Being the Church In Christ
Text: Eph. 4:11-16
Introduction
1. Illustration: A man called a pastor’s office at a church one day to inquire into membership in the church. He stated that he would not be able to get involved or anything, but he felt it was important to have some religious affiliation. The pastor advised this man that the church he pastored might not be the best fit for him, but he knew of a place where he would fit in quite nicely. The man asked about a phone number, but the pastor only gave him an address. On Sunday morning, the gentlemen followed the directions and pulled up into the yard of a dilapidated building. The roof was falling in, the doors were locked, and vines were growing into the windows. This gentlemen called the pastor and told him that he had given him the wrong directions. "Oh no," the pastor replied. "Not at all. That is the place. That church has a membership roll filled with people who did not want to get involved or committed. That is what will always happen to a church whose members do not care about its success."
2. That forces us to ask the question, "what is the church?"
a. Is the church a building?
b. Is the church an organization?
c. No, the church is comprised of the people in the church, and the success of a church is as good as the involvement of those people.
3. Jesus said, of Peter’s confession of Him as the Christ, "upon this rock I will build my church and the powers of hell will not conquer it" (Matt. 16:18).
4. Paul tells us that Jesus has made provision for His church.
a. He gave gifts to the church.
b. Those gifts have a purpose.
c. Those gifts bring results.
5. Read Eph. 4:11-16
Proposition: Christ is building His church through the ministry of His people.
Transition: Christ gave...
I. Gifts of the Church (11)
A. Gifts Christ Gave
1. Paul begins verse 11 by saying, "Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church..."
a. It is incredibly interesting what, or in this case whom, Paul identifies as gifts Christ gave His church.
b. In this context, these gifts are actually people who have been called to special functions.
c. The word gave means "to give an object, usually implying value" (Louw and Nidda, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Symantic Domains).
d. According to the Greek, all the people listed are direct objects of “gave,” indicating that God gave these people to the church as gifts (Life Application New Testament Commentary)
2. Another interesting fact about this verse is that in other places in the New Testament, it is the Holy Spirit that bestows gifts on individual believers, but here it is Jesus that gives these gifts to the church as a whole.
a. 1 Corinthians 12:4 (NLT)
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all.
b. However, here it is Jesus who is the source of the special gifts to His church.
3. The first on this list is that of the apostles.
a. The term refers to "one who is sent."
b. An apostle was one who was called, commissioned, and given authority by Christ Himself (Adams, Full-Life Bible Commentary of the New Testament, 1062).
c. In fact, in the strictest sense of the word an apostle had to be an eyewitness of the risen Christ. Otherwise Paul’s own rigorous defense of his own apostolic office makes no sense.
4. The next office that Paul lists is that of prophet.
a. These people, also laborers on the church’s “foundation”, had special gifts in ministering God’s messages to his people.
b. At times they would foretell the future, but more often their job was to exhort, encourage, and strengthen God’s people (Life Application New Testament Commentary).
c. Acts 15:32 (NLT)
Then Judas and Silas, both being prophets, spoke at length to the believers, encouraging and strengthening their faith.
5. The next office on this list is that of evangelist.
a. "Evangelists" form a group about which little is known (the word occurs elsewhere only of Philip at Acts 21:8 and of Timothy at 2 Tim. 4:5).
b. That evangelists were itinerants proclaiming the gospel is probably not correct. Paul urged evangelist Timothy to stay in Ephesus to build up the church there (1 Tim. 1:3), and the evangelist Philip had a house in Caesarea (Snodgrass, NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: Ephesians, 204).
c. However, what is known about them is that they were people with a special anointing to preach the Good News to awaken their faith (Adams, 1062).
6. The final two offices on the list, based on the Greek sentence structure, seemed to be linked together - pastor/teacher.
a. These two are so interrelated that they are inseparable in local church ministry.
b. Pastor’s are those individuals called by God to care for the flock.
c. Teachers were those who were gifted to expound and explain the Word of God.
d. However, those who shepherd teach, and those who teach shepherd (Adams, 1062).
B. Gifts, Not Performers
1. Illustration: "God controls all that happens in His world, every meal, every pleasure, every possession, every bit of sun, every night’s sleep, every moment of health and safety, everything that sustains and enriches life, is a divine gift. And how abundant these gifts are!" J.I Packer, Knowing God, p. 147
2. These offices are gifts from Christ.
a. They are not to be worshiped.
b. They are not to be wasted.
c. They are to be cherished.
3. These gifts from Christ are people.
a. People with faults, just like you.
b. People with feelings, just like you.
c. People who struggle, just like you.
4. These gifts from Christ are there to be appreciated.
a. Not taken for granted.
b. Not taken advantage of.
c. They are reasons to give thanks.
5. Ro 10:15 — And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”
Transition: Christ gave these gifts for a purpose.
II. Purpose of the Gifts (12-13)
A. Their Responsibility
1. Paul tells us the responsibility of these gifts "is to equip God’s people to do his work..."
a. These specially gifted people (4:11) were given to the church for one ultimate goal: to equip God’s people.
b. The word for “equip” means to make right, like the setting of a broken bone, or to bring to completion by training or restoring (Life Application New Testament Commentary).
c. Their responsibility is to not to do the work for you.
d. Their responsibility is not to entertain you.
e. Their responsibility is not to hear you say "that’s what we pay you for!"
f. Their job is to teach you how to do God’s work.
