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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ephesians 4:11

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And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

11. And he gave ] The “ He ” is emphatic; it was He who gave. See above on Eph 4:7. Immediately, the Holy Spirit is the Giver (1Co 12:8, &c.; cp. Act 2:4; Act 13:2). But His action is in Divine union with that of the Son, and vicariously for Him.

some apostles ] I.e., some men as apostles, and so through the passage. Cp. 1Co 12:28. The gift is to the Church, from the Lord, of spiritually called and enabled human ministers. “ Apostles ” : see above on Eph 1:1.

prophets ] In the enumeration, 1Co 12:28, this “ministry” comes second, as here. On the “prophets” of the N. T. see above on Eph 2:20, and Appendix F.

evangelists ] The word occurs thrice in N.T.; here, Act 21:8, and 2Ti 4:5. It seems, like our word “missionary,” to indicate not a defined ecclesiastical order (for Timothy “does the work of an evangelist,” while also an authoritative superintendent of pastors and churches), but rather a special kind of personal function in the ministry; the work of one called and devoted to direct proclamation of the Gospel message. It was thus an elastic word, like “missionary,” sometimes and oftenest denoting a minister’s special function, sometimes one only of his functions. “This passage,” our present passage, “would lead us to think of the evangelists as standing between the two groups,” (apostles and prophets, pastors and teachers,) “sent forth, as missionary preachers of the Gospel, by the first, and as such preparing the way for the labours of the second” (Smith’s Dict. of the Bible, under the word Evangelist). “The omission of evangelists in the list of 1 Corinthians 12 may be explained on the hypothesis that the nature of St Paul’s argument there led him to speak of the settled organization of a given local Church” ( Ibidem).

pastors and teachers ] Not, “some pastors and some teachers.” The two functions are regarded as coinciding and combining in the one settled guardian of a local flock; an instructive fact. Such a “pastor-teacher” had St Paul himself been at Ephesus (Acts 20), where indeed he had also been so conspicuously the “evangelist.” On the pastoral aspect of the Christian ministry cp. Joh 21:16 (Gr. “ shepherd my sheep”); Act 20:28 (Gr., “ shepherd the church of God”), 29; 1Pe 5:2-3. See also Luk 17:7 (Gr., “a slave shepherding ”). And note the Lord’s own references to His supreme Pastorate, Mat 25:32; Mat 26:31; John 10; and Heb 13:20; 1Pe 2:25 ; 1Pe 5:4; and Mat 2:6 (Gr., “shall shepherd my people”). On the teaching aspect of the ministry, cf. esp. Act 13:1; Act 15:35; Rom 12:7; 1Co 12:28-29; 1Ti 3:2; 2Ti 2:24.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

And he gave some, apostles – He gave some to be apostles. The object here is to show that he has made ample provision for the extension and edification of his church On the meaning of the word apostles, and on their appointment by the Saviour, see the notes on Mat 10:1.

And some, prophets – He appointed some to be prophets; see the Rom 12:7, note; 1Co 12:28, note; 1Co 14:1, notes.

And some, evangelists – see the notes on Act 21:8; compare 2Ti 4:5. The word does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. What was the precise office of the evangelist in the primitive church, it is now impossible to determine. The evangelist may have been one whose main business was preaching, and who was not particularly engaged in the government of the church. The word properly means a messenger of good tidings; and Robinson (Lexicon) supposes that it denotes a minister of the gospel who was not located in any place, but who traveled as a missionary to preach the gospel, and to found churches. The word is so used now by many Christians; but it cannot be proved that it is so used in the New Testament. An explanation of the words which here occur may be found in Neander on the Primitive Church, in the Biblical Repository, vol. iv. pp. 258ff The office was distinct from that of the pastor, the teacher, and the prophet: and was manifestly an office in which preaching was the main thing.

And some, pastors – Literally, shepherds – poimenas; compare Mat 9:36; Mat 25:32; Mat 26:31; Mar 6:34; Mar 14:27; Luk 2:8, Luk 2:15, Luk 2:18, Luk 2:20; Joh 10:2, Joh 10:11-12, Joh 10:14, Joh 10:16, where it is rendered shepherd and shepherds; also Heb 13:20; 1Pe 2:25; in Mat 26:31; Mar 14:27; Heb 13:20; 1Pe 2:25, it is applied to the Lord Jesus as the great shepherd of the flock – the church. It is rendered pastors only in the place before us. The word is given to ministers of the gospel with obvious propriety, and with great beauty. They are to exercise the same watchfulness and care river the people of their charge which a shepherd does over his flock; compare the notes on Joh 21:15-16. The meaning here is, that Christ exercised a special care for his church by appointing pastors who would watch over it as a shepherd does over his flock.

And teachers – see the notes on Rom 12:7.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Eph 4:11

And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.

The Christian ministry

I. From this passage we learn, that the institution of the Christian ministry–the appointment of pastors and teachers–is from God, is of Divine authority. The object which the Christian ministry is designed to effect is the conviction and conversion of sinners, and the edification and consolation of saints; but these are effects which no human, and, indeed, no created, power is able to produce. The office of the Christian ministry–that is, the institution of a separate order of men to attend, more peculiarly, to the religious instruction of others–is admirably adapted in its own nature as a means to effect the object intended, and its adaptation is evident even to the eye of human wisdom; but it was not devised by human wisdom, and it must not be judged of, or regarded, solely from its extrinsic fitness.

II. Since, then, the text informs us, in the first place, that the appointment of pastors and teachers is a Divine institution, intended to be instrumental in accomplishing certain objects, and of course deriving all its efficacy from the blessing of Him who appointed it, we shall now consider what objects it was designed to effect. For what purpose did God give pastors and teachers? It was for the perfecting of the saints, for the edification of the Body of Christ. The perfecting of the saints may here mean the completion of their number. It may also mean, making them perfect in holiness. We are further informed by the apostle, that God gave pastors and teachers for the edifying of the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ is an expression often used in Scripture to denote the Church of Christ. And the great object of this figurative mode of speaking is to represent the absolute dependence of believers upon their great living Head at all times for nourishment and strength, and, indeed, for existence or vitality, as well as the close and intimate connection that subsists between the Head and all the members–that is, between Christ and His people–and between the members with each other. The word edify properly means to build; and it is taken from another figurative idea, sometimes given us in Scripture, of the Church of Christ, or of true Christians in their connection with and dependence upon Christ, namely, that of a building or temple, of which Christ is the foundation, and in which all His people are represented as stones. And in this work of edification or sanctification, pastors and teachers whom God has appointed are master builders, whose great duty and privilege it is to be employed as instruments in edifying the Body of Christ–in building up the saints in their most holy faith–in carrying on the great work of which our Saviour laid the foundation while He lived upon the earth–in not only bringing men to the knowledge and belief of the truth, but also in leading them to walk in the paths of holiness–to walk in harmony and in love–and to contribute to one anothers spiritual progress.

III. We would now consider the statement which the text contains of the more comprehensive and ultimate objects for which the Christian ministry was instituted, and which the labours of pastors and teachers are intended to serve, namely, that Christians may grow up in all things unto Him who is the Head–that they may all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man–unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. And here we would notice the description the apostle gives of the direct objects and effects of the labours of pastors and teachers, namely, that Christians speak the truth in love. Speaking the truth is contrasted with being tossed to and fro like children, or carried about with every wind of doctrine; and as the appointment of pastors and teachers, with their regular and faithful ministrations, are intended by God to preserve the Church, or Body of Christ, from the latter of these, so they are also fitted to produce and secure the former. To speak the truth means here to hold and to maintain sound and correct views of Christian doctrine–of the great principles of the oracles of God. And this is an acquisition of great importance, lying at the very foundation of all true religion, which is built upon right views of the Divine character, and of the Divine plans and purposes with regard to the human race. But, besides this, it is also necessary that men speak the truth in love–that is, that their assertion and maintenance of the truth, even against its opposers, should never lead them into any violation of the great law of Christian charity and love. Not that either ministers or private Christians are bound to speak or to think more favourably of opposers of the truth than the fair and impartial examination of their conduct may seem to warrant and to require. But when our opinion is really and sincerely fair and impartial, it is no objection to it that it is unfavourable; for that must just depend upon the grounds and merits of the case. Our opinions upon all points should be exactly conformable to truth–to the intrinsic merits of the subject; but the expression of these opinions, and the conduct which they may lead us to adopt, should be at all times regulated by love. The great terminating object of the Christian ministry–and indeed of all Gods dealings with His people–is stated by the apostle in the eighteenth verse–that we may all come in–or rather into–the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God–unto a perfect man–unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. This describes the state of the Church in its collective capacity–when the objects of the Christian ministry, and indeed of all other means of grace, shall have been accomplished. At present, there is nothing like complete unity of faith and knowledge. There is reason, however, to think that times are in reserve for the Church, even upon earth, when these evils shall be greatly lessened, if not altogether removed–when the Church shall indeed resemble a great and a holy Society, founded upon one rock, and that rock Christ:–devoted to the one great purpose of manifesting the glory and making known the manifold wisdom of God. But whatever degree of harmony and purity the Church of Christ shall attain upon earth, when God shall pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, and introduce the glory of the latter days, certain it is that there will be a time when all His people shall come into the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, when there shall be nothing whatever to hurt or to offend, when His people shall be all righteous–freed from everything that may pervert either the judgment or the conduct–made perfect in holiness, and altogether restored to the lost image of their great Creator and their living Head. (W. Cunningham, D. D.)

Ministers in the Church appointed by Christ

I. A remarkable instance of our exalted Lords liberty to His Church in bestowing divers gifts upon her.

1. The gifts.

2. The Giver.

3. The act of donation.

4. The time to which it relates.

II. The end or design of this gift.

1. In respect of the saints, these who are in Christ already, the ministry is to perfect them, . The word signifies the restoring and setting dislocated members again in their proper place. It signifies also, the perfecting and establishing them in the restored state. So the Corinthians, who by their factions and divisions were rent asunder, and as a disjointed body, are exhorted to be , perfectly joined together, as a joint well knit (1Co 1:10). The saints being, by reason of remaining corruption, so ready to turn aside both from Christ the Head, and from their brethren fellow members. God gave ministers to be spiritual surgeons to set them right again, and to fix them in nearer union to Christ by faith, and to their brethren in love.

2. In regard of themselves, for the work of the ministry. It is for work that they are appointed. This work, for the kind of it, is , a ministry or service, the first excluding idleness, the second excluding a lordly dominion.

3. In respect of the Body of Christ; it is to edify, viz., the mystical Body of Christ. (T. Boston, D. D.)

Service the purpose of the Church

The text is clouded by a wrong punctuation. If a single comma be dropped, so as to make the text read, He gave some, pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints for the work of ministering, it will clearly express what some expositors believe is its meaning, and be in harmony with what is taught elsewhere in the New Testament as to the duty which is owed by the Church to the world. The saints have a ministry if the Body of Christ is to be edified. The Church is not to be as a lake without any outlet–a mere glass in which the sky is reflected–but a reservoir that yields what it receives for the health of mankind. Every member has something to do. Every Christian is to be a channel of blessing to others, even as the Son of Man came, not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.

I. In the development of this theme let us consider, first, the disparity in circumstance and condition between ourselves and the vast multitude of our fellow men; the contrast between our and their moral experience. If there be anything approaching the truth in our oft-repeated confessions, we have entered, through Christ, upon an ample inheritance of privilege and honour and power. Our sins are forgiven; a new life has been given us; we live in Gods fellowship. All things are yours, says the apostle, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours. And what deed ever conveyed riches like these? Why am I, honest and industrious, harassed and tormented, while dishonesty thrives, and has the world, cap in hand, at its feet? Where is the evidence of the love, or the wisdom, you preach? Where even is justice? It is a bad world; and the best thought about life is, that it will soon come to an end.

II. This brings us, second, to the principle which is expressed in the text, and on which alone these inequalities can be justified. Every variety implies in some sense superiority or inferiority. But who would wish for a mere uniformity, which would be the destruction of all that is interesting, of all that is beautiful, of all emulation, of all excellence? Who cannot see that to receive from one another and to impart to each other what we mutually lack, is a far better thing than to be born to an exact equality of advantages? Variety is essential to the proper development of society; and whilst God alone can explain why the obvious advantage is with one man, or with one class instead of another, still He takes from it all that is invidious by associating with privilege the responsibility of service. Turn, for illustration of this, to the account of the calling of Abraham. He was chosen out of the ranks of his countrymen, and out of the world of his day, for special enlightenment; to hear a Divine voice that was unheard by all others, and to realize a communion more elevated and purer than theirs. And why? Did it denote that he monopolized the Divine favour? that those who were left in the dark had no part in the thoughts and the purposes of Jehovah? On the contrary, he was elected for their sakes; in him, who was thus favoured and quickened, all the nations of the earth were to be blessed. And this is always the end which God has in view in the appointment of any to superior possession and privilege. Their endowment is to bring good to the many. Every great movement in social or political life may be traced to some individual, or to some company of men, who have been privileged to originate the high enterprise. The diffusion of truth is not by the equal instruction of all men at the same moment, but by circles and schools who have found out the truth, and through whom it spreads out until it becomes the possession of all. The preference is shown to the few in the interest of the many. And it is the same in respect of the Church. Those in its fellowship are to serve; for it exists not for itself, but for man, for humanity at large; because man is comprehended in the great love of the Father and in the scope of the redemption which Christ came to accomplish. (Chas. De Witt Boardman, D. D.)

The Divine choice of ministers

For if no prince will send a mechanic from his loom or his shears in an honourable embassage to some other foreign prince, shall we think that the Lord will send forth stupid and unprepared instruments about so great a work as the perfecting of the saints and perpetual dishonour of that wicked king Jeroboam, who made no other use of any religion but as a secondary bye thing, to be the supplement of policy, that he made of the lowest of the people those who were really such as the apostles were falsely esteemed to be, the scum and offscouring of men, to be the priests unto the Lord. (Bishop Reynolds.)

Pastors needed

In the church of San Zeno, at Verona, I saw the statue of that saint in a sitting posture, and the artist has given him knees so short that he has no lap whatever; so that he could not have been a nursing father. I fear there are many others who labour under a similar disability: they cannot bring their minds to enter heartily into the pastoral care. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Charles Kingsley as a pastor

On one occasion Kingsley was visiting a sick man suffering from fever. The atmosphere of the ground floor bedroom was horrible, but before the rector said a word he ran upstairs, and, to the great astonishment of the people of the cottage, bored with a large auger he had brought with him several holes above the beds head for ventilation. And when diphtheria, then a new disease in England, made its appearance at Eversley, he might have been seen running in and out of the cottages with great bottles of gargle under his arm, and teaching the people to gargle their throats as a preventive. (Life of Charles Kingsley.)

A good pastor

Father Taylor said of a certain member of his flock who kept continually falling back into drunken ways, He is an expensive machine; I have to keep mending him all the time; but I will never give him up. (C. A. Barrel, D. D.)

Careless pastors

St. Francis, reflecting on a story he heard of a mountaineer in the Alps who had risked his life to save a sheep, says, O God, if such was the earnestness of this shepherd in seeking for a mean animal, which had probably been frozen on the glacier, how is it that I am so indifferent in seeking my sheep? (W. Baxendale.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 11. He gave some, apostles] He established several offices in his Church; furnished these with the proper officers; and, to qualify them for their work, gave them the proper gifts. For a full illustration of this verse, the reader is requested to refer to the notes on 1Co 12:6-10; 1Co 12:28-30; and to the concluding observations at the end of that chapter.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

And he gave; distributed several gifts, (which are spoken of in general, Eph 1:7), according to his Fathers appointment, who is said to set in the church what Christ is here said to give, 1Co 12:28.

Objection. Nothing is here said of gifts, but only of offices.

Answer. Christ never gave offices without suitable furniture; this diversity therefore of offices includes diversity of respective gifts.

Apostles; extraordinary officers, with an immediate call, universal commission, infallibility in teaching, and power of working miracles, appointed for the first founding the Christian church in all parts of the world, Mat 28:19; Act 19:6.

Objection. The apostles were appointed by Christ before his death.

Answer. The apostle here speaks not of Christs first calling them, but:

1. Of his fully supplying them with gifts necessary to the discharge of their office, which was after his resurrection, Act 1:4; Joh 7:39. And:

2. Of their solemn inauguration in their office, by the pouring out of the Holy Ghost upon them in a visible manner, Act 2:1-47.

Prophets; extraordinary officers who did by immediate revelation interpret the Scriptures, 1Co 14:4,5, and not only such as did foretell things to come, Act 11:27; 21:10.

Evangelists; these were likewise extraordinary officers, for the most part chosen by the apostles, as their companions and assistants in preaching the word, and planting churches in the several places where they travelled. Such were Timothy, Titus, Apollos, Silas, &c.

Pastors and teachers; either two names of the same office, implying the distinct duties of ruling and teaching belonging to it; or two distinct offices, but both ordinary, and of standing use in the church in all times; and then pastors are they that are fixed to and preside over particular churches, with the care both of instructing and ruling them, 1Th 5:12; Heb 13:17; called elsewhere elders, and bishops, Act 20:28; Phi 1:1; 1Ti 3:1; Tit 1:5,7; 1Pe 5:1,2.

Teachers; they whose work is to teach the doctrine of religion, and confute the contrary errors.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

11. Greek, emphatical.”Himself” by His supreme power. “It is HEthat gave,” c.

gave some,apostlesTranslate, “some to be apostles, and some to beprophets,” &c. The men who filled the office, no less thanthe office itself, were a divine gift [EADIE].Ministers did not give themselves. Compare with the list here, 1Co 12:101Co 12:28. As the apostles,prophets, and evangelists were special and extraordinary ministers,so “pastors and teachers” are the ordinary stated ministersof a particular flock, including, probably, the bishops, presbyters,and deacons. Evangelists were itinerant preachers like ourmissionaries, as Philip the deacon (Ac21:8); as contrasted with stationary “pastors and teachers”(2Ti 4:5). The evangelistfounded the Church; the teacher built it up in the faithalready received. The “pastor” had the outward ruleand guidance of the Church: the bishop. As to revelation, the”evangelist” testified infallibly of the past; the”prophet,” infallibly of the future. The prophet derivedall from the Spirit; the evangelist, in the special case of the Four,recorded matter of fact, cognizable to the senses, under the Spirit’sguidance. No one form of Church polity as permanently unalterableis laid down in the New Testament though the apostolical order ofbishops, or presbyters, and deacons, superintended by higheroverseers (called bishops after the apostolic times), has the highestsanction of primitive usage. In the case of the Jews, a fixed modelof hierarchy and ceremonial unalterably bound the people, mostminutely detailed in the law. In the New Testament, the absence ofminute directions for Church government and ceremonies, shows that afixed model was not designed; the general rule is obligatoryas to ceremonies, “Let all things be done decently and in order”(compare Article XXXIV, Church of England); and that a succession ofministers be provided, not self-called, but “called to the workby men who have public authority given unto them in the congregation,to call and send ministers into the Lord’s vineyard” [ArticleXXIII]. That the “pastors” here were the bishops andpresbyters of the Church, is evident from Act 20:28;1Pe 5:1; 1Pe 5:2,where the bishops’ and presbyters’ office is said to be”to feed” the flock. The term, “shepherd” or”pastor,” is used of guiding and governing and notmerely instructing, whence it is applied to kings,rather than prophets or priests (Eze 34:23;Jer 23:4). Compare the names ofprinces compounded of “pharnas,” Hebrew,“pastor,” Holophernes, Tis-saphernes (compare Isa44:28).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And he gave some apostles,…. That is, he gave them gifts by which they were qualified to be apostles; who were such as were immediately called by Christ, and had their doctrine from him, and their commission to preach it; and were peculiarly and infallibly guided by the Spirit of God, and had a power to work miracles for the confirmation of their doctrine; and had authority to go everywhere and preach the Gospel, and plant churches, and were not confined to anyone particular place or church; this was the first and chief office in the church, and of an extraordinary kind, and is now ceased; and though the apostles were before Christ’s ascension, yet they had not received till then the fulness of the Spirit, and his extraordinary gifts to fit them for their office; nor did they enter upon the discharge of it in its large extent till that time; for they were not only to bear witness of Christ in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, but in the uttermost parts of the earth:

and some prophets; by whom are meant, not private members of churches, who may all prophesy or teach in a private way; nor ordinary ministers of the word; but extraordinary ones, who had a peculiar gift of interpreting the Scriptures, the prophecies of the Old Testament, and of foretelling things to come; such were Agabus and others in the church of Antioch, Ac 11:27

and some evangelists; by whom are designed, not so much the writers of the Gospels, as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, some of which were also apostles; as preachers of the Gospel, and who yet were distinct from the ordinary ministers of it; they were below the apostles, and yet above pastors and teachers; they were the companions of the apostles, and assistants to them, and subserved them in their work; such were Philip, Luke, Titus, Timothy, and others; these were not fixed and stated ministers in anyone place, as the following officers be, but were sent here and there as the apostles thought fit:

and some pastors and teachers, or doctors; these may be thought to differ, but not so much on account of the place where they perform their work, the one in the church, the other in the school; nor on account of the different subject of their ministry, the one attending to practical, the other to doctrinal points; but whereas the pastors are the shepherds of the flock, the overseers of it, and the same with the bishops and elders, and the teachers may be the gifted brethren in the church, assistants to the pastors, bare ministers of the word; so the difference lies here, that the one has the oversight, and care, and charge of the church, and the other not; the one can administer all ordinances, the other not; the one is fixed and tied to some certain church, the other not: though I rather think they intend one and the same office, and that the word “teachers” is only explanative of the figurative word “pastors” or shepherds; and the rather because if the apostle had designed distinct officers, he would have used the same form of speaking as before; and have expressed himself thus, “and some pastors, and some teachers”; whereas he does not make such a distribution here as there; though the Syriac version reads this clause distributively as the others; and among the Jews there were the singular men or wise men, and the disciples of the wise men, who were their companions and assistants; and it is asked y,

“who is a singular man? and who is a disciple? a singular man is everyone that is fit to be appointed a pastor or governor of a congregation; and a disciple is one, that when he is questioned about any point in his doctrine, gives an answer:”

wherefore if these two, pastors and teachers, are different, it might be thought there is some reference to this distinction, and that pastors answer to the wise men, and teachers to their disciples or assistants; and so Kimchi in Jer 3:15 interprets the pastors there of , “the pastors of Israel”, which shall be with the King Messiah, as is said in Mic 5:5 and undoubtedly Gospel ministers are meant: from the whole it may be observed, that as there have been various officers and offices in the Gospel dispensation, various gifts have been bestowed; and these are the gifts of Christ, which he has received for men, and gives unto them; and hence it appears that the work of the ministry is not an human invention, but the appointment of Christ, for which he fits and qualifies, and therefore to be regarded; and that they only are the ministers of Christ, whom he makes ministers of the New Testament, and not whom men or themselves make and appoint.

y T. Bab. Taanith, fol. 10. 2.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

And he gave ( ). First aorist active indicative of . In 1Co 12:28 Paul uses (more common verb, appointed), but here repeats from the quotation in verse 8. There are four groups ( , three times, as the direct object of ). The titles are in the predicate accusative (, , ). Each of these words occurs in 1Co 12:28 (which see for discussion) except (shepherds). This word is from a root meaning to protect. Jesus said the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (Joh 10:11) and called himself the Good Shepherd. In Heb 13:20 Christ is the Great Shepherd (cf. 1Pe 2:25). Only here are preachers termed shepherds (Latin pastores) in the N.T. But the verb , to shepherd, is employed by Jesus to Peter (Joh 21:16), by Peter to other ministers (1Pe 5:2), by Paul to the elders (bishops) of Ephesus (Ac 20:28). Here Paul groups “shepherds and teachers” together. All these gifts can be found in one man, though not always. Some have only one.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

The gifts specified.

He gave. He is emphatic. It is He that gave. Compare given in ver. 7. Apostles. Properly, as apostles, or to be apostles. Christ ‘s ministers are gifts to His people. Compare 1Co 3:5, “ministers as the Lord gave;” also 1Co 3:21, 22. The distinguishing features of an apostle were, a commission directly from Christ : being a witness of the resurrection : special inspiration : supreme authority : accrediting by miracles : unlimited commission to preach and to found churches.

Prophets. Preachers and expounders under the immediate influence of the Spirit, and thus distinguished from teachers. 1Co 12:10. Evangelists. Traveling missionaries.

Pastors and teachers. Pastors or shepherds. The verb poimainw to tend as a shepherd, is often used in this sense. See on 1Pe 5:2; Mt 2:6. The omission of the article from teachers seems to indicate that pastors and teachers are included under one class. The two belong together. No man is fit to be a pastor who cannot also teach, and the teacher needs the knowledge which pastoral experience gives.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

1) “And he gave some, apostles” (kai autos edoken tous men apostolous) “And he gave (grace-gifts) to some, to be apostles.” The emphatic “He gave” refers to Jesus Christ, though the instrument or means of giving the gifts was through the Holy Spirit, as promised and confirmed, Joh 16:13-14; Act 2:1-4; 1Co 12:4-11.

2) “And some, prophets” (tous de prophetes) “Moreover he gave to some (grace-gifts) to be prophets.” The subject is spiritual gifts. It was the special “gifts” of apostleship and prophecy Paul affirmed were given by Jesus Christ to church believers, when He had ascended on high, 1Co 12:28-31.

3) “And some, evangelists” (tous de evangelistas) “Then to some he gave the gift of evangelists.” These special gifts were given to men in different churches, according to the particular need of the church. One needed the “evangelist leader,” another the “prophet leader,” another the ” pastor- teacher leader.” By the gifts of the Spirit these men of God were “set in the churches, Act 13:1-2; Act 16:6-7.

4) “And some, pastors and teachers” (tous de poimenas kai didaskalous) “Moreover to some (He gave) grace gifts of pastors, even or also teachers,” or teaching pastors, The two functions of pastoring and teaching seem to coincide or be combined in the one settled guardian or overseer of the local congregation; the term does not seem to refer to two distinct orders or functions, but to two qualifications of special gifts to the same leader-person, Act 20:28; 1Pe 5:1-4.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

He returns to explain the distribution of gifts, and illustrates at greater length what he had slightly hinted, that out of this variety arises unity in the church, as the various tones in music produce sweet melody. The meaning may be thus summed up. “The external ministry of the word is also commended, on account of the advantages which it yields. Certain men appointed to that office, are employed in preaching the gospel. This is the arrangement by which the Lord is pleased to govern his church, to maintain its existence, and ultimately to secure its highest perfection.”

It may excite surprise, that, when the gifts of the Holy Spirit form the subject of discussion, Paul should enumerate offices instead of gifts. I reply, when men are called by God, gifts are necessarily connected with offices. God does not confer on men the mere name of Apostles or Pastors, but also endows them with gifts, without which they cannot properly discharge their office. He whom God has appointed to be an apostle does not bear an empty and useless title; for the divine command, and the ability to perform it, go together. Let us now examine the words in detail.

11. And he gave. The government of the church, by the preaching of the word, is first of all declared to be no human contrivance, but a most sacred ordinance of Christ. The apostles did not appoint themselves, but were chosen by Christ; and, at the present day, true pastors do not rashly thrust themselves forward by their own judgment, but are raised up by the Lord. In short, the government of the church, by the ministry of the word, is not a contrivance of men, but an appointment made by the Son of God. As his own unalterable law, it demands our assent. They who reject or despise this ministry offer insult and rebellion to Christ its Author. It is himself who gave them; for, if he does not raise them up, there will be none. Another inference is, that no man will be fit or qualified for so distinguished an office who has not been formed and moulded by the hand of Christ himself. To Christ we owe it that we have ministers of the gospel, that they abound in necessary qualifications, that they execute the trust committed to them. All, all is his gift.

Some, apostles. The different names and offices assigned to different persons take their rise from that diversity of the members which goes to form the completeness of the whole body, — every ground of emulation, and envy, and ambition, being thus removed. If every person shall display a selfish character, shall strive to outshine his neighbor, and shall disregard all concerns but his own, — or, if more eminent persons shall be the object of envy to those who occupy a lower place, — in each, and in all of these cases, gifts are not applied to their proper use. He therefore reminds them, that the gifts bestowed on individuals are intended, not to be held for their personal and separate interests, but to be employed for the benefit of the whole. Of the offices which are here enumerated, we have already spoken at considerable length, (143) and shall now say nothing more than the exposition of the passage seems to demand. Five classes of office-bearers are mentioned, though on this point, I am aware, there is a diversity of opinion; for some consider the two last to make but one office. Leaving out of view the opinions of others, I shall proceed to state my own.

