Amen. So I was thinking about this. I've been preaching or teaching the word of God now for probably a decade, give or take. Certainly been in ministry now for coming up to nearly nine years, which in the scheme of some people is not a long time. For me, it feels like a long time. And in those years, I've thought about the names that I've been called. And some of the names that I've been called include false teacher, heretic, legalist, Bible basher, Satan's mouthpiece once, that was good. It's one of my favorite ones where I was accused of allowing Satan into the pulpit and being a messenger for him. I've had various different names, but in all those years, very rarely, if ever, have I been called God's gift. But what we're gonna see from our study this morning as we look into the word of God, that pastors, shepherds, are God's gift to the church. Thank you. They've been gifted by God. And Paul goes into this section where he talks about this gifting of those that are to operate within the church and pastors being one of them. And he does it off the back of a section where we're talking about unity. That's what we talked about last Sunday morning, unity. This glorious unity that we're to enter into, that each one of us has to protect and that Christ makes this unity possible in his body, the one body, the church, and the unity is a mirror of the unity of the Godhead bodily, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, diverse yet unified in a way that we cannot fully understand, but the message is God is unified, and that we are to be unified. And then we get into the section where Paul's gonna talk about now Under this unity, he's going to talk about the one who gives the unity, Christ, is also the one that gives these gifts that are to Ed in that unifying project. So this is not distinct from what Paul's talking about. It is in the context of what Paul's talking about. So we're moving from unity, but now Paul is going to go on. and he's gonna show us that this unity is to be brought together by the people because they've been given a measure of grace, but then also by the gifts that God has given to the church, to the body, and part of that responsibility is to be unified and to promote unity within the body as well as the other functions of those roles. And it's Christ who is both the unifier and the one who unifies. He is the one that is the reason and the purpose for the unity because we are in Christ and Christ is one body, the church. But he's also gifted those that are to promote unity within the church body. So it's very Christocentric. And that's what we want to be in our theology in the church age, Christocentric. Now, if you don't know what I mean by that, I mean that Christ is the very center of all things. And when I say all things in the church, I mean all things. I mean everything. He's the centerpiece of it all. That's what Revelation teaches, that he stands in the midst of the churches. He is the central supporting foundation. He is the cornerstone of the very church. Then you have the apostles and the prophets, the foundation built on top of that, but it's Christ who is center to it all. And in Ephesians chapter number four, the unity is central in Christ, he's the central one. And you get into this, these passages, and the giftings are from Christ, so really it's Christ that is unifying as well as the reason why we're to be unified. And as we look at this passage in Ephesians four, it's just Christ in all things, and it's absolutely beautiful, it's glorious. And that's what Ephesians is, it's glorious. Why is it glorious? Because Christ is the very center of it. And he's glorious. He's glorious. I wanna challenge you this morning before we even start. I mean, who is Christ to you? What does he look like to you? What do you think about him? If it's not glorious, That's not the thought that comes into your mind, there's something along those lines when you think about Christ. There's something wrong here because he's glorious. Heaven is crystal centric, Christ is the centerpiece of heaven, he's the centerpiece of the new heavens and the new earth. He's the centerpiece of the church, and he should be the centerpiece of our heart. That's the vision that we should have of Christ, absolutely glorious, supreme, exalted. So we're gonna look at this this morning, and we're gonna see these gifts, this glorious gifting that Christ has given to the church, to the body, again with the theme of unity. And we're gonna see and examine it from really two angles this morning. The first angle I want to have a look at is Christ's gifts to believers. So let's read verse 7. of Ephesians 4, and we'll read to verse 11, and we're thinking about Christ's gifts to believers. Verse seven, but to every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he said, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, gave gifts unto men. Now that he ascended, what is it? But he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth. He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gives some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, and teachers. So this section deals with Christ's gifts to believers. And it starts in verse seven with this wonderful sentence that brings us into this unity, where it says, but unto every one of us, is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. This is a very important truth, especially