Evangelists and Pastor-Teachers

Transcript

GRM 979
4/1/2007
Evangelists and Pastor-Teachers
Ephesians 4:7,11-16
Gil Rugh


For those of you who are here regularly on Sunday morning, we have been studying the book of I Corinthians as you are aware, and we're going to continue that study today. We've come to chapter 12 but I want to direct your attention to another passage of scripture, and that's in Ephesians 4. We've come to an area in our study of I Corinthians that deals with what is known as spiritual gifts. We've been singing about the fact that Jesus Christ came to be king, and some day He will rule and reign over all the earth. When He came to earth He offered a kingdom to Israel, He offered them Himself as their Messiah, their king, their ruler in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. But Israel rejected Jesus Christ, would not have Him be their king. Their statement, we will not have this man to be king over us. We have no king but Caesar. And in the sovereign plan of God Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and raised from the dead, and that was God's plan for providing salvation for fallen, sinful human beings. Some day Jesus Christ will come to earth again, then He will come in clouds of glory, and every eye shall see Him, and He will establish a kingdom on the earth that will have no end. This period of time between the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the beginning of what is known as the 70th week of Daniel, God's final 7-year period leading up to the return of Christ to the earth, is basically is known as the church age. In Acts 2 the church began, it will culminate with the rapture of the church, when the church is removed from earth to heaven, following which that 7-year period of tribulation will occur on the earth and then Jesus Christ will return to be king.

Jesus promised His disciples in the context of being rejected by Israel, I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. And that's what Jesus Christ is doing in this time period. He is building His church. The church is comprised of all those who have come to recognize their personal sin and guilt before God, and recognize that Jesus Christ, God's Son, is the only Savior, and have turned from their sin and have placed their faith in Christ alone. That moment of time, as we have seen, the Spirit of God identifies a person with Christ in His death, in His burial, in His resurrection. So God can declare that person forgiven, credit them with the righteousness of Christ, because the penalty for sin is death, and Christ's death is applied to their account. Now when a person places their faith in Christ, they become part of what is known as the body of Christ in the analogy the scripture uses, the church. And to be a part of the church, just like the physical body has various parts, so the spiritual body, the church, has various parts. These parts are called gifts of the Holy Spirit. They are special enablements of the Holy Spirit to enable a person to function in an effective way as part of a local church. And that's what we've been looking at.

Some of the gifts that were given by the Spirit, enablements given by the Spirit, were for the beginning period of the church's history, to get the church established. You're in Ephesians 4, you'll note in verse 11, He gave some as apostles and some as prophets. We noted those two gifts were what we call temporary gifts, they were gifts necessary for the beginning of the church. Ephesians 2:20 says, they were the foundational gifts, God gave new revelation which we have now as our New Testament in our Bible to the apostles and prophets. And the church is being built on that foundation, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.

Now some gifts are continuing in the church and are necessary for us to function together as God's people. There are no extraneous parts, every person plays a part in the developing of the church, the body of Christ in God's plan. In Ephesians 4, a passage we've looked at on previous occasions, you'll note in the opening verses he emphasizes the unity of the body. We are one in Jesus Christ. So he says in verse 3, we are to be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The Spirit of God brought us together in a relationship of oneness with God and oneness with one another through faith in Christ. We are to preserve that unity. We don't bring it about, we preserve it.

Verse 4 says there is one body, one spirit one hope of our calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. That's talking about those who have a relationship with Him and are identified with Him. We have been brought into that oneness. But in contrast, verse 7, to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Now even though we are all one in Christ, we are not all the same. There is diversity in the oneness, just like there is diversity in the human body. It's one body, a diversity of parts. So is the spiritual body of Christ. Each one of us was gifted. When we placed our faith in Christ we became part of the body of Christ, we were also gifted to function.

He quotes in verse 8 from Psalm 68, therefore it says when He ascended on high He led captive a host of captives and He gave gifts to men. When Christ ascended to heaven in Acts 1, He rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, He had conquered satan and his hosts, and He gave gifts to men. And those gifts were bestowed, beginning in Acts 2. The ascension was recorded in Acts 1, and the gifts are poured out in Acts 2 in connection with the giving of the Holy Spirit.

