Ephesians 4: 11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.
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Fivefold ministries are in vogue today, but let's keep reading past the APEPT. These five ministries are meant to do something: prepare God's people for works of service.
Read the above verses, and maybe this explanation is good:
When we are serving, the body of Christ will be built up - read "edified" or "encouraged". We will be encouraged while these leaders are leading us to service until we reach a point of actual unity (gasp) in the faith and in the knowledge of the living Jesus Christ (as opposed to straight head knowledge and pet beliefs). After being built on a foundation of this loving service that binds us together and we reach an awesome union through a strong connection to Jesus, we'll reach maturity -- attaining to the lofty fullness of Christ. Woah!
How do we prevent our churches from being tossed back and forth by trends, silver-tongued men, trials, troubles, budget cuts? It starts with equipping our people, loving on them, leading by example in serving, serving, loving service. The body that is invested in with love... that body is not disloyal (hopefully). The body that bleeds and battles together (service is bloody sometimes) ... that body is not disloyal.
How do we keep the church from being darkened in their understanding? Turn on the light! Knowledge of Jesus Christ - boom. This isn't knowing some principles, it's the actually tasting and seeing that Jesus is so so so good. It's drinking from the well that won't leave you thirsty. I mean, it's the constant encounter with Jesus Christ - the "knowing" of Jesus Christ. If He is our head, we'll quickly spot the puffed-up, haven't-suffered-for-anything, false teachers and run the other way (or convert them, ha!).
How do we keep ourselves from separating from the life of God through ignorance? Same! "Knowing" Christ. Being grown into the Head, that gives us life. It's also hard to harden a heart that has been *loved* or *served* (there's that word again).
How do we keep ourselves from being insensitve, given to sensuality, impure, lustful? The whole body has been served, it's now attaining spiritual maturity and knowing Christ, and it is building *itself* up in love. When you have that kind of awesome glory of God, the obvious fruit of the Spirit falling off the tree and hitting you all in the head - who cares about what this world has to offer? You will be insensitive to the worldly crap. You will reject sensuality, impurity, lust - because you have something way way more filling. You have Jesus and you have his holy body that has just been filled and is overflowing with love upon love upon love for one another. Hallelujah.
Of course, none of this is a question of how do "we" keep from doing such-and-such. God Himself has made peace for us, and He alone saves us. May we depend deeply on Him; only by Him saving us day-in and day-out will we resist and even... be successful.
In Ephesians, the first three chapters are full of some dense theology about the redemptive work of God in Christ. I believe the key to church living out the imperatives of chapters 4-6 is for them to believe the reality of their existence that is spoken of in the first three chapters.
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K. Rex Butts
True. Thats where the challenge and the example come from for attaining to the fullness of Christ. I just think that it is interesting to see the focus that Ephesians takes for church growth - inward to outward, built on love, obsessed with Jesus.
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