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Pastors and Teachers to Pursue Unity, July 27
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists;
and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the
work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all
come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of
Christ.
Ephesians 4:11-13
.
The Lord has given to those who should be His human agents talents of
means, capacity, and influence, according to their ability to employ these
gifts in a wise manner for His service. He has given to every man his work.
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and
some, pastors and teachers.”
Why were these various workers appointed? “For the perfecting of the
saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till
we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:
that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about
with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness,
whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow
up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ” (
Ephesians 4:12-15
).
We can see from this scripture that the Lord has His appointed workers,
and that the work committed unto them has in view a definite object. Prophets,
apostles, evangelists, pastors, teachers, are all to work for the perfecting of
the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.
Is not this object worthy of careful attention? Can we not discern that there
has been neglect in some special work for the church, in that the saints have
not attained the perfection that God would have them attain? Had the work of
the ministry been done, the church would have been edified, and educated for
the great work that devolves upon them. The truth would have been presented
in such a way that the Spirit of the Lord would have moved upon hearts, and
sinners would have been convicted and converted, and would have taken their
position as followers of Christ.—
The Review and Herald, March 7, 1893
.
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