Ephesians 4:11-16 ESV
“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
We are All Necessary to the Whole Body
I, a 72 year old female, am a teacher of the Word of God. I
began teaching at the age of 16, teaching only children, at first. Later on I
began to teach women, and that is who I primarily taught until the Lord called
me to this present ministry. Now, I am not a teacher of men, and I have no
authority over men, but since my ministry now is in writing what the Lord
teaches me from his word each day, and to place it on the internet, there are
some men who, by choice, do read what the Lord gives me to write.
But, as you will notice in this passage of Scripture, it
speaks of the whole body (male and female), joined and held together by EVERY
JOINT with which it is equipped, that when EACH PART is working properly it makes
the whole body grow so that it builds itself up in love. We are all necessary
to the proper working of the whole body. And we are all necessary to the body,
as a whole, growing to maturity in Christ and not being tossed here and there
by various winds of doctrine taught by men in their deceitful scheming.
I agree that women should not be pastors of church
fellowships, that they should not be in positions of authority over men nor
should they teach men in a position of authority to where they can exercise
church discipline over men, unless there are no men qualified biblically to
fill the position. But God gifted women equally with men in spiritual gifts for
the common good, and not one part of the body is to say to another part, “We
have no need of you.” And the Scriptures teach that both men and women will
prophesy, which is meant for the body for their encouragement in their walks of
faith.
The Body of Christ Working Together
And then read all the Scriptures that teach how we are to
operate together as the body of Christ. We are to encourage one another, and we
are to exhort one another in the faith, and we are to speak the truth in love,
one to the other, so that we can all grow up to maturity in Christ, and so none
of us will be carried away by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness
in deceitful schemes. And we are all necessary to the proper working of the
body, so don’t shut out your women. Make a place for them to encourage the rest
of the body with what the Lord is teaching them.
Yes, I am well aware of the passages of Scripture which
teach on the silence of women in the church, but those passages must be
understood in the cultural context of that day, in the context of where they
were then in history, and in the context of the passages themselves, and in
comparison with all Scripture and what it teaches regarding women and their
roles within the body of Christ (1) (2) (3). We are all necessary to the proper
working of the body of Christ to bring her to maturity in Christ.
And we need to look at how Jesus treated women, and how he
used women to be the first to spread the Good News of his resurrection, and how
he used a woman to spread the Good News to the men of her town, and how he gave
honor to the woman who washed his feet with her tears and who dried them with
her hair, and how he chided the man for not doing for him what the woman did (John
20:11-18; John 4:1-42; Luke 7:36-50).
Spiritual Condition of Today’s Church
And there are many men today within the church who are not
living the Christian life and many who are living in adultery, including a
large number of pastors. The churches are loaded with men who have degrees and
who are ordained in their denominations but who are not teaching the truth of
the gospel, for they are not living the truth. Many of them are addicted to
pornography and to other forms of sexual immorality, and so they are not
leading their congregations to moral purity and walks of obedience to God.
And so God is using women, in some cases, to do what the men
should be doing but are not doing (Luke 7:36-50), and he is honoring these
women because they are willing to obey the Lord. Hey, if the Lord can use a
donkey to speak to a false prophet, certainly he can use women to speak forth
his messages in these trying days when so many of our men have fallen by the
wayside, and when so many men of “the cloth” are not teaching the truth but
they are giving their followers carte blanche to keep living in their sins.
Many people today are making professions of faith in Jesus
Christ who are not living what they profess. It is kind of like the Johnny Cash
song, ‘I Walk the Line,’ which was supposedly a commitment of fidelity to his
first wife but while he was messing around with another woman who then became
his wife 12 years later, I think it was. They say they love Jesus and that he
is their Lord and Savior, but then they live in sexual immorality and idolatry
and adultery against God and their spouses. And many pastors are giving them
the go ahead to live that way while promising them heaven when they die.
So, we need all of us (male and female) working together as
one body to speak the truth in love one to another, and to expose the fruitless
deeds of darkness for what they are, and to proclaim the truth of the gospel in
opposition to the lies which are being spread today in the name of God’s grace.
For the church is on a massive moral and spiritual decline and many people are
being led astray, and many of our pastors are not walking the walk and are not
teaching the truth, and the days are evil. Who will go?
[Ac. 2:42-47; Rom 6:1-23; Rom
8:1-17; Rom 12:1-8; 1 Co 3:9,16-17; 1 Co 6:19-20; 1 Co. 12:1-31; 2 Co 5:1; 2 Co 6:14-16; Eph 1:4,22;
Eph 2:19-22; Eph 4:1-32; Eph 5:17-30; Col
1:18-24; Col 2:19; Col 3:12-16; 2 Tim 1:9; 2 Tim 2:21; 1 Pet 1:13-16; 1 Pet
2:4-9; Titus 2:11-14; Heb 3:13; Lu 9:23-26; Jude
1:20-21; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
I
Will Lift My Eyes
An
Original Work / December 12, 2012
Based
off Psalms 121-125
I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.
My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.
He will not let your foot slip, and He who watches will not
sleep.
Our Lord watches over you, and your life He will keep.
I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.
My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.
I give thanks to Him.
I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.
I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n.
Because of His great love for us, He made us alive with
Christ.
Through the kindness of our Savior, He gave us new life.
I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.
I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n;
My home, now in heav’n.
Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.
Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.
Those who trust will ne’er be shaken. God will supply all we
need.
Our Lord has done great things for us. He’s our friend,
indeed!
Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.
Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.
I can count on Him.
(1)
https://runwithit.blog/2019/08/04/women-in-ministry/
(2)
https://runwithit.blog/2019/05/12/honoring-of-women/
(3)
https://runwithit.blog/2020/09/20/faithful-to-his-design/
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