Shabbat Shalom everyone. We want to continue in our ministry meeting the study of the book of Ephesians. So we will turn to Ephesians chapter 4, and we will continue today in the fourth chapter with verse 11 all the way to verse 16, very short portion. Ephesians chapter 4, verse 11 to 16, and I'm reading: "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, until 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 statures of the fullness of Christ, that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive.

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things which is the head even Christ, from whom the whole body fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint supplied, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." I'm going to stop here. And really, brothers and sisters, verses 11 to 16, are very much connected with the previous verses that we have looked over together in our previous meeting. Ephesians 4, verses 1 to 10, had to do with the Messiah Yeshua, who came down from heaven, went all the way to the cross, to the tree where he was judged, and then he died, and he was buried, and he rose again, and after his resurrection he was ascended into the presence of the Father.

He received gifts, as we have read in the book of Psalms 68. And he gave gifts to men, and these individuals to whom he gave gifts are those that belong to the body of the Messiah, the body of Christ. And you remember what we read in verses 8, where we says, "He saith, when he ascended up on high, he let captivity captive, and he gave gifts unto men." I love this expression, "The one to whom we have been captive to, Satan." Yeshua defeated him at the cross. And he made him now a captive when Yeshua finished the work on the cross. And therefore, you and I are no longer under the authority of Satan.

We are now under the authority of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. Satan is really bound by Yeshua the Messiah, and he cannot do any more what he was able to do prior to the finished work of Yeshua the Messiah. He led captivity captive, and he gave gifts unto men. So now the portion that we have read today, Ephesians 4 verses 11 to 16, we see now the gifts that he had given, and the purpose for the gifts. Now before I'm going to go to those gifts, I would like us to understand something that is very interesting in connection with the body, the church, the body of Christ. In many ways, the Bible presents before us the body of Christ, the church.

At times, it is called the church, the ecclesia. Other times, the people of God call the body of Messiah. Other times, the illustration of the church is illustrated by the physical temple that is being built. And every one of us are members of this temple, we are part of this temple. And every one of us is a living stone in this temple that is being built. Every true believer in Yeshua the Messiah is part of this temple. The same thing when it's come to the body of Christ. Every believer in the whole universe is part of this body called the body of Messiah. Every one of us is a member of this body.

Men, women, boy and girl, every true believer in Yeshua the Messiah are members of that one body. The head is in heaven, namely Yeshua the Messiah, the body is here on earth. And every member, just the same like we have this human body, hands and feet and eyes and ears, Those internal members, external members are part of this great body that is called the body of Messiah. If you just go back to chapter 2 for a moment, notice what it says in verse 19, Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God. Notice this expression, the household of God.

And you are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus the Messiah, himself being the chief cornerstone, In whom all the buildings fitly framed together grow unto a holy temple in the Lord. You notice that in chapter 2, the apostle Paul Shaul gave the illustration of the church as a building that is built together. As it says here at the end of verse 21, growing into a holy temple in the Lord. But in chapter 4, where we are right now, the apostle Paul present the church, the ecclesia, Not so much as a building, as a temple, but as a body that have many members, like the human body, have many, many, many members, including the head.

The head gives instruction to the body, just the same like the mystical body of Messiah. The head, Yeshua, Jesus is in heaven. The body receives instruction from the head and functioning here in this world. Very interesting how God uses all sorts of earthly things that you and I are involved with, we are informed about. Using this to illustrate the body of Messiah, the people of God. And so in our chapter, of course, in chapter 4, you remember what we did say in our previous meeting? The chapter 4, 5 and 6 deals now, not so much with doctrine, but with practice. One thing to know doctrine in my head, it's another thing to practice day by day the life of the people of God.

So, in chapter 4, he began with giving us this instruction of the importance of walking in a way that it is pleasing to the Lord. Worthy of the vocation wherewith we have been called, chapter 4 and verse 1. So now as we heard that Yeshua is ascended, he is now seated at the right hand of the Father. He now gave gifts to men. Now the apostle presents before us the gifts that have been given to the body, to the people of God. Now, in the Bible, in the New Testament, there are four chapters which deal with the gifts that God had given to the body of Christ. In Romans chapter 12, in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, in Ephesians chapter 4, and in 1 Peter chapter 4.

2 times 12, 2 times 12, 2 times 4. Those are the four chapters that deal with the gifts that God, through Yeshua, the Messiah, have given to his people. Now in every passage of those four places in the New Testament where we're talking about the gifts, in every portion there is a different emphasis in connection with the gifts. In fact, in Ephesians chapter 4, the emphasis is not so much about the gifts, but about gifted men, or gifted individuals that have been given to the body of Messiah. And so in our chapter, we are going to divide it from verse 11 to 16 in two ways. Number one, the gifted men that Yeshua gave to the body of Messiah, to the assembly in verse 11.

