Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture:  Eph. 4: 7 -16 Feb. 11, 2024

Message: “God’s Leaders”  by Pastor George Gnade

Intro: 1. In our passage today, Paul stresses the value of the spiritual leaders that He has given to His church. They are specifically called gifts from Christ Himself.

a. In those days, a conquering king would receive gifts as a result of his triumphs. In the Bible, Jesus is our king who conquered Satan through His death on the cross.

b. Then He ascended into heaven where His Father blessed Him, making Him the Ruler over all mankind, and especially over His church in particular. As it says in Eph. 1:21-22, Jesus now holds the highest position in the universe. 

2. Now when a great king received His gifts, He in turn would share His gifts with those under Him. So the Bible predicted in Eph. 4:8 that once Jesus “ascended on high”  He would “give gifts to men.”

a. Then in vs. 11, the Bible describes the gifts He gave. Paul writes: “It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers.”

b. Their responsibility, according to verse 12, was “to prepare God’s people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up.” 

A. To understand this passage more clearly, we must remember that Jesus never sat down on an earthly throne. 

1. He told His disciples in Luke 17: 20-21 that “the kingdom of God” was within them! And to grow His kingdom in this world was to grow His church. In fact, God was sending them into all the world to preach the gospel and make disciples for Him.

2. Not only that, but those who served in His kingdom were to be different from the worldly kingdoms around them. “The greatest in the kingdom of God must learn to be servants of all” (Matt. 23:11).

a. They would not grow His church by force, but through love and the power of the gospel.

b. Every time someone through faith came to believe in Jesus, the greater the kingdom would be till it would literally be found all over the earth.

3. So Jesus’ kingdom was not like the kingdoms of the earth. It did not require warriors trained to fight with swords and spears, or with guns and bombs, but warriors who were trained in the Word of God which the Bible calls the “sword of the Spirit.” And they would not need the armor of the world, but rather “the armor of God.”

4. Therefore, the real question that had to be answered was: “Who will lead God’s church?” “Who is qualified to train such a church?”

B. Our passage teaches us that Jesus called and guaran-teed that His church, the body of Christ, would have all the leaders it would need. 

1. Once Jesus sat down on the throne of heaven, He would raise up and make sure His church always had the leaders He needed to grow His kingdom down here. That is why this passage we are studying today is so important.

2. While on earth, before He died on the cross, Jesus personally trained 12 disciples whom He later called His apostles. On the day of Pentecost, He sent the Holy Spirit to take His place and continue His work on earth, using people who loved the Lord whom He filled with His Spirit and commanded to go forth in His name.

C. Consider the leaders that Jesus chose so His church would grow and be equipped to function effectively.

1. We already mentioned Jesus’ apostles. Next it also mentions His prophets. In Eph. 2:19-20, we were already told “God’s household would be built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself being the chief cornerstone.”

a. Please note that this is how we received the Word of God as we know it today. Apostles and prophets were led by the Lord to write what He taught them.

b. Now that we have the completed Word of God, the rest of God’s leaders were commanded in Eph. 4: 12-13 to “build up the body of Christ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of God.”

2. Clearly the leaders Jesus chooses and gives as gifts to His church must learn the Word of God to be effective. And everything that someone like me teaches you is supposed to be based on what the Word of God now says.

a. Paul put it this way in II Tim. 2:15. He wrote: “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, correctly explaining the Word of Truth.”

b. As most of you know, I take this responsibility very seriously. 

3. Thirdly, besides apostles and prophets, Jesus gave us evangelists. An evangelist has especially been called to reach new people for Christ, to go wherever God sends them to share the Good News of Jesus. People like Franklin Graham have been trained to do this very effectively. Many missionaries are also like evangelists.

4. Fourthly, our passage mentions pastors and teachers.

a. The word translated “pastor” actually is the word “shepherd.” Jesus came to be “the good shepherd,” but pastors are supposed to be under-shepherds, teaching and doing what He did.

b. A pastor’s job is much broader than just preaching and teaching. It carries with it a real concern for the people. Jesus requires of us that His love shine through us so people will see that we are trying to set a good example for them to follow.

5. Teachers are also very important. The larger a church is, the more teachers are needed to lead small groups or youth groups or even the little children that God loves.

In Conclusion: 1. We must never forget we all share in the same ministry to help lead God’s people to maturity in Christ.

2. In fact, parents also play a very important role. In Eph. 6: 4, it says: “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; bring them up in the training and the instruction of the Lord.”  I am sure that includes mothers too.

a. Unless we who are parents do our part to teach them what the Bible says or bring them to church to learn what the Bible says, they may never know the truth. That would be very sad. 

b. Our culture and our school system and what they see and hear through the media is often contrary to God’s Word. So we must be very prayerful and careful to do our part to bring them up to maturity in Christ.

3. As we look back over the centuries, we should thank God for all the leaders that He has provided. Without them, we would not know God’s Word or be saved through our faith in Jesus. 

4. Thank God the Holy Spirit of Jesus takes personal responsibility to raise up Christian leaders all over the world and guarantees that the work of Christ will be accomplished before Jesus comes again.