Ephesians 4:11-13

Introduction

Attention:

Go ahead and open up your Bible to Ephesians 4, which is where we’re gonna camp out this morning

I am super thankful to have the opportunity to share God’s word with you this morning while Pastor Jon takes a much needed break

But you know what I’m not super thankful for? Those moments where I didn’t do the thing that I was supposed to do

Raise your hand if you have ever had a moment where you didn’t do what you were supposed to do

Recently for me, this has been checking the mail

Samie and I made this agreement where now, I’m supposed to check the mail every day on my lunch break

But you know what keeps happening? Samie’s like, “did you get the mail?”

And I’m like, “nope. I didn’t do the one, simple thing that you asked me to do. I had one job, and I didn’t do the one job that I had to do.”

That’s why God has given us the ability to put reminder on our phone; that’s my way of escape

Every believer has a job. When you truthfully accept Jesus into your life, you are given a set of marching orders

And what is that? Fulfilling the Great Commission through the work of ministry

Every believer is a minister! A lot of times, we think of ministry as being the pastor’s job, or the job of the church staff, but the role of every believer is to be intimately and passionately involved with ministry in the local church

That’s why, this morning, we are looking at Ephesians 4:11-13, where we will that ministry is for all believers.

Need:

As 2021 closes and we enter into the new year, this is something that every person in here needs to hear

God has HUGE plans for Enon Baptist Church in 2022, and in order for that to happen, lots of people have to be involved

When it comes to serving the local church, I believe that every person in here fits into one of three categories

First, maybe you’ve never gotten involved with serving at Enon Baptist Church before

Maybe this is because you’re newer, or you’ve been here for awhile but you’ve just never really got involved aside from showing up on Sunday and coming to a Wednesday every now and then

If this is you, you need to hear this message this morning because you need to get involved in ministry at Enon Baptist Church! We have plenty of different ways to get involved here, and this morning, God is calling you towards that

Second, maybe you used to serve, but you’ve been burnt out

This church has been through a lot of transition over the past several years, which a lot of times can contribute towards members burning out

If that’s you, you need to hear this because you need to be reminded of the importance of continuing to stay involved. Church’s experiencing transition need more help than ever, and while it is completely understandable that you may be dealing with some burnout, God’s plan for the church has not changed, and it still involves you!

And third, maybe you’re in here and right now, you are heavily involved in church ministry (as I know that many of you are)

How does a sermon about the necessity of serving in the church apply to someone that’s already involved?

The reason that you need to hear this message if you’re already serving is because you need to avoid burnout, and one of the main ways that you can do this is returning to what Scripture has to say about the importance of ministry

Its easy to get so carried away doing the work of ministry that, somewhere along the way you forget what its all about, which can contribute to future burnout (I’ve been there before)

You need to hear this so that you can be refreshed in your church ministry!

Here’s what everything that I just said means; everybody in here needs to hear today’s message

So get your Bible ready along with your sermon handout and a pen, and let’s see what God’s got for us today!

Body

Main Point: Ministry is for all believers

Why is ministry for all believers?

Answer #1: Every believer can be equipped (4:11-12a)

Ephesians 4:11–12a (NLT)

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work...

Explanation:

Paul wrote Ephesians between the years of 60-62 AD, while he was imprisoned in Rome

Unlike other letters that Paul wrote, there is no immediate concern at the church of Ephesus that he is dealing with

Most agree, however, that there is in fact the dominant theme of unity throughout the work

So when we are talking about ministry being for all believers, ,and even more specifically about believers being “equipped” for ministry, it is important for us to remember that Paul has the ultimate goal of church unity in mind when he is writing about this stuff

This is immediately evident in verse 11, where we see that “Christ gave”

Thank Jesus for His gifts! This actually points us back to verse 7, where it says that “he has given each one of us a special gift”

What gift are we talking about in verse 11? People!

What type of people? Leaders.

