Ephesians 4:11-12 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the EQUIPPING of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.
When Jesus ascended to heaven, it is the wisdom of God that He distributed the gifts to the body of Christ and not allowed it to rest solely on an individual. If all the gifts rested solely on an individual then there would be a tendency for us to “hero worship” the person. It runs contrary to God’s instruction not to worship idols including an individual. It would cause the person to fall from grace very quickly because of pride.
The role of the fivefold ministry (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers) is mainly to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.
Once you are trained and equipped then you are able to do the work of the ministry that’s assigned to you by the Lord in the various spheres of influence including the family sphere. When all of us are contributing with our gifts THEN THE BODY IS EDIFIED. There is going to be no edification of the body when the body is not working together or worst still embroiled in schism.
Ephesians 4:16 From whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
The key is when every part does its share then it will cause the body to grow. Many churches reported to have maximum 20% of the members serving while 80% were busy with other commitments. As a result, you will hear of members being burnt out and the church suffers as a result of it.
Therefore many of the churches suffer, stagnate or even die of natural death because it has an aged population in the congregation or the different parts of the body is not contributing to her growth.
Sermon Series: CG Campaign – Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow (Part 3)
齐心协力建立基督的身体
教会向世人展示的最有力的见证之一是我们出于对 神和彼此的爱，合一地工作的能力。我们都知道，当基督的身体不能像一个肢体那样运作时，要完成很多事情是非常困难的。 我们需要转变这样一个思想就是：教会只是我们主日的时候作礼拜的地方，之后就与我无关了。教会是一个集体，被呼召来敬拜 神，并使人认识祂。
以弗所书4:11-12他所赐的，有使徒，有先知，有传福音的，有牧师和教师，为要成全圣徒，各尽其职，建立基督的身体，
当耶稣升天的时候， 神的智慧是祂把恩赐分配到基督的各个肢体，不让它仅仅停留在一个人身上。如果所有的恩赐都只属于一个人，那么我们就会倾向于“英雄崇拜”这个人。这违背了 神的旨意，不要崇拜包括个人在内的任何偶像。它会使人很快因为骄傲而堕落。
五重职事（使徒、先知、传福音的、牧师和教师）的作用主要是装备圣徒，各尽其职。
一旦你受过训练，装备齐全，你就能够在各个你影响力所及的范围内，包括家庭范围内完成 神分配给你的服事。当我们所有人都用我们的恩赐服事时，肢体就得到建立。当肢体各自为政，或者最糟糕的是仍深陷分裂时，肢体就不会得到建造。
以弗所书4:16 全身都靠他联络得合式，百节各按各职，照着各体的功用彼此相助，便叫身体渐渐增长，在爱中建立自己。
关键是当各体各司其职，就会使肢体成长。许多教会的报告显示最多有20%的会友在服事，而80%则忙于其他的事。因此，你会听到会友忙到筋疲力尽，教会因此而受苦。
所以，许多教会受苦、停滞不前，甚至因为会众的老化，或者身体不同的部位对它的成长没有贡献而自然死亡。
讲道系列：细胞小组活动 – 教会通过属灵恩赐得以成长 (3)