Ephesians 4:12-13
The Priority of Preparation
Introduction:
Do you care about the success of others? Do you like to see others succeed? Or do you resent it? Be honest.
Someday soon we will stand before Jesus Christ. Each of us. And on that day the Bible says Jesus is going to be handing out rewards to those believers who loved Him and served Him faithfully in this life. You don’t believe me, do you? First Corinthians 3:13-15 says, “A man’s work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”
Okay, so, that is one of multiple passages talking about us as Christians being evaluated by Christ. But let me come back to my question in light of this Day of Evaluation: Do you care about the success of your brothers and sisters when they stand before Christ? Does the potential for their reward motivate you in the way you relate to them? It’s one thing to talk about my reward, but, Biblically we should care about others getting their full reward from Christ. In 2 John 8, the Apostle John was concerned about the reward of other Christians when he said, “Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.” He knew what Paul said in 1 Corinthians that Christians could either receive their rewards or suffer the loss of their rewards. John did not want any of his people to lose their reward.
You’re asking yourself, “So what, Pastor? What does this have to do with Ephesians 4?” It has everything to do with Ephesians 4. When Paul says the body builds itself up, it means that we are concerned not only about one another’s spiritual growth, but, we are also concerned about one another’s reward from Christ. I should care about your success as a Christian so that you can receive a rich reward from Christ.
This is one of the most recent realizations I’ve had as a pastor that seriously impacts my ministry. I am not working only for your well-being in this moment. But, looking down the road of life and seeing it run straight into the Judgment seat of the Lord Jesus Christ, I am working for your reward. One of the strongest motivators for me to minister to you is that you would get all the reward you can possibly get on the day you stand before Christ. I want to see you succeed in spiritual things.
Let's look at a couple things related to getting prepared for that day.
#1: Good works require good preparation.
2 for. 9:8, God supplies us with all we need for every good work,
2 Tim 3:16-17, the word equips us for every good work
Ephesians 4:11-12, pastors prepare us for good works
2 Tim 2:21, we prepare ourselves for good works
Eph 2:10, good works prepared for us
Titus 1:16, being unfit for any good work
What strikes me in this passage is the idea that we aren’t already ready for good works. We don’t come “ready-made”. Therefore we need to be made ready. That’s what the word “prepare” in verse 12 means. It’s a word that means to make ready, or to properly equip. We as Christians need to be made ready for the good works God has made ready for us (Eph. 2:10). The word is used only a couple other times in the NT. One of those times is in Matthew 4:21, where it says, “Going from there, Jesus saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets.” Before heading out on the water to do some actual fishing they had to do some necessary preparations of their nets.
I’ve been out on the peer and seen guys fishing. A lot of guys like to use nets to catch bait fish. So you’ll see guys throwing nets over the side and the net spins and opens up like a big wheel and splashes into the water. Using those nets is quite a skill. In order to make a good cast it takes not only practice throwing the net, but, the proper preparation of the net so that it can be thrown correctly. A net with tears is no good. A net with tangles is no good. So as you watch these guys fishing on the peer you’ll see them taking a lot of time inspecting the net, making sure it isn’t tangled, that all the proper points are lined up, and that it is folded in the right way. Once all the preparation is done they take the net and go throw it into the water. ***If there is one thing you can’t do it is simply walk over, pick up a tangled up, hairball mess of fishing net and hurl it over the edge. It won’t open up right, if at all. It will be useless, and won’t do what it’s supposed to do because it hasn’t been made ready for its work.
What are we talking about? Just like nets need to be prepared for fishing, so Christians need preparation for good works. Simply being a Christian doesn’t mean I am ready to be thrown into good works any more than being a net means I’m ready to be thrown into the water. Some attention beforehand is needed. Ephesians 2:10 says God has prepared these works for us. We need to prepare for those works. The most important thing that means is that we are cultivating holiness in our character. In 2 Timothy 2:21 it says, “If a man cleanses himself from unholy and ignoble things, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.” Holiness translates into usefulness. These are holy works and they require an attitude of holiness. We can’t just show up in any ole’ condition. The tasks God has set out for His man are holy, and the man must meet the tasks.
