Shepherds – to equip the saints for the work of ministry
As I mentioned in my post “To equip the saints for the work of ministry,” for the next several posts I’m going to consider the work of the gifted individuals listed by Paul in Ephesians 4:11 in equipping Jesus’ followers for doing the hard work of serving others. Remember, in Ephesians 4:12, Paul wrote that this is one of the reasons that Jesus gave these spiritual gifted people. I’ve already written about some ways that some of those spiritually gifted people can equip the saints for the work of ministry: apostles, prophets, and evangelists.
So, in this post, I’m going to consider the fourth gifted group in the list: How do shepherds equip believers for the work of serving others?
Of course, as I said for apostles, prophets, and evangelists, shepherds (and any other follower of Jesus Christ) and build up and encourage their brothers and sisters in Christ in many different ways. But, in this passage, Paul is focusing on the spiritual gifts that God gives to his children through Jesus Christ. So, how does someone gifted as a shepherd prepare the church for works of service because of that gifting?
Now, as we consider the role of shepherds in equipping the saints, we need to remember a couple of things. 1) While Paul connected shepherding and teaching closely (they are actually one “item” in the list – i.e., shepherds-teachers), the fact that he used separate terms shows that there is some difference in the two. So, I’m going to deal with them separately. 2) The term shepherd is the same as the term pastor, but that doesn’t mean that the way the term “pastor” is normally used today is related to the work of “shepherds” in the New Testament. I’m dealing with how shepherds are described in the NT; I’m not dealing with the position / career normally called “pastor” today.
In the New Testament, the metaphorical use of the term “shepherd” is usually in the verbal form (except this one use in Ephesians 4:11), so no one is actually referred to as a “shepherd” by the authors. However, we do know that both Paul and Peter exhorted elders among the church to shepherd others.
Shepherding is related to caring for others, and since it’s almost impossible to separate the different aspects in the New Testament, it would include both physical and spiritual care.
So, when shepherds equip the saints, they do so by helping them notice the needs of others, and by helping them actually care for others. Perhaps the most important aspect here is empathy… actually being interested in other people, especially those who are in need. Of course, this is often dirty work, so much encouragement may be needed to help others understand how important this kind of care and concern is to God and for the benefit of others.
Here’s a great example of encouraging others to be “shepherds”:
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:1-4 ESV)
Have you ever helped your brothers and sisters in Christ to shepherd others? Have you ever been equipped by shepherds to care for others?
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Series: To Equip the Saints for the Work of Ministry
Evangelists – to equip the saints for the work of ministry
As I mentioned in my post “To equip the saints for the work of ministry,” for the next several posts I’m going to consider the work of the gifted individuals listed by Paul in Ephesians 4:11 in equipping Jesus’ followers for doing the hard work of serving others. Remember, in Ephesians 4:12, Paul wrote that this is one of the reasons that Jesus gave these spiritual gifted people. I’ve already written about some ways that some of those spiritually gifted people can equip the saints for the work of ministry: apostles and prophets.
So, in this post, I’m going to consider the third gifted group in the list: How do evangelists equip believers for the work of serving others?
As I said when discussing apostles and prophets, those who are spiritually gifted as evangelists can equip and edify the church in many, many different ways (as can all followers of Jesus Christ). But, the question is, since Paul is talking about spiritual gifts in that passage in Ephesians, what is it about the spiritual gift of evangelism that helps evangelists equip their brothers and sisters in Christ to do the hard work of serving others?
A few people are identified as evangelists in the New Testament, but (as with the other terms for spiritual gifts and spiritually gifted people), the term itself is not defined, nor do the authors of Scripture explain what they mean by an “evangelist.” However, this may be one of the easiest terms to understand.
The term “evangelist” refers to one who proclaim “good news,” and in the context of the New Testament, that “good news” refers to our new relationship with God in Jesus Christ (and everything that includes). Interestingly, as I’ve studied the proclamation of the gospel in the New Testament (either from Jesus, or Peter, or Paul, or others), the proclamation is usually very short (sometimes just a sentence), the proclamation often raises more questions that it answers (in other words, they don’t try to explain everything at once), and the proclamation are usually different from one another (perhaps based on audience).
So, since the evangelists are gifted to proclaim the good news to those who are not yet believers, how do they equip the saints (who are already believers)?
Certainly, evangelists are not the only followers of Jesus who are to proclaim the good news. Thus, those spiritually gifted in evangelism can prepare the saints by helping them learn how to proclaim the gospel as well. They can help people learn how to present the gospel simply as well as help them answer questions. Also, and this may be the most important, evangelists can help people understand when to speak and when to listen.
