In a surprising study of Eph 4:7-16, I reversed my earlier understanding of the key role of leaders in the church. I have often taught that leaders are to equip believers, so that believers can serve as the Lord gifts them. However, closer study of this passage reveals that the three prepositional phrases of 4:12 are coordinate, that is that they each describe a purpose that Christ had in giving the gifts of teaching leadership to the church. Christ;s purpose with these leadership gifts is threefold:
1. Leaders should prepare people to grow towards a completer faith, to grow towards maturity. The word καταρτισμὸν which is often translated as ‘equipping’ is difficult to translate but this word in its various forms relates mostly to bringing something to completion.
2. Leaders should be involved in the work of the ministry (ἔργον διακονίας). Paul uses the word for work (ἔργον) often to describe not just general activity by believers, but the more specific activity of his co-workers. In fact, this word seems to be a primary descriptor of those that serve in missionary work and the proclamation of the gospel. Furthermore, the word for service (διακονία, diakonia) is often erroneously translated as lowly service of any kind. Instead, J.Collins and others have demonstrated that it refers to the service renderen to a higher authority in respresenting him and passing a message from him. Thus, Paul uses diakonia often to indicate that he has received God’s revelation and that he now passes it on to the church.
3. Leaders should be involved in the building up of the body. Of course, believers generally should be involved in this as well, but this word too indicates more often than not the involvement of those with teaching gifts in their ministry of the Word in the church.
As if to balance out these specific purposes for teaching church leaders, Paul next gives three phrases to indentify the purposes for all believers in the church, to attain to the unity in the faith, to become a mature believer, and to attain the full stature of Christ.
Looking over the whole passage of 4:7-16, there is a delicate balance between the special responsibilities of the teaching gifts and the general responsibility of all believers. Christ gives gifts to all according to his grace, but only some are apostles, prophets, etc. These leaders have specific responsibilities (v. 12), while all believers have parallel responsibilities (v. 13). This interweaving of various levels of responsibility results in a balanced church, where the whole church (‘we,’ v. 14) remains steadfast even in the face of different teaching, and speaks the truth in love (v. 15).
Finally, in v. 16 these two lines come together to work in a body growing harmoniously towards maturity, with contributions from every part, as well as from all ligaments and joints. Did Paul not know that the body consists of more than just ligaments and joints? Certainly he did. What he does in this verse is to connect the responsibility of every believers, identified as the contribution of every part, with the special responsibilities of leaders, identified as the ‘holding together’ provided by joints and ligaments.
So here’s a question to ponder (if you’ve read this far): how should we (re)define our jobs as church leaders and missionaries? Of course, this presupposes you agree with this interpretation. If not, I’m sure I’ll hear about it in some of the comments.
For further study, see S.H.T. Page, “Whose Ministry? A Re-Appraisal of Ephesians 4:12,” Novum Testamentum 47:1 (2005): 26-46.
In response to some feedback:
Let me be more precise. I understand the Eph. 4 passage to say that the spiritual leadership of the church has as primary responsibilities to lead believers to faith maturity, to serve in the ministry of the Word and thus to build up the body (v. 12). Each individual believer has the responsibility to grow in their knowledge of Christ and thus towards unity, to grow towards faith maturity, and to make Christ more fully visibly in their lives (4:13).
It seems to me that we often use the word ‘equip’ today to refer to the enabling or empowering of another believer to do a particular job in the church (what most Americans mean by ‘coaching’). The way we use the word for ‘training’ also implies that we are training for something specific: a race or a job for instance. But we generally wouldn’t say that we train for maturity. So, although equipping or training is an important aspect of faith maturity, so that good leadership will want to include that, spiritual maturity is much broader than that. In fact, the meaning of the Greek word is more focused on completeness and maturity — as you find in older translations — than it is on the enabling someone to do something.
If we think of leadership as primarily coaches in the sense I just mentioned, than pastors and spiritual leaders become trainers for church jobs. But most of us realize that spiritual leadership is much more than that. The ministry of the Word is much more: it means being dedicated to praying over the Word, studying it in depth, and explaining and applying it in preaching, bible studies and counseling. I understand Paul to be saying that this is the particular responsibility of the spiritual leadership gifts mentioned in 4:11. Thus, 4:12 is not just talking about any kind of service that believers may undertake in the church, but about this particular leadership responsibility. The individual believers find out about their part in maintaining unity in 4:13.
By: Jack on September 18, 2008
at 10:05 pm