WEBVTT 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:05.839 Well, I've been given the gift of these verses. 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:07.200 We're in the book of Ephesians. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:11.199 If you're new to Trinity, we're preaching through the book of Ephesians. 00:00:11.199 --> 00:00:16.239 And I am so excited about the verses I get to deal with this morning. 00:00:16.239 --> 00:00:18.960 I want to encourage you to open your heart. 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:23.760 How many know there's a saying that I have that I repeat often. 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:28.719 Those who are most bound by tradition are those who don't think they have any. 00:00:28.719 --> 00:00:31.600 And it's true. 00:00:31.600 --> 00:00:45.520 Some of you are familiar with one of some of the things we'll be sharing this morning, but for some of you, they may be new and you've never heard it, or you've wondered about it, and maybe this will be an answer to prayer. 00:00:45.520 --> 00:00:48.799 So turn with me in Ephesians to chapter 4. 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:51.600 Ephesians chapter 4. 00:00:51.600 --> 00:01:03.520 And I want to read a few verses in chapter 4, beginning in verse 7. 00:01:03.520 --> 00:01:08.000 Would you mind standing before the Lord as we read God's word in his presence? 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:10.799 Let's begin in verse 7. 00:01:10.799 --> 00:01:12.959 Ephesians 4, 7. 00:01:12.959 --> 00:01:19.359 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. 00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:27.439 Therefore, it says, when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. 00:01:27.439 --> 00:01:35.040 In saying he ascended, what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 00:01:35.040 --> 00:01:42.079 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. 00:01:42.079 --> 00:02:01.200 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 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of us of the Son of God to mature manhood. 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:02.319 Let's stop there. 00:02:02.319 --> 00:02:06.159 Father, thank you for these verses in Ephesians. 00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:08.240 Thank you for the truth they convey. 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:09.680 We need to hear it, Lord. 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:11.919 We pray for open hearts this morning. 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:16.879 We pray for the gift of hearing the word of God, untainted by tradition. 00:02:16.879 --> 00:02:20.319 We thank you, Father, you're going to speak to us through these words. 00:02:20.319 --> 00:02:28.159 And we pray that as people hear them, you would give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:33.039 Open our hearts to receive the Word of God in Jesus' name. 00:02:33.039 --> 00:02:35.439 And everyone said, Amen. 00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:36.560 You may be seated. 00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:37.520 Thank you. 00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:45.680 It was a number of years ago I did a series in a local church I was serving out of state. 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:48.479 And I called this series, I love this title. 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:51.120 It's my favorite title of any series I've ever done. 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:55.840 It was called the Local Church Prison Camp or Training Camp. 00:02:55.840 --> 00:02:58.479 Question mark. 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:08.560 And the burden of that message was to help believers see clearly what God has called pastors to do and why they're so vital to the body of Christ. 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:18.319 And it focused not only on pastors, but on the fivefold ministry and how fivefold ministry was necessary to equip the saints. 00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:26.080 That's what I want to focus on mainly in our text this morning, but I want to spend time in the verses that precede it. 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:31.120 I've simply entitled this, Pastors as Equippers. 00:03:31.120 --> 00:03:37.599 Now we've seen that this letter to the Ephesians has two sections in it. 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:44.879 In the first half of this book, chapters one through three, the apostle deals with our identity in Christ. 00:03:44.879 --> 00:03:52.240 In the entire section, verses chapters one through three, there's not one command or one imperative. 00:03:52.240 --> 00:04:04.319 The entire section, chapters one through three, is a series of indicative statements comprised of several theological statements, all dealing with what God did in Christ. 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:08.319 And that's why we call we're calling this series in Christ. 00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:19.839 In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul never refers to believers one time as Christians, but as men and women who are in Christ. 00:04:19.839 --> 00:04:23.600 And it's so important to see that. 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:25.759 It's either in Christ or in him. 