[lambsev]

Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Your thoughts please?

[sndbay]

Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Your thoughts please?

Work of the ministry are vessels that teach the Word of God in the fullness of Christ Jesus. Instructed to preach the name of Christ Jesus in peace to everyone.

The edifying of the body of Christ is written in (Eph 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. )

Because as it is written (Eph 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.)

Joined together in unity perfectly, we are quicken with Christ! (Eph 2:5) (Eph 4:13 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 fulness of Christ)


And we Now are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God (Eph 2:19)

Made into the perfect of saints! (As written to make in himself of twain one new man)

This is the belief in One body and One Spirit as written in (Eph 4:4) and as called in One hope.

Eph 4:5-6 One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

[arcura]

sndbay,
I do agree with you about The Ministry.
I done properly it is done well based on what Holy Scripture says.
Peace and kindness,
Fred

[bulksalty]

The greek words translated as the work of the ministry are ergon diakonia
Ergon is defined as business or employment.
Diakonia is literally one who executes commands of others, or a servant.

Diakonia is used in other places in the bible refer to Moses' work or charitable works in general especially feeding others.

I think it's pretty safe to say the work of the ministry is meeting the needs of others, with a little more of an emphasis on physical needs. In the context of that list, it's probably referring to both physical and spiritual ministry or service.

[arcura]

bulksalty,
Thanks for that post.
Peace and kindness,
Fred

[bulksalty]

No problem. The blue letter bible is a great resource for seeing a verse in several translations, concordinances, and original manuscripts. There are also about 40 commentaries there if you want a little wisdom the easy way :)

[arcura]

bulksalty ,
Thanks much,
Fred

[Maggie 3]

The church of Jesus Christ exists for three reasons;
To exalt God, that is, we sing and praise the Lord and offer prayer.
To edify His people, we learn and study God's Word.
To evangelize the unsaved, that is preaching salvation.
The gold of the church is one of maturity, to conform to the Person
Of Jesus Christ. To build up the saints so that they, in turn, will do the work of the ministry. This does not always happen in the church. Good effective ministry can be formed when we are on the job, at school or eating out. Jesus did not spend His life staying in the temple, He was out
Among people, changing the world. We go out in truth, and in Love,
And light, so we will not stumble in the dark.

Love and Blessing, Maggie 3

[arcura]

Maggie 3,
Excellent.
Fred

[pastormaurice]

I think the church has missed the point of this Eph. 4:11. Many churches have taken the position that the work of the ministry is serving the poor and helping in the community, meanwhile they are failing to teach the gospel, which is a direct command of Jesus. Sadly in most churches the only one teaching is the pastors. The people are not trained for the work of the ministry which is the ministry of reconciliation 2 Cor. 5:18. The church collectively was never designed for evangelism to the world but for the edification of the saints, evangelism is the job of the individual (church). Because we have designed the church to reach sinners, the teaching by pastors contain very little theology or doctrine. The subject of hell and sin are almost never heard because we want to be politically correct so the sinner is not offended and will return next Sunday. The people showing up in our congregations don't know what they believe and why they believe it and so evangelism to them is not telling some one about Jesus but about their church and the things events they have going on. We have to shift our focus back to training the people to be teachers of the gospel.

[Curtis Wilson]

The five fold ministry is only to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. It is every saint that has do the work of the ministry themselves, not the pastors, teachers... ect. What is the work of the ministry? The edifying of the body of Christ, which means to build a very large building, not here on earth, but on Mt Zion, the city of the living God were all the Church is gathered togeather! How do we get there? That's the job of the paster, and teacher, to show them how. No, its not after you die, for we have already died on the cross with Christ. It is in the new covenant, a new and living way (highway).
Psa 43:3 O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.
Psa 43:4 Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.

Curtis