GOD’S PATTERN FOR A BIBLICAL FUNCTIONING CHURCH
Introduction: In past studies, we have seen that God gave several “gifts” to believers in the church. By way of review, the ones pointed out were “the gift of grace” (Rom. 5:15), “the gift of righteousness” (Rom. 5:17), and “eternal life” (Rom. 6:23), to mention a few. Since the discussion is about “spiritual gifts,” it is appropriate to explore briefly the “spiritual gifts” God has given to people in the church other than the three listed earlier. Some guidelines must be followed to avoid false doctrine and false practices. Two major descriptions of “spiritual gifts” will aid in understanding this vital teaching for the church. The phrase “spiritual gifts” is found in three places: 1 Corinthians 12:1; 14:1, 12, which is one major source of the teaching about “spiritual gifts.” While the phrase “spiritual gifts” is not found in Romans 12, some are listed there also. We have five listed in Ephesians 4. Understanding “spiritual gifts” is essential for unity in the church, and one guideline is to understand that there are two categories of “spiritual gifts,” temporary and permanent (to be discussed later). With the transition from the Jewish issue to the church, some things needed confirmation from God. One is that when the nation of Israel rejected Jesus Christ, God decided to set them aside as a nation and accomplish the goal of reaching Jew and Gentile with the “good news of Jesus Christ.” God’s ideal objective was initially given to the Israel nation, yet they failed. The Old Testament has prophecies about the goal of reaching the Gentiles with the knowledge of God’s provisitons. Note the following:
Isaiah 11:10 (KJV), “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.”
Isaiah 42:6 (KJV), I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles.”
Other prophecies are found in: Isaiah 49:22; 60:5; Malachi 1:11 [Emphasis added.]
It was pointed out in a prior study that when King Solomon dedicated the Temple in I Kings and in verses 8:41-43 he mentions the “strangers” who come out of a far country and “pray toward this house [temple] . . .that all the people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel. . .”and 2 Chronicles 6:33 (KJV), “Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.” [Emphasis added.] God’s plan has always been for the entire world to know Him and turn to Him. When Israel rejected the one person who could pay the penalty for the sin of all mankind, Jesus Christ, then God established the church by giving the revelation of it to a man named Paul (originally Saul). This is chronicled in Galatians as studied earlier. The church, which any prophet did not mention in the Old Testament (Rom. 16:25-26; Eph. 3:9; Col. 1:26), then became the custodian of the Word of God with the commission to tell the world about Jesus Christ. The church has a great privilege and responsibility with this commission.
The position of Israel today is that they have been set aside and the church was established. The “mystery” in Romans 16:25 is speaking of the “mystery” which is the church, although the church is not mentioned in the specific passage but implied in Ephesians 5:32 (KJV) which states, “This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” The church is called the “body of Christ” (! Cor. 10:16; Eph. 4:12) and the “bride of Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2; Rev. 19:7-9). While the nation of Israel has been set aside because of their idolatry and allowing false gods to be the object of their devotion, God now has a process to accomplish what He intended Israel to do. The problem today, though, is that much of the church has opted to go its own way, with a new theology and practice of worship, and moved in the direction of apostasy. The church leaders and the people they influence in their method of ministry have departed from the scripture and developed new ministry philosophies.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica about the danger of a “falling away” of believers, and this would clear things for the “man of sin to be revealed and the son of perdition” (2 Thess. 2:1-3). He wrote to Timothy about the condition of the church. In 1 Timothy 4:1 (KJV), he said, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” Then Paul warned Timothy about some conditions of the “last days” in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (KJV), “1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” [Emphasis added.] If you have not seen some of these things happening today, they are evident, even in Orlando. This study aims to warn and instruct on biblical doctrine that keeps the church from apostasy. The study for today should shake your spiritual soul to become what the New Testament wants the believer to become. This is an essential section of scripture to address the church’s status. This should shake us to the motivation to begin to function as part of the church that God wants it to be.
The church and its relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ has become estranged from the ways of God. Many churches have opted to develop dysfunction in many ways. This is mainly due to a lack of understanding of what the church does and following a translation of the Bible that supports their apostasy. The temptation to explore scripture that points this out, we want to examine the church’s functions from a biblical point of view and begin to be what God wants us to be. The passage before us gives at least three major ingredients to make a church function as it should. These are things God desires to see in a church.
- Gifted Men to Lead the Church, Eph. 4:7-11. Some have said, “The Church is to Have Gifted Men” which is somewhat a misnomer. God gave these men to the church. The reason they are considered “men” is due to the passage in 1 Timothy 2:11-12 (KJV), “11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. Men have the responsibility to be leaders and teachers in the church. This does not mean a woman cannot engage in church ministry. Women can teach other women (Titus 2:3-4) and even children as part of the ministry (Phil. 4:3). Women are not to occupy the office of pastor according to 1 Timothy 2:11-12.
