Let us open our Bibles this evening
to Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4. I gave the title of my message
last time from this chapter, Grace Given to Every Believer. We have these words in verse
seven, but unto every one of us is given grace, grace given
to every believer. All who are saved are saved by
grace and all grace is given. It is not grace if it is not
given, God's unmerited favor. But I mentioned then that most
of the commentators understand that the word us in that phrase,
unto every one of us is given grace, that most of the commentators
believe that applies primarily to the different offices in the
church, which are named in verse 11. apostles, prophets, evangelists,
pastors, and teachers, that the grace to exercise these different
offices or fill these different offices is given to us. Tonight, as we look at a few
more of these verses in this chapter, we'll do so by asking
three questions. The first is this, is it gifts
or offices? Is it gifts or offices? If you notice in verse eight,
we read, wherefore he saith, when he ascended up on high,
he left captivity captive and gave gifts unto man. But now skipping over the parentheses
in verse nine and 10, we see in verse 11, He who gave gifts
unto men, and he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists,
and some pastors and teachers. Is it gifts or offices? But then these gifts are offices
as we see here. How do we understand this? It
was the gift of God's grace which enabled a man to be an apostle,
an evangelist, a prophet. I said it was the grace of God
which enabled, past tense, enabled a man to be in the office of
an apostle or prophet or evangelist. If you look back to verse 8 in
chapter 3, the apostle Paul confessed this when he said, unto me who
am less than the least of all saints is this grace given. What is this grace given to you,
Paul, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable
riches of Christ? Paul confessed that to preach
the gospel among the Gentiles was a grace which was given unto
him. While these offices have passed
away, that is, of an apostle, a prophet, or an evangelist,
these offices have passed away, it is still true that it is only
God's grace that enables and qualifies a man to be a pastor
teacher. Those first three offices, evangelists,
pastors, apostle and prophet. Those have passed away. They're
no longer in the church as they were in the beginning when the
Word of God was complete. There was no longer a need. And
to be an apostle, no one could meet that qualification. after
the apostles passed away. Grace was given unto them to
be an apostle, to be a prophet, to be an evangelist. That's past
tense, but now present tense. And from the times of the apostles
until tonight, it has always been grace that gives a man,
that qualifies a man enables a man to be the pastor-teacher. This office has continued in
the church, the office of pastor-teacher, and it's grace. I want you to
look back with me, keep your places here, but to 2 Corinthians
chapter 3, 2 Corinthians chapter 3, and what
Paul says here is true of all men who are in these offices. In 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and
verse 5, he said, not that we are sufficient of ourselves to
think anything as we ought to think. Not that we are sufficient of
ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency
is of God. That's quite a statement, isn't
it? That's quite a statement. And it's true of every believer,
but it is especially true of every man that God calls and
puts into the ministry. We're not sufficient of ourselves
to think anything as of ourselves, but Our sufficiency is of God,
now notice, who hath made us able ministers of the New Testament. Not of the letter, but of the
Spirit. For the letter killeth, but the
Spirit giveth life. Today, ministers, pastors, teachers,
we are ministers of the New Testament, the New Covenant. The letter,
when he says the letter killeth, he's speaking about the law,
of course. The law. And that's what the
law does. It kills. It kills a person so
that a person will look to Christ for life. The gospel, the new
covenant, reveals unto us the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's interesting in that
chapter, if you read through it, you will see some things
that are clear about the new covenant compared to the letter
or the law. The law, he says, was glorious.
It's God's law. It was glorious. When Moses came
down from the mountain, you remember his face was shining such that
he had to put a cover, a veil between him and the people. because
of the glory that was upon him from receiving the law. The law
was glorious, but the apostle tells us, in comparison, in comparison
to the new covenant, that old covenant, that letter, had no
glory at all. Had no glory at all. This is
a glorious gospel. That's what Paul calls it, I
believe, in 1 Timothy, the glorious gospel. of the blessed God, the
glorious gospel. And we're ministers, but we have
no sufficiency in ourselves. No man does. When a man is called
to an office like a pastor, a teacher, he must be given grace, and it
must be continually given unto him. Because no matter how much
his learning ability, his speaking ability is, To be used of God,
and that's what every preacher desires, is to be used of God. He needs grace. God's grace,
that's the only thing that will cause a man's ministry to be
profitable, is the grace of God. That's the reason that we ask
that you pray for us continually, that you remember us in prayer.
