Ephesians 4:11-12 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (NASB)
"He", God gave special gifts to the Church according to the Apostle Paul. Those gifts were men with the ability to help the Church along. The list includes apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers and their purpose is stated as, “Equipping”.
When I was in high school I played football. When I showed up for the first practice I had a pair of shoes a t-shirt and some gym shorts. I was not equipped to play football. Along the way however we took turns with Mr. Bray and one of the coaches in the equipment room selecting and fitting the necessary equipment. Once equipped properly I could go out and practice the game effectively.
Those men given by God to the Church as a gift are like the equipment manager and coach getting each of us ready to play the game. In this day it is said the two offices that remain are pastor and teacher. Many times this is the same person with two different roles. At our local church Pastor Joey refers to himself as pastor/teacher which reflects his shepherding and instructing.
We could spend a lot of time dissecting the various words used interchangeably in scripture for this office in the church. Instead today I’d like to focus on the purpose of the gift.
The passage says that there is a reason for, “Equipping of the saints”. That’s us by the way, “The saints”. We are being equipped for, “The work of service” and specifically, “To the building up of the body of Christ”. So the time and effort our pastor/teacher spends is to stimulate us to serve. When we do, the Church, “The body of Christ” is strengthened; built up like a body builder lifting weights.
If you are in a healthy local church with a Bible teaching pastor/teacher you are truly blessed by God. Consider what his work is doing in your life and toward the health of your church. Give thanks to God for the gift of your pastor/teacher. You might express your thanks to him too ... as an encouragement! AMEN!
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