Equipping God’s people

Simon Elliot — Everyday Church Wimbledon

Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.
Ephesians

Paul here refers to specific people who represent a specific ministry with a specific purpose. Paul is not talking about titles or professional positions; he is speaking about people with purpose, and that purpose is to equip and enable the believing community in intentional discipleship. Why can I say this? Because, as we shall see, the fruit of intentional discipleship is mature and fruitful believers. These ministries equip the saints, all the believers, for works of service – for activity which will bring maturity through intentionality.
John Stott puts it like this:

Paul sets out two purposes – one immediate and the other ultimate – for which Christ gave gifts to his church. His immediate purpose was to equip his people for works of service, and his ultimate purpose so that the body of Christ may be built up. The former expression about equipping God’s people is of far-reaching significance for any true understanding of Christian ministry. For the word service (diakonia) is here used not to describe the work of pastors but rather the work of so-called laity, that is, of all God’s people without exception. Here is undeniable evidence that the New Testament sees ministry not as the privilege of a clerical elite but as the calling of all the people of God.
John Stott*

*[Stott, John. The Message of Ephesians: God's New Society (The Bible Speaks Today New Testament Book 11) (p. 165). IVP. Kindle Edition.]

Apostolic ministry reminds us that we are a sent people. We are a people called by God and sent by God. We are not meant to be static – sitting in our studies simply absorbing more Christian teaching. We are bringers and seekers of the Kingdom of God. Some of us are sent to different towns, cities, and nations, whilst some of us will live in the same place for decades. Some of us will do both. But whatever our specific calling, we are all people called to carry the Kingdom of God into every arena of our lives. Apostolic ministry, which in the New Testament centred around planting churches and caring for church leadership teams, empowers us to be the church rather than attend church. Apostolic ministry provides the context for our faith. Whether we are in a prayer meeting or a work meeting our identity does not change and nor does our primary calling, We are not teachers or plumbers, or business owners or workers, Monday to Friday and Kingdom bringers on Sunday -we are always Kingdom bringers and for the majority of our week we are bringing the Kingdom through how we teach and plumb, and lead and work.
Prophets hear God and provoke us to seek God and listen for his voice. Prophets eagerly desire the prophetic and challenge us to do the same. Prophets remind us that we are the sheep of the good shepherd, and we are designed and intended to hear his voice. Prophets pray and listen and inspire us to pray and listen. Intentional discipleship is about carving out time to pray, not because it is what religious people do, but because it is what relational people do. God loves us and longs to speak to us and through us, we discipline ourselves to pray because in our hearts we long to hear his voice.
Evangelists love to preach the gospel – the good news about Jesus. The grace filled declaration that God has made a way for us to return to him. Evangelists provoke us to witness. Our discipleship is inspired by the Holy Spirit, and scripture is clear, the Holy Spirit empowers us to witness to those around us. The Kingdom of God is about more than personal salvation, but it is never less than personal salvation. Salvation is the foundation of the Kingdom. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Intentional discipleship is about making the most of every opportunity to share our faith in Jesus and inviting others to encounter him.
Pastors shepherd. Pastors care, but they also equip us to care for one another. The pastor teacher gift, which many would equate with eldership, enables the local church to not only see people saved, but also see them added into community. To see people loved and restored in a community of grace. Pastors model care and create structures that enable care for one another. A good shepherd will build solid sheep pens that will keep the sheep safe through the watches of the night.
Teachers teach the word of God and teach people to read and study the word of God for themselves. Jesus was clear that teaching and listening are of little or no worth unless they are accompanied by obedient action. Jesus modelled the kingdom and then taught the kingdom. The first disciples listened to the teaching on the Kingdom and then went out and did Kingdom work – they preached the gospel and healed the sick and drove out demons, and cared for the poor.
What does all this mean in practice? Why am I talking about ministries and not spiritual disciplines?
Surely, spiritual disciplines are the key to intentional discipleship? Well, yes, they are, but the spiritual disciplines can so easily become religious exercises if we do not see them in the context of God’s Kingdom mission, and these Ephesians four ministries are God’s gifts to his people to equip them for that mission.
We spend time in prayer, not because that is what religious people do, but because the children of God, called by God to extend his kingdom, need to talk to God and hear from God. Prayer is the discipline that opens our ears and our minds and our hearts to all that God wants to speak over us.
We read our Bibles and listen to sermons and discuss biblical topics with our friends, not because we want to be biblical scholars, but because we want to learn the mind of God and be shaped by truth, and because we want to be equipped for our witnessing and making our kingdom stand for justice in an unjust world.
We come together for worship not out of habit, but because we want to glorify the risen Christ and encounter the Holy Spirit, and minister to one another with Spiritual gifts.
We listen to sermons because we want our heads to be lifted out of the mundanity of daily life to the glorious apostolic calling that we are a sent people and part of a bigger story that will end in eternity and a new heaven and a new earth.
Making space for all these activities in our lives takes time and effort and has to be intentional – but through these practices, and others life serving, and fasting and giving, etc – through these practices we bring ourselves right into the centre of God’s Kingdom purposes, and we are reminded again and again of our identity as children of the living God.
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Jesus said:

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
Jn 15:5-8