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:27.279 Listen to chapter one. 00:04:27.279 --> 00:04:45.199 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose him in him, us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:47.199 What does in Christ mean? 00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:50.720 It means that Jesus is our federal head. 00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:59.839 And that's a term that may not be familiar to all, but what it means simply is what true, what is true of Jesus is now true of us. 00:04:59.839 --> 00:05:02.800 What is true of Jesus is now true of us. 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:08.079 I remember Watchman Knee in a book I read years ago called A Normal Christian Life. 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:14.079 He talked about uh in Christ by giving this the little illustration. 00:05:14.079 --> 00:05:15.839 It's a little crude, but it works. 00:05:15.839 --> 00:05:19.360 He says, here's a book and here's a piece of paper. 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:22.879 If you drop the book on the pulpit, what happens to the paper? 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:24.399 Nothing. 00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:27.839 If I hand the book to Tyler, what happens to the paper? 00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:28.560 Nothing. 00:05:28.560 --> 00:05:32.639 If I mail the book to Mark, what happens to the paper? 00:05:32.639 --> 00:05:33.199 Nothing. 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:33.839 Why? 00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:37.199 Because the paper and the book have separate histories. 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:38.879 They're not united together. 00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:41.519 What happens to one does not affect the other. 00:05:41.519 --> 00:05:46.240 But what if I put the paper in the book and I hand the book to Tyler? 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:48.160 What happens to the paper? 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:50.000 It goes with Tyler. 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:53.839 If I hand the book to Mark, what happens to the paper? 00:05:53.839 --> 00:05:58.800 What the paper's history and the book's history are now one. 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:04.079 And that's exactly what Paul's saying when he says we are in Christ. 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:13.759 Two weeks ago, Kelly opened up the seventh second section of Ephesians chapter 4 through 6, which deals with the believer's walk. 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:18.319 And in this chapter, he introduced us to our calling as believers. 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:24.000 He focused on four qualities that are essential to fulfill our calling. 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:36.560 He said, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called, with all humility, gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love. 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:45.680 And last week Tyler preached verses four through six of chapter four, and the theme of Christian unity. 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:56.959 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, three thousand denominations. 00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:02.000 The great unity of the faith. 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:10.959 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:21.439 And now, in the five verses which I'll deal with this morning, Paul tells us that Christian unity is enriched by the diversity of our gifts. 00:07:21.439 --> 00:07:25.759 Christian unity is enriched by the diversity of our gifts. 00:07:25.759 --> 00:07:32.160 Though Christians are to live in unity, that doesn't mean believers are mere stereotypes of each other. 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:35.839 How many are glad for the variety in the body of Christ? 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:39.600 Could you survive if the only jokes you heard were mine? 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:41.199 No. 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:51.680 Boy, survive, yes, but I went to I went to my psychiatrist. 00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:52.639 She said, You're crazy. 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:54.000 I said, I want a second opinion. 00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:55.759 He said, You're ugly too. 00:07:55.759 --> 00:07:58.399 That's it, folks. 00:07:58.399 --> 00:07:59.120 No more. 00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:02.480 If I'm gonna stop right now, I can't stop. 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:09.839 Those of you new to Trinity, I had a I had a calling which I clearly forsook. 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:12.319 I had a calling to be a comic. 00:08:12.319 --> 00:08:16.240 But I'm just that I'm in full-time misery. 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:16.959 Minister. 00:08:16.959 --> 00:08:21.519 See what happens when you go down that road. 00:08:21.519 --> 00:08:28.959 The body of Christ is one, but it's diverse in its giftedness. 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:35.200 The word grace in chapter 4, verse 7, is an important word. 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:41.840 In scripture, it's the Greek word charas, and it's from that Greek word that the word charismatic is formed. 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:49.519 All churches should view themselves, therefore, as charismatic, in that we're all received of his grace. 