What is Christian Ministry?

The Real Meaning and Practice of 'Christian Ministry'

Ephesians 4:11-16 (New King James Version)


11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

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The scriptures above are probably the most neglected and resisted from institutional Christianity as there ever has been. They completely undermine the idea of the Church practices we have seen, for centuries, and put the people of Jesus Christ at the center of what 'ministering' is under the new covenant.

But resistance from the existing priest/pastor clergy system continues, and it will keep on continuing, as the inclusion and acceptance of apostolic and prophetic ministry changes the entire equation ... as long as they're not simply more 'titled' men trying to be part of an institutional clergy. True apostles and prophets could never be.

Christian clergy today, for the most part, can't get past the idea of their being apostles and prophets, let alone being built upon the foundation they lay.

This isn't an article about prophets or apostles though, we can get into that another time. This is an article about ministry, and how ministry is defined in this passage from the scriptures.


Here's a breakdown of how it's said here:


equipping of the saints

for the work of ministry

for the edifying of the body of Christ

till we all come to the unity of the faith

of the knowledge of the Son of God

to a perfect man

to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ

that we should no longer be children

tossed to and fro

carried about with every wind of doctrine

by the trickery of men,

in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,

but, speaking the truth in love,

may grow up in all things into Him who is the head — Christ

from whom the whole body,

joined and knit together by what every joint supplies

according to the effective working by which every part

does its share,

causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

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So what is Christian ministry? It's the saints building one another up.

You see in the above scriptures the goal and result of all that. But it can't be done unless the people of Christ are the ones doing it. You can't get any clearer than that here.

The reason this scripture is ignored and resisted, is the only way this could happen would be for the present practices of Christianity to be abandoned, and a entirely new way of church life come forth.

Sure, there's a place for apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers; it's equipping the saints so the saints can do the work of the ministry.

The saints are to be equipped to do the ministry. How much clearer can that be said?

When's the last time you've seen a body of believers interacting and sharing Christ with one another, building each other up in a building? Not very often, if ever. Sitting looking at the front of an auditorium or building isn't built for it to happen. Rather, a relaxed, home-like atmosphere is the environment which this type of life comes forth.

The point being made here is that the saints of God, the ordinary believer, the people of God, they're the ones who are called to do the ministering.

What is considered the 'ministry' over the centuries, according to the scriptures, really isn't considered ministry at all.

I know you can grab a few scriptures where Paul and others may talk about the ministry, but they're referring to laying a foundation and equipping the saints. That's legitimate.

But the end of that is to have a people of Christ sharing and building up one another when they come together. That will never be done in the type of atmosphere where you have a pulpit or 'altar' set up for the audience to watch.

The saints of God were never meant to be an audience, but the very heart of Christ filling them up with Himself so they can share with one another those very things Christ is doing in them.

As a matter of fact, read the scriptures above, and you'll see that no one can become the things Christ has meant us to be without the body functioning in this way. That's why the body of Christ isn't that way, as listening to a lifetime of sermons from a variety of people was never the intention of God to get His people to grow into Christ.

Only Christ within His people can bring this about. All the things you read from these scriptures come about as the result of a people in an organic expression of Christ toward one another.

Truly, there can't be something practically called the body of Christ unless the individual parts are sharing the life of Christ with one another.

This of course isn't always, or primarily, done through only talking to one another in a group setting (although that is important), it's done through the numerous practical ways we give of ourselves and serve one another as well.

Unless the parts of the body are ministering to one another, there isn't a body; at least in a practical expression. It would be like saying our physical body is a body when most the parts aren't functioning. If that were the case, the body would be dead. And that's the case today with the people of God, as far as it relates to how the scriptures define 'the ministry.'

There is no 'work of the ministry,' unless the members of the body are ministering to one another.

The body won't be edified, unless the members do the edifying.

There won't be a unity of the faith, unless members of the body of Christ are doing their part.

The knowledge of the Son of God, as it relates to fulness, can never be known unless the members of the body show Him forth to one another.

Again, read above what it says, and see that unless the members of the body of Christ are functioning in this way, all that is expressed won't happen.

Every member of the body of Christ is to minister when getting together for a meeting, or when seeing one another on a daily basis. That can't be done under the existing institutional church system that most currently live under.

The many-membered body of Christ functioning one to another is the only way all of this can come about. That is true Christian ministry.

Called to Serve

One of the unfortunate characteristics taken up by some of those that leave the religious system is that, for a number of reasons, they have within them the desire to dominate other believers.

In this article we're not going to get into the reasons, we can do that another time. What we want to do is to center in on what Christ unveiled concerning this issue. And it was an issue.

Remember when James and John asked Jesus if they should call fire down out of heaven on some people? Jesus gave them a strong rebuke and told them that they didn't understand what spirit they were of.

Another time with the two, they had their mother come and ask that one of them be granted to sit at His right hand in the kingdom. 

Here is where Jesus made the simple but gargantuan statement of the difference between the kingdom of God and this world. Here is how He says it in the NIV:

"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to be first must be your slave - Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."

Jesus came to reveal that everything that is of this world has been turned upside down, not He was reversing that.

What's He say? 

The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them - but not so with you. 
They exercise authority over them - not so with you.
If you want to be first - be everyone's slave
The Son of Man didn't come to be served - He came to serve
The Son of Man didn't come to be served - But to give His life

This is the beginning and the end of those who want to dominate; it does not exist in the kingdom of God. I know about those out there who take this and get cute with it. They'll use the same words to do the very opposite of what they say. But these are the foundation of those who are Christ's in this area: not so with you!

That's it! Not so with us. There are no more words to add to or neither are they to be taken away from. 

This is why one of the aspects of the eternal purpose of God is that we all shall know Him from the least to the greatest. The key is that we shall all know Him, that in the end is all that matters for this lifetime and for eternity. 

So when you find those wandering out there looking to be over somebody, just politely send them on their way. Remember the words that John the Baptist spoke: The bride now hears the Bridegroom's voice, now my joy is full. And right after he mentions that, he adds that he must decrease so that Christ could increase. 

That's the only purpose we are to have in this life: to encourage and exhort one another to be in union with Christ directly, not through some false authority that has come between you and God. Christ is the only way to the Father and none other can take you there. Not only in your initial salvation, but also in your continuing walk.