The Christian's Role as a Minister Manuscript

by Scotty Manor, President of Knox Seminary

You can find the sermon notes here.
You can watch the sermon here.

Eph. 4:11-16 (ESV)

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

This is the Word of the Lord.

<<Pray>>

When I was in seminary, I attended a very “noble” church. Francis Schaeffer had been pastor there many years before. During my time, it was very “stately”, attracting many within the upper-class suburbs of St. Louis. The preaching was terrific, but I wanted to be more involved in serving.

I inquired if there were any areas of need. But this church was a well-oiled machine. Plenty of resources. Plenty of employees. Plenty of volunteers already in place. My desire to serve went unrealized for a long time until one day the bulletin announced that there was a need for someone to join the church handbell choir. Bingo!

I was in. For months I practiced with my new best friends until the biggest moment of the year – an Advent service focused on the handbells. I was so dedicated, I had bought in so completely, that I actually slept in the back of my 4-Runner in the church parking lot the night before the service (b/c weather was so bad) and as a Florida boy driving in the snow/ice, I didn’t want to miss it.

Playing the handbells is all about counting (1, 2, 3, 4… 1, 2, 3, 4…). It also is really important to make sure you have the right bells in the right hands.

The church was packed, including a number of friends from college. But I felt so good to finally be doing something for the church that I didn’t care that I’d get teased for this. I was confident. I was selfless. And I was losing count in the song. It came time for what I thought was my moment. You know what happened next.

“O Holy Night” is usually such a beautiful song, but in that moment, ringing the wrong bell at the wrong time, watching my so-called “friends” double over in laughter, I realized that I should just leave ministry to the professionals.

Lesson learned.

But it was the wrong lesson.

Here in this passage, we see that:

As God’s saints, each of you is called to be a minister.

1. Ministers who are transformed
2. Ministers who are called
3. Ministers who are effective

1. Ministers Who Are Transformed

• In many ways, this message to the Ephesians is precisely what the church should be reminded of today.
• Fundamentally, Paul is addressing the two biggest questions
• What does it mean to be a Christian?
• What is the Christian calling?
• In fact, the letter divides evenly addressing these two aspects
• Chapters 1-3: identity in Christ (what we’ll call the “Indicative”)
• Chapters 4-6: living out our calling (the “imperative”)
• Today’s passage comes right at the point where Paul makes this turn
• But Ephesians is far more than just a letter from Paul to the church in Ephesus
• It’s more than just a description of who we are and how we should behave
• I love this quote from Timothy Gombis:
• “Ephesians is a drama in which Paul portrays the powerful, reality-altering, cosmos-transforming acts of God in Christ to redeem God’s world and save God’s people for the glory of his name.” – Timothy Gombis
• As saints, you are a central piece of the narrative of this victory in Christ over the evils of this present world.
• What does it mean to be a “saint”?  In short, you. That is, believers whose lives have been transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Saints are mentioned throughout Ephesians:
• 1:1 – they are to whom Paul wrote this letter. Saints are believers.
• 1:15 – saints love one another
• 1:18 – saints receive a rich inheritance and are called
• 2:19 – saints were once strangers to God, but now members of His household
• 3:8 – Paul = least of the saints, but was given grace to preach to the Gentiles
• 3:18 – saints are given the overwhelming gift of the love of Christ
• 4:12 – **saints are called to do the work of ministry**
• 5:3 – saints live lives above reproach – we’re changed b/c of our faith
• 6:18 – saints are called to pray for one another
• Ephesians gives us a portrait of what it means to be a saint
• We have been made holy
• We certainly didn’t achieve this
• We were in a really bad state (I Cor. 6:11)
• But then we were washed, sanctified (made holy), and justified in the name of Jesus by the Spirit of God
• We are loved beyond comprehension
• This can be really hard to grasp
• It can be hard to see ourselves as lovable, esp. in light of our faults
• Paul understands our weakness in really grabbing hold of this.
• In response, he prays that we may have the strength to understand the extent of God’s love
• 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Eph. 3:14-19 ESV)
• As a result of God’s activity in us, our lives should be different.
• We are called to the work of ministry
• Our ministry calling is done in, with, and for the church.
• Do you see the flow here?
• In his infinite Glory, God has given us abundant Grace, which leads to Mission (Chapell)
• Indicative -> Imperative
• Who we are leads to what we do (not the other way around)
• You are redeemed by his grace (we certainly don’t deserve it!)
• You are saints
• And AS SAINTS, now go live in light of that!
• STORY: discussing my love for my kids which leads to certain kinds of behavior
• In telling my wife about this sermon and my desire to communicate the tremendous love of God that defines and compels us to ministry, she said:
• “Doesn’t sound like much of a ‘sinners in the hands of an angry God’ sermon.” She’s right!
• In contrast, the message to you is that you are “Saints in the arms of loving, gracious, and glorious God.”
• And as beloved children of God, we are called to live in light of that.

