The Gifts to the Church

Dr. Charles Stanley: One of the primary problems in the church of Jesus Christ today is that people have the wrong concept about their responsibility which God has given to the church. According to this passage of scripture, you cannot afford to go to church, be equipped, be trained, be established, and sit around and do nothing because God says he's sent those men that you may be equipped to carry out the work of God which means that there's no such thing in the Bible as a pew sitter.
Guest (Male): The church is God's special group, enabled and equipped by him to carry out his mission. Today on In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley will continue the series helping us see how all believers are uniquely a people of God. In this session, we'll examine Ephesians 4 to see the wonderful gifts to the church.
Dr. Charles Stanley: Would you turn in your Bible please to Ephesians chapter four? And we're continuing our series on the church. Today, we're talking about the gifts of the Lord Jesus Christ to the church. Let's begin in verse 11. He says, "And he gave to the church some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers." Now let me explain the gifts that we're talking about here. God has chosen to give to his whole body men who have a particular responsibility before God and to the whole body of Christ, which is his whole church, and that is churches everywhere. These men are men who have been called by God. They're not self-called. Their call had nothing to do with their experience, their education, their merit, or their promise. It is a divine, sovereign act on the part of God. It isn't the work of the church; it is the work of Almighty God himself. So we're talking about God-called, God-designated men given to the whole body. That's God's grace to his whole body for a specific purpose. Now, I want us to look at these men defined here in verse 11 and see exactly what he's saying because there's a lot of misunderstanding going on today about those whom God has given to his body, beginning with the word apostle. He says he gave to the church some as apostles. Now, the word apostle in the Greek is *apostello*, which means one who is sent. Of all the apostles, none had the ministry that the apostle Paul had because not only was he given as a minister of authority in that early New Testament church, but likewise, so much of his responsibility was establishing churches, building up the believers in those churches, and carrying on missionary work in his day. Paul and the other apostles were the divinely appointed authority by God to that local church. And so all over the New Testament world, the apostles were the authority of God to carry out the work of God in that church. And so the impact of that is that they were the authority. The second gift to the church he says here is the word prophets. Now, the word prophet means two things. It does not only mean telling the future, foretelling the future, but likewise, it means simply telling forth the word of God. In those days, of course, as the Old Testament prophets we had, likewise in the New Testament, there were prophets, not only men but also women. You'll recall in the second chapter of Luke that Anna was a prophetess, a New Testament prophet who saw the Lord Jesus Christ in his infancy. There were prophets who spoke forth the truth of the word of God as well as foretold the future. Now, when the canon of scripture was given and the New Testament was written, we have today all of the prophecy we need. God's not going to give us any more prophecy that does not stem out of this book. Now, when you hear people today say, "Well, there are prophets today," and they'll name some great evangelist or someone that they know and they'll say, "He's a real prophet." If you mean by that that he can talk about things that are going to come to pass, let me remind you of something. I want you to get these three words down because there's a distinction in these three words and this is where the confusion comes. The word revelation means truth given by God that could not be received any other way except God gave the truth. Inspiration is a work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the men to whom God gave his divine revelation, which is this book. The spirit of God guided their minds as well as their hands as they wrote with the background of their life and their personality, guiding them to write exactly what God would have them to write in order to give us the word of God to give us direction, guidance, and inspiration for our life. So revelation is the truth that God gave that could never have been known any other way. Inspiration is the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the writer whereby he was guided and guarded to write exactly what God said. Illumination is the work of the Holy Spirit in your life and my life whereby he illumines our minds or gives us perception and discernment to understand the divinely given revelation which was written by inspired writers. So when somebody says, "I have a revelation from God," what they mean is, "I have an illumination to understand something." God is not going to give any more divine revelation than is given in this book. This is all we need. Can you name anything, any truth about God that the church of Jesus Christ needs today that it has not already been given? So when somebody comes along and says, "We have a new revelation from God," I want to tell you, friend, he may have an illumination; he has no revelation from God. It has all been given here. And here's what you'll notice. So when a man says he's a prophet, what he may mean is he's telling forth the future. But if it means foretelling the future things that man has never known, you can mark that down—we don't have any of those