Ephesians 4:11ff

This morning we are going to look at leadership as it applies to the church. We have seen that Christian leaders are to love and Christian leaders are to serve. This includes Christians as they hold positions of responsibility within the church, family, government and community. We will look at Ephesians 4 this morning. In this passage, we see the purpose of the pastor or pastors as well as the purpose of the message within the body of Christ.

“The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted.” James Madison said that, and I believe that is true. Ps 118:8 -9 “8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. 9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.”

James Madison agreed with the Bible. You can only trust people so far. You can trust God totally.

If you hear liberal scholars take on Jesus, they will tell you that the Bible account is inaccurate. They will tell you that the names of the writers of many of the books in the New Testament were not the real writers. They will tell you that the story of Jesus changed over time, that by the time it was written down it had gone through several revisions and changes in the oral tradition. They have no real proof of this. They make authoritative statements without any real backing.

We take the position that the Bible is the Word of God. We believe that it is without error in the original manuscripts. We believe that the Bible we have today is accurate in its portrayal of Jesus and his teachings.

What I want us to understand today is that our teachings are based on the apostles. Jesus never wrote a book nor recorded a sermon. All we know about Jesus we know through the apostles. The New Testament is the record of the apostles. Matthew was an apostle. Bible scholars believe that John Mark wrote the book of Mark as an aide to Peter. Luke interviewed everyone he could about Jesus and the early church. John was an apostle. Paul was an apostle, though not one of the original. Peter, James and John were all apostles. What we know about Jesus we know from people who met him, who knew him and who saw him. The apostle John put it well in 1 John when he wrote, 1Jo 1:1 “1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” Notice how personal this encounter was. He had been with Jesus.

I have not. I have not seen Jesus with my eyes. I have not looked at him or touched him with my hands. So what qualifies me to be telling you about Jesus?

Ephesians 4 gives the answer. Eph 4:11 -16 “11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teacher, . . .”

God has a plan to ensure that the gospel moves from generation to generation. You can understand how hard it is to keep anything straight. That is why we write things down. We write legal contracts to make sure both sides know what was agreed upon. We write notes as reminders of things we might otherwise regret. We record videos and movies of events so we can relive them in the future.

God’s plan was to give us a book, the Bible, which would accurately tell us about God, Jesus, and his plan for our lives.

So God gave the church apostles. These were men who had been with Jesus and had seen him after the resurrection. These men were given the task to tell others about Jesus both by writing and by verbal witness. In the Old Testament, these people were called prophets. In the New Testament they were called apostles. We owe a great debt to these people for telling us about the Jesus they knew.

Some people were called by God to be evangelist. What message do evangelist bring? They bring the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. What is the gospel? Where did they hear it? How do they know what to say? They go back to the apostles who recorded the words of Jesus, the teachings of Paul and the good news that we present. We would say that if someone comes preaching any gospel other than that taught by the apostles, do not listen to them. There is only one Lord, one God, and one faith. We take what evangelist say and compare it to what the apostles wrote. That is what gives them the authority; that is what gives them the power.

So a person comes to trust in the Jesus of the Bible. Then God gives them pastors and teachers or pastor/teachers to help them understand Jesus through the Bible. I ask you to listen to me, not because I have touched or seen Jesus with my eyes, but because I am presenting to you the apostles’ message, the apostles’ word, inspired by the Holy Spirit, accurate in its portrayal of Jesus and the very word of God.

If the purpose of the pastor is to convey the apostle’s teachings about God, Jesus and the spiritual world, what is the purpose of the message? What effect should it have in people’s lives?

First, knowing the teachings of the apostles will prepare and motivate God’s people to serve. 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

Second, knowing the teachings of the apostles will build the body in unity of the faith 13 until we all reach unity in the faith

Third, knowing the teachings of the apostles will build the body in the knowledge of the Son of God. 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God

Fourth, knowing the teachings of the apostles brings spiritual maturity. 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ.

Fifth, knowing the teachings of the apostles brings stability. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

Sixth, knowing the teachings of the apostles binds us to Jesus. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

When we are bound to Jesus, the body grows and builds itself up in love, for each part is working. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

So the work of the pastors, teachers and evangelists is important. Through this God-given means the teachings of the apostles are brought to you. There are three connection points that I would highlight in this passage that are important to you.

First, you will never know Jesus as God wants you to if you do not listen and learn through pastors, teachers and evangelists the message of the apostles. This is the first connection point. God wants you to sit under and listen to the teachings of pastors and teachers. But he does not want you to swallow all they say. He wants you to connect the dots between them and the apostles and prophets. He wants you to connect the dots between them and the Bible. Luke, in the book of Acts, commended the church in Berea with these words. Ac 17:11 “11 Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” They connected the dots.

The second connection point is with Jesus. Verse 15 gives as the goal of connecting with pastors and teachers the idea that we will connect with Jesus. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. Pastors and teachers are only servants of Jesus. Your Sunday school teacher, your pastor, your small group leader, your youth leader, are only servants who are there to connect you with the apostles and to connect you to Jesus.

The third connection point is with others. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

What part does each part have? The work is with and for people. We connect with the pastors, we connect with Jesus so we can connect with people. God’s church does not focus on the church, it focuses on God first and people second. We have a strong desire to connect people to Jesus. But when people trust Jesus, when they come to know him, he will try to reconnect you to others. He will ask you to forgive as you have been forgiven. He will ask you to love as you have been loved. He will ask you to serve as you have received service from others.