who spoke the word of God to the people of God while priests were the ones who spoke to God on behalf of the people. The office of the prophet can be a little more of a hot-button issue with people in the church. There have been many people who say that someone prophesied over them and what they said came to pass.

There are a couple of ways to look at how prophets speak. The first one is “foretelling.” This is a prophet saying that something will come to pass in the future. Often, they will finish with the phrase, “Thus saith the Lord.” This is the most popular type of prophesy.

In 2020, we saw “prophets” claim that God told them that Trump was going to win his re-election campaign in 2020. Others said that 2020 was going to be a year of prosperity, especially for the church. Still others said that in 2020 stadiums were going to be full of people giving praise and glory to God.

Who remembers what happened in 2020? Trump lost the election. Churches were shut down along with most other businesses because churches were not deemed “essential” for the people. When churches refused to close down due to government mandates, some pastors were thrown in jail and ministries were sued by their state governments. We did not see stadiums filled with people praising God. The stadiums were empty even for sports games. No fans allowed. The NBA and NHL playoffs were done in “bubble cities” where all of the players and team personnel were quarantined from anyone outside of the leagues. When a prophet gives a prophesy that is proven false, they are a false prophet and you can ignore them. They are not sent from the Lord.

The other way a prophet speaks, other than foretelling, is “forthtelling”. This is speaking forth the word of God, usually in a warning or exhortation.

Think about how God told Hosea to marry a prostitute. As Hosea deals with the unfaithfulness of his wife, God shows Hosea that this is how God’s people treat the Living God. Jonah is sent to Ninevah to tell the city to repent and turn to God or else God will destroy the city. This “forthtelling” is about 90-95% of the prophesies that we see in Scripture. Yes, we have Daniel and John writing about what is to come in the end times as Christ prepares his return. There are many prophesies about the coming of Jesus, but even those are contained within exhortations to the people of God to turn back to the Lord.

This is how I believe we see prophetic words being brought forth today. When a pastor calls you to “repent of your sin before you make a shipwreck of your life.” If we look at the introduction to Hebrews:

Hebrews 1:1-2

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

It says that God, at one time long ago, spoke through the prophets, but now he speaks to us through his Son.

I do not limit God and say that he cannot speak through someone like he did through the Old Testament prophets, I am saying that is not the way we see God normally work in our day today.

When prophets were called in Scripture, they were very reluctant to speak for God. They were afraid to deliver the Lord’s message because they knew it would upset the people. Also, the law stated that anyone who prophesied, or “spoke for God” - which is what prophesy is, and what they said did not come about, they were to be stoned to death. The number of people today who gladly, energetically call themselves prophets of God, who say that they speak for the Lord to his people, should immediately tell you that they are probably not actually sent by God.

There is a lot more that I can say about prophets, especially in the church today, but I do not want to get stuck in the weeds and details here and cause us to miss what the Scriptures are trying to tell us through the rest of this passage.

Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers - I put these three together because I see these as the regular way God uses people to train up and instruct his church. Evangelists are those who go out to preach the gospel to the lost and hurting of this world. Missionaries are much like evangelists. Pastors are responsible for leading and shepherding a group of people to follow after the Lord. Teachers are those who help instruct people about God and what his word says. Many aspects of these three can be interchangeable and more than one of these gifts can be seen in a single person.

So what is the purpose of these roles or offices?

Ephesians 4:12-13

…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…

Notice that it does not say that the purpose of these roles in the church is to do the ministry of the church. These roles are meant to equip the saints for the work of ministry. My job as your pastor, along with the elders, is to teach and equip you, guiding you in the truth of God’s word, and encouraging you in your own gifts to use them to serve others and proclaim the good news of Christ.

Ministry does not end with me and the elders. Our job is to help build you up in the faith (pointing to Christ as the cornerstone of our faith) so that you can also go out and do ministry (proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ) in the area that God has sent you to. We are to build you up in the knowledge of God so that you will know how to respond to those who object to you and reject your message and work.

There is to be a unity in our knowledge and faith that holds us together in Christ. There are secondary and tertiary theological ideas and concepts that Sam and Craig and I may not all agree on. If you are married, think of your relationship with your spouse. If not married, think of your relationships with friends. Do you agree with everything they think or say? Probably not. And that is okay because you agree on the most important aspects of your lives and relationships.

The elders and I agree on the primary doctrines of the church like the Trinity, Christ’s death in our place for our sins, the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds when we repent of our sins and give our lives to God, that Jesus Christ is the only path to the father, and so many more! And our desire is to point you, to point each other, and to point this world to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The saying that often gets repeated to show this: “In the essentials, unity. In the non-essentials, charity.” Too often we let non-essentials seem like essentials and it causes division which leads to immaturity.

Verse 13 of Ephesians 4 says that the leaders of the church are to equip the saints for ministry until we have unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, until we reach “mature manhood”. The CSB translates the Greek text here as, “growing into maturity.” Growing up with the NIV, I remember memorizing this verse as, “until we become mature.” The Greek text here is, telios andra, which means a full-grown man.