Are you gifted in evangelism? How do you prepare your brothers and sisters in Christ to serve others? Have you ever been equipped by an evangelist?
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Series: To Equip the Saints for the Work of Ministry
Prophets – to equip the saints for the work of ministry
As I mentioned in my post “To equip the saints for the work of ministry,” for the next several posts I’m going to consider the work of the gifted individuals listed by Paul in Ephesians 4:11 in equipping Jesus’ followers for doing the hard work of serving others. Remember, in Ephesians 4:12, Paul wrote that this is one of the reasons that Jesus gave these spiritual gifted people. I’ve already written about some ways that apostles can equip the saints for the work of ministry.
So, in this post, I’m going to consider the second gifted group in the list: How do prophets equip believers for the work of serving others?
As with apostles (and any other follower of Jesus Christ), prophets can equip and build up the church in many different ways. But, what characteristic about prophets being prophets (i.e., their spiritual gifting) helps them equip believers for serving others?
While several people are identified as prophets in the New Testament, the authors do not define exactly what the term “prophet” means or specifically what “prophets” do. Paul probably tells us the most about prophets in 1 Corinthians 14, especially 1 Corinthians 14:26-32. In those passages we learn that 1) prophets can prepare something ahead of time to share with the church (i.e., “each one has…”), 2) prophecy has something to do with revelation, 3) revelation from God can be impromptu, 4) the Spirit does not force the prophets to speak and at times it’s even good for the prophets NOT to speak (even if the Spirit has revealed something to the prophet), 5) prophets should expect what they say to be judged and considered by others (i.e., they should not think of themselves as always hearing God correctly).
The main aspect of being a prophet that I take from this is that the prophet hears what God is revealing – either directly or through others and either over a period of time or instantaneously.
The prophet, then, can equip the saints to serve others by helping them learn to hear from God and then to trust and to respond to what he’s telling them. Certainly, this would help other prophets, especially less mature prophets or new believers. However, at the same time, it would be beneficial to those who do not have the spiritual gift of prophecy as well, since all can hear from God and all can prophesy.
In that passage above in 1 Corinthians 14, Paul specifically points out that all have the ability to hear revelations from God and to prophesy, even those who do not have the spiritual gift of prophecy:
For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. (1 Corinthians 14:31 ESV)
In the same way, prophets especially should recognize that everything is not necessarily a revelation from God. Thus, they should welcome the discernment of others toward their own prophecies, and can teach others how to be discerning and how to respond graciously to the discernment of others.
As a prophet, have you ever equipped the saints to hear from God and to respond correctly to discernment? Has a prophet ever equipped you in these ways?
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Series: To Equip the Saints for the Work of Ministry
Apostles – to equip the saints for the work of ministry
As I mentioned in my post “To equip the saints for the work of ministry,” for the next several posts I’m going to consider the work of the gifted individuals listed by Paul in Ephesians 4:11 in equipping Jesus’ followers for doing the hard work of serving others. Remember, in Ephesians 4:12, Paul wrote that this is one of the reasons that Jesus gave these spiritual gifted people.
So, to begin with the first gifted group in the list: How do apostles equip believers for the work of serving others?
Obviously, apostles can equip believers in many areas of unity, faith, and maturity. An apostle can help someone learn to love the unlovable or to care for someone who is in need. But, none of this is specifically related to the apostle being an apostle. However, Paul wrote Ephesians 4:11-12 in the context of those spiritual giftings.
What is special about the service of apostles – that is, what makes apostles be apostles? Believe it or not, this term is never defined in the New Testament (much like many of the other terms related to spiritual gifts and spiritual gifted persons). We can only go by the term itself along with what is written concerning various people identified as “apostles” in Scripture.
The term “apostle” literally means “one who is sent” from the verb that means “to send.” In contemporary (to the New Testament) literature, the term was used to refer to an ambassador or diplomat who was sent by someone else (usually a king or government) as a representative. In the New Testament, the common trait among all those who are named “apostles” is that they travel away from their homes. (For this reason, I like the more modern term “itinerant” as a parallel to “apostle.”)
Thus, one of the main traits of an apostle is that he or she travels from place to place with the intentions of continuing to travel to another place. (Note, this is slightly different than someone who travels from one place to a new place, but intends to stay in that new place indefinitely.)