- God gave gifts to all in the church, vv. 7-8. Just a bit of review, Christ gives gifts to believers (Eph. 4:8). In addition, every believer has been given the “gift” of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 1:22; 2:10-12; Eph. 3:16). According to Ephesians 4:7 we have been given “grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Believers must understand that God has given them everything needed to function as born-again believers. We have the “word of God,” the “Holy Spirit,” the “church,” and God’s watch care over us. Every believer has a “spiritual gift” or maybe “Spiritual Gifts.” Charles Ryrie commented on a spiritual gift as, “. . .a God-given ability for service. This simple definition incorporates the source of gifts (God-given), the meaning of gifts (abilities), and the purpose of gifts (service).” Most do not understand that a “spiritual gift” is an ability. We need to function in that gift to benefit the church body. Some try to say they are “talents,” but there is a difference. We have talents that God gave us at our physical birth. Those will be with us as long as we are alive. The Holy Spirit gives a believer a “spiritual gift” to function in the body of Christ. A talent could be used in places other than church. Dr. Ryrie has a good way to see these:
Talent
Given by God through our parents
Given at birth
To benefit mankind generally
Spiritual Gift
Given by God independent of parents
Given evidently at conversion
To benefit the body [of Christ] particularly
The passages of scripture where it is learned
about these gifts is 1 Corinthians 12 and
Romans 12. Two types of gifts are given by the
Holy Spirit: temporary and permanent.
- Temporary Spiritual Gifts. These are gifts God gave to the church so that the church would be established and effective in the ministry. Paul made the following statement about spiritual gifts in Romans 12:5 (KJV), “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.” The “temporary” gifts are: Apostles, healing, miracles, diver kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues (1 Cor. 12:8-11). The reason these are temporary is that they were essential for the Jews who “require a sign” to believe. Note 1 Corinthians 1:22 (KJV), “For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom.” These “sign” gifts were given primarily to the apostles (including Paul) and when they died the gift died with them. There are no “apostles” today even though some cults teach there are.
- Permanent Spiritual Gifts. These gifts have been given to believers in the church throughout its 2000 years of existence. They will cease when believers die or at the church’s Rapture (1 Cor. 15:51-55; 1 Thess. 4:13-18). They consist of: word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, prophecy (most consider this is the same as preaching and not just prophesying), discerning of spirits, helps, teachers (1 Cor. 12:7-12, 28); in Ephesians, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.
- God gave gifted men to the church, v. 11. These men are given that the church can have spiritual leadership. Their responsibility is “For the perfecting of the saints. . .” (vs. 12a) which is their major responsibility. They are:
1. Apostles. These, as seen above, were the twelve apostles of Christ (Matt. 10:2-4). Paul was designated as an apostle, as was Barnabas (Acts 14:14). Paul indicated he was “called to be an apostle” (Rom. 1:1; 1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1; Gal. 1:1; Eph. 1:1; Col. 1:1; 1 Tim. 1:1; 2 Tim. 1:1; Titus 1:1) and was the “apostle to the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:13). These men were those who provided the scriptures making the New Testament according to Ephesians 2:19. This is why the New Testament books have no need of other writings to add to the current corpus of scripture
2. Prophets. These men were called prophets in the New Testament (Acts 21:10-13). There are some considered prophets such as “Judas and Silas” (Acts 15:32); Agabus (Acts 11:27; 21:10); “Judas and Silas” (Acts 15:32); Philip “the evangelist” had four virgin daughters “which did prophesy” (Acts 21:8).
3. Evangelists/evangelism. While there was one person designated as an “evangelist,” Philip (Acts 21:8) and a “gift” of evangelist, believers may not have the “gift” of evangelist, we all have the responsibility to be a witness (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; 2 Tim. 4:5).
4. Pastors. This gift is that of being a pastor, sometimes called “shepherd,” to lead the local church. It says in Acts 20:28 (KJV), “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” There are two other words that refer to the “pastor,” are “bishop” (1 Tim. 3:1-2; Titus 1:7; 1 Pet. 2:25) and “elder” (1 Tim. 5:1, 19; 1 Pet. 5:1-3; 2 John 1:1; 3 John 1:1).
5. Teachers. These are people with the gift of explaining the scripture so people can understand it. Pastors should have this gift (Rom. 12:7; Col. 1:28; 3:16).
- We need each other, vv. 8, 11. Ephesians 4:8, 11 has a parenthetical statement connecting the two verses.
- We all have spiritual gifts, revisited, Ephesians 4:7-8. These are not just for the elite, those who have been to Bible College. We all have gifts to function in the body of Christ, Rom. 12:3-6a; I Cor. 12:1-7. Not only do we have gifts, but we also have the grace to empower that gift and faith to make it functional in our lives. John Phillipa states about spiritual gifts, “Every believer has a gift, some have several, and every believer is responsible before God to find out what his gift is, develop it through exercise and use it in the work of the kingdom. Most Christians are unaware of this Bible teaching and do not function in the church in a way that promotes “unity” (Eph. 4:3-8) as well as spiritual maturity. We will not grow without each other. To understand this matter, it is good to examine the teaching of Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 on “spiritual gifts.” To close this study, look at 1 Corinthians 12:12-25. This gives us an idea how the gifted people in the church are to function in a way our physical body functions. There is seldom any conflict unless there is some malady affecting the function of a part of the body.
- Godly People Function in the Church, vs. 13.
- Good Doctrine Guides the Church, vss. 14-16.