I. BIBLICAL VIEW OF CHURCH ORDER.

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1 INTRO: The theme of this section is the Unity of the Church, and the Apostle Paul is also careful to explain that unity does not imply a mechanical sameness, but a unity in diversity. In verse 7, we have a glorious statement by the Apostle Paul, and instead of going right into the gifts that Jesus gives, He explains how He is in a position to give these gifts in verses In this section, the Apostle Paul begins to work out this principle of Unity in Diversity in the life and the activity of the Christian Church. I believe that this is an essential topic today because there are 2 dangers to the Church today: 1) Go beyond the Scripture and impose some institutional, rigid, mechanical system upon the Church (i.e. Institutionalized Organization); 2) In our fear of doing so, we have no system at all (i.e. Disorganization). I. BIBLICAL VIEW OF CHURCH ORDER. A. Christ ALONE is the Head of the Church. B. The Church consists of members, EACH ONE having a function under the Head. 1. Cf. 1 Corinthians 12 a. NOTE: One of the fatal tendencies of many people in the Church today is to view their role as that of being passive. b. KEY: You are all called to be ACTIVELY involved in the ministry! (Ephesians 4:12) C. Christ HIMSELF gives each of us a particular place in the Body. 1. The Lord CALLS each of us to a Particular Ministry. (v. 12) 1 of 10 a. Cf. Ephesians 4:7-8, 11 - But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of

2 Christ. and gave gifts unto men.... And He gave some 1) Cf. Jeremiah 1:4-10; John 15:16; Romans 11:29; 12:4; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 7:17; 1 Peter 4:10-11 b. The Importance of THE CALL to Your Particular Ministry (v. 7): 1) The Bible always places great emphasis upon the special Call and presents this as the basis for the ministry that follows. a) Q = What does that mean to be called? i. Definition: God s call is an inner conviction given by the Holy Spirit and confirmed by the Word of God and the body of Christ. ii. In other words, you sense that the Holy Spirit is putting that desire in your heart, and it will be confirmed by the qualifications in the Word, and those in the Church will see the evidence of God s call in your life. 2) We don t call ourselves to a particular ministry. a) In other words, we don t decide to do this or that in the ministry. The Lord does that. i. One of the most frustrating experiences is to try and be something that God has not called you to be. 2 of 10

3 b) Cf. Matthew 9: Jesus said, Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into his harvest. c) Cf. Jeremiah 1:4-8 - Jeremiah was called as a very young man. d) Cf. Acts 13:1-4 - Paul and Barnabas were called by the Holy Spirit to go on a specific mission. e) Cf. 1 Corinthians 12:11 - But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will. f) Cf. Galatians 1:1 - Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) i. Sadly, one of the downfalls in Church History is when men entered the ministry as a profession. ii. I grew up in a denomination where the pastor came to a specific church because he got the call to pastor that church. a. I remember asking my mom what that meant because I was fascinated in the idea that God could actually speak to someone, and she said that the denomination and church board 3 of 10

4 called him to that church. I was confused. ( God didn t speak to him then? ) g) Cf. 1 Timothy 1:18, 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6 - Timothy was called by the Lord through a prophetic word while the elders laid hands on him. 3) The Need is not necessarily the Call. a) The Lord may call us to do something because of a certain need, but the need cannot be the Call. b) My wife is not called to Children s Ministry, but she has done it to fill a need. The problem is that there have been times where she has been burnt out and wanting to quit! i. There are times we need to sacrifice and serve to help out, but it is imperative that we sense a call for sustained strength in a particular ministry. 4) The Church alone does not give the Call. a) I don t want to encourage anybody to be in a particular ministry because: i. That s not my place, but the Lord s. ii. I wouldn t want people to feel obligated to do something because I asked them. That can lead to disaster! 4 of 10

