For the Work of the Ministry

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

-Ephesians 4:11-12 (KJV)

Every time I read or hear this passage of scripture, I think about when I worked at Ryan’s Steakhouse. I was in my early twenties, and in college. Waiting tables was fun for me because I got to do something I enjoy the most, talking. I talked to people all day!

After I had been there a while, they made me a lead or head waitress. That meant I trained new wait staff when they came in. There was a format for how they did things in that restaurant, as I am sure there is in every restaurant. Our main function was service. We were there to serve and wait on the people, meeting their needs as they partook of a meal.

The same is true with the Kingdom of God. Service is what we do.

Jesus said,

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

-Matthew 20:28 NLT 

As Believers, we are called to serve as well.

It seems to me that the office of the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher is much like my position was as the lead waitress. When new people become part of the staff, I train them to serve. When new Believers become part of the Kingdom, those ministry gifts also train people and develop them in some way to serve. Those ministry gifts have different responsibilities. But, no matter how you look at it, we are all serving.

The beginning of the verse says that those five ministry gifts are for the perfecting of the saints. When I trained my staff, I had to make sure they did things the proper way. I had been there longer. I knew my way around, so I knew what to teach them and how.

The verse goes on to say, “for the work of the ministry.” Ministry is service. If you look up the word in the Greek, it is the word “diakonia.” One of the definition of that word literally means, “waiting at a table.”

Notice also that Jesus is the one who gives the gifts. We don’t get to decide which one we are. A few verses above this passage, it says “grace was given to each one us.” (Ephesians 4:7 HCSB) So, everybody in the Body of Christ has a gift to serve. Everyone has a place to fit.

Toward the end of this passage, it says that the work of the ministry is for the edifying of the Body of Christ. The word edify means to “build up.” So, when we are all ministering, we are building the rest of the body up. We are making it better than it was before. That means we are not tearing it down.


One final thought. When I was training wait staff, I was still waiting on tables too. I was still meeting the needs of the people. I didn’t just train people and then leave them to wait the tables. We all worked together to make sure the restaurant was functioning smoothly and that the people were served.


Many blessings to you as you take your place,

Beth




To read more about serving in the Kingdom, check out my friend Heather's post, The Kingdom of God is Like an Applebees.

Important Parts of the Body of Christ

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees;" for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.- 1 Samuel 16:7

The above scripture comes from the story in the Bible where Samuel was choosing the next King of Israel from among Jesse's sons. Jesse had sons that were warriors, and by all outward appearances, would have made a better king than David. David was a shepherd.

Sometimes people make this same mistake. They look at people's status or their jobs, and think that is so great, and they make the perfect servants for the Kingdom. But with God, this is not so.

In the Gospels, Jesus chose people who looked like unlikely candidates. He chose fishermen and tax collectors to be his servants. He didn't pick them because of their status in life. The Bible doesn't really say why He chose them in particular, but if we go by the above scripture in Samuel, it was because He saw something you and I cannot see.

In the book of Acts, there is a story about a disciple named Ananias. You can find it in Acts 9. In that story, Jesus calls to him in a vision and tells him to go and find a man named Saul and restore his sight. The account doesn't give us any information, no titles, no big labels, just he was a "disciple." Ananias, a "disciple" hears specific instructions from the Lord, and obeys Him. The result is Saul of Tarsus, later to be known Paul, writes 2/3 of the New Testament that we have today.

In 1 Corinthians 12, we find information about the Body of Christ. Verses 23-25 read

And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.

There are no accolades in the Body of Christ, just parts.

So, that mechanic who works down the street, and leads 10 people a month to the Lord, he is important. That retail worker who prays for people to receive healing, she is important. Not everything that is big and bright and sparkles is best. What counts is: are we doing what God has for us to do? Can we hear from Him? Are we listening to Him?

He has something for every believer to do.