Lesson for November 19, 2023
The Battle for Your Soul
Lesson 7
Equipping Believers
Ephesians 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 or woman, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”
The spiritual gifts of apostleship and 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 are two permanent spiritual gifts of communication given to men only. 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 gift of evangelism is a special communication gift which is primarily the presentation of the Gospel. The Greek word for evangelist is “euangelisties,” meaning a messenger of good.
The spiritual gift of pastor-teacher is within 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. Often 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 therefore should be “pastor-teacher.” (Colossians 1:23-29; I Timothy 2:24-26; 3:1-9; Titus 1:6-9; Ephesians 3:7-13; 4:11,12; I Timothy 5:17,19; Titus 1:5; James 5:14; I Peter 5:1; I Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:7-9; Acts 20:28; I Peter 5:2-3)
For the equipping of the saints for the work of service. The purpose of the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher is taught in Ephesians 4:12 -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 believers in the congregation as ambassadors for Christ. Second, it refers to believers in the congregation who have the gift of pastor-teacher. Both groups need to be prepared and trained to reach spiritual maturity. Those with the gift of pastor-teacher need to be trained so they can teach doctrine accurately to a congregation when they begin functioning as pastors. So, it is possible to train all members of the royal family in the local church while at the same time training men with the gift of pastor-teacher.
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 as in Paul’s travelling seminary. 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 building up is “oikodome” and 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 a 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 spiritual building is built using the Bible doctrine in the mind of a believer. Application of Bible doctrine over a period of time is the method for developing our spiritual complex. This building is literally “Christ being formed” in the soul of believers. 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.
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. This process guarantees that we will win the battle for control of our souls.
The true function of our spiritual life is the development of a relationship with God. This relationship is our 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 live the true spiritual life. The true spiritual life is not what you do for God, it is what God does for you. (Galatians 4:19; John 1:14)
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 refers to believers in a local congregation 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 who Christ is, and what He has accomplished for us as believers.
To the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. The Greek word for measure is “metros,” meaning a standard. A 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 in His humanity while He was 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. (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)