God desires the Church, the Body of Christ, to be a growing, healthy and functional body, where every member has his responsibility to the edification of the whole. In order to accomplish this, God has given to every individual in the body natural talents and abilities that are to be used for His glory. It is not incidental that individuals in the body have certain aptitudes and interests. These are all part of God’s plan for that person’s life purpose. Unfortunately so many people fail to look for ways in which they can channel these aptitudes and abilities into investment in the kingdom of God. God desires that all of these abilities be used for His honor and glory. (Matt 25:14-30).
In addition to natural talents and abilities, God also has given spiritual gifts that are to be operating in the Church. When we enter the kingdom of God by the new birth, we are taken out of the natural realm and transplanted into the realm of the Spirit. While natural talents and abilities are helpful for the advancing of the kingdom of God, natural talents and abilities will never be enough to get the job done. (Zech 4:6). For this reason, God distributes spiritual gifts to the members of His body that operate above the natural realm into the supernatural. They operate above natural ability by tapping into God’s supernatural ability. (1Cor 12:7,11).
In addition to these things that God has given to the members of His body, God has further given to each member of the Body a ministry, or function, that is to add to the edification of the whole. The word ‘ministry’ simply means ‘service’ or ‘function’. In every body there are many members and all the members do not have the same function. (Rom 12:4-5) 1Pet 4:10-11.
In order for us to understand fully the way in which these ministries operate and their importance, we need to realize several things:-
In addition to natural talents and abilities, God also has given spiritual gifts that are to be operating in the Church. When we enter the kingdom of God by the new birth, we are taken out of the natural realm and transplanted into the realm of the Spirit. While natural talents and abilities are helpful for the advancing of the kingdom of God, natural talents and abilities will never be enough to get the job done. (Zech 4:6). For this reason, God distributes spiritual gifts to the members of His body that operate above the natural realm into the supernatural. They operate above natural ability by tapping into God’s supernatural ability. (1Cor 12:7,11).
In addition to these things that God has given to the members of His body, God has further given to each member of the Body a ministry, or function, that is to add to the edification of the whole. The word ‘ministry’ simply means ‘service’ or ‘function’. In every body there are many members and all the members do not have the same function. (Rom 12:4-5) 1Pet 4:10-11.
In order for us to understand fully the way in which these ministries operate and their importance, we need to realize several things:-
1. THESE MINISTRIES ALL FIND THEIR ORIGIN IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
When Jesus came, He came as the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col 1:19, 2:9). As the fullness of the Godhead, He manifested in life expression every gift, grace and ministry that would eventually function in the Church, His body. When Jesus came as the fullness of the Godhead bodily, He had all of the ministries functioning in their mature expression because He did not receive from the Father a measure of grace, or a measure of the Spirit, He alone received the fullness. (John 1:14; 3:33-35).
As such Jesus was the pattern for all ministry. If we want to know how a certain ministry is to operate in the Body of Christ, we simply need to look to Christ to find out how He operated in that ministry. Jesus Christ was the –
a. Apostle (Heb 3:1)
b. Prophet (John 4:19)
c. Evangelist (Luke 4:18)
d. Pastor (John 10:11)
e. Teacher (John 3:2)
f. Elder (Rom 8:29)
g. Deacon (Luke 22:27)
h. Exhorter (Luke 2:25)
i. Giver (Gal 2:20)
j. Ruler (Luke 1:33)
k. Shower of Mercy (Heb 2:17)
l. Worker of Miracles (John 11:47)
m. Healer (Luke 6:17-19)
n. Intercessor (Heb 7:25)
2. THESE MINISTRIES ARE MERELY AN EXPRESSION OF CHRIST IN YOU. (Col 1:27)
Christ is the fullness of the Godhead bodily and therefore as the Head, the fullness of all ministries is in Him. When we become attached to the Head by the new birth, we become partakers of the fullness that is in Him. We ourselves do not contain the fullness, we only partake of the fullness that is in Christ.
John 1:14,16
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
As the fullness of the Godhead bodily, Jesus was full of grace that enabled Him to accomplish and fulfill all of these ministries. When we are attached to the Head, we become a partaker of that grace that is necessary to fulfill the particular ministry that we have been given by the Lord. “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ gift.” Eph 4:7.
