Ephesians 4:11-16
Pastors are given to
churches as gifts to bring the members into spiritual maturity (Vs. 11). A pastor, with his pastoral staff, who is
effective as an overseer and shepherd will certainly make this passage a
reality (Eph. 4:11-16). In addition, he must be vested
with the
Spiritual Gifts and Maturity to lead and serve the church as
Pastor. Success in churches is often measured by attendance, money, and
facilities. This is actually rank worldliness, unvarnished shallowness, and fleshly carnality. There is nothing truly spiritual about these matters...they are simply manmade metrics to a large degree. Some will point to a few passages in the Bible to defend their use of these measures, but the truth is any company, organization, or religious group can brag about the same type of statistics. These measures do not include anything inherently supernatural or God-wrought! Well then...what does God actually require? How can a faithful pastor gauge whether or not he is having a God-honoring impact? Notice the marks of the effective pastor according to God’s view:
1.
The Church Will Be Spiritually Prepared and Well Trained. Vs 12, For
the perfecting of the saints . . . .
The gift-people/leaders are to prepare God’s people for
works of service. That is the equipment
of all God's people in the church for ministry. The idea is "to prepare" or "to put right." The thought is applied to surgery in the
setting of a broken bone, to the mending of nets (Matt 4:21) and the
restoration of the back-slider (Gal 6:1). Such preparation
is the work and service of the pastor. The pastor literally trains the deacons,
trustees, preacher boys, Sunday School teachers, ushers, treasurers, and
Children’s church workers. Leaders are
not to do all the work of the
ministry; leaders are to prepare the members to minister.
Remember the old TV show Six Million Dollar
Man? Think about how he was basically rendered a paralytic as a result of a space shuttle
crash upon return from space. But the
doctors used high tech equipment to rebuild and reconstruct him... to make him
better than ever before. This is the idea behind the pastor’s ministry of
taking people who have been paralyzed and broken by sin, leading them to Christ; then with the Word of God rebuilding them and making them productive for
the Lord Jesus Christ.
2.
The Church Will Be Serving and Working Effectively. Vs 12, for the
work of the ministry
It is here that we have often missed the implications of
the body of Christ portrait, and developed congregational patterns that deny
rather than express what the church is.
All too often leaders are hired by a congregation to do the “work of the ministry.” The
pastor is expected to teach. To evangelize. To counsel. To visit the sick. To
pray with the discouraged. If the church grows in size and new members are
added, it is taken as an indication that their local congregation is healthy
and the minister is doing his job. If the church fails to grow or the budget is
not met, the one to blame is the minister. After all, he was hired by the church
to minister.
How different is this modern view from the Bible’s portrait
of a living body! In a living organism, every
cell contributes. The body’s health depends on each member fulfilling its
special function. No one person can carry out the functions of the living
organism the Scripture describes. No one person or team of paid professionals
was ever intended to. The role of leaders within the church has always been to
help the members of the body grow in capacity to minister; to help each
individual find and use his or her spiritual gifts. The role of leaders has
always been to lead all believers into a fulfilling life of service. This is the key to effective ministry and
healthy church life—good food and plenty of exercise will keep a body healthy
and strong.
When we miss this, and put the ministry of the church onto
the professional, we have lost sight of who we are. The local congregation
becomes weak, unable to respond as a healthy body to the directions of its
Head.
3.
The Church Will Be Built Up Spiritually and Numerically. Vs 12, the edifying of the body of Christ:
The first ministry of believers is to other believers. Spiritual growth in house supercedes
numerical growth through reaching out.
A son of about five years old, wanted to mow
the family lawn. They had a push mower then. The kind in which the blades moved
only when the wheels moved, and the wheels were moved by people power. Well,
little Paul pushed and strained—and finally found an answer. He leaned on the
handle, lifted the wheels off the ground, and easily moved the mower on just
the back roller! How busy he looked, chugging up and down across the lawn. And
how little grass he cut!
After a while, the father would explain. “Soon, Paul,
you’ll grow, and then you’ll be able to make those blades turn. Then you can
help a lot.” (Wiersbe)
How often in the church we concentrate on organizing
spiritual five-year-olds to push better lawn mowers, and wonder why so little
of God’s grass gets cut! The church is called to first be “edified” and “grow up into Him in
all things, which is the Head, even Christ” (v. 15). Maturing within the body, growing more and more like
Jesus, is the believer’s first calling. To equip the church for service,
believers must minister to one another first and then to the world.