when it comes to unity. Because here, before we get into these gifted individuals that are gifted to the church, here we talk about grace, charis, this gift that is given to who? Verse seven. Who? Every one of us, Paul's talking, us, he's talking church body. So this unity is grounded in diversity. What do I mean by that? It means that we're all individuals, we're all different. I look out here and I see different faces, different dress senses, Different personalities, different heights, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. We're all completely different. But here's where we're the same. If we're in the body, and we know that to be placed in the body is to receive faith from Christ by repentance, crying upon him, calling upon him. But when we're placed in the body, here's what we're told, every one of us is given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. So there's no haphazard sense to this, but there's also nobody left out. Every one of us is given a measure of grace by the gift of Christ. Again, it's Christocentric, Christ has given it. So with that thought, here's what I want to challenge you on, verse seven. With that thought is diversity. And in that diversity, there is sovereignty. The sovereignty is Christ as the giver. He gives to everyone, but everyone doesn't get the same. We all get, but what Christ has given you may be different than what he's given me. It's all grace. but it's given by the measure of the gift of Christ. He knows what he's doing. So what happens in church, and this is how we protect our unity, we don't divide ourselves over this, when we understand this, we realize that we all have different places and parts in the body of Christ. The danger is that we look and we think, why is that person doing this, and gifted with this, and I'm stuck with this? Why am I not up speaking? Why am I not in leadership? Why am I not called into the ministry to be a pastor? Because it's Christ that gives, and he's sovereign, and he knows best. And he calls who he calls, and he wills who he wills. I was called into the ministry. It wasn't my choice. I can tell you now, it was not my choice. But everybody has something. Everybody. The danger is we start looking at others. Saying, well, Lord, why have you gifted him that and not me? That doesn't come into it. When we understand that it's God that gives these giftings and God that gives the great, we understand that he knows best. And whatever he's given us is enough. And what he has given us, if it's enough and it's from him and he's sovereign, then we're to use it and not worry about what other people have. God's over all. Too often we fall into the narcissistic world where we just think more of ourselves than we ought to. Here's what I know. God has given each one of us a measure of grace to work within the body. The issue is not what he's given us. The issue is, are we using what he's given us? That's where it falls down. So Paul starts this concept of unity, he starts with verse 7 and then we get into verse number 8 and we're going to have a look at when these gifts were given. That's verse number 8 to 10 and really verse 9 and 10 are a little parenthesis section. Verse 8 tells us a little bit about when these gifts were given. So let's have a look at verse number 8 there. Wherefore, he said, when he ascended up on high, he laid captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. I want you to keep your place in Ephesians 4, and I want you to turn with me, please, to Psalm 68. So keep your place in Ephesians, put your finger in it, put your hand in there and grab it, and then get yourself to Psalm 68. Because Paul is alluding to Psalm 68 in verse number 18, and I'll read that for you. So keep your place in Ephesians, because I want you to compare the two. I want you to compare Ephesians 4, 8, and I want you to look at Psalm 68 and verse number 18. Psalm 68 and verse number 18 reads this. This is what Paul's quoting. Thou hast a standard and high, thou hast laid captivity captive. Thou hast received gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. Psalm 68. is what Paul's quoting. But notice what Paul says, if you look back in Ephesians 4 and compare the two, Paul says, wherefore he said, when he ascended up on high, he laid captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. So a little pop quiz, get you involved in the sermon this morning. What's the difference between those two? Paul is quoting it. Can you see a difference between Psalm 68 and verse number 18 in Ephesians 4, 8? There's a couple, two changes that take place. So, over to you congregation. Oh right, okay. So number one, he received on Psalm 68, what happens in Ephesians 4.8? Okay, there's one change. The other change, you're not gonna pick up probably unless you know a little bit more, I'm gonna let you in, go on. Well, it's good, but it's not right. You're nearly there. And actually, this will help a little bit because Psalm 68, there's a change. So we've identified the first change. There's a change in the action. In Psalm 68, gifts are received. And then in Ephesians 4.8, gifts are given. Now the thing with Psalm 68, and Paul said there, just thinking about you and thinking about the Lord, actually to the Jewish mind, Psalm 68 and this little portion is not about God going up, it's about Moses going up. Moses going up on Mount Sinai and receiving the