today. Third word, and that is evangelist. The word in the Greek, *euangelion*, is the very same word from which we get the word gospel. For example, he says in Mark chapter 16, he says, "Go ye in therefore into all the world and preach the *euangelion*," that is the gospel. The very word evangelist is a different word, it's simply a word which says *euangelistes*, which is the same word as the gospel but it is personified so that an evangelist is a man who is proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and primarily with the end result of seeing people saved. Now, the two categories here are those that are temporary. Apostles and prophets were temporary. We have the word of God; we don't need that anymore. Now evangelists, pastors, and teachers—some people would place the evangelist in the first category. I don't think you can argue that point, don't think you can be dogmatic about that one, but evangelist here is not the kind of evangelist that most people think of today. This kind of an evangelist was one whose primary objective was preaching the gospel. He was an itinerant preacher as they are today, going from fellowship to fellowship, church to church, preaching the gospel with the ultimate desire to see people saved. There are men, both who are pastors and those who are not pastors, who seem to be gifted in that area in dealing with lost people that maybe some others would not have quite that bent toward their ministry. So that's what he's speaking of here in the area of evangelist. Then we come also to the other area of permanent gifts, and you'll recall here he says pastors and teachers. Each one of the others he has said prophets, apostles, evangelists, but now he says pastors and teachers. This is the only time in the Bible the word pastor is used here. Usually *poimaine*, which is the Greek word, is interpreted to shepherd. So in this passage, what he means is this: The pastor in that day was the man who shepherded the flock, cared for the flock, directed the flock, governed the flock, guarded the flock, built up the flock, fed the flock, instructed the flock, reproved the flock. Whatever it might be, he had a tremendous responsibility. So it's interesting that Paul said that man must not only be pastor, but he must be pastor and teacher because his responsibility, which we'll see a few verses later here, included the instruction of those people in order to defend themselves against error, false teaching, and false doctrine. So according to the scripture, the Bible says that God has given to the whole body these men. What I want you to see here is not only has he given these men to the fellowship, but he says he gave this group of men for a very, very specific purpose. Now I want to divide this purpose into two categories so we'll understand it clearly and simply. And the first one is this. He says he gave these men—you have to start reading in verse 11. He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers *for*. For what? For what purpose? For the equipping of the saints. That's you. Equipping of the saints unto the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ. Very clearly he says the purpose, the reason, the ministry of these gifted men is that they have a responsibility to the flock, to the fellowship, to the body, to the bride of Christ. Now what is that? Well, let me show you something here, and that is that what he's doing here, he's linking these men, their gifts, and the gifts within the fellowship, he's linking that all to his love for the body. He didn't just save us and say, "Well, get along the best you can," but he has called men to the fellowship to do something very specific. Now listen to what he says in this passage because here is one of the most misunderstood things that God ever said. He said he gave these men to the fellowship for the purpose of equipping the saints. That word in the Greek means to make the adjustment necessary and to adapt, which means, listen—now watch this—our responsibility is an equipping responsibility. Training you, teaching you, getting you in the word of God and building you up in your confidence in the truth of the word in order that you carry out the work of the ministry. Now the first part everybody likes. The second part, not many folks have ever comprehended. Do you know that he says that God has given those gifted men to the fellowship in order to train and equip and establish the people who sit in the pews Sunday after Sunday? This is so that the folks who sit in the pews can carry out the Great Commission in the city, in the community, in the nation, and that by your life, you can affect the whole community in which you live and every influential position that you have. It is your responsibility to live out what you have been equipped with and trained by and established in, week after week after week. Imagine the very idea of anybody saying, "Well, I'm going to church on Sunday." Do what? Go to church, sit and listen to, hope at least, some kind of a halfway decent sermon, and then when they put the Bible on the shelf when they get home, that's the end of that until next Sunday. Nothing could be further from the truth. And I want to tell you something, friend. One of the primary problems in the church of Jesus Christ today is that people have the wrong concept about the men and their responsibility which God has given to the church. According to this passage of scripture, you cannot afford to go to church, be equipped, be trained, be established, and sit around and do nothing because God says he's sent those men, gifted those men, gave those men, equipped those men that you may be equipped to carry out the work of the ministry. This means that there's no such thing in the Bible as a pew sitter. There's no age limit, minimum or maximum. You can't