Do not misunderstand: this focus on building one another up
is not “selfish.” It is essential. Only as we grow toward maturity together can
we respond fully to Jesus as He directs us to serve in the world. Only a strong
and healthy body can carry out the tasks assigned to it in evangelism and
missions. Our effectiveness in communicating the Gospel and the love of God to
the world around us depends on our growth toward maturity. This kind of growth
takes place as we—members together of one body—build each other up in love,
each part doing its own ministering work (vs. 16).
4.
The Church Will Be United and Growing in Unity (Doctrine) Vs 13, the unity of
the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God
The ultimate goal in view is the attainment of completeness
in Christ. Paul likewise insisted on the
togetherness of Christians in the church in other passages (1Thess 4:15-17). In vs. 4:3 "the unity of the Spirit" is a blessing to be pursued and guarded. Here "unity
in the faith" is a goal to be pursued and
reached. Growing in unity in “the faith” deals with
doctrine the true foundation of unity, not love. You never sacrifice doctrine for some kind of
false unity. Such a realization of unity will arise from an increasing knowledge
of Christ as the Son of God in corporate as well as in personal experience.
5.
The Church Will Be Focused on Spiritual Maturity and Strength. Vs. 13, unto a
perfect man,
Vs. 15, may grow up
into him in all things, which is
the head, even Christ:
It is vital that we “grow up
into Him” if we are to be a valid expression
of Jesus in this world. The whole body grows and builds itself up in love, as
each part does its work and makes its valuable contribution (vs. 16). This is sometimes hard to accept. We look at
the world and are burdened by the need for evangelism. We look at the poor and
are burdened by the need to help and bring relief. We look at the suffering and
are impelled to comfort and to care. So sometimes we slip into the trap of organizing
the local church to undertake one or more of these tasks. We program
evangelistic efforts and buy more buses. We commit ourselves to an active
church social life and great involvement.
All too often we lose sight of the fact that the first function of the
body is to build itself spiritually. Our goals must be to be a perfect mature
strong man who can stand firm for Christ is a darkened world. The first area of growth must be spiritual.
6.
The Church Will Be Projecting a Combined Testimony to the Character of
Christ as a Standard. Vs 13, unto the
measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
The local church as a whole is seen as "one new man" in
Christ (Eph 2:15).
Individualism is a mark of immaturity.
This perfection or completeness is proportionate to “the fullness of Christ”
himself. Another believer is not the
standard, nor merely another church, but Christ himself is.
The “fullness of Christ” himself is the standard.
Just as Christians may be filled to the measure of “all the fullness of God"
(Eph 3:19), so
together we are to aspire to the full measure of perfection found in the
character of Christ. Everyone should
seek moral and spiritual conformity to the image of Christ. This is an appropriate body for a glorious Christ. (MacDonald)
Let us project together a clear and accurate
portrait of the stature and fullness of Christ’s Character. Let us as a church assembly be conformed to His
outstanding features spiritually and morally.
Just as He was Wise, Faithful, Holy, Committed, Submissive, Fervent,
Compassionate, Loving, Unselfish, and Gracious so should His local churches corporately be.
7.
The Church Will Be Stabilized by Sound Doctrine and Not Gullible. Vs 14, be no
more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about
The metaphor of maturity is carried over from vs. 13. Immaturity is
avoided when we follow God’s pattern. There must be no hindrance in development
among us as believers and church members.
We are to abandon childish and shallow attitudes and be our age (1 Cor. 13:11). Paul switches
from one metaphor to another as he depicts the features of spiritual
infants. We cannot afford to be babes “tossed to and fro” and
whirled around by every gust of fashionable false teaching. Blown here and
there and feeling dizzy from the confusing effect of false doctrine. No, our
goal must be to grow up!
Yes, we
are to be stabilized and planted in sound doctrine which affords rock solid
direction for life and practice. One of the main reasons Christians get out of
sorts with the pastor is because they cannot appreciate mature wisdom and sound
doctrine applied to everyday life. Beloved, do not
settle down as a mere spiritual babe– underdeveloped because of a lack of
exercise in truth (Heb. 5:12). Make the choice to grow up and become
a part of the stability of the church instead of being an unstable perpetual liability.
8.
The Church Will Be Focused and Contributing in Every Subdivision. Vs.16, the whole
body fitly joined together . . . according to the effectual working in the
measure of every part . . . .
Every member involved, and making a meaningful contribution
to the welfare of the church and positively impacting the community for
Christ. Each member focused on the same
basic goals, priorities, and mandates.
