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to the book of Ephesians. We're in chapter 4. Our focus 
this evening will be on verses 11 to 13. Chapter 4, I'll read verses 1 
to 16, as this is a unit. So I'll begin Ephesians 4, verse 
1. I, therefore, the prisoner of 
the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which 
you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long-suffering, 
bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity 
of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and 
one spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling. 
One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who 
is above all and through all and in you all. But to each one 
of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. 
Therefore he says, when he ascended on high, he led captivity captive 
and gave gifts to men. Now this, he ascended, what does 
it mean but that he also first descended into the lower parts 
of the earth? He who descended is also the 
one who ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill 
all things. And he himself gave some to be 
apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors 
and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of 
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Do we all 
come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son 
of God to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the 
fullness of Christ, that we should no longer be children tossed 
to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by 
the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. 
But speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things into 
him who is the head, Christ. from whom the whole body, joined 
and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to 
the effective working by which every part does its share, causes 
growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father in 
heaven, again we thank you for your written word, we thank you 
for this epistle to the Ephesians and what it teaches the church 
today. And again, give us ears to hear and hearts to receive 
these things, and may you help us to be faithful as a church, 
help us to be persevering, and help us to bring glory and honor 
to you. Guide us by the Spirit, forgive us again for all of our 
sins, and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, 
as we have seen, we're in the doctrinal portion now of the 
book of Ephesians. The apostle is, I'm sorry, the 
practical application of the book of Ephesians. Chapters 1 
to 3 is doctrine, and now chapters 4 to 6 are the application of 
that truth with reference to the Christian life. And he has 
stressed the solidarity of Jew and Gentile as one new man in 
Christ Jesus. And now he emphasizes the pursuit 
of unity in light of those things. So notice the two exhortations 
in chapter 4, verses 2 and 3. With all lowliness and gentleness, 
with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring 
to keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. He then 
goes on to highlight that it's Christ who gave gifts to his 
church. Those gifts are identified in 
verse 11, and then the purpose for those gifts is stated in 
verse 12. And then we have the duration 
and goal of those gifts in verse 13. And then verses 14 to 16 
will give us more information God willing we'll look at next 
Sunday night. So we have seen thus far in this 
particular section, verse 7 is the provision of God's grace. 
It's a general statement concerning the fact that God gives grace 
not only to his people, but to his church. Verses 8 to 11 highlights 
the provider of God's gifts. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. 
He ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and he gave gifts to 
men. Now, when we compared this passage 
with Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, we see oftentimes gifts are 
things that individuals exercise. Gifts are things that God equips 
people to do in the context of the local church. But here, and 
then later in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, the specific gifts in view 
are men. And those men are indicated in 
verse 11. They are apostles, they are prophets, 
they are evangelists, they are pastor-teachers. And then he 
gives, as I said, a threefold reason or threefold purpose for 
the reason they exist. So I want to look first at the 
identification of the gifts just by way of quick review. Secondly, 
the purpose of the gifts or purpose for the gifts. And then finally, 
the duration and goal of the gifts in verse 13. Now, when 
I say gift, I don't mean, you know, some gem of a man. I'm 
not saying, you know, some guy that's just awesome and he should, 
you know, be seen as just a wonderful human being. Passages like these 
are tough for pastors to preach in their own churches. I could 
probably go to Surrey or to Armstrong or to Dryden and bring this in 
a way that wouldn't bother me a bit, but the fact that I am 
the minister or pastor here, it almost sounds a bit self-serving. 
And this particular passage, I will indicate, presents a high 
view of the Christian ministry, a very high view of the Christian 
ministry. And I think you'll see that as 
we move through here. Again, that high view of the 
Christian ministry doesn't mean, you know, the right reverend 
sir with special parking spots and, you know, a special hat 
or anything that sort of sets him off in a way that, you know, 
he's awesome or he's a gift and we have coffee cups with his 
face. That's not what we're doing here. But in terms of the particular 
gifts, notice in verse 11, he himself, it's Christ who's head 
of the church, it's Christ who's Lord of the church, it's Christ 
whose wisdom governs the church, it's Christ who knows what's 
best for the church, and so Christ gave these gifts to the church. He indicates apostles in the 
first place, New Testament apostles. those designees by our Lord Jesus 
Christ that are given special authority in terms of preaching 
and teaching and healing. Now those men have ceased, or 
rather this office has ceased, with the passing of those men. 
One of the actual requirements for the apostolic ministry was 
that they had to have witnessed the resurrection of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, which we have not done. We do not perpetuate this 
office in the Christian church. When he mentions prophets, he's 
not speaking of the Old Testament prophets. If he was, he probably 
would have started off with prophets and then apostles. He's speaking 
about New Testament prophets. Because at the time of the New 
Testament, they didn't have the New Testament. So they were getting 
the revelatory word from God on high. It was coming through 
tongue speakers and it was coming through prophesying. And so with 
the close of the canon, when the New Testament is done, there's 
no longer tongue speakers and there's no longer prophets. Now, 
if we use prophet widely or broadly or generally defined as someone 
who brings the Word of God, that's not problematic necessarily. 
There's no New Testament prophets anymore. And then he mentions 
evangelists. These were likely itinerant preachers. 
Someone like Timothy, who was stationed for a time in Ephesus, 
but they didn't always stay in the same place. Whether this 
office continues in the church is basically up for debate in 
the church. It's not really our purpose to 
get into that specifically, just giving you the sort of head. 
Timothy functioned that way. Philip, in the book of Acts, 
functioned as an evangelist as well. And then he says pastors, 
teachers. Now, some have seen a distinction. 
