When your favorite athletic team takes the floor or the field, all the players are dressed alike. But, no one considers this a liability. And it isn't. Their being dressed alike is one indication that they are a team and that they have a common purpose. However, if you look closely, you will see a different number on each uniform. And besides that, the players will have different skills and will play different positions. That's the way it is with successful athletic teams, and that's the way it is with the church, too.
In Ephesians 4:1-6, Paul presented a compelling case for church unity. Perhaps some of Paul's critics, ancient and modern, would raise a protest: "What a smothering climate! I'd choke in such a church! If everyone fits into the same mold, where is spiritual freedom? This borders on tyranny."
Paul realized as we do, however, that genuine unity is an asset, not a liability. Whether it be a family, a corporation, an athletic team, or a church, the group that has its act together and that is together has a better chance of success. Athletic teams with a winning tradition speak glowingly of team unity.
Only when discord strikes does the team come apart at the seams.
Take any of the examples just mentioned, though ... family, corporation, athletic team, church. In each case, it's the variety as well as the unity that brings success. In each case, people with differing skills and differing gifts are needed. A basketball team made up entirely of seven-footers who could dunk the ball and snare rebounds at will but couldn't dribble would be impressive, but only before the game began. The opening tip-off would signal the beginning of their downfall.
Paul contends that variety is needed, and provided for, in the church. What creates such variety? Spiritual gifts! "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift" (4:7). What does Paul say about spiritual gifts?
First....
Gifts Define The Church
Gifts of Grace
As we think of spiritual gifts let me begin with some disclaimers. Spiritual gifts are not personal merit badges of achievement like in the boy scouts. Spiritual gifts are not trophies for meritorious service, like the gold watch you get when you retire after a lifetime of service to the company. Spiritual gifts are not church awards given to someone after achieving perfect attendance or teaching a class for several years.
Spiritual gifts are also not a thermometer to register the temperature of the spiritually elite. People have contended that this or that gift, such as speaking in tongues, is the supreme gift of the Spirit. Therefore, since they themselves just happen to have that gift, they should be considered to be the spiritually elite people.
Spiritual gifts are not given to divide or to rank the people of God. They have a much more noble purpose than that. Spiritual gifts are grace-gifts. The Sprit gives these gifts to us; we cannot possibly earn them.
Personal Gifts For Corporate Use
If Christ gives gifts to the church for its mission, how does He do it? He does it through giving gifts to the members of the body called church. This is the only way to endow the church with gifts. All the gifts are given to build up the church, to help it realize its potential value and mission. They are not given for personal enhancement. They exist solely to edify and magnify the church.
When a popular vocalist was interviewed on national television, the interviewer asked him how he became interested in music. He stated that he sang in the church choir at the age of seven and discovered his gift of music. So he took the gift into the entertainment world and used it to become wealthy .... at least before he went bankrupt.
When Paul speaks of gifts, he is talking about using those gifts to build up the church. Gifts are not provided to enable you to gain personal or commercial advantage.
Given To All
Paul says that "each of us" has been given a gift (4:7). The Spirit did not overlook or neglect anyone.
You may say, "God obviously overlooked me when he passed out the gifts. I am not gifted to do anything special. I am just a plain ordinary person."
Listen: You were not overlooked! You simply have not discovered or acknowledged your gift. You await one of the greatest moments of your life, the minute you discover your gift or gifts. Dr. Frank Stagg, New Testament professor at Southern Seminary stated years ago, "No one has all the gifts, but all have at least one gift."
Some people think that just because someone is ordained as a minister or a deacon, that person has all the gifts. This simply is not true. Ordination rests on the recognition of a person's giftedness for ministry, but ordination never was intended to declare that the candidate possesses all the gifts. Expecting one person to have all the gifts is totally unreasonable.
If that were the way gifts worked, God would have needed only to gift a few select people, turn them loose, and let them burn up the ecclesiastical track.
But, God did not choose to do things this way. Rather, He chose to gift every member of the body, no one exempted, and not to give one member all the gifts.
Gifts Shape The Personality and Life of the Church
Churches are like people in that each has a distinct personality and ministry.
Visit all the churches in a given area, and you will notice quickly that every church is different, even if you visit only churches of the same denomination.
Why is that? For one thing, churches are different because churches are made of people and people are gifted differently. Members' combined spiritual gifts define them as a church. These gifts make individuals and churches unique.
