...By Ministering to His Church
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Missions Statement Message # 4
Big Idea — god gifts his church with leaders to equip the saints for the work of ministry so that the church body would grow toward maturity.
Read Eph 4:1-16.
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says,
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”
(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 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.
The Purpose for our existence at gcmb
Throughout Scripture the fundamental purpose of the church is the Glory of God. All of creation was created for God and His glory. Isaiah confirms this, Isaiah 43:7 - 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”The apostle John in Revelation re-affirms this truth, Revelation 4:11 - 11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”Peter in his letter to a group of early Christians encouraged them to use their gifts appropriately 'so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever' (1 Peter 4:11 - 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.Three times in the opening verses of the first chapter of Ephesians Paul cites that our glorious salvation is designed “to the praise of His glory” (Eph 1:6,12,14). We know that all of God’s creation was brought into existence to bring God glory. The question is, does that include the church as well? Absolutely! In fact, I would go so far and say that the church is the primary way God desires to showcase His own glory. That is a big statement. Do you have a Biblical backing? Ephesians 3:21 - 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.In Eph. 3:21 Paul make this huge statement that God WILL BE gloried in the church. In the gospels we see God glorifying Himself through His Son. Post resurrection we begin to see how exactly the Son will be glorified. And Paul tells us here, that He will be glorified in the church. Dr. Saucy in his excellent article “What is the Mission of the Church” said: “The Glory of God is nothing less than the nature of God revealed in His creation and actions. To speak of God’s will for the Church, then, as His Glory, is simply to say that God intends to display Himself in and through His church.” - Robert SaucyIn other words God has determined to tell the world how great He is and the message should be seen, heard and felt from the church. It is the church that displays the glory of God. The Apostle Peter tells us very clearly why we existence is…1 Peter 2:9 - 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
Summary Statement - So the purpose for existence at GCMB is to bring glory to God. How do we do that? We magnify the Lord Jesus Christ…and we minister to His church. But what exactly does that look like? Let's look at our text together. Our focus will be 11-13.
Outline
I. God’s Gifts
II. God’s Game Plan
III. God’s Goal
I. GOD’S GIFTS
Ephesians 4:11 - 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
v. 11 begins with “And he gave.” These are people who have been given gifts to serve the church. Gift people, given to the church. v. 11 is not talking about all Christian. There is a list of 5 specific roles or offices. Each gifted to be a blessing to the church. There are many more gifts. You can find those list of gift in 1 Cor. 12 and Rom. 12. Those lists are also not exhaustive. But these here are for specific people and they are gifted by God for a specific purpose. Let's look the 5 gifted roles:Apostles - Prophets - Evangelists - Pastors - TeachersI’m going to show you why pastors & teachers are in one group in just a bit but lets first look at the first 3 officesApostles Apostle simply means, “sent-out one”. If we are talking apostle then all of us would qualify since we have all been sent out to be witnesses for Christ. However, here Paul is talking about the Apostles that were appointed by Christ. What distinguished someone as an Apostle? They had to…Be appointed by Christ, the twelve along with the apostle Paul and some also include James, the Lord’s brother based on Gal. 1:19.Be commissioned directly by Jesus (Mark 3:13-14; Gal. 2:7-8). See the risen Christ (Acts 1:21-22; 1 Cor. 9:1; 15:7-9) Possess the ability to perform miracles as an authentication of their Apostleship (2 Cor. 12:12). Some of them penned inspired and authoritative writings which constitute the majority of the New Testament epistles (2 Pet. 3:15-16).Exercise authority in the church and build it up (Eph. 2:20; 2 Cor. 10:8).The church was built on the foundation of the Apostles. Ephesians 2:20 - 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,Because their role and qualifications were unique, when they died, there were no legitimate successors. I don’t believe that there are current or modern day Apostles with a big ‘A’. The Bible is clear that we are all apostles but not in the NT sense of Apostles with a capital A.
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
Prophets — The text also says that He gave prophets to the church to equip the church. The prophets were men who received direct revelation from God. Like the Apostles, the NT prophets helped lay a foundation but I don’t think there are Prophets today. Certainly not in the sense that people receive new and authoritative revelation. The prophets were needed in NT times because they did not have the completed canon of Scripture. Imagine what it would be like if we didn’t have the the Gospels and the rest of the NT epistles. Well, the early church didn’t have the completed canon. The bulk of the NT was not available to many of the early Christians. So the prophets were given to the NT church because they were needed.
