Devotions this week are based on Week 6 How Would You Answer (WATCH HERE)
Ephesians 4:11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 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 fullness of Christ.
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 people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 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.
Christ has given every Christian gifts to be used for the benefit of the body. Some of those gifts are people in certain roles to be a blessing to the Church as a whole. Paul names some of those gifts: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. These are not the few that are to do all the ministry while everyone else watches. Paul says they are given “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.”
This is a major shift in how many people think about church. Church is not a place where a few gifted people perform religious services for a crowd. Church is the body of Christ, where leaders equip the saints and the saints do the work of ministry. The goal is not spectatorship. The goal is participation. The goal is not simply attendance. The goal is maturity, service, unity, and love.
Think about a coach preparing a team. A good coach does not train all week so that he alone can play the game while the team sits in the stands. The coach trains the players so they can step onto the field prepared, confident, and united. In a similar way, pastors and teachers are not given to replace the ministry of the congregation. They are given to prepare the congregation for ministry.
This matters because every believer has a part to play. Some works of service happen on Sunday morning, but many happen throughout the week. Ministry happens when a parent teaches a child to pray. Ministry happens when a member visits someone who is lonely. Ministry happens when someone speaks truth gently to a friend drifting from Christ. Ministry happens when someone welcomes a guest, encourages a teenager, prays for a missionary, helps a widow, or bears patiently with a difficult person.
The result of many being equipped to carry out the work of the body? The body of Christ is built up. That means the health of the Church is not measured only by what happens on a platform. Much of the Church’s strength is found in quiet, faithful, unseen ministry.
First Corinthians 12 gives a similar picture. The body has many parts, and each part matters. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” God has arranged the members of the body just as He wanted them to be. The visible parts are not the only valuable parts. Sometimes the hidden parts are the most necessary.
This is encouraging and challenging. It is encouraging because your service matters. It is challenging because you are not called merely to consume. If you belong to Christ, you belong to His body. And if you belong to His body, Christ intends to work through you for the good of others.
Today, ask God to move you from attendance to participation, from watching to serving, from receiving only to also giving. Jesus is building His Church, and He does it by equipping His people for works of service.
Reflect: Where have you been tempted to think of church more as something you attend than a body you belong to? What is one work of service God may be preparing you to do this week?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for equipping Your people for ministry. Help me not to be a spectator in Your Church. Prepare me to serve with humility, courage, and love so that Your body may be built up. Amen.