And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Ephesians 4:11-14

The apostle Paul gives a brief job description to every Christian believer in chapter 4 of his letter to the Ephesian Church. I say brief, as in there are few words mentioned, but it’s an enormous responsibility.

Dear Reader, there are two distinct people groups he has charged with this task:

• Those in authority: the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers
• Those in the pews: the ’saints’ (you and me)

The task given to those in authority (the men in the pulpit, the Sunday School rooms, the seminaries) are charged to equip the ones in the pews (us) for the work of ministry. You don’t need a divinity degree to minister, whether it is to one or to a crowd.

It is the job of the minister to preach and teach. It is the job of the people to minister. We are to minister to each other within the church, to our immediate sphere of influence be it your family, or neighbor, and to the world around us (kinda like what this website does!).

How are those in authority going to equip the people for ministry? It ought to be primarily through the reading, exhortation, and teachings of the things of God and Christ through His Word: the Bible. Reading, studying, and understanding God’s Word will help us apply it to our lives so they will be building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.

Likewise, it is the task of the people in the pew to listen, meditate on, and figure out how they can apply God’s Word in their lives, and to call upon the gifts they have to also spread the light of the Gospel.

If you’re a pew-potato, doing nothing but coming to Church on Sunday, letting the sermon go in one ear and out the other, woe to you. (Not my words… again, I’m only a messenger!)

Christ has a special warning to those types of ‘Christians’ in the book of Revelation:

“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

Revelation 3:15-16

“Christian” is not a title, putting a label on yourself to make you feel good or proclaim to the world that you’re something special. The term Christian is a Job Description. Christian means “Like Christ” or “Follower of Christ” or more accurately, “Little Christ”. If I go out and print up business cards that have my title as “Custom Home Designer” and I sit at home and surf the web all day I’m either (1:) deliberately lying to those around me, or (2:) deluding myself, making myself ‘feel good’ by making others believe I design custom homes. Well, one day I’ll be called on the carpet to meet with someone about a house and the truth will be out that I’m a deluded liar.

Well, one day we will be called to report in on what work we have been doing. Do we claim the title “Christian” but never show up for work? Do we even put a flyer in the paper or have we even filled out the job application by reaching to the heavens and cry “Lord, show thyself! I want to know you and be known by your name!”?

And why are we to be built up to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ? Paul gives three reasons:

So that we may no longer be children; Growing in faith, taking in Spiritual truths is often compared to drinking milk (as an infant) and eating meat (as an adult). If you ate nothing but soft foods and drank milk all day and sat around letting others tend to your beck and call as an infant, would you ever grow strong? Will you ever be able to fend for yourself? Until a child learns to crawl, walk, stand strong, eat and fend for itself, they are at the mercy of those around them. Don’t be weak.

…tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine; Children are sweet, aren’t they? They are also gullible little creatures. One of my (six!) nephews once asked me how weight limits for bridges are measured. I told him “They drive bigger and bigger trucks over the bridge until it breaks. Then they weigh the last truck and rebuild the bridge.” I’ll admit I got that one from Calvin and Hobbes, but I’ve done this several times and they always seem to get wide-eyed at first and then accept it.

Likewise, you: Dear Reader, must be able to know the truth from a lie. Do you know how bank tellers are taught how to spot counterfeit money? They aren’t taught what 100 fake bills look like: They are taught what real money looks like. Then, when a fake bill comes their way, they will know it’s fake. You, by knowing true doctrine, from the words penned by God, will then know false teachings when they come your way.

…by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Sometimes people teach false gospels or doctrine through ignorance: They cannot detect fake from real, either. Other people directly use deceit to advance their own wicked schemes.

Again, educate yourself using Scripture as your guide, and when someone comes to you and says “God teaches this or that” or “This is what the Bible says…” you can identity true teaching or not.

He asked me to warn you.

In His Care,

-Anthony