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Churches today face many challenges—a hostile culture, distractions through entertainment and social media, frustrations with political systems and decisions, and frankly, uncommitted church members.

It might appear, at times, that the church is fighting a losing battle. According to a recent study, around 3,000 new Protestant churches opened in the United States in one year, and the same year 4,500 closed.[1]

Now I do not know all the reasons churches close, but we have been told in God’s Word why churches should be open.   

The church in Ephesus did not have it any easier than we do today. When the apostle Paul came to Ephesus, the gospel he preached threatened to upset the city’s industry of idol manufacturing. People in the city rioted and dragged some of Paul’s companions into the city arena and began to chant—and they chanted for hours—their devotion to their goddess Artemis, or Diana.

Beloved, there has never been an easy generation to live for Christ. It has never been easy to develop a church that consistently honors the Lord.

As we sail back into Ephesians 4, Paul has been emphasizing the need for unity in the church. This is so important because division has destroyed more churches than any doctrinal error. We might come from different backgrounds and cultures and perspectives, but Paul reminded the Ephesians—as he does us—that followers of Christ are all one family. We just need to learn how to get along, something every family has to learn.

As we pick up our study, Paul begins to outline how the church is to function in unity and grow together. He begins by speaking of the church’s gifts in verses 7-13. These gifts are the equipment we need from the Lord in order to serve one another and live in unity.

Paul writes, “Grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift” (verse 7). He is referring to spiritual gifts. Every Christian is equipped with a spiritual gift that can be developed and used to serve Christ and His church. As we each exercise our unique abilities in service, the church functions in unity.

Paul then moves on to talk about gifts given to the church as a whole. He begins in verse 8 by quoting a passage from Psalm 68:18: “When he [Christ] ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” Paul is making the point that the gifts he is about to list come from a victorious Savior. One writer explained this text by writing that “a military victor has the right to give gifts to those who are identified with him.”[2]

In verses 9 and 10, Paul explains that Jesus Christ’s ascending means that He first had to descend—namely, into “the lower regions, the earth.”

Christ descended, which I believe refers to His descent from heaven to earth and then further to His death and burial. But then He ascended by way of resurrection and then back to the Father in glory. And, as Paul writes back in verse 8, He ascended with a “host of captives.” Who is this host of captives whom Christ took with Him when He ascended?

I take Luke 16 literally. In the Lord’s telling of this account of the deaths of the rich man and Lazarus, He reveals that before His resurrection, believers who died went to a temporary place of comfort and rest in the place of the dead (Hades) known as “Abraham’s side,” or paradise. There was also a torment side of Hades for unbelievers. This was a temporary place, because the Bible makes it clear that now, upon death, every Christian’s spirit immediately goes to heaven to be “at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).

What closed down this place of comfort? I believe it was the resurrection of Jesus. When Jesus rose from the dead, He transferred to heaven those believers (“captives”) who had already died.

People might differ with me on this, and that is okay. You do not need to send me three-page letters to straighten me out—I am probably just as stubborn as you are. And frankly, our opinion on this matter is not critical since it does not involve a core doctrine that determines anyone’s salvation.

Here is the main point I believe we can all agree on. Jesus completed His earthly mission. He was victorious; and because of His victory over death and the grave, He has the right to grant His living Bride—His church—the gifts needed for the church to function in unity and for His glory.

And with that, Paul names those gifts; actually, they are gifted men, given to His church worldwide. He writes that Christ has given to the church as a whole “the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers” (verse 11). Apostles and prophets have already been mentioned in Ephesians 2:20 and 3:5. Both were foundational to the establishment of the church.

Apostles were personally commissioned by Christ to deliver the gospel message with His authority. They were given supernatural power to heal and even raise the dead to prove they were God’s messengers. Prophets were given supernatural revelation from God in those early years before the New Testament was completed. So, these gifted men formed the foundation of the church. We do not have prophets and apostles today. Their role was limited to that beginning period of the church. We are no longer laying the foundation of the church; we’re in a construction project that has now lasted some 2,000 years—and we just might be nearing the completion of the church.

We do have today “evangelists,” whom Paul mentions next. These people ministered well beyond the local church. I believe they are what we call missionaries today.

Then we have “shepherds and teachers.” “Shepherds” is translated “pastors” in most Bible translations. The Greek word is the common word for shepherd. It is used here for a church leader who shepherds God’s flock. A pastor should lead the flock to green pastures—the green pastures of God’s Word. We find the terms for elders and overseers are also used for this same person.[3]

Now for what purpose are these men given to the church? Paul makes it clear in verse 12: “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”

We often think of pastors as the ones to do the work of ministry. But Paul says their primary job is to equip the rest of the church body for the work of ministry. Ministry is not something reserved for professional clergymen. We are all to serve one another, as we serve Christ.  

When all of this is taking place, as the Lord directed, Paul says that we will be equipped and growing toward spiritual maturity. He writes in verse 14 that we will “no longer be children, tossed to and fro . . . carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”

We are going to be grounded in biblical knowledge and protected from false teaching and deception. Paul writes in verse 15 that we will learn to speak “the truth in love” so that we “grow up in every way unto him who is the head, into Christ.”

Christ is the head of the church. We are going to grow up to be more like Him. Has it ever occurred to you that it is possible for a believer to grow old in the faith but never grow up in the faith? The same thing is true for a local church. It might be old in years but immature in understanding and unity.  

Beloved, if we are growing up, this is what the church will look like—we will be united, growing spiritually, well-fed, well-led, and busy serving one another in love, humility, and unity.