Equipping the saints

for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, - Ephesians 4v12


When I finally learned the meaning of this it changed my entire perspective of the ministry. I knew, and had been taught many times that the comma in the AV was often mistaken; making it look like the role of the four offices was for:

The equipping of the saints
The work of the ministry
The edifying the body of Christ

Instead of the proper understanding that the pastor and other offices are the simply equip the saints to do the work of the ministry. The job of the men listed in the previous verses is to hand out the tools so the labourers can do their job.

My brother-in-law is stationed at a US Air Force base in Germany. He has a fancy military title, but basically he is in charge of the tools for the mechanics who work on jet engines. One might be tempted to say that his job is not really that big a deal. After all, he is not a fighter pilot carrying out bombing runs.

I would have to disagree with that idea. I admire him greatly. He sees the importance of having the right tools in proper repair. He is fastidious in his organisation of he tools and their cleanliness and repair. I saw tools that I would no problem eating with. Why is his job so important? Because without the right tools the fighter jets could not be serviced properly. Sometimes work needs to be done quickly and there is no time to root through a pile of tools. Without the proper “tool giver” the battle would be lost.

As tool givers the pastors have an important role, but not in the way we often think. We get to preach, teach, and exhort, something we all love. But that is not really the “ministry.” The ministry is what we give the saints to tools to accomplish.

May I always see my role as tool giver with the same intensity and devotion that my brother-in-law gives to his job.