Equipping the Saints

	God's work prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,   Purpose equipping of the saints for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ   Duration we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
Training equips Christians so that each one can take part in serving the body of Christ. The equipping servant leaders of the local church must purpose themselves to enabling all of God's people to more effectively minister to others.

Solutions begin by equipping God's people to serve !

Equipping the Saints

Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, has highlighted the role of certain gifted men in the church. They are to equip the saints so that they can do the work of service in building up the body of Christ.

Remember this does not just refer to the ministry of evangelism. Paul is speaking of using spiritual gifts, prayer, giving, and all acts of love to accomplish His purposes. The teaching of truth brings about the right responses in God's people.

By truth we do not mean mere intellectual truth or simple historical facts. The Lord sanctifies His people by the truth about His person and ways. By revealing these things to His people, they can be released from different forms of bondage (such as doubt and fears). Once free, they can then focus on doing what is right. We are not just to teach the Bible facts but enable our students to encounter God through our studies.

"And take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Ephesians 6:17)

We need to ask a few questions to help us think more clearly here. What is the 'mature man' that Paul speaks of like? If we say that the road to maturity is 0 to 100, where are you at? What about those in the congregation where you attend? How do those people get to be like Christ? Is that what is happening in the churches around you?

Let's take a closer look at how we have been doing in our own churches.      Next