CAPITAL BAPTIST CHURCH May 20, 2007 SERMON NOTES PASTOR BILL HAKEN God s Gifted Men and His Church Ephesians 4:11, 12 Intro: Last week we learned that Christ has given individually every believer in the church spiritual grace gifts to use in ministry for Him. 1. The package God gives the church is gifted men In 1 Corinthians 12:28, Paul says, God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers. That statement adds weight not only to the idea of divine calling but also to the chronological significance ( first, second, third ) in the giving of these gifted men to the church. The first two classes of gifted men, apostles and prophets, were given three basic responsibilities: (1) to lay the foundation of the church (Eph. 2:20); (2) to receive and declare the revelation of God s Word (Acts 11:28; 21:10-11; Eph. 3:5); and (3) to give confirmation of that Word through signs and wonders and miracles (2 Cor. 12:12; cf. Acts 8:6-7; Heb. 2:3-4). The first of the gifted men in the New Testament church were the apostles, of whom Jesus Christ Himself is foremost (Heb. 3:1). The basic meaning of apostle (apostolos) is simply that of one sent on a mission. In its primary and most technical sense apostle is used in the New Testament only of the twelve, including Matthias, who replaced Judas (Acts 1:26), and of Paul, who was uniquely set apart as apostle to the Gentiles (Gal. 1:15-17; cf. 1 Cor. 15:7-9; 2 Cor. 11:5). The qualifications for that apostleship were having been chosen directly by Christ and having witnessed the resurrected Christ (Mark 3:13; Acts 1:22-24). Paul was the last to meet those qualifications (Rom. 1:1; etc.). It is not possible therefore, as some claim, for there to be apostles in the church today. Some have observed that the apostles were like delegates to a constitutional convention. When the convention is over, the position ceases. When the New Testament was completed, the office of apostle ceased. The term apostle is used in a more general sense of other men in the early church, such as Barnabas (Acts 14:4), Silas and Timothy (1 Thess. 2:6), and a few other outstanding leaders (Rom. 16:7; 2 Cor. 8:23; Phil. 2:25). The false apostles spoken of in 2 Cor. 11:13 no doubt counterfeited this class of apostleship, since the others were limited to thirteen and were well known. The true apostles in the second group were called messengers (apostoloi) of the churches (2 Cor. 8:23), whereas the thirteen were apostles of Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:1; 1 Pet. 1:1; etc.). Apostles in both groups were authenticated by signs and wonders and miracles (2 Cor. 12:12), but neither group was self-perpetuating. In neither sense is the term apostle used in the book of Acts after 16:4. Nor is there any New Testament record of an apostle in either group being replaced when he died. So Apostolic Succession is not a Bible teaching. Prophets were also appointed by God as specially gifted men, and differ from those believers who have the gift of prophecy (1 Cor. 12:10). Not all such believers could be called prophets. It seems that the office of prophet was exclusively for work within a local congregation, whereas that of apostleship was a much broader ministry, not confined to any area, as implied in the word apostolos ( one who is sent on a mission ). Paul, for example, is referred to as a prophet when he ministered locally in the Antioch church (Acts 13:1), but elsewhere is always called an apostle.
