The Ministry of the Church

This podcast explores How the Church Functions, Equips, and Builds Itself Up in Love based on Ephesians 4.

Bible Insights with  Wayne Conrad
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Psalms 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

Transcript

Welcome to Bible Insights with Wayne Conrad. God's word is a lamp to our feet and a light on our path. This is our second episode in a series on the church in Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Last time, I mentioned that Ephesians and 1 Corinthians are the two places in the New Testament that contain the most information about the operation and ministry of the church, along with the epistles to Timothy and Titus. In our last episode, which focused primarily on chapter two of Ephesians, we examined and hopefully answered the question, "What is the church?" We did so by discussing the nature of the church and what the church consists of.

We saw that the church is the body of Christ, under His headship, displaying His fullness, and marked by faith, love, and unity. It also has a cosmic significance that extends even into the heavenly realms. The church, as you know, is something that angelic beings—both heavenly and non-heavenly—observe, because it is God's work on earth. Today we turn to a related but distinct question: How does the church function? What is the ministry of the church? Who carries out this ministry? When we speak of the church, I am primarily referring to the church as it gathers together—the assemblies of God, the people who make up local congregations.

The answer that Ephesians gives us may surprise you, and in fact, it may even disturb you. For we are accustomed to thinking that ministry is the primary responsibility of preachers. But when we read from Ephesians chapter 4, which we will do today, we learn that ministry is the responsibility of every member of the church.

It is the responsibility of all of us. We have been too content to leave the ministry to the professionals—the pastors, the priests, the preachers—and think that we are off the hook, that we are not part of this work, that we only listen to them and enjoy their service, but do nothing ourselves.

We simply cheer them on. That is not the biblical pattern. Let us read Ephesians chapter four, and I will be reading from the Christian Standard Bible. Ephesians 4, verse 4 says, “There is one body and one Spirit.” And verse 5, “One Lord, one faith, one God and Father of all.”

Now, grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. For it says, “When he ascended on high, he gave gifts to people.” And what gifts did he give? It says, “He who ascended far above all things gave some gifts to people, and he gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, equipping the saints for the work of ministry to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.” As a result, we will no longer be little children, tossed to and fro, blown about by every wind of teaching, by human cunning and cleverness, or techniques of deceit.

But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way toward him who is the head, that is Christ. From him, the whole body is fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, which promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love through the proper functioning of each individual part. Now I want to go back and look at this. Let us begin with a passage that sets the frame for the whole discussion: Ephesians 4:16. 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. Notice the anatomy here. The church is a body. It has a head. Christ. He is the control center. He is the one who has the mind. It has joints and parts, members, ligaments, cells, and various organs, and they must each carry out their function. The condition for growth is very specific. Every joint must be equipped. Every part must be working properly. When these conditions are met, the body grows and builds itself up in love. The body, physically, must function properly in order to grow to its full maturity and to operate correctly. The same is true in the spiritual body of the church. There is no passive membership in a living body. This is a biological fact as well as a theological one. A limb or organ that does nothing atrophies. A part that does not contribute burdens the rest. Paul’s vision of the church is a body in which every single member, every single person, is contributing, not merely consuming. Now this raises an urgent question: How does that happen? How does every member become a contributor? And that is where Ephesians 4:11 and 12 become so important.

He, who is Christ, gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds—meaning pastors—and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. God gave gifts to His church, and the gifts He gave are people—persons such as apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers. The apostles were the original twelve and their primary associates, who were eyewitnesses of Christ. They laid the foundation upon which other things are built. In this sense, apostles do not continue in the primary way, though the term "apostleship" is sometimes used in the New Testament to refer to those sent out to establish God’s work in new places. But prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers are gifted persons given to the church for one primary purpose: to equip the saints. The saints are those who have been called by God, who have repented of their sins, and who have put their faith in Christ. These are the holy ones, made holy through their association with Jesus Christ, through His holiness, and through the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They are equipped for the work of ministry. We must carefully consider the grammar of this verse. There is a way of reading verse 12 that has had enormous and damaging effects on the church for centuries. It goes like this: the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers do the work of ministry, and the saints are passive recipients who are built up as a result. This creates a great distinction between the clergy, who are supposed to do all the work of ministry, and the people, who are seen as consumers. Under this model, ministry is what the clergy do while the laity watch. This is not a biblical picture or distinction. It is not what Paul says. The correct structure is this.

God gave pastor-teachers to equip the saints, the believers in Christ, so that the saints can carry out the work of ministry. The result of the saints working together in the ministry is the building up of the body of Christ. Therefore, the pastor's role is not to perform the ministry on behalf of the people, but to train, equip, prepare, and encourage the people so that they can carry out ministry together.

This understanding is revolutionary in how we view the church. You may have heard these words and agree that they are true, yet not fully put them into practice. The primary role of the minister of the word is to equip. The congregation is the core of ministry. Every Sunday school teacher or Sabbath school teacher, every hospital visitor, every person who sits with a struggling brother and prays with him, opens the Word, and gives instruction or answers questions, every person who prays faithfully for the saints, every person who shares the gospel with others, and every person who serves in any capacity is engaged in the work of ministry. This includes washing dishes, serving food, and visiting the sick. It is the pastor’s calling to develop and release this ministry among the people. The key idea is that the ministry of the church, the ministry of the assemblies of people who gather together under the Lordship of Christ, with the equipper who is the minister of the word, is not the work of professionals observed by spectators. Every saint is a minister. Every member is a servant. And the pastor’s primary role is to equip them all.

