I know that many of you here this morning are really excited that football season is just around the corner. I know I’m looking forward to seeing how my favorite teams fare this season. As the season approaches, I’m reminded of how someone once described a football game:
22 men down on the filed in desperate need of rest and 50,000 people in the stands in desperate need of exercise.
What we’ll discover together this morning is that one misplaced comma has led a lot of people to believe that the church is to operate like that as well – that there are a few paid professionals who do the work of ministry while everyone else sits on the sidelines and cheers them on. But Jesus never intended for his church to operate like a spectator sport. In fact, today we are going to discover that…
Jesus’ design for His church is that…
every member is a minister
And since that is true, that means that if I really love my church, then I must actively participate in the ministry of my church.
We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s get right to it. Go ahead and open your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 4. As I indicated last week, we want to come back to this chapter again and look at a different aspect of this important passage. Last week, we primarily focused on what this passage taught us about discipleship – the process of becoming who Jesus would be if He were I. And we saw how effective discipleship requires the participation of the entire body. It’s not something we can do successfully just on our own.
But this week we want to focus more on the purpose of discipleship. Why is it that Jesus wants us to become mature disciples?
I want to begin with a verse that I didn’t read last week – verse 7 – because it provides us with some needed context for what we’ll cover this morning:
But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.
(Ephesians 4:7 ESV)
Paul tells us here that each and every disciples has been uniquely gifted with God’s grace. Each of us have been graced with gifts, not based on our worth or merit, but rather based solely on how Jesus decides to allocate those gifts. Paul confirms that idea in another one of his letters:
Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them…
(Romans 12:6 ESV)
As we’re going to see this morning, Jesus doesn’t gift us with His grace just for our own personal benefit. As the Head of His body, Jesus knows what is good for His body and so He sovereignly bestow gifts on every single disciple based on what is good for both the individual and the body as a whole.
With that in mind, let’s move on to verses 11-12, which should be familiar to us from last week:
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
(Ephesians 4:11-12 ESV)
What we learn here is that not only did Jesus bestow gifts on the individual members of the body, He also bestowed gifts on the body as a whole in the form of certain people whose role is to equip everyone in the body put their gifts to work. You’ll notice that there are four particular types of people with leadership gifts that Jesus gives to His church – apostles, prophets, evangelists and shepherd-teachers.
It would be easy for us to spend the rest of our time focusing on the nature of those roles and trying to determine which ones are still operational in the church today, but frankly all that would do is provide us with a bunch of information that really wouldn’t do a whole lot to help us actually apply that knowledge.
For our purposes, what I do want to point out is that the underlying Greek grammar it pretty clear that the position of a shepherd-teacher is only one position that combines both of those roles. And here at TFC, that is the role that God has given me. I am to shepherd this body primarily through the teaching of God’s Word for the purpose that we will examine further in just a moment.
So let’s summarize what we’ve learned so far:
What Jesus does for His church
• He bestows gifts on every individual member
• He bestows gifts on the body as a whole
The next thing we need to determine is why Jesus does this. What is His purpose in gifting both individuals and the body as a whole? Those questions are answered in verse 12. I want us to first look at that verse as a whole and then take a more detailed look at some of the key words in that verse.
Remember that I said earlier that one misplaced comma has led many to believe that the church operates like a spectator sport? Let me show you what I mean.
Let’s look at two different letters received by an English professor named Ched. Both letters are exactly the same – except for punctuation.
The first letter was received from his future wife a few months after they met:
Dear Ched:
I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we’re apart. I can be forever happy -- will you let me be yours?
Leigh Anne
Eight months after they were married, she wrote another letter with exactly the same words. Only the punctuation was changed:
Dear Ched:
I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we’re apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?
Yours,
Leigh Anne
Clearly, punctuation matters. And here is why punctuation is so important in verse 12. The King James translation of the Bible was the first widely distributed English translation of the Bible. So that translation has had a tremendous impact on the development of church doctrine. Unfortunately, the way verse 12 is rendered in the KJV makes it easy to misinterpret what Paul was writing here.
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
(Ephesians 4:12 KJV)
Notice the comma after the word “saints”. Placing a comma there causes this verse to imply that the apostles, prophets, evangelists and shepherd-teachers are given to the church not only for the purpose of perfecting the saints, but also for the purpose of doing the work of the ministry. But the underlying Greek does not give that sense at all. Not only is there not a comma after the word “saints”, but the three prepositions that are all “translated” “for” are not all the same in Greek. So there are not three parallel ideas here, but one main idea. That idea – that the leaders of the church are to equip all the members of the body to do the work of ministry - is captured much better by the ESV, NASB and other more literal translations.
Unfortunately that misinterpretation has been used to further the idea of a distinction between clergy and laity – a concept that did not begin to develop until about the third century in conjunction with the formation of the Roman Catholic Church. That notion was certainly foreign to the first century church. Not only do the words “clergy” and “laity” never appear in Scripture, there is not even a hint of that kind of hierarchy at any time in the New Testament church.
