Ephesians 4:1-16
In May 2010, a consultation was organized in Plovdiv on the problems of church growth in Bulgaria, its aim being to seek responsible ways forward in the light of the challenges of our day. Presentations were given by various leading workers from missions, churches, and educational institutions in Bulgaria — Sarah Hewitt from “Solid Foundation,” Pastor Ivan Vrachev from “Holy Trinity” church, Kostadin Vladev from the Pentecostal Faculty, Spaska Pancheva from “Bible League,” and others. The symbolic host of the event was Tanya Petrova, former rector of the Higher Evangelical Theological Institute. The gathering registered an enormous decline in the progress of God’s work in Bulgaria. The statistics are staggering. Over the past several years, 300 churches have ceased to function. Believers among the Turkish communities have fallen from 10,000 to 4,000. A decline is even noticeable among the Roma, who turn out to be the most steadily growing group of evangelical believers in the country. Among others, Pastor Ivan Vrachev spoke on the subject, and he turned our gaze away from the statistics and the scholarly explanations to Ephesians 4:1-16, where, in his view, the Apostle Paul gives us the biblical model for a healthy church. Analyzing this text and sharing part of his valuable pastoral experience, Pastor Vrachev outlined four characteristics of a healthy church. I think they are exceptionally important and relevant for the times in which we live. That is why I want to share them with you, adding to Pastor Vrachev’s thoughts some reflections of my own on the theme.
THE HEALTHY CHURCH IS A UNITED CHURCH — vv.1-6
A healthy church could not be inwardly divided and full of hidden tensions.
1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:1-6)
Here the Apostle Paul calls us to live and to conduct ourselves in a way that matches our heavenly “calling.” And what is that calling? “Fellow citizens with the saints,” “members of God’s household,” “a holy temple to the Lord.” We are part of something holy, something heavenly, something divine, something real, something living — and we have the responsibility to live as the people we already are. Love and peace are the bond between us as living stones who, in Christ, “are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22). You see, the church is not the building. The church is us — the people redeemed through the precious blood of the Lord to make up His body.
And notice, we are not called to create unity among ourselves, but to keep the unity that we already have. It is given to us as a starting point, as a reality that rests on the unity of the Trinity. Since there is only one Father (a Heavenly Father), there is only one family. Since there is only one Lord Jesus Christ, there is only one faith, only one hope, and only one baptism. Since there is only one Holy Spirit, there is only one body. So there is no need for us to build unity. We have unity, and it is perfect, sevenfold.
- One body — the church of the born again;
- One Spirit — the Holy Spirit;
- One hope — the blessed hope of the resurrection from the dead and eternal life;
- One Lord — Jesus Christ;
- One faith — the Christian faith;
- One baptism — in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit;
- One God and Father — there is no other God besides Him.
This is the basis of the unity between believers and the unity between the churches that preach the crucified and risen Christ. Seven are the things that bind us together, and only one is the one who wants to divide us — Satan. He is the one who “stirs up conflict in the community” (Proverbs 6:19); he is the one who is “the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night” (Revelation 12:10); he is the one who “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). But when we resist him, he flees from us!
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)
So we do not need to create unity, but we do have the need and the responsibility to keep it. How is unity kept? “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Keeping unity requires effort, character, yielding, acceptance, forgiveness — all of them qualities of Christian character that we must build up within ourselves. It also includes genuine fellowship among believers. Unity must be held fast with the “bond of peace.”
By the way, it was noted at the consultation that one of the reasons certain churches cease to exist is division and conflict, together with a lack of maturity and of established procedures for resolving them. The greatest enemy of the unity of the Spirit is the insufficiently renewed and sanctified character of both the believers and the leaders in the church.
Spiritual unity requires not only keeping but also genuine and effective fellowship among believers. We cannot speak of unity in the Spirit if the church lacks real and wholesome fellowship among believers. It is no secret that a great many new churches start out of bitterness and division.
