In 1 Timothy 1:16 Paul says, “For this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.” According to this verse, Paul was made a pattern of God’s salvation. Paul, however, was a model not only of God’s salvation, but also of one called by the Lord.
In the book of Ephesians the matter of God’s calling is of great significance. In Eph. 1:17-18 Paul prayed that we would have a spirit of wisdom and revelation to “know what is the hope of His calling.” In 4:1 Paul besought us, God’s called people, to walk worthily of the calling with which we were called.
Not many Christians know the goal of God’s calling. Many think that this goal is simply to receive grace and to be saved. Grace and salvation, however, are not the ultimate goal of God’s calling. According to Ephesians, the unique goal of God’s calling is the building up of the Body of Christ. In Matthew 16 the Lord Jesus said that He would build His church. The book of Acts and the Epistles reveal that the church is built up not by the Lord directly, but through the members of the Body. Christ builds the Body by the Body. God has called us for the fulfillment of this goal.
Eph. 3:2 speaks of the stewardship of the grace of God, and Eph. 4:12, of the building up of the Body of Christ. Hence, the portion of Ephesians from 3:2 to 4:12 begins with the stewardship of the grace of God and ends with the building up of the Body of Christ.
The stewardship of the grace of God is not limited to Paul and the other apostles. Do not think that Paul was such a steward and that you are not. Paul’s intention here is to impress the saints with the fact that they all have received the stewardship of the grace of God for the building up of the Body of Christ. According to 4:12, the building up of the Body is not the work of the apostles alone; it is the responsibility of all the saints. This verse reveals that the saints are perfected unto the work of ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ. The Greek word rendered “unto” in this verse also means “for the purpose of,” “with a view to,” or “resulting in.” The perfecting of the saints results in the work of ministry, which in turn results in the building up of the Body of Christ. The Body is not built up directly by the apostles and the other leading ones; it is built up directly by the saints.
In 4:16 Paul says, “Out from Whom all the Body, fitted and knit together through every joint of the supply, according to the operation in measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.” Verse 12 speaks of the saints, and verse 16 mentions “each one part.” According to verse 16, the Body causes the growth of itself unto the building up of itself in love. In order for this to take place in a practical way, all the saints need to be perfected by the apostles and the other leading ones.
As we read this book of Ephesians, we need to get into Paul’s burden and feeling. Paul’s expectation was that every believer would be an apostle. This means that Paul expected every saint to be the same as he was.
Paul was not only an apostle; he was also a prophet, an evangelist, and a shepherd and teacher. Many of us, however, may classify the gifted ones mentioned in verse 11 into four distinct categories: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the shepherds and teachers. But Paul, the pattern of God’s called one, was all of these. Paul certainly was a prophet. In his Epistles he uttered some great prophecies, such as those found in 1 Corinthians 15 and in 1 and 2 Thessalonians. Paul was also an evangelist. Who was a greater evangelist than he was? He preached the gospel wherever he went. Furthermore, Paul was a shepherd and a teacher. Day and night, he cared for all the churches and all the saints. Finally, who can deny that Paul was a teacher? If Paul was not a teacher, then no one in the New Testament was a teacher. Therefore, Paul was an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist, and a shepherd and teacher. His burden and intention in chapters three and four was to point out that every saint should be the same as he was in these respects.
Chapters three and four are part of Paul’s charge concerning a walk worthy of God’s calling. If we would have a walk worthy of God’s calling, we need to be like the Apostle Paul. To have a worthy walk, we should devote our attention not only to such things as humility, kindness, and love, but to the important matter of being apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. If we are not such persons, then we do not have a walk worthy of God’s calling. In these chapters Paul is an example, not of a victorious Christian nor even of a believer who is full of life, but of one who is an apostle, prophet, evangelist, and shepherd and teacher.