I want you to note verses 9-10. Now this expression, He ascended, what does it mean except that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth. He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things. The person who descended, even to the lower parts of the earth, and what he is talking about here is His burial in the grave. He descended from heaven, and He descended to the lower parts of the earth, He was placed in the grave, in the tomb. And that same one who descended from heaven and was buried as a result of being crucified on the cross is the one who ascended. Verse 10, He who descended is the same who ascended. That's crucial. The Son of God left heaven, came to earth, but if He had come to earth, walked this earth and then ascended back to heaven without being crucified, there would be no salvation. So the penalty for our sin is death. It's not the coming of the Son of God to earth. The wages of sin is death, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, the soul that sins, it shall die. It's important to recognize that the One who descended from heaven suffered and died on the cross and was buried, placed in the tomb, is the One who ascended and as Philippians 2 says, He became obedient. Jesus Christ became obedient to His Father, even to the point of dying on the cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. So the end of verse 10 says that He ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things. He is sovereign over all, He is the only Savior and some day He will come again to rule and reign.

What Paul is concerned about as he writes this section under the direction of the Spirit, is to make clear that all that we're talking about in the work of the Holy Spirit in gifting individuals today is inseparably tied and based and founded upon the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross and His ascension back to heaven. And those of you who have been here remember earlier in our study, Jesus Christ had promised that when He ascended back to heaven He would send the Holy Spirit in a new and unique way to dwell in believers, and thus to gift them for service for Jesus Christ.

So then you have verse 11, some of the gifts that were given. Verse 7 said, this grace, these are called, remember, grace gifts, charisma, charismatic, gifts of God's grace, according to the measure of Christ's gift. He measured out His grace to each individual believer, one who comes to trust Him, in a measure of the grace of Christ given to Him, to enable him to function as a necessary part of the body of Christ.

Some of the gifts are mentioned in verse 11—apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. And as we've moved through the gifts we talked about some of those gifts that were for the beginning of the church. Now we're talking about some of those gifts that are permanent in the church for its ongoing developing and maturing as we will see. We looked at the gift of teaching, the gift of ministering or helps, the gift of administration, the gift of evangelists as is mentioned in verse 11. Some were given as evangelists, and we noted this word, it's a common word in the New Testament, not the particular word evangelist, but the basic word. Really, Philip is called an evangelist in the book of Acts and we looked in Acts 8 where he functions as an evangelist. But there are others called an evangelist. In II Timothy 4 Paul instructs Timothy to do the work of an evangelist, but we shouldn't get the idea that this means there won't be much evangelism. The basic word for evangelist is the same word that we have translated in English, gospel. So it could be a little confusing because you have the same basic Greek word, and if we were reading it in Greek we would know that it's all the same basic word. The same word translated gospel is the same basic word evangelist. We're talking about giving out the message of Christ. It's a compound word that means to speak well, to speak good, it's good news, the message of good news. And about 130 times through the New Testament the word is used, because every time the message of Jesus Christ is shared, we are giving out the good news, we are doing the work of an evangelist, even though we may not have the gift of an evangelist. As we noted, the one who is gifted as an evangelist will have a supernatural ability through the Spirit's empowerment, not only to share the gospel, but to be used of the Spirit to draw people to Jesus Christ. Now all of us are privileged to share the gospel. That's what Paul has done, even briefly in verses 9-10 as he talked about the death, burial and ascension of Jesus Christ. That's at the heart of the message, why He paid the penalty for our sin. So an evangelist leads the way in the church. We'll talk about discerning our gifts in a future study, but one of the ways you do is try it out, practice. How do you know if you have the gift of evangelist? Well I shared the gospel with one or two people and they got upset, so I guess that's not my gift. And as we noted, well, maybe you need to practice. All of us want to be able to share the gospel, even if your gift is not evangelist. All of us are to be ready to give an answer to those who would ask of us regarding the faith that is in us, as Peter wrote. No excuse for us stumbling around, well, you need to believe in God. That's not the gospel, the gospel is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to this earth to suffer and die on the cross to pay the penalty for sin, your sin, my sin. When He died on the cross He was paying the penalty for our sin, He was bearing that penalty in His body, because the penalty for sin is death. He was buried, He was raised from the dead, and that is God's testimony that the payment has been made, and you can have the gift of salvation, life by believing in Him. You can't have it by being baptized, you can't have it by joining this church, you can't have it by trying to be a good person, because the penalty is death. All you can do is believe, and by believing you receive the gift that God has given. That's the work of an evangelist. Those who have the gift of evangelist will lead the way in carrying the gospel to the lost. We have probably 200,000 people on our doorstep in this city who are lost and going to hell. We have the truth, we have the cure. How will we ever give an account for staying silent? It's criminal. It's not just physical life, it's eternal destiny, heaven or hell, that is at stake. And we need people with the gift of evangelist to step forward and lead the charge, if you will, in carrying the message of life to the lost of our city, and not just to our city, but to other places. What a privilege to be entrusted with the good news.