00:08:49.519 --> 00:09:00.720 And this stresses both the universality of gifting, meaning that every believer has received a gift, and diversity, meaning not all receive the same kind of gift. 00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:04.320 These verses tell us three things about the gifts. 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:07.200 First, they tell us about the giver of these gifts. 00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:13.120 They tell us, secondly, about their character, and thirdly, they tell us about their purpose. 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:14.799 So let's start. 00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:18.240 Verses 5 through 10 tell us about the giver of these gifts. 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:23.200 The giver of spiritual gift, Paul says, is the ascended Christ. 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:28.480 Paul quotes Psalm 68, verse 18, to explain this fact. 00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:34.480 When he ascended on high, he led a host of captives and he gave gifts to men. 00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:45.759 Paul cites Psalm 68 to portray the risen Christ as a victorious king who has ascended on high, taken captives, and now gives gifts to his people. 00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:52.000 And the phrase ascended on high is a prophecy regarding Messiah's ascension. 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:56.559 You know, we don't talk about the ascension of Jesus enough, I think. 00:09:56.559 --> 00:10:09.840 The fact that not only did he die and was buried, but he was raised from the dead and then ascended to the right hand of the Father to take the ultimate seat of glory and power in the universe. 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:12.399 That's the ascension of Jesus. 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:17.120 And it fulfilled the ancient prophecy of Psalm 110, verse 1. 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:24.000 The Lord says to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:30.799 Peter, when preaching on the day of Pentecost, referenced his ascension. 00:10:30.799 --> 00:10:44.320 He said, Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from him the promise of the Father, of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 00:10:44.320 --> 00:10:46.240 That's Acts 2.33. 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:52.000 The fact that Peter speaks about his ascension in his preaching on the day of Pentecost is interesting. 00:10:52.000 --> 00:11:02.559 Did you know that according to Judaism, the Jewish people believe that Pentecost was the day the law was given to Moses on Mount Sinai? 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:09.120 And on that day, Moses was given the law written on tablets of stone. 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:19.679 2,000 years ago, on another day of Pentecost, Jesus received the Spirit and gave him to his people to write his laws on our heart. 00:11:19.679 --> 00:11:31.759 And that's why three, and by the way, 3,000 died on the Pentecost that Moses celebrated because of idolatry, but 3,000 were added to the church. 00:11:31.759 --> 00:11:38.639 And this Pentecost that occurred 2,000 years ago. 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:42.000 And Paul adds a parenthesis in verses 9 through 10. 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:49.120 In saying he ascended, what does it mean that he also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:56.480 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. 00:11:56.480 --> 00:12:08.240 He is saying in that if Psalm 68 is dealing with the fact that he ascended, it means by implication that he first descended into the lower regions of the earth. 00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:13.600 The King James states it that he descended into lower parts of the earth. 00:12:13.600 --> 00:12:19.919 The early church fathers, many of them, understood this as a reference to his descent into hell. 00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:30.799 There's a teaching based on this verse and others that Jesus, after he died, descended into hell where he had to be tormented for the salvation of man. 00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:38.159 I do not believe Jesus descended to hell to be tormented, because when he died, he said it is finished. 00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:56.080 Shortly after his death, Jesus' human soul went to the realm of scripture calls Sheol or Hades, the place of the dead, but not to the place of fiery, eternal punishment. 00:12:56.080 --> 00:13:03.279 In paradise. 00:13:03.279 --> 00:13:06.320 Today you'll be with me in paradise. 00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:09.759 That's not what this verse is teaching, that he went to hell. 00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:14.159 Rather, it's simply saying that his ascension followed his incarnation. 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:31.120 This fits well, by the way, with Philippians 2, 5 through 11, where dying on a cross describes his deepest humiliation, followed by his supreme exaltation. 00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:38.559 Jesus gave specific ministry roles to his church as gifts for its growth and maturity. 00:13:38.559 --> 00:13:48.399 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry. 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:51.440 This is known as the five-fold ministry. 00:13:51.440 --> 00:13:54.399 And we believe in it because it's scriptural. 00:13:54.399 --> 00:14:02.080 God gave to the church five roles or gift of people to the church for its equipping. 