And in verses 12 to 16, the purpose for which the gifts were given to the body of Messiah. Why did God, why did the Lord Jesus gave gifts to his own people? So let's look for a moment, first of all, into verse 11, and look at this gifted men that Yeshua gave to the assembly. Look at that. It says here in verse 11, and I'm reading, And he gave. What did he give? What did he give? Some apostles, in Hebrew, Shlichim. Some prophets, in Hebrew, Nevi'im. Some evangelists, in Hebrew, Mevasrim. And some pastors and teachers, in Hebrew, Ro'im and Melamedim. You know, those are very important words in Israel.

When we are sharing the word in the Hebrew language, the brethren would want to know, what does he mean? What are those persons that God had given to the body of Messiah? Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Now, some Bible teachers do not distinguish the fourth group here, pastors and teachers. Why? Because it doesn't say some pastors and some teachers. No, it says pastors and teachers. So, really, what we can say, beloved brothers and sisters, that in this text, Ephesians 4:11, we have four gifted men, plural, that have been given to the early church. And we might say some of them even existing today in the present time in which we live in, the last days of the church age.

But some of them were really the foundation of the ecclesia, of the church. Look at this. It began with the word apostles. If you turn with me for a moment to Matthew chapter 10. Our Lord Jesus the Messiah selected twelve apostles. It says in verse one. And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Now, the names of the twelve apostles are these. First, Shimon, who is called Peter, and then Andrew, his brother, James, Yaakov, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, Yohanan.

Philip and Barthalmai, Thomas and Matthew, or Matityahu, the publican. James, here is another Yaakov, the son of Elpheus, and Libius, whose surname is Thaddeus. Simon, here is another Shimon in verse four, the Canaanite, and Judah, Judah's Ishkariot, who also betrayed him. These twelve Yeshua sent forth and commended them, saying, Go. Here we have Yeshua himself selecting for himself twelve apostles. You notice that in verse one of Matthew chapter 10, they are called twelve disciples. In verse two of Matthew chapter 10, immediately he called them twelve apostles. Twelve disciples, twelve Talmidim, twelve apostles, twelve Shlichim, those that have been sent by the Lord. Now, this is important for us to understand many times, and I mentioned this before.

Today, in the year in which we live in, there are various groups that have what you call apostles. They're called the Apostolic Church. People who claim to be an apostles. But I would like to suggest, beloved brothers and sisters, that the Scripture teaches us there were only those twelve apostles, and those apostles were the foundation of the church, of the ecclesia. It says in Scripture that the Lord has chosen those specific twelve, including Judas, in this case, in the context of Matthew chapter 10. And he sent them away. The word apostles simply means send out ones with a message. Now, of course, we know what happened to Judas, or Judas.

You remember that he was actually the one that betrayed Yeshua, the Messiah, sold him for 30 pieces of silver. Then he went and he hung himself because he knew what he had done. And Yeshua said to him, if you remember in the upper room, what you have to do, go do now. And he went and it was night. And Judas, in Hebrew, Yehuda, betrayed the Messiah. Though he was called to be part of those twelve chosen men, to be an apostle, Yeshua knew very well whom he had chosen. He knew that one, my own familiar friend, with whom I sat down to eat bread, had turned out against me, fulfilling the prophecy from the book of Psalms.

And so we know that Judas had to be replaced. And in order for Judas to be replaced as an apostle, the qualification, according to Acts chapter 1, was a person that had seen the resurrected Messiah. If you read Acts chapter 1, verses 15 to 22, you will notice that in order to be called an apostle, a shaliach, an apostolos, one must see the resurrected Messiah. And therefore, we know for a fact that today we do not have apostles anymore, but we had apostles in the foundation of the church, in the early days of the church. And we had only twelve apostles. Judas was replaced by Matityahu, Matthias. Plus, we have one more apostle by the name of Paul, Shaul, who was a unique apostle, who saw the glorified Messiah.

First of all, he heard his name, he heard his voice on the way to Damascus in chapter 9 of the book of Acts. But he himself proclaimed the fact that he is an apostle. When he wrote about himself in 1 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 1, he said, He proclaimed to be a shaliach, an apostle, like the others, because he has seen the glorified Messiah. Now, what was the purpose of the apostles? They were gifted men that were given to the body of Messiah for the purpose of establishing the truth of this present-day dispensation of what we know the ecclesia, the church age. They were the foundation. They were the ones that we read in Matthew chapter 10 that were sent initially to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

But ultimately, they were the ones that were the foundation of the body of Messiah. And from Israel on, from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the uttermost parts of this earth, these early servants of the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, formed what we know to be that early church, ecclesia. Establish the believers, share the message of the gospel, both in the land of Israel and ultimately all over the world. They were the foundation of the church. They were the ones that witnessed to the truth of the person of the Messiah. They had gifts that were incredibly unique. You read it in the book of Hebrews. The gifts of an apostle was something unique for early church age.