Since this is the case, it is very important that we as believers recognize the ministry that we have been given, because we will receive grace for that ministry. Without the grace for the ministry, the ministry will inevitably fail because none of the ministries can operate effectively on a natural level. All of them have to be supported and underwritten by the grace of God. The grace of God in relation to service is simply the supernatural enablement of God. The Apostle Paul recognized the grace that was upon his life, therefore he could move with confidence in the ministry which he had received from the Lord. (Rom 12:3)
Romans 1:5
5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name,
Romans 15:15-16
15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, 16 that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 3:10
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.
1 Corinthians 15:9-10
9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
Galatians 2:9
9 and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.
If we are to be successful as stewards of the manifold grace of God, we must be sure that we recognize the grace of God that is upon our lives. The grace of God goes with the calling of God. Paul tells us when it comes to evaluating the grace of God upon our lives we must be sober. We should be careful in our evaluation and estimation of ourselves and careful not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. How many ministries have failed because they attempted greater things in God than that for which they have received grace. We must be careful to perceive God’s grace on our lives then it will not be difficult to perceive the ministry that He has for us. We must remember that God never holds us accountable for that to which someone else has been called. He only holds us accountable for what He has instructed us to do. If I am struggling to be a pastor in the body of Christ but God has given me the grace to be an intercessor, then I will not receive commendation of a good and faithful servant. God only measures us against what He has called us to be. He never rates us on the basis of what we do, only on the basis of how faithful we are to do what He has called us to do. There may be those who attempted to be apostles in their own strength who will receive the judgement of an unfaithful servant, while there will be those who may be worshipers on the worship team who will be commended as faithful stewards because they are doing exactly what there were called to do.
3. THESE MINISTRIES FUNCTIONING TOGETHER AS THE MANY-MEMBERED BODY OF CHRIST ARE TO FULFILL AND COMPLETE THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
When Christ was here on earth He ministered out of a heart of compassion seeking to save that which was lost. He came as the apostle sent from heaven. He came as the mouthpiece of God to the dying world. He came to proclaim the good news, to gather sheep, to instruct in the ways of God, to serve man where he was at, to exhort to righteousness, to give Himself as a ransom for all, to reach out to man in his need. Yet when Jesus was here on earth He was limited by the fleshly body of which He partook. He was confined to one geographical location, to one set of circumstances, to the needs of one small group of people at any given moment. God’s love is for the whole world. Jesus as man, could not reach out to everyone. More Christs or “anointed ones” would be needed to satisfy the heart of God. When Jesus Christ rose from the dead, He provided the answer. Jesus rose from the dead as the firstborn of many brethren. Now He desires to carry on and complete His ministry through His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all. Ephesians 1:22-23
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Jesus as Head is continuing to preach and heal and prophesy and teach and exhort and seek out the lost, but now He is doing it through His Body, the church (Every member playing a purposeful, significant role). The Book of Acts begins in a beautiful way. Luke writes of his former treatise, the Gospel of Luke, which is perhaps the most complete account of Jesus earthly life and ministry extending from the birth of John the Baptist to the ascension of Christ. He refers to this treatise as being only a record of that which Jesus “begun both to do and teach” Acts 1:1. That three and one half years of ministry was only a beginning. The Book of Acts as well as Church History records all that Jesus continued to do and teach by the Holy Spirit through the Church of Jesus Christ, which is His Body.
When Jesus came, He came as the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col 1:19, 2:9). As the fullness of the Godhead, He manifested in life expression every gift, grace and ministry that would eventually function in the Church, His body. When Jesus came as the fullness of the Godhead bodily, He had all of the ministries functioning in their mature expression because He did not receive from the Father a measure of grace, or a measure of the Spirit, He alone received the fullness. (John 1:14; 3:33-35).
