The Work of Ministry (Eph. 4:7-13)

Introduction

· Right now we have the privilege of entering a time of study in God’s Word. Acts 2:42 says when the early church gathered, they “devoted themselves [to four things] to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” We want to do that as we hear God speak through the apostle Paul.

· Last week, we considered the “worthy walk,” and God’s desire for you to walk “worthy of the calling with which you have been called.” How did you do this week? Did you wear the name of Christ well? Did you express humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, and unity? I pray you had some good victories, and that where you fell short, you would experience God’s cleansing today and give it another shot in the week ahead.

· Let’s continue now by reading Eph. 4:7-13

· In this passage, Paul provides us with four features of spiritual gifts: The principle, the provider, the personnel, and the purpose.

The Principle

· The guiding principle. The key thought. It is this: Each believer has a unique spiritual gift endowed by the Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn’t matter if you’re 8 years old, or 80 years old. If you know Christ, you have the Spirit in you, and you have a gift. (read v. 7 again)

· In verses 1-6, the focus was on the unity of the church. The word “one” appeared seven times in vv. 4-6. This unity is bound up in the unity of the godhead itself, with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit working together. Just as they are one, we are to be one. And we were told to be eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Clearly, it is God’s will for this church to be unified. You might come to think that all the parts are identical. But that is not the case.

· In vv. 7-16, the focus is on the diversity of the church. Both are true. The church is a body. Your body has unity – it is one body. It also has diversity – it is made up of many parts. A single body is made up of a wide array of different parts. The same is true in the body of Christ.

· The phrase “each one of us” points to the individuality of the believer. While we are all one body, we are also distinct members. It singles out each person as unique. Just as every snowflake is unique, and no two fingerprints are the same, so all of us have a unique gift. Each believer is endowed by Christ with a spiritual gift. 1 Corinthians 12:7 notes the Holy Spirit is involved in this as well. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

· Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14–15 “…a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.

· You have a custom-made gift. Spiritual gifts are not mass produced. They don’t come off the factory production line. God shapes and fits each gift personally. He considers your background, testimony, your personality, your intellect, your experience, your passions, your strengths, your weaknesses, the needs of the people in your church, and he give you just the right gift that suits you and will meet the needs of others.

· >>And where does this gift come from? It originates from Christ Himself…

The Provider

· In vv. 8-10, Paul goes on an interesting rabbit trail, making a parenthetical. Playing off the idea of Christ as gift-giver, he quotes from Psalm 68:18.

· In this psalm, David pictures God as a king returning from battle. Having vanquished his enemies and rescued those taken hostage, he enters the city in triumphal procession. “Our God is a God of salvation,” Ps. 68:20, “and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death. But God will strike the heads of his enemies…”

· When Messiah sets up his throne, other nations will travel to make peace with him and pay tribute to him. v. 29 says “Because of your temple at Jerusalem kings shall bear gifts to you.” Not only will Messiah, as a good king, receive gifts, but he will also distribute gifts to his people. V. 3 there is gladness. “the righteous shall be glad.” V. 5 offers protection – he is “father of the fatherless and protector of widows.” V. 10 the provider of all needs – “in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.”

· So Paul plays off this idea in Ephesians 4. The Messiah is a giver of good things. The same one who fed the 5,000 and gave sight to the blind, also gives gifts to his church.

· Don’t you love to lavish your children with good things? It’s just fun to spoil them once in a while. Maybe to buy them a donut, or take them out for ice cream, or take them to a movie. You just love to spoil them once in a while, and from what I hear, this urge gets even stronger when you have grandkids!

· Well, Christ, too, is a giver of good things. In triumphant procession, he ascended to a place of honor and gave out gifts. Read v. 9 again.

· There is something further this verse teaches us. Christ cannot go up to that place, unless he first came down from that place. What went up, had to first come down. The sun couldn’t rise this morning unless it first set last night. And if he who belongs in heaven is going up to heaven, it means he must have first come down from heaven. The doctrine of Christ coming down from heaven is called the incarnation. The doctrine of Christ going back up to heaven is called the ascension. It is described for us in Acts 1.