If today someone claimed to be an apostle, he'd become automatically a suspect. Because one cannot claim to see the resurrected Messiah as those 12 have seen. And this one person by the name of Shaul, Paul, whom Yeshua said to him, Shaul, Shaul, why do you persecute me? So the apostles were this foundation of the church. I want you to go back for a moment to chapter 2 again. Where I just read earlier, and I want you to notice, it says in verse 19 and 20 again, and I'm rereading this. It says, and of the household of God, and you are built upon the foundation. What is the foundation? When you build the house, when you build the house, you don't put the foundation twice.

You put the foundation in the beginning of the house, and then you build the house upon the foundation. The apostles, the apostles, the shlichim, the messengers, those that were sent by the Lord himself, had been the one that had been the foundation of the body of Messiah. In fact, beloved brothers and sisters, every time we read the Romans, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, what we have in our hands is the writings of the apostles. Of the apostles, of the early foundation of the body of Messiah, which gives us instruction. They were guided by the Spirit of God. They were the ones that formed for us the teaching that we have today in our hands in the present day period of time of the church age.

But of course, it was not their own thoughts. They were guided by Ruach HaKodesh, by the Holy Spirit of God. So, Yeshua gave gifts. Paul is writing to the Ephesians in verse 11. Yeshua gave, not as some, not everybody is an apostle, some apostles. They were the foundation. They were the ones that gave to us what we have in our hands, the scriptures. They have seen the glorified, resurrected Messiah. Then it says, next, the second gifted men that were given to the church, to the assembly, are the prophets. Now, we must distinguish between Old Testament prophets and New Testament prophets. Old Testament prophets, meaning the Hebrew, Israeli, Jewish prophets of all, gave our nation Israel of all the instruction that they have received from God concerning the nation of Israel.

And we have already established in chapter 3 of the book of Ephesians, that this was not revealed, the truth of the body of Messiah to the Old Testament saints. You remember what we read in our previous chapter, and I'll just want to read this to you. It says in verse 4 of chapter 3, "...whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of the Messiah, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit." Those prophets that we are reading about now in verse 11, those are what you call Brit HaChadasha prophets.

They were spokesmen, they were the ones that proclaimed God's word in light of the present day dispensation of the church age. They were the ones that preached the word of God, spoke forth what God has said unto them, and ministered to the people of God concerning the present day dispensation. Let me show you a verse in Acts chapter 11. Here's a New Testament prophet. Look at this. It says here in Acts chapter 11 and verse 27 about prophets. In these days came prophets from Jerusalem, Jerusalem, and they went to Antioch. Antioch was in Syria, the central assembly or church that was formed in Syria. And so we find out that those prophets came from Jerusalem.

They went unto Antioch, and look what it says, that here's a man by the name of Agabus, who was a prophet. What we call New Testament, Brit HaChadasha prophet. It says in verse 28, there stood up one of them by the name of Agabus. And he signified by the Spirit that there should be a great dress throughout all the world, which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. Here's a prophet, what we call him a new era prophet, a prophet of the present day dispensation by the name of Agabus. He spoke in the power of the Spirit of God. He proclaimed the word of God that there will be a dress throughout the whole world, and it surely came to pass.

And so it says that the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea. Because of what he spoke, here there was a respond of the people at that time. Now, who do we call a prophet today? Now, remember, these were early foundational prophets. They were the ones that were uniquely given to the body of Messiah for the early foundation of the church, as we read it in chapter 2 and verse 20. But even today, when one is prophesying or speaking forth the word of God, here, whether it is in a personal context, or whether it is these brothers specifically speak publicly, he would speak forth the existing word of God, that which is already in our hands.

He will take the word of God, and he will present before the local church the word of God. He is not so much speaking about the future, but he is speaking forth what we have already written down in the scripture, in the Bible, what we have before us today. So, those early prophets were speaking the future, what's going to happen in the future. But today, for you and I, a prophet is a person who speaks forth that which we already have in our hands today. So, we have to realize that really the prophets and apostles were more or less foundational gifted men that God had given to the church in the early days.

So, in chapter 3 of Ephesians, where we are, in verse 5, it says, again, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. We distinguish the New Testament prophets from an Old Testament prophets. Here, we are talking about prophets that have been given for the edification of the body of the Messiah in a present-day dispensation. Thirdly, you notice the third group that we have here, in verse 11, he is talking about evangelists. Notice that? And some evangelists. Now, evangelists have been always with us and are still with us, even today, as we are living closer to the end of the church age.

