Sermon Tone Analysis

*Glorifying God by Every Member in Ministry - Ephesians 4:11-12*

 

I want to consider two basic questions with you this morning in this passage:

*1.

What is the pastor’s role in the church?*

*2.

What is your role in the church?*

What is a pastor?

The stereotypical cliché is someone who carries a briefcase, marries people, and buries people.

/Here are some answers given by the pre-Kindergarteners at Providence Christian School to the question “What is a pastor?”:/

Jackson said “I don’t know, I think I have to ask my dad”

Jenna said, “I don’t know, but my dad works at the pizza place.”

Peyton said “He guards your house.

He watches the people.”

Faith said: “He works with wood and does Bible stuff.”

Esther said: “They work?”

Charlie said: “They talk about Jesus.

They work hard!”

Emma: “It’s somebody that takes care of you.

He teaches about Jesus born on Christmas.”

One of the little boys said “He’s a teacher in big church.

He tells us what hymnal to turn to”

Another girl said “It’s a person who goes and teaches about God.

My dad is a pastor so I know!”

My favorite response – a little girl from our church said a pastor is someone who “prays and speaks into the microwave to worship God.”

 

It’s not just children that have interesting ideas, a lot of adults have interesting and divergent ideas about what a pastor is and what he should be and do.

-          Some see the pastor as a sort of resident psychologist

-          According to one article, the view of the role of a pastor shifted in the 1980s to view the pastor as a counselor-therapist in many settings (in fact, the current pastor of the largest church in America admits he’s more of a “life coach” then traditional pastor, I would call him more of a motivational speaker who mixes some Bible verses into his talks).

-          I read one website where it said some view the pastor as a personal trainer.

-          In the 80s a significant shift took place in people’s thinking - the pastor became a manager, or CEO.

This is a dominant view today that sees the pastor as the corporate executive, the management consultant, the marketer.

-          Many would think of the pastor as the president, with vice presidents underneath him, and staff in a pyramid structure with him at the top, and depending on their government structure or polity, various boards beneath or above him kind of acting like the US Congress, Senate, etc., various branches of power that keep each other in check.

-          In some churches the pastor is like a Protestant Pope, with basically unlimited and unchecked authority.

-          In other settings, the pastor has basically no authority, and is just a figure-head, who basically stands up in front and says a few things but otherwise should leave everyone alone.

Let him be funny or entertaining, but don’t be condemning sin or telling us how we should live.

-          Some would say, and have told me this, that the pastor’s job is to speak out about the political issues and social problems and all of what’s going on in culture around us, and this person shared with me that it makes him very angry when preachers focus on just preaching what Bible texts have to say.

Pastors are to be at least to some degree community activists, social activists, etc., he argued.

-          I read a website this week from someone in the Emergent church movement who said his preferred definition of a pastor is a “Poet Gardener - someone who can connect with someone’s imagination … who will sow and work with something - to help grow it”

-          His second choice of what a pastor is: “Fosterer of Imagination - Helping others to live the re-imagined life - encouraging divine imagination” (whatever in the world that means)

-          Others would view the Pastor as Mr. Fix-it, the guy who can solve all problems, the only one we should go to with our problems, the Jack of all trades, the committee coordinator, project manager, program director, the guy we should dump everything on, Mr. Do-it-all, I mean that’s what we pay him to do, right?

-          A previous generation of adults tended to view the pastor as “/the/ minister”

 

I want to show you today these views are NOT biblical.

None of the things I have just described are emphasized in scripture as being the focus of a pastor or even the main role of the pastor.

Some of the kids were closer than ideas some adults have.

Where are we going to go to see what a pastor is to be and do?

Where else but God’s Word?

Ephesians 4 is the only passage in the Bible that even uses the word “pastor” so this is where we must go.

We need to leave man’s thoughts and traditions at the door this morning as much as possible, and by God’s grace, examine what God’s Word actually has to say about the role and responsibility of a pastor in Christ’s church, and also what your role and responsibility is here at this church.

Ephesians 4:11-12 (NKJV) \\ 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, \\ 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, \\ \\

The past few days as you know about 15 of us men were down at the Shepherd’s Conference hosted by Grace Community Church, my former church and where I learned ministry.

This week we again experienced the fruit of a church that has endeavored to make this passage its life verse and mission statement.

In fact the words of Eph.

4:12 are printed on the wall of their main church office so that as you go up the stairs to where the pastor’s offices are you see these words in giant print “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry” 

 

John MacArthur has said: “If there is one passage in all the Bible that has had more of an impact on the formation of Grace Community Church than any other, it is this text.

