All Called

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. [Ephesians 4.11]

Wow, we have so isolated this verse that we have made "ministry" out to be some separate entity within the Body of Christ. Shame on us!

The context of this verse is pretty much all of chapter 4 - certainly the beginning of chapter 4 up to the point of verse 11. Look at the first verse in chapter 4:

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. [Ephesians 4.1]

Paul is addressing the believers in Ephesus. They are ALL called. And because they are all called, Paul addresses the obvious most important factor of all being called: unity!

Paul is very clear that believers need to patiently work together understanding that our combined efforts equal one ministry. That is what makes us "worthy" of God's calling.

How cool is that?

Father, thank You for Your Word and how it continues to speak to me every day.