Before I leave this you have to come back to II Corinthians 2. And the end of chapter 2 verse 14, thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. We are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. You see, the picture is we're giving off a fragrance, like the sacrifices in the Old Testament, that aroma from the sacrifice that rose up and was pleasing to God. So here as we tell others about Jesus Christ, as we give others the knowledge of Him, we tell them that Jesus Christ the Son of God died for you. That rises to the courts of heaven and is pleasing to God. We are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one an aroma of death to death, to the other an aroma of life to life. I cannot make a person believe, but I can give them an opportunity to believe. I mean, how can they believe in what they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to tell them, without a preacher, as Romans 10 says? So we must come and carry the gospel.

Some will reject it, that just confirms them in their lost condition. You'll note the question at the end of verse 16, who is adequate for these things? This is a matter of eternal destiny. In a hundred million years these things will matter. Some people that you talk to will be in hell, and some will be in heaven, and it will all hinge on their response to the gospel. Who is adequate for these things. Well we are. Look at verse 17, we are not like many, peddling the Word of God. You know what a peddler was? It was someone who made adjustments to what he was selling. He corrupted it. The word means to be a huckster, do whatever it takes to sell it. We're not out peddling the Word of God, we have no alterations to make. I cannot make it more pleasing, more acceptable, I can only give you the cure. Painful, you have to recognize your sin, humble yourself and believe in the Savior. But we are not like the many, the hoipaloi who are peddling the Word of God, but as from sincerity as from God we speak in Christ in the sight of God. I have to remember every time I share Jesus Christ, I'm doing it in the sight of God. This is the most important thing I ever do with my life.

Look how he continues, verse 5 of chapter 3, not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves. Our adequacy is from God who made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. The letter is the Old Testament law of Moses, it told me what to do, but there was no power there to do it. So it could condemn me, but it didn't save. But the message of Jesus Christ is the message of salvation.

Come down to II Corinthians 4:7, but we have this treasure, the treasure of the gospel, the message of Christ, in earthen vessels, these frail, physical earthen bodies, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves. Now the point is not that we win them over by the power of our argument, we win them over the the display of our wisdom. We win them over by our ability to refute any challenges they present. God has placed the message of Christ in earthen vessels so that when the message is shared by that earthen vessel and a life is transformed by believing that message, God gets all the credit. So that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves. I don't have to become more clever, I don't have to become smarter. I just have to share the truth. That's doing the work of an evangelist. Those who are gifted as evangelists will be blessed of God to see greater response in their sharing. I may not see as many responses, but I can share the message and some will respond, and by God's grace perhaps more will respond as they hear it from others.

Come back to Ephesians 4. That should happen as we go out. However many of us are gathered here, we spread throughout the city and other places where we go to be lights not placed under a bushel. We go out to be earthen vessels carrying a message of life, giving off the fragrance of the knowledge of Jesus Christ wherever we go, so that God is pleased. Well what if people don't believe? Well we are a savor of life to life and death to death. You know what is pleasing to God is my giving off the message. I get discouraged and disappointed because I say they didn't believe. To them that was a savor of death to death. But you know what? If God was pleased, I'm a success, if I can use that word, seems a rather crass word. But if God is pleased, what more could I desire? If I go home after sharing the gospel with 30 people and they threw stones at me and spit on me, drove me out of town, I go home and say, Lord, what a privilege to give off the knowledge which is pleasing to you in every place. What a joy it is, Lord, to know that you were pleased. So we talk about the gift of evangelist. They lead the way. May God give us men and women to step up with boldness and courage to lead the way and that the rest of us might have even greater boldness to share Christ.