What is the ministry of the evangelist? The evangelist is the one that is bearing the gospel message and sharing this with the world around. Now, remember, this is a gift of evangelists. This is not only evangelism, which we are all responsible to do, but these are gifted men that the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, gave them the gift of evangelists. Not all of us are able to do evangelization or to be able to capture the hearts of individuals through the preaching of the message of the gospel. We had many, many gifted men that we hear of them, whether it is on the radio today or television, that they had the gift of evangelism.

They knew how to reach men and women where they were. They knew how to share the message of the gospel in such a way, convicting by the power of the Spirit of God. They are capable individuals that were given to the body of Christ, to the body of Messiah, but they were responsible at the preaching of the message of the gospel. One of these men in biblical time was a man by the name of Philip. You remember Philip the evangelist? We read about him in Acts chapter 21. He is called an evangelist. He was the one that in Acts chapter 8, the Spirit of God called him to go to preach the message of the gospel to this Ethiopian eunuch.

And he ran after him as he was on his chariot. He climbed upon the chariot, Acts chapter 8, and he began to share the gospel with this man who was reading the prophet Isaiah. This evangelist, such as Philip, was used by the Lord Jesus the Messiah to reach many of the people in Samaria, in the Shomeron. And many have come to faith in Yeshua the Messiah, even at the time when Philip was preaching. He is called in the Bible an evangelist. Philip the evangelist, Acts chapter 21 and verse 8. Now, I would like to distinguish between the gift of an evangelist and the fact that we all have to do the work of the evangelists.

In other words, all of us are to share the message of the gospel, whether it is at work, whether it is at school, whether it is when we go away or we are traveling or meeting people, even on the street, we are able to share the message of the love of God through Yeshua the Messiah. And I know some of us do so, even today, at work. And wherever they are, they are able to share the message of the Messiahship of Jesus with many. But the gift of an evangelist is much more than just doing evangelization. It is a special gift that will be given to some individuals in order to use it for the benefit of the body of Messiah.

Look at a verse in 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 5. Now, Timothy may have not been an evangelist, but he says, do the work of an evangelist. Timothy must have been the kind of a person that ministered to the people of God wherever they were. He cared for them. He was the one that was left behind after Paul was doing his ministry. And Timothy were the one who were building people up. But he was called to do the work of an evangelist. You and I are called to do witnessing, wherever we are, the opportunity to witness, the opportunity to share the message of the gospel. So, the apostles are one that is sent by the Lord himself.

The prophets are ones who proclaim the word of God. The evangelist is one that bear good news and share the message of the gospel. He is the one that mevaser, he brings the glad tidings to those that are without, so they will become believers in Yeshua, the Messiah. Now, fourthly, in verse 11, notice that it says, and he gave some pastors and teachers. Most believe that this is a gift that we're given together. Pastors that are able to teach or teachers that have a pastor's heart, a shepherd's heart. Now, you notice that it doesn't say here that he sent them to school to become pastors. No, it says that he gave pastors and teachers.

In other words, you don't learn that by going to school. You may go to school and learn the Bible and get a little bit more information about the things of the Lord. But pastoral ministry or pastors and teachers is a gift. It's a gift that has been given by the glorified Messiah in order to use among the people of God. How much we need pastoral care? You know, the apostles gave us the written word of God. The early prophets spoke in the earlier part of the church age. We have the apostles and prophets to give us what we have in our hands today. But the evangelist, he goes out to the streets, to the highways and the byways, and he shares the message of the gospel, and he brings people into the assembly, lead them to the knowledge of the Savior.

But it is the responsibility of the pastors and the teachers to care for the flock and to teach them the word. And this is a great responsibility where we read here in this verse 11, pastors and teachers. You know, another word for a pastor is simply shepherd. How much we need shepherds in our midst today. You know, most of the time, the flocks are scattered. The people of God are all over. They need so much those that will care for them and bring them and watch over them. Just like the ordinary shepherd in the Middle East will lead his flock. Today we read, He leadeth us by still water.

Psalm 23. Where does the Lord lead his own people? He lead them to a place where they can feed. When they can be ministered unto. Where they can grow spiritually. When they can be nourished and be taken care of. How many times God warned the shepherds of our own people Israel who led the flock astray. And we can say it concerning the church age. God will hold responsible the shepherds of the body of Christ who lead the flock astray. And not ministering to them and encouraging them and building them up spiritually. And so, how much we need those shepherds, those pastors who care for the flock.

And notice that the last word here, this is pastors and teachers. Teaching the Word is so important. You know how many times when we come to a church meeting or to an assembly meeting or the congregational meeting and we hear the Word of God, we hear sound teaching, ministry concerning the person of Yeshua the Messiah. And it refreshes our hearts. It ministered to our soul. And just like any sheep in the Middle East who is looking for some food, green pastures, looking for some water where he or she can nourish themselves, it is very similar among the people of God. The pastors and teachers were given to the people of God in order to feed them and to minister unto them.

