Equipping The Saints

And gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ….

Ephesians 4:11-12

According to Paul, Christ has given gifts to the church.  He has done so for ‘the edifying (or building up) of the body of Christ.’  In the verse which precedes our text for today, Paul delineates some of these gifts as, ‘apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.’  While these people are not the only gifts Christ gives to His Body, they are useful to build up His people, ‘for the work of the ministry.’  The conclusion to which this leads us is that it is primarily the people of God who are actually carrying out the ministry.  The apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers’ are the means to the end of building up the people of God to do ‘the work of the ministry.’  These servants are the means, not the end.  This brings into perspective the practical carrying out of Christ building His Church of people and by people.  We value those whom Christ has given to the Church, and can do so without worshiping them.  The great template for the life and ministry of these is Christ Himself Who said, ‘I am among you as one who serves.’  The ‘gifts’ prove their value as they imitate Christ and point others to Christ.  Therein lies their usefulness for the ‘equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry.’  Let us evaluate all leadership by this standard.  All the work of the Church is to make much of Christ.

Our God and Father,
we rejoice that You have given us Christ,
Who has given unto us gifts to build us up in the faith.
We praise You,
that being built up ourselves,
You will enable us to build up others.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning