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The Apostolic and Prophetic Foundation
And He Himself gave some to be apostles...for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry (Grk. diakonia - service), for the edifying of the body of Christ.
Let us be very clear. The focus of this scripture is not that apostles equip the saints. Rather, it is the Lord Jesus who has a plan to do this.
The above verses do not say that He gave apostles to do the equipping, but so that the equipping might occur. It would not happen without their involvement. They are certainly part of the process, but they are not the source. The “five-fold ministry” is a key part of His plan to equip His people.
Part of our problem has been a tendency to equate “equipping” with the word “training.” R. Paul Stevens has this to say in his book, Liberating the Laity:
The Greek word for equipping, katartismos, is used as a noun only once - in Ephesians 4:12. But the word has an interesting medical history in classical Greek. To equip is to put a bone or a part of the human body into right relationship with the other parts of the body so that every part fits thoroughly.[5] ...A Greek doctor would “equip” a body by putting a bone back into its correct relationship with the other members of the body.[6]
When it comes to the Body of Christ, only the Lord can properly fit His people together (1 Cor. 12:18)!
He intends that His Church come to wholeness. Anointed apostolic ministry is but part of the Messiah’s plan to bring this to pass. He will anoint apostles with insight concerning the integration of His people into a corporate body at the local, regional and international levels. We see a great need for just this type of ministry as we view the Lord’s Church today. Too often men have attempted to organizationally fit together the Church both locally and extra-locally. Consistently, this has resulted in an individual placed in the top position of each of the various organizations or denominations that have emerged. However, what is needed is apostolic foundational insight which maintains the Lord Jesus as the only head.
On the natural plane, the human body gives us an example of the Lord’s goal for us. Physical soundness is expressed when the many diverse parts of the human body work together in harmony and reflect the thoughts of the mind. Similarly, apostles and elders (other mature men in the five-fold ministry) are to oversee and contribute to the process of the many individual members learning to move as one with Him. The goal is not to simply move in harmony with the inclination of those who hold the top position in a particular organization or movement.
Similar to the Greek word katartismos is katartizo which is translated as “mending” in verse twenty one of Matthew 4 and as “restore” in verse one of Galatians 6.
And going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets.
(Mt. 4:21)
Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
(Gal. 6:1)
In the preceding verse, Paul’s reference is ministry to an individual. When one has fallen in sin, that person needs to be restored. This is primarily a restoration of relationship - both to the Lord and to the local church. Spiritual health cannot be achieved apart from proper relationship, both in the vertical and the horizontal dimensions. We have often missed the correlation between individual spiritual soundness and the necessity of being properly meshed with the Body of Christ. However, God has worked this into the design of His overall purpose. As Roland Allen has indicated in his excellent book, Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s Or Ours?:
(Paul) did not teach (unbelievers) that they would find salvation by themselves alone, but that they would find it in the perfecting of the Body of Christ.[7]
God is after both corporate as well as personal spiritual health for His people.
…and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.
Our tendency over the years has been to view the passage in Ephesians 4 in terms of simply training individual Christians for service in the Church. However, Paul’s concern was a godly body! We have not emphasized nor adequately assisted believers in learning how to move as one under Christ’s headship.
We have thought that our mandate was simply to train each believer for their ministry. Even when we gathered the whole church together, the idea was still that each person would be more “equipped” to fill his or her unique role in the assembly.
While there is truth to this, I do not believe this was Paul’s primary intent in the passage. The context of Ephesians 4 is corporate. The apostle envisions a mature corporate man emerging in the earth and growing up “in all things into Him who is the head - Christ” (Eph. 4:15). In other words, the Body would mature to the place where it would be apparent that the Head and body are working as one. For this to occur, there would have to be corporate mending and restoration (i.e., the forming of the image of Christ corporately), not just individuals trained in their gifts.
