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Sunday 05/18/25

Title: For King & Family

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For King & Family

Last week we spent some time looking at gifts. In particular we dove into their purpose, our stewardship with them and we touched on how to identify yours.

You may have missed that part but a primary way of identifying your gift(-s) is by paying attention to things you do which encourage and strengthen the body which come naturally to you.

I told you that many of the speaking gifts, and some of the living gifts are things you could actually do and not even realize you’d been used in a gift. These include things such as exhortation, leading, mercy and even some expressions of teaching can take place without you really even noticing that it happened.

Turn with me to Ephesians 4 and as we are turning let me offer you to visuals which will help you understand the divisions between Gifts, Ministries & Activities (or Operations)…

Let’s read our passage in Ephesians 4 and then we will get to the meat of our lesson today.

Eph. 4:11-16,

“(11) And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastor-teachers,”

Why did God give these to the body?

“(12) FOR the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,”

How long will the church have these people?

“(13) till 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;”

Why is this work important?

“(14) 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, (15) but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—”

What is the net effect of all of this?

“(16) 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.”

So there are the Spiritual Gifts and the Energies in the body. What about the ministries?

Ministries, places and functions in the body

This is the word diakonia and is the feminine noun form of the word for deacon or servant which is diakonos.

Therefore, diakonía is a ministry in the Christian community viewed with reference to the labor needed for others. No one part of the body works for itself but for all the other members.

Ministries therefore have to do with your placement and function within the body and in that way they work synergistically with your spiritual gift(-s).

These are assigned to every child of God by Jesus the head of the body.

Since ministry has to do with your placement and function it is one of the primary reasons why it is important to follow the Lord’s leading in such practical matters such as where you live and what you do.

Finally there are operations, activities or energies

These represent those people God has placed in the body AS gifts. I typically tell you these ARE energies and while in function that is true, to be accurate, the word is energema and again that suffix of ‘–ma’ makes this the result of energy rather than energy itself. These people are the result of God’s energy expended towards the benefit of His church. However, in function we see these are positions in the body – so with authority, some without – but all represent the person themselves.

It is WHO they are.

For example, if Paul had attempted to be anything but an apostle he would have been untrue to who he was. God called and placed him as an apostle to the Gentiles. If he had been a teacher to the gentiles or a pastor in a Gentile church he would have fulfilled his ministry but not His purpose.

If on the other had he had chosen to be an apostle to the Jews he would have been who he was designed to be, but he would have failed to fulfill his ministry.

Ministry is your function and place. Energies represent WHO YOU ARE.

These energies are those God has placed in the body to facilitate His work in and through the individual members of the body of Christ. According to Ephesians 4:12-15 this includes…

being equipped for ministry work
becoming spiritually mature in Christ

Now it is easy to see how apostles, prophets and pastor-teachers have this effect, but what about workers of miracles and evangelists?

Well workers of miracles we see throughout the New Testament stirred people by seeing the reality of the power of the kingdom in action. These included things like raising the dead, Peter’s shadow healing people, handkerchiefs and aprons that just touched Paul were sent and they healed people and delivered people from demons, sight was temporarily taken from some who were advisories to the gospel…etc.

These miracles often had the effect of causing a general reverence for Jesus in the secular public and boldness in the saints.

Then the Evangelists. Evangelists are clearly called to the lost! They are the one Gift which is outside of the church and therefore out of the view of the saints on some level.

However… I have been in the presence of some who truly were evangelists and I have to tell you – they will ignite you!

They, perhaps more than any of the other people who are Gifts to the body are examples of walking energy. They are powerful – not necessarily in presentation, but by the Spirit.

They can stir people towards an awareness of God, a conviction of the Lordship of Christ and the undeniable power of His death and resurrection and the urgency to make decisions which are in keeping with Who Jesus really is. Furthermore, this effect is just as profound upon the believer as it is on the lost!

I find it invigorating and eye-opening. They are walking, talking vessels of power – or energy as the designation from Paul calls all who are given as gifts to the body.

Now ALL of these people who are GIFTS to the body are given to the Church “for the perfecting of the saints.”

The word “perfecting” is katartizō, “to equip for service” meaning the effect of people who are gifts to the body is an equipping of the saints for “the work of the kingdom“.

The work of ministry or kingdom work includes your grace gifting coupled with your placement and function in the body.

All of this is in order that the body might be built up.

Built up both in individual growth into the likeness of Christ which is foremost and secondarily by increasing the number of those who commit themselves to Christ in faith through their testimonies.

How do these energies in the body do this?

By teaching and preaching the Word of God BY the power of the Holy Spirit of God.

How can I say that with such authority and conviction?

Well turn with me to 2 Timothy 3:14-17 and as we are going there tell me – what is it that renews our minds and transforms us into Christ’s likeness?

The word of God made alive by the Spirit of God!

Let’s read 2 Timothy 3:14-17…

“(14) But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, (15) and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (16) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, (17) that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Notice the whole formula if you will.

You have to have learned the scriptures.
You have had to learn them from those you know and trust.
The scriptures make you wise unto salvation through trust in Christ.
The scriptures are breathed out the mouth of God (meaning they are given life by His Spirit) and are profitable for what you should believe, for revealing sins in order to facilitate correction and repentance, for training in what is approved before God SO THAT you may be mature and completely equipped for EVERY good work.

Now that last phrase is a lot of fun from a linguistic perspective but in the end what it amounts to is this – “that the child of God may be competent because they have been equipped, outfitted & furnished.” (a.t.). God’s word is that which gives one the necessary skills and tools to be capable in performing every good work.

I therefore get the mental image of a person who has never gone hiking before and is looking to tackle the Appalachian trail.

They go to an outfitters store and immediately feel overwhelmed by all the equipment. There is not only stuff for every contingency, there is additional stuff you have to purchase and learn how to use to further equip your stuff. I kid you not!

You not only have to buy a sleeping bag, but you also have to buy the bag the sleeping bag goes in called a stuff sack – usually sold separately. Then you literally have to buy the straps to attach these to your backpack and finally you need a waterproof to cover it all because the manufacturer didn’t think it necessary to make all this equipment for outdoor use. It really is fantastic!

Once you get all this stuff, now you need to learn how to set it up, then break it down and compile it into the shape which will fit back on your back again.

There are classes for this.

Then you get to go home and practice on your own in the warmth and safety of your living room. Then finally you find yourself in the wild and get your first chance to do it in the howling wind when it’s just beginning to rain.

As you can see, training and equipping is important… essential really.

So your people who train and equip you are those who minister the word to you. It is the Word by the Spirit that actually does the equipping, but it is done THROUGH these people who are given as gifts to the body.

The last thing 2 Timothy 3:17 says is that you are being equipped, outfitted and furnished for every good work.

Good works include…

Your living testimony of a life ever changing – ever maturing into the likeness of Christ.
Your faithful use of the spiritual gifts invested in you by the Spirit

Your fidelity to your purpose in the body and your usefulness in your place.

Blessings!

Tri

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!