Tag: ministry

Ephesians 4:12 – Share Your Gift!

Posted on by Will

for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ,

Truth to Learn

All Christians have gifts to be used in the church.

 

Behind the Words

The Greek word translated “equipping” is katartismos. This word is made up of kata, meaning “down” but used here as an intensifier and a derivative of artios, meaning “to finish, to adjust, or to repair.” The fundamental meaning of katartismos is “to be put in the proper condition.” It could also be described as “to make fully ready.”

“Ministry” is from diakonia which means “attending to someone like a servant would do,” that is, “serving” or “ministering.”

“Building up” is translated from the Greek word oikodomē, which is a compound word made up of oikos, meaning “a house” or “a dwelling place” and a derivative of demō, meaning “to build.” Thus, oikodomē specifically refers to “building a house” and in common usage it means “to build up or strengthen something.”

 

Meaning Explained

For the past few verses Paul has been talking about the gifts which Christ gave to men (Ephesians 4:8) when he ascended to heaven following His victory over death and Satan. Some of those spiritual gifts were mentioned in yesterday’s verse. These gifts include the gift of apostleship, the gift of prophecy, the gift of evangelism, and the gift of pastoring, and teaching (the last two given together to those who pastor churches).

Too often, people in churches believe that it is the pastor’s job to evangelize the lost and to teach church truths. They also tend to believe that it is up to the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor/teachers to build up the body of Christ. According to Paul, however, that is not correct. In today’s verse we learn that the job of these gifted men is to prepare ordinary church-goers to do the work of ministry.

I can just hear you say, “Wait a minute! I thought that the pastor was the minister of our church.” He is, but so are you! Each of us in the church is supposed to be ministering. Our pastors’ jobs include overseeing the local assembly and teaching us. Part of that teaching is Christian doctrine. Another part of his job is teaching us how we can all build up the body of Christ. Here’s how Paul expressed it in 1Corinthians 12:7,

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for our profit; (1 Corinthians 12:7)

In other words, the spiritual gifts are given to each one of us, not for our own benefit, but for the benefit of the entire body of Christ. No matter what spiritual gift you have (wisdom, knowledge, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues, teaching, pastoring, helps, exhortation, administration, giving, leading, and mercy), the purpose of that gift is to build up other Christians. No matter what gift or gifts you have, if you are using it (or them) for your own benefit, then you are misusing that gift. According to today’s verse, we are to be using our gifts to build up the body of Christ.

 

Application

Do you know what your spiritual gift is? If not, look through the list above and pray to God that He will reveal what your gift is. When you know what your spiritual gift is, look for ways to use that gift in the body of Christ, and then get to work! We all have a job to do; let’s all do our part.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2015 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 4:12 – Share Your Gift!

Posted on by Will

for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

Truth to Learn

All Christians have gifts to be used in the church.

Behind the Words

The Greek word translated “equipping” is katartismos. This word is made up of kata, meaning “down” but used here as an intensifier and a derivative of artios, meaning “to finish, to adjust, or to repair.” The fundamental meaning of katartismos is “to be put in the proper condition.”

“Ministry” is from diakonia which means “attending to someone like a servant would do,” that is, “serving.”

“Edifying” is translated from the Greek word oikodomē, which is a compound word made up of oikos, meaning “a house” or “a dwelling place” and a derivative of demō, meaning “to build.” Thus, oikodomē specifically refers to “building a house” and in common usage it means “to build or strengthen something.”

Meaning Explained

For the past few verses Paul has been talking about the gifts which Christ gave to men (Ephesians 4:8) when he ascended to heaven following His victory over death and Satan. Some of those spiritual gifts were mentioned in yesterday’s verse. These gifts include the gift of apostleship, the gift of prophecy, the gift of evangelism, the gift of pastoring, and the gift of teaching (the last two given together to those who pastor churches).

Too often, people in churches believe that it is the pastor’s job to evangelize the lost and to teach church truths. They also tend to believe that it is up to the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor/teachers to build up the body of Christ. According to Paul, however, that is not correct. In today’s verse we learn that the job of these gifted men is to prepare ordinary church-goers to do the work of ministry.

I can just hear you say, “Wait a minute! I thought that the pastor was the minister of our church.” He is, but so are you! Each of us in the church is supposed to be ministering. Our pastors’ jobs include overseeing the local assembly and teaching us. Part of that teaching is Christian doctrine. Another part of his job is teaching us how we can all build up the body of Christ. Here’s how Paul expressed it in 1Corinthians 12:7,

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: (1 Corinthians 12:7)

In other words, the spiritual gifts are given to each one of us, not for our own benefit, but for the benefit of the entire body of Christ. No matter what spiritual gift you have (wisdom, knowledge, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues, teaching, pastoring, helps, exhortation, administration, giving, leading, mercy) the purpose of that gift is to build up other Christians. No matter what gift or gifts you have, if you are using it (or them) for your own benefit, then you are misusing that gift. According to today’s verse, we are to be using our gifts to build up the body of Christ.

Application

Do you know what your spiritual gift is? If not, look through the list above and pray to God that He will reveal what your gift is. When you know what your spiritual gift is, look for ways to use that gift in your local church, and then get to work! We all have a job to do; let’s all do our part.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

Romans 12:7 – His Gifts, His Choice

Posted on by Will

Romans 12:7 – His Gifts, His Choice

or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;

Truth to Learn

We all have gifts to be used within the church, but God determines which gift or gifts we have been given.

Behind the Words

The word that is translated “ministry” is the Greek word diakonian, which is translated elsewhere as “deacon.” It means “one who attends to the needs of others” or “one who serves.” This is a gift of helping others who are in need.

“Teaches” is translated from didaskō, which is a causative form of the verb daō, meaning “to learn.” Didaskō means “to teach” or “to cause someone to learn.”

Meaning Explained

It is at this point that most expositions on these current verses veer off and begin to talk about the various leadership positions within the church (prophet, deacon, teacher, preacher, elder). Notice, however, that Paul is talking about the gifts that God has bestowed on the various members of the body. He is not (in these verses at least) talking about the gifted people. I know it’s a subtle distinction, but Paul’s focus is on the gifts provided by the giver (God) and how they are to be used for the benefit of the body.

In the case of the gift of ministering, it is the ability to recognize those who are in need and being willing and able to humble oneself to the position of servant to assist them. In my mind it is one of the most important gifts within the church but one which few people aspire to.

The next gift talked about is the gift of teaching. I am sure that we all have known people who can take the Word of God and open it up in such a way that it becomes clearer to us; someone who makes learning the history and doctrines of the Bible exciting and fun. This is a person who has the gift of teaching in the church. Remember that these gifts are abilities or talents that God has bestowed on individuals. The gift does not require years of education to use it effectively, although often the proper education will enhance one’s ability to use the gift.

According to Paul, these gifts are given to individuals in the church differently according as His grace sees fit. Some of us may have several of the gifts and some may only have a single gift. How many we have or even which one we might have is not important. What is important is that we make use of the gift within the framework of the church. If God has gifted you in a certain area and you are not using that gift within the church, then you are not using that gift as God intended. If you don’t know in what area God has gifted you, instead of asking God for a particular gift, learn all you can about all of them and ask God to show you the area in which He has gifted you. Remember, when you placed yourself on the altar, you turned over all decision making to God.

Application

One day all Christians will appear before the Bema seat of Christ where we will receive rewards for what we have done with what God has given us. My prayer is that each of us will be able to look God straight in the eye and say, “Lord I have used what you have given me to the best of my ability to bring praise to You! You are worthy, O Lord!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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