The Evangelists — seem to have been a distinct group. Philip is referred to as an evangelist (Act 21:8) and Timothy is instructed by Paul to do the work of an evangelist (2 Tim. 4:5). Their role is a bit different. The apostles and prophets gave us the Word of God by direct revelation. The evangelists proclaim the Word at it relates to people’s need for salvation. They were good news proclaimers.
Pastors/teachers to the church. When Paul refers to pastors and teachers he is referring to the same person. He is describing the two main functions of this person.It is significant to notice that the word “some” is not found before the word teacher. It says he gave ‘some’ as apostles, ‘some’ as prophets, ‘some’ as evangelists and ‘some’ as pastors AND teachers…it doesn’t say ‘some’ as pastors ‘some’ as teachers. The Greek is clear that they are one in the same. Different functions but the same person. The words pastor, elder, and overseer (= bishop) are used interchangeably (Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Tim. 3:1; Titus 1:5, 7; 1 Pet. 5:1-3). Elder points to the fact that church leaders must be mature men of God. Overseer looks at the main task, that of managing, leading (Heb. 13:7, 17), or giving oversight to the church. Pastor looks at the task from the analogy of a shepherd and his flock.Pastor = Shepherd This is the only place in the NT where the noun is used to refer to a ministry in the church. Usually we see the verb form of the word. Because the responsibility of the pastor is to be a shepherd his people This was Jesus’ instructions to Peter “feed my lambs”, “tend my sheep”, “feed my sheep.” Jesus wanted Peter to pastor His people. 1 Peter 5:2 - 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;Acts 20:28 - 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.The pastor is supposed to smell like sheep. The pastor is also to be a teacher He must feed the flock of God with God’s word. He must also teach against and refute false doctrine as he protects the sheep from wolves. Acts 20:17-30 - one of Paul’s primary functions was to teach them from house to house and the text there says that he did not shrink from teaching the whole console of God.
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.
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;
Summary Statement — So God’s gift to the church is gifted leaders. Leaders who shepherd and care for the flock. But there is something missing from v. 11. It doesn’t tell us WHY pastors should pastor and WHY teachers should teach. It doesn’t lay out the objective for why the work must be done.
The beginning of v. 12 tells us the WHY. It lays out the objective leaders in the church should have in mind. What is that objective? The objective for my role MUST BE to equip the saints. The pastor should measure everything he does in terms of whether or not it will equip the saints. This is why God gave P/T to the saints.
II. GOD’S GAME PLAN
Ephesians 4:12 - 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
How do the saints minister to Christ’s church? Well, the comforting thing is that we don’t have to try and figure it out on our own. We don’t have to create a plan. The plan has already been laid out for us. The instruction manual has been given to us by the Lord. The playbook and blueprints for success are right here in the Scripture. The primary objective of church leadership is found in this text. Our primary objective is NOT…To grow the church in numbers or build new facilities. To create fun activities for everyone or entertain you or make you feel good about yourselves. To make you feel comfortable. To fill your heads with Bible facts so that you can excel at Bible jeopardy or get a ‘A’ on a theology exam. It's not even to just preach the word or excel in missions and evangelism. The primary objective of the pastor/teacher according to Paul in this text is to equip the saints.
The word translated “equip” (καταρτισμός) is frequently used in the NT. Its one of those Greek words who’s meaning is hard to capture in just one English word. That is why you’ll see it translated a number of different ways in the NT. We can gain a better understanding of what Paul is getting at by looking at the various ways the verb is translated. Hebrews 11:3 - 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created (made) by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. (prepare the saints…they are not ready to do something so PT must prepare them). 1 Thessalonians 3:10 - 10 as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith? —There is something lacking in the saints. PT are responsible to complete what is lacking so that the saints can do whatever God is calling them to do. Luke 6:40 - 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.Our responsibility as pastors is to train the saints. If we fail to train the saints we fail to prepared them for fruitful ministry. Illustration - Jonas & training camps — training camps are meant to prepare the team/military for the season. Training camps are extremely intentional, focused, intense because the more you are prepared during training camp the better you will be prepared in the game or in battle. Training camps include hands on instructions from coaches, correction, repetition, practice, doing something under supervision, it involves a lot of coaching. Many teams going into training camps might be very talented; with lots of potential but often what is lacking is the know how. The skills. What is needed is training. You just can’t bypass training camp and expect to know what you are doing when you get out on the field or out on the court or even more important out on the battle field. In the same way, if you are NOT being trained up and equipped you will fail. The same word is found in Gal. 6:1 and translated differently. Paul says there Galatians 6:1 - 1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.Here we learn that something is broken and needs to be fixed. This word was often used for the work of a physician. Dr. have to reset broken bones. Illustration - I remember I had a teammate in college that dislocated his shoulder. He is in an extreme amount of pain. The physical trainer said I have to reset it. He didn’t want to. He thought he’d be able to play through the pain. But he could even lift up his arm. He wasn’t going to do the team any good going back into the game with a non-functioning arm. So the physical trainer reset it and he got right back out onto the floor.This is the job of P/T. He must restore what is out of place and broken.Mark 1:19 - 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets.Same word here. P/T are called upon to mend the holes in the net of the saints so they might fulfill the purpose for which God created them and redeemed them. How are they be effective fishermen if their nets are tangled , disjointed broken?P/T are the ones God calls upon to do the mending. So P/T are to equip but just so we don’t miss this I want to share 2 Tim. 3:16. We see the same word there as well. 2 Timothy 3:16–17 - 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.The word here means THOROUGHLY equipped. It doesn’t just mean equipped. P/t are to thoroughly equip the saints.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets.
