This AI-generated conversation is based on a post I wrote in 2021.
In this conversation, we explore how the modern evangelical church has often neglected the crucial biblical mandate of equipping the saints for ministry, hindering its health and ability to fulfill its mission. This neglect stems from a limited understanding of the gospel, which focuses solely on personal salvation and ignores the call to active participation in God's Kingdom.
Key Ideas and Facts:
1. The Importance of Equipping the Saints:
Ephesians 4:12 clearly outlines equipping the saints as a vital leadership function in the church.
This equipping should involve training believers in various life and ministry activities modeled by Jesus, including teaching, preaching, healing, and using spiritual gifts.
The lack of emphasis on equipping the saints in contemporary churches is detrimental to individual spiritual maturity and the overall health and effectiveness of the body of Christ.
Quote: "According to Ephesians 4:12, Jesus intended equipping the saints as a priority leadership function in his church. The maturity of believers and the health of the church depends on every member being equipped ‘for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ.’"
2. The Gospel Problem:
The common evangelical gospel presentation, emphasizing personal salvation and going to heaven, fails to provide a compelling reason or framework for equipping the saints.
This limited gospel view promotes passivity among believers, offering no "job description" for their earthly lives beyond personal morality and church attendance.
Quote: "If the main goal of the gospel is for humans to be forgiven, reconciled to God, and to go to heaven when they die, there is nothing that explicitly or implicitly compels personal responsibility for any mission or service during the remainder of one’s lifetime on earth."
3. The Solution: The Gospel of the Kingdom:
Scholars like N.T. Wright and Matthew Bates advocate for a "Gospel of the Kingdom" that emphasizes Jesus' enthronement as King and the restoration of humanity's role in partnering with God to bring creation under his rule.
This gospel understanding provides a compelling purpose for equipping the saints, training them to participate in God's kingdom work on earth actively.
Quote: "Rather than merely making a way for sinful humans to go to heaven, the enthronement of Jesus as the promised Lord and King has set creation back on track and returned the administration of the earth to Humans who were created in God’s image and who, as subjects of King Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit, partner with Him to bring all of creation under the grace and glory of the Sovereign Creator."
4. The Logic and Implications of the Kingdom Gospel:
Acknowledging Jesus as King compels believers to become his apprentices, learning to live and serve as image-bearers like him.
God, through Jesus' work, has provided everything necessary for humans to be restored to their original relationship with him and fulfill their purpose as image-bearers.
This includes forgiveness, deliverance from spiritual oppression, reconciliation with God, and empowerment through the Holy Spirit to live transformed lives and do good works.
5. Call to Action:
The church needs to reintroduce the Kingdom Gospel, emphasizing the call to active discipleship and the necessity of equipping the saints for ministry.
Churches should actively train believers to understand their identity as image-bearers, their role in God's kingdom, and their authority and power to minister in their communities.
Equipping the saints should not be seen as an optional program but as a core function of the church, essential for its health, growth, and fulfillment of its mission.
Quote: "How can we expect to see the body of Christ become healthy and fruitful in coming generations if we allow them to be pew sitters and passive observers when their Lord calls them to be his hands and feet and voice?"
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