say, "Well, it's my experience. It's my education. It's my position." None of those things count. He says that God has sent those men to equip you to become the people God wants you to be. In the process of him making us what we ought to be, in the process of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, listen, if everybody who sits on a pew in America from 11:00 to 12:00 every Sunday could grasp the meaning, the challenge, the responsibility, and the accountability of verse 12 through 16, I want to tell you something. God's great, mighty moving of the Holy Spirit would move into this nation and it would absolutely shake the church. Why? Because all of a sudden, we'd start doing what God intended for us to do for 2,000 years. Now think about that. I mean, all of your life, he says that's what you should have been doing. Now there are a lot of people who are hungry and starving to death spiritually, no doubt about that. A lot of folks who've never been equipped, a lot of folks who don't know how or understand that. But my friend, you cannot use that as an excuse. Amen? The body of Christ is the church for whom Jesus Christ gave his life. If I fail to build you up, you fail to carry out the ministry, and the body is not built up. What we have done is we have neglected that for which Jesus Christ died on the cross. The responsibility is clear. My friend, you have enough truth, you have enough light, you have been instructed, you have been equipped. You've been to Bible studies, prayer groups, you name it, you've had it, you've got it. And God wants you to pour out your life where you live with what you have because that is your responsibility, God having equipped you and teaching you the truth of the word of God. No one is immune. You can't say, "Well, I'm 65." So what? You ought to have more wisdom, more experience, more knowledge, and more understanding. You ought to have more to give. Somebody says, "I'm 16." Praise the Lord. Then you're right in the heart of it, beginning to learn, pour out into somebody else's life everything that God begins to teach you, and you'll grow faster than all the rest of us. He says the responsibility is equipping of the saints that they can carry out the work of the ministry, that the whole body of Christ can be built up. Now the truth is we just have to make a decision if we're going to be obedient to God or not. Somebody says, "I don't know where to serve." We can settle that real fast because there is a place and something for everybody to do. That doesn't mean that everybody has to teach or preach. I'm not saying that. But there is an area, there's something everyone can do in the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. All right, now look at verse 13. "Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ." All right, here it is. Watch this. Here's what he said, test yourself. First of all, if a body is growing and being built up as the body of Christ, they will be moving toward a unity of their faith. That does not mean that they will agree on every jot and tittle in the Bible, but it does mean they will have for the most part an agreement about what they believe the Bible teaches. And there'll be a unanimous consent on the doctrines of the word of God. It does not mean that every single detail we would agree on. Secondly, and not only that, but moving deeper in our knowledge of the Son of God. If you are not growing in your understanding of who God is, what he's like, and how he works in the human heart, then something is missing in your life. Number three, that you are growing in your spiritual maturity, as he says here, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. That is growing into, being conformed to the likeness of Christ, that more of Jesus Christ and his likeness is seen in you. There's more of the evidence of Christ being conformed in your life. Then he says in number 14, as a result of all this, we're no longer to be children tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming. What is he saying? Verse 14, not only growing in our knowledge of who God is, deepening in our faith, and maturing, but he says likewise, established in what we believe. Look. As a result of this, no longer to be children. We're not children who can only understand the simplest verses of the word of God, but enough of you have heard enough of the gospel that you can take the steak and the roast beef even when it's tough. You see, pablum, oatmeal, and strained spinach is for young believers, immature believers, but you're beyond that. He says one of the evidences that a body is being built up is they are established in the truth. Notice he says, "by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming," that is, that the body of Christ is being built up so that you can detect and discern the fine shades between error and truth. All right, keep moving. Verse 15. "But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into him who is the head, even the body." Now what I think he's speaking of here when he says speaking the truth in love, that is, we are to be speaking God's word boldly but in the spirit of love. Not grabbing folks by the neck saying, "Don't you want to be saved?" We don't have to do that. We have a gospel that's so appealing and a Christ that's so loving, all we have to do is just offer people the opportunity of giving Christ to them. Then if you'll notice, he says in verse 15, we're to grow up in all aspects. And that is that our life is balanced. Because you see, God doesn't want his believers out of balance. There are people today who are so out of balance on some areas. The only thing they want to talk about is Jesus Christ is coming again. They're so hyped up on Jesus Christ coming again they're not worth anything to God right here now while they're here. They don't