I could spend some time going over each of these types of individuals and what makes them distinct, but that is outside the purpose of our message today

What’s relevant for us to see is that all of these individuals are leaders, and the type of leader in this list that the church has today is the pastor

So, Christ gives the pastor as a gift to the saints

But… why? With what intent? Why do we need pastors in our lives?

This is where verse 12 comes in; they were given to equip God’s people.

The Greek word here is katartismós

This is actually the only time that this exact word occurs in the NT, but around this time it was used to describe furnishing a room or preparing a garment.

Related words are used to describe things like mending fishing nets

And the word also carries with it the idea of “training” or “preparing”

And what is it that this shows us? The goal of the pastor is to equip the saints in a way that they are completely prepared for ministry

The beautiful thing about being a believer is that, through God’s grace, you can be equipped! Like a fishing net can be mended and prepared to do a good job at catching fish, you can receive the equipping or the preparing that you need in order to not just minister, but to minister well

Believers have the work of ministry to do, and they need to be equipped (or prepared) for it, which is where the work of the pastor comes in!

This is different than the way that many individuals in the church have viewed ministry over the years; there sometimes exists the idea that the work of ministry is for the pastor and the pastor alone

This created a church/laity divide, which we definitely could see at work in catholicism back in the day, which ultimately led to the Reformation.

But this passage corrects that thinking; it isn’t the job of the pastor to do all of the work of the ministry, but rather to equip others to do it

This is the very reason that the pastor exists in the first place; so that ALL the people of God will be equipped for the work of ministry.

Illustration:

Have you ever had something that you needed to get done, but you lacked the proper tools that you needed?

Earlier this year, we were commissioned to make a boat out of cardboard for VBS

And we put the cardboard together, and it looked like this!

But if you’re making a cardboard boat for VBS, you know that you have to spray paint it, because “realism”

And we bought at least two cans of spray paint, thinking that this would be plenty

But it wasn’t even close! So Samie went out to get more, and then, finally, we had enough to get the job done, and it ended up looking like this!

If you are a follower of Christ and you are actively attending a church, God is equipping you for the work of ministry! He is supplying you with everything that you need in order to successfully bless others, meet their needs, and point them to Christ

Application:

If you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, God has called you to do ministry. Period.

And he has given you the resources that you need in order to be equipped to do it well

Are you taking advantage of these resources? Are you viewing each Sunday morning as a means to grow and to ministry, or just as something that you do on a weekly basis?

What can you do to take advantage of all of the resources that God has blessed you with to be equipped for ministry?

Answer #2: Every believer can build the body (4:12b)

Ephesians 4:12b (NLT)

... and build up the church, the body of Christ.

Explanation:

Here, we see the natural outflow of believers being equipped for ministry: the body of Christ is built up!

Every part of the body is necessary for the body to be built up for ministry

Here is the way that one commentator put it: “What is done for the saints, and by the saints, is for building up the body of Christ.”

So when you are doing the work of ministry, something is happening! Something incredible is being built

The body metaphor in itself reminds us of this as well. Check this passage out:

1 Corinthians 12:14–18 NLT

Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it.

The pastor is just one part of the body

The work can’t get done with just a hand; the work of the entire body is needed

Pastors may be gifted in a special way, but we all have different spiritual gifts to contribute to the body and to help it to grow

And let’s remember; what is it that is building up the body? The equipping of the saints for ministry!

So what we see is that the main way that we build the body of Christ is is through serving and doing the work of ministry

And this truly is an “all hands on deck” situation; all followers of Christ are needed in order for the body to properly grow.

Illustration:

How many of you like working out?

… ask me that one again in like 5 years

I’ve got some dumbbells in my apartment… slightly used… back in college

When you work out, do you just work out one part of the body? Are you just in it for the arms? Well, hopefully not! Have you seen guys who do stuff like that?

I actually thought about finding an image of someone who focused only on their arms and not the rest of their body, but you just had a Christmas. I think that you guys need like at least a week before you’re able to see something weird like that

But here’s my point; in order to effectively work out, you have to balance different muscle groups and different parts of the body

That’s what its like with the church, and its one of the main reasons that the “body of Christ” metaphor is used in the first place.