I take the word apostles not in that general sense which the derivation of the term might warrant, but in its own peculiar signification, for those highly favored persons whom Christ exalted to the highest honor. Such were the twelve, to whose number Paul was afterwards added. Their office was to spread the doctrine of the gospel throughout the whole world, to plant churches, and to erect the kingdom of Christ. They had not churches of their own committed to them; but the injunction given to all of them was, to preach the gospel wherever they went.

Next to them come the Evangelists, who were closely allied in the nature of their office, but held an inferior rank. To this class belonged Timothy and others; for, while Paul mentions them along with himself in the salutations of his epistles, he does not speak of them as his companions in the apostleship, but claims this name as peculiarly his own. The services in which the Lord employed them were auxiliary to those of the apostles, to whom they were next in rank.

To these two classes the apostle adds Prophets. By this name some understand those persons who possessed the gift of predicting future events, among whom was Agabus. (Act 11:28.) But, for my own part, as doctrine is the present subject, I would rather define the word prophets, as on a former occasion, (144) to mean distinguished interpreters of prophecies, who, by a remarkable gift of revelation, applied them to the subjects which they had occasion to handle; not excluding, however, the gift of prophecy, by which their doctrinal instruction was usually accompanied.

Pastors and Teachers are supposed by some to denote one office, because the apostle does not, as in the other parts of the verse, say, and some, pastors; and some, teachers; but, τοὺς δὲ, ποιμένας καὶ διδασκάλους, and some, pastors and teachers Chrysostom and Augustine are of this opinion; not to mention the commentaries of Ambrose, whose observations on the subject are truly childish and unworthy of himself. I partly agree with them, that Paul speaks indiscriminately of pastors and teachers as belonging to one and the same class, and that the name teacher does, to some extent, apply to all pastors. But this does not appear to me a sufficient reason why two offices, which I find to differ from each other, should be confounded. Teaching is, no doubt, the duty of all pastors; but to maintain sound doctrine requires a talent for interpreting Scripture, and a man may be a teacher who is not qualified to preach.

Pastors, in my opinion, are those who have the charge of a particular flock; though I have no objection to their receiving the name of teachers, if it be understood that there is a distinct class of teachers, who preside both in the education of pastors and in the instruction of the whole church. It may sometimes happen, that the same person is both a pastor and a teacher, but the duties to be performed are entirely different.

It deserves attention, also, that, of the five offices which are here enumerated, not more than the last two are intended to be perpetual. Apostles, Evangelists, and Prophets were bestowed on the church for a limited time only, — except in those cases where religion has fallen into decay, and evangelists are raised up in an extraordinary manner, to restore the pure doctrine which had been lost. But without Pastors and Teachers there can be no government of the church.

Papists have some reason to complain, that their primacy, of which they boast so much, is openly insulted in this passage. The subject of discussion is the unity of the church. Paul inquires into the means by which its continuance is secured, and the outward expressions by which it is promoted, and comes at length to the government of the church. If he knew a primacy which had a fixed residence, was it not his duty, for the benefit of the whole church, to exhibit one ministerial head placed over all the members, under whose government we are collected into one body? We must either charge Paul with inexcusable neglect and foolishness, in leaving out the most appropriate and powerful argument, or we must acknowledge that this primacy is at variance with the appointment of Christ. In truth, he plainly rejects it as without foundation, when he ascribes superiority to Christ alone, and represents the apostles, and all the pastors, as indeed inferior to Him, but associated on an equal level with each other. There is no passage of Scripture by which that tyrannical hierarchy, regulated by one earthly head, is more completely overturned. Paul has been followed by Cyprian, who gives a short and clear definition of what forms the only lawful monarchy in the church. There is, he says, one bishoprick, which unites the various parts into one whole. This bishoprick he claims for Christ alone, leaving the administration of it to individuals, but in a united capacity, no one being permitted to exalt himself above others.

(143) See Calvin on Corinthians, vol. 1 p. 401.

(144) See Calvin on Corinthians, vol. 1 p. 415.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

MADE TEACHERS BY JESUS CHRIST

Eph 4:11

FOR many months it has been my purpose to speak on this text, but a multitude of subjects and objects to be presented, have delayed what was at once a plain duty, and to me, a special privilege, namely, that of discussing the Bible teachers work.

It was a fortunate thing for the ministry of the early Church that the cry of the neglected widows created the diaconate, and thereby gave to succeeding centuries that splendid body of men who have been to pastors what Aaron and Hur were to Israels leader. But the Gospel ministry was again mightily reinforced when the cry of Bible-hungry-soulschildren, and better-grownmoved Robert Raikes to materialize and develop the Sunday School idea. With his movement came the resuscitation of the office, which, though apostolic, had been almost lost to the church, namely, that office of teacher.

Nineteen centuries ago, Paul penned this Epistle to the Ephesians, and touched upon the agencies Christ had appointed to propagate His Gospel, and precipitate His Kingdom. And of that appointment Paul said, He gave some, Apostles; and some, Prophets; and some, Evangelists; and some, Pastors and Teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ. It was scarcely by accident that the Apostle put these two offices, Pastor and Teacher, into such close touch. He saw then, even as we know now, that their labors were necessarily linked by indissoluble bonds; he saw then, as we now so well know, that in the teacher of the Word of God, the preacher has a colaborer indeed, with whose labors he can no more dispense than could the Superintendent of Public Schools put away his instructors. He saw then, what I am anxious the Church of God should appreciate again, namely, that the teacher of the Word of God receives the commission to this work from Christ Himself, which cannot be lightly esteemed; which he dare not disregard.

In 1901 King Edward sent out his command to the peers and lords and every officer of his realm, ordering their presence on the occasion of his coronation. To this call of a king these dignitaries answered, every one. It is serious business when a plain man declines the call of the King of kings, and Lord of lords, whose right it is to say, Some, Apostles; some, Prophets; some, Evangelists; some, Pastors and Teachers!

How can I do better this morning than to talk to those of you who are teachers; to those here who are interested in teachingsurely that includes us every onetouching the teachers work, the teachers weapon, and the teachers wage.

THE TEACHERS WORK

It is of peerless worth. The majority of Bible teachers instruct youth. Their work is on that account all the more worthy. There may be a shadow of greater honor associated with the term teacher of an adult class, but the substance of nobility belongs rather to the teacher of the youth. Pastor Stalker in his Imago Christi refers to the fact that the boy Jesus went regularly to the synagogue to be instructed. In a foot-note he comments on that fact in these words, What was the man like who did it? Was he a wise man who guided the footsteps of the Holy Child into the pastures of the Word, and supplied Him with language in which his own thoughts afterwards expressed themselves? * * No portion of the congregation is more awe inspiring than the children. Any Sunday there may be sitting before us one who is already revolving the thoughts which will dominate the future and supersede our own.

Surely that facetious interrogation, Who can tell what the baby thinks? might take on the form of a serious question, Who can tell what he thinks? Who can tell what possibilities of mind are already pulsing in the little head; who can tell what power is wrapped up in the manikin? It is reported that Themistocles, pointing to his interesting little son, said, playfully, There is the greatest man in Greece. By way of explanation, he remarked, The Athenians command Greece; I command the Athenians; his mother commands me; and he commands his mother. The child, then, was ruler of all. Potentially considered, there are children in our Bible Schools now, who are the coming rulers of equal or greater empires. It is well for us to remember that scarce a man, as yet, has filled the Presidential chair, in this American Republic, whose character was not, in part, the product of a Bible School teachers work. And few women who have shared this honor with their husbands, but have proudly confessed that, whatever fitness they had for the office of first women of the land, was in large part the product of the same sacred instruction.

Oh, my brother! my sister! teaching today in this school, remember, there may be a boy or a girl in your class now, whose honors will yet be sung neath every sun, into whose hand the scepter of wondrous power shall yet come. To do the work of so forming character as to make of the boy a Moses to redeem his people, instead of a Pharaoh to oppress; an Esther to save, instead of a Cleopatra to ensnare, aye, that is a worthy work!

Your work is worthy also because it is a work of imparting truth. Gods Word is Truth. To teach that to children, to instruct adults in that, is to impart imperishable wisdom, is to put into character its most potent factor. In an article contributed years since to the Arena, a writer said some things which were full of the soundest wisdom. Speaking of the indifference to Scriptural and spiritual training that many people show concerning children, he expressed his surprise and added, Teach your child false arithmetic, if you will, he will get that knocked out of him very speedily in a short business experience. Teach him false geographythat the Grecian Archipelago is in the Indian Ocean; that is a matter of very slight importance. Teach him false history; it will make very little difference to him whether he can tell who came first, Richard III or Henry VII. Teach him falsely almost anywhere else and it is of slight importance compared with false teaching here. The world as a result of age-long struggle is beginning to be free, beginning to gain glimpses of light, beginning to have higher and nobler thoughts of God, beginning to walk the path along which human hope is beckoning. Do not dare, then, carelessly or thoughtlessly to deceive your child, so that he shall become a block on the wheels of Gods chariot which carries the desires, the trusts, and the longings of the race toward a better future. Did you ever stop to think how important a place you must appoint to the knowledge of the Word in the character of Peter, the make-up of Paul, the success of Polycarp, the supremacy of Savonarola, the enthronement of Alfred Cookman, the power of Isaac Watts, the eloquence of Robert Hall, the logic of Jonathan Edwards, the conquest of a Charles Spurgeon, the evangelism of a Dwight L. Moody? The men who taught these when they were children, who instructed them in the Sacred Scripture, may be forgotten by their fellow-mortals, but I believe in Heaven their names are written not only in the Lambs Book of Life, but in letters of light, for they are worthy. Sanctify them through Thy Truth; Thy Word is Truth.

When Wendell Phillips was but a tiny boy, his mother was his Bible teacher. She used to take him on her knee and go over with him the Sacred lessons, reading and explaining, and then catechising. She often finished her instructions by saying, Wendell, be good, and do good, this is my whole desire for you. Add other things, if you may, these are central. And when you think of this youths enthusiasm; when you admire this mans bravery; when you are charmed with this mans eloquent sentences, remember his mother, who exalted her high office by making herself at once his Bible teacher.

THE TEACHERS WEAPON

The weapon for this work is, the matchless Word.

Possess yourself of it, and you will find in it both the means of defense and the instrument of aggression. Its peerless point makes skeptics and infidels afraid, if only they find you know how to wield the Sword of the Spirit. There is no wisdom of this world that can stand before it. The man who knows the Book will be more than a match for the advocates of the hundred and one isms that are now rampant in the world; and that are more and more coming into our churches to make converts therefrom. I think over the people that depart to unite with Christian Science, with Spiritualism, with Theosophy, and it is no wonder to me that they go. They have been so poorly instructed in Gods Word; they have studied it so little; they understand so meagerly how to make anything of its promises; they have attempted to practice so few of its precepts, that they are without foundation, and they fall an easy prey to every smooth speaker; aye, even to indifferent readers who come claiming a new revelation. The advocates of these uninspired Isms are always and everywhere, afraid of the man who is familiar with the Word. They know that he has on the armour of God and is able to stand against the wiles of the devil. And they also know that he has in his hand the Word of the Lord, which is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit and of joints and marrow. And they let him severely alone.

Did you ever stop to think of how Jesus parried the attacks of the great Adversary, when in the wilderness, he tempted Him? His reply, every time was, It is written. Command that these stones be made bread. That was the temptation. It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. That was the adequate answer to it. Cast Thyself down. Jesus saith unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. On the mountain top, overlooking all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, Satan said, All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth Him.

The present-day Christians best defense against this same adversary is the Sword of the Spirit. Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.

But as teachers you will need more often to employ the Sword of the Spirit in saving others than in self-defense. It is the instrument of conquest in the right hand of Gods own; and with it, the most rebellious may be brought to surrender. When Richmond surrendered to the Northern army, there were not a few Southern sympathizers that hailed the triumph of the stars and stripes with delight. They knew they were now to fall into the hands of her against whom they had fought, but they had no fear of her. They saw how much better that was than to longer continue the rebellion, of which they were sick, and the failure of which they were more and more certain; they longed for peace and they had seen that it could come only by surrender, and that such surrender would bring restoration of favor, and put them where loyalty to the flag would add joy to their future.

So there are many souls that have seen the folly of fighting against God; who turn their eyes to the camps of His conquering army, knowing that to be there is more desirable than in the enemies servicemen and women, who shall bless the day friends raised the blood-stained banner of the Cross over the citadel of their hearts; boys and girls that will never forget the teachers who, by the Sword of the Spirit took them captive for the Kingdom of God.

THE TEACHERS WAGE

Our text indicates that those wages shall be spiritual, and yet sufficient. It is a great thing to have part in the perfecting of the saints, in the work of the ministry, in edifying of the Body of Christ, in accomplishing the unity of the faith, the impartation of knowledge of the Son of God, in building up a man unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.

The first reward will be in your own intellectual and spiritual improvement. One reason why I dare to advise some of our newer converts to become teachers exists at this very point: I knew that it would make them the best students of the Word. And I knew that it would build up in them the Divine Image, for in this Word they will find food for the soul. Did you ever stop to think how Jeremiah became the wonderful teacher he was? You will find it explained in his own language. He says, Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy Name, O Lord God of hosts (Jer 15:16).

No man can teach until he has found the Word of God; no man can teach until he has possessed himself of that same Word; until he has literally fed upon it. As has often been said, The hungry man may make a chemical analysis of bread and starve while carrying on this process; bread cannot become nutritious until it is eaten, and thus become a part of bone and sinew. No man can teach the Truth until in his own life he can experience that truth; no man can experience the truths of the Word to their fullest profit until he has made himself familiar with them. Self-teaching, therefore, is the first secret of success, and it contains in itself its own reward. Did you ever think of what a privilege you have, in that you can go into this Word of God to get out of it its meaning; to bring forth from its pages food for the soul?

Canon Farrar speaking of it said, Other books may make you learned or eloquent or subtle; this book alone can make you wise unto salvation. Other books may fascinate the intellect; by this alone can you cleanse the heart. In other literatures may trickle here and there some shallow runnel from the unemptiable fountain of wisdomand even there, alas! turbid too often with human obstacles, and choked at last in morass or sandbut in this Book, majestic and fathomless, flows the river of the water of life itself, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. Every teacher, therefore, of Gods Word, finds in the very study of it a splendid and sufficient reward.

When B. F. Jacobs began his work as a Bible teacher, he probably had in mind the profit he would impart to others, but the most marked effect of all these years of splendid instruction is in Jacobs own magnificent mind and heart.

But there is yet another and greater reward to be striven after by those who teach.

It is the reward par excellence. Prof. Tholuck of Halle asked himself early in his Christian experience, What is the chief end of life? He was a splendid student of secular and sacred studies, but he could not believe that the mere acquisition of learning was a sufficient occasion of existence and struggle. Again and again, therefore, he asked this question, What is the chief end of life? One day he fell in with a young Jew, a wild, restless creature, and shortly he had led him to Jesus. He saw at once that his question was answered. That day he gave himself unreservedly to the service of turning men from sin to the Saviour. When only about twenty years more had passed, he made the wonderful statement that he knew of more than a thousand young men he had been privileged to lead to the Lamb of God.

There is one thing that I would like to impress this morning upon the workers in this school; one thing that before all others I would have animate the breasts of the laborers in the missions; it is this, namely, that through these mediums we may win men to the Son of God. Aye, they are worthy our endeavor; aye, souls give occasion to sacrifice; we will never lay a cent upon the altar of such service, or contribute human energy to such high calling, but that both will come back to us, doubled indeed, in the form of redeemed men, women and children.

And one day, each of us will see the truth which old Dr. Sharp, of Charles Street Church, Boston, expressed when he said, I would rather have one young man come to my grave and say, The man who lies here arrested me in a course of sin, taught me the truth, turned me to Christ, than to have the most magnificent obelisk that ever marked the place of mortal remains.

Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley

FRIENDS AND FOES OF PERFECT MANHOOD

Eph 4:11-15

THE subject of the last sermon was one that enlisted deep interest, and elicited kindly words from many of those who were present.

It occurred to me, therefore, that in a further discussion of this text there was the basis of a second discourse which should be a companion piece of that a week ago, for the text of this morning sets before us the perfect manhood in Christ Jesus as the end to be attained by the forces of Divine appointment here mentioned.

I believe, with Henry Ward Beecher, that a true man after Christ is the most noble and beautiful thing on the earththe freest, the most joyous, the most fruitful in all goodness. There is no picture that was ever painted, there is no statue that was ever carved, there is no work of art that was ever conceived half so beautiful as is the soul thoroughly developed upon the pattern of Jesus Christ.

This text undertakes to set before us some of the forces that aid and oppose that development; and to study it awhile ought to assist us in understanding how to use those that are friendly to our spiritual good in overcoming those that are hostile and purpose our hurt.

And He gave some, Apostles; and some, Prophets; and some, Evangelists; and some Pastors and Teachers;

For the perfecting of the saints; for the work of the ministry; for the edifying of the Body of Christ:

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.

That we henceforth he no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ.

Following out the suggestions herein contained,

ALL AGENCIES OF SPIRITUAL IMPROVEMENT ARE OF DIVINE APPOINTMENT

And He, that is Christ, gave some, Apostles; and some, Prophets; and some, Evangelists; and some, Pastors and Teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry; for the edifying of the Body of Christ.

These are some of the agencies employed to this noble end: The Apostle, the Prophet, the Evangelist, the Pastor and the Teacher. Not all of them, however. Every man does not need his name on the congressional list in order to be represented in Congress, nor does every possible agent need to be named in order to be understood as having a part in the perfecting of the spirit of man.

The Apostle and the Prophet were among the authors of the Word of God; and doubtless it was what they had said, as inspired men, that Paul here referred to.

That fact furnishes authority to the Word. If people say, I cannot see why the Bible is such an important agency in spiritual development, since it was written by mortal menMoses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, James, John, Peter and Paulit is sufficient to answer, they spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost; therein their words are lifted up high above those of all other men.

The wisdom of Socrates and Seneca; the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle; the eloquence of Demosthenes and Rienzi are now only things of memory, while the words of Moses, the wisdom of Solomon, the philosophy of David, and the eloquence of Paul are among the powers that aid in men-making.

Last century produced two Englishmen and two Americans of peerless worth in the religious and political realms. Mr. Spurgeon and Mr. Gladstone had no English contemporaries who might be named in the same breath with them, and Henry Ward Beecher and Wendell Phillips were by many lengths the most versatile and advanced of our countrymen. Should we be surprised to discover that the four of them fed at the same table, and drank from the same inexhaustible fountainGods Word?

Carlos Martin, in his life of Wendell Phillips, tells us the boys mother was profoundly religious. Her foremost purpose, therefore, was to root him in faith and hope and love. Her earliest gift to him was a Bible, his inseparable companion for 70 years. And we know from history that Spurgeon, Gladstone and Beecher were brought up in the study of the same Book, and from it learned how to be lights in the world, and like unto their Lord.

If we would be more perfect men, if we would be more like the Son of God, we cannot ignore Prophet and Apostle. Paul wrote, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby.

Father of mercies, in Thy Word What endless glory shines!Forever be Thy Name adored For these celestial lines.

Tis here the tree of knowledge grows,And yields a free repast:Here purer sweets than nature knowsInvite the longing taste.

Oh, may these Heavenly pages beMy ever-dear delight;And still new beauties may I see,And still increasing light.

And there is an inspiration in the living voice of the Gospel. The Evangelist, the Pastor and the Teacher are equally of Divine appointment for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ. If those who have accepted Jesus Christ would only put themselves into more constant touch with these Divinely appointed agencies, their progress would be more perceptible.

Present-day preaching is not all that is to be desired. The modern evangelist is not a model in all respects. The average teacher is not free from serious deficiencies; and yet I notice that the men, women and children who sit often at the feet of the pastor and give to his words an unprejudiced and interested audience; who wait upon the ministry of the evangelist and listen intently to his expositions of Scripture, and sit at the feet of the teacher Sabbath after Sabbath, missing a lesson only when sick, make progress in the Divine things, and come rapidly toward the manhood in Christ Jesus to which our text refers.

Why should any wonder if the occasional attendant upon these services knows little or nothing of such attainment? The agents of Gods appointment work often under the poorest conceivable circumstances.

If Michael Angelo had not seen his block of marble oftener than Gods agents see the faces of some of those upon whom they are supposed to work; and if in the intervals of weeks, between the hours in which Michael chiseled on the unshapely mass, it had been chipped, beaten and marred by the touch of unfriendly hands, as the world disintegrates and defaces the soul, his Moses would never have known its place of honor in the art gallery.

Or, again, if twenty famous artists had wrought upon a picture of Christ on the Mount, each dipping his brush and striking in at some new spot on the canvass to paint for forty minutes a week, little knowing or caring what his fellow artists had done, the result would have been a daub fit only for the ash-heap instead of The Transfiguration that the one mind and the one hand of Raphael wrought.

Crazy quilts are best made by many workmen, each doing his service independently of the others; and I notice that the people who tramp about from church to church, taking a bit of Presbyterianism, to-day; of Methodism, tomorrow; of Baptist doctrines, the day following; and then mixing in with it Universalism, Unitarianism and all the rest become crazy-quilt Christians.

Such tramps are an excellent illustration of the old adage, Too many cooks spoil the broth.

There is an interest in the variety of sitting at the feet of many preachers, but soul-growth does not come that way. On the contrary, those who are faithful to the apostle and the prophet of the Word, the pastor and teacher of the church to which they belong, or in which they find Scriptural instruction, are the people that make progress in Divine things.

The value of a long pastorate and of a long service as a teacher is in the opportunities to paint into the lives of those with whom one deals, his ideal Christ. At the end of the first, and second, and third year the picture may be deficient, but when the twentieth year has gone by, it will stand out in the life exhibiting its greater excellencies.

God knew what He was doing when He gave the pastor the permanent office in the church, a teacher who should come to his work every week; and an organization with its spiritual paraphernalia and ministrations. The great difference between Christians to-day is often the question of their fidelity to the use of these agencies of Divine appointment.

THE TRIUMPH OF THESE AGENCIES IS NOT WITHOUT OPPOSITION

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ.

This growth, then, like all growth, whether by nature or grace, comes through contest. The forces of Gods ordination have to overcome evil powers in perfecting men.

First of all is the inherent weakness of spiritual infancy, that we be no more children.

It is a mistake to suppose the newly regenerate man a spirit of prowess, or perfection. The childhood of the soul is none the less marked than infancy of bodies, and its enemies none the less multitudinous. The majority of mankind perishes in swaddling clothes, or in the cradle. Why should we be surprised then to find feebleness in certain church-members, backslidings in others. When God breathes the breath of regeneration into a soul, its life is immortal, but its development is dependent. Under certain conditions it may remain the infant in motive, purpose and power.

Years ago Philadelphia was said to possess the oldest baby in the world. On May 15th, 1876, this little girl came into the home of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Henry. For a time she appeared healthy and was developing well, but when some seven or eight months old, the development was arrested. She never talked. She never walked. She had no teeth; and to old age subsisted upon baby foods, and gave no sign of dawning intelligence. Although comparatively free from the deformities that characterize such cases, she remained a child, to be pitied instead of petted; commiserated instead of complimented. And, there are those in the Church of God who must always be in the mothers arms, literally carried by the church; who must be fed on milk, never being able to take meat of the Word.

Paul has written our text to show the agents appointed that we might escape this pitiable experience, and be no more children.

The ingenious Swedenborg teaches that resurrected infants are carried direct to Heaven and delivered over to women angels who, in the life of the body, loved the infants tenderly, and at the same time loved God. By these good angels they are educated and brought up until they attain suitable age, when they are transferred to other teachers. They grow up and become men and women, are instructed in wisdom and trained in the duties of the heavenly life, and when their character is fully developed, they become settled in some society, either of the celestial or spiritual kingdom, in agreement with their inherited genius or disposition. But Swedenborg has not told us what will be the disposition made of souls that are sickly and stunted; of infants who ought to be men. But the Apostle of God has told us how we may escape that

Wherefore, laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies and envies, and all evil speakings,

As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby.

Malice, guile, hypocrisy, envy, evil speaking these are paralyzing powers. Putting them aside, drinking the milk of the Word, we grow.

Some years ago, at a little station in Indiana, we saw a baby six weeks of age which had grown to weigh almost five pounds. Diminutive fellow he was, but when I watched him wrestling with his nursing bottle, and saw how vigorously he labored, I said, he will make a man. He was overcoming. He was growing by the forces of exercise. Weakness was retreating. His mother looked on the contest between baby and bottle and, seeing the former get the victory, grew proud; and so our great Motherthe Church, and our Father-Godis glad of the sight of soul-growth and victory. He wants us to be men and women in Jesus Christ.

Again, we are to grow for the sake of the truth; that we be no more children carried about with every wind of doctrine.

The undeveloped Christian is in the greatest danger from error, as the undeveloped infant is in the greatest danger from epidemic and disease. A baby swallows everything you give him, and spiritual babes do the same, having no power of discrimination between the good and the bad, the true and the false.

There were people in Chicago who attended the Parliament of Religions, and drank in all that was delivered. If it was Christianity, all right; if it was Buddhism, Confucianism, Shintoism, or any sort of a thing, they relished it just the same, carried about with every wind of doctrine.

One stimulus that every boy has in struggling toward manhood exists in the fact that he is growing away from the dangers of measles, chicken-pox and whooping-cough.

And it ought to be inspiration in spiritual development that those who experience it are escaping the dangers of false doctrines which disfigure and threaten with death.

Truly, as a great pastor said, a little while ago, There is a charity prevalent to-day which rejoices not in the truth. We need men and women who believe something definite and whose faith is a working force shaping our destinies to noble things. There are a few men now that believe with John Knox and are brave enough to declare themselves in the presence of idolatrous queens. Few women, like Anne Askew, have a faith so well defined that they will go to the tower and have their bones crushed on the rack, and to the stake, and submit their flesh to the flames rather than subscribe to Romish error.

Indeed, there is danger that our religion be too much like a ball of wax, put into any shape by a touch of hands.

Henry Ward Beecher spoke with his accustomed eloquence when he declared, There is to be one ground and only one for our morals and that is the ground of truth, always and without exception. There is no other ground that you can take and be safe, and if you take that ground, you must fight for it. You must fight the tendencies of your own nature. You must fight the customs of society. You must fight prevalent opinions of the age. But it is worth all the conflict that you wage. It is worth all the strength that you put forth. It is worth all the suffering that you are called to endure. It is that which will redeem your life and make you worthy to have been createdworthy to be called the sons of God.

THE ULTIMATE PURPOSEA PERFECT MAN

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ.

Christianity, like Hawthornes Ernest of the Great Stone Face, is always looking for the man to come. But when that man appears, he must not be a Gather-Gold, nor an old Blood-and-Thunder, nor an old Stony Phiz. He cannot be a miser, given to greed; a warrior given to battle and blood; a politician given to stealth and knavery; a poet given to the composition of rhymes. He must be an Ernest himselfa man of soul.

These Gospel agencies propose a man of moral excellence.

Some people imagine that because we preach that morality does not save, we suppose Christianity not to be moral. On the contrary, there is no Christianity apart from morality. Faith without works is dead.

When I was pastor in the city of Chicago, a street-car conductor passed a Canada quarter into my hand. I did not discover it until I had stepped from the car. The next car I entered I tried to get the conductor to take it back. He said he was not the man that gave it to me, and though he worked for the company he would not. The next day I offered it to a third. He refused it on the same ground. Then I said, Give me what it is worth, and he accepted it for twenty cents. Inside of two minutes, I saw him deliberately put that quarter into the hands of a young lady, passing it again for 25 in change. I got up and introduced myself to the young woman and called her attention to the quarter and together we proceeded to the conductor and he paid her another nickel. That act was not Christian. Christianity is moral. The man may possibly have been a Christian, but his act was unChristian.

Ye have not so learned Christ;

If so be that ye have heard Him, and been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus;

That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt, according to the deceitful lusts;

And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

One spot or blemish on the morals of a professed Christian attracts more attention, and excites more skepticism than all his combined virtues will overcome; hence God gave these agencies of the Gospel for the perfecting of the saints in moral character.

Again, the end of Divinely appointed agencies is to inspire the Christian with lofty purposes.

It is told that a gentleman asked a small boy what he meant to be when grown, and the urchin replied, President of the United States, sir, and the gentleman remarked, There is good likelihood that he shall succeed seeing that his ambitions are such.

But he who aspires to be a man in Christ Jesus has better ambitions still. And Christianity alone gives such an inspiration.

There have been brave men and honest outside the circle of Christs sweet influence, and there have been beautiful women and virtuous who knew Him not, but when the man of best parts is found, and the woman of most beautiful character appears, Christs features will shine forth in their lives.