law. So we read Psalm 68 verse 18 again, and we'll paraphrase a little bit. Moses has ascended on high, has led captivity captive. Does this sound a little bit like it fits? Thou has received gifts from me. And what's the gift? The gift is the law. Yes, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. Now we're studying the tabernacle, right? What's God doing there? Dwelling among his people, right? So to the Jewish mind, Psalm 68, it's a Psalm of victory also, but it's associated with Moses. And associated with Moses going and getting the law. It's an important little thing, I think. When we get to Ephesians chapter four and verse eight, the gifting is a subject, is no longer Moses. The subject, as rightly identified, is Christ. The action is changed from receiving to giving. And the connection between the two that I'm gonna show you is Pentecost. Because Pentecost is when the Lord ascended. It's when we believe the church began. It's when we believe the gifts to the church were given. At Pentecost, we call this the birth of the church. Now, the Jews, Pentecost is a Jewish feast. We're gonna get there in the tabernacle when we look at the feast. But to the Jew, Pentecost was associated with a lot of things. Tradition says that King David was born and died on the day of Pentecost. This is Jewish. that Ruth took the yoke of the law on Pentecost. That's why the entire book of Ruth is read at the synagogue on Pentecost, or Shavuot, to honor this tradition. But one of the Hebrew titles for this holiday is also, and forgive my pronunciation, but none of yous can do any better, Zaman Mata Torah. It literally means this, the season of the giving of the law. The rabbis believed that the law was given, Exodus 20, when Moses went up Mount Sinai, the rabbis believed that the Torah was given on the day of Pentecost. Now, I believe this also. I believe God's a God of order, and I see this symmetry all the way through scripture. I've told you this before and shared, I believe Christ was crucified on the 14th of Nisan. I believe that he came down on the 10th of Nisan on the triumphal entry, it's Passover. The day the lamb was selected, 10th of Nisan, triumphal entry. 14th of Nisan, when the lamb was killed. Calvary, God's a God of order. You see this, from Eden all the way to the new heavens and the new earth. So what I think's happening here and why Paul changes this is because there's a dispensational change from the law to grace. And in the law, Moses went up and received from God and gave, but this is different. This is grace now. And the tie-in with Pentecost, I don't think, is a random little incidental. There's a wonderful connection that what's happening, that we move from law to grace, between those two Pentecosts, really, spread out over all those years. The law came in, and then Christ came, he fulfilled the law, and the church was birthed at Pentecost, and we move into the church age, where God is still saved by grace, as he's always done, but he's doing something a little different with his unique people, Jew and Gentile in one, the body of Christ. So there's a little dispensational change, and I think that's what Paul's doing. I think that's why he's not quoting it the way it's written in the Old Testament, but he's quoting it now in a new way. It's a grace-flavored way, if you like, to quote that, rather than a law-flavored way, as it was referring to the Jewish mind, as they would have read that in Psalm 68, So there's a little dispensational change, I think, that's going on there when these gifts were given. These gifts, I believe, to the church are given whenever Christ birthed the church. Now, moving on to Ephesians 4 and verse 9 and 10, this is a little bracketed section, so you should all see some brackets in your scripture there, a little parenthesis section, where it talks and it says, Now he that ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that ascended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things. These verses speak about the death, the descension, and then the ascension of Christ. Now, we don't have Loads of time to go into this, but I wanted to quickly put this up on the screen to show you a little bit. There's a lot of misconception about what's going on in these teachings. What we refer to as hell is not what they would have understood and not what we understand in this church as what the place before death is, or the place after death is. Hell is the place that people go after the final judgment, all unbelievers, are risen to face a great white throne, judgment at the end of Revelation there, and then they'd be cast into hell, Gehenna, the place of eternal torment and separation. That is different for the place that the dead go now. This is called Heres, Sheol, the underworld. This is also different from the grave, different Hebrew word. This is the underworld, Heres. And biblically speaking, And again, there's so much I could say on this, but I want to get through what I want to get to. But basically, since the world was created after the fall, you have these two compartments of the underworld. Now, most of the world will reference Hades, the underworld. It's a common theme. And when you see a common theme like that, it means it usually comes from a common truth, although it might be misreported. But Hades, The underworld is the waiting place for judgment. It's the waiting place. It's like being