Back in Ephesians 4:11. The next gift we'll take here, it's not mentioned in I Corinthians 12. The gift of teaching is mentioned in I Corinthians 12 as well as Romans 12, and we've talked about the gift of teaching. Here we have the gift of pastor and teacher. While it might seem it's two gifts, the grammar here would seem to indicate that these two gifts are connected. The teaching part of it we've talked about. The gift of teaching is the special ability to take the Word of God and explain it in a clear and understandable way so that people can grow in knowledge and understanding. So all of us share the Word, all of us should want to know and understand the Word more clearly because this unveils God and His purposes and plans, His character and so on. And some people are specially gifts to explain. A teacher here in the context we're talking about, a gifted teacher is not someone who can hold everybody's attention, not the one who keeps the interest. It's the one who can explain the Word of God in a clear, understandable and yes, interesting way. We have many preachers who are up telling stories and their stories may have a biblical point, but that's not teaching the Word of God. The gift of teaching is explaining the Word of God. Now pastor-teacher, in the grammar here as we have it, the pastors are a part of the group of teachers. In other words all pastors are teachers, but not all teachers are pastors. It's the point we talk about pastors and teachers here. All pastors are teachers, but not all teachers are pastors. And there is a distinction made here with just the gift of teaching.

The gift of being a pastor, much misunderstood today. In some churches they think the pastor is the person you hire to do all the spiritual work. Whatever needs to be done, what did we hire him for. We hired him to do it, he has to earn his pay. Well, he ought to earn his pay, but he ought to be doing what God says he is called to do. Now the prime area where the pastor-teacher is going to function is in the area of teaching, because all pastors are to be teachers. That's what the point is here. What is the pastor side of it, though, that makes it more than the gift of teaching alone?

Well let's go back to the Old Testament for how this word is used. The word pastor is just the word shepherd. It can be translated shepherd-teacher. Come back to Numbers 27. Obviously the background for what is being said in the New Testament would be the Old Testament. How is the word shepherd used when applied outside the context of just taking care of the sheep? It's used as a metaphor analogy in the Old Testament. Numbers 27. Moses is preparing for the transfer of his power to Joshua. Moses will soon pass from the scene. Verse 15, then Moses spoke to the Lord saying, may the Lord, the God of the spirit of all flesh appoint a man over the congregation who will go out and come in before them, who will lead them and bring them in so that the congregation of the Lord will not be like sheep who have no shepherd. You see the analogy. Lord, I'm going to be leaving, provide your man who will lead your people, who will be over the congregation, who will lead them out and bring them in. So they won't be like sheep who have no shepherd, aimless without leadership, without anyone to have the oversight. You see the picture here in the analogy is of one who would lead God's people.

Come over to I Kings 22. And here you have a prophet, and the prophet's name is Micaiah. Micaiah is going to prophesy the coming death of King Ahab in battle, and so in verse 17 Micaiah speaks and he said, I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep which have no shepherd. Remember Moses' concern? Lord, appoint a leader for them so they're not scattered, so they're not like sheep without a shepherd. I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep which have no shepherd. And the Lord said, these have no master. Let each of them return to his house in peace. You see the prophecy, and we won't take the time to go on, is Ahab recognizes it. Micaiah has just prophesied his death, and with the death of the king of Israel there is no leader now. And so Israel doesn't know what to do, all they can do is return to their home and wait. So the picture again, the king of Israel is the shepherd of God's people.

Come over to Jeremiah 3. God's promises to Israel after He condemned them for their unfaithfulness, their sin, He calls them to repentance. How gracious God is, people reject Him, they harden their heart against Him. But He says, I'll be gracious, come to me. Verse 12, return, faithless Israel, declares the Lord. I will not look upon you in anger. I am gracious, declares the Lord. I will not be angry forever. You'll note what He requires, He requires them to turn from their sin and place their faith in Him. Same issues today. You must turn from your sin and place your faith in Him and the salvation He has provided. Acknowledge your iniquity, verse 13, acknowledge you have transgressed against the Lord your God. And turn, verse 14. Verse 15, the promise, then I will give you shepherds after my own heart who will feed you on knowledge and understanding. So the promise, God's provision. Now you see the Shepherd is responsible to see the sheep are nourished and nurtured and fed on the knowledge and understanding, the truth about God and His ways and His purposes.