· Acts 1:9–11 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

· But this could not have happened unless Christ first came down to the earth. Philippians 2:6–7 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

· The doctrine of the ascension is dependent on the doctrine of the incarnation. Yet having come down to earth, Christ then returns to heaven to take his rightful place at the right hand of God the Father.

· Philippians 2:9–10 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

· Here in v. 10, Paul says, “he ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.” That is, Christ now takes the place of honor assigned to him by the Father. His sovereignty, his authority, and his glory, pervade all things.

· St. Patrick of Ireland, a Christian missionary who we celebrate this coming Wednesday, wrote a hymn, that captures well the supremacy of Christ in all things: “Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ at my right, Christ at my left, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks to me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.”

· As a church, all that we do should be for the Lord Jesus Christ. -- Christ be in our singing, and Christ be in our serving. Christ be in our preaching, and Christ be in our prayers. All things are done for him, through him, and to him.

· >>This all-encompassing glory of Christ should be seen first in the church, which is given gifts to exercise on his behalf…

The People

· Four different categories of workers here.

· Apostles – lit., “sent ones.” Those who walked with Jesus, bore witness to his resurrection, and were specially appointed to be his witnesses.

· Prophets – those who speak on God’s behalf. Prophecy is more than preaching, it is giving new revelation.

· We already saw in ch. 2 that these two gifts, were foundational and temporary in nature. Ephesians 2:19–20 … you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone. Paul was the last of the apostles, and it appears prophecy ended by the close of the New Testament. Both of these gifts were phased out by the end of the first century because they had served their purpose and accomplished their role.

· Nevertheless, we could say the gifts of apostleship and prophecy still serve the church today. Just as Newton still impacts the scientific community, and DaVinci inspires many artists, so the apostles and prophets have an enduring legacy. Their words, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and their lives, that served and examples, echo down to us today. Though being dead, they still speak (Heb. 11:4).

· A third term – Evangelists. Lit., “gospelizers.” To be a bringer of good news. All of us are called to evangelize, but some have the gift of evangelism. I have a suspicion one or two of you may have that gift. Evangelists are uniquely gifted at teaching and preaching the gospel, and whom the Lord seems to specially bless in fruitfulness. John the Baptist, Apollos, Jonathan Edwards, Billy Graham, and more recently, Todd Friel, come to mind. Have you ever known someone with the gift of evangelism? The gospel seems to just roll off their tongue. Their feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15). If you are gifted in this area, you may have a more dramatic testimony, but that is not a prerequisite. You should know your Bible well. You of course must know the gospel and be able to articulate it clearly, but you must also be willing to call people to respond in repentance and faith. You must be able to confront without becoming antagonistic. You should be able to answer common questions and objections. You may want to know a little bit about cults and false religions, and some arguments and proofs for apologetics. But always remember only God can change the heart. Acts 16:14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.

· Shepherds-teachers – in light of the wording in the Greek, this is likely referring to one office that includes two gifts. “Pastor-teachers.” The Gk. word for pastor is poimen. To pastor, to shepherd. The root meaning is to “protect.” 1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

· If I had to pick a theme verses that serves as a philosophy of ministry, it would be Col. 1:28-29 and Eph. 4:11-12.

· What was the reason Christ gave these people to the church? To equip the saints for the work of the ministry. Gk. καταρτισμὸν. Stems from a word meaning to mend, to repair, to fit and prepare. Mk. 4:21 Mending their nets. Luke 6:40 A disciple … when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. The purpose of evangelists, pastors, and teachers, is not to do all the ministry, but to equip the saints to do the ministry.

· I’m to be like a basketball coach standing next to the court. I help you, push you, guide you, but can’t do it all for you.

· Conversation with Tim Erickson on a work day – “Pastor, what are you doing that you shouldn’t be doing?”

· All of these are speaking gifts. There is a more comprehensive list, with a variety of other gifts listed, in Romans 12:6–8 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

· How can you grow in using your gift? Three steps: seek, serve, and sharpen.

· 1 Peter 4:10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.

· >>What is the great purpose and end of all of this? “the building up of the body of Christ” (v. 12).

The Purpose

· Read verse 13.

· Jesus’ growth. Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. Mental…physical…spiritual…social. This is a great summary of maturity, and describes what we as parents are aiming for in our kids.

· A few marks of maturity in a church: love, walk with God, doctrinal discernment