Those gifted as apostles, then, can help others learn to live as those sent by God. Even those of us who do not travel from place to place can still live as sent by God – which we are – to our neighbors, friends, family, coworkers, etc. Apostles certainly can equip other apostles to travel more extensively, but they can also encourage and provide opportunities for “non-apostles” to travel occasionally. (Remember, teachers are not the only ones who teach… The same is true of apostles.)
There is a great example in Scripture of apostles equipping non-apostles:
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. (1 Thessalonians 1:6-8 ESV)
While the believers in Thessaloniki did not continually travel around like Paul and others did, they did learn from the apostles and followed their example by living “sent” to the people of Macedonia and Achaia.
Are you gifted as an apostle? How are you equipping your brothers and sisters to serve others?
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Series: To Equip the Saints for the Work of Ministry
To equip the saints for the work of ministry
One of my favorite passages of Scripture is Ephesians 4:1-16. In that passage, Paul begins writing about the unity of family of God – which is based in the unity of God himself. Out of that unity grows a diversity of types of service, which are all given by God for one purpose: to build up the church. Thus, even our diversity grows out of our unity in God and results in further unity in him.
In the latter half of that passage (Ephesians 4:7-16), Paul focuses on the work that it takes to help the body grow in faith, in unity, and in maturity. He continually points to the fact that this work comes from God as he works through all of his children, not just some of them.
It is interesting to me, then, that many commentators on this passage tend to focus on the list of gifted individuals in Ephesians 4:11. Obviously, that list is important, since Paul included it. (Although, like the other lists of spiritual gifts and spiritually gifted people, I do not think that Paul intended for that last to be exhaustive; instead, I think he listed some examples, again, like he did in the other lists.)
Paul says that those spiritually gifted people in Ephesians 4:11 (and perhaps others, if I’m correct that the list is only a sample) are “to equip the saints for the work of ministry.” (Ephesians 4:12) Now, we know that Paul uses the term “saints” to refer to all who are in Christ and who are, therefore, recipients of his righteousness and holiness (i.e., in the New Testaments, the term “saints” does not refer to special dead people who have been canonized by the Roman Catholic Church or the Eastern Orthodox Church). In fact, Paul had already identified the recipients of this letters as “saints.” (Ephesians 1:1)
Similarly, the term “ministry” is simply another term for “service.” It is not a special kind of service; it is just service. It is not religious service or ordained service; it is service. And, as we see, Paul says that this “service” is “work.”
In other words, those people listed in Ephesians 4:11 are to prepare God’s children (all of God’s children) to do the difficult work of serving others. (Of course, like I said earlier, I think that others besides those listed in Ephesians 4:11 are also supposed to equip the saints for the work of service…)
But, what would it look like for apostles to equip the saints for the work of service? Who should the apostles equip? What service would apostles equip others for? What about prophets? What about evangelists? What about shepherds/pastors? What about teachers? (Yes, in Paul’s list, the last two are connected – i.e., shepherds-teachers – but I’m going to consider them separately in this series.)
For the next few days, I’m going to consider these questions from the perspective of each spiritually gifted person who is listed by Paul in Ephesians 4:11. Hopefully, we’ll be able to help one another as we all work together to prepare each other for works for service.
In the meantime, I’d love to hear your thoughts. What do you think it means “to equip the saints for the work of service”? What would this look like for apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds/teachers?
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Series: To Equip the Saints for the Work of Ministry
Edification: Whenever you come together…
During the last week, I’ve summarized some of my series and posts on the topic of “edification.” For the most part, these series and posts are based on the New Testament, not based on cultural norms or social constructs. About a year and a half ago, I wrote another post on edification called “Whenever you come together.” This post will round out this week of thinking about edification when the church gathers.
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Whenever you come together
The primary focus of this blog – and my primary academic focus over the last few years – is church gatherings. Even more narrowly, I have been asking the following question: “According to the New Testament, why should believers gather together as the church?” (For that reason, just over five years ago, I named this blog “The Assembling of the Church.”)
Obviously, when you begin to study the gathering (or assembling) of the church, many other ecclesiological issues become important, not least of which would be leadership, fellowship, community, spiritual gifts, Lord’s Supper, baptism, and many, many more issues. In fact, a person’s understanding of the nature of God, of Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit will affect the way that person gathers with other believers. And, in reverse, the way a person gathers with other believers demonstrates what that person understands about God, Jesus, the Spirit, salvation, etc. (In fact, the way people gather together often says more about their beliefs than what they state concerning those beliefs.)