A proper interpretation and reading of verse 12 makes it very clear that the role of the apostles, prophets, evangelists and shepherd-teachers is to equip every single disciple to be able to carry out the work of ministry. To return to our analogy of a football team, my role is really a lot like that of a player-coach and all of you are players. My role is to prepare all of us who are part of this body to do the work in ministry and then join you in carrying it out.
Do you see now why I said earlier that…
Jesus’ design for His church is that…
every member is a minister
Now that we have the big picture in mind, let’s take a detailed look at some of the key words here that help us to further understand that concept. Here is the key phrase in verse 12 that we want to examine more carefully:
…to equip the saints for the work of ministry…
• “equip” – “to mend, repair, or make whole”
The underlying Greek word was originally used to describe putting broken bones back in place. The basic idea here is of putting something back into the condition in which it ought to be. Matthew uses the same root verb in this passage:
And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.
(Matthew 4:21 ESV)
James and John were not creating new nets, but rather taking their existing nets that were in disrepair and mending them so they would be able to do what they were intended to do – catch fish. The reason they were “equipping” those nets is so they could be put into service.
Although each member in the church has, as we have seen, been gifted and graced by Jesus, that doesn’t mean that we are not in need of further preparation and equipping. So Jesus has gifted the church with certain people whose role is to do that equipping, primarily through the teaching of His Word.
• “saints” – “set apart ones”
When Paul frequently uses the term “saints” in his letters, he is not describing some class of “super Christians”. The term merely describes those who have been saved by grace through faith and whom Jesus has set apart from the world for the purpose of serving Him. So if you are a disciple of Jesus, then you are a saint and therefore are to be equipped so you can do the work of ministry.
• “work” – “that which one undertakes to do”
What I want to point out here is not so much the definition of the word since I think we all have a pretty good idea of what work is, but rather the fact that this noun is singular – “work”, not “works”.
Although all of us have individual ministries, what Paul is emphasizing here is that ministry requires teamwork. To go back to the football analogy I used earlier, a football team has one “work” – to score more points than the other team. So even though the team has different players who have different talents and roles, they all have to work together in order to carry out that one “work”.
• “ministry” – “service”
I think sometimes the reason we have a hard time considering ourselves to be ministers is that we define the term “ministry” much too narrowly. Sometimes we think that “ministry” means we have to have a seminary degree or that we have to sing on the worship team or serve in the nursery or teach a class, or be a greeter. Believe me, we certainly do need people to do all those things and a lot more right here at TFC.
But the word Paul uses here is the same root word from which we get our word “deacon”. It is a word that described menial service like waiting on tables. And it is the same word that Jesus used to describe His ministry:
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
(Mark 10:45 ESV)
So if we want to know what Paul meant by “ministry” we need only look at the life of Jesus as our example. Think about how Jesus ministered to others. Sometimes He met physical needs by healing people or feeding them. Sometimes, He met emotional needs by teaching and comforting. But even when He did those things, his ultimate purpose was to serve the spiritual needs of people.
Jesus’ desire for His church is that it would continue to carry out that same kind of service on His behalf and in His name. While ministry certainly occurs within the body as we meet together, it is clear here that ministry also takes place as we become the church scattered throughout the week. Every one of us here this morning will have unique opportunities to serve other people throughout the week in our homes, our jobs and in the community. And my role as the shepherd-teacher is to help you to be properly equipped to do that work of ministry.
Let’s pause again to summarize what we’ve learned here in verse 12.
Why Jesus does what He does for the church
• To equip every member to be an effective minister
So far, the Scriptures make a clear case that…
Jesus’ design for His church is that…
every member is a minister
But once we’ve been equipped, we actually have to put that training into action. Fortunately for us, in one of his other letters, Paul has provided us with a vibrant picture of what that ought to look like.
So will you turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and follow along as I read. I’ll begin in verse 4:
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
(1 Corinthians 12:4-7 ESV)
In verses 8-11, Paul describes several different kinds of gifts, but let’s skip ahead to verse 12 and I’ll read from there to verse 27:
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
(1 Corinthians 12:12-27 ESV)
We could obviously spend several weeks looking at this passage, but what I want to do this morning is to consider what Paul is saying here in broad terms in order to develop…
Three important takeaways about participating in the ministry of my church:
1. I have been gifted!
If I am a disciple of Jesus, then I am automatically part of His body, the church and that means that I have been gifted – both individually and as a part of the body.
We certainly saw that in Ephesians 4 and it is re-emphasized again here in 1 Corinthians 12. Look at the end of verse 6 and the beginning of verse 7:
…but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good…
Just to make sure we don’t miss this point, Paul comes at it from two angles:
• God empowers everyone. Not just some, or not just the “super Christians”, or not just the pastors or elders. Everyone means everyone, so that means me and it means you.
