Lesson for May 23, 2021
The Book of Ephesians
Chapter 4:11-13
“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”
The spiritual gift of apostleship and the gift of prophecy ceased upon the completion of the Canon of Scripture around 96 A.D. These two gifts were necessary for the foundation of the early church before the Church had the message from God in written form. Now there two permanent spiritual gifts of communication. These permanent gifts are the spiritual gift of evangelism and the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher. The spiritual gift of evangelism is to be accomplished outside of the local church. The evangelist has absolutely no authority in the local church. All authority is vested in the pastor-teacher who is the final authority in the local church, and administration is executed by the deacons. There is no place for an evangelist either on the board of deacons or as the pastor-teacher of the local church. His ministry should be entirely outside of the local church. This does not mean that he does not receive support and encouragement from those who are believers, he should; but his ministry is actually to be conducted outside of the local church. The gift of evangelism, then, has to be summarized as a special communication gift which is primarily the presentation of the Gospel only. His ministry is entirely to unbelievers.
The permanent spiritual gift of pastor-teacher’s ministry is inside the local church. Evangelism should take place inside the local church by the pastor, but it is not the primary function of his gift. The Greek word for pastor is “poimen,” which means shepherd. In this passage, the words “pastor and teachers” are synonymous terms. The word “and” is the Greek word “kai” used as a hyphen and shows that “pastor” is only a part of the title. Teacher is the Greek word “didaskalos,” which is correctly translated teacher. Correct translation should be “pastor-teacher.”
There are several words by which the pastor-teacher is identified. The first deals with the authority of his person, the second with the authority of his policy, and the third the authority of his message. In each case authority is the principle. There are many Scriptures which document the existence of the pastor-teacher, the requirements, preparation, training, and all other concepts. (Colossians 1:23-29; I Timothy 2:24-26; 3:1-9; Titus 1:6-9; Ephesians 3:7-13; 4:11,12)
The authority of his person is the Greek word “presbuteros,” which is translated elder. This is the person of the pastor in the sense of having the final authority in the local church. He is the elder or the ruler of the local church. This use is found in I Timothy 5:17,19; Titus 1:5; James 5:14; I Peter 5:1.
The authority of his policy is the Greek word “episkopos,” which is translated bishop. This is the character of the work of the pastor of the local church. He is to be the overseer of the local church’s policies as found in I Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:7-9.
The authority of his message is the hyphenation of two words in the Greek “poimen” and “didaskalos” and should be translated pastor, even teacher (pastor-teacher). He is to be the shepherd of the “flock” under his spiritual authority to protect them from false doctrine and guide them by the teaching of accurate Bible doctrine to spiritual maturity according to Acts 20:28; I Peter 5:2-3. Every congregation has a right pastor, and every pastor has a right congregation.
For the equipping of the saints for the work of service. The purpose of the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher is taught in verses 12 and 13. The Greek word for equipping is “katartismos,” which means to perfect, to prepare or to train. For the work of service has a twofold meaning. First, it refers to those believers in the congregation, all of whom are in fulltime Christian service as ambassadors for Christ. Second, it refers to those believers in the congregation who have the gift of pastor-teacher. Both groups need to be prepared and trained to reach spiritual maturity and super-grace. Those with the gift of pastor-teacher need to be trained so they can teach doctrine accurately to another congregation when they begin functioning as pastors. So, it is possible to train all members of the royal family in the local church and at the same time in the local church train certain members of the royal family who have the gift of pastor-teacher and are in the process of training. This training and equipping come through the teaching of Bible doctrine, not through church programs or “three points and a prayer” sermons.