Come to Ezekiel 34, this will be the last. And Ezekiel is to prophesy, verse 2, he's instructed, son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. In the context here he's really talking about the kings of Israel, those responsible for the care and keeping of God's people. Say to those shepherds, thus says the Lord God, woe shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves. Should not the shepherds feed the sheep, and yet they've used the sheep for their own benefit. You see the responsibility of the shepherd to care for the sheep, see the sheep are cared for, see they're well fed. They are accountable to God for that. The oversight of care of God's people, particularly with an emphasis on their nourishment and nurture and being fed and well fed. This fits with the responsibility of the pastor-teacher of nourishing, teaching the Word of God, caring for the sheep.

Come over to I Peter 5, a passage we were at in a previous study. Often it's the elders who are responsible, men who have the office of elder. Being an elder is not a gift, it's an office in that the church recognizes this people and gives them the responsibility. So elders are responsible in teaching and leading God's people. But not everyone who is gifted as a teacher, gifted as a pastor, will also be an elder. But elders do have the responsibility of pastoring and teaching. So Peter writes to the elders and he says he himself is an elder. Now Peter was an apostle, and he also held the office of elder. In verse 1 he calls himself a fellow elder. Then to the elders, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight, but not under compulsion. You see what the shepherd is to do, that oversight of God's people, they're the flock of God. So pastors are entrusted, the elders are entrusted to exercise a pastoring responsibility. Shepherding the flock of God, overseeing them, caring for them. Not doing it for personal gain, that was condemned in Ezekiel 4 with the shepherds in Israel. And not as being a dictator or a lord in verse 3, over the flock. But, and then an example, and Jesus Christ is the chief shepherd and He will evaluate the work done. So the pastor, the elders have to exercise that authority in the local church, are responsible for the care and well-being of the sheep. In Acts 20 Paul instructs the elders at Ephesus to shepherd God's people, that they be on guard against savage wolves who would seek to infiltrate the church and scatter the flock. Remember David said when he was a shepherd, he had to protect the sheep from the wolf, from the bear, from the lion, any danger to the flock.

So the pastor dimension, as you come back to Ephesians 4, involves teaching the Word of God, but it's broader than just the gift of teaching. It has the responsible oversight. That doesn't mean the pastor does everything. He is responsible for the overall care. We saw within that there are those with the gift of administration who help the organization of the body and the development of the body and the proper use of the gifts of the body. There will be gifts of those showing mercy and there will be gifts of serving, and gifts as we'll continue to look. But the shepherd is not responsible to run and do everything, but he has the overall responsibility for the care and well being. We need to keep this in the context of the other gifts. I feel for some pastors who try to have a teaching ministry in a church while they are running everywhere, trying to have all the gifts. And it's not what God intended for them. They are to be nourishing and nurturing the flock and seeing that the flock is cared for and protected and encouraging others in the exercise of their gifts.

I want to follow on in Ephesians 4 for a little bit here. You'll note in verse 11 he has selected just some gifts—apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastor-teacher. All of these gifts have to do with the ministry of the Word. We in an earlier study looked at I Peter 4:10-11. There Peter divided the gifts into two main groups—speaking gifts and serving gifts, gifts that involve the communication of the Word of God and gifts that involve serving, which are different elements of supporting the ministry of the Word and helping the development of the body. Here what Paul has done is taken some of the speaking gifts, not all of them. For example, the gift of exhortation is not on this list here. But he has given a sample of speaking gifts, those who communicate the Word of God. Apostles and prophets received direct revelation and taught it, we have much of it recorded in our New Testament. Evangelists carried the message of Christ primarily to unbelievers, and then they helped instruct and teach other believers to be more effective in sharing the gospel. The pastor-teacher would nourish and feed God's people on a solid diet of God's truth. Through __________ these speaking gifts. Verse 12, for the equipping of the saints, those who are sanctified, set apart, those who are holy. Like the word evangelists and gospel and evangelizing all come from the same Greek word, so the word holy, the word saint, the word sanctify all come come from another Greek word, the same basic Greek word for saint, holy and sanctified. This is teaching the Word, sharing God's truth, are to equip God's people, those who have been set apart by God for Himself through faith in His Son. That word equipping is a word that means to make it all what it ought to be, to render it fit. As you're aware of some of its uses in the New Testament. In Matthew 4:21 it's used of mending nets. You know the fishing nets, they'd take them out and use them. Well they'd break in places, they'd fray, then they'd come back to shore and during that time when they weren't out they'd mend their nets. That word is translated in Matthew 4:21 of mending the nets is the same word translated equipping here. In Hebrews 11:3, by faith we understand the worlds were prepared by God. The word prepared, they were placed in right order by God, right arrangement for the accomplishing of God's work.