The prophets sometimes spoke revelation from God (Acts 11:21-28) and sometimes simply expounded revelation already given (as implied in Acts 13:1, where they are connected with teachers). They always spoke for God but did not always give a newly revealed message from God. The prophets were second to the apostles, and their message was to be judged by that of the apostles (1 Cor. 14:37). Another distinction between the two offices may have been that the apostolic message was more general and doctrinal, whereas that of the prophets was more personal and practical. Like the apostles, however, their office ceased with the completion of the New Testament, just as the Old Testament prophets disappeared when that testament was completed, some 400 years before Christ. The church was established upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone (Eph. 2:20). Once the foundation was laid, the work of the apostles and prophets was finished. Both apostles and prophets have passed from the scene (Eph. 2:20), but the foundation they laid is that on which all of Christ s church has been built. Evangelists and pastors and teachers are now in place in God s plan for the advance of the kingdom. Evangelists (euangeliste s) are men who proclaim good news. The specific term evangelist is used only in this text in Ephesians; in Acts 21:8, where Philip is called an evangelist (see Acts 8:4-40 for details on one of Philip s evangelistic efforts); and in 2 Timothy 4:5, where Timothy is told to do the work of an evangelist. But these limited references describe a vital, extensive, and far-reaching ministry, indicated by the use of the verb euangelizo (to proclaim the good news) 54 times and the noun euangelion (good news) 76 times. The work of the evangelist is to preach and explain the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ to those who have not yet believed. He is a proclaimer of salvation by grace through faith in the Son of God. Philip demonstrates that the evangelist is not a man with ten suits and ten sermons who travels. New Testament evangelists were missionaries and church planters (much like the apostles, but without the title and miraculous gifts), who went where Christ was not named and led people to faith in the Savior. They then taught the new believers the Word, built them up, and moved on to new territory. Timothy illustrates the fact that an evangelist can be identified with local churches in a prolonged ministry for the purposes of preaching and expounding the true gospel, in order to counter false teachers and their damning message and to establish sound doctrine and godliness. These gifted men are uniquely designed and given to the church to reach the lost with the saving gospel, and in the church fellowship to teach, mobilize, and lead others out to fulfill the commission of winning the lost to Christ. Pastors translates poime n, whose normal meaning is shepherd. It emphasizes the care, protection and leadership of the man of God for the flock. Teachers (didaskaloi) has to do with the primary function of pastors. Though teaching can be identified as a ministry on its own (1 Cor. 12:28), pastors and teachers are best understood as one office of leadership in the church. Often the word and (kai) means that is or in particular, making teachers in this context explanatory of pastors. That meaning cannot be conclusively proven in this text, but the text of 1 Timothy 5:17 clearly puts the two functions together
when it says: Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching (lit., labor to exhaustion in word and teaching ). Those two functions define the teaching shepherd. 2. The plan is to perfect the gifted believers The first task within God s design is for the evangelists and pastor-teachers to be properly equipping the saints (a title used for all those set apart to God by salvation; cf. 1 Cor. 1:2). The evangelist s work is to bring men and women to understanding of the gospel of salvation, to lead them to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and thereby become children in His spiritual family and citizens of His divine kingdom. In the early years the objective was to establish a local church. This begins the equipping. The pastor-teacher s subsequent work, then, is to provide the leadership and spiritual resources to cause believers to be taking on the likeness of their Lord and Savior through continual obedience to His Word and to provide a pattern, or example, of godliness (1 Thess. 1:2-7; 1 Pet. 5:3). Katartismos (equipping) basically refers to that which is fit, is restored to its original condition, or is made complete. The word was often used as a medical term for the setting of bones. Paul used the verb form in his closing admonition to the Corinthian believers: Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete (2 Cor. 13:11, emphasis added). The writer of Hebrews used the term in his closing prayer: Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight (Heb. 13:20-21). Bible Equipping 4 basic tools are used: All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Jesus said, You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you (John 15:3). The first purpose of the pastor-teacher, therefore, is to feed himself, to feed his people, and to lead them to feed themselves on the Word of God. Prayer The example of the apostles, who gave themselves continually to teaching the Word and to prayer (Acts 6:4) indicates that a second tool of equipping is prayer, and the pastor-teacher is responsible to prepare himself and to lead his people to prepare themselves in prayer. Epaphras was committed to this spiritual means for building up believers. Paul characterized the ministry of Epaphras by saying that he is always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has a deep concern for you (Col. 4:12-13, Testing A third tool of equipping is testing and a fourth is suffering. These are primary, purging experiences by which the believer is refined to greater holiness. James tells us to consider it all joy when [we] encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of [our] faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, he goes on to say, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking
