“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:11-16 NASB1995)

Why did Christ give us some as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers? It wasn’t so they would do all the work of the ministry, so that they would be regarded as “THE ministers,” and so they would be the ones doing all the preaching (prophesying). He gave them to us so that they would train us for the work of the ministry, but not with worldly means and methods and marketing schemes, but via the Word of God and what God instructs his church, the body of Christ, that we should all be doing.

“The Church” not only is not a building, and not a place you go to and then you leave until you go to it again, but it is not a place where the bulk of the body of believers in Christ sit as spectators while a handful of “professionals” do all the “ministering.” It should not be like going to a theatre. For the biblical church is the universal body of believers in Jesus Christ, and all of us are necessary to the proper working of the body, as EACH PART does its work. And our gatherings are to be participatory, not stage productions.

All of us who are of genuine biblical faith in Jesus Christ, who have died with him to sin and who have been reborn of God to walk (in conduct) in obeying him and his commands, have been given spiritual gifts of the Spirit of God, and we have been assigned our body parts by God, and we each have a part in the proper working of the body of Christ. And we are to be speaking the truth of God’s word to one another, in love, for the spiritual growth of the whole body of Christ, which happens when EACH PART is working PROPERLY!

We speak the truth of God’s word to one another so that those who believe in Jesus will no longer be influenced and led astray by some humans who in their cunning, craftiness, and deceitful scheming teach false doctrines and altered gospel messages which do not teach the truth. We speak truth so no believer will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, too. And we are to stir one another up to love and good deeds. As well, we are to be helping fallen brothers and sisters in Christ back to biblical relationships with our Lord.

[Acts 2:14-18,42-47; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]

Servant of the Lord

Based off Romans 1:1-17
An Original Work / July 26, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Servant of the Lord;
For the gospel you’re set apart.
Promised through the prophets of old:
Jesus, Son of God.
Through Him, and for His name alone,
We receive His grace
To call people, Him to obey;
Coming from their faith.
Servant of the Lord,
For the gospel you’re set apart.
Promised through the prophets of old:
Jesus, Son of God.

You belong to Christ;
Loved by God, and called to be saints;
Serving God with whole heart and mind;
Preaching Jesus Christ;
Always praying for others’ needs;
Helping hand to lend;
Giving courage to others’ faith,
For the praise of God.
You belong to Christ;
Loved by God, and called to be saints;
Serving God with whole heart and mind;
Preaching Jesus Christ.

Servant of the Lord;
Of the gospel, I’m not ashamed;
For salvation, power of God
To those who have faith.
In the gospel find righteousness:
Being right with God.
Turn from sin, and trust Jesus Christ.
By faith, live in Him.
Servant of the Lord;
Of the gospel, I’m not ashamed;
For salvation, power of God
To those who have faith.

The Church Working Properly
An Original Work / January 30, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love