When Patty and I moved to New Orleans we discovered that the churches there were totally different from the church we grew up in. No two churches are alike. This church is completely different from the church I served before coming here. I can't ever seem to remember the name of that church. And that church was completely different from the church we were serving before we went to that church. And that's okay. I find myself on occasion saying, "This is what we did in the church I served previously," but that is a waste of time, because this church is not that church.
While a church may be different from others, still all churches should hold some common values. We should love God. We should love one another. We should love an unredeemed world. And God's Word should be held in highest esteem for our faith and practice.
Next consider how....
Gifts Equip The Church
Gifts for all who are responsible for ministry Paul gives a sample list of gifts: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (4:11). Although there are five nouns, the number of gifts actually is only four. Pastors and teachers refer to the same person. Furthermore, there are even other gifts besides these.
Why are the gifts given to roles we associate with ministers? In some translations, verse 4:12 reads that God gave such leaders gifts so they could perform three functions:
1) To equip the saints,
2) To do the work of ministry,
3) To build up the body of Christ.
When translated from the Greek, there is no comma after the word "saints."
Therefore, the verse should read: "God gave ministers ... apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teacher ... to equip the saints for the work of ministry and for building up the body of Christ." This is the correct translation of that passage. The verse thus means that the entire body, not simply the ministerial leadership, is responsible for ministry.
Doesn't our doctrine of the priesthood of all believers confirm this understanding? We claim that the death of Jesus on the cross provided free access to God. We can pray directly to him. We do not need to go through anyone's switchboard to reach God. The logical deduction to this belief is that we have equal responsibility to serve God. A priest does not have to do our praying or our serving. We can do it ourselves.
Gifts to Equip for Ministry
The word Paul uses to mean "equip" is fascinating. The word means "to mend."
In the New Testament the word is used to refer to mending nets (Mark 1:19).
It is also used to refer to the surgical procedures of setting a broken limb or putting a joint back into its place.
But another meaning is "to fit from top to bottom," meaning thoroughly and carefully. The preposition, which forms part of this word, carries with it the idea of downward motion that begins at the top and goes to the bottom. The word "equip" thus speaks of thoroughness in our task of equipping. For example, if a destitute person showed up at your door and you were moved with compassion to outfit him completely, likely you would provide the person food, a hot bath, a shave, a haircut, new clothes and new shoes. From top to bottom you would address the person's physical needs. In equipping the church for its mission, you start with the head, the center of a person's belief system.
Note that the work of building up the body of Christ has as one of its goals attaining the knowledge of the Son of God (4:13). The Greek word for knowledge used here refers to precise and correct knowledge. This idea relates to the fact that we are governed by our belief and value system. We do what we truly believe.
Albert Ellis, founder of rational emotional therapy, contends that one's thoughts determine his or her feelings. Rational thoughts produce rational feelings, while irrational thoughts produce inappropriate feelings.
While riding a commuter train in New York, he suddenly felt a sharp pointed object sticking him in the back. His first thought was, "I'm being mugged." He became tense. His palms began to sweat. He was anxious. Attempting to defend himself from the known assailant, he quickly turned around. He was totally surprised to see an elderly blind man pointing an umbrella as he tried to move through the crowd. Immediately, Ellis became sympathetic and kind toward the gentleman. His feelings toward the stranger changed as his perception changed.
Christian faith is an informed faith. We should know what we believe. We live in a day of such diversity, even within the Christian faith, that becoming confused about our beliefs is easy.
A constant diet of religious programming fills the radio and television airways from sunrise to sunset. If people are not anchored in the faith, they may become thoroughly confused by what they hear and see on these programs.
From the head, we move downward to the heart. The Christian faith is an inspired faith. We must engage our heart or feelings. We must put our heart into our faith. We must equip ourselves devotionally. Through participation in prayer, we develop oneness or unity in the faith, which is our corporate goal (4:13).
From the heart, we move to the hands. The Christian faith is an involved faith.
Paul said that a purpose of being equipped is to build up the body of Christ (4:12). The word translated "building up" carries the image of building a house.
Studying blueprints does not produce a house. People who want to build a house must roll up their sleeves and go to work with their hands to construct the house.
Life is regulated and motivated first by the head, then by the heart, and finally by the hands. In case you doubt, let me illustrate. If while in a worship service you detected smoke belching from the ceiling, your perception would be that the building was on fire. Such a perception would generate an emotional response bordering on panic. The final step would be to take action by evacuating the building. Belief followed by emotions and then by decisive action ... that's the way most healthy persons function.
Finally, consider how.....