2. Ministers Who are Called

• As Christians, we are called to be ministers
• It doesn’t matter where you work, what you wear, how old you are, what you weigh, if you’re pretty, if you’re a man or a woman, if you have disabilities…doesn’t matter!
• It’s not an option – we have to do this
• Naturally, this is where pushback happens
• “Holy” reasons:
• Lack of experience: I’m a new Christian. What can I offer?
• Lack of training: I never went to Bible college or seminary.
• Lack of confidence: I don’t want to make mistakes.
• “Less-Holy” reasons:
• I’m too busy to get involved in more church stuff
• If I keep my head down, someone else will surely do it.
• I just really don’t want to; ministry sounds so messy.
• I won’t be good at it.
• ((For the very honest)): I’m too lazy; sounds like a lot of work.
• And you know what, you’ve been set up to feel this way (2 reasons):
• Reason 1: The history of the church has wrongly produced a division of clergy and laity where the clergy lead and do ministry while the people are docile, except to support clergy financially.
• Papal Encyclical Letter from 1906: “As for the masses, they have no other right than of letting themselves be led, and of following their pastors as a docile flock…The Church rests on its Bishops and that all its acts are ruled by them.”
• Reason 2: For generations, the English Bible KJV had a punctuation mistake
• There was a comma after “saints” in v. 12.
• If you read it this way, then it becomes the responsibility of the pastors, teachers, and others to do all the work mentioned here:
• Equip the saints
• The work of ministry
• Build up the body of Christ
• In short, the professionals have to do it all
• But, this isn’t the most natural reading, nor is it the view of scholars
• Nor should the church function this way
• In short, Pastors equip you, and you (saints) go on to minister
• We’ve seen that Saints are called, but what does being “called to minister” look like?
• First, we must recognize that as saints, we are chosen. (= the indicative)
• Ephesians begins (1:4, 5, and 11) by telling us we are predestined
• Chosen from the foundation of the world
• Predestined to be sons and daughters
• According to His purpose
• We are inextricably involved in the plans of God
• We’re not given the opportunity to ignore this
• Second, we must remember that ministry is defined in terms of service (= the imperative)
• The word “ministry” is actually “diakonias” in Greek
• From which we get the term “deacon”
• Means to serve or to minister
• In other words, we’re chosen to minister by, serving the body of Christ
• I mentioned earlier the quote that Ephesians is a drama that portrays the powerful, reality-altering, cosmos-transforming acts of God in Christ to redeem God’s world and save God’s people for the glory of his name.
• So, if we’re chosen to serve in a role in this drama, what is it?
• Ephesians 1:17-20 tells us:
• 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places
• Paul is praying that through God’s power we might see what we’re naturally blind to:
• A new vision of our calling as Saints
• We must resist the familiar categories we as Christians can fall into:
• Duty/Obligation? – pray, read the Bible, tithe, volunteer?
• Or is it the opposite?
• Liberation? – freedom from sin, oppression, addiction?
• Emotion? – worship, experience forgiveness, feel near to God?
• Communal/Cultural? – worship services, small groups, handbell choir?
• These aren’t necessarily bad, but they fall short of what Paul is describing here
• So then, what is this new vision?
• To paraphrase Paul, it’s a mind-blowing, all consuming, intimate transformation of our lives to God, with God, and for God.
• When we remember that as saints we have received:
• The immeasurable greatness of his power
• The riches of His glorious inheritance
• And the immeasurable, mind-blowing greatness of his love…
• …Suddenly, normal day-to-day Christianity looks different
