August 13, 2018 GIFTS WITH A PURPOSE
Ephesians 4:11-13 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelist, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
These two verses may be the two most neglected passages in the church today. Personally, I have never been a part of, and never heard of a church where the teaching of these passages are actually in operation. The church is made up of God’s people and He has chosen to use the church as His primary means of expressing Himself to His followers and to the world. Our culture focuses on the individual and this often carries over into the church. As believers, we should for the most part think in terms of ‘we’ and not so much ‘me.’ It is a clear teaching of scripture that believers need each other if we are to be spiritually healthy. God primarily uses the church, the body of Christ, as the means of bringing believers to maturity. God is the one who knows exactly what each member of the body needs in order to grow spiritually. In the verse above, we see that God gives to the church apostles, prophets, evangelist, and pastors and teachers for the purpose of equipping the believers for the ‘work of service’ and for the ‘building up the body of Christ.’ Every local church may not have each of these positions operative full-time, but each church should see that the members are routinely exposed to these ‘equippers’ if the church is to be healthy. Another error among some believers today is that there is a perception, or belief that our ‘Christian’ service, or our duty is that of ‘going to church.’ We must be reminded that the primary reasons for being active in a local church is to become spiritually mature and to be equipped to be expressions of the gospel, to represent the kingdom of God in all we do seven days a week. The church is a gathering place where believers meet to worship, to fellowship, and to be trained in the things of the Lord. The goals that God has for us is that we come to a unity of the faith, to know Jesus personally, to become mature, so that we may resemble Jesus. The sad reality is that even many church ‘leaders’ have not grasped the truth and the importance of this passage of scripture. You may need to search out a church that is more in line with this view of what the church is, or you may need to ask God how in the church you attend you might encourage others to move toward this understanding of the church. There are no perfect churches, but get involved in a local church and be one that pursues God with all of your heart. By the way, God always reaches His goal-be encouraged.
Matthew 16:18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”
Blessings,
Bud
Ephesians 4:11-13 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelist, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
These two verses may be the two most neglected passages in the church today. Personally, I have never been a part of, and never heard of a church where the teaching of these passages are actually in operation. The church is made up of God’s people and He has chosen to use the church as His primary means of expressing Himself to His followers and to the world. Our culture focuses on the individual and this often carries over into the church. As believers, we should for the most part think in terms of ‘we’ and not so much ‘me.’ It is a clear teaching of scripture that believers need each other if we are to be spiritually healthy. God primarily uses the church, the body of Christ, as the means of bringing believers to maturity. God is the one who knows exactly what each member of the body needs in order to grow spiritually. In the verse above, we see that God gives to the church apostles, prophets, evangelist, and pastors and teachers for the purpose of equipping the believers for the ‘work of service’ and for the ‘building up the body of Christ.’ Every local church may not have each of these positions operative full-time, but each church should see that the members are routinely exposed to these ‘equippers’ if the church is to be healthy. Another error among some believers today is that there is a perception, or belief that our ‘Christian’ service, or our duty is that of ‘going to church.’ We must be reminded that the primary reasons for being active in a local church is to become spiritually mature and to be equipped to be expressions of the gospel, to represent the kingdom of God in all we do seven days a week. The church is a gathering place where believers meet to worship, to fellowship, and to be trained in the things of the Lord. The goals that God has for us is that we come to a unity of the faith, to know Jesus personally, to become mature, so that we may resemble Jesus. The sad reality is that even many church ‘leaders’ have not grasped the truth and the importance of this passage of scripture. You may need to search out a church that is more in line with this view of what the church is, or you may need to ask God how in the church you attend you might encourage others to move toward this understanding of the church. There are no perfect churches, but get involved in a local church and be one that pursues God with all of your heart. By the way, God always reaches His goal-be encouraged.
Matthew 16:18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”
Blessings,
Bud
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