You've got pastors and you've got teachers. All pastors teach, 
but not all teachers are pastors. And I think that's a legitimate 
observation, but I also think it's a legitimate observation 
that he might be speaking about pastors slash teachers, the abiding 
office in the church that we call elder, or we call bishop, 
or we call overseer, or we call pastor. And so those are the 
gifts that Christ gives to the church, and he does so for a 
very specific purpose, and it's to that purpose that we now turn. 
So notice in verse 12, we're gonna do two things as we look 
at verse 12. Some of it might bore you. Some 
of it might put you to sleep. So I'll wake you up in about 
seven minutes to get back with us. But the Bible is written 
word. Sometimes arguments, sometimes 
interpretations, sometimes exegesis hinges on the way that the apostles 
write. We call that syntax, the way 
they put sentences together, the way they use grammar, Greek 
grammar, to compose what God has for us. And there's a particular 
issue that verse 12 presents to the church that we need to 
take consideration of. So we'll look first at the structure 
of the passage, and then secondly, we'll get to the purpose of the 
gifts. Now, there are two primary views. There are probably many 
more views. As many people as comment on 
the Bible, typically there's that many interpretations of 
the Bible, but there's two primary views with reference to verse 
12. The first view sees each of the 
three things that Paul states as coordinate. In other words, 
all three of these particular elements are what the gifted 
men of verse 11 do. Now, the English versions that 
are represented today take the second view. The Old King James 
takes this view, the view that I think is correct, the view 
that I'm going to preach tonight, it punctuates it properly. So 
look at verse 12. It says, for the equipping of 
the saints, Old King James has a comma there, for the work of 
ministry, comma, for the edifying of the body of Christ. So the 
older version saw it as pertaining to the gifted men of verse 11. The gifted men of verse 11 did 
those three things with reference to the church. They equipped 
the saints, they engaged in the work of ministry, and they did 
so for the edifying of the body of Christ. So the old King James, 
the Geneva Bible, the translations that were in vogue or in use 
a hundred years ago, typically went this particular direction. 
The newer versions translate it this way. There's a coordinate 
statement, the first statement, and then you've got subordinate 
statements. So look at the way that the new 
King James reads. For the equipping of the saints 
for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. 
So the Christian gift or the minister of verse 11, what he 
does is he equips the saints, and then the saints engage in 
the work of ministry, and the saints engage in the edifying 
of the body of Christ. Now you might think, that's kind 
of a subtle distinction. It's not really a subtle distinction. 
There is, in the last hundred years, an emphasis on every member 
ministering. Now brethren, hear what I'm saying. I'm not against every member 
ministering in the church. I'm not against the people of 
God doing for the church of God. I'm not against the people of 
God serving and doing what God has gifted them and enabled them 
to do. But it doesn't come from verse 
12. In other words, what Paul is doing is he's showing us what 
the ascended Christ's purpose for the gifts of verse 11 are. And it's three coordinate things. 
They're supposed to equip the saints, they're supposed to engage 
in the work of ministry, and they're supposed to edify the 
body of Christ. If we take the newer position, 
the one in the newer translations, and the one that's pretty commonplace 
today in the commentaries, it is simply that the ministry equips 
the saints so that then the saints can do all this other stuff in 
light of God's Word and for the benefit of the church. Now, I'm 
not arguing this because the older argument is necessarily 
right. I'm arguing it because I think 
the context necessitates this interpretation. You've got three 
coordinate prepositional phrases, and they are under this gift-giving 
by Christ in terms of the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, 
and the pastors and teachers. They function in three ways. 
They equip the saints. They engage in the work of ministry. 
They edify the body of Christ. A modern commentator who actually 
takes this particular position says this. It is certainly preferable, 
therefore, to see the three prepositional phrases here as dependent on 
the notion, or as each dependent on the notion, of the giving 
of ministers. And hard to avoid the suspicion 
that opting for the other view, this every-member ministry view, 
is too often motivated by a zeal to avoid clericalism. I don't 
have a problem with trying to avoid a rigid, stiff, and external 
clericalism, but if Paul teaches that the gifts of verse 11 engage 
in these three coordinate activities, then we take Paul's teaching 
seriously. Whatever we might think in terms 
of who should serve and function in the church, we certainly need 
to give attention to what the Apostle Paul says. So back to 
Lincoln, hard to avoid the suspicion that opting for the other view 
is too often motivated by a zeal to avoid clericalism and to support 
a democratic model of the church. Again, every member ministry. 
Now, that's good insofar as every member is understanding of the 
Christian message. You'll notice that in verse 13, 
one of the reasons that the church is instructed by the ministry 
is so that they understand or they have a knowledge of the 
Son of God. In some ways, that's the very 
kernel, the very essence, the sum and substance of the Christian 
faith. Brethren, there are pastors today 
that couldn't define the hypostatic union if their lives depended 
upon it. And in contexts like that, I 
don't want to listen to them, let alone the members in the 
church that are learning from those kinds of people. Now again, 
I'm not saying that the pastors, the ministers, and the church 
are a certain elevated group that everybody bows down to, 
but the scripture recognizes the reality that qualified men 
are to function in the Christian ministry. And qualified men function 
in the Christian ministry so that the people of God will be 
equipped, so that those ministers will engage in the work of ministry, 
and so that the body of Christ will be edified. Again, not suggesting 
that every member doesn't do its part. In fact, this interpretation 
that I'm going to take, the first one, where there are three coordinate 
elements, does not do any injustice to an every-member ministry. 
