Lesson 11
One young
pastor was making hospital rounds for the first time with a visit to an elderly
parishioner. He came in and plopped down on the side of her bed. He inquired
aggressively into the nature of her surgery. It went on like this until finally
he said, "Before I leave is there anything else I can do for you?"
To that the
sweet-spirited lady gasped with shortness of breath, "Well, if you
wouldn't mind, you could take your foot off my oxygen hose."
It’s not
uncommon for those who are appointed in the church to give life and breath to the body, to unwittingly take the life and breath
of the body away. How many shepherds have inadvertently shoved sheep down the
very mountain they were trying to save them from? Fortunately for the body of
Christ, this is not the norm. As we saw in our last study, the
I. The Goal of
Maturity and Unity
Text: Eph. 4:4-6, “There
is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of you
calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is
over all and through all and in all.”
What often
hinders the growth and harmony of the body of Christ is the focus that is
placed on the diversity found therein. In opposition, Paul draws us to the
appropriate way of viewing the distinctions and diversities that exist among
us. Simply put, his aim is to stress the tremendous unity we have in our God.
Our unity and harmony, even in the midst of such great diversity, is derived
from his unity and his harmony; a seven fold unity.
If a person
examines one ray of sunlight, she could find no division from a simple
observation. But when a prism is place in the midst of that stream of light,
what we find is a seven fold division of color. Although this light retains its
unity, yet it displays a dazzling seven-fold band of diversity in the midst of
that unity. However, this beauty is only observed from a proper point of view,
wearing as it were, the right kind of glasses or spectacles.
This is what
Paul endeavors to do here. He urges us to live in harmony and unity, even in
the midst of such diversity. To make the task that much easier, he puts over
our eyes (in verses 4 - 6) spectacles that enable us to see the tremendous
unity we have in our God: one body; one Spirit; one hope; one Lord; one faith;
one baptism; one God. Yet in Paul’s estimation, God is not content with
some abstract ideal of maturity and unity. Rather, the Lord has actively provided
the means for making the ideal and abstract, real and concrete. He has given us
gifts to accomplish this goal.
II. The Gifts for
Maturity and Unity
Text: “But to each one of
us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”
(vs.7) “Therefore it says, ‘When he ascended on high, he led
captive a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” (vs.8) “Now
this expression, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean except that He
also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?” (vs.9) “He
who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, that
He might fill all things.)” (vs,10) “And
he gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and
some as pastors and teachers,” (vs.11) “for the equipping of the
saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of
Christ;” (vs.12) “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.” (vs.13)
The allusion
here is to the public triumphs of the Romans. When a Roman general had brought
forth a great victory on foreign soil, the highest reward that the Senate would
give was a triumph. Every man looked forward with an unparalleled anticipation
to that day when they would participate in a public triumph. On a fixed day,
the gates of
As the
procession reached its mid point, the focus of every person would be drawn upon
the conqueror, riding in a royal chariot led by two white horses. The champion
bore on his head a laurel crown and stood upright with Roman resolve. The display
is made all the more glorious when you quickly notice the individuals that are
chained up to his chariot. They are the kings, princes, and mighty men of the
conquered lands. There they are, the captives being led into captivity.
Immediately behind them is part of the spoil that the Roman’s had seized
from their defeated foe. What conquerors took from their captives, they often
gave away to their own people. During such times, the conquerors often threw
the spoils into the crowd (Spurgeon 118).
The apostle
Paul alludes to this graphic imagery when he state, “When he ascended on
high, he led captive a host of captives, and gave gifts to men.”
The gates of
death were thrown open as Christ, in his resurrection, proceeded to make a
public spectacle of the defeated foe.
In Christ’s victory we find the self-appointed prince stripped of
his authority; the serpent wreathing in a crushing defeat; the liar with his
mouth gagged; the thief with his hands bound. He was brought down to serve as
the footstool of Christ.
Scripture then
attests that Christ in turn gives gifts to men. What are these gifts? Paul
answers, “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as
evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers” (vs.11).
As we just observed
from Spurgeon’s account of Roman history, the conqueror would take the
property from the defeated foe and distribute some of it to his people for
their well-being. Among fallen men enslaved by the prince of this world, God
has raised up individuals as integral instruments for maturing an innumerable
mass of redeemed people, the church. Paul states that these individuals are
given as gifts to the church, “for the equipping of the saints for the
work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;” (vs.12)
“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.” (vs.13)
What we have
presented to us is a five-fold ministry cast into the crowd of the redeemed for
their well-being. Someone cleverly profiled these ministries as follows:
The Apostolic Ministry - A
Governing Ministry
The Prophetic Ministry- A Guiding
Ministry
The Evangelic Ministry- A Gathering
Ministry
The Pastoral Ministry- A Guarding
Ministry
The Teaching Ministry- A Grounding
Ministry
Possible Discussion Questions
1. Paul lists these three goals for
us as the church: unity of the faith; knowledge of the Son of God; to mature
until we resemble Christ. Discuss these three goals and our present status.
2. Can we still have unity in the
body of Christ in light doctrinal and ritualistic differences? If so, how?
3. Paul lists these three functions
of the five-fold ministry: the equipping of the saints; the work of service;
building up the body of Christ. Discuss these functions and how they relate to
the goals he previously stated.
4. There is a disagreement among
many concerning the phrase, “for the work of service.” Some insist
that ministers equip the body of Christ in general for the work of service.
Others disagree and insist that Christ has appointed ministers for the work of
service. The issue is whether our English versions should insert a comma
between “for the equipping of the saints” and “the work of
service.” Why is this crucial in understanding the similarity and
difference between the clergy and laity?
4. In the passage we studied, what
has Christ’s resurrection accomplished for believers?
Works
Cited
Spurgeon C.H. Spurgeon’s
Sermons: Vol. 7.