on remand. So being on remand, you're still in prison, but you're waiting for the judgment. And that's what Hades is. And the Bible, I believe, teaches that Hades is split into two sides. So I believe this is the center of the earth. Two sides. One is referred to by the Jews, always known by the Jews, as Abraham's bosom. or paradise. The other is known as the place of torment. Before the cross, before Christ came and died and presented his blood as the full and final sacrifice, every believer saved by grace, before that, we call them Old Testament saints, when they died, they went to this place. Body went to dust, soul and spirit, Abraham's bosom, paradise. Jesus teaches, Luke 16, about the rich man and Lazarus. Now some people say this is a parable, but when you examine that from a hermeneutical point of view, it's not parabolic, it's not a story, it's a truth. And he talks about this, and he talks about these two sides, and one being the place of Tormah and one being the place of paradise. And how there's a gulf between the two, this fix between the two. Jesus, when he's on the cross, Luke 23 verse 43 says to the thief, verily, verily, I say unto thee, today they shall be with me in paradise. Now our Jehovah's Witnesses friends want to change this, move the punctuation and say, I say to you this day, that's not what Jesus said. Jesus said, today you will be with me in paradise. This is the thief that confessed and came to Christ. Paradise to the Jewish mind. Remember, Jesus is a Jew. He's operating amongst the Jews. The scriptures are all Jewish. Paradise to them is Abraham's bosom. Abraham's bosom. Peter talks about this. 1 Peter chapter number 3, verse 18. Turn there with me. It's an important little detail. We've done this in our studies in Peter in the Bible study. 1 Peter chapter 3, verse 18. It says, For Christ also had suffered once for sins, just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit, by which he also went and preached unto the spirits in prison. Who are the spirits in prison? They're those who are on this side. This side is the Roman side, waiting to go to eternal judgment. This side is waiting, not for eternal damnation, but for eternal life with Christ. These two sides are waiting for two great events. This great event is the cross. That's what they're waiting for. This great event, they're waiting for the great white throne judgment where they'll be judged forever. There's no hope for these people. They're done. Peter tells us that when Christ died, he went down into Hades, the underworld, not hell. Hades, Sheol, the underworld. And he preached, basically it says, He preached to the spirits in prison. That word preached there is not the usual word for evangelize. It's not a good news message. It's a message of victory. It's a message of judgment. What happens, I believe, is that Christ, when he's in the belly of the earth, remember, he even tells that story, we're in the Noah, or not Noah, Jonah, where he's there, he's preaching across the gulf. What's he preaching? Victory. I am he. Death has been conquered. And the people that are in torment, this is the parable, not the parable, the story that Jesus tells in Luke 16, at that point, I have no doubt, will be crying out for salvation. But it's done, it's dusted. What happens then after Christ arises? I believe he leads captivity captive. Those that were waiting for the great event of the cross, the Old Testament saints, or they took to be with Christ. Now we move into the New Testament, the great event that's happened, the cross. So the great event for these believers has happened, the cross, which takes them to heaven, because sin is paid for, finally, fully, forever. They've gone to be with the Lord. Now we move into the church age, now. So if one of us, Saints was to die this very day, and I pray to God that doesn't happen. We wouldn't go here, because it's empty now, because the great event has happened. And the New Testament teaching, the Apostle Paul comes along and tells us that we're confident, willing to be absent from the body is to be what? Present with the Lord. John 14, I go and prepare a place for you. So unbelievers now, they go to the place of torment. awaiting the great judgment. That's their great event, and they can't escape it. The believer, our great event, we can look at it and say, Calvary, it's happened. And because of that, because the blood has been presented, the sacrifice has been accepted, that we are in Christ, we can now be in heaven with him. And if we die this very day, that's where we go. For the Old Testament saints, that was the object of their hope, yet to be fully revealed, but that's what they were waiting for. So Paul's talking about this in Ephesians 4, 9 and 10. Some people want to teach that Ephesians 4, 9 and 10 is just talking about his incarnation and how he came down to the earth. That's a terrible, terrible misrepresentation of the text and actually even the wording. And the mind of those that read it, when they read about the lower parts of the earth, they would be thinking about Hades, the underworld. They wouldn't be thinking about Jerusalem, Bethlehem. that Christ here, that Paul's saying that he ascended from heaven and he came to earth. No, no, this is more. This is more. So again, if you want more information on that, we may do it at some point, but that's just to let you know that, and make sure you