Turn to John chapter 21 for a moment. Yeshua said to Peter in John 21 15, When they had dined, Jesus says unto Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonah, lovest thou me more than these? He says unto him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love thee. And he said unto him, Feed my lambs. Verse 16, He says unto him again the second time, Simon, Shimon, Bar Yonah, lovest thou me? He said to him. And he says unto him, Yes, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. And look what he said again. He said unto him, Feed my sheep. Thirdly, in verse 17 of John 21, he says unto him the third time, Simon, son of Yonah, Shimon, Bar Yonah, lovest thou me?

Do you really like me? The Greek word here is not agape, but phileo in verse 17. And Peter was grieved. Because he saith unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love thee. And look what Yeshua said to him, Feed my sheep. The responsibility of the shepherd, of the pastors, is to feed the flock. To minister to the flock so they will eat spiritual food that is healthy for them spiritually, so they will grow. The reason that these gifted men were given to the assembly, the roim, the pastors, the shepherd, is that they will feed the flock, the people of God.

And you know what Peter did? This very Peter, that was so much, in a sense, offended when the Lord had challenged him, Do you really love me more than these? Feed my lamb? Do you really love me? Feed my sheep or my flock? And then he says, Do you really like me? He says, Feed my flock, feed my sheep. Peter himself, when he, later on in his life, was writing to the shepherds. He said to them in 1 Peter, chapter 5, in verse 1, The elder which is among you I exhort, who am also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of the Messiah, and also partaker of the glory that shall be revealed, feed the flock of God which is among you, taking oversight, therefore, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy looker, but as a ready mind.

Neither has been lords over God's heritage, but being an example to the flock. And when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Peter, who received the responsibility from Yeshua the Messiah to feed the lamb, to feed the flock, later on in his life, when he was an elder and ready to depart, he charged the shepherds, he charged those that are pastors among the believers to feed the flock of God. See, God's people need to be fed. God's people need to be taught. And that's why the gifts were given unto the body of Messiah. So the shlichim and nevi'im, meaning the apostles and the prophets, they were the foundation.

The foundation cannot be rebuilt again and put together again. That was for the earlier part of the church. But what we do have today is evangelists, pastors and teachers whom the Lord uses today, giving them as a gift to the body of Messiah, and thank God for everyone that seek to do faithfully the service to which the Lord had given him to do. They are not perfect men, they are failing men, but they need the grace of God to continue to do the service that the Lord had given them to do. So verse 11 of Ephesians chapter 4, we have the gifted men that Yeshua had gave to the church, to the assembly, to the congregation.

And we have specifically four gifts, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Now let's move down to the next five verses that are before us. And from verses 12 to 16, we see what was the purpose that Yeshua gave those gifted men or those gifts to the body of Christ, to the body of Messiah. Well look at them. First of all, look what it says in verse 12. You see, the gifted men were given to the church for a reason. Not to exalt themselves, not to pride themselves, not to elevate themselves, or to be separated from the people of God. There is not a clergy leity that we have here.

In fact, they are part of the body of Messiah. They are to be used by the Lord to minister to the people of God. And here's the reason, brothers and sisters, in verse 12, it tells us three things, why the gifted men were given. First of all, it says in verse 12, for the perfecting of the saints. Secondly, it says, for the work of the ministry. Thirdly, it says, for the edifying of the body of Messiah. You know, the three times the word for. First one, it says, for the perfecting of the saints. Secondly, for the work of the ministry. Thirdly, for the edifying of the body of Messiah, the body of Christ.

Now, this is important, because sometimes we make the mistake, and we think, oh, we have this brother, he's a pastor. We put him somewhere there. We'll put a note above his door, says, pastor. And he's going to be the one who's doing all the job, and we are going to sit around, we're going to be a spectators. See, he is the pastor, I'm only just a brother. Well, it's not found in the Bible, such a thing. There's no such a thing as clergy, and leity, in the New Testament, present day dispensation. In fact, the Bible does teach us that all of us are members of one body.

We all have gifts, and we all are responsible to function among the people of God. So those gifted men, they were given with their gifts to the body of Messiah. It says here, for the three reasons, number one, for the perfecting of the saints. The word for perfecting is the Greek word for equipping. Those early brothers, the apostles, we might say, and those brothers and sisters who are evangelists, and pastors, and teachers, the reason that they are ministering is in order that the saints will be equipped. You know, when you go out to fight a war, you need to be able to put the equipment upon you so you will be able to fight that fight.

So the equipping of the saints, the perfecting or the maturing of the saints. The saints are every true believer in Yeshua the Messiah, brother or sister. They are saints. And the responsibility of the pastors, teachers, and those gifted men were really to mature the people of God. It is so sad when a person is hearing the message and hearing the word, and then you ask them, have you learned anything? What did you learn from the ministering of the word of God? And they don't remember. They don't know anything. And then somebody come and tell them a certain view and they have no answer to be able to answer to that person.