• To each. Again there are no exceptions.
Now it may very well be that you haven’t yet identified your gifts. I’ll address the best way for you to do that in a moment. But I can promise you based on the word of God that if you are Jesus’ disciple, then you have been entrusted with one or more spiritual gifts.
The truth that I have been gifted leads us directly to the second takeaway:
2. My gift is indispensable
I think we all understand how this works with our physical bodies. When any one part doesn’t function as it should, then the whole body is out of whack and doesn’t function at full capacity. And one could argue that the parts we can’t see – things like the brain and the heart and the lungs – are actually much more critical than some of the parts we can see.
Paul reminds us that the same is true in the body of Christ in a spiritual sense. The body only functions at full capacity when every single person exercises his or her gift by doing the work of ministry. And many times the gifts which aren’t seen are actually more crucial to the proper functioning of the church that some of the more visible ones.
When I exercise my gifts as a shepherd-teacher, everyone notices. But my role in the body is no more important than your role. It is just different.
What I do is no more important than those who exercise the gift of service by caring for your children in the nursery or by cleaning up after the refreshment time. It is no more important than those who exercise the gift of exhortation by encouraging others in the church as they minister to others. It is no more important than those who exercise the gift of generosity by providing for the material needs of our church and its members. It is no more important than those who exercise the gift of mercy by visiting and caring for the sick. It is very possible that few of us will ever even see many of those gifts in action, but they are all equally indispensable to the body.
And that truth leads us to our third and final takeaway:
3. I identify and develop my gifts by using them
In my experience, and perhaps in yours, I have found that the most common way that the church tries to help people identify and develop their gifts is either through the use of some kind of questionnaire or survey or by offering some kind of classes. While I think those methods do have some usefulness, and I have used them to some degree to my personal benefit, that just doesn’t seem to be the Biblical method for discovering my gifts.
The Biblical method is summarized in a verse that we looked at earlier:
Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them…
(Romans 12:6 ESV)
The best way to identify and develop my gifts is to get involved in ministry and start using those gifts.
This summer, Mary and I did a full moon kayak tour on Puget Sound while we on vacation in Seattle. While we’ve done some kayaking before, this was the first time we had used a kayak with a rudder, which I had to control with my feet. We quickly discovered that the only time that rudder did any good at all is while we were paddling and moving. When we stopped to watch the sun set or the moon rise and we wanted to change the direction we were facing, the rudder was useless unless we first got the kayak moving.
I think Jesus works a lot like that when it comes to our spiritual gifts. When we’re moving, when we’re actually engaged in ministry, then Jesus can control the rudder and steer us to a place where we discover what those gifts are and how He wants us to use them. But if we just sit around and read about spiritual gifts, it’s a lot harder for Jesus to lead us where He wants us to go.
I can tell you that at first I wasn’t very good at steering our kayak. I made some wrong turns and went in some directions I really didn’t want to go. But I learned from those mistakes and by the end of the tour I got pretty proficient. Sometimes when we do the work of ministry we’ll take some wrong turns. We’ll find out that we really don’t have some of the gifts that we thought we did. But that is actually a good thing because we can learn from those experiences and it will help us to eventually get to the place where Jesus wants to get us plugged in.
I am convinced that I stand before you today as your shepherd-teacher because of one seemingly insignificant opportunity I had to apply this principle back in 1978.
Mary and I had just moved to Albuquerque and over the period of several months we had finally found a local church where we believed God wanted us to be. Although we attended church regularly, we really weren’t all that involved outside the Sunday morning worship service.
One morning, the head usher approached me and asked if I would be willing to help with the offering. At the time that didn’t seem like a big deal, but as I look back now I realize that Jesus had started me on a path that has led to me standing before you today.
Not only did I end up being an usher on a regular basis, it turns out that same head usher also was the director of the Sunday School department for our age group and it wasn’t long until Mary and I began to regularly attend that class and develop some close friendships. I don’t remember the exact circumstances, but at some point there was a need for someone to fill in for the teacher of that class and I was asked to do that. I had never taught a Bible class before and really didn’t feel like I was equipped to do that, but I reluctantly agreed to fill in for one week.
To make a long story short, God used what I figured was going to be a one-time teaching assignment to eventually bring me to the place where I am today. I can tell you that along that journey, there were times when I took on some ministry opportunities where I learned what spiritual gifts I did not possess. But what I also discovered during those times is that for the good of the body, it is often necessary to serve in some areas where I’m not gifted for a season.
Jesus never intended for His church to operate like a spectator sport.
Jesus’ design for His church is that…
every member is a minister
You are gifted and your gift is indispensable if Thornydale Family Church is going to be all that Jesus wants it to be. So if you haven’t already done so, will you get out of the stands and take the field and put those gifts to work?
