
January 29, 2023
Dave Stephens
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
- Apostles are special
- Prophets speak words from God in complete
- Evangelists are specifically gifted to preach the
- Pastors and teachers
They are the work and appointment of Jesus, not men.
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
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.”
“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…”
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
Those who do not
“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.”
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