Each member contributing according to his or her gifts and abilities
effectively. Not just busy, but
accomplishing the very will of God.
9.
The Church Will Be Growing, Increasing, and Ministering in Love to Each
Other Vs 16, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in
love.
There will be no compromise as to clear biblical teaching
and the fundamentals of the faith. Then
there will be a right spirit of love supervising the ministry activity ensuring
that there is no one-sided testimony.
Yes, a remarkable balance
between love and truth is wonderfully achieved.
Together we make a complete living organism mutually contributing and
growing in harmony. This process depends
on the fact that the various parts of the body are interrelated. The whole is
continually being integrated and kept firm by each separate ligament. (Walvoord)
Certainly these are the biblical marks of and effective pastor, pastoral
staff and church! Pastoral authority
extends as far as is required to accomplish his great task. Pastors must be gifted and spiritual to
accomplish these great spiritual tasks.
Talent in good, but it will not get these objectives accomplished! We are very success-oriented as Americans,
and this has led to churches putting a premium on “results.” Success in the
church is often measured by attendance, money, and facilities. The church
with the greatest attendance, the most money, and the nicest facilities looks the most successful. Whenever a
church finds a way to increase all three, that pastor is likely to be in high
demand as a speaker and consultant, regardless of whether or not the church
measures up to the scriptural criteria for success.
(Wiersbe)
As a result, churches often put a premium on talent
over godliness, ability over maturity. This has led to disastrous
consequences. The Bible makes it clear that leadership in spiritual matters is
not merely a matter of talent. It is a matter of spiritual gifts and
spiritual maturity (Eph. 4:11-16). If we put those two
issues first and talent second, we will find a higher level and quality of
leadership being chosen for churches.
Our modern society is in desperate need of more Christ-like
believers and churches. The only thing many people will ever know about God is
what they see of His radiance reflected in our daily lives and collective
testimony. Our ability to represent our Lord worthily is only possible through
the enabling power of the Holy Spirit in the church.
This hymn text by Thomas Chisholm is one of his more than
1,200 fine poems, many of which have been set to music and have become enduring
hymns of the churches. This one, published in 1897, was his first hymn to be
widely received.
O TO
BE LIKE THEE!
O to be like Thee!
blessed Redeemer. This is my constant longing and prayer; gladly I’ll forfeit
all of earth’s treasures, Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
O to be like Thee!
full of compassion, loving, forgiving, tender and kind; helping the helpless,
cheering the fainting, seeking the wand’ring sinner to find.
O to be like Thee
lowly in spirit, holy and harmless, patient and brave; meekly enduring cruel
reproaches, willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee!
while I am pleading, pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love; make me a temple
meet for Thy dwelling; fit me for life and heaven above.
Chorus: O to be like Thee! O to be like Thee, Blessed Redeemer,
pure as Thou art! Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness; stamp Thine own
image deep on my heart.
Success in churches is often measured by attendance, money, and facilities. This is actually rank worldliness, unvarnished shallowness, and fleshly carnality. There is nothing truly spiritual about these matters...they are simply manmade metrics to a large degree. Some will point to a few passages in the Bible to defend their use of these measures, but the truth is any company, organization, or religious group can brag about the same type of statistics. These measures do not include anything inherently supernatural or God-wrought! Well then...what does God actually require? How can a faithful pastor gauge whether or not he is having a God-honoring impact?
ReplyDeletehttps://maxevangel.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-effective-pastors-impact.html
#Pastor #Ministry #Faithfulness #Preacher #God #MaxEvangel
Pastors are given to churches as gifts to bring the members into spiritual maturity (Vs. 11). A pastor, with his pastoral staff, who is effective as an overseer and shepherd will certainly make this passage a reality (Eph. 4:11-16). In addition, he must be vested with the Spiritual Gifts and Maturity to lead and serve the church as Pastor.
ReplyDeletehttps://maxevangel.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-effective-pastors-impact.html
#Pastor #Ministry #Faithfulness #Preacher #God #MaxEvangel
It is vital that we “grow up into Him” if we are to be a valid expression of Jesus in this world. The whole body grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work and makes its valuable contribution (vs. 16). This is sometimes hard to accept. We commit ourselves to an active church social life and great involvement. All too often we lose sight of the fact that the first function of the body is to build itself spiritually. Our goals must be to be a perfect mature strong man who can stand firm for Christ is a darkened world. The first area of growth must be spiritual.
ReplyDeletehttps://maxevangel.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-effective-pastors-impact.html
#Pastor #Ministry #Faithfulness #Preacher #God #MaxEvangel