Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the [a]edifying of the body of Christ, 13 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;
One of the errors I see in the church of Jesus Christ today is the concept of thinking the 5 fold ministers (Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers) are the only ones called to minister. This is why we refer to them as being in full-time ministry. This has led to a church full of members who wait on the “Man of God” to do everything because he is the one called.
The truth of the matter is that every believer is a minister, every believer is in full time ministry. According to the verse, the 5 fold have been called so that they can equip the believers for the works of ministry. These works of ministry are the priestly duties every believer must engage in, representing God to the people and interceding for the people before God.
The great commission was not just given to the 5 fold ministers, it was given to every believer. we all must go into the world and make disciples of all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. we must then teach them to observe all the things we have been commanded to do by Jesus. Sadly if you take a closer look at our churches, we do not have many people who are doing this.
The book of Hebrews tells us that though some of us ought to be teachers by now, we still need someone to teach us the first elements of the oracles of God. This is because we have refused to take up the responsibilities of our priestly ministry and thus we have refused to grow. We all have been given a ministry of reconciliation which is taking the good news to the people and telling them about the love of God.
The church and the fivefold ministers are supposed to equip the believers so that when they go out there in the market place they can perform their priestly duties in the field that God has planted them.
To put it in another way, every believer is in full-time ministry wherever God has planted them. Whether you are an accountant or a receptionist, a teacher or a driver or even a CEO, that is the sphere God wants you to represent him as a priest, representing God to the people you interact with and interceding for those people before God. You are there to display God’s goodness and power so that those in your sphere can see the goodness of God!
Reflections
Do you consider yourself to be in “Full-time Ministry” and what does that mean?
Does the church you go to encourage and equip you to function in your ministry or are you taught to depend on the pastors for everything?
When was the last time you talked to someone about God and his goodness?
