Journal Entry ~ 05/23/18

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,13 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, - Ephesians 4:11-13

These verses are the blueprint of God's calling for the church - they explain how we are to do ministry. It is a description of how the body of Christ must work in order to fulfill its God-ordained purpose. This is what we all should be working toward if we have set ourselves apart as believers in Christ. 

We know from Ephesians 4 that Christ is the center of the church and He gives spiritual gifts to His people. The purpose of these spiritual gifts is the building up of the body of faith in knowledge, faith, and love. But God didn't just give the gifts to us - in these verses, we see that He also gives us the process by which we are to do just that. God gives spiritual leaders to the church, whose primary job is to train up the saints for ministry. Then it is the work of the saints that builds the faith - not the teachers of pastors. We're the saints. Our job is to build up the church. Our job is not just to soak it all up as consumers, no - our job is to build up the church. 

This truth is challenging for many of us. Being filled at church and at small group is not only necessary, but essential to the strengthening of our faith. Many of us don’t like the challenge of moving to the next step in our faith because it pushes us out of our comfort zone.  We prefer to stay where we’re being fed than to step out as leader - it’s just easier. But it is quite clear in this passage that’s not where we’re supposed to stay. We are instructed to be builders of the church, so we need to roll up our sleeves and get to work. If we’re only a consumer, we’re not building. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

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