As such Jesus was the pattern for all ministry. If we want to know how a certain ministry is to operate in the Body of Christ, we simply need to look to Christ to find out how He operated in that ministry. Jesus Christ was the –
a. Apostle (Heb 3:1)
b. Prophet (John 4:19)
c. Evangelist (Luke 4:18)
d. Pastor (John 10:11)
e. Teacher (John 3:2)
f. Elder (Rom 8:29)
g. Deacon (Luke 22:27)
h. Exhorter (Luke 2:25)
i. Giver (Gal 2:20)
j. Ruler (Luke 1:33)
k. Shower of Mercy (Heb 2:17)
l. Worker of Miracles (John 11:47)
m. Healer (Luke 6:17-19)
n. Intercessor (Heb 7:25)
2. THESE MINISTRIES ARE MERELY AN EXPRESSION OF CHRIST IN YOU. (Col 1:27)
Christ is the fullness of the Godhead bodily and therefore as the Head, the fullness of all ministries is in Him. When we become attached to the Head by the new birth, we become partakers of the fullness that is in Him. We ourselves do not contain the fullness, we only partake of the fullness that is in Christ.
John 1:14,16
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
As the fullness of the Godhead bodily, Jesus was full of grace that enabled Him to accomplish and fulfill all of these ministries. When we are attached to the Head, we become a partaker of that grace that is necessary to fulfill the particular ministry that we have been given by the Lord. “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ gift.” Eph 4:7.
Since this is the case, it is very important that we as believers recognize the ministry that we have been given, because we will receive grace for that ministry. Without the grace for the ministry, the ministry will inevitably fail because none of the ministries can operate effectively on a natural level. All of them have to be supported and underwritten by the grace of God. The grace of God in relation to service is simply the supernatural enablement of God. The Apostle Paul recognized the grace that was upon his life, therefore he could move with confidence in the ministry which he had received from the Lord. (Rom 12:3)
Romans 1:5
5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name,
Romans 15:15-16
15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, 16 that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 3:10
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.
1 Corinthians 15:9-10
9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
Galatians 2:9
9 and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.
If we are to be successful as stewards of the manifold grace of God, we must be sure that we recognize the grace of God that is upon our lives. The grace of God goes with the calling of God. Paul tells us when it comes to evaluating the grace of God upon our lives we must be sober. We should be careful in our evaluation and estimation of ourselves and careful not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. How many ministries have failed because they attempted greater things in God than that for which they have received grace. We must be careful to perceive God’s grace on our lives then it will not be difficult to perceive the ministry that He has for us. We must remember that God never holds us accountable for that to which someone else has been called. He only holds us accountable for what He has instructed us to do. If I am struggling to be a pastor in the body of Christ but God has given me the grace to be an intercessor, then I will not receive commendation of a good and faithful servant. God only measures us against what He has called us to be. He never rates us on the basis of what we do, only on the basis of how faithful we are to do what He has called us to do. There may be those who attempted to be apostles in their own strength who will receive the judgement of an unfaithful servant, while there will be those who may be worshipers on the worship team who will be commended as faithful stewards because they are doing exactly what there were called to do.
3. THESE MINISTRIES FUNCTIONING TOGETHER AS THE MANY-MEMBERED BODY OF CHRIST ARE TO FULFILL AND COMPLETE THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
When Christ was here on earth He ministered out of a heart of compassion seeking to save that which was lost. He came as the apostle sent from heaven. He came as the mouthpiece of God to the dying world. He came to proclaim the good news, to gather sheep, to instruct in the ways of God, to serve man where he was at, to exhort to righteousness, to give Himself as a ransom for all, to reach out to man in his need. Yet when Jesus was here on earth He was limited by the fleshly body of which He partook. He was confined to one geographical location, to one set of circumstances, to the needs of one small group of people at any given moment. God’s love is for the whole world. Jesus as man, could not reach out to everyone. More Christs or “anointed ones” would be needed to satisfy the heart of God. When Jesus Christ rose from the dead, He provided the answer. Jesus rose from the dead as the firstborn of many brethren. Now He desires to carry on and complete His ministry through His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all. Ephesians 1:22-23
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Jesus as Head is continuing to preach and heal and prophesy and teach and exhort and seek out the lost, but now He is doing it through His Body, the church (Every member playing a purposeful, significant role). The Book of Acts begins in a beautiful way. Luke writes of his former treatise, the Gospel of Luke, which is perhaps the most complete account of Jesus earthly life and ministry extending from the birth of John the Baptist to the ascension of Christ. He refers to this treatise as being only a record of that which Jesus “begun both to do and teach” Acts 1:1. That three and one half years of ministry was only a beginning. The Book of Acts as well as Church History records all that Jesus continued to do and teach by the Holy Spirit through the Church of Jesus Christ, which is His Body.
0 comments:
Post a Comment