separate out hell from Hades. Hell is the place, the lake of fire, we'll call it, where all unbelievers will eventually end up. Hades was the place before the cross where the Old Testament saints, believers, are waited in one section for the great event, the cross, but the other section holds its remand, it holds all the unbelievers of all the age until their great event, which is their final judgment, and then it's hell. It's done. So that's when the gifts were handed out, and we need to speed on a little bit. But what about what the gifts were in verse number 11? Verse number 11, Ephesians 4 says, and he gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, and some teachers. Let me put them up there for you. Again, there's some false doctrine going about about the five-fold ministry of the church. I absolutely don't believe that. Let me take you through these. I believe the church is built upon the foundation of the Apostles, capital A, and the Prophets, capital P. Let me talk to you about an Apostle quickly. The Lord Jesus is called an Apostle, Hebrews 3.1. He's called the Apostle and High Priest of our profession. But the particular Apostles that we're talking about and these gifts that are given to the church are, I believe, a reference not to some superman that walks amongst the church today, But to the men that were selected by Christ, that witnessed Christ, the only one being a slightly bit different, the Apostle Paul, who says, I'm one born out of due season. But the qualifications for an apostle in the highest sense, capital A, is that they had to be a witness of Jesus and to be taught by Jesus, I believe. Barnabas is called a prophet, others are called a prophet, and there is connection with their sight upon Christ. But this capital A is reserved for these twelve. You get into Matthew 19, it talks about those that will sit upon twelve thrones, the twelve apostles. You get in Revelation 21 and verse 14, the foundations of the new heavens and the new earth are named after the 12 apostles of the Lamb. It's a very unique and specific office, capital A. The word apostle just means sent one. So if you're going to use the word apostle in a lowercase a, somebody that's sent, it's a sent one. But we're talking about uppercase, big apostle. This is the high calling. And this was conditioned, I believe, by divine appointment. Paul had to defend his apostleship. Not simply that he was a sent one, but that he was an apostle qualified in that 12. He says in 1 Corinthians 9, verse 1, am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Qualification of being an apostle. So we have apostles, then we have prophets, and again, Paul's already told us Ephesians 2.20 that we're built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the cornerstone. So prophet here, with a capital P, the prophet defined 1 Corinthians 14, 11, speaking about prophesying, says that he's speaking unto men edification, exhortation, and comfort. This prophet, capital P, again, misappropriated, I think, is really to do, in this sense, more with foretelling than foretelling. It's not telling the future. It's telling the people. And again, this is a foundation that was needed in the early church, absolutely. Now we're different this, the office of prophet from prophesying. That's a separate thing, absolutely a separate thing. So we're dealing with the highest meaning of the word. Like I said, we're capitalizing it. Apostle, capital A. Prophet, capital P. So in the higher meaning of the word, I believe, and this is what this church constitution holds to, that these offices died away with the early church. They were the foundation built upon Christ. And I mean this in the highest form of these words. We move on to Evangelist. Now Evangelist, like Apostle, was unknown in the Old Testament. It's not a designation given in the Old Testament. It's a New Testament truth. It's an age of grace. It's a dispensational teaching. Evangelist gifted in proclaiming the gospel. Philip is called an Evangelist. Now everyone's called to evangelize, no doubt about that. We're all to share our faith. But the gift of the evangelist and somebody that's gifted in this office is a completely different thing. And you will see this in evidence when you come across somebody like this. And the evangelist shares the gospel. I like to look at it as very much an external aspect to the ministry. Evangelist exists today. The office of evangelist, I think, exists today. I don't think it's promoted enough. I think it's part of this foundation and building upon of the foundations of the apostles and prophets that we have this, I think, two pillars. People will say three, but one of those pillars being the evangelist, these are the external. Then we get on to pastor and teacher. And if you look at verse 11, Ephesians 4, it says, he gave some, apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors, and teachers. So there's a connection between the two. Now, theologically, you study this out, there's only two options. Option one is that they are one office, linked. Option two is that they're two separate ones. Now, a lot of people think they're two separate ones. But personally, I don't think they're two separate ones. I think they're lumped in with elder. Now, I think when you think about the aspects of elder, that you have the shepherd, bowman, and you have others that may be more gifted in teaching, that