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:05.120 And these verse tell us about the gifts Jesus given. 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:14.639 To be more exact, they describe not gifts given to people as we read in 1 Corinthians 12, but gifts of people given to the church. 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:20.159 And it starts with apostles or sent ones. 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:33.519 By the way, these men members of the fivefold ministry were appointed after Jesus ascended, not before, because many would say there's no apostles today. 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:42.000 Well, this is not a reference just to the twelve, it's a reference to the fact that there's still apostolic people in the earth. 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:47.519 Fivefold ministry were appointed after Jesus ascended. 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:50.639 And this is important to recognize. 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:54.799 Now there's a group of apostles that will never be added to. 00:14:54.799 --> 00:15:09.200 We call them capital A, big A, and no one will be added to the group. 00:15:09.200 --> 00:15:18.399 If you are sitting under teaching where someone says, I'm part, I'm an apostle, meaning I'm one of the apostles of the Lamb, take up your stakes and go. 00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:20.799 Because that is not true. 00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:28.559 Jesus gave 12 apostles of the Lamb, He handpicked them, and they were directly appointed by Jesus and sent by Him. 00:15:28.559 --> 00:15:32.879 They will serve as foundation stones in the New Jerusalem. 00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:33.919 Did you know that? 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:41.600 And the wall of the city had 12 foundations, and on them were the 12 names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb. 00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:49.279 And all toll, there's 28 people called apostles in the New Testament. 00:15:49.279 --> 00:15:54.480 And again, that includes the 12, but there's others, or 16 others. 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:58.399 This these apostles we would give a small A to. 00:15:58.399 --> 00:16:04.879 They're not apostles of the Lamb, chosen directly by Jesus, but they're apostles of the churches. 00:16:04.879 --> 00:16:08.240 In fact, they're mentioned in 2 Corinthians 8 23. 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:12.559 As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:14.960 As for our brothers, they are messengers. 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:17.360 The Greek word there is apostolos. 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:21.519 They are apostles of the churches, the glory of Christ. 00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:27.440 And these apostles of the churches were sent out from churches. 00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:30.399 There's apostles for the churches at Trinity. 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:41.440 And Yuri and Olga, Mark and Amy, even Rob and Chris, and also y'all and myself. 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:56.080 They're apostles of the churches. 00:16:56.080 --> 00:17:02.000 Then he gave also some as prophets. 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:06.160 Did you know that prophets are alive and well in the body of Christ? 00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:14.640 These are people who stand in the council of the Lord, bringing a current word, a fresh word from the Lord. 00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:20.400 The New Testament clearly teaches that prophets had an important role in the body of Christ. 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:24.480 For example, Paul describes a New Testament gathering this way. 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:27.920 We see that prophets had a prominent role. 00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:33.519 He said, Let two or three prophets speak and let the others weigh what is said. 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:40.799 Paul says about, and notice he says, two or three prophets, which means these were recognized prophets in the local church there. 00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:45.839 And they were to speak, and the others were to weigh what was being said. 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:47.839 Prophets work with teachers. 00:17:47.839 --> 00:17:54.160 Here's a miracle: prophets and teachers work together without killing each other. 00:17:54.160 --> 00:18:02.079 Luke describes in chapter 13 of Acts how these prophets and teachers work together. 00:18:02.079 --> 00:18:07.279 He says, Now there was in the church at Antioch certain prophets and teachers. 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:17.039 It is a challenge for them to work together because prophets love to soar in the spirit, but not spend time studying the word of God. 00:18:17.039 --> 00:18:19.279 That's a generalization, but it's true. 00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:25.440 And teachers love the word of God, but they don't have too much time for prophets. 00:18:25.440 --> 00:18:27.839 But folks, it's not an either-or. 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:29.039 We need both. 00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:37.039 God has called us to embrace the prophetic, He's called us to embrace teaching, and we need both. 00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:40.160 Evangelists. 