2. An addition to their responsibility is to "build up the church, the body of Christ."
a. The apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers furnish and equip the believers to do the work of the ministry, which results in building up the church.
b. The church builds itself in the faith as the members care for one another, show love, and generally manifest the other gifts God gives (Life Application New Testament Commentary).
c. God intends for us to grow to our God-intended stature.
d. This cannot happen if we are merely bystanders. We must get involved.
3. Paul says that "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."
a. The word until indicates that the process described in 4:12 must continue until a certain end is achieved—when all believers come to unity in our faith (Life Application New Testament Commentary).
b. In other words, if this goal has not been achieved, it will remain the goal until Jesus comes back.
c. The imperfect will remain until the perfect (Jesus) comes back.
d. If we haven’t reached the standard, we haven’t met the goal.
B. Equipping God’s People
1. Illustration: Marriage is when you agree to spend the rest of your life sleeping in a room that’s too warm, beside someone who’s sleeping in a room that’s too cold.
2. A successful marriage requires willingness to work on something that is not perfect. Our life together as a church is no different.
3. The problem with the Christian church today is that we do not understand commitment.
a. In over ten years of ministry, I have had the church compared to a fast food restaurant. If you don’t like the food or service at McDonald’s you go to Burger King, and if you don’t like what you get at Burger King you go to Wendy’s.
b. How sad that we have reduced the pride and joy of our Lord, the thing most dear to His heart, to a hamburger joint!
c. Commitment says, if the church needs help you work at making it better.
d. Commitment says, if the they aren’t better children’s ministries at our church, that you take the initiative to start some.
e. You don’t run down to the mega church where you can sit back and let others do everything for you.
f. Commitment says, if you’re not a part of the solution, you are part of the problem.
4. Another problem with the Christian church today is the we do not understand involvement.
a. Where in the Bible does it say that the evangelist, missionary, and pastor are the hired hands.
b. Where in the Bible does it say that they should do all the work because "That’s what we pay them for!"
c. The Bible says they are to train you to do the work of the ministry.
d. The Bible says that it is your job to do the work of the ministry.
e. The Bible says we are partners in the work of the ministry.
f. Philippians 1:3-5 (NLT)
Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.
5. The other problem with the Christian church today is we do not understand that we are the body of Christ.
a. Show the video "If We Are the Body" by Casting Crowns from www.godtube.com
b. The problem is we are not being the body.
c. The problem is we want everyone else to serve us instead of us serving them.
d. Ever had a bad back? Then you know how it feels when one part of the body decides not to work.
e. We all need to work together!
Transition: Paul also shows us the...
III. Result of the Gifts (14-16)
A. No Longer Immature
1. Paul says, if we do this "Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth."
a. Because believers will be mature in the faith, they will no longer be like children (or like helpless infants) who are easily led astray.
b. People who are “children” in their faith and knowledge must grow up and mature. Otherwise, they are susceptible to false teaching.
c. They will be unstable, rootless, without direction, and susceptible to manipulation, forever changing their minds about what they believe (Life Application New Testament Commentary).
d. Children are so easily led astray because they believe what ever anyone tells them.
e. Adults on the other hand, tend to think more and discover what is really going on.
2. Paul said that instead of being gullible, "we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church."
a. As followers of Christ, we must be committed to the truth. This means that our words should be honest and that our actions should reflect Christ’s integrity.
b. Speaking the truth in love is not always easy, convenient, or pleasant, but it is necessary if the church is going to do Christ’s work in the world (Life Application New Testament Commentary).
c. We are not to run from conflict, but we are to face it head on.
d. Dealing with the lies of Satan by confronting them with truth.
e. We can only do this by becoming more and more like Christ.
3. Jesus Himself "makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love."
a. He makes us to fit together, but if we are to function the way He designed us, we will have to all do our part.
b. Paul says that "each part has to do its special work."
c. God has designed a part that only you can fill, and if you won’t fill it we will always be incomplete.
d. You will even help other parts grow together, so that as a body we will be healthy, growing, and full of love.
B. Let’s Grow Up
1. Illustration: According to one expert children go through 4 stages of dealing with their fathers. In stage one, they call you da-da. In stage 2 they grow and call you daddy. As they mature and reach stage 3 they call you dad. Finally in stage 4 they call you collect.
2. If we do what we are supposed to do we won’t be caught by surprise.
a. If evangelist, missionaries, pastor’s and teacher’s equip the saints.
b. If saints do the work of the ministry.
c. If we all work together and do our part.
d. We will not be caught off guard, and led astray.
3. If we do what we are supposed to do we will become more like Jesus.
a. We love like he loved.
b. We will show compassion like He did.
c. We will show mercy like He did.
d. We will make a difference like He did.
4. If we do what we are supposed to do we will be healthy, growing, and full of love.
a. We will work like He wants us to.
b. We will be filled with power the way He wants us to.
c. We will love the way He wants us to.
d. We will be in unity the way He wants us to.
Transition: Jesus wants and the world needs for the church to start being the church!
Conclusion
1. According to Paul:
a. Jesus Gave Gifts
b. The gifts are supposed to train.
c. The saints are supposed to work.
d. Only then will the church be the church.
2. Are you doing your part?
3. Are you ready for the church to be the church?