That's the reason we pray for ourselves. that God would give
us grace to qualify us for this ministry that He has given us. So back in our text tonight,
is it gifts or offices? Well, it's a gift of grace. The gift of grace to every man
that God called for one of these offices. It's a gift of grace. So yes, it's both gifts and offices. Every office, it involves the
gift of God's grace. As Paul said, is this unto me
who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given
that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches
of Christ. Concerning these offices here
in Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 11, he gave some apostles and
some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers. John Calvin made this comment,
and I quote, there's no passage of scripture which more strongly
overturns that tyrannical hierarchy in which one earthly head is
set up. Now let me explain what he meant
there. I think you probably know. There is no passage of scripture
which more strongly overturns that tyrannical hierarchy, the
Roman Catholic Church, in which one earthly head, the Pope, is
set up. Isn't it strange that in this
list of offices that the office of a pope is not mentioned here?
If we were to believe or are to believe that he is the head
of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, that he is the vicar
of Christ here upon the earth, how strange that the apostle
didn't even mention that office because there is no office in
the New Testament. that that man in Rome usurps
to be the head over what he says is the Christian church. Here's
the second question. What is the work of the ministry?
Notice verse 12. For the perfecting of the saints,
for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body
of Christ. What is the work of the ministry?
Well, the primary work of a pastor, teacher, is preaching the word
of God. Let's look at a couple of places,
if you will. Let's turn to Acts chapter 20 and look at this passage where
the Apostle Paul exhorts the elders of the church at Ephesus. What is the primary work of a
pastor teacher? It is preaching the word of God. Here in Acts chapter 20 and verse
28, The apostle said, take heed, therefore, unto yourselves and
to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you
overseers. Here it is, to feed the church
of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. To feed the
church of God. This is a primary work, primary
work of the work of the ministry. And I also invite you to turn
with me to 2 Timothy chapter four. 2 Timothy chapter four. I charge thee therefore before
God and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and
the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. What does he mean
there by the quick and the dead? The quick represents the believers
who are alive today, alive in the world. The quick, those who
are quickened, those who are alive today in the world, those
who will be alive when the Lord Jesus Christ comes again. The
dead refers to the believers who have passed on. To be absent
from the body is to be present with the Lord. I charge thee,
therefore, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall
judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom,
preach the word, be instant, in season, out of season, reprove,
rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will
come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their
own lusts shall heap to themselves teachers having itching ears,
and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall
be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things,
endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof
of thy ministry. The work of the ministry is to
preach the word of God, to feed the church of the Lord Jesus
Christ. I'm going to tell a story now
that I remember vividly that took place several years ago.
The war with Japan ended in 1945. Japan surrendered to the United
States after the U.S. dropped those two atomic bombs. Years later, I'm talking about
one or two, three years later, Japanese soldiers were found
on some of the islands of Japan, you know, it's made up of many
islands, who had kept their place even though the war had been
ended for two or three years. I believe some even longer than
that. What I'm telling this story for
is they had kept their post. That's where they were put. That's
where they were commanded to be, to defend the homeland. And that's where they stayed.
That's where they stayed, even though they had to scavenge for
their own food to survive, but they were at their post. And
I think about preachers, as we see here. Preach the word! Our
responsibility is to be faithful. It is required in a steward that
he be found faithful. Be at your post and your post
as a preacher is to preach the word, to preach the gospel. It's
not to entertain people. I know people come along and
they say, well, the times call for something new. The times
have changed and it calls for something new. Well, you know,
and I know that's not true. That's just not so. There's nothing
apart from the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ that will meet
the needs of men and women in our day as it has over the last
so many centuries. It's always been the gospel which
has met the needs of lost men and women. What gives a man assurance
in life? Someone called me. just a couple
of days ago and wanted to read a scripture to me. And she talked
about people being afraid. I said, I'm not afraid. I don't
have any fear. God has not given us a spirit
of fear, but of a sound mind. I said, if he comes today, if
this is the day, I'm ready. I trust he would come today.