If you let the pastor do all of the work of the ministry, its like somebody working out nothing except their arms… that’s not very helpful!

But when the whole body is being equipped for ministry, and the whole body of Christ is getting involved with what is happening inside the walls of the church and outside the walls of the church, that’s when great things happen in the name of Jesus.

Application:

What are you doing to build up the body of Christ?

Are you serving at the church anywhere? What ministries are you involved in? What needs are you meeting? (ministry is all about meeting needs)

Make a commitment to get some info about some of the different ministries and the different needs that they have, and then get involved.

Maybe you are serving, but you are heading closer towards burnout. How can you refresh yourself so that you can better serve the body of Christ?

Regardless of which group you fall into, make a commitment to remember that it is a body that you are building, and that’s something to get excited about!

Answer #3: Every believer can reach their destination (4:13)

Ephesians 4:13 (NLT)

This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

Explanation:

Every believer is on a journey; every follower of Christ is headed somewhere

If you are in Christ this morning, you have an intended destination

Paul wanted the church at Ephesus to really get this; he wanted them to see the product of the process of the body being equipped and built up

Specially, this passage shows us three products of the process.

First, we’ve got “unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son.”

Again, unity is huge for Ephesians; that’s what the whole book is about

If they are living under God’s will, believers are moving towards unity of faith

But what exactly is “unity of faith?” We all get what church unity is, but what about unity of faith?

Here’s the way that a commentator puts it: “Unity of the faith comes with the realization that we all have one faith in one person, Jesus Christ.”

Christ is the singular object of our faith, and when we all are collectively joining together towards the object of our faith, guess what happens? Unity.

I don’t know if you know this, but Christians like to get into arguments about silly stuff sometimes, and to allow that to divide them

Christians are united together by the bond of faith. We share our faith in the only name that is above every other name, and that’s something that brings us together like nothing else

And let’s not forget the second half of this one: we not only have unity in our faith, but also in the knowledge of God’s son

We get to learn more stuff about Jesus as we grow in our walk with Him! Isn’t that exciting?

And these two things are linked together: knowledge and faith. As we grow in our faith, we grow in knowledge, which in turn grows us even more in our faith.

And where is all of this coming from? From serving the body of Christ.

As you serve, you get to tangibly experience unity of faith and of knowledge. It is an incredible thing

But that’s all just the first product of the process! The second product of the process is being “mature in the Lord.”

You know what this means? If you’re not serving, you’re not growing in maturity. You’re just kinda stayin’ put.

But when you do serve, you gain the experience and insight that comes along from doing the work of ministry, and that is where true Biblical wisdom is found.

The Greek word for “mature” here comes from “telos,” which means “having reached its end.”

This word is also used to describe a perfect sacrifice, without spot or blemish

So, is this saying that people who serve in ministry become perfect? Not really… but kinda.

Perfect maturity in this life is impossible, but it is something that followers of Christ will obtain in Heaven

We are moving closer and closer towards maturity, towards true perfection, and towards our true telos.

And you know what’s interesting? While the NLT phrases it as “we will be mature in the Lord,” in the Greek it is singular, saying “to a mature person.”

If we’re talking about the different parts of the body, shouldn’t it be plural? Nope. Its singular.

And what does that point us to? Unity. Bam; there it is again

To mature in your faith is to be unified.

And, as one commentator points out, a sign of immaturity is the disunity of the body.

The point? You don’t just have your spiritual life to worry about; we’re in this TOGETHER.

And you shouldn’t just serve because its good for you (which it is), but also because it contributes to unity and thus helps others in the body.

Alright, we’ve just got one more product of the process left!

“Measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.”

You know what this means? Jesus is out ultimate role model; he’s the ultimate example of the maturity and the unity which we strive towards

The point of us serving and meeting needs isn’t to do something “unique” that someone has never done before: the goal is to meet needs in the same way that Jesus did.

