Do you ever wonder why there is so much difference in teachings from one church to another when we are all reading the same Bible? Where is the unity in the body when churches can preach diametrically opposing teachings?
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; Ephesians 4:11-13
God has given us apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry. They are also supposed to build up the body of Christ in order for it to reach the unity of the faith.
According to this passage, the unity of the faith is an integral part of God sending the five-fold ministry gifts. Five-fold ministry gifts should protect the body from false teachings and false doctrine because those functioning in the gift of teaching, will sound the alarm when the church goes off the rails.
Do all these functions operate in your church? If not, why not? If they do operate, are the leaders doing their part to complement each other and to equip the body of Christ in a healthy and balanced way?
Furthermore, if the five-fold ministries are only focused on equipping the saints, we will develop individualist mentality about ministry. Instead, we need to remember to build up the body corporately until we reach the true unity of the faith.
It’s possible that in our individualist American mentality, it is easier for us to take on the assignment of being equipped for the work of ministry rather than work on maturing through unity. These scriptures are a call to those operating in five- fold ministry gifts as well as leaders and church members.
Every one of us needs to seek God’s wisdom to be part of the solution to unity of the body. If the church operated in five-fold ministry gifts it would not be off balanced, and it would have all the necessary elements to grow, flourish, and reach out. However, many churches take on the strength of the senior pastors and all the other functions take a back seat in developing, equipping, and leading the church.
Jesus is not coming back for a particular church nor is He looking to see who has the most members or is the most popular. He is coming back for His bride who is without spot or wrinkle. That means we all need to do our part in unity of the body.
Lord, we need your supernatural wisdom and revelation to see the body united through the functions you have established in the body. You came to tear down the walls of division between people by breaking down prejudice, individualism, competition, false teachings, class system, and indifference that keep us at a distance from each other. Help us to mature in this area and come to the full knowledge of the Son. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.