This week we continue the study of the purpose of equipping ministries listed in Ephesians 4:11 with what must be considered one of the most amazing verses in the Scriptures, Ephesians 4:13. It states that these ministries are given: “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ.”
I greatly appreciate the renewal movements and revivals that have arisen in such places as Toronto and Pensacola. People from all over the world will flock to a church if it seems the Holy Spirit is moving there in a special way. It is encouraging that so many people would be that hungry for God to do this. However, have you ever heard of people flocking to a church anywhere on the earth because it had “attained to the stature of the fulness of Christ?” Such a thing seems wildly presumptuous and incomprehensible, but that is what every congregation on earth should be seeking. In fact, it is the only biblical measure of a truly mature church.
This also means that anyone who argues that apostles and prophets are not for today have not read this verse, which clearly states that all of the ministries are given “until” we come to the measure of the stature that belongs to the very fulness of Christ. If we have not attained this yet, which no one disputes, we still need these ministries.
This is also how we measure the true effectiveness of any ministry—are the people that we are ministering to 1) growing in unity with the rest of the body, 2) growing in the knowledge of the Son of God, 3) becoming mature in stature into the very fullness of Christ? There is no way this can be accomplished through mere human effort, which was why the Lord said in the beginning that He would build His church. Only the Holy Spirit working through us can fulfill the true purpose of ministry. This is the reason why the Holy Spirit was given to the church. If this is true, why do we tend to measure the success of ministries by the projects they produce rather than by how the people they are ministering to are growing up into Christ?
The most important question that any ministry must ask (whether they are the leader of a denomination or the leader of a home group) is: are the people we are ministering to becoming more Christlike?
What does the “measure of the stature which belongs to Christ” look like? It is simply to be like Him and do the works that He did. When the Lord walked the earth He was the composite of all of the gifts of the Spirit and all of the ministries listed in Ephesians 4:11. Since He ascended and gave these gifts to men, we have many people who are given different aspects of the ministry of Christ. Therefore we must come together to manifest “the fullness of Christ.” The Lord has composed His body so that we will all need each other. That is why these ministries are given “until we all,” attain to this, not just until some attain. Therefore, for any of us to fulfill our purpose we must be joined to each other, which is probably why “the unity of the faith” is listed first in this verse. So the first thing we could look for in a church, which is on track to fulfill its true purpose, is that it is growing in unity. This is certainly one reason why the Lord devoted so much of the greatest and most comprehensive prayer that He prayed on the earth to the unity of His people.
The next thing we could look for, which is related to the first, is for each one called to grow up into the character of Christ, which is manifested by the fruit of the Spirit. This of course is the basis of any true unity, but it is for more than unity—it is so we can reveal the Lord’s heart and ways to the world. We must always keep in mind that the Father’s message to the world is His Son. His message to the world through us is the manifestation of His Son in us.
The church was given all of the gifts, ministries, and character of Christ as demonstrated by the fruit of the Spirit to do this. The gifts and ministries are distributed to the different members, but together each congregation should be growing toward being able to do everything the Lord did when He walked the earth. Those with gifts of healing should be growing in their gift until they walk in the fullness of what He walked in. We should hear of those who are able to heal all who come to them just as Jesus did at times. Ultimately, the church will be a place where everyone who has a disease that is beyond the medical professions’ ability to deal with will go to the church to be healed. Those who have the gift of miracles should be growing in the same way, and we should hear of them multiplying food like Jesus did, calming storms, even walking on water, and stopping natural disasters. Prophets will attain to such a credibility that world leaders beat a path to their door seeking their help.
Does this sound too far fetched? To some it will not, and they will pursue it until they attain it. The church at the end of the age will become all that the church was called to be, and the whole world will stand in awe of it just as it did when Jesus walked the earth. At that time no one will be measuring the effectiveness of their ministry by the buildings and other projects they have raised up, but by the Christlikeness and divinely powerful weapons that she has been trusted with.