• Everything changes as that power and love that defines us (indicative) now flows through us (imperative).
• Selfishness gives way to generosity
• Feelings of inadequacy are crushed by God’s love and proclamation that we are His.
• Personal weaknesses are replaced by God’s power
• Christian “duty” transforms to “opportunity”
• Complacency gives way to a call to action
• Putting the picture together, we are saints who are called to ministry and service, but how?
• We are equipped to this ministry by the gifts (v. 8) God gives us (v. 11): Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.
• Where do we see these “gifts”?
• So, first and foremost, the gift of scripture builds us up.
• Want to know the best source of training from the “apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers” (v. 12)?
• The Bible.
• Acts 10:32 – Paul leaves the Ephesian church, commending them to God and Scripture, “which is able to build you up”
• Second, God has gifted you with unique talents and abilities for the purpose of building up and edifying the body of Christ.
• Not sure what yours is?
• Here are some suggestions:
• Study what scripture says about spiritual gifts
• Pray, remembering God gave us a spirit of wisdom and discernment
• Be introspective: what’s your own assessment of your gifts?
• What do you enjoy doing?
• What sorts of things are you good at?
• Ask others who know you well what they see as your gifts
• Understand your gifts are to be used for the body of Christ
• Third, you have the gift of wonderful pastors and Christian leaders
• You’ve been blessed with a tremendous leadership team here
• Josh Hanson, Robert Tansill, and the rest of the team do a wonderful job of equipping you for ministry work
• Finally, you have the gift of teachers who want to see your ministry work flourish
• This is where I’m so excited for Knox to be in dialogue with Gateway Church
• In addition to the tremendous teaching here, Knox Seminary has resources we want to provide
• In fact, my vision as President of Knox derives from today’s passage
• We want to be a resource in, with, and for the church.
• Knox is different from the traditional seminary model
• Most seminaries require students to uproot from their context and leave their church and existing ministry work.
• They must pull kids out of school, sell their home, and relocate in order to get a degree.
• Their training is also divorced from the context in which they are called to serve.
• This training also typically focuses only on future pastors.
• This process is costly: churches lose their leaders while students and their families pay a hefty price not just financially, but relationally.
• This cost is so great that many would-be seminarians simply choose not to pursue theological education.
• This is fundamentally backwards from the way things ought to work
• It doesn’t have to be this way.
• At Knox, rather than making ourselves the focal point, rather than delaying and disrupting ministry work, we are committed to service in the church, with the church, and for the church.
• We believe students should be able to stay where God has already called them, whether that is here in Findlay, in South Florida, Spokane, Singapore, or South Africa.
• We believe students thrive when they are able to integrate their education with their current ministry context.
• We believe church and ministry leaders should be involved in the spiritual and pastoral maturation of the students.
• And lastly, we believe seminary education is not just for church leaders, but for all of the saints of God.
• Some of our students and alumni are pursuing pastoral roles.
• Others have callings as teachers, Bible study leaders, plumbers, writers, and even former professional athletes.
• I invite you to look into our certificate and degree programs
• The point here is this:
• Christian ministry is the priority for all of God’s saints, growing, learning, and maturing together in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
• This brings us to the final point