Pastor Vrachev shared how, at the beginning of their church, many believers who had been wounded by other believers joined them. Around that time a friend of his, a believer since childhood, confided to him with pain: “All pastors talk about love, but there is no such thing. I have never seen a thing like love in the church.” Those words stung him in the heart, and so, right from the start of their church, they set their ambition on living in love and made the decision that for them relationships would always be more important than activities. Their motto was: “Relationships are more important than activities.” In other words, whatever we do for the Lord, however many useful things we accomplish, whatever ministries we develop, if in the process we leave behind us wounded people, then all of it is emptied of meaning. Even at the risk of not being able to achieve all we might wish, we ought to make relationships a priority over accomplishments, because God’s Word says that this is how they will know we are Christ’s disciples — if we have love among ourselves.
35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:35)
And here we meet yet another challenge — to deal with the tendency toward alienation that is entering more and more into our society and culture. The Lord Himself said that in the last days the love of most would grow cold (Matthew 24:12). And we see how modern man becomes ever more cut off from others, ever more of an individualist, ever more of an egoist. Modern technology, the internet, and television contribute even more to this degrading process. We become ever more disconnected and ever more separated from one another. And Pastor Vrachev said that they still have not found a solution to this problem in their church.
Further on in the text, the Apostle Paul begins to deal with growth. But he does not begin to speak of growth before he has laid the foundation of unity. You see, unity is the precondition for growth. Without unity there is no growth. Without unity there is only ruin and destruction. That is why Satan attacks us precisely there. Irritation, talking behind one another’s backs, grumbling — these are Satan’s weapons. May God give us the discernment to recognize them and the strength to neutralize them, because without unity there is no growth.
If we look at the history of our own church up to this point, we will see that whenever we have been united, we have succeeded. And conversely, whenever Satan has managed to set us against one another in some way, God’s work has suffered. So let us resolve to be united — harmonious and knit together — for only in this way will we be able to grow and to bring glory to God. Because in the end everything is for His glory. Amen.
THE HEALTHY CHURCH DISCERNS THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS OF ITS MEMBERS — vv.7-11
7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.” 9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, (Ephesians 4:7-11)
This is one of the several texts in the New Testament that speak of spiritual gifts and ministries. God does not expect us to serve Him with our own strength. He wants us to serve Him with the gifts that He Himself gives us.
A healthy church helps the believers within it to discover their gifts and to begin to serve according to them. A healthy church builds up local leaders who are able to train others as well. That is why we insist that everyone discover his gift and his ministry and begin to serve in the church according to them. This ministry is not a person’s own; it belongs to God.
There are surveys which, on the basis of questions that identify what it is that motivates us, can point us toward what our gifts are. If anyone would like such a survey, let him call me and I will help him discover his gifts. But a person should not wait. For gifts are seen to a large degree by a person’s fruit. For example, if someone has the gift of leading, then behind him there will be people who follow him. If someone has the gift of planting churches, then he will already have planted several. So do not wait to discover your gift first and only then begin to serve God. Surrender to Him, dedicate yourself to Him, and get involved in the ministry that has need, and God will gradually reveal to you what your gift is.
THE HEALTHY CHURCH MOTIVATES ALL BELIEVERS TO SERVE — v.12
12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up (Ephesians 4:12)
The first thing we see here is that the growth of the church is a shared responsibility. It is not the responsibility only of the pastor, not the responsibility only of the spiritual council. The grace and the gifts that Christ has given us for ministry are for all. It does not say “to some of us.” It says “to each one of us”… “to each one of us”! Of course, the measure differs. To one more is given, to another less. But for this we cannot be angry with anyone, because the measure is not determined by any human being, but by the Lord Jesus Himself. He is the one who gives the gifts. He is the one who determines the measure. But either way, there is a gift for everyone. There are instructors who teach us Christ’s doctrine and lead us toward unity of the faith, but the work of growth itself is done by all.