there's leanings. I believe that. But personally, I don't see it as two. I think they're together. So interlinked. Now, again, this is not something we'd ever fall out over if you believe something different. But my bibliology, let me bring you back to it, is that there's nothing haphazard when God's inspired his word. So why is it that Paul has identified prophets, apostles, evangelists in their own little brackets, if you like, and some pastors and teachers. I don't think it's flippant. There's something on there. And regardless of what you believe, whether these are two separate things or one, the interlinking between the two is evident by Paul's other teachings, that the elder has to be what? Apt to teach. Now, personally, like I said, I think these are probably one. I think we're too, we like to just have roles as many as we can within church life, but I think really, in terms of these giftings, and there are gifted teachers, don't get me wrong, but I think these are so connected that they can't be disconnected from the eldership of the church, is what I'm saying. But when we think about pastor, certainly, there's the reference to shepherd. That's a concept from the Old Testament that carries through. The Greek word's poimen. Pastor, shepherd. And of course, there's a connection there. We looked at Peter a few weeks ago. In Christ's instructions to him, what did he say? Feed my sheep. There's a shepherding thing. So the pastor really is a continuation of Christ's ministry in that aspect to feed the sheep. And really what I see here, personally speaking, is I see this breakdown between the external and the internal. External, evangelist. Internal, pastor, teacher. The pastor and the teacher build up internally to shepherd. The evangelist's job, whether you categorize a missionary in there, whether you categorize somebody who just goes out and shares the gospel, is the external. I like what John Phillips says about this, and I kind of like how he condenses this. He calls them five gifts, but it's not going to change too much if we call them four. He says the five gifts left in Ephesians 4.11 can be summarized in this way. The first two are those gifted to deal with situations. So he says the apostle, that's those equipped to guide the infant church, the early church, and the way it ought to go. And he says the prophet, those that were equipped to guard the early church and what it ought to know. Why was this important within the early church? Because we didn't have the canon of scripture. So Philip says these first two, gifted to deal with situations, and that the way the church ought to go, the early church, that's the apostles, and the God, the infant church, and what it ought to know, that's the prophets. Then he goes on, and this is the external. He says this is the evangelist. This is those gifted to deal with sinners. So that's the evangelist. And then he says the pastor and teacher, or pastor and teachers, is those that are gifted to deal with the saints. So he breaks it down in that aspect. Evangelists gifted to deal with sinners, and then those gifted to deal with the saints, that's the pastors and shepherds. Now, glorious gifts, absolutely glorious gifts these are, and they're God's gifts. You know, whatever your feelings about these things, what you cannot deny is they're a gift from God, and that's glorious. But here's the most important thing, and this is what we want to wrap up with, and I want to get through this quickly for you. The most important thing, and not denying the importance of, of God's gifts, but it's the goal for believers in relation to all of these things. And the goal for believers is what we should really be concerned about. You know, if we spend our entire Christian life getting into the debates about whether pastor and teacher are one or two, we've missed it. And healthy discussion's fine, but the real thing that we need to be concerned about, that our energy should be consumed about, is what the goal is. And Paul tells us what the goal is. Number one, if the goal is, in these gifts, that the church, the saints, would be equipped. Look at verse 12. Verse 12 of Ephesians 4 says, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. And again, there's some talk within this, what does this mean? Some commentators go along the lines, and I think I probably do agree with them, that the comma really shouldn't be there. In verse 12, the first comma, it's for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry, that they're not a separate thing, that actually, and this is where I'd be on this, that actually, these gifts that are given, and especially within the church, we're focusing on the internal, because this is about equipping, We're talking about the pastor, teacher, pastor. The gift of pastoral leadership correctly applied is that that gift, the pastor, would build, equip, that's what the word perfectum means, equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Not that I would equip you by speaking, that I would do the work of the ministry, and that I would edify the body. That actually, what's being talked about here in the spirit of unity is that God has given gifts of leaders within the church, and those leaders, as they exercise the ministry that God has given them, their job is to equip others for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body, that it's all of us in this