When I first started attending church, it wasn’t unusual to see a sign out the front of a church with the name of the church, and “the minister” and details of how to connect with the church. I gradually assumed from this that the “minister” was responsible for much of the running of the church with the assistance of a team of helpers and a number of spectators who regularly attended the church services.
I now know differently, with thanks to Pastor Ray Stedman who wrote a book entitled, Body Life, and then came to visit my city to share God’s design for the church, the body of Jesus Christ.
I was stirred by his teaching and grew to realise that every Christian is a minister entrusted with spiritual gifts which need to be discovered and developed and used not only in the life of the church but in the worldwide community beyond. Consequently, I grew to understand that there is to be no unemployment in the church.
Ray Stedman wrote, “We desperately need to return to the dynamic of the early church. We can no longer defend our traditions which leave no room for the original strategy. Pastors must restore to the people (ministers) the ministry that was taken from them with the best intentions. The work of the ministry belongs to the entire body of believers. Paul explained how the church was to function when he wrote to the Ephesians. ‘He (Jesus) makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.’ Ephesians 4:16”
Ray Stedman explains, “The entire body has received gifts from the Spirit, and it is the task of the leaders to encourage the entire body to use their gifts. When we have given all Christians in the body their God-given role as ministers of God’s eternal plan, their lives are changed. And the church begins to make a difference again.”
As I discovered my gifts and began to use them and teach others how they could discover and use their gifts, I became aware that the life of Jesus was now no longer being manifest through one body limited to one place on earth, but through His widespread body called the church.
I remember speaking in church one day of how I could step outside and encourage a stranger to come into the church building. I could take this person to the front of the church and say, “Look around at all these people, this is (the living body of) Jesus Christ in our city. Every person you see is gifted in some way to continue the ministry that Jesus started so many years ago.”
Peter wrote, “God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God Himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to Him forever and ever.” Peter 4:10-11
I remember a time when I received a painful injury to my leg while playing sport. For a few nights I could not get to sleep because my painful leg kept the rest of my body awake, so each part kept my leg company. And so it is, with the body of Christ. That’s why Paul could write, “If one part (of the body) suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.” 1 Corinthians 12:26
I hope that you have made the wonderful discovery that every Christian is a minister. There is no room for private Christians who stay at home to watch a church service on television or unemployed Christians who don’t care to discover their spiritual gifts and use them to serve and bless others.
“Now you are the body of Christ and each one of you is a part of it.” 1 Corinthians 12:27
And remember, you all are ministers. To make the point, I designed a Certificate of Ordination which I gave to the people in my church when I ordained all of them in a memorable church service. It read…………
Because you are a member of the Body of Christ and because you have been given spiritual gifts in order that the ministry of Jesus might continue in the world today,
You are hereby ordained for ministry as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Your purpose is to reveal the life of Jesus in the world,
as you serve in dependence on the Holy Spirit
and in dependence upon each other within the Body of Christ.
If you haven’t discovered your spiritual gifts, follow this link to my article SPIRITUAL GIFTS (2) Guidelines for discovering and using your spiritual gifts,
https://roddentoneng.com.au/spiritual-gifts-2-guidelines-for-discovering-and-using-your-spiritual-gifts/
and form a small group for the purpose of identifying one another’s gifts and discovering how the Lord of the Church has planned for you to use them.