want to witness to anybody. Another group of people who are hung up on the gifts. "I've got to get this gift, that gift, and the other gift." They're so out of balance. He says that one of the works of the ministry is to keep the body of Christ in balance. One of the evidence of spiritual maturity is that we are growing in all the aspects of our life. Learning to pray, learning the word, learning to give, learning to trust, learning to share our faith, learning to love, learning to build relationships. God wants to grow us up totally. Notice if you will in verse 16, "From whom the whole body being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies according to the proper working of each individual part causing the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love." What is he saying? He's saying three things here primarily. From whom the whole body being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies. That is, listen, a body is growing up when you see each individual has something to contribute. I'm talking about prayer, I'm talking about service in some physical form, or whatever it might be. There's lots of ways to serve. He says now one of the evidences that a body is being built up is that everybody assumes responsibility and is contributing to the body. The second thing here, he says, fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies according to the proper working of each individual part. That is that we are fulfilling our responsibility and making our contribution based on the principles of the word of God. So that each one of us has a contribution to make to each other as the body of Christ is built up. And the last thing he says here is, "causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love." And that is all of us need to see ourselves as a part of this great body of people who love the Lord Jesus Christ, who are learning to love each other, and seeing ourselves as a vital part of that in order for God to build up his body. So you see, he says, as we all grow, each one finding his place, growing up in balance, what does God do? God Almighty is glorified. The church becomes stronger, its witness becomes stronger, and the people of God become hilariously excited about Jesus Christ liberated in him and free to enjoy being a child of God. And I want to encourage you to find that local body of people who love the Lord Jesus Christ, a man who preaches the word, get under his teaching, get under the word of God and get your life into that body, making the contribution God wants you to make. And my friend, your life is going to be more valuable to somebody somewhere in the body of Christ if you'll become involved. He says my responsibility to equip, your responsibility to carry out the ministry, the body's built up, the glory of God reigns, people are saved, lives are blessed, and the church of Jesus Christ marches forth in victory into a world of darkness that needs to know Christ who is its only hope of life hereafter. Hallelujah for being a believer. Amen? Hallelujah for being a part of the body of Christ and for having the privilege of sharing him with somebody, anybody, and everybody who will listen.
Guest (Male): Today on In Touch, we were reminded that the role of the pastor is to equip believers. It's our responsibility to carry out the work of ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit. If you'd like to know more about the church and find your place in it, visit our website at intouch.org. You can go over what you just heard again by following the link to today on radio. And if you'd like to have a copy of Dr. Stanley's complete message, you can order online at our online store. The title is The Gifts to the Church. Or you can have it as part of the teaching set titled Uniquely a People of God. Again, that's intouch.org. To call or text, it's 1-800-INTOUCH. You can write to us at In Touch, Post Office Box 7900, Atlanta, Georgia 30357.
Guest (Female): From the Pastor's Heart is an in-depth teaching letter inspired by the teachings of Dr. Charles Stanley. To receive In Touch's From the Pastor's Heart letter, call 1-800-INTOUCH or visit intouch.org/pastorsheart.
Guest (Male): You're listening to In Touch. People are drawn to things that are new and different, but believers in Jesus need to be careful of those labels. Here's a moment with Charles Stanley.
Dr. Charles Stanley: Now listen. There's something that comes to this city about every three months. Some new idea, some new thing coming through just like every big city. And there are a lot of folks who say, "Oh, something new. Got to get under this. Have you heard about this? Have you heard about that?" I'm going to tell you something. When all the isms and the wasms have died, you know what? The folks who are going to be rooted and grounded in the word of God are going to be the folks who stand right where they've always stood, resting, standing solid on this book. It is the only thing to stand on. Everybody's got something new that does what? Appeals to the curiosity. "I'm going to give you a new insight. I'm going to give you this; I'm going to give you that." If you'll stick around, friend, God will teach all of us new insights, but not things that whet the appetite of curiosity to lead us away from the body of Christ but rather to dig us in deeper.
Guest (Male): Visit us at intouch.org to learn more about the timeless truth of the word of God. When In Touch returns, God gave gifts to the whole body of Christ, but he also gives them to individual believers. Learn more about the gifts in the church when we return on In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. This program is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia, and remains on this station through the grace of God and your faithful prayers and gifts.