5-Fold Ministry in Ecclesia (1)

Introduction

It can be quite difficult to get a clear and accurate understanding of the 5-fold ministry in the church (as in Ephesians 4) without first outlining a clear re-statement of what we mean by ‘church’.

Clearly, the ‘Church’ which is joined to the groom at “the marriage supper of the Lamb” — the “bride who has made herself ready” (Rev 19:7) — is very different from what we today call “the church”.  But any re-statement of what we mean by “church” must  necessarily be both positive and negative.  In re-stating what the Church is or does or looks like, we automatically make statements about what it is not, what it does not do or what it does not look like.

For some, the negative statements are more revealing and more helpful than the positive ones.

The Set of Our Sails

In a yacht race, two yachts can have the exact same wind but perform quite differently depending on the set of their sails.  Likewise with us.  As the wind of the Spirit blows, how we proceed — or if we proceed at all — depends upon the set of our sails spiritually.

The set of our spiritual sails is determined by our answers to questions like these:

Are we more interested in results than in obedience to Jesus?  Do we have ears that hear what the Spirit is saying or ears designed rather for hearing the words of men?  Are we being careful how we hear: careful of our heart attitude, for example?  What about our motives or our priorities?  Are we correctly handling the word of God – logos, rhema and scripture?  What are we drawn more towards: prayer or promotion; humility or hype?

Jesus said of Mary that only one thing is necessary and she has chosen it and it will not be taken from her (Luke 10:41-42).  What was that one thing?  It was the same as that found by the pearl merchant of Matthew 13 who, when he had found the pearl of great value, sold everything he had and bought it.

It is the same as that found by the few today: in the process of being stripped of everything but Him, they have learned that they need nothing but Him.

It becomes real everyday life (not just a memorised scripture) that “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”; that we count all things as loss for the “prize” of knowing Him and the power of His resurrection; that “my heart says of You, ‘seek His face’” and my reply is “Your face, Lord, I will seek” (Psalm 27).

These attitudes; these priorities; these motives are unconditionally essential to hearing what the Spirit is saying and to hearing as He wants us to hear in order that we respond according to His will.  They determine if and how we will proceed when the wind of the Spirit blows.

They are also fundamental to a clear and accurate hearing of a re-statement of what we mean by ‘church’ and, of necessity, this matter of five-fold ministry in the ‘Church’.

If these attitudes and values are not present, our hearing — of whatever the Spirit may be saying — is faulty and, therefore, potentially very dangerous.

The starting point for a proper understanding of five-fold ministry – in fact, any ministry – in the ‘Church’ is:

ü That when it’s all boiled down, the only thing that’s really necessary is to sit at Jesus’ feet, listening to Him.  Any activity stems from that.

ü That we have “sold everything” in order to have Him and His kingdom.  Not simply that we are prepared to let everything go, but that we now hold nothing as our own — as dear to ourselves.

ü That God knows that we know we need nothing but Him.

ü That it is in fact true that I have burnt my bridges.  Jesus is now my life and I can’t go back to what was before.

ü That whatever I counted to my credit before, is now written off as a loss that I might “gain Christ and be found in Him”

ü That I want nothing more than to “live and move and have my being” in the presence of the Lord; to live there all my days; to gaze upon His beauty and to seek him in His temple (Psalm 27:4).

As far as I can tell, this is what the New Testament writers intended us to understand by the terms “disciple” and “Christian”.  This is what it means to be converted.  This is the “repentance unto life” which God, by His grace, grants to us sinners.

We need to silence the voices which rise up to argue the case for ministry activity.  The only voice we need to hear is His and the only activity which matters is that which He tells us matters, as we sit at His feet listening to Him.  Then, once He has spoken, scrupulous obedience is what He wants.

Next: "Life Begins in Death"