00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:42.640 He gave some as evangelists. 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:46.640 This word evangelist occurs three times in the New Testament. 00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:52.400 Here in Ephesians 4:11, in Acts 21:8, Philip was called the evangelist. 00:18:52.400 --> 00:18:58.000 And 2 Timothy 4.5, Paul told Timothy to do the work of an evangelist. 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:05.839 It may refer to the gift of uh evangelistic preaching or of making the gospel particularly plain and relevant. 00:19:05.839 --> 00:19:10.960 And let me say, I failed to say earlier, the purpose of these gifts is to equip the saints. 00:19:10.960 --> 00:19:19.039 We'll talk about that in a minute, which means when apostles function in the New Testament church, we become an apostolic people. 00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:23.759 When the prophets function, we become a prophetic people. 00:19:23.759 --> 00:19:28.640 When evangelists function, the body of Christ becomes equipped to do evangelism. 00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:34.559 It isn't just that we have these gifts and we get excited and glory in the fact that we have these gifts. 00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:37.200 We have them because they equip us. 00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:40.240 And I'll talk about that in a moment in a moment more. 00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:43.759 Evangelists think of one thing: souls. 00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:48.559 That's all they eat and breathe and sleep souls. 00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:51.119 And we need this gift in the body of Christ. 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:56.480 There are people in our midst who are evangelists and who go after the souls. 00:19:56.480 --> 00:20:01.839 And everybody should pray for the grace of ability to do evangelism. 00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:06.000 Because it's not just evangelists who are called to do evangelistic work. 00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:11.200 Everybody should have a heart to be an evangelist. 00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:14.160 That's why Paul told Timothy, do the work of an evangelist. 00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:19.519 Timothy was not an evangelist, but Jesus, Paul said, do the work of an evangelist. 00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:22.799 Pray that God would let you do the work of an evangelist. 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:27.759 And to do that, you have to open your mouth and speak. 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:38.079 There's a great need for gifted evangelists today who can pioneer new ways of exercising and developing the evangelistic gift. 00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:44.160 And then probably the most known of the five-fold ministry are the following ones. 00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:47.440 He gave some as shepherds and teachers. 00:20:47.440 --> 00:20:52.319 Now you'll notice the definite article is not repeated in the expression. 00:20:52.319 --> 00:21:00.079 If it was, it would read, he gave some as shepherds, quote, some uh some teachers, but it doesn't. 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:09.839 It says uh he gave some shepherds and teachers, and that means that shepherds who are called to tend the flock, they do so by teaching. 00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:13.440 That's an important way that shepherds feed the flock. 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:18.880 Every pastor must be a teacher, but not every teacher is a pastor. 00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:29.759 Shepherds is a description of what elders do, and never is it appear, there's never a single shepherd in the New Testament church. 00:21:29.759 --> 00:21:38.559 It's always shepherds plural, which is why we have a team of shepherds or elders at Trinity that are pastoring the church. 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:40.000 And we have a lead pastor. 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:44.400 Tyler functions as a lead pastor, but we all shepherd the church. 00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:54.880 Uh every pastor shepherds the church, is why we have not only multiple elders, but we have a shared pulpit. 00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:57.920 Shepherds is a description of what elders do. 00:21:57.920 --> 00:22:12.559 Paul, when speaking to the elders, At Ephesus said, pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:22.000 I exhort the elders among you, Peter says, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker of the glory that is to be revealed. 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:41.039 Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you, not for shameful gain, but eagerly, not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock, is 1 Peter 5, 1 through 3. 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:47.039 So the fivefold ministry gifts are given for the equipping of the saints. 00:22:47.039 --> 00:22:51.599 It takes the entire fivefold ministry to equip a church. 00:22:51.599 --> 00:22:56.720 It's one of the reasons local churches import ministry gifts. 00:22:56.720 --> 00:23:02.960 They are lacking to minister to the church, because they understand it takes the whole five-fold ministry. 