The Work of Ministry – Ephesians 4:7-16

I recently saw a short video explaining the irreducible complexity of the cell. Each cell has so many working parts that are essential to its existence and functioning that they could not have developed through an evolutionary process but had to all be there and working from the very beginning. As I think about the living cell it strikes me that this is similar to what the church is. As Paul explains, we need every working part to grow.

But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)

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 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 the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 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. (Ephesians 4:7-16, ESV)

Though we are called to unity we are made diverse through the gifts Jesus has given to the church. Each unique gift is designed to meet a need the church has and so contribute to its growth in unity. Jesus is the conquering Yahweh who has won the battle and is leading the victory procession into Zion, a host of captive enemy in his trail and enriched with the spoils of war, which he shares with his people (Paul’s allusion to Psalm 68:18). His resurrection and ascension is that victory procession and the gifts he has given to his church include people who can teach the church his gospel.

Apostles, prophets, evangelists and shepherds and teachers are alike in having communication gifts of different sorts to equip and train believers in their responsibility to serve one another. When every member of Christ’s church is doing his or her part, speaking truth to each other, it causes the body to thrive and grow in love. The body matures into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Instead of being buffeted by false doctrine from the enemy we cling to truth and prosper spiritually.

Thank you God for the gifted men and women you have gifted us with to teach and train us. Thank you for giving us each a unique role in building up the body. Make us more like Jesus. We want to achieve the stature of his fullness, to live out the breadth and width and height and length of his love.

Discussion Questions

1. What Christmas gift do you remember the most?
2. Read Psalm 68 together and whenever you see LORD in all caps, read Yahweh, and when you see Lord, read Lord Jesus.
3. The ESV Study Bible observes about Psalm 68:18, “Ephesians 4:8–11 uses this verse to describe how the exalted Christ (who ascended after he descended in the incarnation) distributed gifts to his people, i.e., assigned to each of the members different ways of serving the body. That Paul can apply this to Christ shows that he considered Jesus divine. The quotation in Eph. 4:8 does not quite match the Septuagint (which follows the Hb.); Paul says that “he gave gifts to men” rather than receiving gifts among men. The difference is only superficial, however: the verb “receive” (Hb. laqakh) can have the idea of “receive in order to give,” or “to fetch” (e.g., Gen. 18:4–5, where it is “bring”). Further, after a conquest, the spoils were distributed among the leader’s men. Thus the psalm focuses on the conqueror who acquired the spoils from the defeated, while Paul’s adaptation of the truth of the psalm focuses on how that conqueror distributed the spoils to his own.” Why does it feel right to view each of the people Paul mentions as gifts?
4. Does it feel like your church is closer to being children or adults in the faith?
5. How are you speaking the truth in love and working properly to make the body grow?
6. What could you take advantage of to become better equipped to do the work of ministry?