It is really sad because the saints, the church, the believers need to mature, to grow up, to develop spiritually, to understand who they are in Christ, in the Messiah. So the gifted men were given for the perfecting of the saints. And the word for perfecting here, as I mentioned before, it doesn't mean to make that perfect. They are already positionally perfect. But to mature them, that there will be mature saints that are able to be answering to questions. They know the word in some small way. they grow and mature and develop as believers in Yeshua the Messiah. But notice another thing that is interesting here in verse 12.

It says for the work of the ministry. In other words, the work of the ministry is not really the pastor's job only. The work of the ministry is for all the saints to do the work of the ministry. How often time we think that the responsibility of the work of the Lord is the pastor. He's going to do that. The one who we call pastor. And he's going to be the one to do all the visitations. He's going to make phone calls. He's going to pray for the sick. He's going to do this. He's going to do all these things. And you see, I'm just a member of the church.

I'm going to come. I'm going to sit down and I'm going to go every Shabbat or every Sunday or every Wednesday or whatever it is. We're going to come. We're going to listen. He's going to do the job and I'm going to just carry on. I'm just a member. I'm going to heaven. Hallelujah. But the Bible doesn't teach that, beloved brothers and sisters. The Bible say that the gifted men were given for the equipping of the believers so that they in turn will do the work of the ministry. You want to see a healthy local church? You will see the brothers and sisters doing the work of the ministry.

Of course, we do it with the leadership in mind but to do the work of the ministry. I don't need to wait for so-called brothers also to make that phone call for a discouraged sister. I don't need to wait for another person so I will make a visit. If I am a healthy believer that is growing and equipped with the things of the Lord, I myself take the initiative to take the responsibility. What a blessing it is to see. Can you imagine that the right hand on your body will say, you know what, I'm not doing anything until I get some instruction and somebody's going to do it.

You know, I'm just there as a member. I don't need to be used as much. Can you imagine if you're not going to use your right hand in your function of the day-by-day living? Can you imagine? Try to do everything with the left hand. Same thing with your legs. Try to go places without your legs functioning properly. No wonder many, many, many places the assembly, the church is breaking down. Why? Because we depend on one man to do everything. And this is a mistake. It's not Bible. It's not what the scripture teaches. The scripture teaches in verse 12 for the perfecting, maturing of the saints so that they in turn will do the work of the ministry.

And the ministry is so large. Brothers and sisters, who can fathom the needs that exist among the people of God? So many discouragements. So many things that are going on among the people of God. So many breakdowns existing. and the people of God need to be built and edified. Can you imagine if the Lord can use us all in that work of the ministry? So we will be members that are moving and used by the Lord? That's beautiful to see that. I wanted you to notice Peter wrote in 1 Peter chapter 4. It says in verse 10, As every man has received the gift, even so ministered the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

We all receive gifts. We all are being instructed. We all are to use our gifts being faithful or good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Ministering the same one to another. You know it is said when in certain places you only can pray when you got to go to this clergy somewhere and he is the one who is going to pray for me otherwise we can't pray or we can't move. That's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches us that we are to do the work of the ministry after we have been edified and built up by the gifted men that God had raised among his own people.

But now notice that it's not only for the perfecting of the saints it's not only that the saints will do the work of the ministry but thirdly it says in verse 12c it is for the edification of the body of Messiah.

Now here the word edification this is encouraging to stir us up to ask ourselves the question when I serve the Lord in one area or another is the purpose of my heart to edify others if somebody leave me after a conversation was he or she edified built up or was he or she being torn down see a servant of the Lord built not destroying there's plenty of destruction that is going on our responsibility is to be a builder and you know to build it takes effort it takes time it takes prayer it takes labor it takes a lot of work to build to destroy all what we need to do is take a sledge and

we can destroy everything to build a structure it takes some time and effort and it's so said to really grieve the heart of the Lord when the people of God are being used or allow Satan or the enemy to use them instead of being builders to allow Satan to influence them to destroy things it is a shame when things like that are happening among the people of God and this is a challenge to us all may the Lord only stir us up to be builders among the people of God not destroy us because we are not doing God's service we are not doing God's people service if we are not doing things in the right

way so he says in verse 12 for the edifying of the body of Messiah so the body of Messiah will be edified will be built up will grow will mature for the glory of God for the blessing of men and so the purpose of the gifts which were given by Yeshua the Messiah to the body to the believers is for the equipping of the saints so the saints will do the work of the ministry in order that the body will be edified according to verse 12 what a challenge it is for us all now the question is how long can we continue on there are so many discouragement you build you build and then something