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.
as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?
By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
The big question regarding this verse is not whether or not pastors/teachers equip. They do that. The question is, Are church leaders tasked with equipping the saints to do the work of the ministry or are they tasked with (1) equipping the saints, (2) doing the work of ministry AND (3) building up the body? Do you see the interpretation issues here? Is it 1 primary responsibility or is it 3 primary responsibilities? Paul uses 3 prepositional phrases in explaining why Christ gave leaders to the church: The question is how do these prepositional phrases relate to one another? Depending on what translation you read, you might come to a different conclusion. ESV — Ephesians 4:12 - 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,KJV — Ephesians 4:12 - 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of ChristThe KJV favors the interpretation that church leaders are the ones that DO the work of ministry RATHER than quip the saints to do the work of ministry.Why does it matter? If you take the view that the p/t are the ones that do all 3, equip, do the work and build up the body you make what I think is an unhealthy clerical/laity distinction. Ministry and body building becomes a professional endeavor rather than an every member endeavor.I believe the ESV and just about every other translation has interpreted this verse correctly. Let me give you 5 reasons why Paul is describing an every member ministry.Paul isn’t saying the church leaders are the only ones who are responsible to do all these things because there is no comma after the word saints. This is one sentence without any punctuation marks.The preposition after saints is different from the one he uses prior to the word equip. He gave church leaders to the saints so that the church leaders would equip the saints FOR the work of ministry, FOR the building up the body of Jesus Christ. He doesn’t say He gave gifted men to the church to do the work of the ministry AND to build up. If he wanted to do that he would have used ‘and’ (και) but instead he uses ‘for’ (εισ)to [προς] equip the the saintsfor [εις] the work of ministry for [εις] building up the body of ChristPaul is not giving a 3 pronged job description because in the original there is no article prior to the word ministry. This word ministry appears frequently in the NT. It simply means service of any kind. So who is supposed to do the ministry? Is it only the pastors?Acts 6:1–2 - 1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.1 Corinthians 16:15 - 15 Now I urge you, brothers—you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints—2 Corinthians 8:4 - 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—the relief of the saints was referring to the ministry of giving money so that people had sufficient means to live. When you see the the word ministry it can sometimes has a specific kind of ministry in mind. You know it is special because it has an article in front of it. It is THE ministry.It is used that way in Acts 6:4 - 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” It is used that way in Acts 20:24 - 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. In each of the cases where it is a distinct ministry of the word there is an article THE found there. You say, “so what?”. Here in Eph. 4:12 there is NO ARTICLE. Which means that Paul is not referring to a special work kind of ministry. He is referring to any kind of ministry. Ministry is not reserved for the ministers. Every single Christian is called to be a minister. Maybe not a minister of the word in a formal sense of preaching and teaching in the local gathering.We know Paul is not restricting ministry to church leaders because of what he has already written. In Ephesians 3:7 - Paul says 7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. But Paul’s gifting and calling was for a specific preaching teaching ministry. Contrast with Ephesians 4:7 - 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. In verse 12 there is an illustration of these gifts that were given but the passage begins and drives home the fact that EVERY believer has been given a gift to serve the church. The people of God are a gift to the people of God for the building up of the body. The fifth reason why I don’t think Paul is saying that the P/T is responsible for doing the work of ministry and building up the body of Christ is because what he writes in Ephesians 4:16 - 16 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 uses the illustration of the human body. It grows and works and is built up as every part of the body does its part. We know that Christ ultimately grows the body but this passage is very clear: In order for the body to work properly every member of the body needs to be fitted and held together.
to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
Summary Statement - So God gifts the church with gifted men whose primary responsibility is to equip the saints. Now we want to ask the big question…WHY? Why does God give gifted men to the church to equip the saints for the work of ministry? The answer is right here in v. 13.
