The Responsibility Belongs To Us, The Individual Believer

This morning I was reading in Ephesians 4:1-16 and the Holy Spirit did that "highlighting" thing again. I saw in verse 1 that Paul assumes that we each have a calling that is given to us by Jesus, the gift is found in verse 8. What that is specifically you need to take time with the Father and find out, it will be different for each of us.

Paul then goes on to tell us that we need to be completely humble and gentle; to be patient, bearing with one another in love. Or in David's vernacular, "using love, put up with one another". He then goes on to tell the disciples (us) to make every effort to stay in the unity through the bond of peace. Now what I really find interesting about this point is that he tells "us" not them to make every effort. That tells me that it will be opposed, but that I need to be the one to make the attempt, and stop waiting on others.

How often do we see people that perhaps drain us emotionally, or just kind of get under our skin? I know that it happens to me, so it must happen to you as well, if you will actually admit it. My first thoughts are usually to go the other way, try not to make eye contact, or if I do end up having a conversation with this person, I try to minimize it as much as possible. That's not what I see that Paul is telling me to do here. I need to make the effort to keep the peace, and to make the other person feel good about themselves.

In verse 11 Paul talks about the five-fold ministry gifts; the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher. These five gifts were given to the body of Christ so that it (the body of Christ) might be built up and reach the unity in the faith, and knowledge of the Son of God. To become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Basically what that means is that these five gifts to the body are there to help the body grow.

They are not to grow the body, what I mean is that it is not the job of the five-fold ministry to be the only people that are witnessing about the Lord Jesus Christ and making disciples. They should do that on a personal level yes, but as a part of the five-fold gifting that God has given us they are to help us (the body of Christ) to grow into what we are supposed to be doing; leading people to the Lord and making disciples.

What I've seen for too long is church members trying to get people to come to church in the hopes that when they come, the pastor or one of the other staff members can lead them to the Lord. I don't discount the fact that we should be inviting people to church, or that we shouldn't have altar calls at our church services, but that is not the main way that people come to know Jesus.

Jesus told us to go and make disciples. A lot of people will say, yes Jesus did say that, but He was telling the apostles to go and do that. And that is where the enemy has had us as believers for years. Letting us think that it was the job of the church staff to take care of this and not ours. We are called sheep and the pastors are called shepherds, sheep recreate sheep, not shepherds. What shepherds do is protect the sheep from wolves and make sure that they are fed and taken care of, sounds a little bit like what the five-fold ministry is for huh?

So I submit to you the reader, that if we are not seeing our church families grow then perhaps we need to take a look at ourselves instead of our leadership, and ask ourselves if we are in fact doing everything that we can to make disciples. Are we forming relationships and using the gift that God has placed inside of us to win the lost? If your answer is no, then maybe it's time for you to start. And if you don't know how, then ask the leadership at your church, and hey here's a novel idea, why don't we ask God? After all I'm pretty sure He knows what to do.

Well there's that folks, get 'em up, let's go whip something for the Kingdom today!