"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:" (Ephesians 4:11-12).
Paul wrote this in his letter to the Church at Ephesus. Today we refer to this passage of Scripture as a description of the five-fold ministry. I want you to notice that “HE”, GOD gave these different levels of ministry to the Church, the body of Christ. The reason God gave the ministries listed in verse eleven is described in verse twelve. For the (perfecting; the complete furnishing, to repair, restore, mend and adjust) the saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the (edifying; the architecture or building-up) of the body of Christ. He gave some apostles; we are not all apostles; some prophets; we are not all prophets; some evangelists; we are not all evangelist; and some pastors; we are not all pastors! But when He mentioned teachers, he did not quantify them. That is for the simple reason that we may not all be apostles, prophets, evangelists, or pastors, but we are ALL teachers. It does not matter if you have formal training, or if you have a teacher’s certificate hanging on your wall. It does not matter if you are working in the Sunday School Department, or if you are sitting on a pew. You don’t need to have a license, a title, or a pulpit to be a teacher. Life is your pulpit, and you will earn your title. Wether you want to be or not, we are ALL teachers.
So, what are you teaching? You have students all around you, every day, and every where you go. Life is your classroom, and you are the lead teacher. Are you teaching them that God is the central part of your life, or just an after thought? Are you teaching the person sitting next to you in Church that God is worthy to be praised, at all times, or just when things are going good? Are you teaching your children to be the same way at home as you are at Church? Are you teaching your children to pray, or complain?Your teaching, your life style, is either perfecting (mending, repairing, restoring) the people around you, or it is rending, tearing apart, and destroying the lives of those you come in contact with. Let me make it plain; our lives either lead people to our Savior, Jesus Christ, or drive them away! Paul, in his letter to the Church at Corinth, put it this way: "Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:" (2 Corinthians 3:2).
In other words, your actions are writing a textbook, that others will learn from. Is your life building up the Church, adding to the Church, and perfecting those around you? Are you writing an epistle of faith, hope, love, truth, grace, and mercy? Is your life a testimony that God can use to reach others? Let Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith, tell His story through you. Then you will be a textbook worthy of His approval, and He will give you your title; well done good and faithful servant. "Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart" (2 Cor. 3:3).
In God's Service,
Rev. Mark Rosier Sr.