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There is a statement made by those who would draft the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith that I find to be a great encouragement. It is a small comment made in the preface of this fine document, which states, “We have no itch to clog religion with new word.” For me, it is not something new that one brings to theology that inspires me. Rather, it is the old truths of scripture that have lasted through generations of faithful brethren that Christians need to hear daily in their pilgrimage. Therefore, I would like to send out a helpful reminder to the brethren by discussing Ephesians 4:12 and what this passage means for the local church. As I mentioned above, this conversation is not something new. Rather, it is one that has been brought into the light as of late by several scholars for whom I have great respect.

In the 2016 edition of the Journal of the Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies found here, Dr. Richard Barcellos provides a detailed historical and syntactical approach to this verse, and concludes that while there are multiple views (an old and a modern view) of Ephesians 4:12 through the history of the church, there is one view that “seems to do justice to the broader context of Ephesians 4:1-16 as well.” This view is also the interpretation that I hold and will presuppose is true for this article. Dr. Barcellos summarizes this “older view” in this way:

– Ephesians 4:1-16 contains a call to “walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (Eph. 4:1). To walk worthy involves “being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit of the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3).
– This is produced in the church by acknowledging that Christ is the head of the church, gracing/gifting his people (Eph. 4:7).
– Though Christ gifts all his people, Paul first concentrates on apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (Eph. 4:11).
– Paul then provides three reasons why these were given (Eph. 4:12), the duration/goal of their service to the church (Eph. 4:13), and the effects produced by their ministry (Eph. 4:14-16).
– This passage has more to do with what the gifted persons do so that the saints might become mature and stable. It has more to do with what the saints become than what the saints do.
– Older view: Christ has given elders/pastors as gifts to the church for the work of the ministry.
– Modern view: The work of the ministry is for all the saints, and not just the gifts given to the church (elder/pastor).

I strongly encourage the brethren to read this amazing, exegetical, historical, and syntactical approach through this passage. I will attempt to piggy-back off of this great work, with hopes of focusing on how both views play out in the local church. I will do this by emphasizing three ways in which this takes place.

1) How the modern view encourages the church to blur the lines between the called minister of the Gospel and the remaining saints in the church.

2) How the modern view encourages the saints to focus on what they can do for the church (work of the ministry) by finding their gift to outwork others in the body on the Lord’s Day.

3) How the older view produces an environment of the saints resting in Christ to be built up in the faith, in contrast with the modern view which can dangerously push saints to a work-like environment and pursuing a gifting which has not been given to them.

Blurring the Lines

In chapter 26 and paragraph 8 of the London Baptist Confession of Faith, it states:

“A local church, gathered and fully organized according to the mind of Christ, consists of officers and members. The officers appointed by Christ are overseers or elders, and deacons. They are to be chosen and set apart by the church called and gathered in this way, for the distinctive purpose of administering ordinances and for carrying out any other power, or duty Christ entrusts them with or calls them to. This pattern is to be continued to the end of the age.”

Paragraph 9 of chapter 26 continues this thought:

“Christ has appointed the way to call someone prepared and gifted by the Holy Spirit to the office of overseer or elder in a church. He must be chosen by the collective vote of the church itself. He must then be solemnly set apart by fasting and prayer. The body of elders of the church must lay hands on him if there are any already in place. A deacon must be chosen by the same kind of vote and set apart by prayer and laying on of hands as well.”

It is safe to say that the 1689 LBC places a specific emphasis on the one called by the church to be an officer, overseer, or elder. It is in my opinion that the lines are blurred when one takes a newer interpretation of Ephesians 4:12, placing the *work of the ministry* on the backs of the saints, and not on the one who is a gift to the church (officer, elder, or overseer) and has been called/set apart by the church to *do* the work of the ministry. My argument is not that a church that takes the newer interpretation of this passage doesn’t realize that the pastor/elder is distinct from the remainder of the body. I have not attended a church that does not realize that the pastor’s role is different than their own. But what generally, and in my opinion dangerously, takes place in a modern interpretation of Eph. 4:12 (the work of the ministry is for the saints), is that the lines are blurred here. If the elder’s role is to prepare the saints *for* the work of the ministry, rather than do the work of the ministry he has been gifted to the church, the result is many saints being burdened to carry out work they cannot accomplish and pursuing a gifting that has not been given to them. The lines are blurred because if the end goal is for everyone to do the work of the ministry, then what separates the pastor from the remainder of the congregation becomes something inward that the pastor possesses, as he continues to find others in the church who he can pass off the duties for which he has been gifted. Everyone becomes a teacher, everyone becomes a preacher, and everyone needs to serve in as many areas as possible to find their gift, and contribute to the body. One that doesn’t contribute to the body misses the point.