III. GOD’S GOAL
Ephesians 4:13–16 - 13 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, 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. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 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.
You can argue that all of Ephesians aims at this right here. Everything God does is for His glory. He predestined us to the praise of His glorious grace (ch. 1) We are redeemed…we are made alive…we have been adopted and brought near…both Jews and Gentiles share in this inheritance….and God has established HIs church and gifts His church and promises to finish building His church all to the praise of His glorious grace. When you open up the OT and see all these details of God giving gifted men to build the tabernacle and then giving gifted men to build the temple, do you understand that they are all pictures. Do you understand that God being the Creator, Builder and Architect always had something much greater than a building in mind to show off His glory. God desires for the church, the people of God purchased for a purpose to show off His glory. How are we going to do that. We have keep our eyes on Christ and as we do that we become more like Him. I want you to notice that there are three phrases in 4:13, that tell us exactly what our ultimate goal is. Each phrase begins with the word to. Phrase # 1 — until we all attain “to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God,” Phrase # 2 — Attain “to a mature man,” Phrase # 3 — Attain “to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ,”The word attain is used nine times in the Book of Acts to refer to travelers arriving at their destination. Each of these phrases involves a process that results in a goal.The first goal is that the body will attain to the UNITY OF THE FAITH AND OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SON OF GOD In Ephesians 4:3 - 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.We have already been united by the Spirit when we were converted. So what does Paul mean here that our goal should be unity of the faith? The faith (as in 4:5) refers to the essential truths of the Christian faith, centered on the gospel. So Paul is referring here to doctrinal unity that comes about through the teaching of the Word (4:11). The more that you understand of God’s Word, the closer will be your experience of unity with others that know the Word well. At the heart of that unity is a common knowledge of and love for Jesus Christ.Paul links the unity of the faith with the knowledge of the Son of God. Paul rarely uses the title, Son of God (see, Rom. 1:4; Gal. 2:2; 1 Thess. 1:10). It emphasizes the deity of Christ. This knowledge Paul has in mind here is not just some academic ability to recite various doctrines about Christ. Paul is talking about a deep, personal, intimate knowledge of the the Son of God. As we come to know Christ more deeply, we will experience a closer unity in Christ and with His people. The second goal is that the body will grow into a MATURE MANPaul uses the singular word for a full-grown male. This contrasts with the picture in the next verse (4:14) Paul says the church is supposed to be moving toward maturity. Not a baby. Not a child that is tossed about by every wave and wind of doctrine.I love that my kids are still young and small. Especially our 3 year old Judah. But I want him to grow into a man!In the same way that we are to grow and mature physically, we are to grow and mature spiritually. But I also want you to notice that this isn’t an individualist type of growth. By using the singular ‘man’ Paul is not just referring to our individual maturity in Christ. He is talking about our corporate maturity as a church. We are to mature together as one body of believers. This is what I think Paul means when he says in Colossians 1:28 - 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.Colossians 2:6–7 - 6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.Every week we should be maturing, growing in our love, our knowledge, our service to one another. When people outside the church see us in action they should see more of Christ. The third goal is that the body will grow into a MEASURE OF THE STATURE OF THE FULLNESS OF CHRIST.What does this mean? In a word this is Christlikeness.It is conformity to the image of Christ.Romans 8:29 - 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.Howard Hendricks once said that “The Bible was not written to satisfy your curiosity, but to make you conform to Christ’s image. Not to make you a smarter sinner, but to make you like the Saviour. Not to fill your head with a collection of biblical facts, but to transform your life.”The Body of Christ is to radiate the beauty of Christ to a spiritually dead world by walking in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called.
Application QuestionWhom/where do you have a passion to serve?What do you have a burden to do?What needs do you see in the church?Children’s jr high, high school, college, media, music, events, facilities, prison ministry, senior assistant ministry, we need an admin assistant. What do you find joy in doing for others?What opportunities has God already provided for you to serve others?What things are you best at and have the most success in?What have godly people commended you for doing?What acts of service have given you the deepest sense of satisfaction and joy?
Conclusion
Christ gave the church pastors.
Why?
So the pastors might equip the saints.
Why?
So the saints will do the work of the ministry.
Why?
So the body will grow.