Today's Passage - Ephesians 4:11-13

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 4:11-13    "It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's 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."   Paul showed us the blueprint that God used to build the church.  First, He gave out the spiritual gifts to establish the church.  The order of the gifts here is not an order of important, but an order in establishing the church.  The gift of apostle and prophet is to know what the era of time needs, to point out the will of God and to identify and promote believers with all kinds of gifts and guide them towards the same direction.  Same thing with the evangelists - It's not that those with no gifts for evangelism don't need to spread the gospel because we all need to testify for the Lord, but some of us do have the gifts to bring people to the Lord and it is particularly effective for them to spread the gospel.  The primary job of pastors and teachers is to shepherd and equip the church, to take care of the needs of brothers and sisters and teach the truth.  The church, however, won't necessarily be built just from having these gifts.   Second, there gifts do not replace the roles that all saints play in the Kingdom of God.  There's often a misconception among the lay believers in the church: "We will be just fine if we have a good pastor, we don't need to do anything."  The same phenomenon was seen both among the Israelites in the time of Exodus and also believers today; we often receive second-hand information concerning the teachings of God, just like what the Israelites pleaded with Moses: "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."  In the Old Testament time, God and people had an indirect relationship through prophets and priests; in the New Testament time, however, many unfortunately still live in the realm of Old Testament.  Actually, the most important role in the Kingdom of God is not the apostle or pastor, but every saint that God has selected!  We are all important in the Kingdom of God, because only through saints can a body of Christ be established.  So, do not look down on yourselves, because you are part of the Kingdom of God that cannot be missed!   Third, these gifts are meant "to prepare God's people for works of service," but it's not for replacing the saints.  So should we be prepared?  Verse 12 says that we need to "be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature..."  This means that we need to do more than just talking about the truth.  Many can talk about the truth rather eloquently, but don't have much experience to share about.  Knowledge and faith must be one, because the church according to God's blueprint is not a church of superstars, but instead one that all lay believers are mobilized to serve.  May God give us the spirit of unity so that we may work together for Him!                                                                                   Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I pray for all brothers and sisters; I ask that you give us spiritual gifts and the spirit of unity so that we may collaborate in Christ to build a church that glorifies you.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!