In the modern church, you will find two primary reasons given for the church to gather together: 1) worship or 2) evangelism. Both of these fall short of the scriptural evidence. First, according to Paul and other writers in Scripture, every aspect of the life of a child of God is to be worship. Second, since we’re talking about the church (i.e., those who are already God’s children), then evangelism is not needed – they have already been evangelized. (This does not mean that believers should not work together for the express purpose of proclaiming the gospel to unbelievers, but this should not be called a gathering of the church.)
So, according to Scripture, for what purpose should believers gather together?
Paul answers this question very succinctly in 1 Corinthians. Now, when reading this letter, it is clear that the Corinthian church has many problems. Some of those problems surfaced when they gathered together. Paul addressed these issues in 1 Corinthians 14, as part of a longer section in which he addresses spiritual gifts.
However, from a grammatical and discourse standpoint, 1 Corinthians 14 – and especially the last half of the chapter – are the focus of this teaching on spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12-14. Thus, Paul began teaching on spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:1 so that he could get to 1 Corinthians 14:1 and begin instructing them about meeting together.
So, according to Paul, why should believers gather together:
The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up. (1 Corinthians 14:4-5 ESV)
So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church. (1 Corinthians 14:12 ESV)
I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue. (1 Corinthians 14:18-19 ESV)
What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. (1 Corinthians 14:26 ESV)
In each of these passages, Paul continuously and consistently stresses the same point: when you come together as the church, you should seek to build up (edify) one another. Notice that building up others is more important to Paul than manifesting some gift of the Holy Spirit. (He says it’s better not to manifest a gift of the Spirit if that gift only builds up the individual.)
Why is prophesy to be preferred over speaking in tongues (uninterpreted) when the church meets? Is prophesy inherently better than tongues? No, they are both manifestations of the Holy Spirit. But, when the church meets, exercising gifts of the Holy Spirit is not to be our goal. Our goal – our purpose – is to edify one another. So, prophesy is preferred over speaking in tongues when the church meets because the whole church can be edified through prophesy.
These statements are incredible in their scope. Paul says that when gathering with other believers – in fact, any time you are gathered with other believers – you should seek to edify one another, mutually. Paul does not leave an opening from some gatherings of believers in which mutual edification is NOT the purpose. The point of this entire chapter is clear: anytime we are with other believers, it is all of our responsibility to help one another grow in maturity in Jesus Christ. This is not the responsibility of some; it is the responsibility of all.
And, it is in this purpose of gathering together (mutual edification) that we understand Paul’s previous instructions concerning spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12) and love (1 Corinthians 13).
Can we come together for other purposes? Well, sure. We can come together for many different numbers of purposes. But, if we wish to follow the examples, principles, and instructions that we find in Scripture, then we will only come together for the purpose of building one another up.
Who does the work of edification
This week, I’ve been writing some summary posts on the topic of “mutual edification.” This is a very important topic, more important than I realized a few years ago when I first started studying the gathering of the church in the New Testament.
Unfortunately, in the church today, mutual edification has been set aside as a dangerous (perhaps even novel) idea. Instead of seeking to build up one another, Christians today tend to prefer to have professionals (whether academically or formally trained or not) do the work of edification.
In God’s economy, this is not possible. It is impossible for one or a few to do the work of edification.
As a reminder, a few years ago I wrote this definition of edification:
Edification is using words and deeds in the context of familial relationships and fellowship to help one or more followers of Jesus Christ grow in their understanding of Christ, their love for and unity with their brothers and sisters in Christ, and their faithfulness in living like Christ. (See “Who edifies whom?“)
You may notice that much of that definition comes from Ephesians 4:13, which might lead to the following question: Doesn’t that indicate that only those listed in Ephesians 4:11 are responsible for edification? Absolutely not. In fact, it’s impossible to understand Ephesians 4:11-13 as indicating that only those gifted individuals listed in Ephesians 4:11 are responsible for edification when the entire context is taken into consideration.
What do I mean? Well, Paul begins that passage with the unity of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:1-6) and the giftedness of all believers (Ephesians 4:7-10), and he ends the passage with the importance of every brother and sisters working together (stated many different ways) which results in this: “the whole body… makes the body grow so that it builds itself up (‘edification’) in love.” (Ephesians 4:16)
Edification is not the work of one person or even a few people among of the church, regardless of who gifted, intelligent, trained, caring, loving, or godly that person or those people may be.