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:16.240 Having saying that, let's look at the roles pastors play specifically in equipping the saints, because that is a low local church function. 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:31.839 One of the things which determines whether or not a local church will function as a training camp or a prison camp is whether or not the pastoral staff of that church has an accurate understanding of their role biblically and functions accordingly. 00:23:31.839 --> 00:23:53.359 That about churches and pastors and who pastors are and what they do that is clearly not biblical. 00:23:53.359 --> 00:24:05.680 The mindset, this mindset has kept pastors functioning as God intended, and that he has had a direct effect on the function or non-function of the members of the body of Christ. 00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:15.759 The best description of the relationship between who pastors are and how it relates to the body of Christ, I found, is by a man named Elton Trueblood. 00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:22.240 Listen to his description of the relationship between pastors and how it relates to the body of Christ. 00:24:22.240 --> 00:24:27.920 He says the ministry is for all those who share Christ's life. 00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:38.160 The pastorate is for those who possess the peculiar gift of being able to help others practice any ministry to which they are called. 00:24:38.160 --> 00:24:39.920 Isn't that tremendous? 00:24:39.920 --> 00:24:51.440 I love that quote because it sets clearly forth the biblical reality of who pastors are, who the people of God are, and how the two are related. 00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:55.200 True Blood starts with a statement about who is in the ministry. 00:24:55.200 --> 00:24:59.759 We would expect it to say pastors are in the ministry, but it's a shocking statement. 00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:05.440 He says the ministry is for all those who share Christ's life. 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:09.680 Did you know when you got saved, you entered the ministry? 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:13.920 And don't panic, you don't have to quit your job and get a mailing list. 00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:26.640 If you have the life of Christ, God has given you a ministry. 00:25:26.640 --> 00:25:29.440 All Christians are in the ministry. 00:25:29.440 --> 00:25:40.559 You know, the lack of understanding that has caused great harm in the body of Christ, especially to leaders. 00:25:40.559 --> 00:25:44.319 As I travel the nation, I find tired leaders. 00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:46.480 And guess why they're tired? 00:25:46.480 --> 00:25:54.480 They're doing the ministry for the majority who are functioning in a ministry gift that's in wasn't in the New Testament. 00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:56.079 It's called spectator. 00:25:56.079 --> 00:26:01.680 And they're spectators. 00:26:01.680 --> 00:26:06.960 They sit on the fence because they they believe that ministry is not open to them. 00:26:06.960 --> 00:26:08.559 That's why they're tired. 00:26:08.559 --> 00:26:10.559 It's like a Valves football game. 00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:16.480 100,000 people in their stands, desperately needing exercise, 11 on the field, desperately needing rest. 00:26:16.480 --> 00:26:29.039 He says the pastorate is for those who have the gift of helping others practice their ministry. 00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:31.839 That's what pastors do among many things. 00:26:31.839 --> 00:26:35.279 They train and equip God's people for ministry. 00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:42.079 In other words, pastors service others so that they are equipped to function in what God has called them to do. 00:26:42.079 --> 00:26:45.920 Now I realize this is backwards again from what people usually think. 00:26:45.920 --> 00:26:50.000 Pastors are, they think pastors are in the ministry, and we support them. 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:55.759 But this clearly reflects the biblical picture of why God gives pastors to the body. 00:26:55.759 --> 00:27:02.799 True blood statement in reality simply reflects what scripture teaches. 00:27:02.799 --> 00:27:13.359 Paul doesn't give, in listing the five-fold ministry in Ephesians 4.11, Paul doesn't give a detailed description of who these gifted people are. 00:27:13.359 --> 00:27:17.119 The emphasis is clearly on what they do for the body. 00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:20.720 They equip people more than an understanding of who they are. 00:27:20.720 --> 00:27:29.680 He tells us a little about who they are, but mainly his focus is on what they do, and that is they equip people for the work of the ministry. 00:27:29.680 --> 00:27:40.079 That means when pastor teachers function properly, the result is people are empowered so that they begin to function in their God-appointed spheres. 00:27:40.079 --> 00:27:46.799 The purpose of pastors, therefore, is to empower the body so they become ministers. 00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:59.440 Unfortunately, if you've been around the body of Christ for any length of time, you know this is not the prevailing view that most people hold regarding who and what pastors do. 00:27:59.440 --> 00:28:05.759 It was certainly not the way I thought in my second pastorate over 45 years ago. 00:28:05.759 --> 00:28:10.240 I was burning out and I took a year off to learn what ministry really was. 00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:17.440 And it was during that time that I learned the importance of recognizing my philosophy of ministry. 