Every Christian who is up to the standard is an apostle, prophet, evangelist, and shepherd and teacher. An apostle is not a king; he is a sent one. If I send you out to do a specific task, then you are my sent one, my apostle. In John 17:18 the Lord Jesus prayed to the Father, “As You have sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” The “them” in this verse refers not only to the twelve Apostles, but to all the disciples. This indicates that all who believe in Christ should be sent ones. This is confirmed by the Lord’s word to the disciples in John 20:21: “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” All disciples of the Lord Jesus, both male and female, are to be sent ones. If you have been a Christian for years without ever having been sent by Him, you are not up to the standard. If we consider our past experience, we shall realize that many of us have been sent — to our husband or wife, to our parents and relatives, and to our friends. Like Paul, we are sent ones, we are apostles.
We are also prophets. According to the Scriptures, a prophet does not primarily predict the future; he is one who speaks for God. For example, when Moses was called by God in Exodus 3 and 4, he told the Lord that he was not eloquent (4:10). The Lord said that He would give Aaron to Moses to be his prophet (4:14-16; 7:1). Aaron did not predict things for Moses; he spoke on his behalf. This indicates that to be a prophet is to be a spokesman. Just as we have functioned as apostles, so we have also been prophets, perhaps to our parents, relatives, and friends. As prophets, we speak on behalf of the Lord, telling others how the Lord loves them and desires to be life and everything to them. The more we speak in such a way, the more we function as prophets.
In speaking for God, we also preach the gospel. This means that we are evangelists. To be an evangelist is simply to preach the gospel.
In the same principle, we are also shepherds and teachers. In caring for the ones saved through our gospel preaching, we shepherd them and teach them. Hence, we are apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers.
To have a walk worthy of God’s calling is to be one who is sent by God, who speaks for God, who preaches the gospel, and who shepherds others and teaches them. If we are not such a person, we are not up to God’s standard. Due to the influence of our religious background and environment, we are accustomed to thinking of apostles and prophets as extraordinary people. But an apostle is an ordinary Christian, a Christian who meets God’s standard.
We should not have a false humility and say that we are too small, too insignificant, to be apostles and prophets. It is a fact that we can be sent out by the Lord, at least to our relatives and friends, and that we can speak for Him. It is a fact that we all can be and should be God’s sent ones. We are of the same category as Paul, although, as apostles, we do not have, of course, as great a measure as he had.
Ephesians 3:2 says, “If indeed you have heard of the stewardship of the grace of God which was given to me for you.” Do you realize that not only Paul was a steward, but that you are a steward also? Like Paul, you have received the stewardship of the grace of God. A steward is a serving one. For example, a steward or stewardess on an airplane serves the passengers and takes care of them. This indicates that a steward is not some kind of high official, but one who serves others. The service of a steward is called the stewardship. According to 3:2, our stewardship is the stewardship of the grace of God.
We all have received a certain amount of grace. In 4:7 Paul says, “But to each one of us was given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” By receiving grace, we spontaneously have the stewardship of the amount of grace we have received. By grace we have been constituted stewards.
Ephesians 3:2 says that grace has been given to Paul, and 4:7 says that grace has been given to each one of us. In the light of these verses, we should not consider that Paul was something that we are not. In fact, 3:8 reveals that Paul regarded himself as “less than the least of all saints.” This indicates that all the saints can receive the same kind of grace as was given to the Apostle Paul. As to the person of Paul, he was the least among the apostles (1 Cor. 15:9); but as to his ministry, he was not behind the chiefest apostles (2 Cor. 11:5; 12:11). Yet, as one who received grace, he was less than the least of all saints. This implies that all the saints can receive the grace which he received. This can be compared to all the members of our physical body which receive the same lifeblood, however large or small they may be. But the ability, or the gift, that comes out of the lifeblood differs with the members. All the members of the Body of Christ can have the same grace of life as Paul, but their gifts are not the same as Paul’s gift was. If grace could be given to Paul, who thought of himself as less than the least of all saints, then it can certainly be given to all of us.