So, who is responsible for [edification]? To me, the answer is quite simple: If someone is a child of God, saved through the blood of Jesus Christ, indwelled by the Holy Spirit, then that person is responsible for edifying others. There are several passages to help us understand this, both passages that include edification terminology (Romans 14:19, Romans 15:2, 1 Corinthians 14:26, Ephesians 4:16, Ephesians 4:29, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, and Jude 1:20-21) as well as passages that carry the same concept without specifically using “edification” language (Matthew 28:19-20, 2 Corinthians 13:11, Colossians 1:28, Colossians 3:16, 1 Thessalonians 5:14, Hebrews 3:13, Hebrews 10:24-25). (See “Who edifies whom?“)
Are you a brand new disciple of Jesus Christ? Then the Holy Spirit dwells in you, and you have the ability of and the responsibility of helping others follow Jesus Christ. In the same you, you have the responsibility of being edified by others as well.
Have you been following Jesus Christ for many, many years? Then you also have the responsibility of building others up as the Holy Spirit works through you, and you can still be edified others.
Are you a seminary educated follower of Jesus Christ? Then you are to edify others and you are to be edified by others.
Have you never set foot in a seminary classroom? Then you are just as much of the responsibility of an edifier as anyone else, just as you are to be edified by others.
Who edifies whom among the body of Christ? We all edify one another… together.
The connection between edification and theology, Christology, etc.
A few years ago, I became very interested in the church and ecclesiology (i.e., the study of the church). While there were many different ways to study the church (historically or theologically, for example), I wanted to study the church as presented by the authors of the New Testament.
As I read through those writings carefully and as I looked into what they said about the people of God, I learned something extremely important. While we love to categorize and systematize – theology, Christology, soteriology, pneumatology, ecclesiology, etc. – the authors of the New Testament did not separate their writings into those categories. Instead, it was all meshed and merged and smashed together.
For example, a couple of years ago, while studying a particular use of the term “edify” in 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11, I wrote the following:
This passage alone is a good indication that we can’t separation our understanding of soteriology (our understanding of salvation) from our ecclesiology (our understanding of the church). In fact, if we continued to study various passages of Scripture like this, we would find that we cannot separate our understanding of the church from our theology proper (understanding of God), our Christology (understanding of Jesus Christ), our eschatology (understanding of the last days), and any other doctrine. They are all interrelated and interconnected. (See “Salvation as the motivation for mutual edification.”)
In that one passage (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11), you’ll find aspects of theology proper, Christology, soteriology, anthropology, ecclesiology, and perhaps eschatology. In other words, it’s all connected! You can’t have one without the other. If your ecclesiology does not resemble what the authors of the New Testament described, then neither does your theology, Christology, pneumatology, soteriology, etc.
To put this a different way, the way that we respond to one another indicates what we really believe about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, salvation, etc. For example, in a related post, I wrote this:
When we find that we are “at odds” with brothers and sisters in Christ, Paul is saying that we have two choices: 1) we can require that the other(s) yield to our understanding which may lead us to separate ourselves from one another, or 2) we can submit to them and seek their good and their maturity even at our own expense. Paul exhorts us to the second option, which is also the example that we have been given in Jesus Christ. (See “Acceptance and Edification.”)
The way that we interact with other believers with whom we disagree or with whom we are “at odds” is a demonstration of what we really believe about Jesus Christ and our salvation and state in him.
The same could be said for pneumatology (the study of the Holy Spirit). We can say that we believe that the Holy Spirit indwells all of God’s children and the Spirit can work through any and all of his people, but if we refuse them the right to speak and/or interact with one another while they are gathered together – if we teach and act as if only certain people have the right to speak while the church gathers – then we really believe that the Spirit is limited in whom he uses.
We really can’t have it both ways.
So, ecclesiology (including “mutual edification”) is not a separate issue. It’s completely related to our understanding of God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, salvation, justification, etc.
But, what is edification?
Yes, when we gather together with our brothers and sisters in Christ, it is important (necessary, actually) that we all work together in order to edify (or “build up”) one another. This term “edification” is a construction term. The verb “edify” literally points to building a structure, like a house or barn or whatever. So, the term “edification” (as the abstract) refers to the process of constructing a building. (In English, the relationship between the related Greek terms can be seen in the concrete noun “edifice,” the abstract noun “edification,” and the verb “edify.”)
Of course, the term “edification” can also be used in a figurative (i.e., non-literal) sense. This is the way that Paul (and other NT authors) used the term, as in, “Do all things for edification. (1 Corinthians 14:26) (Of course, there are some literal uses of the terms in the NT as well.)
But, what does it mean to “edify” one another figuratively?