00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:21.119 You know what I mean by talk about a philosophy of ministry? 00:28:21.119 --> 00:28:26.720 It's an understanding not only of what ministry is, but why we do what we do. 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:32.240 I actually had a philosophy of ministry, but it was the wrong one. 00:28:32.240 --> 00:28:37.519 In fact, I soon learned that as a pastor, I could have one of three philosophies of ministry. 00:28:37.519 --> 00:28:46.720 I could be a museum curator, I could be a short-order cook, or I could be a wise master builder. 00:28:46.720 --> 00:28:51.200 Now I had no problem with being a museum curator. 00:28:51.200 --> 00:28:57.519 You know what a museum curator, his job is to take care of old relics and make sure they never become new. 00:28:57.519 --> 00:29:06.480 He wants old and decrepit things. 00:29:06.480 --> 00:29:09.359 You don't go to a museum to see new things. 00:29:09.359 --> 00:29:15.680 Now, certain aspect of that is good because we're called to handle the ancient word of God and safeguard it from changing. 00:29:15.680 --> 00:29:21.759 But uh, you know, museum curators are those who fight hard to maintain traditions. 00:29:21.759 --> 00:29:27.119 And I didn't have that problem when I got saved, coming out of Judaism right into the body of Christ. 00:29:27.119 --> 00:29:37.680 I had no problem being, I was not battling being a museum curator, but I took the second uh philosophy of ministry. 00:29:37.680 --> 00:29:39.680 I was a short-order cook. 00:29:39.680 --> 00:29:43.920 My philosophy was no philosophy at all. 00:29:43.920 --> 00:29:45.759 It's to fill orders. 00:29:45.759 --> 00:29:47.759 That's all I did. 00:29:47.759 --> 00:29:51.119 A short-order cook does not think about yesterday or tomorrow. 00:29:51.119 --> 00:29:54.559 His only task is to fill the next order. 00:29:54.559 --> 00:30:02.799 This is the concept of pastoring who sees ministry as nothing more than meeting needs. 00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:07.759 I stood before my congregation and said, I'm here to meet all your needs, and they took me up on it. 00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:10.559 They brought their cousins and uncles and aunts. 00:30:10.559 --> 00:30:16.880 This is the concept of pastoring that most people love. 00:30:16.880 --> 00:30:19.759 Pastor gives me womb-to-tomb service. 00:30:19.759 --> 00:30:24.079 Someone asked me one, what do pastors do? 00:30:24.079 --> 00:30:31.279 I said, they dedicate babies, they marry people, they bury people, they hatch them, match them, and dispatch them. 00:30:31.279 --> 00:30:38.720 That was a new one. 00:30:38.720 --> 00:30:41.440 No, it wasn't. 00:30:41.440 --> 00:30:42.480 No, it wasn't. 00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:47.440 You have a short-term memory. 00:30:47.440 --> 00:31:02.000 Now there's several things, shorter to cook as a philosophy, there's several things about it that are wrong, not the least of which it puts incredible demands on one person to meet everyone's needs. 00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:04.960 I think that's a biblical principle. 00:31:04.960 --> 00:31:10.400 A pastor's job is not to meet everyone's needs, but to make sure everyone's needs are met. 00:31:10.400 --> 00:31:22.640 Jerry Cook, in his groundbreaking book, Love, Acceptance, and Forgiveness, tells a story of a woman in his church who was hospitalized for 17 days. 00:31:22.640 --> 00:31:28.240 And the pastor never went to visit her in the hospital. 00:31:28.240 --> 00:31:29.599 She was very mad. 00:31:29.599 --> 00:31:36.160 And he heard that 17 people had visited her, and he called her up and she said, Why haven't you come and visit me? 00:31:36.160 --> 00:31:40.480 He said, I heard 17 people from the church came and visited you. 00:31:40.480 --> 00:31:42.559 She said, Yes, that's right, but you didn't. 00:31:42.559 --> 00:31:44.480 He said, Let me get this straight. 00:31:44.480 --> 00:31:51.440 Jesus Christ visited you 17 times, and you didn't receive it because you'll only receive him in one form. 00:31:51.440 --> 00:31:55.119 Good answer. 00:31:55.119 --> 00:32:02.799 But the third uh philosophy of ministry is the one we strive at. 00:32:02.799 --> 00:32:05.279 It's called wise master builder. 00:32:05.279 --> 00:32:12.400 And in 1 Corinthians 3 10, Paul uses the word architect non, from which we get our English word what? 00:32:12.400 --> 00:32:13.759 Architect. 00:32:13.759 --> 00:32:16.000 He says, I am an architect. 00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:18.160 And he calls himself that. 00:32:18.160 --> 00:32:24.000 And that meant that Paul saw blueprints for the house and knew what God wanted to build. 00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:29.519 He was a wise master builder, which by inference means there's foolish master builders. 00:32:29.519 --> 00:32:34.160 There's people who build weakness into the body of Christ rather than strength. 00:32:34.160 --> 00:32:41.359 The most important thing Paul's saying when he calls himself a wise master builder is he's an architect. 00:32:41.359 --> 00:32:43.759 He saw the plans of the house. 00:32:43.759 --> 00:32:49.279 And in this regard, he's much like Moses, who God gave the plans for the tabernacle. 00:32:49.279 --> 00:32:55.200 When we think about pastors being set in the body to equip people, it's not just a good idea. 00:32:55.200 --> 00:32:58.079 It's the way that God has built his house. 00:32:58.079 --> 00:33:05.119 Wise master builders know how to build people solidly upon the only foundation. 