ACTS 29 TODAY

coming to the knowledge of the TRUTH

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He Gave Gifts to All Men

So let’s go back now to Ephesians 4 to take a closer look

at God’s design for the working of the Body of Christ. It

will help us understand the role of diversities of

tongues in God’s government.

(He [Jesus] that descended is the same also that

ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all

things.)

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:

Till 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 stature of the fullness of Christ.

— Ephesians 4:10-13

During the ’80s, I sat under a lot of teaching on this

passage of Scripture. This is how I was taught: Jesus

ascended on high, and He gave the five fold ministry

offices as a gift to the Church. For what purpose? For

the perfecting of the saints so that each and every

believer can do the work of the ministry, which then

brings edification to the Body of Christ.

Does this interpretation sound familiar? Well, I’ll tell

you what this teaching did for us ministers: Almost

everywhere we went to minister, the congregations

treated us as if we were the President of the United

States!

 

I must admit that I didn’t mind riding the wave of all

that glory, especially in my more carnal early years. I

enjoyed the fire out of it! At camp meetings, we

ministers would be introduced something like this:

“Jesus ascended on high, led captivity captive, and gave

gifts unto men. And now let’s welcome one of those gifts

to the Body of Christ — evangelist and teacher

Dave Roberson!”

Somewhere deep inside, a thought lurked that I didn’t

even articulate to myself: You poor little peasants. I was

singled out as a special gift to you for your maturing so

you could do the work of the ministry for the edifying

of the Body of Christ. But the whole reason you’re being

edified and matured is the great gift that resides down

on the inside of me.I began to think I was something

special. (Thank God, since then He has healed me of

that unhealthy attitude!)

I could always tell which churches had received the

governmental teaching on “gifts to the Body of Christ,”

because I was always treated very respectfully in those

churches. For instance, I have had a Rolls Royce

assigned to me for my transportation and a man put on

duty in the room next to mine just in case I got a whim

at two o’clock in the morning for an ice cream cone! I

would be lying to you if I said I didn’t like that kind of

treatment.

But some of us ministers began to expect that kind of

special treatment as our God-given right. If everything

in the hotel room wasn’t just right, we wanted to

complain. “Where is my‘ super-duper’ fruit basket?

Where is the guy who is supposed to be in the next

room, just waiting to drive me to the meeting?” I can

remember feeling insulted if the host church didn’t

have a car parked in front immediately after the

service so I could go out and get in it!

My wife was the first one to really recognize my wrong

attitude. One evening Rosalie and I were riding in the

elevator, and someone attending the camp meeting

spouted out to me above the heads of the people, “Boy,

the other ministers ought to hear you teach!” I replied

sourly, “Yeah, if they hung around long enough, they

would.” My wife caught the prideful attitude behind my

response and took me to task about it later.

But, you see, the teaching I was receiving on God’s

government wasn’t helping my attitude.Every time I

heard Ephesians 4 taught that way, my head would get a

little fatter as I became a little more convinced that I

was a special gift to the Body. Thank God, if we keep

praying in the Holy Ghost and speaking mysteries to the

Father, He will straighten us out!

God sent me for a long run on a short rope and jerked

the slack out of me regarding my wrong, prideful

attitude. He revealed to my spirit the role that the other

operations — including diversities of tongues — play in

His government. I was so shocked when I first

understood what He was saying. I said, “Oh, Lord, You

weren’t exalting us ministers at all!”

You see, it’s good to give honor where honor is due and

to show respect to a minister of the Gospel. But if you

think that his calling is more honored than yours, think

again. God is no respecter of persons. You are also a

precious gift to the Body of Christ! Whatever your

calling or office, it is every bit as important as a

minister’s calling in God’s eyes. You should be treated

with just as much respect as any minister is shown.

So in context, Paul is referring to the entire Body of

Christ in First Corinthians 12:27. Then in verse 28, Paul

says, And God hath set some in the church….He goes on

to list all eight operations of God. Just as in Ephesians

4:11, he begins with the five fold ministry.

Then he goes on to list helps, governments, and

diversities of tongues. You see, when Jesus ascended on

high, He presented His shed blood to the Father for the

redemption of mankind, sat down at the right hand of

the Father, and said, “It is finished.” Then He began to

fill all in all — the entire Body of Christ — with His gifts.

WELL I AM FULL UP, SO STAY TUNED WE ARE JUST GETTING STARTED, THERE IS SOOOOO MUCH MORE TO COME ON THE VITAL ROLE OF PRAYING IN TONGUES.

UNTIL NEXT TIME;]

AMBASSADOR / SERVANT

LARRY