You can’t live like Jesus if you’re not actively serving. It is impossible.

You will never meet Christ’s standard if you’re not actively serving.

Of course, its true that none of us truly meet His standard because he’s perfect and we’re not, but if you’re saved, you do have the Holy Spirit living inside of you!

And, again, we aren’t called to measure up to this standard as a singular part of the body; we’re called to meet Christ’s standard together

And we can do that, we truly can, if only we’ll serve Him faithfully.

Illustration:

How many of you have gone out on a road trip recently?

We weren’t able see see family before Christmas, but we’ll be heading out to NC on Friday, and then we’ll stay there until Sunday

I really like road trips, but you know what my favorite part of the trip is? When we get where we’re going

Like, for camp, we drove all of the way to Georiga

And I liked driving to Georgia, but you know what I liked better than driving to Georgia? Making it to Georgia (it took about 9 hours btw)

If you’re a follower of Christ, you are going somewhere; you have an ended destination, an intended telos that you are designed to reach

And what moves you towards that telos is getting involved and serving the local church.

You’ll never get where Christ is wanting you to get in your walk with Him if you’re not serving.

Application:

Do you feel like you are growing in your faith, or do you feel stuck?

God wants you to do ministry so that you can experience unity, maturity, and thus meet Christ’s standard for your life

What can you do to grow in your faith?

For some of you, the application is simple: you need to get involved with the ministry! The whole point of this after all is for you to reach God’s intended destination for your life.

For others, again, maybe you are serving (or you used to serve), but you are feeling burnt out

What can you do to serve in a way that helps you to grow spiritually? Maybe you should switch ministries! Maybe you need to do a better job of spending time with the Lord daily

Regardless of how you do it, the point is the same; the point is for you to serve so that you can grow, so do whatever you need to do to make that happen.

Conclusion

Visualization:

Get involved, stay involved, and allow Christ to fuel your passion for ministry!

Reiteration:

We are going to spend some time being still before the Lord with our heads bowed and our eyes closed

Let’s go ahead and do that now; bow your head and close your eyes

Where is it that this message from God’s word is hitting you today?

Again, just like we talked about at the beginning, I believe that this may be hitting you in one of three ways

Maybe you are in here right now, and if you are being honest, you can say “Michael, I’ve never gotten involved with ministry at Enon Baptist Church, but right now, God is calling me to get involved. I am not going to wait, I am going to do what I need to do to get invovled as soon as possible.”

If that’s you, can you do me a favor and make eye contact with me?

Alright, everyone look up; lots of people just committed to serving our church in 2022; let’s praise God for that

If you just made eye contact with me, don’t leave here today without coming up to me or someone else and asking about how you can get involved here; there are a lot of people who represent a lot of different ministries that would be more than happy to talk to you!

Alright, let’s all bow our heads and close our eyes again

Maybe you are in here right now, and you can say, “Michael, I used to be very involved at this church, but over the years, I experienced some serious burnout, and I’ve been taking a break.”

“But right now, God is refueling my passion for ministry, and I am recommitting to getting involved at this church”

If that’s where you are at right now, can you do me a favor and make eye contact with me?

Alright, everyone look up again; we just had a lot of people recommit to serving this church in 2022 after some burnout

Alright, let’s do this one last time; bow your heads and close your eyes

Maybe you are in here, and you can say “Michael, I am involved with serving right now, but if I am being honest, I have felt myself approaching some burnout recently, and right now, God is refreshing my passion for ministry, and I am going to do what I need to do to stay away from burnout and to stay involved with what God is doing at Enon Bapstist Church.”

If that’s you, go ahead and make eye contact with me

Now everyone look up one last time; we had people who are involved get reignited for God’s mission in 2022, let’s get excited about that!

There is something very beautiful about serving the local body of Christ and about getting involved in what we are doing in this community

Let’s stand tall for Christ in 2022, church! Let’s pray

PRAY