To Paul, it was not a matter of who had received more grace and who had received less. We need to forget all such comparisons. The important thing is that we see that we all can be the same as the Apostle Paul. Since one who was less than the least of all saints could be such a person as described in chapters three and four, then we have no excuse.
However, throughout the centuries, Christians have been under the influence of the natural concept. According to this concept, one of the early apostles was enthroned to be a pope. But we all can be “popes” in a proper sense, for a pope simply means a father. This indicates that we all can be spiritual fathers to those we bring to the Lord.
Our mind needs to be purged from the natural concept that uplifts the apostles above the ordinary believers in Christ. Apostles are simply those sent by God to carry out His purpose for the building of the church. Certainly we all can be such sent ones, and, having been sent, we all can speak for God as His prophets, His spokesmen. Do not be held back by traditional teachings. Instead, believe the fact that the stewardship of the grace of God has been given to every believer.
In 3:3 Paul says that by revelation the mystery was made known to him. Do you think that the mystery has been made known only to the Apostle Paul and not been made known to all the other New Testament believers? We all have received the revelation of the mystery, the very revelation given to Paul. The reason Paul wrote the book of Ephesians was so that all the saints might know the mystery of Christ. In the years the Lord’s recovery has been in this country, the saints have seen more and more of the mystery of Christ. By receiving this revelation, we are constituted apostles and prophets, and we are qualified to speak concerning Christ and the church.
As prophets, we need to speak to those around us, regardless of whether we think that they understand what we are saying. Our responsibility is to speak wherever we are — at home or at our places of employment. Those who are parents need to speak to their children concerning God’s economy. We also should contact our parents and relatives and tell them what we have seen regarding God’s eternal purpose. Do not be concerned about what others may think of you. Speak so that the unbelievers may be brought to the Lord. If we do not speak, how can others be saved? If we speak, at least some of those who hear us will come to the Lord. What an impact there will be if all the saints in the Lord’s recovery open their mouths and speak concerning Christ and the church! Many of us have been cheated by the enemy into thinking that we are not qualified to speak for the Lord. Do not expect brothers with certain outstanding gifts to do all the speaking. This concept is wrong. As those who have received grace and who have seen the revelation of the mystery of Christ, we are today’s apostles and prophets, and we can speak for the Lord.
In 3:7 Paul said, “Of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God, which was given to me according to the operation of His power.” The Greek word translated “minister” in this verse is the same word that is elsewhere in the New Testament rendered “deacon.” In fact “deacon” is the anglicized form of the Greek word used here. A minister or deacon is a serving one, not a high official. In this verse Paul was saying that he became a servant. According to the natural concept, the ministers are above the elders, and the elders are above the deacons. But if we have the proper understanding of this verse, we shall see that the ministers actually are deacons, those who serve. The word “minister” is a good word, but its meaning has been spoiled by traditional usage. According to the New Testament, to say that one is a minister is to say that he is simply a serving one. All believers in Christ are serving ones.
In 3:7 Paul speaks of the operation of God’s power. This is the power of the resurrection life (Phil. 3:10), which operates within the apostle and all the believers (Eph. 1:19; 3:20). By such an inward operating power of life, the gift of grace was given to the apostle; that is, it was manifested in him.
The Greek word rendered “operation” in verse 7 is the word from which the English word “energy” is derived. Within us and among us there is a divine energizing. This operation, this energizing, was not exclusively for the Apostle Paul; it is for all the saints. This is proved by 4:16, which, using the same Greek word, speaks of the “operation in measure of each one part.” The very same energizing that was in Paul is in every part of the Body. Such an energy is working within us today.
In 3:9 Paul speaks of bringing to light what is the dispensation of the mystery. The word “dispensation” here refers to the process of dispensing Christ as life, as the life supply, and as everything to the believers. We all have a part in such a marvelous dispensation. As believers we need to be brought up to God’s standard, the standard set by the Apostle Paul.