00:33:05.119 --> 00:33:18.240 So let me end by taking you through three applications of the word equipping that is translated in Ephesians 4, 12. 00:33:18.240 --> 00:33:24.720 To understand this properly, I want to take a moment to talk about the meaning of this powerful word, equipping. 00:33:24.720 --> 00:33:27.920 It's the powerful Greek word katartismos. 00:33:27.920 --> 00:33:34.400 In the New Testament, that word is used in three distinct ways. 00:33:34.400 --> 00:33:44.400 As we understand these ways, we are used, we are, they begin to help us to know how pastors are called to equip. 00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:50.240 The first way that word was used was in a medical or medicinal fashion. 00:33:50.240 --> 00:33:53.039 It was translated by the word mending. 00:33:53.039 --> 00:33:56.880 Remember when Jesus called Andrew and Simon? 00:33:56.880 --> 00:33:58.000 They were in the boat. 00:33:58.000 --> 00:34:00.480 Remember what they were doing when Jesus called them? 00:34:00.480 --> 00:34:03.519 It says they were in the boat mending the nets. 00:34:03.519 --> 00:34:07.200 And that word mending is a medical term. 00:34:07.200 --> 00:34:12.559 And it's used here, translating catartismos. 00:34:12.559 --> 00:34:17.519 It's the idea of restoration and healing. 00:34:17.519 --> 00:34:22.960 What it conveys is as pastors, teachers function, they bring mending to lives. 00:34:22.960 --> 00:34:35.840 I've for the years I've been in ministry, I've gone through, you know, I've seen so many people come into the church and they're racked with uh unhealthiness and things of this nature. 00:34:35.840 --> 00:34:43.440 And I saw the five-fold ministry, especially pastors as a function, bring healing and restoration. 00:34:43.440 --> 00:34:47.360 The result is the entire church is immersed in grace. 00:34:47.360 --> 00:34:50.000 It becomes the therapeutic community. 00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:59.360 The love of God in a healthy church is a healing agent, mending broken lives. 00:34:59.360 --> 00:35:09.599 And again, I've watched people come in whose lives were utterly shattered and saw the word of God and loving pastors minister to them and healing occur. 00:35:09.599 --> 00:35:11.360 It's a powerful thing. 00:35:11.360 --> 00:35:19.199 When a church is healthy, it exercises a mending ministry, a restorative ministry. 00:35:19.199 --> 00:35:24.159 God can bring both broken lives into that church so they can be healed. 00:35:24.159 --> 00:35:29.519 The second way this term catarisms was used. 00:35:29.519 --> 00:35:35.039 It was used in the world of construction for establishing or laying foundation. 00:35:35.039 --> 00:35:40.639 The most important aspect of building is laying the foundation. 00:35:40.639 --> 00:35:45.679 Foundation is the building is only as strong as its foundation. 00:35:45.679 --> 00:35:51.280 New Testament reveals that Jesus is both our foundation and our equipper. 00:35:51.280 --> 00:35:53.280 And that brings up an important question. 00:35:53.280 --> 00:35:58.880 How can pastors be both uh you know equippers? 00:35:58.880 --> 00:36:08.559 Uh how can pastors in Jesus Christ, that is, be equippers and uh pastors at the same time. 00:36:08.559 --> 00:36:13.119 Our Paul Stevens in his book, Liberating the Laity, supplies an answer. 00:36:13.119 --> 00:36:16.559 This is my favorite definition of leadership. 00:36:16.559 --> 00:36:25.280 The human equipper's major function is not to make people dependent upon the leaders, but dependent upon the head. 00:36:25.280 --> 00:36:31.280 This is the highest possible calling. 00:36:31.280 --> 00:36:41.599 It requires the strongest possible leadership in the church to lead people in such a way that they do not become dependent on human leaders. 00:36:41.599 --> 00:36:50.320 Equipping, directing people to find their life and future in Christ Himself makes the highest claim on leadership. 00:36:50.320 --> 00:36:58.639 True leaders are always pointing people to the all-sufficient Christ to whom each member is connected. 00:36:58.639 --> 00:37:03.519 Folks, believe it or not, Jesus Christ is really the head of the church. 00:37:03.519 --> 00:37:06.800 He's the head of the church, not the retired founder. 00:37:06.800 --> 00:37:16.719 Along with Jesus Christ is our foundation, the written word is fundamentally connected to laying foundation in our lives. 00:37:16.719 --> 00:37:32.719 It's not pastors' personalities or their winsomeness or their ability to tell jokes that brings completeness to lies, but the ever-living, abiding word of God that makes people whole. 00:37:32.719 --> 00:37:39.599 This tells us the main job of pastors is to be pointing people to Jesus Christ through the written word. 00:37:39.599 --> 00:37:44.079 By the way, the word of God not only informs, it performs. 00:37:44.079 --> 00:37:46.639 And then finally, training. 00:37:46.639 --> 00:37:53.039 The word was used, catertismos, in the training of athletes. 00:37:53.039 --> 00:37:56.880 It is sometimes translated by the English word discipline. 00:37:56.880 --> 00:38:04.480 When pastors function the way they ought, the local church becomes a training camp where people are trained for life and ministry. 00:38:04.480 --> 00:38:10.880 Paul understood this training for athletes because the Olympic Games were created in his backyard. 00:38:10.880 --> 00:38:14.159 Some of us have been watching the Olympics this week. 00:38:14.159 --> 00:38:21.440 How many know the athletes don't train just to train, but that they might compete in the Games? 00:38:21.440 --> 00:38:25.679 By the way, has anybody figured out that sport of curling? 00:38:25.679 --> 00:38:26.880 I don't get it. 00:38:26.880 --> 00:38:31.679 Shelley loves it. 00:38:31.679 --> 00:38:33.679 She gets it. 00:38:33.679 --> 00:38:39.039 It's bowling on steroids. 00:38:39.039 --> 00:38:47.360