The purpose of the church

Our calling

As Christians, what is our end goal? Why does the church exist?

Ephesians 4:11-16 ESV

Ephesians 4:11–16 ESV

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.

What is the work of the ministry?

Mark 16:15-20 NIV

Mark 16:15–20 NIV

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

Ephesians 4:11–13 NIV

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

These 5 giftings were given to the church for a specific purpose.

Apostles - When we look at the New Testament, the apostles were eye-witnesses of Jesus. They had been called to preach the gospel.

Acts 2:42-47

Acts 2:42–47 NIV

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

They were there to preach sound doctrine. In

Acts 6:2-4

Acts 6:2–4 NIV

So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

In modern times, we don’t have eye-witnesses of Jesus, but the ministry of an apostle like that of a missionary. Sound doctrine is an important part as churches are established.

Prophets - In the Old Testament, the words from the prophet were two-fold

Foretelling - To prophecy future events

Forth-telling - To bring a call to return to the Lord and repent.

I believe that prophets today are still called to bring people back to the Lord. For me, in the past, I would often hear these kinds of messages at camp meetings when the preacher would preach a strong prophetic word to come back to our first love.

The Gift of prophecy

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

1 Corinthians 12:4–11 NIV

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

1 Corinthians 14:1-5

1 Corinthians 14:1–5 NIV

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.

Evangelists - is someone who has been gifted to bring people to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ

Acts 8 - Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip expounded the Scriptures to this official and he came to faith in Jesus. Some plant seeds, others water, and God uses still others to bring in the Harvest.

Pastors - The term pastor refers to a shepherd. This is one who cares for the people within the church that God placed under their care.

A pastor is there to care for the hurting, look for those who have wondered away, and minister to the people.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd

Teachers - are gifted to communicate and teach us what we believe.

2 Timothy 3:16

2 Timothy 3:16 NIV

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

Purpose - For equipping the believers for works of service/work of the ministry

- For building up/ edifying the body of Christ.

Ephesians 4:12–13 NIV

to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Until we come to unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God.

What does verse 13 mean?

You might ask the question, “Can people walk in more than one of these giftings?”