On a Monday morning, a mission superintendent attended our Ministers Meeting, and in his remarks he said, After some years now of work in the slums, and with the people who are social outcasts for the most part, I am profoundly convinced that Jesus Christ is the personal and social Saviour of men; and of the humblest soul he can make, if man will but let him, the highest Christian character.

You remember that Macauley tells of a poor apprentice who made a cathedral window out of pieces of glass that his master had condemned and thrown aside, but when completed the window won the admiration of all. The masters boasted work was rejected and the window of the unknown slave artist, made from condemned material, took its place in the great cathedral instead. And some one has commented, The wisdom of this world has made its window from the wise, the learned, the moral; but the unknown Jesus of Nazareth became architect of a new society. He chose the weak things, the humble, the lowly, the despised, the very material that the world had condemned. He took up deficient sons and daughters and set them like diamonds to sparkle forever in the diadem of His glory, and it is upon this basis that the preacher can make his appeal to the high and low alike to let themselves be touched by the hand of the Nazarene who shall overcome their defects and deficiencies, and fit them as jewels for His crown, polished to perfect beauty by the agencies of Divine ordination.

Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley

THE EVOLUTION OF THE CHURCH

Eph 4:11-15

ONES early conception of the ministry involves preaching the Gospel, and but little else. In fact the prevalent opinion seems to be that the man who can preach effectively must be called of God to the ministry. In consequence of this idea the moment a young man reveals special ability as a spokesman there are those who advise him to think of preaching as his lifes calling. The time can never come when this element of the ministry will be despised. Paradoxical as it may sound, it is yet scriptural that it is through the foolishness of preaching that the world is to be brought into the light.

But ones more advanced experience reveals the importance of administrative ability on the part of the minister of the Gospel. There are many great orators in pulpits who fail as pastors; and there are in our sacred desks some very tame speakers who are yet eminently successful. The explanation is in the fact that the former have no ability for management; while the latter have revealed real generalship. The late Dr. Robert S. MacArthur was regarded as one of the successful pastors of America. For more than forty years he held the same pulpit; and the work which he took as a mission became one of the strongest and best-known churches in the land. He says, Much of the power of organization necessary to a successful leader of men in political life, or to the president of a great railroad, is necessary to effective leadership in the Church of God. Gods greatest work is not carried on by simpletons. Paul, Augustine, and Calvin would have been men of great mark in any walk of life. Luther, Wesley, and Whitefield were kings even among the kingly men of the earth. * * Mr. Spurgeon might have been Prime Minister of England, in another sense than that in which he was prime minister of the land, had he given his attention to political life. * * * * In religious, as in secular work, a chief element of any mans success is his ability wisely to organize the forces at his command.

In truth, if one consults the Book, Christ Himself believes in offices and in organization; and He appointed both for the development of the Church. This text names

THE AGENCIES OF ITS DEVELOPMENT

He gave some, Apostles; and some, Prophets; and some, Evangelists; and some, Pastors and Teachers;

For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.

These agencies were Divinely appointed. He gave. They did not choose the ministry as their lifes calling; they were not advised to enter the ministry by errant counsellors. They were not made ministers by the laying on of hands; they were called to the ministry by the Christ Himself. He gave. That is the only way a good minister has ever yet been made. Peter made a mistake when by lot, Matthias was chosen Apostle. The after ministry of that man amounted to nothing so far as the record goes; nor is there anything in the Holy Scriptures to show that Peter was ever asked to hold that business meeting and exalt that layman to the ministry.

We are not ready to say that no man should counsel a youth to enter the ministry; but we are always uneasy when we hear a man telling, either by pen or word of mouth, how other people, taking note of his talent, urged him to enter the ministry. Every Old Testament Prophet rehearses his Divine appointment; the Divine calling of every New Testament Apostle is recorded in the Scripture, and is it not possible that the only true successors to Peter, Paul and the other Apostles are those whom Christ hath called and equipped and given to the Church?

Then their commission was from Christ, He gave some, Apostles; and some, Prophets; and some, Evangelists; and some, Pastors and Teachers. The fact that a man is called of God to religious work does not necessarily determine what he is to do. A clear commission is the ground of true courage. John Clough, the civil engineer, knew that God had called him to India as a missionary. Charles Spurgeon, Englands peerless one, knew that God had called him to preach the Gospel to the people of his own land. Dwight Moody perfectly understood that he was commissioned as an evangelist. Men do not know a minister when they see him; God beholds the minister when no one else catches even a glimpse of him. Think of Campbell Morgan as an illustration. As a boy, belonging to the Methodist denomination, he felt the impulse of the Spirit, and heard a voice behind him saying, This is the way: walk ye in it, but when the Methodist Conference came together they saw no sign of a prophet in the appearance of the ungainly and half-educated lad, and so they rejected his appeal for ordination. They stood for Standardization in the Ministry.

There is encouragement in the circumstance that when God truly calls a man to the ministry, and by His Spirit, equips him, no conference of his fellows can defeat his success. God says to him as truly as he ever said to the local Church at Philadelphia, Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it (Rev 3:8). The success of the Church must forever be associated with the leadership of commissioned men.

Their vocations are varied and complimentary. They do not all hold the same office nor attempt to perform the same functions. One is a prophet; another an apostle; another an evangelist; another a pastor, and another a teacher. The opportunities of service in every church increase in number, importance and variety in accordance with its success. There is a place for trustees; there is a place for Deacons; there is a place for presidents of societies; there is a place for Sunday School superintendents; there is a place for teachers; there is a place for church evangelists; there is a place for committee men of all sorts; there is a place for the consecrated who hold no office.

The offices of the church ought to mean something more than the mere exaltation of somebody to a nominal honor. Any office that exists for its own sake, or that has no better occasion than adorning an individuals name, were better dispensed with. The man who cannot preach Christ ought not to wear the title of minister but turn back to the corn field. Billy Sunday, in an address before Philadelphia ministers, said, You fellows stand up and sing, Throw out the life-line, and the most of you could not get out a clothes line, I believe in deacons who can deak; and he might have added, in trustees who can be trusted to plan wisely the budget, and to lead the congregation in the giving to which they have called them; and in a superintendent of the Sunday School whose eye scans every class, whose mind plans for the institution and whose hand administers it; and in presidents who do more than preside on state occasions; and in committee-men who accomplish something between the times when they are called together. Hugh Black once charged American churches with over-organization; and there is danger at this point. But just as long as an officer or an organization performs the functions that gave rise to the election of the one or the creation of the other, organization is a power.

Sometimes people say that in the New Testament Church, with its congregational polity, there should be no such thing as the special council of a few officials, or the special direction of the Board in the administration of business; but let it be remembered that we have a Scriptural precedent for both. You are one and all familiar with the difficulty that occurred in the old First Church at Jerusalem; and with its adjustment. Paul, writing to the Galatians, evidently refers to this when he says,

Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.

And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that Gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain (Gal 2:1-2).

Mark the phrase, But privately to them which were of reputation. If the Church wants to be distracted by divisions, or torn by discussion, let it present all its business without previous consideration; but on the other hand, if the Church wants its business meetings to be as delightful as those for praise, prayer or preaching, let its business first be brought before the officials and presented by them; and let what ought to be done by the Church, and the recommendation of what course ought to be undertaken, come from a competent and representative Board and the end accomplished will be as peaceful as progressive.

THE OBJECT OF THESE AGENCIES

To the text, And He gave some, Apostles; and some, Prophets; and some, Evangelists; and some, Pastors and Teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ.

The first object is the improvement of the saved. For the perfecting of the saints. The word perfecting employed here is a process and not a completion. The summer sun and the refreshing showers and the balmy air, in their effects upon an apple, are perfecting the same; but their work is only complete when that apple falls to the ground. This text does not teach the sanctification of sinlessness; but rather the sanctification of conquest. It is the ideal that is presented, not an attained experience. Perfection is the Christians ideal and goal; imperfection is his common experience. The man of increasing conquest over self is the conqueror in Christ! I do not know how others may be impressed by the testimony of those people whose speech voices at one and the same time self-superiority and the criticism of others; to me it is the last needful proof against the profession of eradication! It is the Pharisee in the Temple over again; it is the I am holier than thou spirit which Christ excoriated even beyond the most flagrant transgression of the holy Law. And, furthermore, I have never looked into the life of such perfectionists without finding there more grievous faults than they themselves had discovered in other people. Dr. Len Broughton, in a recent volume of sermons, says, I have found that those people who are most exacting in their requirements of certain standards of their fellowman are very careless about the standards that they set up for their own lives. For example, I remember, on one occasion, a certain member took me very much to task for favoring our Lecture Course. After I had brought to bear every sort of argument upon him, saying that this was a part of our general educational system, he came back at me by quoting, But if eating meat cause my brother to offend, I will eat no meat while the world stand. I said, But my brother, you forget the fact that you work on Sunday; that almost every Sunday you put on your overalls, get on your engine and ride off. There are other men who would not do what you do. And Broughton might have added, And your brothers are offended by this violation of the Lords Day on your part. Consistency is a jewel; and it is one I have never yet seen shining resplendent in the persons of the professedly perfect of the earth. And yet Gods plan is your perfection and mine. The first object of these agencies is the improvement of the saints.

The second object mentioned is the education unto service. For the work of the ministry, The word ministry here has no professional suggestion in it. It is not unto the work of being a Gospel minister! The word had the same sense as when employed by Christ in Matthew (Mat 20:25-28)

But Jesus called them unto Him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.

But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;

And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:

Even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.

And Peter also says in his Epistle, speaking of those who had received a gift to minister it as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

We wonder how many people ever ask themselves the question, Why do I go to church? And how many Christians have ever received the Spirits answer to that interrogation? Some people evidently attend church because they get pleasure out of the song service, and pleasure from the preaching. But pleasure-giving is not the purpose of the Gospel service; it is only incidental! There are those who go because they regard the pulpit as one of the great educational forces of the land. They sit in the pew for thirty minutes and drink in what it has cost another many hours to originate, formulate and express. But education is not the primary purpose of the Christian service; it is only incidental! Some go because they meet friends there, and it takes the form of a social occasion. They will tell you their social life is in the church. The churches should be social centers, but this also is incidental!

The real reason for going to the House of God is one and the same for going to the dining table. Now eating is a pleasant process; and some men live to eat; but it is certainly more humane, not to say Divine, to eat to live, to eat in the interest of a better mind and a better muscle, that both may be given to noble service. The man who goes to church just to see what he can get out of it, without any purpose of expending the strength resulting therefrom in the service of men and God, is animated by little higher motive than is the pig that pushes his way to the trough. And yet that men who are somewhat regular upon and ardent advocates of the pulpit, are not looking for a chance of service is made evident when they treat its opportunities as the Levite, on the way to Jericho, treated the wounded man, namely, go as far around as possible. Did you ever know a churchman who made it his business to be absent on days when missionary offerings were likely to be presented, or any other financial appeal was certain to be made? I noticed that once the Republican Committee put out a four-page folder entitled, A Record Democracy Dare not Publish, but keep as Silent as the Grave. In that they charged the Democratic representative with having voted against practically every moral law seeking adoption during his term in the Senate, and they record the fact that his opposing political confrere was absent on almost every one of these important occasions. Now if it is a fact that the first dodged the vote when the question of the suspension of blind pigs, by state law, was up, and voted against the Wine-Room ordinance, and against a bill to close saloons on Decoration Day, and against another to prohibit the delivery of liquors on the Sabbath, and yet another which looked to the prohibition of saloons four hundred feet from school houses in the city, and fourteen hundred feet from school houses in the country, and against the anti-cigarette bill, as charged, his condemnation was just. But I have no better opinion of the man who, when these opportunities were presented, found it convenient to be absent. And that churchman who is enthusiastic on days when there are no offerings to be taken, and conveniently absent on days when he knows they are to be presented, is nothing short of the dishonest steward whom Malachi calls A God-robber. A friend in the South said, I know a prominent churchman worth thousands of dollars, who sometime since was found to be paying taxes on an old watch and a pistol. Yet he used to carry round the bread and wine and look as saintly as an angel. But what was his sin beside that of the man who dodges the Divine tax, refusing to turn into the treasury Gods tithes?

I read a little while ago a Catholic prelates statement as to the test of the true Church. J. H. Newman, in his work, Development of Christian Doctrine, trying to prove that the Roman Catholic Church is the only existing modern representative of the New Testament Church, says, There are seven tests that demonstrate thisthe preservation of the idea, continuity of principles, power of assimilation, early anticipation, logical sequence, preservative additions and chronic sequence.

But I have read the record of the New Testament Church in Gods Word, and if you will show me an organized body of baptized believers who continue steadfastly in the Apostles doctrine and fellowship; who come together to celebrate the Lords Supper, and to engage in prayer, and whose faith is of the sort that sacrifices until the treasury of the Church of God can meet the needs of the community, I will show you one that has far more certainly the brand of the true succession than anything suggested by the big words of the Cardinal.

The third purpose mentioned is the exaltation of the Church of God. For the edifying of the Body of Christ. The figure is that of the rising structure, coming more and more to cupola and completion. It rises as men make their contributions to itone to lay a plank, another to apply the mortar, another may put in nails, but a completed house is the object to be accomplished. As with builders, in the material world, so with churchmen in the religious. We do not necessarily work all at the same time, nor after the same manner. The janitor has a remarkable opportunity to help build the Church of God. Christianity thrives best in a house made comfortable with fresh air heated to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. An ushers opportunity almost exceeds that of the pulpit. A writer says, Strangers coming to a church judge the spirit of pastor and people by the man whom they meet in the vestibule or aisle. * * Many people have turned away from places of worship because of thoughtless treatment or unintentional discourtesy on the part of the usher; while on the other hand, many have enjoyed the entire service and determined to return, because of the opposite treatment on the part of this important personage.

But after all is said that may be said concerning the obligation of pastor, deacons, trustees, presidents of societies, superintendent of Sunday School, janitors, ushers, or any other official, it still remains for the people who commonly occupy the pew, to give to the world a proof that Christ is honored in the church, by revealing to every stranger entering it, a Christian spirit. Let us put cold formalities aside, and in the Name of Jesus, extend a hand. I once asked a woman if she were acquainted with the Church people in her neighborhood, to which she replied, No; they have never called on me. I made answer, Why should they, when you have lived in this neighborhood longer than any of them? The story is told of a charming old man who had come from the South (and who believed in sociability in the Church of God) who went to his pastor one day and said, Why does the man who sits behind me speak to me? I wish he would, to which the pastor answered, The gentleman behind you has expressed the same wish concerning you, and inasmuch as he has only been in the church three months, while you have been here six months, perhaps an advance on your part would be the proper thing. It is positively amusing to find for how long a time people regard themselves new members. Some who have been members of a church for three and four years are still sitting in their homes waiting for an old-timer to call on them; while hundreds, received since they entered, are wondering why they have not come to call.

It has often been said that the prayer meeting is the thermometer of the church. But there is one thing better than a thermometer, and that is an atmosphere. A thermometer can register the condition; but the atmosphere is the condition itself. The church is not to be measured by any solitary feature of its life; but by all features combined. A preacher visiting in a little town in another state spoke of a congregation worshiping in a beautiful house, and his companion said, I think that church there on the hill is the most important church in the town, because there are three millionaires in it. My friend said, What about its prayer meeting? Oh, I dont know whether they have one or not. What about its Sunday School? You say you are an officer in that church, you ought to know! Oh, I dont think much of the Sunday School. In fact, he didnt know anything about it. All he knew was that there were three millionaires in the church and by that fact he measured it. No poorer measure was ever put up! Let me enter the House of God and mingle with its attendants until I can sense the spiritual atmosphere. Then, and not till then, can I take its measure. The prayer meeting will be part of it; the attendance upon the Sunday service will be part of it; the interest in the Sunday School will be part of it; the activities of the Young Peoples Society will be part of it; the sermons to be preached will be part of it; the character of the Board, and services announced, will be part of it. The measure of the church is the measure of the man. Not by one feature of his life; but by all parts of it. The church that is really embodying Christ in all that it does, in all that it is, is the true Church; and such is the object of Divinely appointed agencies.

THE ENDS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED

One may marvel that we make a difference between the object and the ends, and yet there is a distinction in this text.

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

That we henceforth be no longer children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ;

From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love (Eph 4:13-16).

The establishment and growth of the individual. The Apostle wants him to be established in faith, Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man. I have sometimes feared that my Sunday morning audience would conclude that I had a hobby, and that hobby was the defense of the faith once delivered to the saints, and I confess to having ridden it, and I pledge by the grace of God, that I will ride it yet again. To me no more serious movement, looking to the death of the Church, and injury to the cause of Christ was ever imagined than that which attacks the authority and integrity of the faith once delivered.

And yet my fear for the Bible is not so great as that which I fear for the critic of the Bible. I candidly believe that he will be a lost man, since Jesus, sending by the hand of His angel to His servant John, said,

I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this Book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this Book:

And if any man shall take away from the words of the Book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this Book.

What more serious result could ever follow that egoism of infidelity which is now current in all the world, cursing men who are still occupying Christian pulpits, than to have their names removed from the Book of Life? You know the history of the blank tablet in the chapel of the military academy at West Point. One recalls John Witherspoons great address before the Continental Congress, which resulted in the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Speaking of it one says, On one wall behind glass, are Revolutionary flags, five of which belonged to Washington. On the other are tablets in memory of his generals. In an obscure corner, near the gallery, we saw a tablet where the date of birth was given, but the name had been erased. We gazed long at it, not needing that any one should rehearse the miserable story. In the stillness of the old church, it seemed to me that the Muse of History drew near to justify her course. Pointing to the tablet, she said calmly, Yes, his name should have been there. Gates is there, and Gates was no braver man than he. Schuyler is there; he did good service, but did not languish with wounds as this man did. He had a name which means blessed, but it is cursed by his countrymen, for his planning, on this very spot, the blackest deed of treachery ever known on this continent. Clio paused and we said under the breath, Benedict Arnold. The shadowy shape seemed to grow taller, the stern voice deepened as it went on, Oblivion is too merciful for such a man. It may seem harsh, but it is right that the youth who are being trained here should have this constant reminder that the first duty of a soldier is steadfastness.

But if treason to ones country is a sufficient reason for blotting his name from the page of that countrys history, what else shall we expect if one turn traitor to God and to His Word than that his name shall be removed from the Lambs Book of Life? No wonder the Apostle Paul links a steadfastness in faith with a possible attainment of manhood in Christ Jesus.

It is a great thing for the Church of God to nurse and nurture her children until they shall have attained unto manhood and womanhood in Christ Jesus. To look upon the well developed Christian is to be grateful for all the pangs of childbirth; for all the sacrifices essential to the proper nourishment of the child. In the city of Winnipeg I was invited one evening to the home of a great and good man. Six sons, together with their wives, and Ralph Connor, and Mr. George Stevens, a prominent business man of that city, made up the company. The mother was radiant, and with good occasion. I said to her, I should think you would be the happiest mother in Winnipeg as you look upon the faces of six such men as call you Mother.! Wouldnt you now? She answered, And indeed I am you know!

I suppose there are times when the individual church feels the pangs of bringing men and women to the new birth, and grows a bit weary in the trials and expense incident to their spiritual development; but there is coming a festal hour when these children of ours shall flash forth in glorious manhood and womanhood in Christ, and as we shall look upon their radiant faces, and remember that they are immortalized every one, the pride and joy that shall fill our hearts will far exceed that any mother of earth ever knew in her successful sons and daughters; and we will only wish that we had travailed the more often, and given more time and thought and sacrifice, and even suffering, to their spiritual culture. For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His Coming? For ye are our glory and joy (1Th 2:19-20).

The testimony and fraternity of all saints.

That we henceforth he no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up in to Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ. Upon first statement it may seem rather a strange combination that brings talking, or speaking the truth in love and growth in all things, together. But that is a natural law in the spiritual world. Talking is a sign of the childs development. If your child did not talk how distressed you would become; and there is occasion to be distressed over those Christians who bear no testimony either in word or deed, who say nothing; who give nothing; who do nothing! Fraternity with such men is almost impossible. Show us a witness-bearing, self-sacrificing Christian, and we will show you a man with whom fellowship is easy for all true saints. The one man whose fellowship we have the least hope of retaining permanently is that close-fisted churchman. You never knew two men in a church, equally ready to bear the word of witness to the glory of their God, and equally generous in their giving, to get at loggerheads. The spirit of praise and of liberality will find its final expression in fraternity. David and Jonathan could never have been as good friends as they were, but for the fact that they both recognized God as the Giver of all Good, and were alike generous souls. One day in Chicago, when starvation was the lot of hundreds and thousands of people, when down in the great heart of that city there had been opened supply houses by the Battle Creek and other people, a pale-faced, desperate-spirited fellow entered one and said, Can you give me a bowl of soup? I am sorry, said the attendant, but the soup is one cent a bowl; our rule is not to give it away. The fellow turned to walk out, more dejected in appearance than when he entered, when one, with his bowl of soup, glanced into his face and said, That fellow looks hungry. This is my last cent and I dont know where I can get another, but I know just how he feels, and if I die of starvation I would give it to him. Now fill him up the biggest bowl of soup you ever gave for a cent, and he put down his last penny. I dont know much about that mans vices, they may have existed; but if he had applied for membership in my church, immediately after this incident I should have admitted him without too rigid a censorship, believing that he had in him the essential quality of fraternity with all saints.

Finally, the self-perpetuation of the Church of God. From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. Success and successoris it not the business of every true church to make both? You will remember that when the Cuban rebels were without a victory, some one inquired if they were not ready to give up the fight, and one of their elders answered, Give it up! We will die contending for our liberty! If we never see it our children will take up the battle for us; and if they perish without the blessed vision, then our grandchildren will engage until the victory is won!

Shall I tell you what causes me more concern for the Christian churches of this land than almost any other circumstance? Not so much that they are lacking in success as that they are being poorly succeeded. I know a host of men of my own age and older who are great, generous souls, capable of making money, willing to contribute it to the Church of God, rejoicing in their victories won in the Name of Christ; but I do not know a dozen cases in which their own children exhibit the same spirit. Where is there a man after this manner whose son is his fathers equal? I recall a few such; but, oh, how many a time the son takes altogether another course, and looks upon his fathers gifts as little short of folly, and regards his fathers religious sentiments as almost senile. If it were not for the fact, that out from religious homes and homes irreligious there are coming children converted to Christ, whose spirit of sacrifice from the first day is beautiful to behold, I should be intensely discouraged for the future. It is said that when the old Ulysses started on his voyage toward the setting sun and the happy isles, he turned to his eldest son and heir, saying, This is my son, my own Telemachus, to whom I bear the scepter and the reign, knowing that he will fulfill this labor to the world.

Oh, young menchurch-membersare you ready to receive the fathers mantle, and to reveal the fathers spirit in service to the Son of God? We have not forgotten the story of how one day a little drummer boy, a gamin, whom Desaix had picked up on the streets of Paris, and carried with him in the campaigns of Egypt and Germany, was standing near Napoleon in the awful hour when the great Generals forces were being sawn to pieces, and Napoleon shouted to him, Beat a retreat! The boy did not stir. Gamin, said the great General, Beat a retreat! The boy stepped forward and grasped his drumsticks, and said, General, I dont know how. Desaix never taught me that. But I can beat a Charge; I can beat a charge that will make the dead fall into line. I beat it at the Pyramids once; I beat it at Mount Tabor, and I beat it again at the bridge of Lodi. Beat it then! was the answer, and a moment later the corps followed the sword-gleam of Desaix, and keeping step to the furious roll of the boys drum, swept down the hosts of the Austrians. They drove the first line back on the second, and the second on the third, and though many of them died, they won!

Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley

(11) He gave.In the original He is emphaticHe and He alone, as the ascended Head of humanity. The word gave, instead of the more obvious word set, or appointed (used in 1Co. 12:28), is, of course, suggested by Eph. 4:8. They who are ministers of His gifts are themselves gifts from Him to the Church.

Some, apostles; and some, prophets . . .With this passage we must compare 1Co. 12:28, God hath set some in the Church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, &c.; and, perhaps, Rom. 12:6-8, Having then gifts . . . whether prophecy . . . or ministry . . . or teaching . . . or exhortation . . ., although this last passage is lass formally apposite. In all three cases there is the same general idea, first of the one body, and then of the one Spirit, guiding and animating it through various ministries. The parallel between this passage and the passage in 1 Cor. is very close; for in the latter all that follows the words after that may be put aside, as describing, not special offices or ministries, but special gifts. We have, therefore, in both, first apostles, secondly prophets. Then come, in the earlier Epistle, teachers; and this class, in our own later Epistle, is subdivided into evangelists and pastors, both being teachersthe one in conversion of those still aliens from Christ, the other in edification of those already brought into His flock.

Some, apostles.The name apostles is certainly used here in its technical and restricted sense, as applying to the Twelve, whom the Apostle of God Himself (Heb. 3:1) named as His Apostles (Luk. 6:13), and with whom St. Paul claims equality (see 1Co. 9:1; 1Co. 15:9-11; Gal. 1:1) on the ground of his own special mission and revelation from the same Lord. It is, indeed, used in a wider sense; sometimes with words distinctly implying a derivation and human mission, as in 2Co. 8:23, apostles (or, messengers) of the churches; Php. 2:25, Epaphroditus, your apostle (or, messenger); sometimes without such qualification, as in 2Co. 11:5; 2Co. 11:13; 2Co. 12:11-12; 1Th. 2:7; and, perhaps, Rom. 16:7. But such use is rare, and cannot be applied to a passage like this, which is distinctive of a special and primary class. In direct charge from the Lord, universal scope of mission, special inspiration and power of miracle, which are the signs of an apostle (2Co. 12:12), the Apostles, properly so called, stood out in office absolutely unique and supreme. What was said of the first age of the Church is true of all agesof the rest durst no man join himself unto them (Act. 5:13).

Some, prophets.For the nature and function of prophecy in the Church, see the detailed treatment of the subject by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 14. It is sufficient here to note (1) that from very early times the prophets are mentioned as a separate class (see Act. 11:27; Act. 15:32; Act. 21:10), distinguished from teachers (Act. 13:1), and that, in this Epistle especially, they are spoken of, in connection with the Apostles, as receiving the revealed mystery of the gospel (Eph. 3:5), and being (or, laying) the foundation of the Church; (2) that their office, like the Apostolate, is clearly extraordinary, distinct from the ordinary and permanent teaching of the evangelists and pastors, and, probably, best described by the two phrases so constantly applied to the prophets of the Old Testamentthe word of the Lord came to me; the Spirit of the Lord was upon me. As all Gods extraordinary gifts and workings are closely correlated with His ordinary laws of operation, so in this case the apostolic and prophetic offices gradually melt away into the regular functions of government and teaching, belonging in all times to the ministry of the Church.

Some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.In these two phrases (corresponding to the simple word teachers in 1Co. 12:28) we find described the two-fold office of the regular ministry of the Churchfirst, to preach the gospel to the heathen or the unconverted, and next, to fulfil our Lords pastoral charge (Joh. 21:15-17) of feeding and shepherding those who are already His sheep. It is clear that the same person may be invested with the two offices, as Timothy, when in pastoral charge at Ephesus, is bidden to do the work of an evangelist (2Ti. 4:5); and that in some degree the two offices must always be united, for the evangelist, like the apostle, is generally called upon to organise and confirm the churches (Act. 14:22-23; Act. 15:41), and the pastor must always find men unconverted, to whom he must be an evangelist. But the two elements of duty will co-exist in different proportions in different persons. Some were then, and are now, especially called to be evangeliststhat is, as is shown by the career of Philip, to whom the name is first given (Act. 21:8), to be, under the apostolic guidance, missionaries to the unconverted; others to be pastors and teachers, feeding now with pure milk of the word, now with solid meat (see 1Co. 3:2, and Heb. 5:12), those already gathered into the fold, and exercising over them the pastoral authority solemnly committed by our Lord to His ministers. Yet both can discharge only under limitation the functions which in the Apostles were practically unlimited.

On the question whether this celebrated passage describes the regular orders or the functions, ordinary and extraordinary, of the ministry, we may fairly say that while no doubt the very genius of the passage points to the latter alternative, yet the ultimate appeal must be made to history. It is clear, from the nature of the case, that none could inherit the direct and universal commission from Christ held by the Apostles; it is certain historically that the supernatural gifts of prophecy and miracle passed away; it is hardly less indisputable that the two functions of evangelism and pastorate were always shared among the three orders of bishops, priests, and deacons after the close of the Apostolic age.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

11. He gave The fact that St. Paul here makes the gifts consist, not of the offices bestowed, but of the officers, seems to indicate that he nevertheless retained in thought the other interpretation, “he received gifts in men.” Hereby St. Paul impresses upon his Ephesians that one of the best gifts Christ bestows upon the Church is endowed leaders and inspirers. Some to be apostles As to the apostolic office, consult notes on Mat 10:2; Mat 28:20; Luk 1:2; Act 6:2-4.