in nothing (James 1:2-4). When we respond to God s testing in trust and continued obedience, spiritual muscles are strengthened and effective service for Him is broadened. Suffering Suffering is also a means of spiritual equipping. Peter uses this word near the close of his first letter: And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you (1 Pet. 5:10, emphasis added). Knowing and following Christ in the deepest sense not only involves being raised with Him but also sharing in the fellowship of His sufferings (Phil. 3:10). Paul rejoiced in his sufferings for Christ s sake. God comforts us in all our affliction, he says, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ (2 Cor. 1:4-5). The sending of tests and suffering are entirely God s operation, and He gives them to His saints according to His loving and sovereign will. But the other two agents of spiritual equipping prayer and knowledge of Scripture are the tasks of the gifted men. Like the apostles in Jerusalem, the pastor-teacher is to devote himself above all else to prayer, and to the ministry of the word (Acts 6:4). Like Paul, he should be able to say that his supreme effort is given to admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ (Col. 1:28). As Paul said of Epaphras, it should be said of every pastorteacher that he labors earnestly in prayer for those given into his care, in order that they may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God (Col. 4:12). The devoted pastor-teacher is a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine, which he then prescribes, teaches, reads publicly, and exhorts (1 Tim. 4:6, 11, 13). He is called to preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction (2 Tim. 4:2). Even the most biblical and efficient of church organizations will not produce spiritual maturity without the leadership of God s gifted ministers who are continually in prayer and in His Word. Administration and structure has its place, but it is far from the heart of spiritual church growth. The great need of the church has always been spiritual maturity rather than organizational restructuring. Service The second aspect of God s plan for the operation of His church is service. Paul s language indicates that it is not the gifted men who have the most direct responsibility to do the work of service. No pastor, or even a large group of pastors, can do everything a church needs to do. No matter how gifted, talented, and dedicated a pastor may be, the work to be done where he is called to minister will always vastly exceed his time and abilities. His purpose in God s plan is not to try to meet all those needs himself but to equip the people given into his care to meet those needs (cf. v. 16, where this idea is emphasized). Obviously the leaders share in serving, and many of the congregation share in equipping, but God s basic design for the church is for the equipping to be done so that the saints can serve each other effectively. The entire church is to be aggressively involved in the work of the Lord (cf. 1 Cor. 15:58; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9; 4:10-11; and contrast 2 Thess. 3:11). When the gifted men are faithful in prayer and in teaching the Word, the people will be properly equipped and rightly motivated to do the work of service. From the saints who are equipped God raises up elders, deacons, teachers, and every other kind of worker needed for the church to be faithful and productive.
Spiritual service is the work of every Christian, every saint of God. Attendance is a poor substitute for participation in ministry. Building up The third element and the immediate goal of God s plan for the operation of His church is its being built up. Proper equipping by the evangelists and pastor teachers leading to proper service by the congregation results inevitably in the building up of the body of Christ. Oikodome (building up) literally refers to the building of a house, and was used figuratively of any sort of construction. It is the spiritual edification and development of the church of which Paul is speaking here. The body is built up externally through evangelism as more believers are added, but the emphasis here is on its being built up internally as all believers are nurtured to fruitful service through the Word. Paul s exhortation to the Ephesian elders emphasizes this process: I commend you to God and to the word, which is able to build you up (Acts 20:32). The maturation of the church is tied to learning of and obedience to the holy revelation of Scripture. Just as newborn babes desire physical milk, so should believers desire the spiritual nourishment of the Word (1 Pet. 2:2). 