Ministry is the responsibility of all believers, not of a particular professional clergy. The pastor and the other leaders are responsible to equip all the saints in the church for the work of ministry — that is, the ministry is carried out by all believers. Christ supplies the parts, but when each part, each believer, does his own work in his own place, then the whole church grows. That is why we say that a healthy church motivates all the believers within it to take up their responsibility and their burden for the work of ministry.
It is tragic when the pastor and the spiritual council do the work in the church while the others simply sit in their chairs or their pews and do nothing — or, what is worse, grumble and complain about what the more active ones in the church are doing. Such a mistaken notion was perhaps created when the church was divided into priests and laity, clergy and parishioners. But if the laity or the parishioners in the church are passive, then how can we expect growth and development? This limits the church to the potential of only one or a few people. But one or a few people cannot do anything. That is why, in my view, this understanding is mistaken.
But let us compare it with God’s Word. In this passage that we read, what do we see? The source of growth is God, but who produces it? The apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, and the teachers? No. They teach the saints the work of ministry. And who are the saints? Every single part of the body. The saints are the laity or the parishioners in the church. They are the ones who produce the growth of the church through their ministry. The apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, and the teachers only teach them how to serve God better. Believers must take up their responsibility and their burden in the work of ministry, since they are parts of the body. If in our body there is a part that does not work, a surgeon must intervene — that is, that part must be removed. In the local church all the parts must work. A part that does not work for the body condemns itself to being removed from the body. Experience shows that the group most at risk of falling away from the faith is the group of inactive, non-functioning, non-serving Christians. All believers must take part in the work of ministry, not only because we are all parts of the body, but also because we are all priests of our Lord. The New Testament is full of verses that speak of what we are to do “to one another” or “with one another.” Romans 15:14 is an exceptionally telling verse in this respect. Here the Apostle Paul turns not to the pastor, not to the spiritual council, but to all the believers, to the whole church:
14 I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. (Romans 15:14)
So the instructing, the upholding of a church is the responsibility of the whole body — including those who are not pastors, not deacons, not on the spiritual council, who have no theological education, and so on.
Let us take as an example the visiting of the sick or of elderly people who cannot come to church. Is it only the pastor who should visit them? Yes, he undoubtedly should visit the people of his church, but is it only he? Or again, when someone has a need, is it only the pastor who should pray for him? Is only his prayer heard?
If, with regard to the unity of the church, the challenges we face are the unrenewed Christian characters and alienation, then with regard to ministry, the challenges we run up against are busyness, weariness, and the unwillingness to serve. Busyness and weariness from the daily grind lead believers toward spiritual passivity. The general tendency — on the local level as well as the national and international — is that more and more active believers, believers who in the past were active and very engaged in God’s work, established believers, are moving to an ever more passive position. Fewer and fewer are the people who carry permanent responsibility. There are still people ready to serve, but only if they “have free time,” if they “are not tired,” can they get something done for the Lord. More and more people say: “I’m busy, I can’t, I have no time, business, work, family… and so on.” This is a very serious problem.
Believers today not only have no desire to serve God, but they have no desire even to attend church regularly. More and more, a model of one service a week is taking hold. In the past the term “Sunday Christians” was something insulting, but today this is increasingly establishing itself as a prevailing, generally accepted model of Christian life. This is something we must fight against and rise up against with all our strength and all our means.
THE HEALTHY CHURCH IS A GROWING CHURCH — vv.13-16
13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:13-16)
A healthy church is a growing church. Just as a child, if it is healthy, grows, so too a local church, if it is healthy, will grow. That is why our focus must be on quality rather than on quantity, because quality Christianity reproduces itself and grows in numbers. Spiritual growth produces numerical and geographical growth; that is why our focus must be above all on the quality of our faith and of our life with God.