Prophets Utterers of inspired truth; whether of prediction, as Agabus (Act 21:10) and Paul, (2Th 2:1-12,) or of inspiration of doctrine or exhortation, as in 1Co 14:4. Every preacher of the present day who is “moved by the Holy Ghost” to his office, or in its performance, is a true New Testament prophet. And to him the success of his work in the conversion of souls and the upbuilding of the Church, as described in Eph 4:12-16, is a blessed proof that he is a genuine prophet.

Pastors and teachers Are these two classes, or two functions of one class? The fact that the distinctive some covers both, has induced many commentators to hold them as one class. But it must be noted that St. Paul names the offices in the order of anti-climax, the greatest first, the least last. The distinctive some was due to the dignity of each of the first three; one some will do for the last two. And as they are very subordinate officers, history has lost their real nature. But under a similar revival in modern times, Methodism called into existence its class leaders, who are truly the under pastors of the flock, watching over the spiritual interests of a certain assigned number. The early catechists, who drilled the convert into the history of Jesus and other elementary truths of Christianity, were, very probably, these teachers. The Sunday-school teachers of the present day are, we think, justly entitled to be held their true successors.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘And he gave some Apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of serving, unto the building up of the body of Christ.’

Having ascended on high Jesus now gave His gifts to men. The gifts are interesting in illustrating early ministry. 1Co 12:28 mentions Apostles, prophets and teachers. It may be that wider outreach into country districts called for evangelists (‘Gospellers’) and the need was appreciated for sub-shepherds to the flock. The purpose of these ministries was in order to ‘perfect the people of God’ so that they in turn could build up others. ‘Pastors and teachers’ may reflect a joint office as ‘teachers’ has no definite article in contrast with the remainder. Good and sound servants of God are God’s special gift to His people in contrast with those described in 1Co 12:14.

‘Perfecting.’ The verb can be used of setting fractures and mending tears in garments and the idea may therefore be of restoring what was previously spoiled. But it may mean here ‘equipping’.

‘Unto the work of serving.’ Diakonios means service, and spiritual ministry in that sense. God’s purpose in equipping His people is that they might engage in service.

‘The building up or edifying of the body of Christ.’ The latter phrase looks back to the idea of Christ dying in His body of flesh, with which we are united when we come to Him by faith, dying along with Him and rising with Him. We too rise as He rises and conjoined with Him we are therefore His body needing to be built up and made strong. This then led on to the idea of the body having many members, each playing its part in the building up of the whole.

The mention of the body of Christ here suggests Paul has in mind his teaching in 1 Corinthians 12 where the same gifts are similarly related to the body of Christ. The picture of a body with many members (which body ‘is Christ’ – 1Co 12:12) was seen as well describing the numerous activities within the church, contributing to the whole. ‘Building up.’ The word is regularly used metaphorically to signify growth in the spiritual life so that the idea of literal building fades into the background. But there may be some reference back to Eph 2:20-22 and the thought of the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The organization and work of the ministry of the Church:

v. 11. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers,

v. 12. for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ;

v. 13. till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

v. 14. that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

v. 15. but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ,

v. 16. from whom the whole body, fitly joined and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

The thought here expressed is connected with that of v. 7. but Paul now speaks in detail of the gifts of God to the Church: He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers. The ministers of the Church at all times are gifts of the exalted Christ. “The apostles were and are the infallible teachers of all Christendom, their doctrine is authoritative for the doctrine of the Christian teachers of all times. Prophets and evangelists were special gifts of the primitive Church. The prophets, in this connection the New Testament prophets, received special revelations for special purposes, which they then in inspired speech declaimed to the Christian assembly. See Rom 12:6. The evangelists, to whom, for example, Philip, Act 21:8, belonged, proclaimed the Gospel in missionary activity,… spread the apostolic word in places where the apostles themselves had not come; to their calling corresponds probably the service of our present missionaries. With ‘pastors and teachers’ the apostle describes the regular ministry of the Word, which in all periods of the Church has been and remained the same, the public office of preaching. The expression ‘teachers’ probably refers chiefly to the public activity as preachers, the other, ‘pastors,’ to the pastoral activity which applies the Word to the individual members of the congregation. ” In speaking of all these ministers as gifts of Christ, the apostle does not exclude specific preparation for the ministerial office. But it is the exalted Christ that makes these persons willing, that works in their hearts the resolution to serve the Church, that blesses their study, that adds spiritual enlightenment to intellectual gifts, that distributes gifts for individual stations and special circumstances.

Of the immediate aim of the ministerial activity St. Paul writes: With a view to the perfecting of the saints for the work of ministration, for the edification of the body of Christ. All the servants of the Church in their various offices have been given by Christ to be active in ministering to the spiritual needs of the congregation; through their work the Church is to be built up, edified. The apostle uses the figure of the growth of a healthy body, which must be supplied with proper food in sufficient quantity. In this way the ultimate object of Christ is gained, the full equipment, the final perfection of the saints. Whatever is still incomplete in their spiritual condition and makeup, due to the attacks of the enemy and their own natural weakness, is to be supplied by the ministers of the Gospel through the preaching of sin and grace.

This goal of all ministerial work must be held before our eyes as the ideal: Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and the understanding of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. The apostle here has in mind the congregation of the elect in heaven, and he refers to the time at which the great end in view is to be realized. At the present time many of these chosen children of Christ are still without the knowledge of their Savior. But when these all, through the preaching of the Gospel, have become one with the present believers, one in faith and in the knowledge of their Savior, the Son of God, then the object of the ministry of the Word will have been realized, then the assembly of the believers will stand there as a mature, full-grown man. Then the Church will have entered upon its majority, will have reached the age and the maturity of Christ, the First-born of the Father; the perfection of His graces and virtues will rest upon the believers. This aim will indeed never be realized fully in the present temporal life, but only in that to come. For all that, however, the teachers of the Church will ever be mindful of the external and internal growth of the Church and, in particular, of their own congregations; they will not cease to add new members to the flock entrusted to them, and to strengthen their people in faith and in all Christian virtues.

The results of such faithful labor cannot fail to materialize, first of all in overcoming defects: To the end that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of teaching, in the sleight of men, in craftiness tending toward the system of error. The work of perfecting the saints, carried on through the Word of the Gospel, should effect so much that the believers are no longer infants, minors, immature, and untaught in the knowledge of sin and grace, of the holy will of God. As children in spiritual knowledge they enter the Church; but the Lord wants spiritual growth and progress, He wants them to reach the maturity and stature of Christ. So long as a person is weak in Christian knowledge, having no thorough understanding of Christian doctrine, so long he is apt to be tossed to and fro, driven back and forth, like a rudderless ship in a storm. Every new temptation from within, every new attack from without, makes some new inroad upon such a person’s firmness. Every new wind of false doctrine takes such a person along, because the ship of his faith is not anchored firmly enough in the knowledge of Christ. The false teachers that attack the weak Christians deal with the Scriptures and with the truth and with the men whom they try to beguile with their oily voice, just as gamblers play with dice. One never knows what new trick is coming next, what new doctrine will be invented to deceive the souls of men. Their entire behavior tends to treacherous tricks, they practice carefully planned deceitful devices. The Christian, therefore, that is not yet firmly grounded in all the doctrines of the Bible as they pertain to man’s salvation, is apt to stray from the way, to wander hither and yonder, and thus to be lost forever. Thus the deceitful schemes of the false teachers and seducers lead to the false way of life that strays fatally from the truth. Note: It belongs to the business of the pastors and teachers whom Christ has given to His Church that they point out the dangers threatening on the part of false teachers, that they refute their arguments, that they expose the tricks and the jugglery which false prophets practice upon the Word of Grace, that they continue the instruction of all the church-members by means of doctrinal sermons and discussions, so that all the Christians in their care are furthered in the knowledge of truth and learn to distinguish between falsehood and truth and to try the spirits.

This point is brought out by the apostle in the next verse: But (that we) holding fast the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ. For that purpose Christ has given teachers to His Church, that they might enable the believers themselves to confess and defend the truth of the Scriptures, and not only for the purpose of upholding the truth, but in love, that their testimony of the truth may be of service to others; for that is always the sphere of the true Christian’s activity. The result will be that we Christians will grow up into Christ, the Head of the Church, in all things. It is not intellectual growth, but spiritual growth that is of the greatest value in the Church. By growing in the knowledge of Christ, by understanding the truth more perfectly day by day, by gaining in Christian faith and life, we enter into ever more intimate fellowship with Christ. Our spiritual growth is always directed to Him, to the perfection of His stature. In all things that belong to our growth this will be true, all the circumstances of our growth will be controlled by it.

The apostle now concludes his sentence: From whom the whole body, being firmly connected and compactly joined together by means or’ every joint of the supply, in keeping with the efficiency in the measure of each individual part, effects the growth of the body to its building up in love. The entire body, of which St. Paul here speaks, brings about, causes, the growth of the body itself. The directing and effecting power for this growth goes forth from Christ, the Head. The growth is expressed by the fact that the joints and ligaments are connected ever more firmly, framed together more fitly, put together more compactly. This is clone by means of the cords of the ligaments and the sinews of the muscles. The whole body, when it acts and moves, is served by the muscles and sinews, as they are contracted; every individual cord thus performing its duty, the members of the body are enabled to act and operate conjointly. Each individual member and part supplies its measure of energy and working force, and the better they all act together, the better will be the opportunity for even development and steady growth. The application of the figure does not offer unusual difficulties. If every Christian uses the special gift of grace which he has received of the Lord in the right way, the entire congregation and Church will thereby be benefited, since there will be a closer connection between the various organs. Just as soon as every Christian performs the service for which the grace of Christ has fitted him, the consciousness of union in the Christians will be strengthened, all the members will be joined in a closer union and will further the work of the Lord with their combined strength. The growth of the entire body of the Church takes place in proportion to the energy and willingness with which each member exercises Christ’s gift of grace. Thus the Church, internally and externally, grows toward perfection. Note that the apostle makes the growth of the Church dependent upon the willing cooperation of each individual member of the Church, that He ascribes to everyone some gift of grace. But mark also that the determining and directing power is that of Christ alone.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Eph 4:11 . [214] And he has , etc. From the general , Eph 4:10 , there is now brought into prominence in reference to the church , with a retrospective glance at Eph 4:7 , the special point with which the apostle was here concerned, in order to give the clinching argument to his exhortation as to the keeping of the unity of the Spirit. Christ, who has ascended from the lowest depth to the loftiest height, in order to fill all things, precisely He , has such is His autonomy in His church given the different teachers and leaders of the church, until we all shall have attained to the unity of the faith, etc.

We are not to treat as a parenthesis either Eph 4:8-10 (Griesbach and others) or Eph 4:9-10 (Koppe), since the continuation of the discourse with emphatically attaches itself to the preceding .

] is not, any more than at Eph 1:22 , equivalent to (Theophylact and many, including Meier, Harless, Baumgarten-Crusius), seeing that, in fact, the giving in the proper sense, to which Paul here looks back, has preceded, and Christ has in reality given the apostles, etc., to the church, [215] namely, through the specific charismatic endowment and, respectively also, by His own immediate calling ( ) of the persons in question. Calvin rightly remarks on : “quia nisi excitet, nulli erunt.” This raising up and granting of the appropriate persons for the perfecting of the church as His body, not the institution of a spiritual office in itself, which as such has exclusively to administer His means of grace, is here ascribed to Christ. Comp. (in opposition to Mnchmeyer) Hofmann, Schriftbew . II. 2, p. 283 ff.; Mller in the Deutsche Zeitschr . 1852, No. 21. The appointing to the service of the individual congregations (as .) of such persons given by Christ lay in the choice of the congregations themselves, which choice, conducted by apostles or apostolic men, Act 14:23 , took place under the influence of the Holy Spirit, Act 20:28 . Thus Christ gave the persons , and the community gave to them the service . As regards the time of the , it is to be observed that this was indeed a potiori the time after the ascension (among the apostles in the narrower sense, also as respects Matthias and Paul), but that, as was obvious for the readers, the earlier appointment of the original apostles was not thereby excluded. The latter, namely, are not alone meant by , but (comp. on 1Co 15:7 ) also men like Barnabas and James the Lord’s brother must be reckoned among them.

The order in which they are brought up is such, that those not assigned to a single church precede ( ., ., .), and these are arranged in the order of rank. Hence the , because belonging to particular churches, had to follow, and it is without reason that a Montanistic depreciation of the bishops (Baur) is found here.

] some as apostles . Their characteristics are their immediate calling by Christ, and their destination for all nations. Comp. on 1Co 12:28 .

] As to these speakers, who, on the receipt of revelation and through the Holy Spirit, wrought with highly beneficial effect, yet without ecstasy, who likewise in Eph 3:5 are mentioned after the apostles, see on 1Co 12:10 ; Act 11:27 .

] who , Theodoret (see Nsselt, ad Theodoret. p. 424); missionary assistants to the apostles. See on Act 21:8 . Oecumenius would, at variance with the context (for Paul is speaking only of the exercise of teaching in the church), and probably also at variance with history (at least as regards our canonical gospels), understand the authore of the Gospels , which is adduced as possible also by Chrysostom.

.] denotes not the presbyters and deacons (Theophylact), nor the presbyters and exorcists (Ambrosiaster), nor yet the presbyters and teachers as two separate offices (Beza, Calvin, Zanchius, Grotius, Calixtus, and others, including de Wette), the latter in the sense of 1Co 12:28 ; but, as the non-repetition of shows, the presbyters and teachers as the same persons , so that the presbyters are designated by in stated figurative appellation (1Pe 5:2 ; Act 20:28 ; Joh 21:15 ff.) with reference to their function of guiding oversight over doctrine, life, and order in the church, consequently as (see on Act 20:28 , and Ch. F. Fritzsche, in Fritzschior. Opusc . p. 42 ff.); and by , with reference to their function of teaching . We may add, that the were not, as such, at the same time presbyters, for the was imparted by a special , which even ordinary members of the church might possess (1Co 14:26 ); but every presbyter was at the same time , and had to be endowed with this ; hence Paul here puts together , and, 1Ti 3:2 , it is laid down as the requirement of an that he should be .

Comp. Tit 1:9 . See also Augustine, Ep. lix. Comp. Jerome: “Nemo pastoris sibi nomen assumere debet, nisi possit docere quos pascit.” 1Ti 5:17 is not opposed to this (see Huther in loc. ).

[214] See Schott, Progr. quo locus Pauli Ephes. iv. 11 seq., breviter explic. , Jen. 1830.

[215] Observe the importance, for the continued appointment of the ministers in the church, of the conception of the matter implied in . Christ gives the ministers of the church; the church takes those given, and places them in the service of the church. Thus the church (or whoever has to represent the rights and duties of the church) has not in any way arbitrarily to choose the subjects, but to discern those endowed by Christ as those thereby given to it by Him, to acknowledge and to induct them into the ministry; hence the highest idea of the ecclesiastical scrutiny is, to test whether the persons in question have been given by Christ , without prejudice, we may add, to the other existing requirements of ecclesiastical law.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

c. The organization and organism of the Church

(Eph 4:11-16.)

11And he gave some, apostles [some to be apostles]; and some, prophets; and 12some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For [Unto]22 the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry [or of ministration], for the edifying [building up] of the body of Christ: 13Till we all come in [unto] the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect [full-grown] man, unto the 14measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more [To the end that we be no longer] children, tossed to and fro [tossed as waves], and carried about with every wind of doctrine [teaching], by [in] the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive [in craftiness tending to 15the system23 of error]; But speaking [holding]24 the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which [who] is the head, even Christ:25 16From whom the whole [all the] body fitly joined [framed] together and compacted [,]26 by that which every joint supplieth [by means of every joint of the supply], according to the effectual [omit effectual] working in the measure of every [each several] part,27 maketh increase [the growth] of the body unto the edifying [building up]28 of itself in love.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Eph 4:11. Christs gift for the Church.And he gave [ ].And joins with what precedes (that he might fill all things), what follows, which has the former as its aim. As the clause of design (Eph 4:10) refers to the beginning (Eph 4:7 : according to the measure of the gift of Christ), so the clause he gave, , refers back also (Eph 4:10 : Eph 4:8 : , Eph 4:6 : ).29 gives emphatic prominence to the Person of the Giver, the Exalted One: He and none other. Ipse, summa potestate; and repetitur Exo 5:10. Ministri non dedere se ipsos (Bengel). It is not= (Schenkel), nor is = (Theophylact, Harless) in accordance with 1Co 12:28. [Eadie remarks (and Alford approves): The idea is, that the men who filled the office, no less than the office itself, were a Divine gift.R.] Nor should the aorist be pressed, so as to express only something momentary, passing; Paul is himself included, as one whom the Exalted One gave to be an Apostle; the historical fact is indicated. Calvin has justly said: et suscitat interdum prout temporum necessitas postulat, although he accepts the first three classes of officers as belonging only to the beginning of the Church (Institutes, IV. 3, 4).

Some to be Apostles [ ]. , is not=, some [i.e., some Apostles], since this is only a numeral, while the former expression points as a demonstrative to definite persons, whom He has prepared to be the gift, and given as . Apostles are those immediately called and equipped by the Lord to extend His work; they were especially endowed by Him, and had personally great advantages and prerogatives. First of all there were twelve; after the apostasy of Judas, Matthias was chosen by the disciples somewhat precipitately, before the day of Pentecost, while Paul was called by the Lord Himself as the twelfth.30 Still Barnabas was called an apostle in connection with Paul (Act 14:4; Act 14:14) and others also (Rom 16:7; 2Co 8:23; Php 2:25), hence this is not an abuse of the term (Bleek), so that one might thus name those men, chosen and specially endowed by the Lord, appointed to found churches, as Boniface the Apostle of the Germans, Egede the Apostle of Greenland, Ziegenbalg and Schwartz the Apostles of India.

Some prophets.Prophets are (Eph 2:20; Eph 3:5) men, who receive revelation () from God, and, perceiving Gods will and thought with clearness, announce the same with discretion and power; the prophet is , as far as he has revelation (1Co 14:26); the latter becomes a prophet through interpretation; glossarily (to be distinguished from the Pentecostal miracle) is a morbid species of prophecy (1Co 14:27 ff.). They appear in Act 11:27; Act 13:1; Act 15:32; Act 21:10. They are concerned, not so much with the future (Bengel) as with the eternal. To them correspond in the progress of ages those theologians with more profound insight into Gods truth and will, as well as into the character and course of His Kingdom, such as Luther. [Comp. the excellent note of Eadie in loco. Hodge: As the gift of infallibility was essential to the Apostolic office, so the gift of occasional inspiration was essential to the prophetic office.R.]

And some evangelists.Evangelists, such as the deacon Philip (Act 21:8; Act 8:4-12), (Theodoret), as travelling missionaries31 (Neander), but also in permanent positions (2Ti 4:5; comp. 2Co 8:18), in consequence of their own view of the facts of the Gospel (Joh 16:26 ff.), or mediate tradition (Luk 1:1-4). It must not be referred to those writing the Gospel (Chrysostom); Bengel also goes too far in ascribing to them prterita; they hare to do with the life of the Lord in prophecy and fulfilment.

And some pastors and teachers, .Jerome: Non ait, alios autem pastores et alios magistros, sed alios pastores et magistros, ut qui pastor sit, esse debeat et magister et nemo pastoris sibi nomen assumere debet, nisi possit docere quos pascit. Bengel: Pastores et doctores hic pinguntur, nam pascunt (and regunt) docendo maxime, tum admonendo, corripiendo, etc. The pastors are= (Rom 12:8), who have the office of (1Co 12:28) and must be apt to teach, (1Ti 3:2; 2Ti 2:24; Tit 1:9), they are bishops, (Act 20:28). in distinction from (Theodoret). Bleek takes them as distinct; and he is right to this extent only, that the teachers are not always pastors; it is as apostles and prophets (Eph 2:20; Eph 3:5); hence despite this distinction, they form one category beside the previous ones.

[There has been much dispute whether these terms refer to two classes of stationary church officers, or to one whose twofold duty is indicated by two titles. The latter view is favored by the absence of the distinctive , and is accepted by Augustine, Jerome, Bengel, Harless, Olshausen, Meyer, Hodge, Eadie and Alford.32 The former is accepted by Theophylact, Calvin, Grotius, Neander, De Wette, Stier, though the definitions of the distinction vary greatly. Ellicott says: The (a term probably including and ) might be and perhaps always were , but it does not follow that the converse was true. The of is so distinct from that of , that it seems necessary to recognize in the a body of men (scarcely a distinct class) who had the gift of , but who were not invested with any administrative powers and authority. Is the teacher then the parish schoolmaster or the professor of theology? or a preacher who does no pastoral duty? The Reformed Church polity has usually recognized the distinction (Westminster Directory, Constitution of Reformed [Dutch] Church in America, etc.), but practically it has amounted to nothing, as indeed little good has ever resulted from the attempt to reproduce accurately or jure divino those distinctions which expositors discover in the offices of the primitive Church. It may be remarked that while this phrase shows that every pastor ought to be a teacher, putting the former phase of duty first, it will ever be the case that through native endowment some ministers are better adapted for one part of the duty than for the other, though there is no warrant for total neglect of either, or for appointing in one congregation one minister to be pastor and another to be teacher; for the latter would now-adays take undue precedence of the former. Those who are teachers, in our sense of the word, are also in the most important sense pastors.R.]

It is unmistakable that these four categories above named, so divide themselves, that the first three do not belong to a single congregation, but to the whole Church or a number of congregations, the last however is definitely appointed to one congregation. A gradation from higher to lower is noticeable also, in this manner, that the higher includes the lower grade or grades. Thus Jesus is called and calls Himself Apostle (Heb 3:1, after Joh 20:21); Prophet (Mat 13:57; Luk 13:33; Act 3:22 ff; Act 7:37); (Luk 4:18; Luk 4:43; Luk 20:1); Shepherd, (Joh 10:11; 1Pe 2:25); Teacher (Mat 23:8; Joh 13:14). Accordingly Bengel says: Cum summis gradibus conjuncti poterant esse inferiores; omnes Apostoli simul etiam vim propheticam habuerunt. Sed prophet et evangelist non simul etiam Apostoli fuerunt. Finally it must be noticed, that the offices themselves are not named here, and that in distinction from 1Co 12:28, the official persons stand in the foreground as gifts, in Corinthians the gifts of office, the offices themselves falling into the back-ground in both cases. See further, Doctr. Notes 1, 2.

Eph 4:12. The immediate aim of the activity of the persons in office. [Note on the relation and dependence of the clauses of this verse. There is great difference of opinion, but of the various views those numbered (4) and (5) are most worthy of consideration. Braune adopts (4); but (5) seems to be preferable.

1. The clauses are taken as co-ordinate (Chrysostom, Zanchius, Bengel, E. V.), but this is opposed by the change of preposition, and in that case we would have a different order, the second clause would come first.

2. The trajection (Grotius, Koppe and others), which actually put that clause first, is altogether unwarranted.

3. The second and third clauses are taken as parallel (by Harless and Olshausen), but as dependent on the first, in a partitive sense: some to teach, others to be edified. But there is nothing to indicate such a sense, and it is logically inadmissible, since the saints of one clause and the body of Christ of the other are identical.

4. Braune follows Erasmus, De Wette, Meier, Flatt, Rueckert, Schenkel and many others, in taking the second and third as dependent on the first, or rather the second dependent oh the first and the third on the second. The meaning then is: For the perfecting of the saints unto all that variety of service which is essential unto the edification of the body of Christ. As this view is fully presented below, the objections to it alone require mention at this point. These as urged by Meyer are: a. That as the context treats of offices in the Church, it is improper to enlarge the meaning of beyond that of official service (Rom 11:13; 2Co 4:1; 2Co 6:3; comp. Act 6:4; 2Co 3:7 ff; 2Co 9:12, etc.). b. That with such a meaning would have been so essentially necessary with that it could not have been omitted. These objections are sufficiently strong to lead him to adopt the next view.

5. The second and third clauses are taken as co-ordinate, and dependent on he gave; the first expressing the more ultimate and final purpose () of the action, the other two the more immediate end (). This view is adopted by Alford, Ellicott, Hodge, Eadie (2d ed.), and gives this sense: He gave Apostles, etc.,to fulfil the works of the ministry, and to build up the body of Christy, His object being to perfect His saints. So Hofmann substantially. The great objection is the strange order which place the more ultimate end first, but as the difficulty seems to inhere in the Apostles own choice of prepositions, it is not decisive against this view. While preferring it, I would not insist on its correctness, but, leaving Dr. Braunes notes as they stand, add in footnotes the requirements of this interpretation.R.]

Unto the perfecting of the saints [ ]. marks the end aimed at, viz.: the perfecting of the saints. , occurring only here, like in 2Co 13:9 designates the re-establishment of an affair, so that it is (only 2Ti 3:17, various reading), integer, as it should be (1Co 1:10; 2Co 13:11; Gal 6:1; 1Th 3:10; Heb 10:5; Heb 11:3; Heb 13:21; 1Pe 5:10). Non potuit honorificentius verbi ministerium commendare, quam dum hunc illi effectum tribuit (Calvin). Through the ministers of Christ the Christians should become complete, perfect.33 For what purpose?

For the work of the ministry [or of ministration, ].Hence there is no thought of merely external increase (Pelagius, Beza). marks that for which the saints should become expert, complete. The nouns, without the article, have here a more general meaning: indicates the efficiency of the , and the latter denotes that every work which it does, is a service to our neighbor and then to the whole. is a general service (2Ti 4:11; 2Co 11:8). This meaning is demanded here by the context, the connection with the saints, the members, each one of which has his office (Rom 12:4) and needs the other (1Co 12:21). Comp. 2Ti 3:17 : . It must not be referred to church service, ecclesiastical office, the diaconate in a technical sense (Meyer).34 Comp. on Eph 4:16.

For the building up of the body of Christ, .35The aim of the ministry is again subjoined with the preposition . So great is the significance of the preparing of Christians through the ministers of the Church to ministering activity in the congregation! The body of Christ is there, it exists, but new members are continually incorporated in it, it extends and increases; hence both of the figures derived from the body (Eph 1:23; Eph 2:20-22) are included. Luther is very good: that the saints may be fitted to the work of the ministry, that thus the body of Christ may be edified. Accordingly the three clauses are not co-ordinate (Chrysostom, Bengel and others); nor are the two subjoined with co-ordinate (Rueckert, Meyer, Harless and others), nor yet dependent on as some think, while others make them dependent on . Quite as little can we accept a trajection of the second number before the first (Grotius, Koppe and others). [See above for a classification of opinions.R.] Comp. Doctr. Note 3.

Eph 4:13. The end of the perfecting. Till we all come [ ]. denotes the final, highest aim, not the beginning and entrance of the same, , but the presence and enjoyment of it (Tittmann, Syn. 1. p. 33 ff.). [Comp. Dr. Schaffs note, Romans, p. 181]. , the conjunctive without denotes simply the future; the verb itself however is= (cumenius), the arriving at the destination, as frequently in the Acts (Act 16:1; Eph 18:19, 24, etc.), in a local sense; here and Php 3:11 however in the spiritual sense, prominence being given to the free movement, which is occasioned, strengthened and animated by the educating .36

Under the term , all,= , as a complete whole, the Apostle includes himself; it is therefore implied that those in whom there has been a beginning of (Harless), even the greatest, the Apostles, are in need of progress towards the goal, are not yet there, even although in advance of others, but further their own progress when they labor for others (Php 3:13-14; Rom 1:11-12). Accordingly all is not to be extended to all men (Jerome). Bengel is excellent: Ne apostoli quidem se putarunt metam assecutos, nedum ecclesia. Semper proficiendum fuerat, non standum, nedum deficiendum. Et nunc ecclesia ideam sui optim non a tergo respiciat oportet, sed ante oculos habeat, ut futuram, etiam num assequendum. Notate hoc, qui antiquitatem non tam sequimini, quam obtenditis.

Unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, .The preposition marks the goal. The repeated article demands absolutely, that faith and knowledge be kept apart as distinct, independent ideas, although the genitive which they have in common (of the Son of God) occasions a connection by means of the copulative conjunction. Faith designates the immediate possession, knowledge the assurance obtained by means of knowing (Matthies); the former is applicable to an ethical, the latter to an intellectual sphere; the latter proceeds constantly anew from the former, the former is itself the permanent beginning, the constant principle, not merely an initiatory stage to be surpassed; both belong together accordingly. The unity of both, since one faith is presupposed: (Eph 4:5), refers to the various degrees of clearness and power in the individual members ( ), to littleness of faith, weakness of faith, want of maturity, etc. Accordingly the genitive, of the Son of God, defines both more closely, indicating that they are as strong, as He possessed them, and that thus we, being Gods children who will grow up and become educated, should possess them; He is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2) and knowledge, thus Example and Standard. If He is not the object, there is neither faith nor knowledge at all. Hence it is the genitive subjecti (Stier), not objecti, as most consider it. But unity of faith and knowledge is not meant, either alone (Olshausen), or in connection with the other meaning (Stier); we should rather refer it to the unity of the individuals, of the church-members, which is effected by the faith and knowledge of Christ.

[The view of Olshausen is, that the unity is the state in which faith and knowledge are identified; fides implicita developing into fides explicita (Bisping). Eadie and Alford virtually accept this as included here, the latter citing De Wette: True and full unity of faith is then found, when all thoroughly know Christ, the object of faith, alike, and that in His highest dignity as the Son of God. But the second term is not epexegetical of the first, and faith is not to be lost in knowledge, but abides (1Co 13:13).The strong word must be noticed. If any prefer the more common view of the genitive as that of the object, the following statement (Hodge) will be satisfactory: Faith and knowledge express or comprehend all the elements of that state of mind of which the Son of God is the objecta state of mind which includes the apprehension of His glory, the appropriation of His love, as well as confidence and devotion. This state of mind is in itself eternal life. The unity of faith is now confined to the first principles; the unity of faith contemplated in this place is that perfect unity which implies perfect knowledge and perfect holiness.R.]

Unto a full-grown man, .The singular marks the unity of the Church, which grows up into a perfect man.37 Here a development (werden) is spoken of, which is involved in the ; the Church, the body of Christ, becomes a personality educated and completed to the perfect life-degree of Christ. For is the opposite of (Eph 4:14); like 1Co 3:1; 1Co 2:6 and Heb 5:13-14, it means one in ripe, full manhood.

Unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ [ ].Unto the measure of the stature points to a definite measure; it does not therefore extend in infinitum. from , qui adult et matur tatis est, certainly designates, as in Luk 19:2, the stature, the bodily size, elsewhere (Mat 6:27; Luk 12:25; Luk 2:52; Heb 11:11; Joh 9:21; Joh 9:23) however, the age, generally the age of manhood; it is, more fully expressed, the maturity, the full growth, and in accordance with the context the spiritual maturity (Stier).38 The genitive: , of the fulness of Christ, defines more precisely the measure of the maturity: it is conditioned by the fulness, the state of being filled, which comes from Christ, accordingly by Himself, who lives in it and by His gifts and powers. We should become perfect, as He, the Head was, 1Co 12:12. Hence Luther is incorrect: in the measure of perfect age; for is not to be made an adjective qualifying . The explanation: full gracious presence of Christ (Harless) is insufficient; still more so the meaning given by Rueckert: Christ stands before us as the ideal of manly size and beauty.Whether this goal will be reached in this life or only in the next, is decided by in the context, to this extent, that we must refer it to this life also, although indeed many a one first attains unto it in the future life, since this coming to the appointed goal extends through centuries. Comp. Doctr. Notes 4, 5.

The purpose, Eph 4:14-15. a) negatively, Eph 4:14; b) positively, Eph 4:15.

Eph 4:14. To the end that we be no longer children [ ]. sets forth the purpose, which aims at the fulfilment of , and this must accordingly take place before the goal is reached, unto a perfect man. It is not to be joined to Eph 4:13 (Schenkel),39 but to Eph 4:11-12, more particularly to , and unfolds wherein the perfecting of the saints consists. As the Apostle, who, although the most advanced, still in humble sense of fellowship, bears and suffers in the imperfection of the Church, includes himself (), we must not find here a reproach, but a point or state of transition, which does not continue, hence , which does not recall false teachers in Christendom generally (Meyer). The Gentiles are not yet ; Christians in their incipiency are such (Mat 11:25; Luk 10:21; 1Co 3:1; 1Co 8:11; Gal 4:13; Heb 5:13); they should not however remain so, but advance to ripe manhood.

Tossed to and fro [as waves] and carried about [ ].This describes more closely the , with reference to appearances and experiences observed and felt in the churches, inclusive of the false teachers who had appeared and would appear. Tossed as waves40 (fluctuantes, Vulgate), moved as waves, intrinsecus, sursum deorsum, etiam citra ventum (Bengel), and carried about, extrinsecus, hue illuc, aliis nos adorientibus (Bengel), describes the ready excitability of the unsubstantial, the immature (Jam 1:6; Heb 13:9; Judges 12); they are dependent on their surroundings, on influences and insinuations, are moved:

By every wind of teaching, .The wind has a great variety (), from the aura seculi, levis aura popelli to the strong continuing trade-wind, and as to its origin from coarse to refined carnal interests, as well as in its tendency toward aims against the Church or in favor of a false church. [The dative is the dynamic dative, Krueger.R.] Teaching is introduced under the figure of the wind, because it is something pneumatic and because, as the wind in proportion to its strength or the free situation of the water, stirs this from ripples to foam, so the teaching sets in motion the spirit of the , which is so easily tossed to and fro. The will learn, know; that is the proper way to perfection. But beside the one wholesome teaching of truth there appears the multifarious teaching of error as a great danger,41 and the greater because it works, moves, attracts and hurries along:

In the sleight of men. , belonging to the participles, refers with the article to teaching; through the sleight befitting the doctrine, and with the substantive (from , die), to dice-playing, in order to denote, that the teachers deal with the Scriptures and the truth and men, as players with dice (Luther). [Braune agrees with De Wette, Meyer, Hodge, and the E. V., in regarding as instrumental, but as this seems pleonastic after the dative, and would mar the parallelism with (Eph 4:15), the preposition appears rather to denote the element, the evil atmosphere as it were in which the varying currents of doctrine exist and exert their force (Ellicott). So Harless, Olshausen, Eadie and Alford.R.] The genitive (of men) indicates that the stand under the influence of men, instead of their placing themselves under the guidance of Christ (Meyer), and also under that of many instead of one. But this is not all; the added parallel clause carries the matter further; there is not only human sleight, temeritas, but a plan also:

In craftiness tending to the system of error [ ]. connects with the previous phrase. corresponds with , and gives prominence to what the latter does not indicate, the nequitia, the conscious malice; hence it is incorrect to find this in the previous phrase (Harless, Stier). The article can be dispensed with, since the closer qualification is added. The preposition, as in Eph 4:12 ( ), denotes toward what the craftiness proceeds (Winer, p. 378). This is (only here and Eph 6:11, where the plural is used), which is derived from , to follow in order to track up something, then machinare, meaning therefore machinatio, crafty pursuing (Luther: erschleichen, to sneak upon), to follow and come upon in a sneaking manner; in this there is found pre-arrangement, system. The principle which is indicated by the genitive . This is not error mentis, but lying, the opposite of (1Jn 4:6); hence, especially as is added in Eph 6:11, Bengel is on the right track when he says: i.e., Satan.42 It is true the is in the main only personified (Meyer); but it has a kingdom and a , that operates through men, the false teachers ( ), as through serviceable tools, proper instruments.

Eph 4:15. But holding the truth in love, may grow up into him, , is to be joined with (Eph 4:14) as the antithesis () to no longer children. Hence Luther is incorrect: but let us be honest in love and grow. Christiana ( , Eph 4:13), not merely teachers, are the subject. is simply to grow, not to remain , to come out of the . Hc , augmentatio (Eph 4:16), media est inter infantes et virum (Bengel). Accordingly points to the goal; hence into Him (Matthies, Stier); it corresponds to the , we should become a perfect man, as He is. The phrase Head from the following relative clause should not be pressed (Hofmann, Meyer), in order to make the meaning still; more difficult; stands between, and this accusative of reference will not allow to be=grow in respect to Him (Meyer), whatever that may mean. [Unto and into Him, as the goal and standard of our growth, with a secondary thought apparently of the incorporation of all the Church in Christ, which is developed in the subsequent context. The phrase is not to be joined with in love (Harless).R.] Still less can it mean: ipsius cognitions (Grotius), virtute et influxu (A-Lapide).

While denotes the goal of the growth, designates the condition under which, the state in which it takes place. Hence the two are to be joined: true in love. is (Passow, sub voce); the context explains it further. In the New Testament only here and Gal 4:16. There indicates that it means speaking the truth, here the context is a different one. While forms an antithesis to , stands in contrast to the manner of such (tossed as waves and carried about) and to teaching in general, as well as that of the deceitful false teachers in particular. Bengel is excellent: verantes, Luther (Gen 42:16): if you design truth. The whole personality is spoken of, in walk and nature, and the meaning is more than merely; to be true in speech, verum dicere (Hofmann, Schriftbeweis, II. 2, p. 130, Meyer).43

sets forth the sphere or element in which the moves; and are correlative ideas.44 Comp. 1Co 13:6. Love is here entirely undefined, hence genera: love for the truth, for the brethren, who come into danger through false teachers, or themselves become false teachers, to the Church as a whole, to God. There is accordingly no reference to forbearance toward error (Harless), or love towards those of different profession (Meyer), or something of the same; nor is = (Schenkel), or , on merely upright in love (Luther and others).

In all things who is the head, even Christ [ , , ]. .45 without a preposition, as 1Co 9:25; 1Co 10:33; 1Co 11:2, or with (Col 3:20) denotes, on account of the article, all, to which reference has been made, into which we must grow: faith, knowledge, truth, love, etc. Who is the Head, even Christ, with great emphasis, in order to furnish a motive for growing up into Him. We might have found , in apposition to , but it can either be in apposition to , or in the first instance still be in the nominative (Winer, p. 495).

Eph 4:16. Comprehensive conclusion.From whom, , marks the cause, the source, and as the context demands, a continuing one. Christ is the goal ( ) and the source of the life-development of the Church (Meyer). If then Chrysostom says: , an exact analysis of the sentence will show what is incorrect (). Col 2:19 is parallel.

a. The subject.All the body fitly framed together and compacted [ ].All the body takes the term all (Eph 4:13) as a unity; the main idea is that of totality. [All the body, which the E. V. gives in Col 2:19, is perhaps preferable to the whole body, the idea being of the entire body as including every member, rather than of the body as a whole ( more accurately expresses this). The latter notion becomes the stronger one in the close of the verse.R.] The double definition, fitly framed together and compacted, describes the Church in its present development (present participle). The first adjective (see Eph 2:21; of a building) indicates the individual parts and members (, groove, joint, member), which are printed together (), the other, used more precisely of men who enter into a society, marks these members as individuals, as persons. In this the difference and the reason of the double expression is found. In such a union the Church is conceived of, because it is a building; besides a society is spoken of, a society of persons, a congregation. Accordingly such a two-fold designation sets forth, either the figure and fact (Meyer) or harmony and solidity (Bengel). Ellicott suggests, in accordance with the simple meaning of the words, that the latter term refers to the aggregatim, the former to the inter-adaptation of the component parts.R.]

[By means of every joint of the supply.This phrase, which presents more difficulties than any other in our verse, is discussed below by Dr. Braune, who joins it with the predicate, not with the subject (i.e., as a qualification of the participle) as is done in the E. V. The latter view of the connection is adopted by the majority of commentators (so Hodge, Eadie, Ellicott), and is favored by the position of the phrase and the parallel, Col 2:19. The former is defended by Meyer, Stier, Alford, Chrysostom, Theodoret, Bengel). It may be remarked in favor of this, that it gives more perspicuity to the passage, the whole instrumentality and modality here described belonging to the growth (Alford), the repetition of is more natural in an involved predicate, while the complicated subject is much more awkward. As regards the parallel, the position there is totally different. It ought to be added that the earlier defenders of this view advocated a sense of the word (=, the perception of the vital energy imparted from the head), which did not admit so readily of the connection with the participles. Still Braunes view is preferable.R.]

b. The predicate.Maketh the growth of the body, .Col 2:19 : The repetition of (of the body) instead of (itself) marks the permanent effect proceeding from the cause, and as compared with Christs continued influence, puts into the background the self-development as an entirely independent one. Only when the principle of life in the Church has grown and been strengthened through Christ, does it become perceptible ( ); yet it is already indicated by the middle (). This repetition is therefore not to be explained by the distance of the predicate from the subject () as an effort at distinctness (Meyer), or as negligence (Rueckert), or as a Hebraism (Grotius), or because the interest of individuals is not under discussion (Harless, Stier).46

The predicate is then enlarged by a designation of the means: by means of every joint of the supply [ ]. (from ) cannot according to Col 2:19, where it is put in one category with and connected with mean the same band, yet must be something similar.47 It cannot be= (Chrysostom), sensation (Meyer), contact (Hofmann). Since , means to have something enchaining, enticing (Passow, sub voce), and the singular is found here, the most natural and correct meaning will be: connection or grasp. (from ) means to lead a choir, to defray the expenses of a choir, to render a public service, the contribution to expenditures, public, common rendering of service; accordingly the growth of the Church is by means of every grasp of contribution or service rendered (genitive objecti, and not of apposition, Schenkel, nor=, Grotius, Hofmann and others).

[To this view of Dr. Braune it may be objected that it loses sight of the strict anatomical figure without substituting for it the subtler interpretation of Chrysostom and others. It seems better to take in the sense indicated by Col 2:19, and render it joints. The qualifying genitive is as Ellicott remarks: a kind of genitive definitions, by which the predominant use, purpose, or destination of the is specified and characterized. The joints are the points of union where the supply passes to the different members, and by means of which the body derives the supply by which it grows (Alford). Hodge is undoubtedly correct in interpreting this supply as the Divine life or Holy Spirit communicated to all parts of the Church (against, Braune, who seems to refer it to the service rendered by the individual members), but it is very doubtful whether he is right in saying that the are the various spiritual gifts and offices which are made the channels or means of this Divine communication. Most recent commentators have wisely refrained from thus particularizing. Certainly when these are taken as meaning the officers mentioned in Eph 4:11, despite all saving clauses, a step is taken toward the Romanist and High Anglican view of the clergy. The figures of Scripture, through wrested and strained interpretation, have been made subservient to great error.R.]

According to the working in the measure of each several part [ ]. This qualifies the phrase which precedes. , without the article on account of the following qualification (Eph 1:19; Eph 3:7), defines the as an efficient one, while the proportion of this efficiency rests in the measure of each several part, in the measure, which every part, the individual member of the Church in himself has from Christ. The service rendered proceeds therefore from the individual parts, from each one, so that it is not to be referred merely to the ministry, the officers of the church (Harless). This efficient service of the individuals is to the advantage of the whole and conditions the growth of the whole. Comp. Eph 4:7; Eph 4:12. This part of the sentence is therefore to be closely connected with and not joined immediately with (Meyer), with which it is connected only through the former.48

Unto the building up of itself in love, .The aim is thus set forth, and as in Eph 4:12 it is ; the self-development is here marked, since the powers of growth thereto are given from Christ. This self-edification is consummated only in love, as the life-sphere rendering it possible. In love therefore depends grammatically on edifying (Bleek), not on maketh increase

(Meyer).49 With this so emphatic conclusion (unto the building up of itself in love) the Apostle is brought back to his starting-point (Eph 4:1-3), to the bond of peace.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. Christ gives official persons (Eph 4:11). It is not so much that Christ established certain regulations binding on the Church, as that He has bestowed on it persons, charisms for the endowment of an office, a ministry. He is the Author and Possessor of the office, not only the first, but the only one, who has never relinquished it and never will to the very end. Christ gives the Churchs ministers, the Church takes those given and sets them in the service of the Church. Accordingly the Church, or he who represents the rights and duties of the Church, never has to choose the subjects arbitrarily, but to know and recognize those endowed by Christ as those given by Him, and to place them in the ministry; hence the highest idea of the ecclesiastical directory is to examine whether those concerned are given by Christ, without prejudice however to other requisites which are matters of ecclesiastical polity. Meyer. Concerning the double aspect of the office, which is both diviniand humani juris, a divine institution as well as a human, ecclesiastical arrangement, the passage does not speak more definitely. But three things are plain: 1) It is incorrect to affirm that Christ now raises up no apostolic men, no prophets nor evangelists, but only pastors and teachers. See the Exeg. Notes. He does this according to the necessity of the times. 2) It is also erroneous to find no offices at all appointed, and to be unwilling to institute any, as if it were only a human notion to establish a teaching ministry. So the Quakers (according to Barclay in Guericke, Christl. Symbol, p. 626) and Schenkel, Ephesians, p. 66, 5; the former accept only the authority of the Divine endowment of persons, the latter regards the service alone as from the Lord, but the office as a human regulation. 3) Just as little however should these official persons whom the Lord gave at the beginning and still gives to the Church, be fixed in number, as the Irvingites would do, or be stiffened into a hierarchy as among the Roman Catholics.50

2. The distinction between the official persons, involving as it does no subordination of one class to the other, since indeed the Apostle Matthew is specially designated as Evangelist, John as prophet and Evangelist, while Peter calls himself presbyter (1Pe 5:1), is altogether irrelevant as respects the teaching office: this individualizes itself in the other offices. Subordination exists only as respects Christ who gives them. They have no reason for self-exaltation on account of their gifts or special calling, nor has the congregation any for aversion to recognize and respect them and their calling: the Lord works with His word and Spirit in them and through them (Act 13:21; Act 15:28), and this arrangement belongs to the living and animating organism of the Church, in which the life of Christ develops itself. The officers should be called neither clerics nor Geistliche, nor should the Church be divided into ecclesia reprsentans and reprsentata. For every Christian belongs to the , has a part in the (Eph 1:11; Eph 1:15), should be geistlich, and have to and the ministers as the Lords servants must labor in and for the Church, to serve her, not to represent her, but the Lord.

3. The task of the official persons with their gifts for their special calling, over against the other members of the body of Christ with the general call, is the perfecting of the saints, and this reaches also to the work of the ministry, to the edifying of the body of Christ. As certainly then as the servants of the Lord have to serve the Church and its individual members, hence not in the commission of the Church, as though this were always and everywhere the only efficient impulse, nor yet out of their own authority, so certainly should these ministers be prepared for their special service by their labors in the Church, as they have been called and installed by her. As the Lord works upon the Church, and this should permit itself to be acted upon, so she has the duty of working again according to His purpose, of leading back to Him under His guidance and the help of God, which He will grant and furnish for her welfare. The first link in the chain of congregational activity is the officers, the second is every Christian in healthy activity at his post, and thus the joyous upbuilding of the whole is advanced, which reacts on the ministers and individual members of the Church. Thus it goes from above to below, from the ministers in immediate rapport with the Lord to the individuals, the Church, the whole, and from individual to individual, and through them to the whole, and from this back again to the individuals. The lay element must be cultivated, set in motion, sustained, animated and guided. The design is to bless men, to serve the people, the people, the people, as Luther (1 Adv. Kirchenpostille, ed. Franke I. p. 42) preaches. In avoiding the Scylla of priestly rule, many fall into the Charybdis of congregational or lay rule.51 This is of importance for all Church polity.

4. Like all pedagogy, the pedagogy of the church also should make itself superfluous and unnecessary. The utility of the ecclesiastical office is appointed to this end, and should be managed accordingly.52 But this gives neither right nor occasion to undervalue at the time what will and should cease after its time. Fidelity to the Master demands that it should be left to Him, when and how He will break up the form, lest we in doing so should spill and lose its contents and substance.

5. In connection with the prospect that we all (Eph 4:13) shall attain unto the unity of faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, it must be remarked:

(1) That this is not spoken of in any way (see Exeg. Notes) of the apocatastasis: A communion of the enjoyment of salvation (Schneckenburger.) is not indicated, but the progress from the militant to the triumphant church, the development, not from unbelief to blessedness, not from eternity to God, to heirship with Him, but from faith to sight, from service according to Gods will to participation in the glory of His Nature.

(2) A uniformity of expression, of forms and formulas, is not meant, but that condition is meant which the Lord Himself foretells (Joh 10:16), when there shall be one fold and one Shepherd, when the church of Christ is developed out of and beyond all fermentation, is ripened, ministers and members furthering each others advance, the individual parts and the whole in accord, and on the basis of a deeper unity the proper variety existing in glorious harmony.

It cannot be overlooked, that, although the differences, which divide, will disappear, because error attaches to them, or at least immaturity, the removal of differences cannot be anticipated, unless the church, instead of growing up unto a perfect man, should become an assembly of offensively over-prudent children. Even the distinction of sex shall be removed (Mat 22:30), as that of corporealness in general; but that is no reason why we should treat the body as a prison of the soul, and desire to be without sex, before we enter the company of the angels. Let each one be faithful to his own church and to his Lord! Beyond Christ we cannot go, without Him or against Him there is no progress.

6. He who allows himself to be determined by external influences, is still immature, is as yet no man, independent, firm and clear, unless these influences come from the source of truth and life, from Christ: from Him and to Him our life comes and goes. Influences of an unchristian character are brought by the spirit of this world into every age, and many a one may unconsciously serve this spirit against the truth; as in the history of the world there is presented a plan of God, so in these there is a method which points beyond them into the kingdom of darkness and lies.
7. Truth and Love, which belong together, since the former has an ethical character, and the latter is not blind, are the fundamental elements of growth, requiring Christ as the aim and spring of our life, the gifts of Christ and the acceptance on the part of the church, her receptivity and self-activity, the reciprocity of the whole and each individual member. By this we may judge the wrong and error of the separate divisions and generations of the church. The Catholics do not let Christ work as a fresh streaming fountain, nor rightly value the life of the members of the church, but put the apostolic power of the Pope with his hierarchy in the front and centre; they undervalue the Head and members and overvalue the ministers of the church, who become masters. The Lutherans have hampered the lay element, and suffer the consequences of the abridgement: the fellowship of the church is too little developed. The Reformed are wanting in the sacramental element; they foster what is individual and social, rather than that which is formative and established, as the sects proceeding from them plainly show.By this passage every position and every age regulate itself.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

Take heed, pastor, that thou not only hast an office and ministry shown to thee, which thou administerest, but that thou art and becomest more and more thyself a gift of Christ to His church.Rejoice, O church, that the servants of Christ are Christs gifts for thee and use them according to His will against thy lust and errors.Thou shouldst not say, that Christ raised up Apostles, prophets, evangelists, only in the first century and never since; nor deny that He raises up the pastors and teachers of His church.All ministry, even the most important minister is in vain, if he does not labor further into the house and the bye-ways, so that each in his place may do his duty as a Christian; but if the spiritual teachers do their duty, the church will not remain unspiritual.Do not reckon according to visible results; concealed and gradual is the progress of the work, reaching its mark at last and in glory. But do not think hastily and proudly, now is the time of maturity! You may in the end mistake the impulse of the spirit of the age for the showers of Christs Spirit and the Shibboleth of party-spirit for the word of life, and this deception would be fearful.No one is so much a minor as to be without responsibility and strength to resist; have regard to this, proving all things by the truthfulness in love, by Christ, the End and Source of all growth! Preach the word simply and purely! Certainly, but not less: love it in the same way. Love does not, indeed, work by means of injustice, untruth, deception, counterfeiting, intrigue, misrepresentation and pretence. But she creates fellowship, and truth is the cause, not of the isolated individual, but of the fellowship of heaven and earth, of the nations, of the earth, and of centuries, aye of thousands of years.

Starke: For as rogues so manage dice that they must fall according to their wish, so do schismatics and fanatics act with the sacred Scriptures.Truth and love must be side by side. True teaching and lovely living. That is the sum of all Christianity. Love and unity edify.

Rieger: The goal of our growth is a long distance before us, the hindrances are many; but growth is the most certain way thither. For as little as in physical growth is advance made all at once with immoderate rapidity, but as in the use of the ordained means, with proper labor and exercise, in confidence on God and His bestowed blessing, in love and peace with one another, the body grows, not one member only, but one just as another, so we, through Gods word, prayer, embracing all the means afforded us in the church, the school and the home, reach the position of men of God furnished for every good work.

Heubner: Christs kingdom embraces even the invisible kingdom of God. Would this be conceivable, if He were a mere man?The variety of offices should not lead to ambition and place-hunting, but to the service of the church.The stature of manhood in a Christian consists in this, that he, irrespective of men has spiritual majority and independence. Teachers should not wish to keep the congregation in a state of immaturity, but their task is to render themselves unnecessary.It is the duty of the Christian to strive after this maturity.Humanity is capable of an ever-increasing perfection by means of Christianity. Progress in Christianity is, however, no advance beyond Christianity.The Christian is firm in his faith and free from the miserable dependence on foreign and worldly opinion.How much is still wanting in the mutual support of all in the Christian church. All should be for the furtherance of the Christian life: for example, the household life should be a school of Christianity, the State should further the church, and the schools of learning educate for Christianity, all arts and sciences should subserve religion.It is childs play, even when not detrimental, to speculate how far this figure of the body can be carried out into detail, who, for example, is eye, ear, breast, back, etc. This can lead to results of as revolting a character, as the Hindoo system of caste.

Passavant: One class, as well as another, is chosen to their particular service by the Master of the church; and He who on earth was in the form of a servant, will regard the more lowly of His servants with special looks of love. He sees the heart, and fidelity in what is little is precious in His sight.To seek truth always and everywhere, in all things and among all persons; to act in truth with all, towards all, with ones self and before God; to base ones inmost thoughts and impulses always in and on the truththis keeps the heart, amid all the lies, lusts and illusions of this false world, firm and quiet, as the ship that has escaped the waves and cast anchor in the harbor.All genuine truth and love come alone from Christ upon us and into us, leading us back again to Christ.

Gerlach: In every false teaching which separates men from Christ and His word, the Apostle shows us also a work of wickedness. Human nature was not created by God so perverse as to choose without the fault of man, a lie instead of the truth.

Zeller: These are the instruments by which the Lord has chosen to build His Church, not Popes, not Emperors and kings, not princes and great ones, the mighty monarchs of this world, but Apostles, Evangelists, pastors and teachers, men illuminated by His spirit, endued with power from on high, not merely by men, but given and appointed by Himself. It is to take place through the peaceful means of preaching, pastoral care, instruction.

[Eadie: Eph 4:12. The spiritual advancement of the Church, is the ultimate design of the Christian pastorate. The ministry preaches and rules to secure this, which is at the same time the purpose of Him who appointed and who blesses it.

Eph 4:13. Christians are all to attain to oneness of faith, that is, all of them shall be filled with the same ennobling and vivifying confidence in this Divine Redeemernot some leaning more to His humanity, and others showing an equally partial and defective preference for His Divinitynot some regarding Him rather as an instructor and example, and others drawn to Him more as an atonementnot some fixing an exclusive gaze on Christ without them, and others cherishing an intense and one-sided aspiration for Christ within thembut all reposing a united confidence in Himthe Son of God.The Christian church is not full grown, but it is advancing to perfect age.

Eph 4:14. How many go the rounds of all sects, parties, and creeds, and never receive satisfaction. If in the pride of reason they fall into rationalism, then if they recover, they rebound into mysticism. From the one extreme of legalism they recoil to the farthest verge of antinomianism, having travelled at easy stages all the intermediate distance.

Eph 4:15. That character is nearest perfection in which the excessive prominence of no grace throws such a withering shadow upon the rest, as to signalize or perpetuate their defect, but in which all is healthfully balanced in just and delicate adaptation.

Eph 4:16. The church is built up, for love is the element of spiritual progress. That love fills the renewed nature, and possesses peculiar facilities of action in edifying the mystical body of Christ. Whatever parts it may have, whatever their forms, uses, and position, whatever the amount of energy resident in them, still, from their connection with the one living Head, and from their own compacted union and mutual adjustment, they compose but one growing structure in love.R.]

[Hodge: Eph 4:12. If Christ has appointed the ministry for the edification of His body, it is in vain to expect that end to be accomplished in any other way.

Eph 4:14. Error can never be harmless, nor false teachers innocent. Two considerations, however, should secure moderation and meekness in applying these principles. The one is, that though error implies sin, orthodoxy does not always imply holiness. The character most offensive to God is that of a malignant zealot for the truth. The other consideration is, that men are often much better than their creed: that is, the doctrines on which they live are much nearer the truth than those which they profess. They deceive themselves by attaching wrong meaning to words, and seem to reject truth, when in fact they only reject their own misconceptions.

Eph 4:16. The church is Christs body. The body grows. Concerning this growth, the Apostle says: 1. It is from Him. He is the causal source from whom all life and power are derived. 2. It depends on the intimate union of all the parts of the body with the Head, by means of appropriate bands. 3. It is symmetrical. 4. It is a growth in love.R.]