If you want to look at verse 16, this is where you get the 
every-member ministry emphasis. Notice, "...from whom the whole 
body, joined and knit together by what every joint, I'm sorry, 
joined and knit together by what every joint supplies according 
to the effect of working, notice by which every part does it share, 
causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. So there is that emphasis that 
every part does it share. But if we ask Paul the question, 
what are these gifted men of verse 11 supposed to do? It's 
not golf. It's not go to coffee all the 
time. It's not entertainment. It's 
not laziness. It's not apathy. It's not any 
other thing, but to equip the saints of God, to engage in the 
work of ministry, and to seek to edify the body of Jesus Christ. That's what the gospel ministry 
is supposed to be about. So let's look at the purpose 
of the gifts. Again, first, the equipping of 
the saints. Look at the language again in verse 12. For the equipping 
of the saints. It's an interesting word that 
the Apostle Paul uses here. It's a noun that only appears 
one time in the New Testament. The verbal form appears in other 
places. But as you might guess, the new 
interpretation of the every-member ministry likes the language equipping. likes the language of equipping. The older language was perfecting. The older language was repairing, 
the Geneva Bible has. And so when we look at this particular 
word, we ought to look at the dictionary, the Greek dictionary, 
because that's where we'll find it. So the verbal form means 
to prepare for a purpose, the process of perfecting, maturation, 
The noun form was actually a technical term in the medical realm or 
in the medical field for the setting of a bone. Not the equipping 
of a bone to set itself, but for the actual setting of the 
bone. And then later on, persons saw it as equipment or equipping. Don't want to neglect that. The 
modern lexicons go that far. But if you look at the past, 
to prepare for a purpose, the process of perfecting, maturation. And when the old King James has 
that, for the perfecting of the saints, it doesn't mean that 
the ministry can perfect the saints. It rather means that 
the ministry instructs the people of God with the view of maturation. growth and grace. That's Paul's 
emphasis. Notice at the end of verse 13, 
to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness 
of Christ. He wants the people of God to 
mature. He wants the people of God to 
grow. He wants the people of God to 
go forward. So what does he do? Jesus Christ 
gives gifts to his church for that specific function or for 
that particular purpose. And then the versions, as I said, 
the older versions translated as perfecting, the newer ones 
typically side with equipping. Repairing in the Geneva Bible. 
Matthew Poole says the knitting together and compacting them 
more and more. A modern commentator, Lincoln, 
says to complete, to restore. And then Stephen Baugh says preparation. So, it's really an interpretative 
call, and it typically depends upon what's your view of verse 
12. Do you think these are three-coordinate 
tasks of the Christian ministry, or do you think the Christian 
ministry simply equips the saints so that they can engage in the 
work of ministry, so that they can edify the body of Christ? 
And then with reference to the phrase itself, notice, for the 
equipping of the saints, or I'll take perfection of the saints, 
the gifted men perfect the people of God through the ministry of 
the Word. See, that's the take home message 
here. Everything that the minister 
does, he doesn't do it on his own. He doesn't do it because 
he's a great guy. He doesn't do it because he has 
a bow on his head and he's a gift. He does it in so far as he preaches 
the word. He does it in so far as he rightly 
handles the word of truth, as he rightly divides it, as he 
proclaims it, as he teaches it, as he seeks by the grace of God 
to apply it. So the gifted men of verse 11 
perfect the people of God through the ministry of the word. And 
the gifted men perfect all the people of God through the ministry 
of the word. Notice the emphasis in verse 
12. For the equipping of the saints. Well, who are the saints? 
They're the Jews and the Gentiles of chapter two. They're the Jews 
and the Gentiles that have been called out of darkness into marvelous 
light. They're the Jews and the Gentiles who are now one new 
man in Christ Jesus. The other thing I want to point 
out is that they can't equip the saints if the saints aren't 
present. In this particular passage, it 
not only presents a high view of Christian ministry, but it 
produces a high responsibility of church membership. You've 
ever heard that old saying, if a tree falls in the forest, does 
it make a sound? If nobody's there to hear it, 
does it make a sound? If C.H. Spurgeon fell out of 
heaven to preach a sermon and nobody was there to hear it, 
did he make a sound? You see, if you're not attending 
upon the means that God's ordained for your equipping and for your 
growth, then it doesn't matter how good or how faithful the 
Christian ministry is. Now, I don't want to scold after 
I just scolded you, but This is something that we have to 
take away. If there's a high view of ministry, 
there has to be some corresponding responsibility on the part of 
the membership, on the part of the people who come to church. 
John Eady said, the Christian ministry is designed to mature 
the saints, to bring them nearer the divine law in obedience and 
the Lord's example in conformity. And brethren, a proper understanding 
of Ephesians 4, specifically in verse 12, and following to 
be sure, shows us the sham of what goes on under the guise 
of Christian ministry today. The Christian minister is not 
a CEO. He's not a pep squad leader. He's not just a guy to rally 
up the troops. He is to be a faithful exegete 
of God's holy word and expound that truth to the people. He 
is to seek by the power of the Holy Spirit to see men saved 
and then to see men sanctified. He's not simply there to amass 
numbers in the life and context of his church. He's there to 
preach the word. He's there to emphasize the truth. 
He's there to get down to it and bring it for your well-being 
and good. So the equipping of the saints 
is absolutely crucial. But then notice he goes on, the 
next coordinate statement. So for the work, equipping of 
the saints, and then notice, for the work of ministry. I think 
I've shared with you before, I was talking to Ryan this past 
week, there's this idea out there that pastors don't do much. Now, 
I would suggest there's probably pastors that don't do much, but 
other pastors try to do a lot, probably like in your own job, 
probably in your own company, probably in your own employer. 
