Ministers All

      Imagine you have been recruited to help build a building, let's say a new clinic. You've been given a brand new toolbox filled with shiny new tools—a hammer, a saw, a drill, a tape measure, a screwdriver—every needed to do your job.  Now, imagine this:  once at the job-site you're made to sit by as just one person tries to build the clinic .

      Of course, if you’re the type of person who doesn’t mind letting others do the work, reaping the benefits without exertion on your part, you might feel this is a pretty cushy situation.  But what if you really want to see that clinic built, really want the community to benefit from what it has to offer, discover what you felt when you wandered into a similar clinic years ago?  Would it be frustrating to see the slow progress on such an important project?

The frustration you may feel is akin to the frustration Christ must feel as he watches how slowly his church is being built.

 Paul showed the Ephesians that all Christians should be involved in building the church as it moves toward maturity.  That's key to understanding Ephesians 4:12-16.

     

 Christ has called us all to a ministry that leads to maturity.

    

     

I

CHRIST CALLS US TO A SHARED PARTICIPATION IN MIN1STRY

12

     

      The Oxford comma (also known as the serial comma) has been in the news again.  It seems a group of delivery drivers working for a Maine dairy sued and won the right to overtime pay because a relevant law listing those exempt from having to be paid overtime omitted a comma.  The law said those involved in “canning, processing, preserving,
freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution” of perishable goods-like milk—were not eligible for overtime pay.  Since there was no comma before the word “or,” lawyers for the drivers argued that “packing for shipment or distribution” did not include the drivers’ work.  The judge, while recognizing the case hung of imprecise grammar, ruled in favor of the drivers.

 Way back in my junior high school days, a teacher told of how a missing comma in a will meant one heir received a larger inheritance than two other heirs.  Ever since hearing that story, I’ve been a fan of the Oxford comma.  I’m not fanatical about it but I usually use it.  In fact, I don’t understand the fuss made by those who oppose its use.  Listening to them, you’d think the Oxford comma has caused a worldwide shortage of the little punctuation mark. 

Now, having spoken up for the Oxford comma, I admit this verse reminds us of the possible danger of one comma too many.  In the Authorized Version the verse says “apostles, prophets, pastor-teachers” have been given to the church “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry ... "  There’s a comma between “saints” and “for,” implying the work of the ministry is the duty of those gifted person.

A misplaced comma has led to a misunderstanding of the role of pastors and other church leaders.   Remove that comma and it becomes clear it is the perfected saints who are to engage in “the work of the ministry.”  The New Living Translation captures the idea Paul is attempting to convey, “Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church.”

The so-called 'special' ministries of the church are special only in so far as they equip others who have their own ministries.

 The word translated 'equip' means to enable or to help others achieve their purpose.

Ordinary Christians are to help the church do its work, the work outside the church walls and within those walls.

 Some churches are as guilty of clericalism as any state church.  We are told that only those specially trained can do the work of comfort, teaching, and witnessing.  We forget that the early church spread through the efforts of Spirit-inspired fishermen, businesswomen, and other “amateurs.” 

  We all have a role to play. We should stand ready to console, correct, comfort, and cheer our fellow believers.

    Paul defines the ministry in which Christ calls us to participate:  “building up of the body of Christ.”   This helps to define our focus; we minister to make the church stronger, not to enhance our own agendas.

    A church should be stronger, healthier because we have been a part of it.

     

II

CHRIST CALLS US TO A SHARED PURSUIT OF MATURITY

(13f)

     

      Remember, this is a corporate pursuit, "we all"

     

      Every Christian ought to be actively involved in the pursuit of maturity.  We ought to always be ready to help rather than hinder our fellow Christians in the pursuit of maturity.

     This is an ongoing pursuit. By its very nature maturity doesn't come overnight.   It takes time to recognize what is truly valuable, to know what is important for ourselves and for our church.

    We don’t always recognize what is valuable, what is important.  Charles Swindoll tells of an experience when he was pastor in Boston.   Someone gave his son a baseball signed by several Red Sox players.  The boy could barely hide his disappointment as he said, “Thank you.”  Later he told his father, "Gee, Daddy, somebody wrote all over it."

Years ago someone told me of a young pastor who had a talk with a woman who was interested in joining his church.  The pastor, knowing this woman had little education and worked in a menial job, felt she didn’t fit in a congregation of professionals.  He told her she might be happier in another church.  With more grace than I might have shown, she joined the church anyway.  She became one of the hardest workers and most consistent servants in that church.  She took jobs others just wouldn’t do.  That pastor learned something about recognizing value.

     

What should be our common aim in building up the church?  What should we work for if we want our church to attain real maturity.     

      1. We should aim for a maturity marked by a fundamental unity. (13)

      Cliques and parties are not part of a maturing church. (I Cor 3:1-4)

      Any church can have unity when there is agreement; not every church can have unity when there is disagreement. That's the kind of unity a mature church has.

     

      2.  We should aim for a maturity marked by a growing knowledge of Christ. (14)

       Who among us can say our knowledge of Christ is all that it should be? Paul is not talking about getting to know the facts of the gospels.

     Do you know Him as Savior?  Do you know Him as Comforter, Friend, Teacher, Lord?

     

      Do you know Him as the model for your relationships?  One sign of our growing knowledge of Christ will be increasing Christlikeness.

     

      3.  We should aim for a maturity marked by a confident stability in our Faith. (14-1S)

        We need such a confidence and knowledge of our Faith that we will not be subject to the ideological fads that sometimes assault the church.

     The verse contains a warning against the kind of immaturity that allows us to be "blown from our course and swayed by every passing wind of doctrine." (NEB) Such immature believers are often the victims of tricksters who wait to deceive them.

In contrast, mature Christians are confident in what they believe, so confident that they can "speak the truth in love" in a caring attempt to correct those in error. Many who speak the truth without love do so because they lack confidence in what they believe, they are harsh because they must rely on threat and coercion father than the winsome appeal of the truth.

When we learn to speak the truth with that kind of loving kindness, we will become more and more like Christ.

     

      4.  We should aim for a maturity marked by a mutual dependence on Christ within our diverse ministry. (16)

The image of the body, as Paul uses it, stresses both the unity of the Body and the diverse functions of its members.

Each part of the body depends on the others and all depend on Christ. Each part of the body contributes to the health and well-being of the others. In a church we are all important, we all have a place, we all have something to contribute.   

The key to being a community marked by love is to be “under the control of Christ.” (NIV)  Without that quality of love, all our “evangelistic” efforts will bear little fruit.

  With such love, any church—large or small—stand out in its community.  The quality of that fellowship will attract others to Christ.

………

      Christ has called all of us to ministry within his church. If we hear his call to ministry, we will also hear his call to move toward real maturity.

     

      The first step toward that maturity is to recognize that we are to be a community of ministers, not a one-person show.   The next step is to find your ministry and get busy.

     

      When people ask me if I have a staff, I'd love to be able to say, "Not exactly a staff, but I have about 75 associate ministers. "