Eph. 4:11-13 - Building Up the Body

11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

Workers for the Faith

V. 11 - And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,

“And He gave some...” - Refer back to verse 4:8. God gave gifts to man. This verse (11) tells of the gifts He gave:

(1) “Apostles “ - A distinct group of men called by the Lord to build the foundation of the church. This church "office" or position is mentioned only in the NT. It was a church office only held by a few people - the original called disciples (Matt 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19; Lk 6:14-17; Acts 1:13ff); also Paul, Barnabas, maybe Apollos and Timothy. One of the primary requirements to be an apostle was to have had a personal interaction with Jesus Christ. The position of apostle was an honor in the early church during the first 60-90 years after Christ's ascension into heaven.

(2) “Prophets “- Authoritative teachers of God’s will. Do not emphasize unduly the predictive side of ‘prophet’. The prophet had to deal with present and past, and to instruct believers in God’s ways. He is one who speaks forth that which he has received from the Holy Spirit. A prophet was a person qualified by God to be His spokesman to the church. The prophet spoke the Words of God, that is: messages received by divine inspiration. Indeed, sometimes the prophet told the church things God revealed to him about the future. God also provided warnings and encouragements through the prophets.

(3) "Evangelists “- Men (See Note 2, below) whose special function was to announce the glad tidings of the gospel to those ignorant of them. These men were not pastors of any given church, and therefore free to travel, preaching the Gospel. Paul was called to be an evangelist to the Gentiles. Barnabas and Apollos also evangelized the Gentiles. Other men were called to the areas around Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria.

(4) “Pastors & teachers” - These imply ‘shepherd’ and instructor, or teacher, or master, respectively. These people would be aimed at the local church bodies. The teacher’s job is to instruct. There is a difference between the roles of a teacher and that of a prophet. Both teach the word of God; the prophet tends to speak from God; the teacher explains what the Bible is saying. This is an especially critical job in the church at that time. They did not have the NT. The teacher provided the application of the evangelists' and the apostles' messages.
The message, "This is how you live out your faith", which is helping believers understand how to apply the truths of Christianity. It is a vital function when helping people with no religious background. In some ways we are in this same position in the United States - we have gone from a 'Christian' nation to one that is basically unchurched and ignorant of what is expected. Many people have no idea what Chrisitanity is about - they may have assumptions and prejudices, but no correct information. They must be led to the truth.

V. 12 - “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;”

The gifts given to the apostles, pastors, etc., were not just for conversation purposes. When Christ distributes anything, be it salvation or gifts - it’s never just for the sake of itself. We are not saved, just to be saved, but to be servants. Likewise, gifts are given, not for the gifts’ sake, but to serve the body of Christ. This verse, and the next, explain the reasons for the gifts, and it is twofold:
    (1) To prepare the believers for work;
    (2) To bring about the growth in the inner man.

The work of the believers (having been given gifts) is also two-fold: (1) Service; (2) Building up the body. For service, see: Matt 20:26-28; Luk 22:24-27; John 13:12-17. We are saved to serve. Note that in particular the service is to other Christians, but not exclusively.

In regards to building up, this means to strengthen in knowledge and understanding (see also v. 13). The KJV uses “edifying” in place of “building up”.

V. 13 - “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”

The building up of the body is to result in a process whereby each of us (individually) comes to:
    (1) An equal trust and belief in Christ;
    (2) An intimate and personal understanding and relationship with Christ;
    (3) A spiritual maturity that approaches the nature of Christ.

“A unity of the faith” - I mentioned an equal trust and belief. Perhaps ‘equal’ is an incorrect expression. ‘Unity’ is a oneness, an ‘alikeness’. The idea is that each of us will eventually come to the same, identical faith. (See: Note 1, below) Does this verse mean that we will all have the same amount of faith, or the same kind or quality for faith? The Greek for ‘unity’ is a oneness or unanimity. We are to come to, or arrive at in due course a oneness of faith. Yours like mine, mine like his, his like theirs, etc. This means that by the power of the HolySpirit we are to rise above our earthly fetters and have the same mind about Christ and His salvation.

“Knowledge of the Son of God” - Note: a true knowledge, a heart knowledge, not head knowledge; therefore a personally gained intimate relationship.

“A mature man” - See: Col 1:28; Phil 3:15. We can grow in Christ and to some degree be exactly like Christ. Because of our two natures warring within us (natural vs. spiritual) we, in our earthly bodies cannot be exactly as Christ is in every detail. But we can be very much like Him. <

(1) In due course we’ll all have the same faith.
(2) In due course we’ll all have the same knowledge.
(3) In due course we’ll all grow to be like Christ.

And when we see Him, we will be just like Him (See: 1 John 3:1-2)

***

Note 1: It is now popular to believe that since each of us is an individual, coming from different backgrounds, schooling, environment, etc., that each of us has a different view of Christ, or we can have a different faith.

Note 2: I am not saying that evangelists, pastors or teachers should be men only. I do not think that is Biblical teaching. The apostles listed in the NT were all men. Most of the pastors, teachers, and evangelists were men. I don't believe that locks for all time these positions are for men only. Several of the churches, especially the Gentile churches, had women in prominant positions of leadership.