Sunday, December 20, 2015 pm
STUDIES IN EPHESIANS
(24)
Equipped For the Work of Ministry
Ephesians 4:12-16
As
we continue our study in the book Ephesians, last month we began
addressing leaders appointed by God for the building up of the body.
In that lesson we addressed the various works given for brethren.
We talked about the apostles, prophets, evangelists, preachers &
teachers. We noted that each
of these functions is related to delivering God’s word.
Tonight we want to notice what they are appointed to do.
a.
For the equipping of the saints –
The word “for” is a preposition that in this case means unto or toward –
in the direction of accomplishing its goal.
Equipping – (καταρτισμός,
katartismos) is a word that means to bring something to its completion.
Other terms would include perfecting or preparing one toward
something. That something is
identified in our text and has to do with going on to perfection – our
theme this year.
The root of this word is found in texts like 1 Corinthians 1:10 –
perfectly joined…; Hebrews 13:21- complete in every good work and 1
Peter 5:10 – may God …perfect you.
Also of interest is its use in Matthew 4:21 where the term
describes the disciples “mending” their nets.
Fixing them so that they are usable.
NOTE: The various functions provided in the previous verse lead to the
SAINTS being equipped.
This text is yet another reminder of what we all need to be
doing. It’s not just about
the leaders doing their part, but as this entire text emphasizes, we all
have a part. We all need to
be equipped to do our function.
b.
For the work of ministry
(service) -
This is not a separate function from the equipping of the saints, but a
result of it. The word
“ministry” (διακονία, diakonia) is a derivative of the same word for
deacon and it simply means a servant, or in this case the “work of
service”.
The word is found in texts such as Luke 10:40 where Martha was
distracted with much “serving”; relief that is sent to brethren in Judea
(Acts 11:29); Romans 12:7 – gifts of ministry used for ministering; and
Revelation 2:19 where the church at Ephesus is commended for their love
and service…. The word is
also used of the work of Paul and other preachers – Col. 4:17, 2 Tim.
4:5, Acts 12:25.
What the “ministry” is, is determined by the text.
In our text it speaks of one serving others for the sake of building up
the body of Christ.
It is not about the leaders fulfilling THEIR ministry (they are the
teachers who are equipping the saints), but rather it is the members
doing their work.
We are here reminded that we all have works to do – whether it be
reaching the lost, caring for the needy, or building each other up
within the church.
It is NOT about providing social activities, conducting business, being
engaged in community service, etc.
These are ALL VERY GOOD works that need to be done, and done by
Christians, but the approach of this passage is dealing with God’s word
which these leaders instruct us in.
c.
For the edifying (building up) of the body of Christ
-
This too is not a separate work, but the result of our work of ministry.
The word edifying (οἰκοδομή, oikodomē) is a term that means building up.
It Is a building term that can either mean, the process of
building (as in construction) or a building that is the result of
construction (cf. BDAG).
IT is a term that often describes the responsibility we as Christians
have to strengthen each other in the faith – as in this verse.
In 1 Corinthians 3:9 Paul said, “We
are God’s fellow workers, you are God field, you are God’s
building.”
In Romans 14:19 we pursue things that make for peace and edifying one
another;
1 Corinthians 14:3, 5, 12, 26 – dealing with our worship, let all things
be done for edification.
Also Ephesians 4:16 (edification) and vs. 29, let what proceeds out of
your mouth be necessary for edification.
In our text, it is the RESULT of working with that which we have been
equipped with. The body that
is edified is the church, which we have addressed throughout this letter
(and will also note further in vs. 16)
Often we fail to grow as the Lord’s church because 1) we are not
(perfected) adequately equipped AND we are not genuinely serving others
as we ought to.
a.
For how long is this
work needed? Vs. 13
describes that. Summarized
it is until complete maturity is reached.
This includes:
b.
We come to the unity of the faith – Unity means “oneness”.
We have emphasized this unity throughout Ephesians 4.
Remember the 7 “ones” of 4:1-6 (the elements of unity).
Philippians 2:1-2 describes the degree of our unity.
i.
The faith
– Till there is perfect agreement as to God’s word.
Agreement is crucial to true unity.
We need to seek agreement as to understanding.
We need understanding in what are matters of faith and what are
not (matters of liberty), We
need united respect for His word.
We need to understand matters that are crucial to oneness – such
as our worship, how we are saved, what is the church, fellowship,
morality – all matters that affect both me and my brethren together.
Romans 12:2 – when we are transformed it is so, “you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will
of God.”
ii.
