Leadership & Lay Ministry #3 - Equip the Saints
Today we see leadership being called to Equip the Saints.| So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 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 fullness of Christ. (Ephesians4:11-13) |
Our passage today is an interesting one as it seems to juxtapose individuality with unity. On the one hand, Paul lists the gifts that Christ has given to his people. These gifts are; the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers. There are other gifts listed in 1Corinthians12, Romans12 and 1Peter4 and so it seems that the Holy Spirit empowers the members of the church in a variety of ways.
We are all gifted differently. As members of the body of Christ we excel and shine in different areas. This seems to emphasise our individuality.
Some are prophets while others are pastors! We can imagine how just these two giftings can lead to conflicts and misunderstandings. Now, imagine the church with people possessing all the gifts Christ has given, with each saint manifesting their gift differently! We can all imagine the chaos that can arise.
But, according to Paul, the gifts that Christ has given are for the unity of the church. So while seeming to list individual gifts on the one hand, Paul on the other hand emphasises the building up of the church. The gifts that all the individual members of the body of Christ possess are for the building up of the church.
As Christians we have been equipped by Christ through the gifts we have been given. We are to use these gifts towards the building up of the church. If we are building the body of Christ, growth will be evident. If we put our gifts to work, we will be growing in our faith, in unity. We will also be growing in our knowledge of Christ.
The ultimate goal of the gifts that we have received as the body of Christ, is that we might all together, in unity, reach maturity and be more like Christ. It is Christ himself who has equipped the saints.
With regards to the growth of our church, the UPCSA, this passage calls on every member to use their Christ given gift. We should not cower! The unity, growth, and maturity of our church depend on every single member of our church.
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Rev Shingirai Eunice Masunda is a New Testament scholar, researcher, minister in the Presbytery of Zimbabwe.