In Galatians 6:1, if you see a fellow Christian overtaken in sin, you who are spiritual restore such a one. The word restore, bring that one back to proper order and help him get back on track. So that word here, to equip, to prepare them, to render them fit. So the ministry of the Word of God is to help equip and fit God's people for ministry. So we say that evangelists are not just to carry out the gospel to the lost, but they are also to help the development of the body so that believers can be more effective in sharing their faith with others. Pastor-teachers nurture people on the Word.

To equip the saints for the work of serving, the work of serving. There is no other way to get around it. To be an effective servant, you have to be involved in the work. And that's to the building up of the body of Christ. Now I remind myself of this passage, I would remind you of it. Don't retire until God says it is retirement time. This past week we had some memorial services here for dear saints who have retired from their work. How do I know they've retired from their work? God has promoted them to glory. That's when we're done with our work. It's not, well, now I can draw Social Security, now I can draw my pension, now I have enough money saved up to quit. To quit what? Quit serving the Lord? You don't expect me to work, do you? I still want to serve the Lord but I don't want to work. Well, I'm sorry, I don't know any other way to serve the Lord, but to work. Now I realize we get older, this body doesn't go like it used to go, and it can't do some of the things it used to do. But you know I can sit in my chair immobile, I can lie in my bed immobile and I can pray diligently for the ministry here. I may not be able to do anything and I can't get up but to come and sit. But by my presence I declare a faithful commitment to Jesus Christ and His body in this place. As long as I have strength I want to do that. When I can't do that and I'm confined to my home, then I can pray. Maybe I can call on the phone and encourage someone, maybe I can write a note, be used of the Lord. If I wonder, Lord, what is the purpose you have for me? Seems I can't do anything. I realize the Lord doesn't call me to do what I can't do. So as long as He gives me breath He has something for me to do here to bring honor to Him. That encourages me. And you know what? I don't have to worry, when do I get to retire? Oh, I'll be retired over the next 100 billion trillion quatrillion years. Oh you mean you're not going to do anything? Oh, I'll be busy, but it won't be work, because we will serve the Lord forever, but it's not going to be labor and toil. It will be joy in His service.

So we are being equipped through the ministry of truth. Why do I teach you the Word of God? So you can know more than other people. No, so you can be nourished, fed on knowledge and understanding, so you can be equipped by the Spirit of God who takes the truth of God and molds and shapes your life, and be more effective in exercising the gift He has given you.
What are these for? They are to the building up of the body of Christ. That's what it is all about. We function, what happens? The body is maturing, the church is growing. Well don't you think we have enough knowledge? Sometimes over the years people say, I think we have too much knowledge. That's an impossibility. I can know too much about my God? I can know too much about the Savior who loved me and died for me? I can know too much about the wondrous plans that God has revealed? Absurd. For all eternity I will grow in knowledge of the infinite, awesome God, and I will never know too much. I understand, I may not be putting to work the knowledge I have acquired and I may need to get going, because I am being equipped for the work of serving, to the building up of the body of Christ. That will not be until I am transported to glory. So I can't stop.

Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. Are we absolutely, perfectly like Christ? I think not. Then we're not done, because that's the standard. Well I think we're pretty knowledgeable, I think we're pretty mature. Well it doesn't matter what you think, it doesn't matter what I think. He sets the standard. It's the measure of stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. Anybody have the audacity to say we have become fully and completely wholly and totally like Christ in all aspects of our being. Hasn't happened for us. We have a long way to go, so we're not done, so we keep on going.