You see guys that really try to do the best, and then you've 
got, you know, slobs and derelicts and people that you wish you 
could fire, but for whatever reason, you can't. I just described 
our political system. But anyways, with reference to 
this, the Christian ministry properly carried out is work. It is labor. It is intensive. And notice what Paul says. And 
again, this would be easier for me to preach. Actually, it's 
getting easier as I'm older. I mean, I might die tomorrow. 
So you know what? Whatever guy you get to replace 
me, have this particular view in view. Do not allow anybody 
to ever come behind this pulpit that is lazy, that is negligent, 
or that is derelict. In the military, if you're derelict 
in duty, they shoot you if it's wartime. If it's not wartime, 
they put you in jail. Dereliction of duty is a crime. Dereliction of duty for the watchman 
in Zion, that is absolutely unacceptable. The man of God must work. He must labor. Notice what Paul 
says in 1 Corinthians 4. 1 Corinthians chapter 4, just 
a couple of passages to illustrate this. 1 Corinthians 4, verse 
1, let a man so consider us as servants of Christ, and notice, 
stewards of the mysteries of God. What's a steward do? They 
exercise stewardship. If I was a guard at a particular 
building, my stewardship would be to protect that building. 
What's the stewardship involved with the Christian ministry? 
It's the mysteries of God. It's the truth of Holy Scripture. 
It's the law and the gospel. It is 16 ounces to the pound, 
solid and sound doctrine. And then notice what Paul says 
in verse 2. Moreover, it is required in stewards 
that one be found faithful. Not famous, not sensational, 
not accomplished, not the author of 15,000 books, but faithful 
in the task of the Christian ministry. If a man is able to 
carry out his work and then write 15,000 books, praise God. But you know what his primary 
calling is? It's to preach the Word to the people of God. It's 
to preach the truth to the people that come to his church, because 
that's what he's been set aside to do. The man of God is to preach 
the Word of God. He is to convince, he is to rebuke, 
he is to exhort, and he is to do so with all long-suffering 
and teaching. And he's to do so knowing that 
the time will come when men will not endure sound doctrine, that 
they'll want to get teachers that will tickle their ears. 
He does so because that is what God the Lord has called him to. 
Notice what Paul says in Colossians 1, a passage or an epistle very 
similar to ours. Ephesians and Colossians, a lot 
of overlap, but notice in Colossians chapter 1. And again, this sermon 
is not, oh, please feel sorry for me. Don't feel sorry for 
me. Pray for men that will be raised up by Christ Most High 
to function this way, to serve the church this way, to equip 
the saints, and also to engage in the work of ministry. To equip 
the saints for what? To live the Christian life, to 
live as individuals, to function as husbands and wives, to function 
in their employment, to function as employers, to function in 
their church capacity. Teach the whole council of God 
to equip the entirety of the saints of God so that they can 
walk and chew gum in a spiritual sense and function in the manner 
that God has saved them unto. And then with reference to the 
work of the ministry, notice in Colossians 2, I'm sorry, Colossians 
1, verse 28, him we preach, warning every man and teaching every 
man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in 
Christ Jesus. There's that emphasis again. 
What is he talking about with reference to the we? The every 
member ministry? No, he's talking about himself 
and his associates. He's talking about the Christian 
ministry. And what is the Christian ministry supposed to do? They're 
supposed to bring that man, that church, to perfect conformity 
unto the Lord Jesus Christ. warning every man and teaching 
every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect 
in Christ Jesus. Notice, to this end I also labor, 
striving according to his working which works in me mightily. To 
this end I also labor, striving according to his working which 
works in me mightily. Brethren, that's what you should 
demand from the Christian ministry. That's what you should expect 
from the Christian ministry. That's what they're supposed 
to do. Never settle for anything less than that. Notice in 2 Timothy 
chapter 4, 2 Timothy chapter 4, the apostles' admonition in 
the context of preaching the word. Preach the word, verse 
2. Be ready in season and out of 
season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with 
all long-suffering and teaching, for the time will come when they 
will not endure sound doctrine. But according to their own desires, 
because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves 
teachers, and they will turn their ears away from the truth 
and be turned aside to fables. Notice in verse five, but you 
be watchful in all things. Endure afflictions, do the work 
of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. Huh, it's a work? Yes, it's a work. thinking, praying, 
laboring, and exegesis, and then preaching that word. You probably 
have heard of the minister that sort of just waits around until 
God gives him a message, and then he wanders into the pulpit. 
Man, I would run from that church. There's one guy I know in history 
that I might not run from. Spurgeon was a unique man. Spurgeon 
would wrestle with tax. Most of Spurgeon's week was not 
sermon prep for the Sunday morning sermon. You know what Spurgeon 
spent a lot of time doing? He spent a lot of time editing 
the previous week's sermon for publication. He preached last 
Sunday and spent a lot of time. They didn't have Microsoft Word. 
Microsoft Word is a very handy editing tool. You can put little 
notes and send the file. You had to actually walk these 
documents around back then. I know it's hard for us to imagine. 
Not only that, he preached, he taught, he labored in the Word 
and in doctrine. But he'd save sermon prep for 
Saturday afternoon. He's not a model for the Christian 
ministry, brethren. I just would never commend Spurgeon 
as the guy you ought to follow. He was an immense intellect. 
He was a giant. I mean, that's like, you know, 
Mount Sham saying, well, I aspire to be, I aspire to be Everest. 
That's not gonna happen, Sham. You're good, you're doing your 
thing, but you're not gonna be Everest. So just be content with 
where you're at, what you've got, and do well with it. So 
Spurgeon would, you know, if they had people over, he'd say, 
you know, it's time for you to leave. I got to scratch up a 
meal for the chicks for tomorrow. And he'd work with tax. And he 
would be thinking. He read all week and all that sort of thing. 
