In addition to my role as a local church pastor, I also serve as the director of a mission board that plants and revitalizes churches throughout the United States. We're currently working to establish eight different churches, and it looks like we may be starting a ninth sometime soon.
Until someone attempts to plant a church, they usually don't understand the emotional cost it will require to get it established and help it grow. I have a monthly meeting with our church planters because they frequently struggle with feelings of loneliness and isolation. During the early days of their work, they are often forced to wear multiple hats and serve in ways they don't really feel equipped to serve, but because they don't have an established congregation or a long-term team of volunteers, most responsibilities fall on their shoulders.
That can be tolerated for a short season, but if it continues for longer than it should, it results in burn-out, exhaustion, and discouragement. So one of our goals as a board is to assist our planters when it comes to organizing their newly established churches, showing them how to develop additional leaders, and helping them develop ministry teams to assist with the work.
In general, churches that prioritize leadership development and a team approach to ministry tend to thrive, while churches that place too many ministry responsibilities on the shoulders of too few people, tend to struggle and decline.
In Ephesians 4:7-16, Paul explains the ways in which Christ has equipped all believers to find a role of service in the church. Investing ourselves in that role of service benefits all believers. It contributes to the maturity of our own faith, and fosters the maturity of others as well.
I. All believers have received a gift of grace
“But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says,
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”
(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) ”
Something I have discovered over the course of my life is that one of the most enjoyable ways to use your blessings is to shower them upon others. When we use what the Lord has blessed us with to be a blessing to someone else, we get a small taste of how He feels when He extends His generosity toward us.
According to Scripture, all believers have been blessed in Christ. We've been given the generous gift of His grace, and as we see this concept developed in the coming verses, we'll see that this means we've been spiritually equipped with God-given abilities to serve each other.
Paul describes these gifts being distributed like a king returning back from a battle and sharing the spoils of war with those who are united to him. He quotes from Psalm 68:18 to make his point, and he gives us a picture of the ongoing benefits of the victory Jesus secured.
Jesus came to this earth, conquered the foes of sin, Satan, and death, then He ascended above all the heavens with power and authority over all creation. In the meantime, He desires to see His church built on this earth, so He supplies all believers with the gifts that are necessary to make that happen.
That's an important thing to notice, especially if you're a new believer who doesn't yet understand your role, or if you have a behind-the-scenes personality that might mistakenly think the only ways to serve in the church are from a stage or a pulpit. If you have faith in Jesus Christ, there's a ministry you have been specifically equipped to do. That statement is true of every single believer, so why does it seem like a minority of believers are willing to answer their calling to serve?
II. We're called to use this gift to build one another up
““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,””
Recently, while my family was away on vacation, we asked a young man from our church family if he would be willing to preach in my place. He agreed, and he did an excellent job. He has experience teaching, but this was the first time he ever delivered a sermon. I don't think most people realized that though because he was clearly doing the type of thing the Lord had equipped him to do as he preached.
A few days later, during our mid-week Bible study, I asked people if they would be willing to give him helpful feedback on his message and delivery. The feedback was very encouraging and helpful, and several people expressed surprise to learn that preaching wasn't something he was doing regularly.
I was grateful for that moment, because in my mind, this is a great example of how the church is called to operate. We're called to value each others' gifts and give each other opportunities to put those gifts into practice. I believe the Lord is also glorified when we express our thankfulness for how these gifts are used, and testify to how we were blessed in the usage.
Because the Lord loves the church and wants it to be healthy, He calls us and equips is in multiple ways. Our areas of service vary, and our roles of leadership differ. Look at the variety of leadership roles Paul mentions in this passage. Christ called some of the early church leaders to serve as apostles of the faith. He called others to operate in a prophetic role and gave them the ability to foretell future events or speak in a way that would directly impact the conscience of the hearers. Christ has also called people to serve in evangelistic roles, pastoral roles, and teaching roles.
When leadership is shared, the entire church benefits. When leadership is concentrated in just one or two people, many important gifts go unused. That's why in our church we're continuing to develop our teams of elders and ministry directors, while encouraging them to develop teams that serve alongside them. If we ignore this responsibility, we won't enjoy many of the benefits that are described in this chapter of Ephesians.
III. Using our gifts contributes to maturity in the church
““until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.””
In your opinion, what does maturity look like?
Recently, while our family was renting a cabin, we heard a whimpering sound at the front door. When we opened the door, a small beagle puppy came bounding inside. It took two laps around the cabin, then jumped up onto the couch with me, leaned her head against my side, then took a nap. When she woke back up, she was thrilled to get a considerable amount of attention from our family. In her excitement, she ran out to the garbage can, took a box out of the trash and started chewing on it. Then she jumped on top of an end table, knocked my wife's coffee over, then jumped back down on the floor and started pulling up the carpet with her teeth.
That beagle was cute, but it certainly wasn't mature. It needed to be taught, trained, disciplined, and loved. And in my estimation, there are still many Christians, of all ages, that seem to have the spiritual maturity of that puppy. They're cute, cuddly, and fun, but they really need some discipline, structure, and guidance.
Many believers don't know the Scriptures. Why is that? Because they don't care enough to learn them. It's really that simple. And in the absence of biblical knowledge, they're easily led astray by worldly beliefs, false doctrines, and the schemes of the evil one. Don't let that be you.
Use your spiritual gifts and let others use theirs in your life. Walk by faith in Jesus. Commit His word to memory, and grow mature in your walk with Him. There are few things as sad as someone who has claimed to know Jesus for decades, but still has an untrained, unstructured, undisciplined faith like a spiritual puppy. It stops being cute once you have to replace the carpet.
IV. We are being built up in the love of Christ
““Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.””
As Paul concludes these verses, he does so with a challenge to speak to one another in love. But please notice what we're called to speak to one another. We're called to speak the truth. If we aren't speaking the truth, or if we're avoiding uncomfortable truths, we're not really benefitting one another like we've been called to.
In love, we can point out error. In love, we can challenge the wandering. In love, we can comfort the grieving. Because of our common faith in Christ, we are united to one another like one body, so let's do our part to contribute to each other's spiritual health.
Several years ago, a member of my extended family went through a very lean time financially. She was out of work, as was her husband. One evening, she stopped to put gas in her van, and just before she paid, a friend who was at the same gas station and knew her situation swiped his card and bought her a full tank of gas. He could have withheld that blessing, but he didn't.
Have you ever considered the fact that choosing not to use the gift of grace Christ has given you to serve your brothers and sisters in the church is the same as withholding your love? It's like having the ability to meet a need out of your abundance, but choosing to keep the gift for yourself.
For Christ's glory, and in view of His great love, let's use our gifts to build one another's faith. Let's grow mature together.
© John Stange, 2021