What a blessing it would be to be caught up in the air, to meet
the Lord in the air, and to forever be with the Lord. Can anything
be better than that? I don't think so. I don't know
of anything better than that. The reason that I have the confidence
and the hope and the assurance I have tonight is because of
the Gospel. It all comes from the Word of
God. It all comes from the message
of Jesus Christ coming into this world. The God-man who came here
and he accomplished God's purpose. He saved God's people. And the
Gospel has been revealed unto me. And I believe the Gospel.
I know you do too. Now that Christ died for our
sins according to the Scriptures and that He was buried and that
He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. What do we
have to fear? I'll tell you what men have to
fear. Men have to fear God. Fear God, my friends. If you're
not in His Son, Jesus Christ, you have a lot to fear. But if
you're trusting in Him tonight and know Him and walking with
Him and have fellowship with Him, what do you have to fear? All the judgment and anger and
wrath of God has already been poured out upon His Son. He's already bore that penalty
for us in His own body on the tree. This is what men need. This is
what I need. This is what you need. This is
what all men need. The gospel. To hear the gospel,
the true gospel of Jesus Christ. And this is the work of the ministry. Preach the word. Stay at your
post. Preach the word. Be faithful.
Reminds me of a story I heard years ago also of a man and his
wife and they had one son. And this man went to town. I think it was like once a month,
he'd hitch up his horse and go in the buggy and go to town and
buy supplies and come home. Well, his son, like most young
boys, they want to go with their dad. They want to be with their
dad. And so finally, the dad thought he was old enough to
go with him. And so he took his son with him in the buggy. They
went to town. And they had a few stops. And he told his son, he said,
now, you can go in that store there. And he gave him some money
and buy some candy. When you come out, just wait
there on that corner. And I'll be back to pick you
up. And we'll go home. Well, his wife heard the buggy
coming. Heard the man open up the barn
door, put the buggy in, unhitch the horse, and come in the house.
And she said, where's our son? He had never taken his son before.
You say, how could that happen? How do people leave babies in
locked cars, my friends? Yeah, it does happen. But the
point of my story is he had to hitch the horse back to the buggy,
go back to town. And where did he find his son?
Right there where he told him to wait. And he asked him, he
said, son, are you still waiting here? He said, dad, you told
me to wait. You told me to wait here. Yes. And this is what the Lord has
told us to do. Preach the word. Be instant, in season, out of
season. Now there are two things in this
verse, look at the verse again, there are two things in this
verse that God accomplishes through the work of the ministry. The
first is the perfecting of the saints. Now we know that every
child of God has a complete perfection in Christ. We know that. Look
back to chapter one, verse six. We know that every child of God
has a complete perfection in Christ. to the praise of the
glory of His grace wherein He hath made us accepted in the
Beloved." Now, if you are in the Beloved tonight, you cannot
be more accepted than you are. Ten years from now, fifty years
from now, if you remain in this world, you will never be more
accepted than you are right now, if you're in the beloved, because
we're accepted in him. In other words, because of what
he has done for us, we are accepted. Not by works of righteousness,
which we have done, but according to his mercy, he has saved us
by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.