What are the goals of growth? “Unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God,” “mature manhood,” “the measure and stature of the fullness of Christ.” That is why the church must place emphasis both on the teaching of God’s Word and on prayer and worship. Because if through the teaching of God’s Word we grow in knowledge about God, then through prayer and worship we arrive at the kind of personal relationship with God that helps us to know God Himself personally.
Do you grasp the sequence in the text? This is Christ’s plan for the growth of the church. At the highest level is Christ Himself. He is the head of the church. He is the source of growth. He is the one who gives the church its instructors. He is the one who binds us into one. He is the one who gives grace to each one of us.
At the second level are the instructors in the body — the fivefold ministry: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. They are the ones who prepare us for ministry and who coordinate our actions. Their aim is to prepare the church for ministry, to challenge believers toward maturing, to bring us to unity of the faith and to maturity. Unity of the faith and maturity, in turn, will make us unshakable by the winds of deception and will strengthen us so that we can work for the growth of the body.
At the third level are all the rest in the body — the saints, who do the work of ministry, all the individual parts and joints in the body, who, under the guidance of the instructors, act according to their gifts in order to produce the growth of the body, so that this body may reveal God on the earth.
Pastor Vrachev shared that in their church they want there to be a “thirst for learning.” That is why they have an established discipleship program, called “Life in Development,” which operates on four levels.
- First level — a course for seekers and new people (something like an Alpha course) — they have titled it “Getting Acquainted with Christ.”
- Second level — a course for new believers or for church membership — “New Life in Christ.”
- Third level — a course for growing into maturity — “Growing in Christ.”
- Fourth level — for those serving in the church — “Serving Christ.”
Besides this, he mentioned that a large percentage of their young people go through the Bible schools ORA International and ICI — Global University, and many of them continue their education at the Higher Evangelical Theological Institute, which has opened a study center in Plovdiv — all of which provides a solid base for growth in knowledge and competent service to God.
We may not have all these resources and study programs, but even so we must devote ourselves to discipleship. It encourages us to grow in Christ’s teaching to the point where we can reproduce ourselves. For how does the body grow? Through the division of cells, through the reproduction of one cell into another. All of this corresponds to our own mission:
We have devoted ourselves
to LEAD people to God,
to ESTABLISH them in the faith,
and to EQUIP them for ministry,
by investing ourselves in them,
by motivating and supporting them
to REPRODUCE
into many generations
of FOLLOWERS of Christ.
What is the challenge with regard to our spiritual growth? The challenge is to deal with the tendency toward degradation that is observed today. In Hebrews 5:11-12 we read words that are very relevant today:
11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! (Hebrews 5:11-12)
You see, God desires that we grow from children into adults, and yet from children we are turning into babies! We are moving in the opposite direction — instead of progress, we suffer regress. Instead of growing, we shrink; instead of developing, we degrade… That is why we must repent, exert ourselves, and change direction!
In conclusion, I would say that the growth of the church in Bulgaria depends on the growth of each one of us individually. We cannot change the external factors, we cannot change others, we cannot change the times, but with the help of the Holy Spirit we can change ourselves. So let each one of us ask himself the following questions:
- Do I live in love? Am I a peacemaker? Am I a peacemaker, or do I become an instrument of division in Satan’s hand? Am I patient with others? Am I inclined to forgive, or do I hold unforgiveness and bitterness in my heart?
- Have I understood what my spiritual gifts are, and do I serve according to them?
- Am I carrying out my ministry, or have I left it to the “professionals”? Do I serve others, or am I only the object of their service? Do I work for the body, or do I work for myself? Do I work for the “hive,” or have I become a spiritual “drone”?
- Am I growing spiritually? Am I training myself in the knowledge of God and in good works? Am I reproducing myself in other disciples and helping them to reproduce in others? Or have I abandoned the spiritual disciplines and let myself go and become a nominal Christian?
I believe that if each one of us answers these questions and gives himself to ministry and spiritual growth, the church in Bulgaria will stop shrinking and will begin to grow. Because a healthy church is not a church that has no problems, but a church that is united, serving, and growing.