There are two things connected with the object of ministry and the use of gift in the body of Christ. First, there is the whole body, the church, as the instrument of the glory and power of God in the world. Second, there is the church as the beloved object of the affections of Christ. The gifts bear the characters of these two relations. The first has to do with the responsibility of the church itself, while the second is what Christ does more particularly for His church, His bride. In both, the oneness of the body united to Christ is continually kept in view.
God’s Instrument for Testimony
Let us look for a moment at the church as God’s instrument for testimony in this world. This character of ministry is given to us particularly in 1 Corinthians 12, for there we find, in general, all the gifts given for the establishment of Christianity, signs given to the world, proofs of the glory of the victory of the Lord Jesus, and His rights of government in the church. Evangelists and pastors are not found there at all. Rather, we have the collective summation of divine operation and capacity in the body, used mainly for the formation of the church. Most of these gifts have now disappeared, at least in their primitive form and character, although God maintains a testimony in this world.
However, in this character of ministry we see Christ and the church as a whole, acting before the world in His name. Thus in this chapter (1 Cor. 12) we see the spiritual power of Christianity contrasted with idolatry. Also, we see diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit; diverse services, but the same Lord; diverse operations, but the same God. Thus the whole trinity is brought forward in connection with the gifts, in order that we may see the immediate source of these things in the church. The character of all this is power in testimony to the world.
Christ Nourishing the Body
The second object of ministry is found in Ephesians 4. Here we have more the thought of Christ nourishing and forming His body on earth. Its unity is here the result of grace which calls those who are afar off (the Gentiles) and those who are nigh (the Jews) to be built as the habitation of God through the Spirit. It is a unity of relation and blessing — one body, one Spirit, one God and Father of all.
In Ephesians we have specially the privileges of the church united to Christ. God is “the God of our Lord Jesus” and also the “Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Accordingly, at the end of the first chapter he prays for the blessings flowing from this title of “God” of Jesus Christ, while in the third chapter he seeks the blessings flowing from the title of “Father” of Jesus Christ. These blessings are accomplished by the Holy Spirit acting in us, in the oneness of the body, according as Christ has received for the members of this body. It is He who has given “some apostles” and “some prophets.” These gifts, presented as the fruits of an ascended Christ, are not looked at in the light of power acting to manifest the glory of God; rather, they serve to establish and edify the church as the habitation of God, in order that all may come to “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:1313Till 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: (Ephesians 4:13)). No mention is made of miracles, tongues and healings, for these signs of power are not the direct channels of His love to the church. Likewise, in Ephesians the Apostle does not speak of gift itself, but of the individuals who possessed the gift. No doubt the gift was in the vessel, but God attached it to the person, and this person, known by his gift, was given to the church.
Such is the source, power and order of ministry as set before us in the Word of God. Surely there is nothing more blessed in this world than ministry of this kind, rendered by God in the Spirit both for a testimony in this world and for the edifying of His church. May God Himself direct His church according to her need, according to His love, and according to the riches of His grace, by His Spirit who dwells in her.
Adapted from The Bible Treasury,
Vol. 17, pp. 291-293, 306-310