together. This is the outworking of this unity. And the job of the pastor really is to help others help themselves help others. Let me say that again. The job of the pastor The shepherd is ultimately to help others, help themselves, help others. And now we get into this circle. Now this is the body working. That it is my job to teach. It is my job to shepherd and all that that means. But that doesn't mean that it's my job to do the ministry. The ministry is ours. You understand that, church? That if you're born again, you are a priest, a high priest of God, all of us. That it's not my ministry that you're a part of, that it's our ministry under Christ as our chief shepherd, our good shepherd, and our great shepherd. that there's a unifying aspect to this, that the purpose that Christ has given this gift, particularly pastors and teachers, to do with the eternal flock of God, feed my sheep, is not so that we can all just get fat and lazy. That's not what the feeding's about. It's so that we can grow, be built up, edify the body. See, the Holy Spirit doesn't intend that these gifts are given and then there's a monopoly. And that's what happens in church life. Where you have this pastor, and if we take the concept, a gift from God, that he starts to believe he's God's gift. And he starts to overload it. And he starts to sit above and rise above and starts to look down like he's somebody special. But the true shepherd, his true pastor, teacher, doesn't sit above, he sits with. Yes, he leads, but he exhorts and he builds up so that you might build others up, so that we might build each other up. That a good shepherd needs good sheep, and good sheep need a good shepherd. It's a community project to gather And that's one of the goals for Christ believers, that he gives this gift of pastors and teachers, leaders within the church, that we might all grow together, that we be equipped. Then he goes on to say that we be mature, verse 13, till we all come to the unity of the faith. This is not individual, this is corporate. This is the purpose of all these things, that we all come to unity of the faith, knowledge of the Son of God. unto the perfect man, unto the measure, stature, and fullness of Christ. That's the goal, to be equipped, to be mature. Number three, to be settled, verse 14. That we henceforth be no more children. You know, we're gonna grow. Spiritual infants can't discern doctrinal truths of any depth. It's impossible. Because they don't, they're babies. They have to grow. So we have to feed them. All of us help them grow so that they're not tossed to and fro. That's one of the unifying things about the pastor that holds to the word of God, that lives humbly, walks humbly, understands his role, doesn't make him special. Then it's Christ who's special, not the man. But he understands his role in building. each and every new believer up, as well as those that have been in the faith for a while, grounding them so that they're not tossed to and fro in every wind of doctrine. So, we've looked this morning at these aspects of unity, both Christ's gifts and then Christ's goal for the believers. And ultimately, we wanna be equipped, we wanna be mature, and we wanna be settled So the things that we've thought about really, firstly, is that gifted leaders are not just hired, they're not just appointed, but are sovereignly bestowed. That whether you like it or not, I am God's gift to you. Now you may feel let down about that, but hey-ho. Now again, these are different from the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12. This is not about gifts to believers, this is believers that are gifted to the church. The church should consider its leaders to be gifts from God. Secondly, the purpose of those leaders is not just to do the work of the Lord, but to train and involve every member in that work. That we don't build our little empires as pastors, that we involve each and everybody. So here's our application. This is what I want you to take away this morning and we'll wrap up. I believe the Bible teaches that God gifts leaders. But I also believe that it teaches that gifted leaders are to enable others to develop and use their gifts. This is not my ministry. This is our ministry. That the work of Milton Baptist Church is not mine. It's not the church oversight's. It's ours. It's ours. And together, we're to work in it And as Paul comes out of this section, that he talks about this unity, how we're to be equipped, mature, and settled, I want to remind you that, although he's talked about the giftings of leaders that have been given, that he started this little bit by saying, each one of us has been given a gift of grace by the measure of Christ. It's my job as shepherd to enable you to exercise and realize your gift in the body. good leaders, raise good sheep, and need good sheep. And that's part of the glorious unity that God gives us, that we're all able and capable of working together. What a glorious gifting God has given. And it's hard for me to say this, but you should pray for your leaders. Pray for your pastor. Pray for me, because I'm not special. I've just been selected by God to do a very important job. But my job is not to build myself up. My job is to build you up. And as I build you up, you build me up. My job is to help others, help themselves, help others. That's the glorious unity that comes about from the glorious gifting.