Gifts Grow the Church
Qualitative Growth: Inner
Christians are expected to grow. The first level of growth is inner growth, which is the most important step. Without spiritual, inner growth, there is no chance of any other kind of growth. The goal is spiritual maturity (4:13). Literally, the Greek words refer to becoming a complete person. But what person is our standard for becoming a complete person? Is the measure the most educated person in the community? The most successful person in the community, in the ways we normally measure success? No!
The one person who is a worthy standard is Jesus. We are called to emulate the standard, the measure, of the full stature of Christ. This standard, this measure, is the church's goal. Not the most prominent person in the body, but the one who towers over the body, even Jesus, He and only He is qualified to be our standard for being a complete person.
The goal includes the complete church ("all", 4:13). Not one single member is excluded. All are called to find their place in the body in order to complete the body and make it strong and viable. All are intended to reach the standard of being a complete person.
That's the goal for all. However, growth toward maturity seems a very far-off goal most of the time. On a typical Sunday, for example, less than fifty percent of the Baptist Family in America even shows up for Bible study and worship. It's truly a miracle of God that the church body even survives, much less grows toward maturity. If in an office or a manufacturing plant only half of the work force showed up on a regular basis, would the business survive? If only half of the players on your favorite athletic team showed up for the game or even for practice, it's doubtful the team would have a winning season. And that is the same way it is with the church. If we think we are strong enough now as a body, think how much stronger we would be with all members actively participating.
Make no mistake about it. Each member of the body is important. No one can replace you. You need the body and the body needs you.
By growing up spiritually, Paul suggests that the church can avoid many serious problems. The members no longer would be like untaught or unskilled children (or in the original Greek "infants"), babies tossed like rag dolls by the strong, boisterous beach waves (4:14). They no longer would be whirled about like garbage cans in a tornado (4:14). They would no longer be manipulated by unscrupulous tricksters who play to the gallery while cheating their victims with loaded dice. They would no longer be vulnerable to the sleight of hand of religious explorers who promote deceit.
W. O. Carver's comments on this verse, written more than forty years ago, continue to be relevant: "We hinder and delay the growth of the Body by our immaturity, our instability, and the gullibility which subjects us to the deception of novelty, emotionalism, sectarianism of teachers that beset us and would exploit us."
It's still time to grow up.
Furthermore, "practicing truth in love," we are called to "grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ" (4:15). The growth of body life has two distinct dimensions. Since Christ is the head of the church, we draw our life and nurture from Him. But we are also called to grow toward Him. Thus, Christ is both our source of growth and our standard for growth. The one who births the church challenges the church to become all it can be.
Paul further describes the body of the church as one in which all members are joined and closely knitted together. The word translated "ligament" or "joint" refers to contact or connection. So, members are not simply joined together, but such unity exists that members nourish one another and supply one another's needs. They connect one another, just like parts of the living physical body (4:16). Such interrelatedness means that when one member hurts, the entire body hurts. When one member rejoices the entire body rejoices. All encourage and support the health and vitality of the others. Such a church is indeed the body of Christ.
Quantitative Growth: Outer
Paul does not mention external growth, but we can assume that outer growth follows inner growth. Just as the healthy, growing physical body increases in size, so the body of Christ expands and increases. The truth is, people would be eager to claim membership in such a church just described. There is no way for that kind of church not to attract people and grow. You'd have to padlock the doors to keep people out.
The task of growing the church, both internal and external, is never-ending. The church is always under construction. Constantly, new stones, new people, are being fitted into place, until all share in the body's life.
Think About This
Grady Nutt was known as the minister of humor. He was a Baptist minister as well as a comedian, and he blessed many people as he shared his gift of humor. He died in a tragic plane crash several years ago, on the way to a speaking engagement. His funeral service was held at the Crescent Hill Baptist Church in Louisville, KY. The church was packed to overflowing with family and friends, grieving church members, and fellow entertainers from the television show Hee Haw with whom he had worked.
In the course of the service, someone stepped to the pulpit and began to sing:
There's a land that is fairer than day,
And by faith we can see it afar;
For the Father waits over the way
To prepare us a dwelling place there.
Everything was absolutely still. All that could be heard was the singer's voice and the soft sound of tears streaming down cheeks. Then he began the chorus:
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore....
Suddenly, one voice, Roy Acuff's, began to sing along. Then another voice joined. Soon the entire congregation was singing in sad, but sweet harmony,
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore.
Such an experience reminds us clearly of what truly being church means, doesn't it? It means to be so identified with Christ and each other that we sing God's song of redemption with beautiful harmony.
Shall we sing it together now?
