Church Love
by Capazin Thornton
Today I am impressed to remind us of the tremendous value of the church, the Body of Christ. And, to remind us that “five-fold” ministry gifts are indispensible to the development, growth, maturity, progress, and influence of the church. I call this “Church Love.”
Christ’s Church Love
Christ loves the Church, His bride. So much so that when He ascended on high He anointed and gifted people to build and develop His church—some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers. (Eph 4:7-16)
Apostles are God’s special ambassadors or messengers sent to plant, establish, and strengthen churches. The apostle works with the other ministry gifts to set in order gifts, services, and anything lacking or coming behind. (1 Cor 12:28; 1 Thess 3:10)
Prophets speak forth the will of God by divine inspiration to comfort, edify, and exhort God’s people in the plan and purpose of God. As a forth teller of the Word of the Lord, they discern and echo what God is saying now.
As spiritual watchmen they also foresee, foretell, and forewarn God’s people of spiritual storms. They tell God’s people how to prepare for same. Prophets bring order out of chaos (Jer 1:10). They bring refreshing words from the Lord. True prophets exhort believers to deeper fellowship with God.
Evangelists are preachers of good news. Their priority is to get people in right relationship with God. The New Testament example of an evangelist is Philip. In his ministry the good news was accompanied by signs and wonders. (Acts 8:26-40)
Pastors are shepherds (Grk poimen). They feed, nourish, oversee, protect, and guide God’s Flock. God instructs shepherds to “strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bind up the broken, bring back what was driven away, and seek the lost” Ezek 34:6. (See also Jer. 3:15; Ps. 23)
Teachers explain and make plain and practical God’s Word. The purpose is not to transmit information but transformational revelation. The teacher also leads and points believers to deeper fellowship with God.
Church Love: The Work of Ministry Gifts
Conjointly, the work of ministry gifts is to:
- Equip the saints for the work of the ministry. To equip means to make fit or complete, restore, repair, prepare, completely furnish, equip.
- Edify the body of Christ. To edify is to build up.
- Speak the truth in love. God’s Word is truth. (Jn 17:17). The spirit of the Word is love.
The End Goal: Church Love
When the ministry gifts work together to equip and edify the Body of Christ:
- There will be unity or oneness of the faith;
- Christ believers will have a full, precise and experiential knowledge of the Son of God;
- They will be spiritually mature and complete;
- They will no longer be tossed to and fro by every wind of teaching;
- They will speak the truth in love;
- They will grow up in all things into Christ, embodying the graces, qualities and excellencies of Christ;
- They will be joints that supply (each one doing his or her share in the work of the ministry);
- The church will be edified and increased through love.
It is then that the church will be a magnificent spiritual building, filled to the overflow with the presence, power, and splendor of Christ.
I exhort you to love, be a part of, get involved with, and pray for your local church and spiritual leaders.
Please feel free to share your comments.
Capazin Thornton is a Christian speaker and author in Orange County, California.
2 Responses
I enjoyed this post. Something I see happening in our society is Christians using television programs as a substitute for engaging in a church body, for which there is no substitute. I love how the closer I come to God, the deeper my love, loyalty and protectiveness over the body I have been assigned becomes. When you said that believers will stop being tossed to and fro – that really spoke to me. The things people do with the word of God these days are confusing to many. I have felt a deep calling from God to root myself firmly in the truth of His word. For example – in the old testament there is a scripture referring to forks used with sacrificing, etc. And some people try and say that refers to the 3 fold of the Trinity – when really that was simply for health reasons. Yes God speaks through His scripture and one word can have a thousand meanings – but it just seems to me like the old truths that people use to know and were taught are being exchanged for spiritual mumbo jumbo at times – and that upsets me because it makes the simplicity of the gospel complicated, especially to new believers.
Rebecca, thank you for taking the time to respond to this post. There is no substitute for active participation in a local church. God tells us to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. (Heb 10:25). While one can personally be blessed and edified from television ministry, there is no two-way exchange–you are not giving of yourself to others. Assembling is not only gathering together, but actively being a part of ministry and worship with saints of like precious faith in a present-tense vibrant way.
Further, the Bible calls the church: “. . . the church of the living God the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15) While every Christ believer has an anointing inside their spirit from the Holy Spirit that lets us know the truth, we need the specially gifted five-fold ministry to help us discover our gifts, develop, and grow up spiritually.
One final thought. When doing your own personal Bible study, read the Word like it is written. Read a scripture or passage of scripture in its context. That may mean reading chapters before and chapters after. What is the prevailing thought of what you are reading? Who is speaking and who is being spoken to? Does the passage require you to do something? Compare scripture dealing with a subject with other scripture on the same subject. Most importantly, depend on the Holy Spirit who is the divine teacher (Jn 14:26). My personal rule of thumb is the Word and the Spirit of God’s Word will always agree.