The all-body ministry explored.


In the last post, I  spoke of a usurpation that took place in the post-apostolic period of the early church; and this action was to put in place a partly Old Testament; partly worldly system in place: Clergy/Laity" division.  These terms are both biblical terms but they do not and cannot speak to what we are informed by Christendom-- they speak to one group. that is, God people (Laos) as God's inheritance (Kleros). And this is the great tragedy.

Now what does this all mean? how does it effect the biblical portrayal of the universal all-body ministry as seen in the many 'one another' passages. Below I have selected one of the great passages on this truth. Let us consider its words:

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Col. 3: 12-17)

Now this is a great statement because it speaks to the same reality that Ephesians 4:12-16 does. And that is the universal all-body ministry of the saints. Some who are heavily enslaved to Christendom; and do not recognise the incipient danger will say of the other section (Ephesians 4) that it does not speak to the universal all-body ministry of the Saints-- such as one whom I am indebted to in many other ways Martyn Lloyd Jones. He says:  "He is emphasising that Lord appointed a form and order of ministry in the church.  That is the entire context; and he includes, and only those who hold ministerial offices."  Not only is contrived;  it is not even close to the Apostles point. 

Look at the words closely:  "to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God,"  (vs. 12-13)   It is clear to me that there is something more than just the one-man ministry being referred to within these words. It is a ministry which finds it out working in all Christians in one place. But let us note the parallel in our section above for more clarity:  "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."   (vs 16) And there is an obvious connection to Eph. 5: 19-20. However, let us note the connection between our text and Ephesians 4.  He says, "to equip the saints for the ministry...."  and then says "let the Word of Christ dwell in you all richly, teaching and admonishing one another with all wisdom."  

It goes without saying:  there is a connection between these statements--   Pastor-teachers are to equip the saints to teach each other. There is no doubting this. Question:  how would a church in the first century survive when the Elders are ill, in prison or have died?  The inner body life is how-- the body plays an active role in the gathering-- they all were able to teach one another. Todays church is lacking in this vital ministry because of the curse of Christendom with its hierarchical system which drains the life out of all involved. 

Some negatives are needed for us to understand what takes place when we do not have this vitality in place:

(1)  The Church will die out due to the solo Pastor dying.

(2) The Church will enter into periods of internal strife because of competing mindsets.

(3) The church will have an us and them mindset due to the clergy/laity false distinction.

(4) The church will look outside itself for help and even new "ministers".

All of these things are common realities within evangelicalism because of the infection of Christendom. The church is an organic reality-- and the Spirit lives in it through a mutually active priesthood; and not because one man calls all the shots. And to prove my point: no church in the first century has an elder or elders in place for 14 years after it was established (Acts 13). And if we put things into this view for today: the Elder naturally would arise within the body as participate in the mutual ministry of believers. And never need to be shipped off to seminary. 

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