Mend, Equip, Complete

Ephesians 4:11-12

The next two verses should be read carefully by the believer. Upon contemplative meditation on these verses, it is my hope you will see what the broader opportunities and responsibilities of every saint.

11 And he himself gave some to be apostles, and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

12 for the complete instruction of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of the Christ,... Anderson (HT Anderson New Testament, 1864)

11 και αυτος εδωκεν τους μεν αποστολους τους δε προφητας τους δε ευαγγελιστας τους δε ποιμενας και διδασκαλους 12 προς τον καταρτισμον των αγιων εις εργον διακονιας εις οικοδομην του σωματος του χριστου WHNU

Now we get to the gist of this section, as outlined in verse 7: "And to each of us grace is given, according to the measure of the gift of the Messiah. Murdock". We see an outline not of gifts, but of offices within the body.

11 And he himself gave some to be apostles, and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

The list of verse 11, every thing that "he himself gave" was not a thing, but persons, and this is very clear from the gender of the Greek. These are all in the masculine form, with the article, and plural, pointing to the fact that the list represents people, not gifts themselves. Had the list been about gifts, as in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, the nouns would have taken the feminine form. Of course, such subtleties get lost in the English translation, and give rise to errors in understanding. To be sure, αυτος εδωκεν τους μεν αποστολους τους δε προφητας τους δε ευαγγελιστας τους δε ποιμενας και διδασκαλους points to the fact that Jesus Christ is the One who gave the Body apostles (those who are sent), prophets (those who speak the word of God), evangelists (those whose ministry is predominately proclaiming the Gospel), shepherds) pastors, caretakers of the saints), and teachers (those who instruct in the Way). It is reasonable to presume that each of these people have been gifted by the Holy Spirit to operate in the office Christ Himself has chosen to give them. But this is not the end, it is a means to the end...

12 for the complete instruction of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of the Christ,

And the end is simply and clearly stated in verse 12: προς τον καταρτισμον των αγιων εις εργον διακονιας εις οικοδομην του σωματος του χριστου "toward the mending, equipping, completing of the saints into the work of ministry into the building up of the body of Christ MP". That which I have translated "mending, equipping, completing" is the three-fold meaning of the noun καταρτισμον (accusative form). The preposition which introduces the noun is προς , which means "toward, with, aligned with" which strengthens the idea which is to follow: that those who have been called into the aforementioned offices are to use that which they have been given not as a solo ministry, but "mending, equipping, completing" the saints in each of these areas, so that the saints themselves carry out the work of the ministry, and in doing so also strengthens and builds up (in quality and number) the Body of Christ.

You see, we do not fight wars with generals or specialists; rather, we use such people to prepare each member of the army: soldiers learn to shoot accurately from a specialist in sharpshooting; they learn about the use of explosives from experts in demolition,; they learn about field triage from specialists in combat medicine -- each soldier is expected to develop proficiency in all areas. In the same way, Christ has given specialists to the Body, those gifted in certain areas -- not so they might operate alone or direction operations of the sort in their own name -- to mend, equip, and complete each saint so that each saint is prepared to operate in any of these areas as the Lord calls and gives opportunity. So, you are not gifted (by the Holy Spirit) in evangelism -- you are still expected to evangelize. So, you are not gifted in teaching, you are expected to be able to teach. So, you are not gifted in shepherding, you are expected to care for the saints. Get the picture? Before the church-state of the 4th century, this was well understood. Who started the church in Antioch? Rome? Carthage? No one knows! They were planted by believers who understood Ephesians 4:11-12. How do I know? Look up Acts 8:4. They understood.

I will let you apply these verses to the way our "organized" churches operate today. But I will ask you this: the Scripture is very clear that these offices were given to the ekklesia so that each member of the Body could be well-prepared to carry out the work of the ministry no matter where they were, and to be ready when God provided opportunity. Look at your skill sets as a Christian: have you prepared yourself for anything, any ministry, as He calls?

Grace and peace to you.