3. Ministers are Effective

• What is God’s purpose for His church through the ministry and service of His saints?
• We see this in verses 13-16
• 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
• Unity among Christ’s people
• Christlikeness – becoming more and more like Christ
• Building one another up in love
• Paul uses these to portray the image of the growth of the body of Christ.
• How is that achieved?
• Primarily, we see it is through speaking the truth in love (v. 15)
• In my case, someone should have told me I had no business joining the handbell choir
• But note that you can’t have one without the other:
• Truth and Love must go together.
• Truth without love is “bitter orthodoxy” (James Boice).
• This is not a license to use truth as a weapon:
• “Good! I’ve been meaning to tell my friend Susan how wrong she was. Someone needs to put her in her place, and now a seminary president and Ephesians tells me that person is me!” – NO.
• We are reminded just a few verses earlier (v. 3) that we are to maintain unity in the bond of peace.
• Love without truth is shallow.
• It leads to an immature church concerned more with feelings than growth in Christ
• “I think someone should talk with that deacon about his behavior, but I’m called to love him, not upset him, so I won’t say anything.” – NO
• So, what does this fusion of truth and love look like in the body of Christ – the church?
• The translation isn’t ideal
• It’s not just “speaking truth,” as though it only happens via words.
• Rather, truth here is a participle
• Thus, we’re called to be “truthing it in love.” – J.M. Boice
• Not just in our words, but in our behavior
• We’ve already been given a tremendous example in Christ’s relationship with his church, haven’t we?
• Truth is, we were dead in our sins
• Yet, Christ has lovingly made us alive with him!
• Truth is, we can’t earn God’s love.
• Yet, the full force of God’s immeasurable loves is crashing upon us and all around us.
• Truth is, we’re incapable of being effective ministers on our own.
• Yet, in His love God has given us the gifts of pastors, teachers, and evangelists to equip us.
• Why? – for building up and maturing the body of Christ
• The picture Paul paints is one of believers working together, serving one another, and relating to each other in healthy, growing ways
• Here we find the very difficult but extremely rewarding reality
• Relationship growth requires trust
• Trust requires vulnerability
• Vulnerability requires humility & honesty (truthing it)
• Brené Brown gave one of the most popular Ted Talks of all time (+52M views)
• Her topic: Vulnerability
• Her point:
• We all desire connection – it gives our lives purpose
• But what destroys that connection most is shame
• Shame is the fear of losing connection
• Shame makes us feel unworthy of connection/love
• Shame is the voice that tempts us to believe:
• “I’m not good enough” (as a father, employee, minister, friend, neighbor)
• “I’m a total fraud; if anyone ever found out who I really am, they’d walk away”
• Do you ever feel this
• In making these claims, we’re canceling everything we know to be true of us as saints
• As Saints who are robed in Christ’s righteousness, we must not be ashamed.
• But we can and do feel guilt
• Quick note: Shame ≠ Guilt
• Shame makes us think we can deal with our brokenness privately, painlessly
• Guilt drives us to the cross, where Christ meets us in our vulnerability
• Want to know how to be effective in ministry?
• “Truthing it” in love / ministry begins with vulnerability, humility, and honesty
• These are essential aspects of any relationship
• Effectiveness is not about being the best
• It’s not about being perfect
• Effective ministry is only possible because of what Christ has done in us.
• What has he done?
• Redeemed and restored our brokenness.

<<Closing Story>>

• A number of years ago, it seemed my life was falling completely apart
• Unconfessed sin had become so toxic in my life, but eventually it came out
• I watched as friends and family looked at me as though they had no idea who I was
• My marriage seemed like it was surely over
• I was terrified that I would lose all my closest relationships
• I was staying at a friend’s house – he’s about 15 years older than me
• Want to know what “Truthing It” in ministry looks like?
• Here was a Godly man – loves Jesus
• Has shared his own story of pain, failure, and brokenness
• With many tears, he also shared his story of God’s redemptive work in his life
• Then he said to me, “Scotty, God is going to use this story in your ministry and for His glory.”
• Me: You’re crazy.
• How could this story of secret sins and total failure as a child of God be used for ministry?
• But you know what? He was right.
• God has used this experience to meet other believers in the loneliness and darkness of their brokenness
• He has also redeemed my marriage and relationships so that I can declare and demonstrate the Good News of His gospel.
• What’s your story?
• Have you seen the all-consuming, intimate transformation of your life by God?
• If so, where might your story serve Christ’s people?
• Where do you see the Gospel redeeming brokenness in and around you over and over again?
• How has he gifted you to declare and demonstrate that Good News to a world in need?

I wonder how God will use you and your story as part of your calling as a minister of God’s word

Let’s pray.