The next point, found in verses 13 through 16, is what this kind of ministry produces. What is its outcome? When this equipping ministry functions properly, what does it produce? Paul describes this in verses 13 through 16. Let me summarize it for you. We are to engage in the work of the ministry for the building up of the body of Christ. For how long?

Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God's Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ's fullness. So, 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 every wind of teaching or doctrine. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way to him who is the head, that is, into Christ.

So four things are mentioned in this passage of Scripture that are produced by the equipping ministry. The first is unity in the faith. The whole congregation growing together into a common understanding and commitment to the gospel of Christ and the key teachings of Scripture. Not the false unity that pretends to agree while quietly tolerating error, but the genuine unity that comes from everyone being grounded in the same fundamental truths. Second, knowledge of the Son of God, not mere intellectual knowledge about Christ or about the Bible, but the living, growing knowledge of Christ himself, an intimate relationship with him, a knowledge of him as a person, knowing his character, his ways, and his will. The equipping ministry is always pointing people toward a deeper knowledge of Jesus. If I can teach you the word of God and stimulate you to grow in your relationship with Jesus so that you know him more intimately, then I have achieved what God wants me to do.

Third result is maturity. Paul describes this as reaching the fullness of Christ, the measure of the stature of Christ. The fullness of ministry is not measured by numerical church growth. It is good to have numerical growth, but it is far more important to have growth in Christlikeness. The entire congregation should grow spiritually, so that we increasingly resemble Jesus Christ, our head and our Savior. The fourth result is stability.

No longer children, swayed by every new teaching, by every changing doctrine that comes from television, radio, or social media. A church in which the saints are being equipped is a church that is not easily led astray by the latest theological trend or the strongest cultural influence, nor by the most persuasive false teacher. People who are grounded cannot be easily moved. Their feet are firmly planted on Christ and on the word of God.

Then, verse 15 gives us the method. We have the result—unity in the faith, knowledge of the Son of God, spiritual maturity, and stability. But verse 15 gives us the method: speaking the truth in love. Ministry is not merely truth without love. That is harshness. Nor is it merely love without truth. That is sentimentality. It is truth spoken in love, which is the only combination that truly produces growth toward Christlikeness.

Lastly, we should consider the ministry of mutual care. I want to draw attention to this dimension of the church’s ministry that Paul touches on throughout his letter, though it is not specifically mentioned in the verses I read. This is the ministry of mutual care. Being in the church means being in a relationship of ongoing, practical love toward one another. He mentions this in verse two of chapter four, which I did not read.

Bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. This is ministry—true, costly, daily ministry. Bearing with one another means enduring the difficult, the trying, and the wearying aspects of life together.

Sometimes life can be challenging and dull. It does not sound glamorous. Most of life is not glamorous. We truly enjoy moments of great pleasure. But the substance of life is found in the time between those moments. There is no stage and no applause in real life. It is this ministry that holds the body together.

Without it, all the preaching and teaching in the world will not keep a congregation united and growing. It requires personal relationships of care, personal relationships of growth, of understanding, and of being present for one another. This brings us to the ministry of intercession that Paul mentions in Ephesians 6:18: "making supplication for all the saints." Praying for other believers is not a supplement to ministry; it is ministry. When you pray for your brothers and sisters by name, when you carry their burdens before God, when you intercede for their struggles, their families, and their faith, you are doing the work of ministry just as surely as anyone who stands or sits behind a pulpit or table.

Prayer for all the saints requires that you know them. You cannot pray meaningfully for people you do not know. Generalized prayers, such as saying, "Bless all the people in the congregation," are not what the Bible intends. It calls for regular, committed participation in the local church, in the gatherings that meet together on the Lord’s day. This is not a mere religious habit.

It is a prerequisite for the ministry of intercession. You must be involved in the life of the church, present at the meetings, attentive to the needs of others, and engaged with fellow believers in order to pray faithfully for all the saints. The work of the ministry, the ministry of the church, includes preaching and teaching, but it also includes the daily responsibilities of bearing with one another, praying for one another, speaking the truth in love, and sharing the gospel with others. The work of evangelism, the work of apologetics, and defending the faith—these are all carried out by all the saints. The pastor leads, but he cannot do this alone. All believers must follow and participate. This brings us to the close of this particular episode.

We have seen from Ephesians so far that the church’s ministry is not limited to professional individuals—the clergy, preachers, or staff. No, God gave pastor-teachers to the church in order to equip every saint for the work of ministry. Every member contributes to the growth and building up of the body. This is the work of ministry. Such ministry produces unity, knowledge of Christ, spiritual maturity, and stability.

This work is carried out not only through formal teaching and preaching, but also through the daily, sacrificial practices of bearing with one another, speaking the truth in love, praying faithfully for all the saints, and being present in one another’s lives. Next time, we will examine the worship of the church as defined in Ephesians. What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit in the congregation? Why is congregational worship irreplaceable in the life of the Christian disciple? Congregational worship means being present and participating in a congregation as it offers praise to God, prays for one another, and teaches and instructs one another.

This has been Wayne Conrad, with Bible insights, reminding you that Ephesians 4:16 says, “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.” Let us be ministers of Christ, building up the body of which we are a part. God’s word is a lamp to our feet and a light on our path. Until next time, this is Wayne.