It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we … become mature … Ephesians 4:11-13
God has provided everything necessary for the church to grow. God gave the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to prepare God’s people for “works of service” so that the body of Christ would mature. The path to maturity is through service. This covers a multitude of tasks: welcoming, nurturing, helping, leading, singing, playing music, writing, teaching, preaching. It’s good for us to encourage others, especially the young in the Lord, to try different areas of service until they find their gifts, their place in the Body.
Sometimes the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers that God gives us, come to us in disguise. They may be people who aren’t in full-time ministry, they may be people who are gifted in artistic expression, and they may even be songwriters. Christian songwriters are gifted by God, inspired by his word and by his Spirit. God has much he wants to impart to us and often he does it through new songs. New songs are like fresh bread, fresh manna for our souls. Are we availing ourselves of the opportunity to be built up as we connect to God through these songs?
God’s design is that we grow up into Christ (verse 15). God has always something more for us. As parents, we notice that our children get bored with those things that amused them when they were younger. Likewise, we will get bored spiritually if we don’t press on to grow up into Christ.
