Are You Ready?
January 29, 2023

Are You Ready.jpg

January 29, 2023
Dave Stephens


What is the church supposed to be? What am I supposed to be? What’s the purpose?


Ephesians 4:11-13
11 “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 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.”


(11) The Offices of Spiritual Leadership in the Church

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.

    He Himself: This means that established the offices of ministry.
    They are the work and appointment of Jesus, not men.

    • Apostles are special of God’s work…a person who has the special task of founding and establishing churches while proclaiming God’s message.

    • Prophets speak words from God in complete with the foundation of . Sometimes they speak in a predictive sense, but not necessarily so, and they are always subject to the discernment and judgment of the church leadership (1 Corinthians 14:29).

    • Evangelists are specifically gifted to preach the of salvation in Jesus Christ.

    • Pastors and teachers the flock of God primarily through teaching the . Teaching is an essential part of the pastoral ministry.

These gifts are given at the of working through the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:11).

The importance of having “all in operation” in any church body is up to Jesus, who appoints the offices. The job of responsible church leadership is not to hinder or prevent such ministry but never to “promote a gift into existence.”



(12) The Purpose of Church Leadership

The purpose of leadership gifts is to

people for ministry. …so that the body of Christ would be built up (expanded and strengthened).

The word for “equipping” has the idea of “to put right.” This Greek word was used to describe setting broken bones or mending nets.

The primary purpose of the Church isn’t to convert sinners to Christianity but to help people for the ministry and edification of the Body.



(13-16) The Combination Goal of God’s Work Through Church Leadership and Equipped Saints

When we work together, this is the product: UNITY of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God.

    (13) “Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

This is the first goal of God’s work through the gifted offices and equipped saints.

“And of the knowledge of the Son of God”: When the gifted offices work right, and the saints are properly equipped, Christian maturity increases, and there is greater intimacy in the experience of God.

    (14) “That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting…”

As years pass by, we should not only grow old in Jesus but more mature in Him as well, as both individuals and as a corporate body.

We should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine.
Paul is Saying: The gifted offices and equipped saints result in , being firmly planted on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. (Ephesians 2:20)

Those who do not in this way are targets of , who are effective precisely because they operate with trickery and cunning craftiness – and they lie in wait to deceive.

“By the trickery of men”: The words… refer to the arts used by gamesters, who employ false dice that will always throw up one kind of number, so those who play with them cannot win.



    (15) “…but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head; Christ; from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”

Another way maturity is described is as the growing up into Jesus, who is the head. Again, this defines the direction of maturity.

Some people think of the church as a pyramid, with the pastor at the top.
Others think of the church as a bus driven by the pastor, who takes his passengers where they should go.

God wants us to see that the church is a , where every part does its share.


It’s Your Turn!