What should a full-grown man, let me specify, what should a full-grown, Godly man look like in his words and actions? His heart will be one that seeks after God first and not his own desires or relationships. He will love and serve his family in kindness and gentleness while furociously defending them with his life. He will give of himself for the good of others providing for their needs when he can. He will pray with those who are hurting or in need. He will rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. He is not afraid to point those in error back to the truth of who God is, but does so with love, grace, mercy, and kindness. He is not afraid to expose false teachers and those who are trying to deceive the people of God. This is just a small picture of a mature, Godly man. Who does this remind us of? That is right - Jesus Christ. This is what we strive for until we reach “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

Jesus is our standard. We will not reach this standard of maturity in this life. Our fallenness and sinfulness that we repeatedly turn back to will keep us from full maturity until we are with our Lord at the end of the age. Yet, as we wait for his coming, we are to yearn for and strive for this unity, knowledge, and maturity in Christ for as long as there is breath in our lungs and strength in out bodies. The reason we must strive for this is found in verse 14 of our passage.

Ephesians 4:14

… 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.

I love children, but you can see in children a lack of understanding and maturity in how to handle situations all the time. Now, a teenager is going to have more maturity and understanding than a ten year old. A ten year old is going to have more maturity and understanding than an infant. Children in general, if you tell them something in all sincerity, no matter how far-fetched it may seem, no matter how agregious the lie, will believe you.

Unfortunately, we also see this in adults. How many of you have heard the saying, “Repeat a lie long enough and it will be accepted as truth”? This quote has been misappropriated to many different people (much like the St Francis of Assisi quote from last week) but contains a lot of truth in it. Its the only way to explain why there are grown adults today who believe the world is flat and not a spherical shape orbiting around the sun.

False teachers do this with the bible as well. Taking individual verses and phrases from all over the bible that look like they are talking about the same thing and creating doctrines and teachings that actually counter what the bible really says. Sometimes it is really obvious that what they are saying is wrong. For example, the God of the Old Testament was angry and hot-tempered, but in the New Testament Jesus shows God that we are to live our lives with love.

Sometimes these things are subtle. You have to look at the text, then look at the surrounding text to get the context. Then you might have to look at other portions of Scripture to see if they give insight into what a passage was saying. Why dont we look at one of the verses that is most taken out of context in the bible. Paul says in

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

How many athletes have you seen with that passage on their shoes or on their eye black? That verse has nothing to do with athletics, or beating world records, or reaching financial or business goals! Paul is talking about how he can have joy in life whether he is rich or poor, whether he has many resources or none. No matter where God has placed him, or what the physical world looks like around him, God will give him the strength to endure. One of my favorite sayings that I have seen on t-shirts and mugs is this, “I can do all things through a verse taken out of context.” If anyone is looking for what to get me for Christmas, there is a great gift idea for me.

When we are working together in unity, teaching each other the truth of what Scripture says, and growing in our maturity in the faith together, we are less likely to find ourselves believing the enemy’s lies, the deceitfulness of man, and the various winds of doctrine that blow every which direction except to Christ.

Ephesians 4:15-16

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.

Paul shows us here that we are to be compassionate with one another. Like we should with our children, we are to speak the truth to one another in love. Truth spoken harshly is hard to listen to and hard to swallow. Truth spoken in love can still hurt, but the tone and attitude with which the truth is spoken can provide a balm to soothe the pain, much like a gentle hand when cleaning and bandaging a wound.

Not just in truth, but in truth WITH love, we grow together in Christ whom Paul calls the head of the body. Christ is the head, the brain giving instruction to the body, the church. We grow in Christ who makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Again we see here that Christ is the one who does the building of the body. Christ builds his church.

He builds his church through the unity of the body - joined and held together by every joint - when “each part is working properly.” Body parts do not always work properly. We live in a fallen, sinful world in which our bodies take part in the fallenness and decay of the curse of sin. I deal with psoriasis on my skin. My knees hurt from years of playing catcher in baseball as a kid. I wear glasses so I can see without the world being fuzzy.

When a body part or joint is not functioning properly, it can make things difficult for the rest of the body. My knees make it hard for me to get up off the floor when I am wrestling with my kids. If I do not have my glasses on, I cannot safely drive a car.

Each part of the body has a role to fill, a specific place and duty that God has given them. Each member of the church as a whole has gifts and roles that God has given them to help the rest of the body function correctly.

Turn with me to Romans 12. Paul has just finished saying that because of all that God has done for us in Christ, we are to worship him with our lives. Our hearts and minds must be changed from what this world believes to what God teaches us in his Word. Paul then immediately goes to telling his readers how they are to apply this.

Romans 12:3-8

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members,[e] and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads,[f] with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

These are all gifts that God has given to the people in his church to build up the body in love. And this list is not exhaustive. In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul also lists the gifts of miracles, gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and speaking in tongues. There are even more gifts listed all over the bible that God has given to his people. Everyone has a role to play in the body of Christ and no role is more important than another. Leaders cannot lead anyone if no one is following them. Followers cannot be led if no one is there to lead.

Everyone in this church has a gift, a talent, or a quality about them that God gave them, specifically for the building up of the church. I want this church to be known as a group of people that uses the gifts and talents that God has given them to love one another and point each other and the world around us to the love, grace, and mercy of Christ.

Next Step: I will use my gifts and talents to help build up the church.

Maybe you are here today and you have never submitted your life to Christ. Perhaps you have had bad family or work experiences that have made it hard for you to think that people can actually work together in a loving way to build each other up. Perhaps you feel lost and alone and you are looking for a place to belong. In Christ you can find belonging. In Christ you can find love, grace, and mercy. In him, you can find peace. As you submit your life to Christ, you join a family that will love you and build you up in the faith, though it will be imperfect, it will still be beautiful.

Next Step: I will submit my life to Christ

Let us pray.

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