Well, one night, he went to bed. He didn't have the heads for 
a sermon. I think it was Psalm 110. Apparently, he talked in 
his sleep. And his faithful wife wrote down 
the sermon points that he used to preach the next day. Again, 
not a good model. Not a guy for you to model your 
ministry after. But this idea that I'm just going 
to wait till the Spirit gives me some utterance, that is not 
biblical preaching. Study to show thyself approved. Work men who need not be ashamed. 
Rightly dividing the word of truth. That's the emphasis that 
we find in Scripture. So the work of ministry. Now 
again, it's undertaken by the gifts indicated in verse 11. Most of the members in the church 
of the Lord Jesus Christ have jobs. They have kids, they have 
wives, they have husbands, they got a lot of things going on. 
So in addition to me working 50, 60, 70 hours schlepping whatever 
I schlep, I got to do the work of the ministry as well. And 
again, every member ministry, participate as you're able, but 
not to the exclusion of what God's called you to in other 
places. Who do you think is supposed 
to engage in the work of ministry? Oh, perhaps it's these gifts 
that the ascended Christ has given to his church. That's the 
reading, brethren, that makes the most sense of this particular 
passage. Now, notice as well, just a few 
thoughts here. The Christian ministry is a work 
that demands earnest effort. It is a work that demands earnest 
effort. We've just looked at those passages. 
The Christian ministry is a work that demands undivided attention. Now, sometimes this can't be. 
Sometimes a guy is bivocational. Paul sets forth that paradigm 
or that pattern. He worked with his hands. He 
was a leather worker. He was a tent maker. But he also 
commended the churches for a paid ministry. He also commended the 
church or instructed the church in 1 Timothy 5, specifically 
at verse 17, to honor the elders who rule well, especially those 
who labor in the Word and doctrine. What does he mean by honor? We 
just saw that word in Numbers 24, that whole Balaam, Balak, 
honor thing. What do you think that means? 
It means paying Balaam. It means giving him money. What 
does honor mean in 1 Timothy 5, verse 17? It's informed by 
the context. Honor widows who are widows indeed. 
What does that mean? Hi, widow, it's great to see 
you. We wanna honor you. Yeah, that's good. Open doors 
for widows. Let them sit in your seat. If 
you're in a bus, you stand up and let the widow sit down. But 
in the context, the honor is for giving them money. So Paul 
says that in 1 Timothy 5, verse 17. 2 Timothy 2, he says that 
you're supposed to be set apart for this particular task. And 
again, I know that sometimes that cannot be. But that ought 
to be the goal. Again, not so pastors can get 
rich and go golfing and have the best cars and the best fare 
and all that. No! But so they can be set apart 
for the work of ministry. If it is a work, it demands attention, 
undivided attention, and you can reflect on 2 Timothy 2, 2-7 
later. As well, the Christian ministry 
is work that demands qualified persons. It's always amazed me. Some of you are business owners. 
Some of you are not business owners. We're all in that relationship 
of either being an employer or an employee. Do you get jobs 
when you're unqualified? You want to go be a rocket scientist? 
What are they going to ask you? What's 2 plus 2? I just don't 
know. Well, you're not qualified for the job. How many guys are 
in pulpits that aren't qualified for the job? And I'm not saying 
that to be mean or vicious or unkind, but brethren, there's 
some bad teaching out there. There's some really dumb people 
out there. And there are some really heretical 
things that go unchecked out there. Why would we allow a doctor 
to perform brain surgery if he's not qualified? Why would we want 
a lawyer to represent us if he failed the exams? Is that who 
you look for? Do you want the discount attorney? 
Do you want the discount surgeon? Do you want the guy you're going 
to save a buck on but has a shaky hand? Probably not. You probably want the best. That's why all of this hiring 
and firing based on ethnicity. You want the best qualified person. It doesn't matter what ethnicity 
they are. Do they have a steady hand and 
are they qualified for the task? When it comes to the Christian 
ministry, we don't just say, well, that guy's nice. He's been 
successful in business. He's done well. Let's let him 
be the pastor. No, he doesn't have a steady 
hand. He can't articulate the doctrine of justification by 
faith alone. I'm not trying to be mean or nasty or vicious, 
but that's kind of what the job is all about. And 1 Timothy 3 
and Titus chapter 1 make it clear that a man must be A man must 
be. He must be able to teach 1 Timothy 
3, 2. He must be able, by sound doctrine, 
to be able to encourage the people of God and to refute those who 
contradict. Titus chapter 1, verse 9. So the work of the ministry is 
in fact a work that demands earnest effort. It is a work that demands 
undivided attention. It is a work that demands qualified 
persons. I'm just gonna go for it again. 
I might die tomorrow. So the guy that's coming after 
me, the Christian ministry is a work that I'm not gonna say 
demands, even though it really does. And I'm not saying this 
just because you gotta qualify everything, right? I don't want 
to trigger anybody or get anybody unhappy with me. Oh, he's coming 
through the back door to let us out. No. But it's a work that 
should result in gratitude for Christ's giving gifts and those 
gifts functioning the way they're supposed to. The beneficiaries 
of gifts are usually happy. You give your kid a birthday 
gift, and you'd be out of sorts if he didn't thank you or give 
you a hug or a bit of a kiss. Thank you. Daddy, thank you. 
Grandpa, thank you. Mommy, you get the point. The 
New Testament envisages not only a working ministry, but a people 
of God that are appreciative of that. And again, I am not 
coming through... I feel appreciated. I feel loved. 