It's a work of Christ. So a believer is perfect in Christ. Every believer is. And no believer
is more perfect than another believer in Christ. But at the
same time, we recognize that in ourselves that there is much
imperfection. Our faith is not perfect. My
faith isn't. And I think I can speak with
all of us here. My faith is not perfect. Most
of us are like that man. Lord, I do believe. Help thou
my unbelief. Our love is not perfect. Our
hope is not perfect. Our patience, I'm talking about
our experience of these things, is not perfect. The preaching of the gospel is
the means which God has ordained for the perfecting of the saints. For perfecting our faith, perfecting
our love, perfecting our knowledge. but growing grace and knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what God accomplishes
through the ministry, the preaching of the gospel. The second thing
he says is the edifying of the body of Christ. This of course,
speaking of his church, the body of Christ, the church, and it
is compared in the word of God many times to a building. He
himself said upon this rock, I will build my church. We think
of the church as a spiritual temple that he is building. Look
in first Peter. First Peter chapter two. And verse 5, you also as lively or living
stones are built up a spiritual house. The work of the ministry is for
the edifying, the building up of the body of Christ. You are
as living stones. Now stones, Large stones that
are used in building, they usually come out of a quarry. And many
times, men use dynamite to extricate these stones, to extract these
stones from the quarry. God's chosen people are found
in the quarry of this world. And what is it that God has ordained
to use in finding and bringing them out? that they might be
brought in, might be built into the church. It is the gospel
that is the power. And that word translated power
is the word that the word dynamite comes from. The gospel is the
power of God unto salvation unto everyone that believeth, unto
the Jew first, and also unto the Greek. For therein is the
righteousness of God revealed, as it is written, the just shall
live by faith. By faith. Here's the third question,
how long? How long? Notice verse 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 fullness of Christ. How long? How long has God ordained
that there be the work of the ministry in this world? The answer
to that question must be until his second coming. That's how
long. He will come again when the last
of his chosen redeemed people is brought to trust in Him as
their Savior, as their Lord. He shall bring forth, as it says
in Zechariah, the prophecy that He shall build His temple, He
shall bear the glory thereof. You see, all the glory goes to
Christ, doesn't it? It always goes to Him. All the
glory for this spiritual temple, it belongs to Him. And God will
not share His glory with another. That's what the Word of God teaches
us, tells us. And that last stone, in one of
these days, right? One of these days, it could be
tonight, but the last one of God's chosen redeemed people
is going to be called and brought out of the world and regenerated
and brought to the faith in Christ and added to that spiritual house
with shoutings of grace, grace unto it. From the bottom to the
top stone, everyone who's been added will be by the grace of
God. As long as this church remains
in this world, there will be the work of the ministry. It
shall continue because God has ordained the preaching of the
gospel as a means to bring men to the knowledge of the Son of
God. In other words, to bring man
to trust in the Lord Jesus and be saved. Plus there will always
be the need to mature those whom the Lord saves. Verse 14 says
that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and
carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of
man and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive.
There's some things about children that we are admonished to imitate. Many things about children. But
there's some things about children which are not good. And that
is they may be easily deceived. And that's what the apostle is
telling us here. He uses two analogies. The first
analogy is to be tossed. We want to be built up so we're
not like children being tossed to and fro. And the picture there
is of a boat. on the lake or on the ocean and
has no ballast and every wave that comes, it just toss this
way and that way. And over the years, I've seen
this. I mean, the world, the religious
world just keeps coming up with new things, with new things. And it's amazing how people who
call themselves Christians are carried along, but it's just
like the word of God says, they're tossed to and fro. That's one
example, and the other one is as. to be carried about by every
wind of doctrine. You ever seen a feather in the
air and the wind picks it up and it goes and goes and goes? Just carried along by the wind. And that's the way some professing
Christians are. And I guess we'd all be that
way if we remain children. We need to be built up. We need
to be edified. So we're not just floating along. We've got our feet on the ground.
There's truth in the word of God. And we may not understand
everything in the word of God. We may not understand everything
we hear, but we do know there are certain things for sure. We know that. And so if we hear
something that seems to contradict it, we know that can't be right. I may not be able to understand
it, to explain it right now, but I know that can't be right. Because I know that God is God. He is sovereign. He is almighty. And his work is being accomplished. Now God would have us as believers
to be established. And that is brought about through
the preaching, the work of the ministry. Look with me at these
two verses and I'll close. In Romans chapter 16, Romans
chapter 16 and verse 25. Now, Romans 16 and verse 25. Now to him that is of power to
establish you, how? According to my gospel. How is it that men and women,
believers, are established by the work of the ministry, by
the preaching of the gospel? And one other place, if you will,
2 Thessalonians chapter 3. 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 and
verse 3. But the Lord is faithful. who
shall establish you and keep you from evil. He is faithful. He will establish you and keep
you from evil. May the Lord bless these words
to all of us here tonight. We're going to sing a hymn and
then we'll be dismissed in prayer.