3. The purpose for God s plan Unity of the faith The ultimate spiritual target for the church begins with the unity of the faith (cf. v. 3). As in verse 5, faith does not here refer to the act of belief or of obedience but to the body of Christian truth, to Christian doctrine. The faith is the content of the gospel in its most complete form. As the church at Corinth so clearly illustrates, disunity in the church comes from doctrinal ignorance and spiritual immaturity. When believers are properly taught, when they faithfully do the work of service, and when the body is thereby built up in spiritual maturity, unity of the faith is an inevitable result. Oneness in fellowship is impossible unless it is built on the foundation of commonly believed truth. God s truth is not fragmented and divided against itself, and when His people are fragmented and divided it simply means they are to that degree apart from His truth, apart from the faith of right knowledge and understanding. Only a biblically equipped, faithfully serving, and spiritually maturing church can attain to the unity the faith. Any other unity will be on a purely human level and not only will be apart from but in constant conflict with the unity of the faith. There can never be unity in the church apart from doctrinal integrity. Knowledge of Christ Paul is not talking here about salvation knowledge but about the deep knowledge (epigno sis, full knowledge that is correct and accurate) through a relationship with Christ that comes only from prayer and faithful study of and obedience to God s Word. After many years of devoted apostleship Paul still could say, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:8-10, 12). Paul prayed that the Ephesians would have that knowledge of Him (1:17; cf. Phil. 1:4; Col. 1:9-10; 2:2). Growing in the deeper knowledge of the Son of God is a life-long process that will not be
complete until we see our Lord face-to-face. That is the knowing of which Jesus spoke when He said, My sheep hear My voice, and I know them (John 10:27). He was not speaking of knowing their identities but of knowing them intimately, and that is the way He wants His people also to know Him. Spiritual maturity a maturity to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ. God s great desire for His church is that every believer, without exception, come to be like His Son (Rom. 8:29), manifesting the character qualities of the One who is the only measure of the full-grown, perfect, mature man. The church in the world is Jesus Christ in the world, because the church is now the fullness of His incarnate Body in the world (cf. 1:23). We are to radiate and reflect Christ s perfections. Christians are therefore called to walk in the same manner as He walked (1 John 2:6; cf. Col. 4:12), and He walked in complete and continual fellowship with and obedience to His Father. To walk as our Lord walked flows from a life of prayer and of obedience to God s Word. We all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18). The agent of spiritual maturity, as well as of every other aspect of godly living, is God s own Spirit apart from whom the sincerest prayer has no effectiveness (Rom. 8:26) and even God s own Word has no power (John 14:26; 16:13-14; 1 John 2:20). It is obvious that believers, all of whom have unredeemed flesh (Rom. 7:14; 8:23), cannot in this life fully and perfectly attain the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ. But they must and can reach a degree of maturity that pleases and glorifies the Lord. The goal of Paul s ministry to believers was their maturity, as indicated by his labors to present every man complete (teleios, mature) in Christ (Col. 1:28-29; cf. Phil. 3:14-15). Sound teaching The fourth result of following God s pattern for His church is sound doctrine. The Christian who is properly equipped and mature is no longer a child who is tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming. Kubia (trickery) is the term from which we get cube, and was used of dice-playing. Just as today, the dice were often loaded or otherwise manipulated by professional gamblers to their own advantage. The term for dice therefore became synonymous with dishonest trickery of any sort. Craftiness (panourgia; see Luke 20:23; 1 Cor. 3:19; 2 Cor. 12:16) is a similar term, carrying the idea of clever manipulation of error made to look like truth. Methodia (scheming) is used later in the letter to refer to the schemes of the devil (6:11). No doubt it has reference to planned, subtle, systematized error. Paul s point is that neither the trickery of men nor the deceitful scheming of the devil will mislead the spiritually equipped and mature believer. It is spiritual children (ne pios, lit., one who does not talk), such as were many of the Corinthian believers (1 Cor. 3:1; 14:20), who are in constant danger of falling prey to every new religious fad or novel interpretation of Scripture that comes along. Having no thorough knowledge of God s Word, they are tossed here and there by waves of popular sentiment and are carried about by every wind of new doctrine that seems appealing. Because they are not anchored in God s truth, they are subject to every sort of counterfeit truth humanistic, cultic, pagan, demonic, or whatever. The New Testament is replete with warnings against this danger (see Acts 20:30-31; Rom. 16:17-18; 2 Cor. 11:3-4; Gal. 1:6-7; 3:1; Col. 2:4-8; 1 Tim. 4:1, 6-7; 2 Tim. 2:15-18; 3:6-9; 4:3; Heb. 13:9; 2 Pet. 2:1-3; 1 John 2:19, 26).
