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. (Ephesians 4:11-13)
The purpose for every ministerial office is the same: to equip the saints for the work of the ministry and to edify the body of Christ.
The word perfecting in Ephesians 4 means furnishing. In other words, all the ministry offices are called to ensure that the saints have every tool necessary to do the work of the ministry that God instructs them to do.
The word edify in the Scripture means to build up. The ministry offices should encourage, uplift, and promote people to step out of their comfort zones and serve God with all they have.
Do you know why people need to be encouraged? Because they get attacked when they are serving God. The enemy will do everything in his power to attack the people of God who are serving Him with all their hearts!
That is why being a part of a church is so vitally important to the believer's life. You need to be somewhere that God has purposed and equipped the leaders to perfect and edify you so you can fulfill what God has instructed you to do.
Practical Application – Thank the leaders in your church who perfect and edify you every week. Let them know you appreciate that they are fulfilling God’s calling.
Titus 2:3; Titus 2:7