Do any of you know what will happen in six months? Today is the 25th of June, which means that in six months it will be the 25th of December: Christmas! If you’ve already noted that Christmas is only six months away, you’re probably the kind of person that can’t stand having to wait to open presents. Thankfully our text this morning tells us that we don’t have to wait until Christmas to receive and open presents. Christ has already given gifts to the Church. We’ll learn today that these gifts come in different packages, help us grow stronger, and keep us working together.
So what are these gifts from Jesus that come in different packages? The Apostle Paul tells us in the first couple verses of our text. “It was [Christ] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers… so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:11, 12b). Workers in the public ministry are Jesus’ gift to the Church and they come in different packages in the sense that they all have different talents and different emphases in the work they are to be doing. Local congregations like St. Paul’s in Calgary will gladly concur that called workers are God’s gift to the church, for they are eager to welcome into their midst their new pastor and his wife after having been without a pastor for about a year.
Because pastors, teachers, and staff ministers are Jesus’ gift to the church, God wants us to treat them with respect. The writer to the Hebrews went as far as saying: “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Hebrews 13:17).
Now before Pastor Vogel and I start to think of ourselves as “God’s gift to the church” in the sense that you should be thankful to have us as your pastors, we’ll want to remember the purpose for which God has called us to be pastors. Paul said that we are “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:12). Although the writer to the Hebrews said that a congregation is to obey its called workers, this does not mean God has called us pastors to be your king. The fact is he has called us to be your servants.
But isn’t that a contradiction? Why is the congregation to obey and respect its called workers if they have been called to be their servants? The contradiction clears up when we compare the pastor-parishioner relationship to what God says a husband-wife relationship is to be (Ephesians 5). Just as the husband is to be the servant-leader of the family and the wife the servant-helper, so the pastor is to be a servant-leader in the congregation while the parishioners are to be servant-helpers.
Now this does not mean that parishioners are to stand on the sidelines simply cheering the pastor on in his work and throwing him a water bottle whenever he gets thirsty. Church members are to work alongside their pastor and one another as they carry out God’s mission. Paul made that clear in the last verse of our text: “From [Christ] the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:16).
Paul’s comparison of the Church to the body is not an unfamiliar one. He points out that Christ is the head of the Church while we are his body. But we’re not all the same part of the body. Some of you are ankles; others are elbows. Pastors? We could be described as the red blood cells. Just as red blood cells carry oxygen to every part of the body so that muscles and nerves can function, pastors are to carry God’s Word to God’s people so that they are equipped for their work.
For pastors to work properly they need to ensure that the message they share with their members is truly God’s Word. Did you notice the emphasis Paul placed on correct doctrine in our text? Paul urged the teaching of correct doctrine so that “…we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:14, 15). Correct doctrine is as important for the health of the congregation as is nutritious food important for the health of the body.
Because right doctrine is important for the health of the Church, we want to continue to support the intense training our pastors, teachers, and staff ministers receive in college and at the seminary. Recent synod budget shortfalls could impact the quality of education our called workers receive. This is why our council is proposing that we increase our mission offerings by once percent to 13% of total general offerings received this year. That means that for every dollar we give for general offerings, 13 cents will go to support not only our missionaries but also our synodical schools.
But now what exactly are called workers and parishioners to be working towards? Paul said that called workers nourish the Church 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” (Ephesians 4:12b, 13). Throughout this section of Scripture Paul has talked about the growth of the Church. Did you notice, however, that the kind of growth he’s talking about is qualitative, not quantitative? To put it another way, Paul is emphasizing the Church’s strength, not size; its vigor, not figures; its knowledge, not numbers (Dave Liggett). That’s comforting isn’t it? We so often think that a congregation’s growth is only measured in how many members it has gained. While God wants us to continue reaching out to the lost he wants us to continue to reach into the church so that his people grow into maturity until we become like him, perfect. That’s of course impossible this side of heaven but we’ll continue to strive for it. That’s why Christ gave called workers to the Church – to help it grow stronger through the Word, and through the Word help the Church work together.
It’s fitting that we speak about church unity today since we’re celebrating the bond we share with other congregations in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). The word “synod” means walking together. That’s what God wants us to do and that’s what Christ has gifted us to do. It’s no secret that Christians aren’t always agreed on how God’s work should be carried out. But while we won’t always agree on what kind of lawn mower to buy for the church or even what hymns to sing, we will live with and support the decisions the congregation makes as a whole. We’ll do this because God moves us to love each other and because he wants us to spend our time and energy on more important things like reaching out to the lost and regaining the straying.
Christmas may be another six months away but next week, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Calgary will be receiving a gift from Christ in the form of their pastor. While I don’t think we’ll be able to convince Pastor Vogel to jump out of a box wrapped in pretty paper at his installation service, he nevertheless is God’s gift to the Church. All called workers are. What a privilege for Pastor Vogel and I to serve in that capacity. And what a blessing it is for us to have congregations who understand that their purpose is to grow in the knowledge of Jesus and to grow in love for one another until we reach perfect maturity and unity in Christ. Amen.