happens and destruction comes and then you build you build and again something happens and we know that very well all of us know this by experience in the professing church all of us have some part in building and then boom something happened and there is a destruction and you have to work again you have to continue on well look what he's saying to us in verse 13 the question is how long the work of the ministry will go on is it only for a short season how long well it says in verse 13 until until what until we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God

and to a mature man and to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ the fullness of Messiah really what we learn from this verse 13 how long until we all come to the unity of the faith notice he used the word we Paul is writing and he doesn't say only you Ephesians he says we he's including himself and he's including all believers really the apostle Paul tells us here in verse 13 that the length of the ongoing work of the ministry is until one day we are going to be with the Lord in his presence in heaven until that time we long for that all will come to the unity of the

faith we work towards it number two and of the knowledge of the Son of God number three unto a perfect mature man and number four unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ of Messiah in other words really what Paul is saying in verse 13 that the work of the ministry is going to continue on until we are going to be in the presence of the Lord you see beloved brothers and sisters that in heaven we don't need to pastor and to teach anymore in heaven we don't need to evangelize anymore our job will be over in heaven we don't need to be perfecting or maturing anymore or being equipped anymore in

heaven we don't need to do anymore the work of the ministry in heaven we don't need to edify anyone anymore why because we are all going to be in the presence of the Lord sin will be totally removed all believers are going to be in the presence of the Lord never to separate from him anymore and all that work of the ministry that we do today is not needed anymore in heaven there will be no one sinner that need to be saved all are going to be saved in heaven there will not be one saint that need to be edified anymore all going to be edified because we are going to be in the presence

of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah John wrote it like this listen to what John said in 1st John chapter 3 and verses 1 and 2 John says behold what manner of love 1st John 3 verse 1 behold what manner of love the father had bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God therefore the world knows us not because it knew him not beloved now are we the sons of God and he does not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is you see when we're going to be in heaven we're going to

be like him we're going to see Yeshua our Mashiach as he is we're no longer going to have the need of evangelists pastors and teachers all all that which was given for us today for the building up of the body of Messiah will never be needed anymore because we are going to be in the presence of the Lord we shall be with him we're going to be like him we're going to see him as he is so verse 13 will teach us that the work of the ministry how long will it continue it continue as long that the present day dispensation of the church age is still with us and we are part of it

the moment we are going to heaven we will never need to do the ministry and you know what let me say that when we going to stand before the Lord and we serve him that we could use our gifts for his glory and for the blessing of the people of God we will sense this we will look back and we will say boy I wish I was a better servant I wish I was a builder I wish I was spending more time to edify the believers I wish I had more time but it's over the time will be we are going to be in the presence of the Lord of course we will not have

any regret in that sense because we will have no more sin nature but the point beloved brothers and sisters the purpose of the gifts were given for the perfecting of the saints that they in turn will do the work of the ministry and they in turn will edify the body of Messiah and it's going to go on and on and on until the time will come and we are going to be in the presence of the Lord and when we are gone another one will take our place and another one will be responsible to continue to do the work of the ministry now look at the next verses beloved brothers and sisters verses 14 and

15 why we need so much these gifts and why we need so much to do the work of the ministry because we have a problem and the problem that God's people are often time not doctrinally taught and not practically walking in a way that is pleasing to the Lord and we can apply this to ourselves so Paul is writing and look what he says in verse 14 and then 15 notice in verse 14 he's emphasizing doctrine teaching in verse 15 he's emphasizing walking in love or speaking the truth in love look he's first of all in verse 14 he's emphasizing the fact that he does not want that the believers will remain children that are

not taught sound doctrine look what he says in verse 14 that we hence forth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they these are these men lie in wait to deceive and you see what he's really saying when children are young they are inexperienced and they are very quickly swayed by everything that are being told that's the way it is when we were children we were just the same so what he's really saying that believers now and you might have some believers that are for many many years believers in Yeshua the Messiah but they still behave as

they just accepted Yeshua yesterday still like children now imagine when a believer doesn't grow and remain like a child something is wrong there's a problem there's a problem when a believer is for many many years said oh I remember 50 years ago I've accepted Yeshua the Messiah but how is it now are you still behaving like a child and not maturing spiritually what about teaching and doctrine and you see what he's saying here he says in verse 14 that we henceforth and I love that we he's including himself just like he did it in verse 13 that we me Paul and you Ephesians that we henceforth be no more children listen a believer that is

not growing spiritually and remaining like a child there is a problem there is a spiritual problem and you wouldn't want your child not to grow right you would ask yourself the question if your child will remain a child like one even if he's growing tall physically but behaving like a child it's not right something is wrong especially you know there are those children that have some sort of infirmities like autism or all sort of problems that one have they don't grow you know there's a problem well it's the same thing spiritually beloved brothers and sisters when a believer who accepted Yeshua the Messiah is not growing behaving like a child spiritually and as he said