The immature Christian is gullible; and in the history of the church no group of believers has fallen into more foolishness in the name of Christianity than has much of the church today. Despite our unprecedented education, sophistication, freedom, and access to God s Word and sound Christian teaching, it seems that every religious huckster (cf. 2 Cor. 2:17; 4:2; 11:13-15) can find a ready hearing and financial support from among God s people. The number of foolish, misdirected, corrupt, and even heretical leaders to whom many church members willingly give their money and allegiance is astounding and heartbreaking. The cause of this spiritual plight is not hard to find. A great many evangelists have presented an easy-believism gospel and a great many pastors have taught an almost contentless message. In many places the Body of Christ has not been built up in sound doctrine or in faithful obedience. Consequently there is little doctrinal solidarity ( unity of faith ) and little spiritual maturity ( knowledge of the Son of God to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ ). Just as many families today are dominated by their children, so are many churches. It is tragic when the church s children spiritually immature believers (cf. 1 John 2:13-14) who change their views with every wind of doctrine and continually fall prey to men s trickery and Satan s craftiness and deceitful scheming are found among its most influential teachers and leaders. Authentic loving testimony namely, speaking the truth in love, a principle that applies to every aspect of Christian life and ministry. The verb translated speaking the truth is ale theuo, which means to speak, deal, or act truthfully. Some have translated it truthing it, while others say it conveys the idea of walking in a truthful way. The verb refers to being true in the widest sense and is hard to translate into English. Yet in Galatians 4:16 it seems to especially emphasize preaching the gospel truth. Since the reference in Galatians is the only other use of the verb in the New Testament, it seems safe to say that the emphasis in Ephesians 4 is also on the preaching of the truth (within the context of a truthful and authentic Christian life). Authentic, mature believers whose lives are marked by love will not be victims of false teaching (v. 14) but will be living authentically and proclaiming the true gospel to a deceived and deceiving world. The work of the church goes full swing, from evangelism to edification to evangelism, and so on and on until the Lord returns. The evangelized are edified, and they, in turn, evangelize and edify others. The spiritually equipped church, whose members are sound in doctrine and mature in their thinking and living, is a church that will reach out in love to proclaim the saving gospel. God does not give us knowledge, understanding, gifts, and maturity to keep but to share. He does not equip us to stagnate but to serve. We are not gifted and edified in order to be complacent and self-satisfied but in order to do the Lord s work of service in building up and expanding the Body of Christ. In love is the attitude in which we evangelize (cf. 3:17-19; 4:2; 5:1-2). 4. The power for this plan The power for being equipped and matured into lovingly authentic proclaimers is not in believers themselves, in their leaders, or in church structure. The Body receives its authority, direction, and power as it grows up in all aspects into Christ, from whom the whole body [is] fitted and held together. That does not negate the efforts of believers, as proved by the phrases by that which every joint supplies and according to the proper working of each individual part. Each of these phrases is extremely significant in conveying truth about the function of the Body. Christ holds the Body together and makes it function by that which every joint supplies.
That is to say, the joints are points of contrast, the joining together or union where the spiritual supply, resources, and gifts of the Holy Spirit pass from one member to another, providing the flow of ministry that produces growth. The proper working of each individual part recalls the importance of each believer s gift (v. 7; cf. 1 Cor. 12:12-27). The growth of the church is not a result of clever methods but of every member of the Body fully using his spiritual gift in close contact with other believers. Christ is the source of the life and power and growth of the church, which He facilitates through each believer s gifts and mutual ministry in joints touching other believers. The power in the church flows from the Lord through individual believers and relationships between believers. Where His people have close relationships of genuine spiritual ministry, God works; and where they are not intimate with each other and faithful with their gifts, He cannot work. He does not look for creativity, ingenuity, or cleverness but for willing and loving obedience. In Colossians 2:19 Paul gives a priceless insight when he warns against not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. The key idea in that verse is for every member of the Body to remain close and intimate, holding tightly to fellowship with Christ, the Head, and thus not be led astray by that which is false and destructive. The sum of all that these truths affirm is that every individual believer is to stay close to Jesus Christ, faithfully using his spiritual gift in close contact with every believer he touches, and that through such commitment and ministry the Lord s power will flow for the building up of the Body in love. The noun growth (auxe sis, used only here and in Col. 2:19) is present middle in form, indicating that the body produces its own growth through resident dynamics. As with all living organisms, spiritual growth in the church does not come from forces outside but from the vital power within that causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself. All of this is in love, which is always to be the spirit of the fellowship of believers. Above all things, the Body is to manifest love, and when it is built up according to this plan, the world will know it is the Body of Christ (John 13:34-35).