By Jeff Barnhart and Laura K. Springer, Th.M., Ph.D.
Key Passages: 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11; Ephesians 4:11-16
Supplementary Passages: 1 Corinthians 12:4-27; Galatians 5:22-25; Ephesians 5:1; Philippians 2:15; Colossians 1:17-18; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9
The eternal task of the church is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. As such, relationship with him and one another is crucial. We must live out the fact that we are one community of diverse people bound together in Jesus Christ and gifted for ministry by the Spirit.
Every Christian is a minister. Christians are all ministers of God and have been given gifts of service that he expects them to use to grow and mature his church. Since he gives each believer a ministry that he activates, every believer is a minister. Since God gives gifts to all, all believers work together to mature the church by speaking the truth to one another in love and carrying out God’s work the way the Spirit intends.
Ministries are from the Spirit. The Spirit alone distributes and activates gifts of service, through which he manifests himself among believers. Each believer is responsible to practice their gift of service alongside fellow believers for the sake of the whole church whether we are dispersed or gathered. While dispersed, we minister to the eight to ten people we interact with every day. While gathered, we minister to each other in order to refocus, recharge, and edify one another in preparation for dispersion into the mission field of daily life.
The ministry of leadership. While all believers are ministers, some are set apart for the service of leadership. Within the body, there are two subsets. One subset talked about in the New Testament is Elders (also called Overseers). The other subset is Deacons (a term meaning ‘servants’). Elders/Overseers equip all to carry out their Spirit-supplied gifts of service so that the body of Christ matures and grows herself. Deacons handle earthly tasks that may hinder the Elders and Ministers in their work. Elder and Deacon teams serve Jesus by serving the church. Both Elders/Overseers and Deacons must meet character qualifications, for a godly character is the most important qualification (see 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1). Skillset is a distant second.
Qualifications for ministry. Like Elders/Overseers and Deacons, Ministers are commanded to meet biblical qualifications. All are commanded to live by the Spirit and bear the fruit of "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23). All are commanded to imitate the Father and live in love like the Son. All are commanded to follow God together as brothers and sisters, speaking the truth in love to one another. If these biblical qualifications are not met, no other qualifications matter.
“Question 1. What is the chief end of man?Answer: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever” (Westminster Shorter Catechism).
Resources
● When the Church Was a Family: Recapturing Jesus' Vision for Authentic Christian Community (J. Hellerman)
● Formed for the Glory of God: Learning from the Spiritual Practices of Jonathan Edwards (K. Strobel)
● Weight of Glory (C. S. Lewis)