tossed to and fro with carried about with every wind of doctrine there's a problem he remain or she remain like a child and the reason that the gifts were given or the gifted men in this context is so that believers will hear the word will be maturing do the work of the ministry and edify the body of Messiah that we will not remain like children not mature not growing now that is something that our pastor Paul has been concerned about many many times look at first Corinthians chapter 13 and verse 11 Paul said this when I was a child I spake as a child I understood as a child and I thought as a child

but when I became a man I put away childish things now very clear when I was a child I behaved as a child I understood as a child I thought as a child I spake as a child but now when I grow up and became a man well it stopped I had to put away childish things so a believer that is not growing spiritually is really remaining like a child he is saying to us and he is speaking about himself as well in Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 14 that we henceforth be no more children look at 1st Corinthians chapter 14 and verse 20 brethren be not children in understanding however in malice be children

but in understanding be a man in other words he is saying in understanding the truth of God don't be children mature grow up be like men but in doing evil in doing malice remain children in other words don't do malice that's what he is really saying but as a grown up man in understanding grow up don't stay child like grow up and become mature believer in Yeshua the Messiah another verse I gotta read in 2nd Timothy chapter 3 in verse 7 Paul said to Timothy the whole chapter really began that in the last days period time shall come 2nd Timothy 3 verse 1 for men shall be lovers of their own selves covetous boasters and

so on proud he said in verse 2 without natural affection verse 3 traitors in verse 4 having a form of godliness in verse 5 and then he said in verse 7 ever learning and never come to the knowledge of the truth learning and learning and learning and learning and never come to the knowledge of the truth how we if we are not growing can be like so don't remain a child spiritually don't be those that are tossed to and fro with carrying about with every wind of doctrine a few years ago I remember we used to have Bible classes here not in this building in another meeting and something began here in Toronto and the

whole world seems to come here the Toronto blessings I'll never forget that people who knew their Bible very well were willing to go to bark like dogs to cucuriku like chickens and claiming that God visited us they knew their Bible very well they knew it's not from the word not from the Lord but they were willing like as it says here tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine oh another man came he is going to fix all my problem and he going to tell me some new things there's nothing new beyond the scripture if we only read the Bible and if we submit our problem is to submit to the Bible to the

word of God there's nothing new what we have is what we have heaven and earth will pass away God's word will remain the same we are just going in a circle with every wind of doctrine another guy come another preacher come to town oh here we go he gonna fix our problem you know this is our problem and I'm not blaming anybody I'm speaking for myself that's why we have constantly have this issue of not accepting the simple word of God as it is given to us in the written word of God and Paul is saying every wind of doctrine the wind comes we're going to move this way from east to the west now

it's blowing this way we're going to go this way and we don't have enough if you would say backbone to say wait a minute I don't understand everything but I know what the Bible teaches me and it is here that I would like the Lord to help me to submit to an already given word of God that we have in our hand and remember those Ephesians they didn't have the book of Ephesians in their hand yet but they needed to learn that the gifts and the gifted men that were given to the body of Messiah were given to them in order to do the work of the ministry and to be edifying the believers now

here it is another and notice verse 15 as we draw towards the end here not only that the believers are not to remain children but they are to grow grow look at this it says in verse 15 speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things which is the head even Christ even the Messiah grow you know the last verse of 2nd Peter chapter 3 says but grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Yeshua the Messiah you want to be used by the Lord I want to be used by the Lord we are to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the person of Yeshua the

more we know about him the more we are going to be mature believers that are used by the Lord for the edifying of the body of Messiah now to conclude Paul is saying in verse 16 from the head this is the Messiah Yeshua who is in heaven the whole body is joined together as it says in verse 16 from whom this is meaning from the Messiah the whole body this is the body of believers fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies according to the effectual working in the measure of every part maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love you notice that he used the word love

here twice in verse 15 speaking the truth in love and in verse 16 edifying itself in love the word here for love is the word agapeo which means unconditional love you want to build the body of believers it does take much love meaning much unconditional loving of the people of God you know the people of God you know very well we are not always lovable nevertheless love as we mentioned already in the previous ministry meeting love is that which enable us the love of Messiah constrained us enable us to do the service of the Lord for the edifying of the body of the Messiah and it is all from him the body fitly joined together

every joint supplies and every part make us increase in other words if one part doesn't function right the body cannot grow and increase and that's why unfortunately many times we don't grow as a body whether it is locally or whether it is universal we don't grow because not all of us sadly to say are really doing our part using the gifts that the Lord had given to us and using it in love for the benefit of the people of God so brothers and sisters the gifted men were given so the body of Messiah will be edified or mature so they will do the work of the ministry so they will be used by the Lord

to build up the body of Messiah may the Lord help us may the Lord use us for his name sake