Ephesians 4:11-16 "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; (12) For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: (13) Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: (14) That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; (15) But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: (16) From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love."
These verses begin with the particular gifts that have been given to the church
throughout the ages. Verse 11 is pretty much self explanatory with the
exception of the apostles. Forgive me if I get on a soapbox for a moment, but
there are those in our day who call themselves apostles. There are three
qualifications that must be met in order to have been an apostle. The Apostle
Paul listed those things in Acts 22:14 "The God of our fathers hath chosen
thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest
hear the voice of his mouth." First it is understood that an Apostle was
chosen by "God of our fathers." This was not a title that was taken
by anyone; rather, it was given by God Himself. Then the three qualifications
were this: 1) to know the will of God; 2) to "see that Just One" - in
other words an Apostle saw in bodily form the risen Lord Jesus; and 3) they
were to have audibly heard the very voice of HIS mouth. It is my assertion that
the Apostle Paul was the last of the Apostles and this particular gift was
given to confirm the written word to be the very Word of God. We can know this
from Paul's writing to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15:8 when he was
speaking of those who had visibly seen the body of the risen Lord, "And
last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time."
Notice the words, "last of all," indicate that Paul was the last of
the Apostles.
From the prophets and apostles were given the gifts of evangelists and pastors
and teachers. All of these gifts were given in order that the Word of God would
be proclaimed with understanding to the dear children of God. The two most
important elements of Christian growth come from the blessings of prayer and
the Word of God. It is impossible, in my thoughts, to grow to maturity as a
Christian without those two elements being active in our lives. The Lord
willing we will look further at these verses tomorrow, but for today let us be
thankful that God made provision for us through the gifts of verse 11.
1 Tell me the story of Jesus,
write on my heart ev'ry word;
tell me the story most precious,
sweetest that ever was heard.
Tell how the angels in chorus
sang as they welcomed His birth,
“Glory to God in the highest!
Peace and good tidings to earth.”
Refrain:
Tell me the story of Jesus,
write on my heart ev'ry word;
tell me the story most precious,
sweetest that ever was heard.