God's Design

(this is a continuation of the topic 'On Shepherding and Discipleship'.)

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; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
(Ephesians 4:11-16 NASB)

So far in this series on shepherding and discipleship, we have covered the following:
  - Introduction - the believer's following and feeding
  - Disciples: Born, or Made?
  - Pastor: Title, or Identity?
  - Defining Growth Biblically

You may have noticed that I quote Ephesians 4 extensively and repeatedly.  To me, this passage more than any other concisely defines for us what God's design is for His Church.  A strong theme that we've seen in recent weeks has been that identity trumps activity; in other words, who we are in Christ shapes our actions.  God has given spiritual gifts as He wills (1 Corinthians 12:11), and the proper working of each individual part under His Headship is what makes the Church - the body of Christ - grow.  What a beautiful thing it is to submit to who God has made us to be and to operate in the gifting, ministry, and effect that He has designed for each of us (1 Corinthians 12:4-6)!  (Perhaps a more thorough discussion of spiritual gifts is in order for another time.)

A number of years ago (in the days of Harvard Graphics, if you can remember!) I created the following graphic, describing the truths of Ephesians 4:11-13:

(Having limited access to a personal computer at that time, this looks like a combination of a computer graphic and a napkin drawing, but hopefully you get the idea!)


In unfolding this text a bit, we recognize the following:

• Growth begins and ends with Christ; He is the Source, the Means, and the End of church growth.  Truly 'from Him and through Him and to Him are all things' (from Romans 11:36).
• The gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers bring about godly conduct which equips us for godly work which builds up the body of Christ.
• The purpose of this work is that we attain three lofty goals: 1) Unity of the faith, 2) the Knowledge of the Son of God, and 3) the Maturity of Christ Himself.  In other words, our collective character is a reflection of Christ.

'…to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.'  Now that's Church growth.

Is it hard to see that happening in reality?  I invite you to further study and seeking the Lord through this text of Scripture.  I believe the key is the vision that God gives us of Him and the subsequent work He does in us by His design, not ours.

Lord willing, next time we will conclude this series by examining our response, our practical living out these truths as His Church.