Exploring Ephesians #9 - Becoming a Mature Church
Text: Eph. 4:7-16
Thesis: To stress the need for everyone to work together toward the same goal and thereby
become a mature church that can be truly effective for God.
Introduction:
(1) “While Christians stand together on the seven facts of unity just listed, we each take our own individual positions of service” (Boles 271).
(2) A church can only go on to maturity when everyone is working together toward the same goal.
(3) Let us note what Paul has to say about this:
Discussion:
I. We each have various gifts given to us from Christ.
A. “Within the unity of the body each member has a distinctive part to play, a distinctive service to perform, for the effective functioning of the whole” (Bruce 339-40).
B. In verse 7, Paul calls these gifts “grace” (i.e., “a particular enablement given to each believer to empower them for ministry” [Hoehner 522]).
C. In verse 8, Paul quotes Psalm 68:18 as “a comparison passage to show how Christ received the right to bestow those gifts” (MacArthur 137).
1. “When he ascended into the heavenly Zion, the new Jerusalem, he had conquered the forces of Satan. The principalities and powers were disarmed and defeated by Jesus, who led them as his captives in his triumphal parade” (Boles 272).
2. After this, Christ “gave” (Note: variant from the LXX and Hebrew) gifts to men.
D. In verses 9-10, Paul explains part of Psalm 68:18.
1. Christ descended to the ‘lower, earthly regions’ (i.e., “another way of indicating the humiliation of coming to earth” [Hughes 132]).
2. After completing His mission, He ascended back to heaven where he now rules over all the universe.
E. In verse 11, Paul lists some groups of people who had received special gifts.
1. The first group was the apostles.
a. Although, the word ‘apostolos’ simply means ‘one who is sent,’ it is evident in this context that this is a reference to the office of an apostle (cf. Acts 1:21).
b. The apostles had the “signs of an apostles” (cf. 2 Cor. 12:12).
2. The second group was the prophets.
a. Prophets could foretell and/or forth-tell.
b. They were “a mouthpiece or spokesman of God, a vehicle of his direct revelation” (Stott 161).
3. The third group was the evangelists.
a. These were mainly “missionaries and church planters … [who] taught the new believers the Word, built them up, and moved on to new territory” (MacArthur 143).
b. However, we do have records of extended stays (e.g., Timothy, Titus, Paul).
4. The fourth group was the pastor-teacher.
a. “A single definite article in Greek links the two terms as describing a single category of leaders” (Boles 276).
b. The main “emphasis is on the pastor’s ministry of teaching” (MacArthur 145).
II. We must use those various gifts for the edification of the church and the glory of God.
A. The four groups listed in verse 11 were to be involved in teaching and training people for service (Gr. diakonia – waiting tables).
B. With the teaching, training, and serving, the church, in turn, is built up/edified.
C. The miraculous endowments were to continue until the church reached the unity of the faith (i.e., the completed, confirmed revelation from God; compare 1 Cor. 13:10).
D. With a completed revelation and people working together for a common good, the church is able to go on to maturity and be the church that Jesus envisioned.
1. In so doing, the church passes from the infancy stage in which it was being led astray by ‘every wind of teaching.’
2. The church then may boldly proclaim the “truth in love.”
3. The church continues to become more and more like Christ as the years pass.
4. This will only happen so long as each person does his/her part ‘in love.’
Conclusion:
(1) You have a role to play within the church and your role is necessary.
(2) Do your part and do it with the right attitude.
(3) Learn to work together as a team for the common good.