I mean, I don't know that we're all the best friends forever 
kind of a relationship, but I don't think that's necessarily requisite. 
You know, you like me, I like you, we love each other, we don't 
kill each other. Those are good things. I'm happy with that. 
But if you look at the scriptures, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. 1 
Thessalonians 5, notice in verses 12 and 13. We urge you, brethren. We urge you, brethren, to recognize 
those who labor among you. and are over you in the Lord 
and admonish you. He's not talking about civil 
authorities, obviously talking about ecclesiastical authority, 
leadership. And admonish you. Verse 13, and to esteem them 
very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among 
yourselves. Huh. It's interesting. If we 
aren't engaged in that reciprocity, pastors to people, people to 
pastors, there's going to be division. There's going to be 
lack of peace. Yeah. That's a tough environment for 
a man to minister at when the people hate him. There's the 
account of Charles Simeon. Charles Simeon was an evangelical 
Anglican. I forget the 1700s, 1800s. I'm looking for Steve and Leslie. 
Do you remember Simeon? 17-ish, 18-ish. Anyways, Anglican 
minister. His church hated him. They couldn't 
stand him. And it wasn't because he was 
a bad guy and didn't do the, you know, Ephesians 4, 11 to 
13 stuff. He was a good guy, and they didn't 
like him. I think they tried to lock him 
out of his church. That's not a conducive environment 
for Christian ministry to obtain. It's just not a happy environment 
for the people of God and the pastors to grow together and 
to be workers with you for your joy. Look at Hebrews chapter 
13. Hebrews chapter 13. And again, I'm not saying it 
demands this, but it should be appreciated by the beneficiaries. 
And again, I feel appreciated, it's not me. A guy died tomorrow, 
a guy comes, he can preach, he's a Spurgeon. Love Him, care for 
Him, thank Him once in a while. It's a blessed thing. Notice 
in Hebrews 13, verse 7, Now again, not civil authority, but ecclesiastical. That's fleshed out as we read 
the passage. So he's already got that in his 
mind, he's already encouraged them that way. And then notice 
in verse 17, obey those who rule over you and be submissive, for 
they watch out for your souls as those who must give account. 
Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be 
unprofitable for you. So there is this emphasis on 
the reciprocity of the membership to the pastor. In other words, 
if the man of God is doing the job that God has called him to 
do, there's nothing wrong with expressing a bit of appreciation 
for that. Now, thirdly, we've got these 
three coordinate statements, the equipping of the saints, 
the work of ministry, and then notice thirdly, the edifying 
of the body of Christ. So back to Ephesians four, edifying 
of the body of Christ. Verse 12, for the equipping of 
the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body 
of Christ. Just a few observations here. 
The Christian ministry has a corporate focus. The Christian ministry 
has a corporate focus, not an individualistic focus. Christian 
ministry does not exist for the Christian ministry. The Christian 
ministry exists for the glory of God Most High and for the 
good of the church, the corporate focus. Notice, edifying the body 
of Christ. The work of the ministry is for 
the benefit of the church, not the benefit of the Christian 
minister. It's not a celebrity pastors 
sort of a thing. You guys are here to, you know, 
show me the love and show me the appreciation and show me 
the coffee cup with my face on. That's not why the ministry exists. Lincoln, again, makes the observation, 
these officers are Christ's gifts to the church. But again, it 
becomes clear that such a perspective on their role should never lead 
to self-glorification. They have been given to carry 
out the work of service, and it is service which provides 
the framework for understanding any ministerial function or office. I tried to illustrate this last 
week relative to the political order. In America, they're called 
secretary of whatever. Here in Canada, they're called 
minister of whatever. But I don't think they're ministers. 
I think they're lords. I think they're kings. I think 
they're queens. I think we exist to do their bidding. I think 
we exist to give them money. I think we exist to serve them. 
That is to completely invert the order, and that word minister 
is supposed to suggest the relation they bear to us. They are our 
paid servants. They're supposed to function 
with our tax money in a responsible way. They are not to disenfranchise 
us, they are to serve us. The same with the Christian ministry. The people of God don't exist, 
and again, there's that tension, show appreciation, but not put 
them on pedestals, not exalt the guy so that his head gets 
so big he can't walk through doors, but show that appreciation, 
but at the same time recognize that any minister that is actually 
given by Jesus to the church takes that ministerial aspect 
seriously. He's a servant. He is one that 
is supposed to provide. He is one that's supposed to 
labor in the Word and Doctrine. His job is to equip the people 
of God. He does that by working in the 
ministry, and he does it with the expressed purpose of seeing 
the edification of the body of Christ. As well, the Christian 
ministry has a positive purpose. Notice our text. For the edifying 
of the body of Christ. The margin is good. There's a 
gloss in the margin. Building up. What does the Christian 
ministry do? Does it tear down the church? 
Does it divide the church? Does it make everybody mad in 
the church? Now, some people get mad at preaching. Some people, you know, get a 
little upset from time to time. Some people... I do. We all got 
our issues. But the focus of the Christian 
ministry is not to divide the people of God. It's not to tear 
down the people of God. It's to build them up. And again, 
not with my rapport and not with my presence, but with the Word 
of God. It's all about the Word. That's 
where each of these coordinate elements come to fruition. We 
equip the saints, how? By preaching to them. We engage 
in the work of ministry, how? By studying the Word to preach 
it. We edify or build up the church of God. How? Through the 
preaching of the word. The whole idea behind shepherding. The word pastor is related to 
shepherd. How does the shepherd lead? He 
leads from scripture. He leads with preaching. He leads 
with teaching. He doesn't lead by just saying, 
follow me because I'm a great guy. Follow me because I'm a 
gift of Jesus. No, he preaches the truth. That's 
what brings the people of God into conformity unto Christ. 