Footnotes:

[22]Eph 4:12.[Unto is substituted for the preposition for, to indicate the difference in the Greek prepositions. In order to, with a view to, would express one view of the meaning of the verse, but unto suits the view of Dr. Braune better. Ministration is preferable to ministry, since the latter is now confined by usage to the office of the preacher and pastor. Building up is Saxon, edifying Latin.R.]

[23]Eph 4:14.[. B. 1 D. 1 F. K. L. support the form , adopted by Tischendorf (ed. 7); but (Rec.) is preferable, as changes in orthography which may be accounted for by italicism or some mode of erroneous transcription must always be received with caution (Ellicott).The periphrasis is necessary to express the force of .R.]

[24]Eph 4:15.[See Exeg. Notes, especially the additional footnote.R.]

[25]Eph 4:15.[The article is found in the Rec., D. F. K. L., most cursives, and is accepted by De Wette; but it is omitted in A. B. C., and rejected by Lachmann. Tischendorf, Alford, Ellicott (now by Meyer). It occurs with 31 times, and is omitted in 53 instances (Ellicott).R.]

[26]Eph 4:16.[The view of the connection taken in the Exeg. Notes requires the insertion of a comma here, to indicate that the subsequent phrases qualify the main verb.The less usual form: is sustained by . A. B. (?) C. D. F. G., adopted by Tischendorf, Ellicott and others. Comp. Eph 3:6, where the usual euphonic changes in the prefixed preposition are ignored in the best MSS.Effectual is omitted to avoid conveying the impression that the working is Gods .R.]

[27]Eph 4:16.[A. C., some versions and fathers sustain the reading , but it is probably a gloss occasioned by ; is found in . B. D. F. K. L., and accepted by all recent editors.R.]

[28]Eph 4:16.[ D. 1 F. read , but is sustained by most authorities.R.]

[29][Ellicott: There is here no direct resumption of the subject of Eph 4:7, as if Eph 4:8-10 were merely parenthetical, but a regression to it; while at the same time the is naturally and emphatically linked on to the of the preceding verse. This return to a subject, without disturbing the harmony of the immediate connection or the natural sequence of thought, constitutes one of the high excellences, but at the same time one of the chief difficulties in the style of the great Apostle.R.]

[30][On the position of Matthias, comp. Eph 1:1 and Acts (in loco). Eadie thus enumerates the essential elements of the apostolate: 1. That the Apostles should receive their commission immediately from the living lips of Christ. 2. That having seen the Saviour after He rose again, they should be qualified to attest to the truth of His resurrection. 3. They enjoyed a special inspiration. 4. Their authority was therefore supreme. 5. In proof of their commission and inspiration, they were furnished with ample credentials. 6. Their commission to preach and found churches was universal and in no sense limited. This statement, approved by Alford and Ellicott, involves further: That they have no personal successors, can have none; that no supreme authority exists in any ecclesiastical office, unless that office be the Apostolate. See further, Gal 1:1-5, Doctr. Notes; Romans, p. 59.R.]

[31][Dr. Hodge, in an excellent note here, remarks that the prevalent view at the time of the Reformation (see Calvin in loco) regarded this term as applied to vicars of the Apostles, such as Luke Timothy, Titus. This is altogether untenable, and no doubt arose from the effort, made by Calvin and others, to prove that all the offices referred to except that of pastors and teachers, were of a temporary nature, and thus to establish the principle of parity of the clergy.R.]

[32][Alford remarks that the figure in , if pressed, would imply that they were entrusted with some special flock, which they tended; and then the teaching would necessarily form a chief part of their work. Eadie says the former term implies careful, tender, vigilant superintendence and government, being the function of an overseer and elder. The official name (bishop), he adds, is used by the Apostle in addressing churches formed principally out of the heathen world (Ephesus, Philippi, Crete), while (elder), the term of honor, is more Jewish in its tinge (Acts, Epistles of James, Peter and John). Speaking to Timothy and Titus, the Apostle styles them elders (and so does the compiler of the Acts, in referring to spiritual rulers); but describing the duties of the office itself, he calls the holder of it .R.]

[33][Hodge gives the following meanings which have been suggested here: 1. The completion of the saints (the number of the elect). 2. Their renewing or restoration. 3. Their reduction to order and union as one body. 4. Their preparation for service (so Braune). 5. To their perfecting. The last he prefers, as is required by the view taken of the relation of the clauses.R.]

[34][The term is not to be restricted to the diaconate, nor to the ministry, i.e., the office of pastor and teacher (Hodge), but seems to refer to spiritual service of an official nature (so Meyer). Hence ministration is preferable to the more technical word ministry, though Braune extends the signification in accordance with his view. On the absence of the article Ellicott remarks: may possibly have been left studiously anarthrous in reference to the different modes of exercising it alluded to in Eph 4:11, and the various spiritual wants of the Church; however seems clearly definite in meaning, though by the principle of correlation (Middleton, Art. iii. 3, 6) it is necessarily anarthrous in form.R.]

[35][Ellicott remarks that this clause is parallel to, but at the same time more nearly defining the nature of the . The article is not required, as edifying generally is the object. There is no confusion of metaphors, since both words have a distinct metaphorical meaning, where the original allusion is in a measure lost.R.]

[36][All reference to coming together from different starting-points, or coming out of previous wanderings is imaginary (Meyer). Ellicott remarks that too much weight must not be laid on the omission of as giving an air of less uncertainty to the subjunctive, since there was an evident tendency in later Greek to omit it in such cases, adding: the use of the subjunctive (the mood of is represented not only as the eventual, but as the expected and contemplated result of the .R.]

[37][Metaphorical apposition to the foregoing member, the concrete term being probably selected rather than any abstract term, as forming a good contrast to the following (Eph 4:14), and as suggesting by its singular the idea of the complete unity of the holy personality, further explained in the next clause into which they were united and consummated (Ellicott). As a curiosity Alford cites from Augustine (Civ. Dei, xxii. 17): Nonnulli. propter hoc quod dictum est, Eph. iv. 13, nec in sexu fmineo resurrecturas fminas credunt, sed in virili omnes aiunt.R.]

[38][As the word undoubtedly means either stature or age, the latter being more common, or perhaps includes both, like the German Erwachsenheit, the sense here must be determined by considerations drawn from the passage itself. Koppe, Holzhausen, Harless, Meyer, Hodge prefer the sense: age, because full-grown men, children (Eph 4:14), point to this; the phrase which follows is then a characterizing genitive. But measure seems more appropriately used in reference to stature and the idea of magnitude is indicated by the words fulness, grow up (Eph 4:15) and by the figure of Eph 4:16. This sense is adopted by Erasmus, Grotius, Bengel, Rueckert, Stier, Eadie, Ellicott, Alford. It may be added that does not refer to the Church (Storr and others), nor to the knowledge of Christ (Grotius). The genitive is a genitive subjective: Christs fulness: This stature grows just as it receives of Christs fulness; and when that fulness is wholly enjoyed, it will be that of a perfect man (Eadie). Some of the Fathers referred this passage to the resurrection, teaching that man shall rise from the grave in the perfect age of Christ, having the form and aspect of thirty-three years of age, the age of Christ at His death. See Meyer, who has a note on the time of fulfilment in which he brings out his favorite views about the Second Advent and Pauls expectation of its speedy coming.R.]

[39][Schenkels view is somewhat novel. He takes our verse as giving the purpose of Eph 4:13, and to the objection that this places perfection before the state of childhood answers, that the last verse refers to the whole Church, this to individuals. Because the whole Church is perfect, the members should be no longer children. But this is very unsatisfactory. The two leading views are those of Harless and Meyer. The former takes our verse as co-ordinate with Eph 4:13, and immediately dependent on Eph 4:11-12, giving the purpose of the ministry (so Flatt, Bleek, Hodge). Meyer, who has a clear statement of the case in loco, takes this verse as sub-ordinate to Eph 4:13, and remotely dependent on Eph 4:11-12. He holds that Eph 4:13 defines the terminus ad quem, which characterizes the functions of the Christian ministry, while Eph 4:14 thus explains the object, our ceasing to be children, contemplated in the appointment of such a terminus, and thence more remotely in the bestowal of a ministry so characterized. To the former view there is the decided grammatical objection that a clause introduced by is made co-ordinate with those introduced by , in that case too Eph 4:13 would follow Eph 4:14-15. The latter view avoids these difficulties without being open to the logical objection which probably led to the adoption of the former.R.]

[40][Not by the waves, like a deserted ship, as Meyer and others hold, but like the billow itself.R.]

[41][Eadie: The article before gives definitive prominence to the teaching, which, as a high function respected and implicitly obeyed, was very capable of seducing, since whatever false phases it assumed, it might find and secure followers. The substantive is abstract and general; teaching is preferable to doctrine, because it brings out the active agency employed with more distinctness.R.]

[42][On the reading see Textual Note2. As to its meaning, we may remark that the bad sense is not necessarily inherent in the term, which signifies: a deliberate planning or system. Still here the bad sense is fixed on it by the genitive which follows, and we might render it: stratagem, though in the full phrase, system of error, the meaning is sufficiently evident. Eadie renders a system, but the system of error is one. The force of the preposition can be brought out in English only by a periphrasis: tending to, leading to, not according to. The word here includes the idea of deceit no doubt, but is perhaps better expressed by error, error in its most abstract nature. The genitive is subjective, the error plans and machinates. That the Apostle meant to characterize error as evil, morally as well as intellectually wrong, is evident enough from the context. When Rueckert says that this was Pauls weak side, to stigmatize those in error, in a spirit of dogmatical defiance, he betrays his usual incapacity for comprehending the Apostle. If truth be not sanctifying, and error demoralizing, then the Scriptures and human experience are alike at fault.R.]

[43][Though the more extended meaning is stoutly denied by Meyer, it is accepted by Calvin, De Wette, Rueckert, Alford, Hodge, Eadie and Ellicott. The difficulty is to express the sense in English: being true is literal, but not satisfactory; walking truthfully, walking in truth, though giving the correct sense, would be inapt here; holding the truth is the best rendering, if the care is taken not to give an objective sense to truth.Comp. the remarks of Alford (who renders: being followers of truth) and Ellicott.R.]

[44][The question of connection is much disputed. Many, perhaps most, join in love with the participle (Calvin, Grotius, Alford, Rueckert, Hodge, Stier, Bleek among others), while Harless, Meyer, Olshausen, Eadie and Ellicott connect it with the verb grow. In favor of the former, the order, the parallelism of structure with Eph 4:14, the otherwise feeble and awkward position of the participle at the beginning of the sentence, Pauls habit of subjoining his qualifying phrases, and the vital association between love and truth, may be urged. The latter view is supported by Meyer as better agreeing with his rendering of the participle: speaking the truth; he urges also that in love ought to be joined with the same verb as in Eph 4:16, and that thus in love, at the beginning here and at the close there, receives its due emphasis. Still the other seems preferable, for the connection in Eph 4:16 is equally open to discussion. It is not a fiat justitia, ruat clum truthfulness: but must be conditioned by love; a true-seeking and true-being with loving caution and kind allowance (Alford).R.]

[45][This the accusative of the quantitative object (Ellicott); we are to grow in all those things in which the Christian must advance (Olshausen).R.]

[46][The repetition is generally regarded as made for the sake of perspicuity, especially as is found in the next clause. Perhaps however the body as a whole comes more into view now.The middle is apparently not so much reflexive as intensive and indicative of the energy with which the spiritual process is earned on (Eadie, Wordsworth, Ellicott).R.]

[47][In Colossians (p. 55) Braune seems to limit the word to nerves, in accordance with the view which joins each of the substantives there used with one of the participles. As this is scarcely tenable (see in loco), and as the article is not repeated with the second substantive in that passage, the category joints and bands decides yet more definitely against any interpretation of this word which removes it out of the general class of the anatomical arrangements.R.]

[48][It is difficult to decide the question of connection. In favor of the view taken by Braune is the position of the words, and also the congruity of the figure. It is more natural to say that the Divine influence is according to the working of every parti. e., according to its capacity and functionthan to say, the growth is according to the working, etc. (Hodge). Ellicott and Alford connect it with the verb however. The working is the functional energy of the body, not Divine inworking, as seems to be indicated by the E. V.: effectual working.R.]

[49][Meyers view overloads the verb with qualifications. Love is just as much the element in which the edification, as that in which the growth takes place (Alford).In the hope of giving clearness to the exegesis of this verse, a summary is added: From whom (Christ) all the body (each and every member) fitly framed together (jointed together) and compacted (forming one whole) grows (as if possessed of life in itself) by means of every joint (every special adaptation in gift and office) of supply (which Christ grants to these joints as means and instruments, the supply being) according to the working in the measure of each several part (Christs vital energy is serviceable only as supplied by the means He has chosen, and He chooses to supply it as the several parts of the body exercise their functions, so that the growth is not only from Him, but symmetrical and organic also) unto (the end being) the building up of the body itself in love (as the element of edification).R.]

[50][Eadie: We are ignorant to a very great extent of the government of the primitive Church, and much that has been written upon it is but surmise and conjecture. The Church represented in the Acts was only in process of development, and there seem to have been differences of organization in various Christian communities, as may be seen by comparing the portion of the Epistle before us with allusions in the three letters to Rome, Corinth and Philippi. Offices seem to be mentioned in one which are not referred to in others. It would appear, in fine, that this last office of government and instruction was distinct in two elements from those previously enumerated; inasmuch as it was the special privilege of each Christian communitynot a ministerium vagum, and was designed also to be a perpetual institute in the Church of Christ. The Apostle says nothing of the modes of human appointment or ordination to these various offices. He descends not to law, order or form, but his great thought is, that though the ascended Lord gave such gifts to men, yet their variety and number interfere not with the unity of the Church. As this Epistle has for its fundamental thought, the Church which is in Christ Jesus, it is remarkable how the Apostle in it scarcely touches upon those points, which seem to fill the minds of many who profess to hold an exalted estimate of the Church: Nothing about the ministry constituting the Church though enough to show the necessity for the ministry; nothing about the Church maintaining the succession through fixed forms, but a good deal about Christs giving real pastors and teachers (the Church sometimes fails to receive such through the most ancient order of succession); nothing about Church polity, but much about the means of her advancement toward unity of faith and knowledge, toward perfection, toward the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.R.]

[51][All questions of Church polity assume an entirely different aspect, when viewed in the light of the voluntary principle, which totally deprives the State of any control in the internal affairs of the Church. There can be no question that the Erastianism prevalent in Germany has done as much to hinder the development of the lay element in Church work in that country, as the opposite principle has to further that development in America. But the latter state of things has its dangers, e.g., incapable Sunday School superintendents and teachers, elders or deacons or church wardens or whatever they may be called, who, while contributing little to the spiritual advancement of the Church, take advantage of their office, or of the influence of their purse in the annual estimates, to control and annoy him whom God gave to be pastor and teacher.R.]

[52][Eadie: The meaning (Eph 4:13) is, that not only is there a blessed point in spiritual advancement set before the church, and that till such a point be gained the Christian ministry will be continued, but also and primarily, that the grand purpose of a continued pastorate in the church is to enable the church to gain a climax which it will certainly reach; for that climax is neither indefinite in its nature nor contingent in its futurity. On the question whether the goal plainly set before the church in Eph 4:13, is attainable here in this world there is great difference of opinion. That it will first be reached hereafter is held by Theodoret, Calvin, Hodge and others, and that it is attainable here is affirmed by Chrysostom, Theophylact, Jerome, Luther, De Wette, Meyer, Stier, Schenkel. That is mentioned does little to decide the matter, nor is there anything to indicate that the distinction of here and hereafter, entered into the Apostles mind. He regards the church as one, speaks of the goal set before her on the earth, not stating whether it is to be attained on earth (So Harless, Olshausen, Eadie, Ellicott). Besides eschatological views do much to give indefiniteness to the terms here and hereafter in our use of them. In such sketches the Apostle holds up an ideal which, by the aim and labor of the Christian pastorate, is partially realized on earth, and ought to be more vividly manifested; but which will be fully developed in heaven, when, the effect being secured, the instrumentality may be dispensed with (Eadie). That effect has not yet been secured, that instrumentality may not yet be dispensed with: yet those who are tossed as waves, who are carried about by every wind of doctrine, who according to the Apostle show most clearly the present necessity for the ministerial office, are readiest to cry out that it is useless. Would that the church needed ministers less! Then they might go out into the world more frequently to win souls for Christ! Paul here certainly does not prophesy of that church of the future, in which there shall be neither pastor nor teacher, because each member is able to take care of himself, and there is nothing to be held up to faith. That Church in the view of those who proclaim its coming, will be based on knowledge; but it will be not perception of some fragments of truth, not the grasping and knowing with faith and knowledge all Truth, in the Person of the Son of God.R.]

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

DISCOURSE: 2109
THE USE OF A STATED MINISTRY

Eph 4:11-16. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ; from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

IT is a truth never to be forgotten, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the fountain of life, and that all our fresh springs are in him, Unless this be borne in mind, we shall never be able to do the will of God aright; nor will Christ ever be glorified by us as he ought to be. Hence the Apostle, after exhorting the Ephesian converts to walk worthy the vocation wherewith they had been called, reminds them, that, so far as they had been enabled to do this, they had done it through grace received from the Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to the predictions concerning him, had ascended up to heaven, and bestowed it upon them. One particular prediction to this effect he specifies; and then, commenting upon it, declares, that Jesus, having triumphed over all his enemies, had, after the manner of conquerors, who scattered gifts and largesses amongst their followers, conferred these and other blessings upon them. Of the other blessings he had bestowed upon his Church, the Apostle mentions some which were extraordinary and temporary, as apostles, prophets, and evangelists; and some which were ordinary and permanent, as pastors and teachers, whose office was to be continued for the benefit of the Church in all succeeding generations.
What the particular benefits were which the Church was to derive from these pastors and teachers, he then proceeds to notice, and sets them forth under a variety of most beautiful and instructive images. That we may enter more fully into the subject, we shall endeavour to shew,

The ends for which a stated ministry was ordained

These were,

The perpetuating of a succession of duly qualified instructors in the Church

[This seems to be the import of those words which first occur in our text, and which might perhaps have been more properly translated, For the fitting of holy men for the work of the ministry for the edification of the body of Christ. Amongst the Jews, especial care was taken that the knowledge of the true God should be transmitted to the latest generations: as David says; God established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers that they should make them known to their children; that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children [Note: Psa 78:5-6.]. So under the Christian dispensation, care is taken, that there never shall be wanting a, succession of persons duly qualified and authorized to transmit to every succeeding generation the knowledge of Christ, and of his Gospel. St. Paul says to Timothy, The things which thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also [Note: 2Ti 2:2.]. Were the ministerial office to cease, the Church itself would soon fall into decay: for though it is certain that the Scriptures are of themselves, when applied by the Holy Spirit to the soul, able to make men wise unto salvation, it is also certain, that the ministry of the word is, and ever has been, the chief instrument which God makes use of for the conversion of the world. A vision was given to Cornelius, and an angel sent to inform him where he might find an authorized instructor; and repeated visions were given to Peter, and not only given, but explained to him by the Holy Ghost, in order to remove his scruples, and prevail upon him to go to Cornelius, for the express purpose of honouring Gods instituted means of communicating the knowledge of his Gospel. For the very same end was Philip directed, by the Holy Ghost, to go to the Ethiopian eunuch, and to open to him the portion of Scripture which he was reading. The Spirit might as easily have opened the eyes of the eunuch, without the intervention of Philip: but he chose to put the honour on the means which he had instituted; and to effect that by his minister, which he would not effect by the word alone.

In all ages shall such ministers be raised up, through the operation of the preached word; nor shall the Church cease to be supplied with them, till there shall remain no more members to be added to her, nor any further work to be wrought in those of which she is composed.]

The edification of the Church itself

[The Church of Christ is his body: those who believe in him are his members: and every member has a measure of growth which it is destined to attain: and it is the completeness of the members in number and proficiency, that constitutes the perfection of the whole body. Towards this perfection the Church is gradually advancing. To help forward this good work is the office of Gods servants, who are continually labouring for the good of the Church, and striving to edify her in faith and love. The ignorant they are to instruct; the weak they are to strengthen and establish; the wandering they are to bring back; and over every member are they so to watch, that all may be progressively fitted for the discharge of their respective offices, and that God may be glorified in all.]

But as the ministry can be effectual only through the medium of our own exertions, it will be proper to shew,

II.

The use we should make of it

It finds us sinners: it brings us to the state of saints: and when formed by it into one great community, it leads us to a performance of the duties we owe to all the members of that body. In each of these states we have duties to perform

As sinners, we should seek that faith which alone will save us

[There is but one faith; and one knowledge of the Son of God, in which we must be all agreed. In matters of minor importance we may differ from each other: but the Head we must all hold: we must simply look to the Lord Jesus Christ, as dying for us, and as making reconciliation for us by the blood of his cross; our hope must be in him, and in him alone: and, if we place the smallest dependence on any thing of our own, we can have no part in his salvation. In relation to this matter, there must be no diversity: perfect unity is required: and to bring you to this unity, is the great scope of our labours. Brethren, consider this; and inquire whether our ministry has had a proper influence upon you in this respect? Have you been made to feel yourselves guilty and undone; and have you fled to Christ for refuge, as to the one hope that is set before you? Have you renounced all dependence whatever on yourselves; and are you daily looking to him as made of God unto you wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption? We say again, that if our ministry be not effectual to bring you to this, it is not a savour of life unto you, but a savour of death to your more aggravated condemnation.]

As believers, we should seek to grow up into Christ in all things

[Whilst we are yet weak in the faith, we are in constant danger of being turned aside from the truth of God. Both men and devils will labour incessantly to draw us from the one foundation of a sinners hope. But we are to be growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We are not to continue as children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine: we are to be aware of the devices of our enemies: we are to get a deeper insight into the great mystery of godliness: we are to become daily more and more established in the truth as it is in Jesus, so as to be proof against all the sleight of men, and the cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. On whatever side we are assaulted, our enemies should find us armed. Are we attacked by the specious reasonings of false philosophy, or the proud conceits of self-righteous moralists, we should reject the dogmas both of the one and the other, and determine to know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified. To him we should cleave with full purpose of heart, making daily more and more use of him in all his offices. As our Priest, we should confide more simply in the atonement he has offered for us, and in his continual intercession for us at the right hand of God. As our Prophet, we should rely on him more entirely to instruct us in the knowledge of Gods will, and to guide us into all truth. As our King, we should look to him to put down all our enemies, and to bring every thought of our hearts into captivity to his holy will. In a word, we should live more simply and entirely by faith in him, receiving daily out of his fulness all that we stand in need of, and improving it all for the glory of his name.
Thus to establish you in Christ, is a further intent of our ministry; even to bring you to live in the same communion with him, as the members have with the head. You must feel that you have nothing in yourselves, but all in him: and whatsoever communications you receive from him, must be employed in executing his will, and in promoting his glory.]

As members of Christs mystical body, we should seek to promote the welfare of the whole

[In the natural body, all the members consult and act for the good of the whole: no one possesses any thing for itself only; but all being compacted together by joints and ligaments, and every joint, from the largest to the smallest, supplying a measure of unctuous and nutritious matter, each according to its ability, for the benefit of the member that is in contact with it, and for the good of the whole body, all grow together; and that from infancy to youth, from youth to manhood, till the whole has attained that measure of perfection which God has designed for it. Thus it must be in the mystical body of Christs Church. Believers are no more independent of each other, than they are of Christ: as they are united unto him by faith, so are they to be united to each other by love. None are to consider any thing which they possess as private property, but as a trust to be improved for the good of the whole. Nor are they to consider only that part of the body with which they are in more immediate contact, but the whole without exception; assured, that the happiness of the whole is bound up in the welfare of every part; and that all being connected by one common interest, all must labour together for one common end.

When this is attained, the intent of our ministry is fully answered. A life of faith, and a life of love, is that for which God has begotten us by his Gospel But let me ask, Is this end answered upon us? Do we regard the whole Church of God, as well that part which is more remote, as that which is nearer to us, as members of our own body, entitled to all possible care and love? O that it were thus in every place under heaven! O that there were no schisms in this sacred body! But let there be no want of effort, on our part, to advance the temporal and spiritual welfare of all around us: let there be an effectual working in the measure of every part, that so the body may be increased, and the whole be edified in love [Note: This may be easily improved for any subject connected with the ministry.].]

Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)

11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

Ver. 11. Some pastors and teachers ] Distinct officers,Rom 12:7-8Rom 12:7-8 , yet one man may be both, 1Co 12:28-29 . The essential differences between pastors and teachers in each congregation is much denied by many learned and godly divines.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

11 .] Resumption of the subject the diversity of gifts, all bestowed by Him, as a motive to unity. And HE (emphatic; ‘it is He, that’) gave (not for , any more than in ch. Eph 1:22 : the gifts which He gave to His Church are now enumerated. “The idea is, that the men who filled the office, no less than the office itself, were a divine gift.” Eadie) some as Apostles (see 1Co 12:28 , and note; and a good enumeration of the essentials of an Apostle, in Eadie’s note here), some as prophets (see on 1Co 12:10 : and cf. ch. Eph 2:20 ; Eph 3:5 , notes), some as evangelists (not in the narrower sense of the word, writers of gospels, but in the wider sense, of itinerant preachers, usually sent on a special mission: , , . . Chr. See note on Act 21:8 ), some as pastors and teachers (from these latter not being distinguished from the pastors by the , it would seem that the two offices were held by the same persons. The figure in , if to be pressed, would imply that they were entrusted with some special flock, which they tended, , as Chr.; and then the would necessarily form a chief part of their work. If this view be correct, this last class includes all the stationary officers of particular Churches), in order to (ultimate aim of these offices, see below) the perfecting of the saints, for (immediate object, see below) ( the ) work of ( the ) ministry (of in God’s Church. The articles give completeness in English, but do not affect the sense), for building up of the body of Christ (the relation of these three clauses has been disputed. Chr., al., regard them as parallel: , , : but this is to confound the distinct prepositions, and , after the unsupported notion that St. Paul uses prepositions almost indifferently. Others, as De W., regard as dependent on , and thus are obliged to give to a wider sense ( genus omnium functionum in ecclesia ) than it will bear. The best way certainly seems to be, with Mey. and Ellic., to regard as the ultimate end, as the immediate use, as in Rom 15:2 , ), until (marks the duration of the offices of the ministry) we (being thus by virtue of the and the ) arrive (see reff.: no sense of ‘meeting,’ but simply of ‘attaining.’ Ellicott well remarks, that we must be careful of applying to later Greek the canons of the grammarians respecting the omission of , as giving an air of less uncertainty to subjunctives in such constructions as this; and he adds, “the use of the subjunctive (the mood of conditioned but objective possibility), not future (as Chrys.), shews that the is represented, not only as the eventual, but as the expected and contemplated result of the ”), all of us (Christians, Jews as well as Gentiles: first person, because he himself was among the number. The article brings out the , as belonging to one class), at the unity of the faith (“How so? have not all Christians the same faith? No doubt they have, as regards its substance, but not as regards clearness and purity; because the object of faith may be diversely known , and knowledge has ever such a powerful influence on faith. Therefore he adds to this unity of faith . . .: true and full unity of faith is then found, when all thoroughly know Christ, the object of faith, alike, and that in His highest dignity as the Son of God.” De Wette) and of the knowledge (further result of the faith, ch. Eph 3:17 ; Eph 3:19 ; 2Pe 1:5 ) of the Son of God (this objective genitive belongs to both and ), at a perfect man (an awkwardness is given by the coupling of an abstract ( ) to a concrete ( ). The singular not only denotes unity (Beza), but refers to the summation of us all in the one perfect Man Christ Jesus. The maturity of the is contrasted with the which follows. Among curiosities of exegesis may be adduced that which Aug. mentions, de Civ. Dei xxii. 17, vol. vii. p. 778: “Nonnulli, propter hoc quod dictum est, Eph 4:13 , nec in sexu fmineo resurrecturas fminas credunt, sed in virili omnes aiunt”) to the measure of the stature (or, ‘ age? ’ this is doubtful. The similitude in seems to be derived from age : that in Eph 4:16 , from stature . The fact seems to be, that is a comprehensive word, including both ideas answering to the German ‘ Erwachsenheit ,’ but having no corresponding word in our language. We have in Hom. Il. . 225. Od. . 317, . 217. The expression itself occurs in Lucian, Imag. 7 (Wetst.), , , and Philostratus, vit. Sophist. p. 543, . Clearly, none of these passages settles the question. In Homer, the meaning is ‘the measure of youth,’ the size and ripeness of youth: in Lucian, as decidedly ‘ the measure of the stature ,’ as in Philostr., ‘ the ripeness of manly age .’ The balance must here be inclined by the prevalence of the image of growth and extension, which can hardly be denied as pervading the passage) of the fulness of Christ (see note on ch. Eph 1:23 ; Eph 3:19 . . is a genitive subjective: the fulness which Christ has: ‘ Christ’s fulness .’ Cf. Gal 4:19 ), that (apparently another , and subordinate, aim of the bestowal of gifts on the church is here adduced. For we cannot go forward from the finished growth of Eph 4:13 , and say that its object is . , but must go back again to the growth itself and its purpose; that purpose being mainly the terminal one of Eph 4:13 , and subordinately the intermediate one of our Eph 4:14 . See Meyer’s note) we be no more (having been so once: . Chr.) children, tossed (like waves: see Jas 1:6 : Jos. Antt. ix.11. 3, , . . ) and borne about by every wind of teaching ( . Thl. Wetst. quotes from Plut. de Audiend. Poetis, p. 28 D, , , . The article before gives a greater definiteness to the abstract word, but cannot be expressed in English. So , Aristoph. Ran. 95) in (elemental: “the evil atmosphere, as it were, in which the varying currents of doctrine exist and exert their force.” Ellic. This is better than instrumental , which, as we have just had , would be a repetition) the sleight (‘ dice-playing ,’ from . The word, as well as , was naturally and constantly used to signify ‘entrapping by deceit:’ , , . Thdrt. See examples in Wetst. The word was borrowed by the. Rabbinical writers, and used in this sense: see Schttg. h. l.) of men (as contrasted with , Eph 4:13 ), in craftiness (reff.) furthering (tending or working towards: or perhaps, but not so well, after, according to , gemss) the system (see reff. and especially ch. Eph 6:11 , note, and Chr.’s explanation) of error (not, deceit , though in fact the sense is so: , even in the passages generally alleged for this active meaning, is best taken as ‘error.’ The genitive is subjective the plans are those which error adopts. . , as : see above),