This passage really defined what we are as a church.”

This passage has also meant a lot to me personally – I chose to devote myself to studying it one semester at Seminary, and as my wife and I understood what ministry really is, this shaped a lot of our thinking and mindset for ministry and our place in the body.

The first time I ever stood in this pulpit as a guest speaker and candidate here at GCBC this was the passage I chose to speak on.

In God’s providence 2 days earlier at the elder’s meeting I sat in on, Pastor Dale had been taking the men passage by passage through Ephesians and this was the exact text they were at for that day and were discussing its implications.

I was convinced then and I am even more convinced now that this is a revolutionary passage with ministry-shaping, life-transforming truths.

For some people this text may be a whole new paradigm and different way of thinking about what is ministry and who is to do ministry and why God gave pastors and teachers to His church.

The simple principles in this passage are absolutely essential for any church, and I believe every one of us needs to hear again and live more in light of this message from the living God.

CONTEXT OF GLORY OF GOD

As we did earlier in our series on the purpose of the church, before we talk about our roles and what we should be doing, we also need to keep in mind the /reason why /we should do what we do, the motive or ultimate purpose that should drive all of the activities of the church.

In other words, what we are called to do is to be the result of something more fundamental, which is who we /are/ and why we exist, according to God and His Word.

In understanding /our /ultimate purpose, we looked at God’s ultimate purpose in calling out a people for Himself and in everything He does, according to Scripture, everything is FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, \\ 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.

In love \\ 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, \\ 6 *to the praise of the glory of His grace*, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

\\ 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace \\ 8 which He lavished on us.

In all wisdom and insight \\ 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him \\ 10 with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.

In Him \\ 11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, \\ 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would *be to the praise of His glory.*

\\ 13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, \\ 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, *to the praise of His glory.*

\\ \\

This eternal plan was not primarily about us and getting us to heaven.

It is something much bigger.

It’s about God and His glory – God’s glory is the purpose, God’s glory is to be praised and prized (not merely perceived).

God’s glory is to be pre-eminent in everything.

In verses 17-18 Paul prays “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, *the Father of glory*, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are *the riches of the glory of His inheritance* in the saints, \\ God’s grace and glory culminate to a crescendo in Ephesians 3:

\\ 10 so that the manifold wisdom of *God might now be made known through the church* to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly /places./

11 /This was /in accordance with *the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ* Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. 13 Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your *glory*.

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 *that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory*, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; /and /that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the *fullness of God*.

20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 *to Him /be /the glory in the church* and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.

Amen.

“To God be the glory in the church … therefore, walk worthy”

 

Chapter 4 and following show us how very practically and specifically this great theme of God’s glory and eternal purpose is to be manifested in and through us, as verse 2 says beginning with our humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love and being diligent to preserve the unity in the bond of peace (v.

3).

This grand theme of God’s glory is to be manifested in everyday “little” things like our attitude and actions in the church.

Then in verses 7-8 the emphasis becomes the grace and gifts each of us have been given by God.

And our text picks up in verse 11 where it lists some of the gifts or gifted men that Christ has given to the church.

-          Apostles

-          Prophets

-          Evangelists

 

Each of these gifts or offices in most of your English Bibles have the word “some” before each of them (some as, some to be) but there’s a change when it comes to the last two terms pastor and teacher.

Instead of “some to be pastors, some to be teachers” it says “some to be pastors and teachers.”

There’s just a connecting conjunction “and” between them and there is one definite article governing both pastors and teachers.

In the original language grammar there is a close relationship between these two and most of the scholars and commentators believe this refers to the same individual who is /both/ pastor and teacher.

In other words “pastors who are also teachers” or some would even hyphenate it “pastor-teachers.”

The N.T. does speak of teachers who it does not identify as pastors (just as we have people who teach in this church who are not pastors) but all pastors are also teachers.

This is their fundamental N.T. identity, pastors who are teachers.

The syntax and structure of Ephesians 4:11 “seems to affirm that all pastors were to be teachers, though not all teachers were to be pastors.”[1]

In other words, pastors are always gifted as teachers, though not vice versa.

Of course, teachers are also clearly listed as a distinct group in 1 Corinthians 12:28, 29 and a distinguishable gift in Romans 12:7.

“Thus pastor-teacher is still an appropriate title for those in the group Paul calls pastors, but there still remains a fifth group who are strictly teachers.”[2]

*So what is a pastor to be and do?*

 

First, what is he?