The result of this, we are no longer, verse 14, to be children tossed here and there by waves, carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness and deceitful scheming. What are the characteristics of a church that is immature is it's always blown around by the next wind of doctrine. The next new idea that comes down the pike, they're on it, here they go. Sometimes I get calls from pastors in other places. They'll say, this is really starting to get back to our church, we're starting to have trouble. How is it impacting you? I'll say, probably by and large it is not. It shouldn't be, should it? I mean, it's the children, the immature that are blown about by every new idea. If we're anchored in the Word it doesn't matter to me what new ideas come up. I've shared them with you to warn you, I'll speak of false doctrine so you be on guard. But by and large mature people are the people that are grounded in the knowledge of truth, have the character of Christ in them. So they're not blown around by all these new ideas, new doctrines.

We continue speaking the truth in love. We grow up in all aspects, all parts, into Him who is the head, even Christ. He is the measure of our growth. From whom the whole body, note this, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. We've talked about this, I wanted to bring you back to it. You see how serious it is for one part of the body not to function? I'm getting to “retirement” age. In our society when you get to a certain age you should retire. For some it's younger, some it's older. But you know we say that at 65 you should retire. Don't get your hopes up, I'm not going anywhere. Now we have to be careful. I have no problem, you have a job, you've worked and now you're to a point where you can retire from that job. You can. Praise the Lord, I'm happy for you. Let me remind you, you cannot retire from the service of the Lord. You have no right to retire because the whole body suffers, because we need that which every joint supplies. We need every part working properly. Who am I to say I decided I'm quitting. Doesn't matter to me whether the body continues to develop as it should or not. I'm not saying there doesn't come a time where because of age, physical infirmity, whatever, I can't do what I used to do. But I need to continue to function. Just when do you cease to be part of the body of Christ? That's when you can stop. I mean this idea we get in our minds that now I've earned it, I don't have to, I'll be around, but. Not around, but is good enough. You think now my hand says to me, you know how many things I've picked up over the last 64 years? You know how many times these fingers have opened and closed? You know how many times these toes have kept you balanced upright? We're done. I don't think so. I mean, but we get this way spiritually. Christ tells us that every part is necessary functioning as He intends, and we think well, I've gotten to an age, I don't have to. Again, I may get to the age I can't do what I used to do, but I'm never done. And when He's done with me and says you have nothing else to contribute to the development of the body on earth, I'll open my eyes in glory.

We need to get a biblical perspective. We allow the world to shape our thinking and we waste the last 22 years of our lives, looking for a place so we don't have to do anything, when they could be the most effective years of life. That which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part.

One other verse and we're done. Come back to II Corinthians 3, the last verse. We talk about the speaking gifts or the teaching gifts like the pastor-teacher, evangelist as they equip the saints. Note what happens here in verse 18, but we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. You see how the head of the church is working. The mirror of the Word, and we are beholding in the mirror of the Word of God as we study the Word, the glory of the Lord. It is all a revelation unfolding of Him, and we are beholding that truth, the Spirit of God is taking that truth to nourish our souls. Now as we are nourished in the truth we function just as a child grows older and develops more and functions more effectively, so the body of Christ is growing and maturing and functioning and we are becoming more like Jesus Christ. We are being transformed into the image we are beholding. We are becoming more like Him, the beauty of His character being seen in us. What a wonderful, awesome, glorious privilege God has given us. May we never tire of it, may it never get old, boring, wearisome. I was looking as I looked over the notes, go back into the '70s, when we talked about spiritual gifts. But you know what? Never to get cold, oh I know about spiritual gifts, I know my gift, I exercise my gift. _____________________ I am involved in building the body of Jesus Christ, I'm in the process where we become more like Him. That never gets old, that never gets tiresome. Doesn't mean I don't get weary in the work, but I never want to quit. What a glorious call we have in Christ.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for the richness of your truth. Thank you for the wonder of your salvation, the power of the gospel, to bring salvation to a believing life. Thank you for the work of the Spirit in our lives. Lord, how privileged we are to be involved in the ministry of building the body of Christ, that each individual part is contributing in a necessary way to the maturing of the body. Lord, I pray for those who may have grown weary, strengthen them as we are reminded of the glorious calling we have, the glorious work we are involved in. Thank you, Lord, this is but preparing us for an eternity of glory in your presence. We praise you in Christ's name, amen.