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Eph 4:11 . : and He gave some Apostles . That is, “He gave some as Apostles,” or (with RV) “some to be Apostles”. At this point Paul reverts to the statement in Eph 4:7 , and having shown that the declaration in Psa 68 . applies to Christ, he proceeds to set forth the purpose (Eph 4:12 ) with which the gifts of the exalted Giver are bestowed and His grace given to such. But before he explains that purpose he specifies a series of gifts given with that in view. We have a somewhat similar enumeration in 1Co 12:28 . But while the ruling idea there is that of appointments ( ) and the subject is God , here the particular idea is that of gifts ( ) and the subject is Christ. Further, while the list in Ephesians begins with Apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers , and continues in terms of persons , the statement in 1 Cor. takes note indeed of Apostles, prophets , and teachers , but thereafter passes from persons to gifts or ministries miracles, healings, helps, governments, tongues. This has its significance, as we shall see. The is again emphatic, = “he himself,” “he and no other”. The is not to be taken as = , appointed or set . That it has its proper sense of gave is clear from its relation to the preceding . The “giving” refers to the call of the Church’s Head, the point being the gift of Christ to the Church in the form of certain men chosen by Him and equipped by Him to do service toward the building up of His body and the bringing of all its members to the measure of the stature of His fulness. Further, the exhortation to unity (Eph 4:3 ) is still in view, Christ having given these “Apostles” and others in order that all His disciples may come to the unity of the faith (Eph 4:13 ). All through the statement, too, the primary thing is the persons , not the offices. Nothing is said of any special order or orders in the Church possessing exceptional prerogatives, or any office or rank to which peculiar or exclusive powers of grace were attached. The men are Christ’s gifts to the Church and to every member of it; and they are given to do a certain work looking to a great end, viz. , to furnish His people and every individual believer among them (Eph 4:7 ; Eph 4:16 ) for their particular service and their particular contribution to the building up of Christ’s body. Nothing is said of the time when these gifts were given. But as they are the gifts of the exalted Christ, it is plain that the are not to be restricted to the original Twelve, but are to be taken in the wider sense, including not only Paul, but Barnabas (Act 14:4 ; Act 14:14 ), probably James (1Co 15:7 ; Gal 1:19 ), Silvanus (1Th 2:6 ), perhaps also Andronicus and Junias (Rom 16:7 ). The “Apostle” is described as one called by Christ (Gal 1:1 ); one who has seen Christ and been a witness of His resurrection (1Co 9:1-2 ; Act 1:8 ; Act 1:21-23 ); one whose “signs” were “wrought by signs, and wonders, and mighty works” (2Co 12:12 ); whose office also was not limited to a single church or locality, but was related to the world generally and to all the churches (Mat 28:10 ; 1Co 11:28 ). See also on chap. Eph 1:1 . : and some as prophets . These are referred to along with the Apostles also in Eph 2:20 , Eph 3:5 , and in 1Co 12:28 . With NT prophets we have also NT prophetesses. Agabus, those of Antioch Judas and Silas, the four daughters o Philip, are mentioned as having the gift of prophecy. As in the case of Agabus this gift of prophecy included the prediction of events (Act 11:28 ; Act 21:10 ), but its chief function was edification. The prophets were preachers or exhorters, to whom revelations of spiritual truth were imparted, and who spoke in the Spirit ( ; Eph 3:5 ; Rev 1:10 ), but not in ecstacy or as one in a trance ( , Act 10:10 ; Act 22:17 ). Further, he was usually, if not always, itinerant. This order of prophets continued to have a place in the Church for a considerable period. Large mention is made of it in the Didach , and in Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. , v., 17, reference is made to Quadratus and Ammia in Philadelphia. This may take the order on to Hadrian’s time; cf. Selwyn, The Christian Prophets , and Gwatkin’s article in Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible , iv., p. 127. See also on Eph 2:20 above. : and some as evangelists . In 1Co 12:28 the evangelist is not mentioned. Here he is distinguished from the Apostle and the prophet and named as the third in the order of Christ’s gifts to the Church. The is mentioned only twice again in the NT, viz. , in Act 21:8 , where Philip, one of the seven deacons is so designated; and 2Ti 4:5 , where Timothy is charged to “do the work of an evangelist”. Like the prophets the evangelists were generally itinerant preachers or missionaries, though sometimes they had a stated place of abode or ministry. The term seems, therefore, to belong to the Pauline vocabulary. These evangelists were inferior to the Apostles, assisting them or delegated by them, but without their authority. They had the gift ( ) of the Spirit, as in the case of Timothy (1Ti 4:14 ; 2Ti 1:6 ); but, if we may judge by Philip’s case (Act 8:5-18 ), they could not impart the Holy Ghost. Nor do they seem to have had the special revelations which were given to the prophets. : and some as pastors and teachers . The and are distinguished from the former orders as being connected with particular churches, resident and not missionary or itinerant. The absence of the before indicates also that the and the were not two distinct orders, but designations of the same men ( cf. the or ; Act 20:28 ; 1Pe 2:25 ; 1Pe 5:2 ), in different functions, the former defining them according to their office of oversight, the latter according to their office of instruction and guidance. The would naturally also be a ; but there is not the same reason for supposing that every would also be a . Nothing is said here of , , . The absence of such official terms points perhaps to the comparatively early date of the Epistle.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

some. Add “indeed” (Greek. men).

apostles, prophets. App-189.

pastors = (as) shepherds. So every other occurance (seventeen in all).

teachers. Greek. didaskalos.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

11.] Resumption of the subject-the diversity of gifts, all bestowed by Him, as a motive to unity. And HE (emphatic; it is He, that) gave (not for , any more than in ch. Eph 1:22 :-the gifts which He gave to His Church are now enumerated. The idea is, that the men who filled the office, no less than the office itself, were a divine gift. Eadie) some as Apostles (see 1Co 12:28, and note; and a good enumeration of the essentials of an Apostle, in Eadies note here), some as prophets (see on 1Co 12:10 : and cf. ch. Eph 2:20; Eph 3:5, notes), some as evangelists (not in the narrower sense of the word, writers of gospels, but in the wider sense, of itinerant preachers, usually sent on a special mission: , , . . Chr. See note on Act 21:8), some as pastors and teachers (from these latter not being distinguished from the pastors by the , it would seem that the two offices were held by the same persons. The figure in , if to be pressed, would imply that they were entrusted with some special flock, which they tended, , as Chr.; and then the would necessarily form a chief part of their work. If this view be correct, this last class includes all the stationary officers of particular Churches), in order to (ultimate aim of these offices, see below) the perfecting of the saints,-for (immediate object, see below) (the) work of (the) ministry (of in Gods Church. The articles give completeness in English, but do not affect the sense),-for building up of the body of Christ (the relation of these three clauses has been disputed. Chr., al., regard them as parallel: , , : but this is to confound the distinct prepositions, and , after the unsupported notion that St. Paul uses prepositions almost indifferently. Others, as De W., regard as dependent on , and thus are obliged to give to a wider sense (genus omnium functionum in ecclesia) than it will bear. The best way certainly seems to be, with Mey. and Ellic., to regard as the ultimate end, as the immediate use, as in Rom 15:2, ), until (marks the duration of the offices of the ministry) we (being thus by virtue of the and the ) arrive (see reff.: no sense of meeting, but simply of attaining. Ellicott well remarks, that we must be careful of applying to later Greek the canons of the grammarians respecting the omission of , as giving an air of less uncertainty to subjunctives in such constructions as this; and he adds, the use of the subjunctive (the mood of conditioned but objective possibility), not future (as Chrys.), shews that the is represented, not only as the eventual, but as the expected and contemplated result of the ), all of us (Christians, Jews as well as Gentiles: first person, because he himself was among the number. The article brings out the , as belonging to one class), at the unity of the faith (How so? have not all Christians the same faith? No doubt they have, as regards its substance, but not as regards clearness and purity; because the object of faith may be diversely known, and knowledge has ever such a powerful influence on faith. Therefore he adds to this unity of faith …: true and full unity of faith is then found, when all thoroughly know Christ, the object of faith, alike, and that in His highest dignity as the Son of God. De Wette) and of the knowledge (further result of the faith, ch. Eph 3:17; Eph 3:19; 2Pe 1:5) of the Son of God (this objective genitive belongs to both and ), at a perfect man (an awkwardness is given by the coupling of an abstract ( ) to a concrete ( ). The singular not only denotes unity (Beza), but refers to the summation of us all in the one perfect Man Christ Jesus. The maturity of the is contrasted with the which follows. Among curiosities of exegesis may be adduced that which Aug. mentions, de Civ. Dei xxii. 17, vol. vii. p. 778: Nonnulli, propter hoc quod dictum est, Eph 4:13, nec in sexu fmineo resurrecturas fminas credunt, sed in virili omnes aiunt) to the measure of the stature (or, age? this is doubtful. The similitude in seems to be derived from age: that in Eph 4:16, from stature. The fact seems to be, that is a comprehensive word, including both ideas-answering to the German Erwachsenheit, but having no corresponding word in our language. We have in Hom. Il. . 225. Od. . 317, . 217. The expression itself occurs in Lucian, Imag. 7 (Wetst.), , ,-and Philostratus, vit. Sophist. p. 543, . Clearly, none of these passages settles the question. In Homer, the meaning is the measure of youth,-the size and ripeness of youth: in Lucian, as decidedly the measure of the stature, as in Philostr., the ripeness of manly age. The balance must here be inclined by the prevalence of the image of growth and extension, which can hardly be denied as pervading the passage) of the fulness of Christ (see note on ch. Eph 1:23; Eph 3:19. . is a genitive subjective:-the fulness which Christ has: Christs fulness. Cf. Gal 4:19),-that (apparently another, and subordinate, aim of the bestowal of gifts on the church is here adduced. For we cannot go forward from the finished growth of Eph 4:13, and say that its object is . , but must go back again to the growth itself and its purpose; that purpose being mainly the terminal one of Eph 4:13, and subordinately the intermediate one of our Eph 4:14. See Meyers note) we be no more (having been so once: . Chr.) children, tossed (like waves: see Jam 1:6 : Jos. Antt. ix.11. 3, , . . ) and borne about by every wind of teaching ( . Thl. Wetst. quotes from Plut. de Audiend. Poetis, p. 28 D, , , . The article before gives a greater definiteness to the abstract word, but cannot be expressed in English. So , Aristoph. Ran. 95) in (elemental: the evil atmosphere, as it were, in which the varying currents of doctrine exist and exert their force. Ellic. This is better than instrumental, which, as we have just had , would be a repetition) the sleight (dice-playing, from . The word, as well as , was naturally and constantly used to signify entrapping by deceit: , , . Thdrt. See examples in Wetst. The word was borrowed by the. Rabbinical writers, and used in this sense: see Schttg. h. l.) of men (as contrasted with , Eph 4:13), in craftiness (reff.) furthering (tending or working towards: or perhaps, but not so well,-after, according to, gemss) the system (see reff. and especially ch. Eph 6:11, note, and Chr.s explanation) of error (not, deceit, though in fact the sense is so: , even in the passages generally alleged for this active meaning, is best taken as error. The genitive is subjective-the plans are those which error adopts. ., as : see above),

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Eph 4:11. , He himself) by His supreme power. This is repeated from Eph 4:10. Ministers have not given themselves. [The apostle, we might think, takes a wonderful leap in descending to these from the comprehensive subject of the whole universe, just now spoken of. He no doubt has regard to the body of Christ. In like manner, ch. Eph 1:22 (after having just before spoken of principality, power, might, etc.)-V. g.]—, …, apostles-prophets-evangelists, etc.) Inferior offices might be conjoined with the highest grades; for example, the apostle John acted at the same time as a prophet when he wrote the Apocalypse, and as an evangelist in the Gospel; but not the contrary [vice versa, the highest offices joined with the lowest grades]. All the apostles had also at the same time the prophetic power. Only that the very high degree of prophecy, by which the Apocalypse was written, was peculiar to John. But prophets and evangelists were not also at the same time apostles. The prophet takes precedence of the evangelist; for the prophet testifies infallibly of the future, the evangelist infallibly of the past: the prophet derives all from the Spirit; the evangelist puts on record a matter which has been perceived by the senses of sight and hearing, and yet he is fitted for an office of the highest importance, by a gift superior to that of pastors and teachers. Workers of miracles are not added here; for their actions have now somewhat less reference to the perfecting, etc. And perhaps already, before the last days of the apostles, the gift of miracles was more rarely exercised; comp. Heb 2:4.- , pastors and teachers) The appellation of shepherd (pastor) is everywhere else given to the Lord alone. Pastors and teachers are here joined; for they chiefly feed by teaching, as also by admonition, rebuke.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Eph 4:11

And he gave some to be apostles;-Here are enumerated the gifts bestowed on the disciples by him when he ascended on high, in the order of the fullness and importance of these gifts. Strictly speaking, the term apostle applies only to the twelve and to Paul. It should be taken here in its strict sense. It is generally agreed that only those are apostles who were commissioned by Christ himself; were witnesses of the resurrection, because they had seen the risen Lord (Act 1:21-22; Act 22:14-15; Act 26:16; 1Co 15:5-8); had a special inspiration (Eph 2:20; Eph 3:5; Joh 14:26; Joh 16:13-16); and that their authority was supreme (Gal. 1 8, 9). [It must be understood that the apostles completely set in order what things were to be taught and practiced by Christians. They left no successors. Their teaching, therefore, as recorded in the New Testament is the rule of faith and practice, and their institution and example the infallible guide in the order and administration of the church for all time.]

and some, prophets;-The prophets were inspired to make known the will of God after it had been revealed to them through the apostles. [Prophets acted and spoke under the extraordinary divine impulse and inspiration, whether in predicting or in teaching. Naturally their service accompanied and supplemented that of the apostles and so entitled them to be mentioned in this connection. Like that of the apostles, the function of the prophets ceased to be necessary when the foundation had been securely laid.]

and some, evangelists;-Evangelists were those who were supplied with the gifts to go into destitute fields to make known the gospel. [They seem to have acted under apostolic direction, and were the missionaries of the time.]

and some, pastors and teachers;-Those endowed to feed and teach those already Christians the duties and obligations resting on them as children of God. All these were miraculously endowed, spiritually gifted to perform the work for which they had talent and turn or disposition. These gifts were to endure until the perfect will of God was made known, and were intended to teach the children of God until the scriptures were completed. Then the gifts were to cease.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

Building up the Body of Christ

Eph 4:11-19

Apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, are the gifts of the risen Christ to His Church. There should be no rivalry among them. Each has his own work to do, as each wheel in a watch has its special function. None can do the work of another, and none should try to do it. The Apostles laid the foundations of the City of God, and the work of each is represented by a different stone. The pastor prepares the ground and sows the seed for the harvest which the evangelist reaps; but God will proportion the reward between them. The teacher is as much needed as the evangelist, but neither is so essential as God, who giveth the increase. Without that all labor would be in vain.

We learn from Eph 4:12 that the prime duty of all these agents is not to baptize, marry, and bury the saints, to comfort and console them, and to get them somehow into heaven, as the Arab guides get travelers to the top of the Pyramids. Their duty is to perfect, that is, to adjust the saints for the work of ministry, that they may contribute to the building up of the Church. A minister is a failure if he does all the work himself. The people must all be at work-in the quarries, or shaping the stones, or fitting them into their places.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

gave

In 1Co 12:8-28 the Spirit is seen as enduing the members of the body of Christ with spiritual gifts, or enablements for a varied service; here certain Spirit-endued men, viz. apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, are themselves the gifts whom the glorified Christ bestows upon His body the church. In Corinthians the gifts are spiritual enablements for specific service; in Ephesians the gifts are men who have such enablements.

some

The Lord, in bestowing the gifted men, determines, providentially (e.g.) Act 11:22-26 or directly through the Spirit (e.g.); Act 13:1; Act 13:2; Act 16:6; Act 16:7 the places of their service. “Some” (churches or places) need one gift, as, (e.g.) evangelist; “some” (churches or places) need rather a pastor or teacher. Absolutely nothing in Christ’s service is left to mere human judgment or self-choosing. Even an apostle was not permitted to choose his place of service Act 16:7; Act 16:8.

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

he: Eph 4:8, Eph 2:20, Eph 3:5, Rom 10:14, Rom 10:15, 1Co 12:28, Jud 1:17, Rev 18:20, Rev 21:14

evangelists: Act 21:8, 2Ti 4:5

pastors: 2Ch 15:3, Jer 3:15, Mat 28:20, Act 13:1, Rom 12:7, 1Co 12:29, Heb 5:12, 1Pe 5:1-3

Reciprocal: Exo 40:8 – the court Exo 40:33 – up the court Num 3:9 – General Num 7:5 – Take it Num 12:6 – a prophet Deu 1:15 – made Psa 68:11 – Lord Isa 30:20 – yet shall Isa 61:6 – named Isa 62:6 – set watchmen Jer 1:5 – and I ordained Eze 33:7 – I have Dan 12:3 – wise Mat 9:38 – the Lord Mat 10:2 – apostles Mat 13:27 – the servants Mat 24:45 – to give Mat 25:14 – and delivered Luk 1:2 – and Luk 6:13 – apostles Luk 11:49 – I will Joh 10:5 – General Joh 17:8 – I have Joh 17:20 – pray Act 1:17 – this Act 6:8 – full Act 11:27 – prophets Act 15:32 – being Rom 1:1 – called Rom 12:6 – whether 1Co 1:1 – an 1Co 2:6 – them 1Co 3:22 – Paul 1Co 12:1 – spiritual 1Co 12:5 – administrations 1Co 14:31 – all may learn 2Co 3:6 – hath Phi 1:25 – for Col 1:28 – teaching Col 4:17 – the ministry 1Th 5:20 – General 2Ti 3:16 – and is Jam 3:1 – be 1Pe 4:10 – the manifold 2Pe 1:1 – an apostle Rev 11:3 – I will give power

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

(Eph 4:11.) The apostle resumes the thought that seems to have been ripe for utterance at the conclusion of Eph 4:7.

-And Himself gave- emphatic, and connected with the of the preceding verse, while at the same time the apostle recurs to the aorist. This Jesus who ascended-this, and none other, is the sovereign donor. The provider and bestower are one and the same; and such gifts, though they vary, cannot therefore mar the blessed unity of the spiritual society. There is no reason, with Theophylact, Harless, Meier, Baumgarten-Crusius, and Bisping, to call a Hebraism, as if it were equivalent to -the term which is used in 1Co 12:28; Act 20:28. See under chap. Eph 1:22. is evidently in unison with and in Eph 4:7, and with in Eph 4:8. The object of the apostle, in harmony with the quotation which he has introduced, is not simply to affirm the fact that there are various offices in the church, or that they are of divine institution; but also to show that they exist in the form of donations, and are among the peculiar and distinctive gifts which the exalted Lord has bequeathed. The writer wishes his readers to contemplate them more as gifts than as functions. Had they sprung up in the church by a process of natural development, they might perchance have clashed with one another; but being the gifts of the one Lord and Benefactor, they must possess a mutual harmony in virtue of their origin and object. He gave-

-some as, or to be, apostles. On the particle , which cannot well be rendered into English, and on its connection with -see Donaldson’s New Cratylus, 154, and his Greek Grammar, 548, 24, and 559. The official gifts conferred upon the church are viewed not in the abstract, but as personal embodiments or appellations. Instead of saying-He founded the apostolate, he says-He gave some to be apostles. The idea is, that the men who filled the office, no less than the office itself, were a Divine gift.

The apostles were the first and highest order of office-bearers-those twelve whom also He named apostles. Luk 6:13. Judas fell; Matthias was appointed his successor and substitute (if a human appointment, and one prior to Pentecost, be valid); and Saul of Tarsus was afterwards added to the number. The essential elements of the apostolate were-

1. That the apostles should receive their commission immediately from the living lips of Christ. Mat 10:5; Mar 6:7; Gal 1:1. In the highest sense, they held a charge as ambassadors for Christ; they spoke in Christ’s stead. Mat 28:19; Joh 20:21; Joh 20:23; Hase, Leben Jesu, 64.

2. That having seen the Saviour after He rose again, they should be qualified to attest the truth of His resurrection. So Peter defines it, Act 1:21-22; so Paul asserts his claim, 1Co 9:1; 1Co 9:5; 1Co 9:8; so Peter states it, Act 2:32; and so the historian records, Act 4:33. The assertion of this crowning fact was fittingly assumed as the work of those chosen witnesses to whom He showed Himself alive after His passion, by many infallible proofs.

3. They enjoyed a special inspiration. Such was the promise, Joh 14:26; Joh 16:13; and such was the possession, 1Co 2:10; Gal 1:11-12; 1Th 2:13. Infallible exposition of Divine truth was their work; and their qualification lay in their possession of the inspiring influences of the Holy Ghost.

4. Their authority was therefore supreme. The church was under their unrestricted administration. Their word was law, and their directions and precepts are of permanent obligation. Mat 18:18; Mat 18:20; Joh 20:22-23; 1Co 5:3-6; 2Co 10:8.

5. In proof of their commission and inspiration, they were furnished with ample credentials. They enjoyed the power of working miracles. It was pledged to them, Mar 16:15; and they wielded it, Act 2:43; Act 5:15; and 2Co 12:12. Paul calls these manifestations the signs of an apostle; and again in Heb 2:4, he signalizes the process as that of God also bearing them witness. They had the gift of tongues themselves, and they had also the power of imparting spiritual gifts to others. Rom 1:11; Act 8:17; Act 19:6.

6. And lastly, their commission to preach and found churches was universal, and in no sense limited. 2Co 11:28.

This is not the place to discuss other points in reference to the office. The title seems to be applied to Barnabas, Act 14:4; Act 14:14, as being in company with Paul; and in an inferior sense to ecclesiastical delegates. Rom 16:7; 2Co 8:23; Php 2:25; Winer, Real-Wrterbuch, art. Apostel; Kitto’s Bib. Cycl. do.; M’Lean’s Apostolical Commission, Works, i. p. 8; Spanhemius, de Apostolatu, etc., Leyden, 1679.

-and some to be prophets. looks back to and introduces a different class. We have already had occasion to refer especially to this office under Eph 2:20 and Eph 3:5. The prophets ranked next in order to the apostles, but wanted some of their peculiar qualifications. They spoke under the influence of the Spirit; and as their instructions were infallible, so the church was built on their foundation as well as that of the apostles; Eph 2:20. Prophecy is marked out as one of the special endowments of the Holy Ghost (1Co 12:10), where it stands after the apostolic prerogative of working miracles. The revelation enjoyed by apostles was communicated also to prophets, Eph 3:5. The name has its origin in the peculiar usages of the Old Testament. The Hebrew term , H5566, has reference, in its etymology, to the excitement and rhapsody which were so visible under the Divine afflatus; and the cognate verb is therefore used in the niphal and hithpael conjugations. Gesenius, sub voce; Knobel, Prophetismus, 1.127. The furor was sometimes so vehement that, in imitation of it, the frantic ravings of insanity received a similar appellation. 1Sa 18:10; 1Ki 18:29. As the prophet’s impulse came from God, and denoted close alliance with Him, so any man who enjoyed special and repeated Divine communications was called a prophet, as Abraham, Gen 20:7. Because the prophet was God’s messenger, and spoke in God’s name, this idea was sometimes seized on, and a common internuncius was dignified with the title. Exo 7:1. This is the radical signification of -one who speaks–for, or in name of another. In the Old Testament, prophecy in its strict sense is therefore not identical with prediction; but it often denotes the delivery of a Divine message. Ezr 5:1. Prediction was a strange and sublime province of the prophet’s labour; but he was historian and bard as well as seer. Again, as the office of a prophet was sacred, and was held in connection with the Divine service, lyric effusions and musical accompaniments are termed prophesying, as in the case of Miriam (Exo 15:20), and of the sons of the prophets, 1Sa 10:5. So it is too in Num 11:26; Tit 1:12. In 1Ch 25:1, similar language occurs-the orchestra prophesied with a harp to give thanks and to praise the Lord. Koppe, Excursus iii. ad Comment. in Epist. ad Ephesios. Thus, besides the special and technical sense of the word, prophesying in a wider and looser signification means to pour forth rapturous praises, in measured tone and cadence, to the accompaniment of wild and stirring music. Similar is the usage of the New Testament in reference to Anna in Luk 2:36, and to the ebullition of Zachariah in Luk 1:67. While in the New Testament is sometimes used in its rigid sense of the prophets of the Old Testament, it is often employed in the general meaning of one acting under a Divine commission. Foundation is thus laid for the appellation before us. Once, indeed (Act 11:28), prediction is ascribed to a prophet; but instruction of a peculiar nature-so sudden and thrilling, so lofty and penetrating-merits and receives the generic term of prophecy. Females sometimes had the gift, but they were not allowed to exercise it in the church. This subordinate office differed from that of the Old Testament prophets, who were highest in station in their church, and many of whose inspired writings have been preserved as of canonical authority. But no utterances of the prophets under the New Testament have been so highly honoured.

Thus the prophets of the New Testament were men who were peculiarly susceptible of Divine influence, and on whom that afflatus powerfully rested. Chrysostom, on 1Co 12:28, says of them- . They were inspired improvisatori in the Christian assemblies-who, in animated style and under irresistible impulse, taught the church, and supplemented the lessons of the apostles, who, in their constant itinerations, could not remain long in one locality. Apostles planted and prophets watered; the germs engrafted by the one were nurtured and matured by the other. What the churches gain now by the spiritual study of Scripture, they obtained in those days by such prophetical expositions of apostolical truth. The work of these prophets was in the church, and principally with such as had the semina of apostolical teaching; for the apostle says-He that prophesieth speaketh unto men, to edification, and exhortation, and comfort (1Co 14:3); and again, prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them that believe, though not for unbelievers wholly useless, as the sudden and vivid revelation of their spiritual wants and belongings often produced a mighty and irresistible impression. 1Co 14:22; 1Co 14:24-25; Neander, Geschichte der Pflanzung der Christl. K. p. 234, 4th ed. Though the man who spake with tongues might be thrown out of self-control, this ecstasy did not fall so impetuously upon the prophets; they resembled not the Greek , for the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. One would be apt to infer from the description of the effect of prophecy on the mind of an unbeliever, in laying bare the secrets of his heart, that the prophets concerned themselves specially with the subjective side of Christianity-with its power and adaptations; that they appealed to the co nsciousness, and that they showed the higher bearings and relations of those great facts which had already been learned on apostolical authority. 1Co 14:25. This gift had an intimate connection with that of tongues (Act 19:6), but is declared by the apostle to be superior to it. Though these important functions were superseded when a written revelation became the instrument of the Spirit’s operation upon the heart, yet the prophets, having so much in common with the apostles, are placed next to them, and are subordinate to them only in dignity and position. Rom 12:6. Whether all the churches enjoyed the ministrations of these prophets we know not. They were found in Corinth, Rome, Antioch, Ephesus, and Thessalonica. If our account, drawn from the general statements of Scripture, be correct, then it is wrong on the part of Noesselt, Rckert, and Baumgarten-Crusius to compare this office with that of modern preaching; and it is too narrow a view of it to restrict it to prediction; or to the interpretation of Old Testament vaticinations, like Macknight; or to suppose, with Mr. M’Leod, that it had its special field of labour in composing and conducting the psalmody of the primitive church. Divine Inspiration, by E. Henderson, D.D., p. 207: London, 1836; A View of Inspiration, etc., by Alexander M’Leod, p. 133: Glasgow, 1831. Most improbable of all is the conjecture of Schrader, that the apostle here refers to the prophets of the Old Testament.