And then before we leave this head, the Christian ministry 
has a necessary function. The Christian ministry has a 
necessary function. You probably heard me say it 
before. The ministry is not essential to the being of the church. It's 
essential to the well-being of the church. So when Paul and 
Barnabas go out on that first missionary journey, they make 
disciples and they plant churches. When they return to Antioch, 
they go through those places where they had planted churches. 
So what do they do when they get there? They appointed elders 
in every city. So what does that assume? On 
their way through, they plant churches. Churches, they're actually 
existent, but then they don't have elders until Paul and Barnabas 
come back through. We see the same emphasis in Titus 
1. Appoint elders in every city. So there were churches that didn't 
have elders. So elders are not essential to 
the well-being or to the being of the church, but they are essential 
to the well-being of the church. They serve a necessary function, 
and these three coordinate prepositional phrases illustrate for us what 
those purposes are. I want to read John Calvin, and 
then I think we're going to close here because I think I've overstayed 
my welcome here. Calvin makes this observation. 
Those who neglect this instrument, the ministry given by Christ 
to the church. Listen to it. This is contrary 
to the spirit of our age. This is not where we're thinking 
in terms of corporate Christianity today. That those who neglect 
this instrument, and I put parenthetically, the ministry given by Christ 
to the church, should hope, or that those who neglect this instrument 
should hope to become perfect in Christ is utter madness. Now brethren, you may not have 
met those people, but there's those individualistic spirits 
out there that wave their Bible and say, all I need is my Bible 
and the Holy Spirit. Well, every one of the heretics 
and heretical movements and curses on the professing church have 
essentially said the same thing. I don't need the ministry, I 
just need my Bible and the Holy Spirit. Well, let's check on 
you in about 10 years and see how that all works out, because 
usually it doesn't end up well. So listen to Calvin, those who 
neglect this instrument should hope to become perfect in Christ 
is utter madness. Yet such are the fanatics on 
the one hand who pretend to be favored with secret revelations 
of the Spirit. I don't need the ministry, I 
got a direct connection to God. He speaks to me, He leads me, 
He guides me, He directs me. I inquire of Him and He always 
gives me an answer. Now brethren, I'm not besmirching 
the attitude that we can commune with God in private. I am not 
suggesting that persons can't stumble onto the truth in their 
reading of Scripture. I am suggesting an attitude that 
is contrary to what we find in Ephesians 4. This is what Paul 
is saying. I'm not making this up. He himself 
gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, 
and some to be pastors and teachers. Why? Because he wanted to equip 
the saints, he wanted them to work in the ministry, and he 
wanted to build up the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. So 
the fanatics, on the one hand, who pretend to be favored with 
secret revelations of the Spirit, and proud men, on the other, 
who imagine that, to them, the private reading of the Scripture 
is enough, and that they have no need of the ordinary ministry 
of the church. Now, I mentioned this on Wednesday 
night. There's a guy I follow on Twitter. 
He's called Zuby. And Zuby's made the observation 
before. If you were to tweet, I love apples, you'll get a bunch 
of comments that say, why do you hate oranges? I'm sorry, 
I don't see that connection. If I say I love apples, why does 
that mean I hate oranges? If we emphasize the ministry 
of the church, why is the take-home message, what, I'm not supposed 
to read my Bible in private? Of course, you're supposed to 
read your Bible in private. Of course, you're supposed to 
search the scriptures. Of course, you're supposed to 
do that, but not to the neglect of other means that God's ordained 
for your benefit. That's the point. That's what 
Paul is bringing home. That's what Calvin comments on. And that, my brothers and sisters, 
is what the apostle is saying here. He himself gave some to 
be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and 
teachers for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, 
for the edifying of the body of Christ. God willing, We'll 
look at the duration and the goal of the gifts next time, 
and we'll follow up with what we have in verses 14 to 16. But by way of some brief application, 
in addition to what we've already suggested, first I would suggest 
we see the glory of Christ here. It's easy, and it's obvious, 
and we certainly should, because it's essential, to see the glory 
of Christ in his life, death, and resurrection, isn't it? Isn't 
it just the way we ought to read the Bible? Jesus, my Lord, my 
Savior, lived for me. He died for me. He rose again 
for me. We ought to appreciate the glory 
of Christ in his ongoing work in the government of his church. In fact, turn to the book of 
Acts for just a moment, Acts chapter 1. See an interesting 
turn of phrase that Luke uses. Notice that Luke writes Luke 
and Luke writes Acts. If you didn't know that, then 
you can now notice it. But Luke writes Luke, and then 
Luke writes Acts. And notice what Acts 1 tells 
us. The former account I made, that's 
a reference to the gospel of Luke. O Theophilus, of all that 
Jesus, notice, began both to do and teach. We call it the 
Acts of the Apostles. It could appropriately be called 
the acts of the risen Lord Jesus. It's Jesus who's over the church. It's Jesus who's moving men. 
It's Jesus who's setting men apart. It's Jesus who, by the 
Spirit, is guiding His church to carry out His will and purpose 
for the church. So when he says, of all things 
that Jesus began both to do and teach, acts as the record of 
what Jesus continues to do and teach in the life and ministry 
of the church. So going back to this particular 
thought, the glory of Christ ought to be seen in the gospel. 
