Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!
We have been studying the gifts that Jesus Christ gave to His body, the church or ekklesia - the called out. I enjoy meditating on the fact that Jesus Himself, felt the need to hand pick those that would serve His body in such a way, that these gifts would bring us into a unity of faith in Christ, and bring about a perfecting and maturing of the saints. All to the glory of Father God. Yes, we are just that important to Him! I love what Jesus said to the Lord God in John chapter 17.
John 17:20-23 "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me. And the glory which Thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and Thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved me. (KJV)
In these verses we read that it was the desire of Jesus' heart that we, His body of believers would be one in Him, and one in them, meaning; God the Father and God the Son. It was very important that Jesus expressed the reality of being one with the Lord God. Jesus would do nothing aside from the Father. As we His body can do nothing aside from Son. Let us read Romans chapter 12.
Romans 12:5-6 "So in Christ we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another. We have different gifts according to the grace given us. (BSB)
We also read in Colossians chapter 1.
Colossians 1:18 "And He (Christ) is the head of the body, church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have the preeminence." (BSB)
Let us begin with our foundation verse:
Ephesians 4:11-14
"And His gifts were (varied; He Himself appointed and gave men to us) some to be apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the Gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of His flock) and teachers. (AMPC)
Pastors - protect the flock. They are also called shepherds or overseers.
Pastors are called to care for the Lord's body, His church. A pastors call of grace is to serve the body of Christ in a number of ways as needs will vary in a community of believers. The Holy Spirit has gifted these great men and women with abilities to not only care for the body of Christ, but an anointing that will lead, guide, guard and direct the body into a place where they will receive the revelation of God's grace in Christ Jesus.
They bring the Word of God to the people in such a way, that all may glean and gain understanding of what the will of God is and how the love of God will work in our every day lives. They break down the Word of God in a way that is palatable. They give themselves over to the Lord in prayer and study of the Word of God, in order to bring the message the Lord desires for His people. They feed the Lord's sheep. They are typically married to the flock.
We can read in John 21:15-17. Jesus asked Simon Peter if he loved Him three times. We see Jesus replied first to Peter saying: "Feed my lambs.", His second reply was: "Tend my sheep." and Jesus' third reply was: "Feed my sheep." We can see that we as Christians are first tender lambs that need to learn the sincere Word of God to grow and become mature sheep. In our learning and growth periods there will be times that we may seemingly stumble or walk through difficulties in life that may overwhelm us. Times like these we would need to be tended to in the Lord by our shepherd.
As we grow into a mature man or woman in Christ we may not need as much tending to. However, this would be the time that we would begin to serve with hands on experience and become productive in the things of the Lord. Looking to our pastors who have served well, we glean from them and continue the work of the ministry to lighten their burden. Our pastors would reap in joy as they see us plugging in and serving. As our spiritual fathers they would begin rejoicing to see the faithfulness of God working in and through His body.
Keep these faithful men and women in prayer. Day in and day out they serve us as unto the Lord. It is a selfless task to make yourself available to others when you need rest yourself. But still they continue on, all to the glory of God. Bless them real big Lord!
Finally, we will never outgrow the need to be "fed." We will always need the Word of God in our lives. We will always need to fellowship and to be accountable to our brothers and sisters in Christ. We will never "arrive." We will know all things when we pass into glory from this life. Until then we will continue to renew our minds daily by the Word of God. We will never run out of revelation or exhaust the Word of God. Who can hold the Wind in his hands? There is none that are able.
I have placed the gift of Pastor and Teacher in the same study. Because the two gifts more often then not, go hand-in-hand as a ministry gift. Again, one gift may be the stronger and we would call this our motivational gift. However, the other gift would follow closely behind. Although there are Pastor-Teachers who lead the church in the ways of the Lord. There are also Teachers that are not pastors in the sense of serving a congregation. I have the blessing and pleasure of knowing a few of these great servants of the Lord. I am truly humbled and grateful for the gift they are and the knowledge they impart to Christs body.
Teacher - They instruct and break the Word of God down into bite size portions. We can see the similarities in the teaching techniques. Both teacher and pastor break the scriptures down, so the hearers will better understand what the Lord is saying to His people, and they would not be left ignorant. They bring us information in a practical common sense manner regarding the things of God. They enjoy digging deep into the Word of God to find its hidden treasures. They give us teachings from the Lord, that are like building blocks of insight and understanding. They may be called to travel and minister to the Body of Christ, bringing forth all of the nuggets they've retrieved, from the countless hours of searching out the deep things of the Lord in His word. Truly, they are as important a foundational gift as the others.
We are blessed to have such diversities of gifts in the Body of Christ. It is like a many faceted jewel that brings forth different dimensions when held in the light.
I am believing that the Lord has opened your eyes and stirred heart to give you a sense of where you and your gifts fit into the Body of Christ. These gifts are not only to be used in the church setting. They are to be useful wherever and whenever the Lord by His Holy Spirit desires. We can read in
Matthew 5:13 "You are a light to the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid."
Again, we have listed different links that you can find useful in your studies of the gifts that will bring more insight to you. As we have just skimmed the surface with an short overview. Remember, all of the gifts work together to benefit the whole that none would lack.
"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy, to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority through Christ Jesus our Lord, before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen."
Jude 1:24-25 (BSB)
May our Lord and King richly bless you and yours in the name of Jesus!
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