How do we get prepared then? How can I be ready for good works? The answer is in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. Turn there with me. Paul says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, correcting, rebuking and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Thoroughly equipped – thoroughly prepared. I love that verse because it ties together the good works Christians are supposed to do with the good words God has spoken. God’s Word is absolutely indispensable when it comes to getting ready for good works. Unless you are being equipped by God’s word my brothers and sisters you are sorely unprepared for the good works God has prepared for you to do. This reminds us of the point last week that the purpose of the pastor-teacher is to teach, and His teaching has to do with nothing other than the word of God. He teaches the truth of God’s Word. That’s why you see in Ephesians Paul saying things like: “teach the truth in love” (v15); “[you] were taught in Him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus” (4:21); “the belt of truth” (6:14).
If you are not studying personally, then by all means be in Church to hear God’s Word. If you miss a week – and I hope you don’t – then listen online. If you are studying, use the Sermon Study Guides. Get God’s Word. If it costs you all you have, get God’s Word. The worst thing about America is all the households with old Bibles in mint condition.
This year I wanted to put some hanging flower baskets up on our porch. So I went to one of those big flower shops and bought a couple baskets with ivy geraniums just spilling over the basket. They’re big and beautiful. And they came with a little tag that said they needed to be watered every day and fed every week with flower food. In order for flowers to grow and be beautiful, lush, vibrant and healthy, they need to be fed flower food. Christians need food too. We need Christian food. We need food and water to grow spiritually healthy, beautiful, vibrant and strong. We need the pure water of God's Word, and a diet of nutritious Scripture a Christian will grow strong roots and be able to flourish in the seasons of life.
#2: Church growth happens when everyone serves everyone.
We hear a lot about church growth these days. There are conferences, books, blogs, consulting organizations and so on. Everybody wants to grow and everybody wants to be the hottest thing in town. But, you want to know what the key to Church Growth is? It’s right here in verse 12. Read it carefully because it has to do with you. Paul says, “to prepare God’s people [that’s you] for works of service [that’s what you do] so that the body of Christ may be built up”. This says that church growth happens when each of you are serving each other. In verse 7, remember, Paul said that Christ gave each of us a certain kind or amount of grace, and that grace was serving grace. It is grace that enables us to serve and be productive contributors to the well-being of the Body. As each of us serve others, according to the grace we have been given, then the body will be getting built up. It depends on you. Others depend on you.
Illustration: Bo Jackson. Was the finest piece of athletic machinery. He was voted the greatest athlete ever over guys like Michael Jordan…. He played both professional baseball and professional football and was a star in both. He never worked out in a gym yet he ran faster than anyone else: no one could catch him on the football field, he stole bases all the time on the baseball field. He has the record for the 40 yard dash at 4.17 seconds. He he hit the ball farther, he threw the ball farther than anyone. I saw him throw out the speedy Harold Reynolds at home plate – from the warning track 340 feet away. You have to see it to believe it. But one of the greatest sports tragedies occurred when Bo Jackson busted his hip only a few years into his career. He was never the same. The superstar athlete set to break all sorts of records and become the most legendary athlete in history was sidelined for good.
You’re saying so what’s the point? The point is that if the body is going to be function exceptionally, every part has to be working and working with all the other parts. Bo Jackson’s biceps worked great. His thighs were still as good as they ever were. His mind was sharp. His core was strong. Everything on Bo Jackson was in superior shape. Except one thing. His hip. His hip kept him from becoming all that he ever could have been. It didn’t matter that everything else worked fine, his hip held up the whole rest of the body from doing what it was supposed to do. Each part of Bo Jackson's body matters, and, each part of the Body of Christ matters. If one part isn't working, it keeps the whole Body from doing what it could do. The whole Body needs the whole Body. That's the way it is designed.