What is My Gift?

In my experience, a modern interpretation of Ephesians 4:12 encourages the saints to begin a quest (with the help of the body) to find their gifting to contribute to the life of the church. I am not so much concerned about the Christian contemplating a gift Christ has perhaps bestowed upon them, as I am for the latter part of the preceding sentence. Searching for a gift Christ may or may not have given you “to contribute to the life of the church.” For clarity, the older view of Ephesians 4:12 does not deny that every Christian has a gift from God. Nor does the older view deny that every Christian member of a local church can contribute to the life of the church in some way. I believe the Scriptures are clear here, which includes the entirety of the passage being discussed here (Eph. 4:1-16). When one needs to find their gift to contribute to the life of the church, that naturally means that those who fail to find their gift or perhaps don’t feel a desire to find their gift cannot contribute to the life of the church. For time’s sake, I will discuss two results that naturally flow from this sort of system and how neither of them are helpful in the church.

1) When a person is on a search to find their gift for the church, the church then needs to provide a place for this person to test themselves within the life of the church so that they can contribute. This includes developing a children’s ministry, a greeting ministry, a parking lot ministry, a community group ministry, a hospitality ministry, etc., with hopes of plugging in a saint for them to conduct the work of the ministry. If we don’t have a ministry you have been gifted in, then we can create a new one if you could only lead the way. Naturally, each of these ministries would need someone to lead them (usually isn’t an elder/pastor), which provides another place to plug in a leader who has proven themselves to be a faithful servant.
2) If one does not contribute (serving in the local church), then they are naturally left feeling like outsiders, not willing to take one for the team. They become a leach that sucks the life out of the church, rather than contributing to the life of the church by getting to work just like the others. The others who are doing the work of the ministry naturally can create a church within the church, patting themselves on the back for all the work they have done while separating themselves from the ones who merely attend church but do not feel called to outwork everyone else.

Resting in Christ

In contrast to the modern view, it is my experience that the older interpretation of Ephesians 4:12 encourages the brethren to rest in Christ and the gifts He has given to the church. This does not mean that the saints who are not called and set apart as officers in the church sit on their hands and do nothing. Nor does it mean that those who are not officers within the body cannot contribute to the life of the church in some way. Ephesians 4:12-16 makes this clear as the apostle Paul provides us with many ways in which the saints contribute to the life of the church.

1) The saints are equipped (Eph. 4:12a).
2) The saints can rest while the gifts to the church (elder/pastors) do the work of the ministry for which they’ve been called (Eph. 4:12b).
3) The saints are built up (Eph. 4:12c).
4) Saints attain the unity of the faith (Eph. 4:13a).
5) Saints attain the knowledge of the Son of God (Eph. 4:13b).
6) Saints achieve mature manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13c).
7) They are no longer children being tossed to and fro (Eph. 4:14a).
8) The saints receive sound doctrine, which prevents them from being exposed to every wind of doctrine, human cunning, and deceitful schemes (Eph. 4:14b).
9) The saints speak the truth in love and grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ (Eph. 4:15).
10) Since the body is then equipped by the things listed above, it grows and builds up itself in love.

In Closing…

A modern interpretation of Ephesians 4:12 robs the saints of their rest in Christ by pointing them inward at themselves, with a focus on what they can do for the church. It tends to blur the lines between the called elder/pastor and the remainder of the saints, and instead, points them towards finding their personal gifts so that they may contribute to the life of the church. In contrast to the modern view, the older viewpoints the saints not to sit on their hands and do nothing, but rather, to be built up in the faith, grow in love, be mature, and to not be tossed to and fro all while finding their rest in Christ and the gifts he has given to the church (elder/pastor). They are to become mature Christians by being taught sound doctrine and growing in the knowledge of the one who saved them.