In the early period of the Church, they had no theological seminaries and no Bible colleges. In the early church the pastors were trained in two ways. First, they were trained under the apostles. The apostle Paul had his own travelling seminary. When he called Timothy his son, he was actually calling him a theological student. Then there were others who were trained in a local church. (Acts 19)
To the building up of the body of Christ. It is the function of the pastor-teacher to teach accurate Bible doctrine so that the entire body of Christ (his congregation) can develop an edification complex in their soul. This is done under the filling of the Holy Spirit as a believer learns, believes and applies the Word of God. The Greek word for edification is “oikodome” and literally means the act of building or erecting a structure. Like any structure, our “building” in the soul must have a firm foundation and properly constructed “floors.” Our foundation is Jesus Christ, and the “floors” are categories of Bible doctrine. Once the foundation is in place, then the believer can begin to build upon it with full confidence that it will stand. The foundation is received at salvation, but the floors must be built over a period of time as Bible doctrine is learned, believed and properly applied. (Colossians 2:7; I Timothy 1:4; James 1:4)
The basis for any system from God is always grace. The word grace itself makes it clear that God’s system for building the spiritual building is void of any human merit, human works, human ability or Human Viewpoint Thinking. The reason that God planned it this way is to eliminate Human Viewpoint Thinking and human production as the means for building anything spiritual. Instead, He provided a non-meritorious system for both perception and execution of the Christian Way of Life: FAITH. We learn how to erect this building in our souls by faith and it takes faith to put into practice. This method is the only one that can bring honor and glory to God. (Hebrews 11:6)
The spiritual building is built using the stored Bible doctrine in the mind of the believer. Consistent study and accurate application over a period of time is the method for developing our complex. This building is literally Christ being formed in the soul of the believer. Positionally, Christ is “in” every believer, but He is not “formed” in every believer. Jesus Christ had this spiritual building formed in His soul. He had all the characteristics of spiritual maturity: 1) He was full of grace and truth 2) He had a relaxed mental attitude 3) He was free from mental attitude sins 4) He had capacity for love and 5) He had divine inner happiness. Christ erected the spiritual building in His soul as a demonstration to all believers that it is possible for us to do the same through the power of the Holy Spirit.
As believer-priests, we have the opportunity to build a spiritual building in our souls. With Christ as our example, we simply follow His pattern. Christ, as a perfect human being, built this building under the filling of the Holy Spirit as He learned and applied the Word of God. As we abide in Him (fellowship with God) and His word abides in us (Bible doctrine), we are allowing God the Holy Spirit to produce the character of Christ in our lives. (John 15:10) The Bible uses a number of terms to refer to this building process. For example, walking in the light (I John 2:3-11), walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-23), imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1), Christ at home in your hearts (Ephesians 3:17), and Christ formed in you. (Galatians 4:19)
The true function of the believer-priest’s spiritual life is the development of a relationship with God. This relationship is your unseen, private life with God. You and you alone know what that relationship is like. (I Corinthians 2:9-16) There are many counterfeits to the spiritual life. It is therefore of extreme importance for each of us to learn, understand and execute the true spiritual life. Without a correct understanding of the Biblical spiritual life, believers will go through life executing some form of legalism that will lead to only misery and unhappiness. The spiritual life is not what you do for God, the church or other people. The true spiritual life is your invisible relationship with God. (Galatians 4:19; John 1:14)
Building our spiritual complex is a process of transformation (not reformation), which takes place in the mind of the believer as he thinks Bible doctrine (the mind of Christ). We call this thinking Divine Viewpoint Thinking. As our spiritual complex is being built, happiness, stability and blessing are being produced by God the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. (Romans 12:1-2; Galatians 5:22-23)
Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. Unity of the faith means that all believers in a local congregation are to be advancing to spiritual maturity. The faith means Bible doctrine. Knowledge of the Son of God means comprehending all that Christ has done for us in the past, all that He is doing for us in the present and all that He has planned for us in the future. It means that we are to study and learn the doctrine of Christology so that we fully understand Who Christ is and what He has accomplished for us as believers.
Spiritual maturity should be the goal of every believer. Spiritual maturity is the maximum expression of the grace of God utilized in the Protocol Plan of God. In eternity past, God provided everything necessary for a believer’s advance to spiritual maturity. The Protocol Plan of God is the only plan for the Church Age. Spiritual maturity is characterized by maximum spiritual independence, which results from additional knowledge and application of Bible doctrine. This means spiritual maturity can face every problem in life with a maximum amount of inner happiness. There is no tragedy, disaster, difficulty, or heartache that can overcome the spiritual self-confidence of a spiritually mature believer.
To the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. The Greek word for measure is “metros” and expresses a standard. The believer’s standard should always be Jesus Christ. As we seek to be like Him, we will follow the pattern He set for us. Jesus Christ reached spiritual maturity at a very early age. The Greek word for stature is “helikia” meaning full age or maturity. Our goal therefore should be to attain the level of spiritual maturity that Jesus did while on earth. The Greek word for fullness is “pleroma,” which means to be filled. Christ was filled with the Holy Spirit from birth and demonstrated the perfect pattern for believers. Christ was filled with the highest quality of the integrity of God. He was fully influenced by the plan of God for His life and His love for God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. He was fully possessed by the super-natural power of God the Holy Spirit. And He was filled with the Word of God. He is our pattern for the Christian life. (Colossians 1:25; I John 4:4; I Corinthians 6:19-20; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 5:18; Ephesians 3:19, 4:10; Philippians 1:11; I John 1:4; Revelation 3:2)