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THE K ING ’S BUSINESS
thè ,one purpose o f perfecting the saints unto service and “unto the building up of the body of Christ.” Our Lord’s thought o f the church is that every member o f it ought to be a “minister,” i. e., a server, for the word translated “minister” means “one who serves,” and a soul winner: The leaders are to train the ordinary members for this work. In both the Authorized and Revised Versions the unwarranted comma after saints obscures this thought, which is undoubtedly the thought o f the passage. The Word translated “perfecting” is derived from the verb translated “mending” in Matt. 4:21, and “ restore” in Gal. 6:1. The thought is o f mending something that is rent, or getting a dislocated member into place to do its work. The àaints are often out o f joint and it is the business o f pas tors and teachers and evangelists, etc., to get them into joint and thus fit them for service. In a word, it is the business of the ministry to fit the whole membership of the church for effective service. Sunday, July 28 . Eph. 4 : 13 , 14 . , 1 ‘ f . , Verses 13 to 16 tell us what is to ,be the outcome o f this service on the part of all the members o f the body who have been fitted for that service by prophets, evan gelists, pastors, teachers, etc. The work o f pastors, and teachers, etc., is to go on “until we all attain unto the unity o f the faith, and of the .knowledge o f the Son of God, unto a full grown man, untò the measure o f the stature o f the fullness of Christ: etc.” The unity o f the faith here spoken o f is real unity, oneness of faith in Jesus as the Son of God, and oneness of knowledge o f Him as the Son o f God (cf. John 20:31; 17:3). The “ full grown man” here mentioned has a twofold sig nificance : : full grown as individual believers (as is apparent from the contrast o f v. 14),. and full grown as the one body, this “ one man,” which we all together form. Christ is the “ full grown man :” we are not full grown until all His fullness is seen in us. But what is His fullness ? All the fullness o f God (cf, Co. 2 :9 ).- Who
have given more of their time to pioneer work. Bishops and pastors also did the work o f an evangelist (2 Tim. 4:5 ). It is to be carefully noted that Paul does not say that “he gave some to be pastors and some teachers,’’ but “he gave some to be pastors and teachers.” The thought clearly is that the one man was supposed in God’s order to perform both functions. “ Pastor” means “ shepherd.” As “pastor” it is the elder’s (or “bishop’s) function to “ shep herd the flock” , (cf. John 21:16, R. V .; Acts 20:28, 29, R. V .; 1 Peter 5:2, 3, R. V .). Shepherding the' flock includes the work o f guiding and governing and guarding the flock. As a “teacher” the “pastor” is to systematically instruct the church in the truth o f God. The New Testament lays great emphasis upon the importance o f teaching \(Acts 13:1; 15:35; Rom. 12:7; 1 Cor. 12:28, 29; 1 Tim. 3 :2 ; 2 Tim. 2:24). There is a crying need o f a teaching min istry today to take the place o f an “orating” ministry. Saturday, July 27 . Eph. 4 : 12 . The purpose o f these gifts o f apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, in the church is “ for (with a view to) the perfecting o f the saints,' unto the work of ministering, unto -the building up o f the body o f Christ.” In other words, the lead ers are to fit the whole body of believers, for service, and to fit the whole body to build up the body o f Christ by each one winning new members for that body. As verses 11 and 12 read in the Authorized Version one gets the impression that these various offices, “apostles,” “prophets,” “evangelists,” “pastors and teachers,” exist for a threefold purpose: first, the perfect ing o f the saints; second, “the work o f the ministry,” and third, “the edifying o f the body of.Ch rist;” but by the change of the preposition “ for” into the preposition “unto” ip the last two clauses o f verse 12 we get the correct thought as Paul gave it, and that is, - not that these offices mentioned existed for this threefold purpose given above, but that these offices existed for
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