And of the knowledge of
the Son of God
– an understanding of who Jesus is and what He did to promote this
oneness is crucial.
There is a reason we emphasize the need for understanding the very
nature of Jesus. If we are
not united on who Jesus is, everything else could be skewed.
John’s epistles were addressing one who had a false view of the nature
of Jesus – Gnosticism. That
view affected their moral behavior.
Understanding that Jesus lived AS a man is crucial to His being able to
help us with our temptations (Heb. 2:17-18, 4:14-16)
In this letter alone, Paul has emphasized WHAT Jesus did to bring us
together. Ephesians 2:5 – made alive together in Him, 2:13-16 – brought
near and reconciled by His blood, 3:9 – “the fellowship of the mystery”
– a reference to revelation that unites us – including prophecy, etc.
c.
To a perfect man
– one who has reached maturity -
The word “perfect” here describes one who is mature or fully developed.
When it comes to “faith” I think of Abraham when he offered his son
Isaac – Hebrews 11:17, Gen. 22
This has been an emphasis this year in our studies as we speak of going
on to perfection – Heb. 6:1.
Heb. 5:14 note that solid food belongs to those of full age…
Colossians 1:28 – preaching Christ can help us
present every man perfect in Him.
2 Peter 1:5-11 – as we build upon our faith we reach the point of making
our call and election SURE!
NOTE: The maturity and unity within a congregation depends upon the
maturity of its members!
d.
To the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ
– unity is achieved when we all imitate Jesus in our lives.
We fully understand Him and seek to live as He lived.
Consider WWJD – while the premise can be abused (used with
self-serving motives to dismiss true obedience and unity) it is true
that we must seek to imitate Him.
1 Corinthians 11:1 – imitate me as I also imitate Christ.
When Jesus called His disciples, He said, “Follow Me…” (Matt. 4:19).
He was asking them to physically follow Him, but in time their
realized that to follow Him meant to much more than just following Him
around. Matthew
28:19-20 – they were to “make disciples” – a disciple is a follower –
one who learns and imitates the Master’s teachings.
There is nothing that will promote true unity more than all of us being
like Christ. Those entrusted
to teach us ought to keep this as our goal.
1 Peer 2:21 – Jesus suffered leaving us an example that we should walk
in His steps.
Ephesians 5:1 – be imitators of God.
e.
Having said all this,
there is always room for growth.
We will never reach the point where we cannot grow any more in
these things, therefore we must continue on and we continue to need to
built up in His word! That is
one reason we need to here every chance we can – Hebrews 10:24-25 –
exhorting one another.
WHEN we reach that state
of perfect unity in word some of the results include:
a.
We should no longer be
children – we
have reached maturity. We
have grown up.
There comes a time when we need to put away childish things (cf. 1 Cor.
13:11)
There were problems in Corinth because they were acting children – 1
Corinthians 3:1-3
1 Corinthians 14:20 in understanding be mature
Hebrews 5:12-14 again reminds us of this.
God’s word is described as food – 1 Peter 2:1-2, Hebrews 5:14, John
4:34, etc.
b.
No longer…tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine
by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.
Children are precious, but they are also gullible.
Young children absolutely depend on others to protect them in
many ways. They are not
capable to take care of themselves – that is, they are not MATURE yet!
When we grow up in God’s word we reach that point to where we can fend
off the predator. One of the
responsibilities of elders is to identify and expose the wolves
(Acts 20:28-32, Titus 1:9-11); Preachers are to expose error – 2
Tim. 4:2, etc.
But as part of the flock, do we want to be totally dependent on these
leaders and not think for ourselves?
That is dangerous!
What is a leader is a wolf in sheep’s clothing (Matt. 7:15, cf. 2 Peter
2:1-3) When leaders are
doing their job, they are not only watching the flock, they are also
bringing the flock to maturity so that they can protect themselves.
Friends, that is why YOU need to grow in God’s word.
That was the rebuke of Hebrews 5:12-14!
c.
Speaking the truth in
love,
(we) may grow up in all things
into Him who is the head – Christ – finally maturity applies not
only to our actions, but also our attitudes and motives.
We have emphasized continually the importance of godly motives.
Christian love (agapē) is to be behind all that we do.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3. 1
Corinthians 16:11 says, “Let all
that you do be done with love.”
When those who are leading us in developing God’s word teach us
properly, these things are the results for each of us.
We will be grounded so that we can do our part to cause the
Lord’s body to grow. That is
what vs. 16 is about. In our
next lesson we will address the results of our maturity within the body.
Until then, let us resolve to equip ourselves for the work of
ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ.
Think about it.