The equipping of the saints is the proper integration of the particular parts to form a complete organism. The mending, restoration and training of individual lives would only be accomplished within the context of the Body beginning to function with all its diverse gifts and operations. The result would be the emergence of God’s corporate servant on the earth (Is. 41:8 - 16).
This corporate servant would be made up of individual servants progressively coming into greater wholeness through their proper relationship with both the Lord and His Church. As the Body of Christ began to both find its corporate identity and then also to move out in servanthood, it would be built up (similar to how a weightlifter builds up his physical body). Then we would see the unity of the faith “fleshed out” in clear unmistakable terms. This is God’s objective (Eph. 4:11 - 16).
However, because our focus has been almost totally on the training of individuals within the Church, the consequence has been more a disintegration than the integration God has sought. We have not seen a practical building up of Christ’s body, but of individual ministries, organizational movements and para-church organizations.
Teachers have tended to start assemblies that focus on sound biblical teaching and Bible schools that “equip” believers in the Scriptures. Prophets have started prophetic churches, prophetic movements and “schools of the prophets” in order to train prophetic people. Pastors have trained pastoral men to lead churches and care for God’s people. Evangelists have consistently endeavored to stir up the saints concerning God’s heart for the lost. (How we need godly evangelists to be properly meshed with local expressions of Christ’s body! God’s corporate servant will never come forth adequately without them.)
Yet, with all this activity, we have not seen the emergence of the corporate man that Paul described in Ephesians 4. Instead, we have seen division and fragmentation. The restoration of apostles to the Church in our day is part of Christ’s plan to remedy this.
Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together (Gr. katatizo) in the same mind and in the same judgment.
A quick glance at the New Testament reveals that it was penned primarily by apostles. Apostles are men who articulate the mystery of Christ (Eph. 3:3 - 5). Their concern is for theological accuracy. They will challenge any teaching that diminishes the person or work of Jesus or which draws attention away from Him.
When some questionable method (for attaining maturity, for hearing the voice of God, for bringing down spiritual forces of darkness, for establishing new churches, etc.) appears on the scene, they will find it difficult to remain silent for the sake of “unity.”
To many believers, unity occurs when God’s people rally around a present emphasis of truth that has produced favorable results in some leader’s life, church or city. Our tendency is to gravitate toward “what works.” However, what works in one city might be totally different than the way in which God intends to accomplish some of the same goals in another city.
It is true that we can glean much from those who have touched God’s strategy for their particular area. Clearly though, we must learn to lay hold of the Head of the Church, find His mind and seek to implement His strategy for where we live. Apostles will not simply propagate some new method of church planting or spiritual warfare that seems to be working for them. They will have an anointing to help local churches see the practical steps needed to implement the present emphasis Jesus is making in their locale. Those who love Him will hear His voice and rally to Him. This is the key to true unity.
Today we have a generally workable system within Christendom where much is accomplished. We take pastors and put them into local church settings. We take evangelists and put them out on the streets or on TV. We take teachers and put them into classroom settings such as are found in Bible schools. Then we get rid of apostles and prophets. (“They were only for the early church.”) As we view the present scene we think, “Well, what we have isn’t bad.”
But God is not at all satisfied with the present condition of His people. He is again raising up these two ministries on the earth. The problem is that they just don’t fit the present system as it stands!
There are many men today in denominations and restoration churches who try to “fit the mold” of a good pastor, teacher or evangelist. But deep inside them there is a different flavor to the burden they have in their hearts. Many have not understood the reason for their internal frustration as they tried to “fit in” with their group’s program. Some have indeed understood their call to the prophetic or apostolic ministry, but there has been no recognition of this by those around them.
Today, though, this is changing. The Lord is again raising up and giving apostles and prophets to the Church, “until we all attain to the unity of the faith...to a mature man....” (Eph. 4:13 NASB)
Lord, only You can integrate Your people into a corporate expression of Yourself. Pour out Your Spirit upon us and do the work in us that is necessary. Raise up men in our midst who will be truly given to Your agenda, to building what You have foreknown from eternity. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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