A couple of years ago, I wrote this:
So, I often say that when we edify one another, we are helping one another live a more mature life in Jesus Christ. But, even then, we have to ask what it means to live a more mature life in Jesus Christ. I think this is intimately related to the concepts of sanctification and discipleship, but it still doesn’t tell us what it means to edify one another. (See “What is edification? – Introduction.”)
As I explained at the end of that post (linked to above), I believe that edification is best seen and understood in terms of relationships: 1) our relationship with God, 2) our relationship with one another, and 3) our relationship with others.
About our relationship with God:
Our maturity in Christ starts with trusting God – that is, faith. Yes, it is important to know certain facts about God and about Jesus and about the Holy Spirit. But, this alone is not faith. We help one another when we see areas of our individual or corporate lives in which we are not trusting God and then we work toward helping each other trust God more in that area of our lives. (See “What is edification? – Relationship with God.”
About our relationship with one another (other followers of Jesus):
The types of relationships that the church needs cannot be built and matured in scheduled or weekly meetings. Instead, our relationships in Christ are grown in the struggles of life when those struggles are shared with one another. It is in this type of scenario that we truly learn to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. (See “What is edification? – Relationship with One Another.”
About our relationship with others (who do not follow Jesus):
The edification, then, comes in helping one another build more and more relationships with those who are not part of the church. We seek to see each other serving and loving those who are unbelievers. And, our relationships must be authentic, actually caring about the people. Also, the gospel must be central to our relationships. But, there is a big problem if we reject people who reject the gospel. (See “What is edification? – Relationship with Others.”
Can we help one another develop these relationships? Yes, we can. And, this is what Scripture refers to as “edification.” And, we do help one another grow in these relationships – all of these relationships – then we are taking part in “mutual edification” – which is what the authors of the NT indicate should occur whenever we gather together.
It can be beneficial to keep these three relationships in view, because we often shift to one or the other:
Plus, at any time, a group of Christians can tend to shift in one direction or another, neglecting either their relationship with God, with one another, or with others. I think we can use these three aspects as guides. Are we growing in each area? How do we know? What fruit do we see? Is this only individual growth or do we see corporate growth as well? What needs to be adjusted? (See “What is edification? – Conclusion.“
Remembering the Importance of Mutual Edification
Typically, when the church gathers together today, the focus is on something called a “worship service.” We all know what this means: a few people have prepared songs, prayers, and/or a teaching (sermon) that are presented to others. Other are invited to take part in the songs (some of the songs), in a prayer or two occasionally, and in giving money to the church organization (some of which may be used for missions or for those in need).
A few years ago, when I began studying the church in the New Testament (especially when believers gathered together in the New Testament), I noticed something important. The “worship service” of today does not resemble what they did or how they gathered together.
Now, the thing is, this is not a problem as long as the way we gather together is unnecessary to our life in Christ and our growth in him. But, as I continued to study, I found that the things we do (and don’t do) when we get together with other brothers and sisters in Christ is not only important, but is necessary to our growth and maturity in Jesus Christ.
A couple of years ago, I wrote this:
However, just because the authors of Scripture were not concerned with the specific things that happened when the church met together does not mean that they were not concerned with the church gathering together. In fact, I think they were very concerned.
It is correct for us to say that Scripture does not tell us how the church should meet together. It is completely incorrect to say that Scripture does not tell us why the church should meet together. Scripture is very clear on the purpose of the brothers and sisters in Christ gathering together, whenever they gather together. (See “Mutual Edification and the Church: Introduction.”)
There’s a phrase used to describe what believers in the New Testament did when they gathered together: “mutual edification.” There are two important parts to this term. 1) “Mutual” indicates that the entire church – all the people – took part. 2) “Edification” indicates that the goal was growth, maturity, encouragement in Jesus Christ.
In fact, as I studied the New Testament, I found that “mutual edification” when the church gathers was presented by the authors in “examples,” in “principles,” and even in “commands.”
In other words, if the authors of the New Testament were correct (and I think they were), and if we should consider what they wrote to be important (and I think we should), then we should also recognize the importance and necessity of mutual edification whenever we get together with our brothers and sisters in Christ. When? Like Paul wrote, “Whenever you come together…” (1 Corinthians 14:26)
I’ll end with this:
We demonstrate our worship to God when we obey him and give ourselves to him. According to Scripture, when the church meets together (that is, whenever two or more disciples of Jesus are together), we worship (that is, we obey God) when we mutually edify one another. (See “Mutual Edification and the Church: Conclusion.”)