5 b) The Bible clearly states that Jesus is the One who calls, yet it also says that the Call of an individual must be tested! 1 i. If someone feels called to a particular ministry, then he/she should come to the Church, and then the Church should consider it. a. In Acts 6 and the Pastoral Epistles (1 & 2 Timothy, Titus), we have the rules and regulations with regard to elders and deacons. i. The Church is to apply these tests to any candidate. ii. KEY: It is imperative that the Church does this correctly, being led by the Spirit and the Word. a. There have been those that have been called by God where the Church was wrong in their assessment. i. George Whitefield and the Wesley brothers were not recognized by the Church of England, but they had powerful ministries that showed the call of God. 1 Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Christians Unity, An Exposition of Ephesians 4:1 to 16, p of 10

6 6 of 10 ii. iii. iv. William Carey, when he was a newly ordained minister, was at a Baptist leaders meeting in the 1700s, and he was speaking of the value of oversees missions. He was abruptly interrupted by an older minister who said, Young man, sit down! You are an enthusiast. When God pleases to convert the heathen, he'll do it without consulting you or me. However, he went as a man called by God and became known as the Father of Modern Missions. Gladys Aylward was rejected by the China Inland Mission as being too old to learn Chinese and not quite sharp enough (she wasn t very educated). She ended up moving to China with her own finances, and there are miraculous stories of God s provision and blessing her ministry to the Chinese people. David Livingstone was denied at first because he was shy and not well spoken (he grew up as a

7 factory worker so didn t make a good first impression), but an older guy on the board saw his heart for God and his character, and persuaded the others to change their minds. II. AND HE HIMSELF GAVE SOME A. There Is A DIVINE ORDER within the Church that was established by Jesus Christ. 1. We are all equal as believers, yet we all have different functions and responsibilities. a. Cf. 1 Corinthians 12: Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. b. Illust. - A husband and wife are equal before the Lord, yet they have different functions and responsibilities before God. There is a Divine order, though equal in standing. 2. There are 2 Extreme Dangers that I see in the Church today: 7 of 10

8 a. EXALTING of Church Leadership. 1) We should never exalt the instrument, only the One who uses the instrument. a) Cf. 1 Corinthains 3:5-7 - Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 2) To be real, some pastors and leaders have fallen and deviated their church. They have: a) Abused their power. b) Fallen into grievous sin. c) Mishandled money. d) Mishandled serious situations. 3) However, that should not cause us to swing the pendulum all the way to the other side and distrust all leadership. We need to have a Biblically balanced view of leadership. And that s why it s so important that we have leaders of godly character! 4) There have been some godly men in my life that I highly respect and want to emulate in my ministry, yet I recognize that they are just sinful men that have been used by God. 8 of 10

9 a) I m so thankful that God doesn t only use perfect people, otherwise he couldn t use me! b. DISRESPECTING & DISHONORING of Church Leadership. 1) Cf. 1 Thessalonians 5: And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves. 2) Cf. 1 Timothy 5: Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward. 3) Cf. Hebrews 13:7 - Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. B. The Purpose of Church Leadership is to EQUIP the Church For the Work of the Ministry. (v. 12) 1. There are LEADERS, and there are FOLLOWERS. That is how Christ established it. a. Cf. Revelation 2:15 - Jesus rebuked the church of Pergamos when He said, So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 9 of 10

10 1) Nicolaitans - not Neapolitans (that s ice cream!) a) From 2 Greek words: nikao ( overcome; conquer ) and laos ( laity; people ), thus to overcome or conquer the people. b. NOTE: Jesus hates the establishment of a religious hierarchy and the ruling over the laity with a priesthood! c. KEY: However, He Himself also established an ORDER and STRUCTURE within the Church. There is a Church Government that has been established by the Lord Himself. 1) Martyn Lloyd-Jones: It is very wrong for any Christians to say that they do not bother about these matters [Doctrine], that they are simply evangelicals who are concerned only about saving souls. We have no right to dissociate ourselves from the Church, no right to ignore the teaching of the Scripture. You may imagine you are being very spiritual in so doing, but actually you are failing to submit yourself to the Word of God. We have no right to remain babes; we are to grow, as the Apostle will remind us. It is those who pose as being unusually spiritual, and who cannot be bothered with these things, who, as the Apostle says, are most liable to be carried about with every wind of doctrine and find themselves eventually in positions which they never imagined for a moment would ever become true of them. 2 2 Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Christians Unity, An Exposition of Ephesians 4:1 to 16, p of 10