-and some to be evangelists. That those evangelists were the composers of our historical gospels is an untenable opinion, which Chrysostom deemed possible, and which OEcumenius stoutly asserts. On the other hand, Theodoret is more correct in his description- -going about they preached. Eusebius, Historia Eccles. 3.37. The word is used only thrice in the New Testament-as the designation of Philip in Act 21:8, and as descriptive of one element of the vocation of Timothy. 2Ti 4:5. In one sense apostles and prophets were evangelists, for they all preached the same holy evangel, 1Co 1:17. But this official title implies something special in their function, inasmuch as they are distinguished also from teachers. These gospellers may have been auxiliaries of the apostles, not endowed as they were, but furnished with clear perceptions of saving truth, and possessed of wondrous power in recommending it to others. Inasmuch as they itinerated, they might thus differ from stationary teachers. Neander, Geschichte der Pflanzung, etc., 259, 4th ed. While the prophets spoke only as occasion required, and their language was an excited outpouring of brilliant and piercing thoughts, the evangelists might be more calm and continuous in their work. Passing from place to place with the wondrous story of salvation and the cross, they pressed Christ on men’s acceptance, their hands being freed all the while from matters of detail in reference to organization, ritual, and discipline. The prophet had an as the immediate basis of his oracle, and the evangelist had the word of knowledge as the ultimate foundation of his lesson. Were not the seventy sent forth by our Lord a species of evangelists, and might not Mark, Luke, Silas, Apollos, Tychicus, and Trophimus merit such a designation? The evangelist Timothy was commended by Paul to the church in Corinth. 1Co 4:17; 1Co 16:10. Mr. M’Leod’s notions of the work of an evangelist are clearly wrong, as he mistakes addresses given to Timothy as a pastor for charges laid upon him in the character of an evangelist. A View of Inspiration, p. 481. The command to do the work of an evangelist, if not used in a generic sense, is something distinct from the surrounding admonitions, and characterizes a special sphere of labour.

-and some to be pastors and teachers. Critical authorities are divided on the question as to whether these two terms point out two different classes of office-bearers, or merely describe one class by two combined characteristics. The former opinion is held by Theophylact, Ambrose, Pelagius, Calvin, Beza, Zanchius, Calixtus, Crocius, Grotius, Meier, Matthies, de Wette, Neander, and Stier; and the latter by Augustine, Jerome, OEcumenius, Erasmus, Piscator, Musculus, Bengel, Rckert, Harless, Olshausen, Meyer, and Davidson. Ecclesiastical Polity, p. 156.

Those who make a distinction between pastors and teachers vary greatly in their definitions. Thus Theodoret, followed by Bloomfield and Stier, notices the difference, as if it were only local- -town and country clergy. Theophylact understands by pastors bishops and presbyters, and deacons by teachers, while Ambrosiaster identifies the same teachers with exorcists. According to Calixtus, with whom Meier seems to agree, the pastors were the working class of spiritual guides, and the teachers were a species of superintendents and professors of theology, or, according to Grotius, metropolitans. Neander’s view is, that the pastors were rulers, and the teachers persons possessed of special edifying gifts, which were exerted for the instruction of the church. The Westminster Divines also made a distinction-The teacher or doctor is also a minister of the Word as well as the pastor; He that doth more excel in exposition of Scripture, in teaching sound doctrine, and in convincing gainsayers, than he doth in application, and is accordingly employed therein, may be called a teacher or doctor; A teacher or doctor is of most excellent use in schools and universities, etc. Stier remarks that each pastor should, to a certain extent at least, be a teacher, but every teacher is not therefore a pastor. By some reference is made for illustration to the school of divinity in Alexandria, over which such men as Didymus, Clement, and Origen presided. None of these distinctions can be scripturally and historically sustained.

We agree with those who hold that one office is described by the two terms. Jerome says-Non enim ait; alios autem pastores et alios magistros, sed alios pastores et magistros, ut qui pastor est, esse debeat et magister; and again-Nemo pastoris sibi nomen assumere debet, nisi possit docere quos pascit. The view of Bengel is similar. The language indicates this, for the recurring is omitted before , and a simple connects it with . The two offices seem to have had this in common, that they were stationary- , as Chrysostom describes them. Grotius, de Wette, and others, refer us to the functional vocabulary of the Jewish synagogue, in which a certain class of officers were styled , after which Christian pastors were named and . Vitringa, De Synagog. Vet. p. 621; Selden, De Synedriis Vet. Heb. lib. i. cap. 14.

The idea contained in is common in the Old Testament. The image of a shepherd with his flock, picturing out the relation of a spiritual ruler and those committed to his charge, often occurs. Psa 23:1; Psa 80:1; Jer 2:8; Jer 3:15, and in many other places; Isa 56:11; Eze 34:2; Eze 37:24; Zec 10:3; Joh 10:14; Joh 21:15; Act 20:28; 1Pe 5:2. Such pastors and guides rule as well as feed the flock, for the keeping or tending is essential to the successful feeding. The prominent idea in Psalms 23 is protection and guidance in order to pasture. The same notion is involved in the Homeric and classic usage of as governor and captain. The idea of administration is, Olshausen remarks, prominent in this term. It implies careful, tender, vigilant superintendence and government, being the function of an overseer or elder. The official name is used by the apostle in addressing churches formed principally out of the heathen world-as at Ephesus, Philippi, and the island of Crete (Act 20:28; Php 1:1; 1Ti 3:2; Tit 1:7); while , the term of honour, is more Jewish in its tinge, as may be found in many portions of the Acts of the Apostles, and in the writings of James, Peter, and John. Speaking to Timothy and Titus, the apostle styles them elders (and so does the compiler of the Acts, in referring to spiritual rulers); but describing the duties of the office itself, he calls the holder of it . See under Php 1:1.

The , placed in the third rank by the apostle in 1Co 12:28, were persons whose peculiar function it was to expound the truths of Christianity. While teaching was the main characteristic of this office, yet, from the mode of discharging it, it might be called a pastorate. The in teaching, did the duty of a , for he fed with knowledge; and the in guiding and governing, prepared the flock for the nutriment of the . It is declared in 1Ti 3:2 that a Christian overseer or pastor must be apt to teach-; and in Tit 1:9 it is said that, in virtue of his office, he must be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and convince the gainsayers. Again, in Heb 13:7, those who had governed the church are further characterized thus- .

The one office is thus honoured appropriately with the two appellations. It comprised government and instruction, and the former being subordinate to the latter, are alone mentioned in the Epistle to the Romans, but there the evangelists are formally omitted; while the apostle by a sudden change uses the abstract, and the helps and governments then referred to are, like healing and tongues, not distinct offices possessed by various individuals, but associated with those previously named. The evangelists and deacons were indeed helps, but government devolved upon the teachers and elders. See Henderson, Divine Inspiration, Lect. iv. p. 184; Rckert, 2nd Beilage-Komment. ber Corinth-B.; Davidson, Ecclesiastical Polity, 178. We are ignorant to a very great extent of the government of the primitive church, and much that has been written upon it is but surmise and conjecture. The church represented in the Acts was only in process of development, and there seem to have been differences of organization in various Christian communities, as may be seen by comparing the portion of the epistle before us with allusions in the three letters to Rome, Corinth, and Philippi. Offices seem to be mentioned in one which are not referred to in others. It would appear, in fine, that this last office of government and instruction was distinct in two elements from those previously enumerated; inasmuch as it was the special privilege of each Christian community-not a ministerium vagum, and was designed also to be a perpetual institute in the church of Christ. The apostle says nothing of the modes of human appointment or ordination to these various offices. He descends not to law, order, or form, but his great thought is, that though the ascended Lord gave such gifts to men, yet their variety and number interfere not with the unity of the church, as he also conclusively argues in the twelfth chapter of his first epistle to the church in Corinth.

Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians

Eph 4:11. And he gave some. Many translators and commentators insert the words “to be” after this italicized phrase. But the grammatical inflection does not require nor justify it, so that the words must be regarded as an insertion upon no inspired authority. On the other hand, the word “unto” is in the text in verse 8, where the subject matter is the same as it is in our present verse, and thus the word may be inserted after the phrase with inspired example. It is true that bestowing the office of apostleship and the other offices mentioned, could be regarded as an honor and hence as a gift. But if that is the gift Paul meant, then we are confronted with the thought that the apostleship and eldership were to be discontinued after the first ages of the church, for verse 13 shows the gifts were not to be permanent. In truth, that very heresy is today advocated by some extremists. No, it means that Christ bestowed some of the spiritual gifts upon the various persons named. That is not strange, for even the apostles needed miraculous qualifications while the New Testament was in the making. But the office of the apostleship itself was not to cease after the miraculous gifts ceased, but they (the apostles) were to continue in authority unto the end of the world (Mat 28:20).

These prophets were the ones referred to in chapter 2:20. Evangelists is from EUAGGELISTES, which Thayer defines, “a bringer of good tidings, an evangelist,” and he adds this comment: “This name is given in the New Testament to those heralds of salvation through Christ who are not apostles.” Robinson defines it, “In the New Testament, an evangelist, a preacher of the Gospel,” and adds the explanation, “not fixed in any place, but travelling as a missionary to preach the Gospel and establish churches.” Groves defines it, “an evangelist, preacher of the Gospel.” Greenfield gives the definition, “one who announces glad tidings, an evangelist, preacher of the Gospel, teacher of the Christian religion.” I have quoted from a number of lexicons because of the confusion that some are under concerning this word. The general trend of the various definitions, together with the connections in which the word is found in the King James Version, gives us the conclusion that it means a preacher whose special work is to preach the Gospel in new fields, then call the converts into assemblies for regular services, take charge of their development until men have been qualified for the eldership, then after appointing the elders to take himself from the management of the congregation and go on to other fields of labor. (See Tit 1:5; 2Ti 4:5; 1Ti 5:19-21.) Pastors is from POIMEN and Thayer’s definition is, “a herdsman, especially a shepherd; the presiding officer, manager, director, of any assembly.” It applies to the elders of a congregation. This is shown in 1Pe 5:1-5 where the elders are mentioned in connection with Christ whom the apostle calls the chief Shepherd, thus representing the elders as shepherds, that being one of the words in the definition of our word pastors. Teachers is indefinite and applies to any disciple engaged principally in giving instruction to others.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Eph 4:11. And he gave. He is emphatic; He, and none other. Gave refers back to Eph 4:6; Eph 4:8, and is to be taken in its strict sense; Christ gives the persons to fill the offices; comp. 1Co 12:28, where the idea is different. Here the historical fact is referred to, but the principle is a permanent one. Meyer: Christ gives the Churchs ministers; the Church takes those given and sets them in the service of the Church. Accordingly the Church, or he who represents the rights and duties of the Church, never has to choose the subjects arbitrarily, but to know and recognize those endowed by Christ as those given by Him, and to place them in the ministry; hence the highest idea of the ecclesiastical examination is to test whether those concerned are given by Christ,without prejudice, however, to other requisites which are matters of ecclesiastical polity.

Some to be apostles. To be is properly supplied; they were to be the gift in these positions. The word Apostle, in its strict sense, applies only to the Twelve and Paul. (On the relation of the latter to the former, see General Introduction, and Excursus on Galatians, chap. Eph 2:1-10.) But the term was sometimes loosely applied to others, especially Barnabas (Act 14:4; Act 14:14). It should be taken here in the strict sense, since the other terms would include all to whom this title might be loosely applied. It is generally agreed that only those are Apostles, who (1.) were commissioned by Christ Himself; (2.) were witnesses of His resurrection, because they had seen the Risen Lord; (3.) that they had a special inspiration (comp. chaps. Eph 2:20; Eph 3:5); (4.) that their authority was supreme; (3.) that they were furnished with ample credentials. It would appear from this that they can have no successors in the distinctive features of their office. Rightly, then, they are regarded as extraordinary Church officers. If any claim that the Apostolate has been reestablished, the claim must be made good by abundant proofs of unique inspiration and of supernatural vision of the Lord Himself on the part of the persons for whom the claim is made.

And some, prophets. Those who were inspired occasionally, usually for the instruction of believers, although some of the New Testament prophets predicted (comp. Act 11:27; Act 13:1; Act 15:32; Act 21:10; and especially 1 Corinthians 14). As prophets is joined with Apostles (chaps. Eph 2:20; Eph 3:5), and in a way to indicate direct inspiration, this office also is to be regarded as extraordinary; any claim that it has been restored must be sustained by abundant proofs of such inspiration.

And some, evangelists. This cannot refer to the writers of the Gospels, but to such persons as Philip (comp. Act 8:4-12 with Act 21:8). They seem to have been travelling missionaries, not vicars of the Apostles, such as Timothy and Titus (as Calvin held). There is no evidence that this office required gifts which are no longer bestowed, and it may be regarded as permanent. But this does not imply a distinct class, or order, of the ministry. The Apostle seems to have avoided the use of the technical terms then applied in the churches. How such evangelists can be recognized and regulated in their labors is a practical question of Church polity, especially since many are thus termed who present little evidence of having been given for this office.

And some, pastors and teachers. These terms are properly understood of those who labor in some special field, committed to their care and instruction. The only question is, whether two classes are meant, or only one, the two-fold duty of which is thus indicated. The latter view is favored by the fact that some is not repeated, and is held by a majority of commentators. Calvin maintained the former, and the distinction has usually been recognized in the Reformed Church, though practically disregarded. When Paul wrote the pastors were bishops, or elders, and probably were always teachers also; it is not so clear that the teachers were always pastors. It is further probable that there were already differences of organization among the Christian congregations, so that whatever distinction is here implied need not be regarded as pointing to a permanent one. In this most churchly Epistle there is little support for any claims to a jure divino form of Church polity. The Apostle says nothing of the modes of human appointment or ordination to these various offices. He descends not to law, order, or form, but his great thought is that though the ascended Lord gave such gifts to men, yet their variety and number interfere not with the unity of the Church (Eadie).

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Offices Christ Established

As ruler over all, particularly in the church, Jesus set apostles and prophets in the church to reveal his will to man. They were able to do this because of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the miracles he empowered them to work ( Act 1:6-8 ; Joh 16:13-14 ; Heb 2:14 ). Evangelists are men who carry the good news to a lost and dying world. Coffman says, “The omission of ‘some’ before ‘teachers’ indicates that the meaning is teaching-pastors, or pastor-teachers.” Their job would be to shepherd the flock by feeding them on God’s word and confronting false teachers ( 1Pe 5:14 ; Tit 1:9 ). Evangelists and pastor-teachers may have been strictly a reference to miraculous offices in this passage, but we should remember these are both non-miraculous offices today. In either case, they would be obligated to proclaim and defend the inspired Word of God (4:11).

Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books

Eph 4:11. And Among other his free gifts; he gave some, apostles His chief ministers and special witnesses, as having seen him after his resurrection, and received their commission immediately from him. The office of an apostle was to declare, in an infallible manner, the whole gospel doctrine: to qualify them for which they were endowed with the plenary and most abundant inspiration of the Holy Spirit, imparting to them a perfect knowledge of all those truths and mysteries which they were to publish to the world. And some he gave to be prophets Whose office it was to explain infallibly the true meaning of the ancient prophecies, and also themselves to predict future events, by virtue of the extraordinary revelations made to them. And some, evangelists Who were to preach the gospel in different Gentile nations, either before or after the apostles, under whose direction they seem generally to have acted. To fit them for this office Christ gave them the gift of tongues, and such other miraculous endowments as were necessary for the exercise of their ministry, and the confirmation of their doctrine. All these were extraordinary officers: the ordinary were some, pastors, (called , bishops, Act 20:28,) watching over and feeding their several flocks. To fit them for which work, it appears from 1Co 12:28-31; 1Co 14:1-5; 1Co 14:23-26, that Christ bestowed, at least on some of them, the gifts of miracles and tongues, also the gift of prudence, to enable them to govern their particular churches in a proper manner. And teachers Whether of the same or a lower order, to assist them as occasion might require. It is probable the peculiar office of those here termed teachers, as distinguished from those called pastors, was to instruct the young and ignorant in the first principles of the Christian religion. And they likewise were doubtless fitted for their work, by such gifts as were necessary to the right discharging thereof; and some infer from 1Co 12:28, that supernatural gifts, such as those of miracles and tongues, were also conferred on some of them.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

ARGUMENT 17

GIFTS FOR PERFECTING THE SAINTS

11. Here, we see, the ministerial curriculum of the gospel dispensation includes apostles, who are the pioneers sent out into every country under heaven; e.g., Bishop Taylor in Africa, and Hudson Taylor in interior China, and many others exploring the heathen world at the present day. Prophets, (1Co 14:3)

He that prophesieth speaketh to men edification, exhortation, and comfort.

The Greek and Hebrew words for prophecy mean to boil up and flow out like an artesian well, never ceasing. On the day of Pentecost their tongues were split, each prong on fire, one to preach hellfire to sinners, and the other heavenly fire, to sanctify the Christians. It is the privilege of all sanctified people to receive the spirit of prophecy, which is the normal qualification for preaching the gospel. O how the world is perishing today for the spirit of prophecy! The Lord raise them up in platoons! Next evangelists. This word in Greek is the concrete of which gospel is the abstract. The evangelist travels to the end of the earth in the fulfillment of the latter-day prophecies. Dan 12:4

Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

In the last year I have traveled in twenty-one States, having more calls everywhere I went, and in many other places, than I knew what to do with. The evangelist has a message to the world, which he goes expeditiously to deliver. He is an auxiliary of apostles, prophets, pastors, and teachers. How strange to find preachers and Churches clamorous against the very existence of a ministerial order which the Bible positively reveals, instituted and sent of God! The bitter opposition to evangelists reminds me of the old Latin proverb, Quem Deus vit perdere primum dementat, whom God wisheth to destroy, he first maketh mad. When preachers and laymen flatly contradict God Almighty, and audaciously oppose his revealed Word, the omens are appalling.

Pastors. You see in this catalogue bishop does not occur, from the simple fact that the New Testament bishop is always synonymous with pastor; the latter Latin, and the former Greek. The pastor is the abiding custodian of the Lords flock, whose duty it is to lead them beside the still waters, and have them lie down in green pastures. Our Savior condemns the hireling shepherd, certifying that he can not be relied on when the robber attacks the flock, but he will skedaddle away, leaving them a prey to the enemy. The saddest phenomenon of the present day is to see the devils wolves and robbers making sad havoc of the flock of God, while the hireling shepherds are

drinking their milk, feasting on their flesh, and clothing themselves in their wool, reveling in their tents. (Ezekiel 44)

Teachers. This office has long ago been dead and forgotten in the popular Churches. An old ex-missionary of Bishop Taylor from India told me that the heathen know more about the Bible than the Church members in America, because the missionaries teach a regular Bible school every day, which they are permitted to attend and enjoy. Sad to say, the Church is no longer the school of Christ; as the little degospelized, despiritualized sermonettes on Sunday morning and evening are not entitled to recognition in Biblical didactics. The Lord has long used your humble servant as the teacher of his people; but I have to go to the holiness movement for an appreciative audience. The Word of God is bread, meat, water, milk, honey, wine, grapes, pomegranates, and all the luxuries of the kingdom. But a dead man does not want his dinner. Hence, if you would turn a popular Church into a Christian school, you must first bring to them the resurrection power.

12. For the perfecting of the saints in the work of the ministry, unto the edification of the body of Christ:

13. Until we all arrive into the unity of faith and of the perfect knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. We see clearly in these Scriptures that these different ministerial orders are Gods provision for the perfecting of his saints. No wonder the Church of the present day is lamentably shorn of her power by the Delilahs of the world, and miserably enslaved in the mills of Dagon, when all these ministerial orders given for her perfection are practically abnegated with the single exception of the pastor, and he a poor hireling, who, Jesus said, could not be relied on.

God has raised up the holiness people in every Church and country, to restore New Testament truth and simplicity, leading the people out of legal bondage into the glorious liberty of full salvation the Bible loved and appreciated as the only guide and authority.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

Verse 11

The meaning is, that he has endued his ministers with a diversity of talents and qualifications. We are not probably to understand these expressions as referring to so many distinct and specific offices. The powers exercised by the leading members of the early church, were not well defined, and marked, and systematically arranged, as official duties generally are in modern times. They varied with circumstances and with the personal character of the individuals who exercised them; as is every where implied in the different allusions to this subject which occur.

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

There is some controversy as to which of these gifts are still active. I am not going to go into great detail, but it is obvious we don’t have apostles any longer. The twelve are all dead as are all others that might be suggested as apostles in the time of Paul. There is no evidence that we still have this gift/office from the neither New Testament nor church history. There have been groups in the past that use the title as do some today, but they are not emissaries of Christ, appointed by Christ in the flesh, thus not really apostles as such.

If a group wants to call their top leaders apostle, I don’t know that there is any harm as long as the followers understand that they are not equal to Paul and the others.

The prophets are most likely not for today either. The New Testament thought of a prophet related to fore telling, forth telling and revelation. If you view a prophet today as a forth teller or a preacher then that would be acceptable if it is made clear that they are not as the New Testament prophets. Even among evangelicals there are some that hold to the prophet now being a preacher.

The evangelist is a toss up in my mind. There are men I have met that just are gifted as evangelists. They can bring the Gospel smoothly into any situation or conversation. This is not the norm. If there is someone like this in your church I would suggest you make serious use of him in challenging and training the others in the church to evangelize as well.

The gift of pastor/teacher most likely is valid today, but whether this is two gifts in one man or one gift in one man is of dispute today. The gift of teaching seems valid for the day since the elder is supposed to be apt to teach. Pastor is also a currently needed office as it has been throughout New Testament history. He is the overseer of the assembly, the one that shepherds the flock.

Since the elder should be apt to teach and he shepherds the flock, I would assume that these are the pastor/teachers referred to. Whether every elder must be a pastor/teacher is not clearly stated, but experience would tell me that it is not necessary. There are many great teachers that do not have the ability, nor the desire to shepherd. An elder should be a teacher and may be a pastor/teacher.

Whether it is one gift or two seems unclear and I’m not sure the distinction is needed as long as the leader of your assembly is a shepherd as well as a teacher. I might add that the Net Bible has a note that delineates this by saying that all pastors are teachers, but not all teachers are pastors. They view pastors as a subset of the teacher group. This may be the case, as it seems there are two sets, pastors and teachers. All pastors should be teachers since elders are required to be apt to teach. They go further and say that these are two gifts that Paul just links very closely together.

There is an addition at the end of this study on the gift of pastor/teacher that you might find helpful if you are thinking along these lines in your life or just want to study the subject further.

The key to this verse is that Christ gave some gifted men to the church to lead it and nurture it. Another controversy is whether He gave gifts to some men, or if he gave some gifted men to the church. Again the technical outcome of both seems about the same – He gave gifts/men to the church for the nurture and training of the people.

In practicality I see both as possible, yet the gift seems to be in view here. I have seen churches that were in dire need of someone to take over a specific ministry, and all of a sudden a new family commits themselves to the church and low and behold the husband or the wife is gifted in that specific area. God brings the gifts that he desires into the church at different times to achieve the results that He wants.

A church may think they need an associate pastor in the most necessary way, but if God doesn’t think so, why would a church struggle and groan to produce what God hasn’t provided? Because we aren’t listening to the Head of the church – Christ.

Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson

4:11 {6} And he gave some, {l} apostles; and some, {m} prophets; and some, {n} evangelists; and some, {o} pastors and teachers;

(6) First of all he lists the ecclesiastical functions, which are partly extraordinary and for a season, such as apostles, prophets, and evangelists, and partly ordinary and perpetual, such as pastors and teachers.

(l) The apostles were those twelve to whom Paul was afterward added, whose office was to plant churches throughout all the world.

(m) The prophet’s office was one of the chiefest, who were men of marvellous wisdom, and some of them could foretell things to come.

(n) The apostles used these as companions in the execution of their office, being not able to go to all places by themselves.

(o) Pastors are those who govern the Church, and teachers are those who govern the schools.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

This verse explains "gave" (Eph 4:8) and begins a sentence that runs through Eph 4:16 in the Greek text.

After Jesus Christ ascended, He gave, as victor over death, gifts to the church that enabled it to function. This order of events is in harmony with the revelation that the church is a new entity that came into existence after Jesus’ ascension. [Note: See Fruchtenbaum, p. 117.]

Christ gave gifted people to the church as gifts to the church. He gave some individuals to be apostles in the church. "Apostle" means someone sent as an authoritative delegate. Twelve men plus Paul were official apostles who had seen the risen Christ and had received personal appointment from Him (Act 1:21-22; 1Co 15:8-9; Gal 1:1; Gal 2:6-9). However there were other men who, while not apostles in this limited sense, functioned as apostles. The New Testament writers called them apostles too (1Co 15:7; Gal 1:19; Act 14:4; Act 14:14; 1Co 9:6; Rom 16:7; cf. 1Th 1:1; 1Th 2:7; 1Co 4:6; 1Co 4:9). The duty of the apostles was to establish the church and the churches (Eph 2:20; Eph 3:5). The word apostolos also describes any servant who is sent by his master on any mission (Joh 13:16). "Missionary" is a modern equivalent term. It is probably according to their spiritual gifts rather than their offices that Paul was thinking of these individuals. [Note: Foulkes, p. 117.]

New Testament prophets (Gr. prophetes, one who speaks forth) provided edification, exhortation, and comfort to the church (1Co 14:3). Some of them conveyed new authoritative revelation to the church (Eph 2:20; Eph 3:5; Act 11:28; Act 21:10-11). Much of this is the revelation that we have in our New Testament books. Most of the prophets, however, simply "spoke forth" truth that God had previously revealed (cf. Act 13:1; 1Co 11:5; 1Co 14:26-33). [Note: See John E. Johnson, "The Old Testament Offices as Paradigm for Pastoral Identity," Bibliotheca Sacra 152:606 (April-June 1995):182-200.] Prophets also led in worship of God, including leading in public prayer (cf. 1Ch 25:1; 1Co 11:5). This aspect of prophesying was regarded as a less authoritative function in the church than teaching, since a teacher interpreted the written Word of God (cf. 1Co 11:5; 1Ti 2:12).

"Christians today do not get their spiritual knowledge immediately from the Holy Spirit, but mediately through the spirit teaching the Word." [Note: Wiersbe, 2:37.]

Evangelists preached the gospel both at home and abroad (Act 21:8; Act 8:6-40; 2Ti 4:5). Paul did not identify these people as foundational to the church as he did the apostles and prophets (Eph 2:20). Nevertheless their ministry was and is essential. They equipped people to minister (Eph 4:12-13) at least by leading them to faith in Christ.

We might better translate the Greek phrase rendered "pastors and teachers" as "pastor-teachers." The Greek construction suggests that one kind rather than two kinds of people is in view. The Greek article translated "the" occurs only before "pastor." Moreover the Greek conjunction translated "and" between "pastors" and "teachers" is different from the one used elsewhere in the verse (kai rather than de). However, the Greek construction may describe two types of gifted people whose ministries are among settled congregations in contrast to the itinerant ministries of the apostles, prophets, and evangelists. Probably the phrase describes the overseers of local churches who pastor and teach (cf. 1Ti 3:2; Tit 1:9; 1Pe 5:1-3).

". . . because the nouns ["pastor" and "teacher"] are plural, it is extremely unlikely that they refer to the same group, but only that the apostle Paul is linking them closely together. It is better to regard the pastors as a subset of teachers. In other words, all pastors are teachers, but not all teachers are pastors." [Note: The NET Bible note on 4:11.]

"In 1Co 12:8-28) the Holy Spirit is seen as enduing the members of the body of Christ with spiritual gifts, or enablements for a varied service; here certain Spirit-endued men, i.e. apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers are themselves the gifts whom the glorified Christ bestows upon His body, the church. In 1 Corinthians, the gifts are spiritual enablements for specific service; in Ephesians, the gifts are people who have such enablements." [Note: The New Scofield . . ., p. 1276.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

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