Life, death, resurrection. The glory of Christ ought to 
be seen in the ascension, in current session, and in the blessed 
reality that there's a return in glory to judge the living 
and the dead. Certainly we see the glory of Christ. But see 
the glory of Christ at the right hand of the Father in the government 
of the church. And I would suggest first in 
His kindness. His kindness. Christ gives gifts 
to the church. Christ gives men to the church 
that are qualified and set apart for the work of the ministry, 
so that the people of God can be equipped, so that the people 
of God can be built up, so that the people of God can be a mature 
man and not tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, not 
shaken around like unstable children, No, Christ in his kindness gave 
this to the church for her benefit. Secondly, the glory of Christ 
is seen in his wisdom, the wisdom of Christ. I love talking to 
businessmen. I love talking to people who 
have different sort of occupations and jobs. And it's always interesting 
to me. I like to see success. I like to hear what people do. 
I like to see how they apply their wisdom in the government 
of their particular business. It's something to behold. It's 
something to appreciate. It's something to say, wow, that's 
awesome. Do we ever reflect upon the wisdom 
of Christ? He didn't ordain puppets and 
ponies and programs. He didn't ordain rock concerts. 
He didn't ordain that the Christian ministry was all about sensuality. He ordained a very simple, very 
functional ministry wherein the primary emphasis is on the transmission 
of His Word. That's wisdom, brethren. The 
wisdom of Christ is seen in the government of His church, as 
well the purpose of Christ with reference to His church. He wants 
them perfect. He wants them repaired. He wants 
them, the bones that were out of joint, He wants them set. 
He wants them to be rejointed. He wants them to be functioning 
the way that God made us to function. And as well, the presence of 
Christ with His church. the presence of Christ with his 
church. We have a promise in Matthew's gospel that Jesus will 
continue with us even to the end of the age. That's what appends 
the Great Commission. Go therefore, make disciples 
of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe 
all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, 
even to the end of the age. That omnipresence of Christ is 
sort of a bookend because he starts off with the omnipotence 
of Christ. All authority in heaven and on 
earth has been given to me. Go do this and know that I am 
with you. Now brethren, when we look at 
a passage like this, we appreciate Christ over the church right 
now. But we ought to appreciate Christ over the church in the 
first century. We ought to appreciate Christ over the church in the 
5th century. We ought to appreciate Christ over the church in the 
15th century. There's this mindset in some 
today, not many, not all, I don't know, but there is that mentality 
that anything that is back then obviously can't be for us. Well, 
that is a rejection of Christ who gave gifts to the church. 
I'm not suggesting that Cyril of Alexandria was a perfect man. 
I'm not suggesting that Augustine of Hippo was a perfect man. I'm 
not suggesting that C.H. Spurgeon was a perfect man, or 
John Calvin was a perfect man, or Martin Luther. If you know 
anything about Martin Luther, he certainly wasn't a perfect 
man. But they were gifts given by the ascended Christ to the 
church. So when we say, oh, no, all we 
need right now is my Bible and the Holy Spirit. Well, didn't 
the Holy Spirit give Calvin to the church? Didn't the Holy Spirit 
give Spurgeon to the church? Didn't the Holy Spirit give Christ 
to the Holy Spirit? We should take up our particular 
task in this progression. We're not the end. We're links 
in the chain. Our task, as I perceive it, is 
to pass on the faith that was once for all delivered to the 
saints. It's not to twist it. It's not to distort it. It's 
not to take away from it. It's not to supplement it and 
somehow make it better. We receive the baton from our 
historical forebears, and then we pass it on to the coming generation. We retain the standard of sound 
words, we hold fast to that truth, and we make sure, by the grace 
of God, that we are not adding to it, we are not taking away 
from it, and we are certainly not distorting it or twisting 
it. If we understand Christ and His role, relative to the church 
of the Lord Jesus, we will appreciate church history, we will appreciate 
the gifts that were given by Jesus in former ages, and we 
will seek to make use of them. We will seek to reflect upon 
the Christian creeds, the Christian councils, the Christian confessions, 
Christian theology, that has handed to us a blessed deposit 
that is our task to guard, our task to propagate, our task to 
defend, and our task ultimately to pass on. Brethren, we want 
churches into the future generations, and I believe that the Apostle 
affords to us confidence that it will be so. Remember in chapter 
3 at verse 21, to him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus, 
notice, to all generations. As long as there are all generations, 
there's going to be churches. Even if Newsweek tells us that 
the church is declining and people don't want Christian faith anymore, 
Jesus Christ builds his church and the gates of Hades shall 
not prevail against it. As long as there's generations, 
there will be churches. And then notice, we'll see this 
next week in verse 13, till we all come to the unity of the 
faith. till we all come. There is a durative, a durational 
statement there in terms of the perpetual ministry of the Christian, 
the perpetual ministry in the Christian Church with that threefold 
purpose. Well, may God help us, may God 
provide for us men that are qualified, 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1, that will 
rise up and proclaim that truth and seek by grace to minister 
in the manner that the Apostle Paul declares here in Ephesians 
4. Well, let us pray. Our God and our Father, we thank 
you for your word. We thank you for its clarity 
at this point. We ask God that you would help us to be prayerful 
as the church. I pray that you would bless the 
church in Surrey and in Armstrong and in Dryden, all the churches 
that are faithful here in Canada, all the churches that are faithful 
throughout the ends of the earth. We thank you. that Christ is 
building his church, that we have the sure word and promise 
that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. We pray 
that you raise up more men to function in this capacity, to 
be set apart, recognized by the church, qualified, and men that 
will be faithful in carrying out the task of Christian ministry. We ask that you would go with 
us now, watch over us in this coming week, and be glorified 
through us. And we ask in Jesus' name, amen. We'll close with a brief time 
of meditation.