The Priority of Preparation
Introduction:
Do you care about the success of others? Do you like to see others succeed? Or do you resent it? Be honest.
Someday soon we will stand before Jesus Christ. Each of us. And on that day the Bible says Jesus is going to be handing out rewards to those believers who loved Him and served Him faithfully in this life. You don’t believe me, do you? First Corinthians 3:13-15 says, “A man’s work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”
Okay, so, that is one of multiple passages talking about us as Christians being evaluated by Christ. But let me come back to my question in light of this Day of Evaluation: Do you care about the success of your brothers and sisters when they stand before Christ? Does the potential for their reward motivate you in the way you relate to them? It’s one thing to talk about my reward, but, Biblically we should care about others getting their full reward from Christ. In 2 John 8, the Apostle John was concerned about the reward of other Christians when he said, “Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.” He knew what Paul said in 1 Corinthians that Christians could either receive their rewards or suffer the loss of their rewards. John did not want any of his people to lose their reward.
You’re asking yourself, “So what, Pastor? What does this have to do with Ephesians 4?” It has everything to do with Ephesians 4. When Paul says the body builds itself up, it means that we are concerned not only about one another’s spiritual growth, but, we are also concerned about one another’s reward from Christ. I should care about your success as a Christian so that you can receive a rich reward from Christ.
This is one of the most recent realizations I’ve had as a pastor that seriously impacts my ministry. I am not working only for your well-being in this moment. But, looking down the road of life and seeing it run straight into the Judgment seat of the Lord Jesus Christ, I am working for your reward. One of the strongest motivators for me to minister to you is that you would get all the reward you can possibly get on the day you stand before Christ. I want to see you succeed in spiritual things.
Let's look at a couple things related to getting prepared for that day.
#1: Good works require good preparation.
2 for. 9:8, God supplies us with all we need for every good work,
2 Tim 3:16-17, the word equips us for every good work
Ephesians 4:11-12, pastors prepare us for good works
2 Tim 2:21, we prepare ourselves for good works
Eph 2:10, good works prepared for us
Titus 1:16, being unfit for any good work
What strikes me in this passage is the idea that we aren’t already ready for good works. We don’t come “ready-made”. Therefore we need to be made ready. That’s what the word “prepare” in verse 12 means. It’s a word that means to make ready, or to properly equip. We as Christians need to be made ready for the good works God has made ready for us (Eph. 2:10). The word is used only a couple other times in the NT. One of those times is in Matthew 4:21, where it says, “Going from there, Jesus saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets.” Before heading out on the water to do some actual fishing they had to do some necessary preparations of their nets.
I’ve been out on the peer and seen guys fishing. A lot of guys like to use nets to catch bait fish. So you’ll see guys throwing nets over the side and the net spins and opens up like a big wheel and splashes into the water. Using those nets is quite a skill. In order to make a good cast it takes not only practice throwing the net, but, the proper preparation of the net so that it can be thrown correctly. A net with tears is no good. A net with tangles is no good. So as you watch these guys fishing on the peer you’ll see them taking a lot of time inspecting the net, making sure it isn’t tangled, that all the proper points are lined up, and that it is folded in the right way. Once all the preparation is done they take the net and go throw it into the water. ***If there is one thing you can’t do it is simply walk over, pick up a tangled up, hairball mess of fishing net and hurl it over the edge. It won’t open up right, if at all. It will be useless, and won’t do what it’s supposed to do because it hasn’t been made ready for its work.
What are we talking about? Just like nets need to be prepared for fishing, so Christians need preparation for good works. Simply being a Christian doesn’t mean I am ready to be thrown into good works any more than being a net means I’m ready to be thrown into the water. Some attention beforehand is needed. Ephesians 2:10 says God has prepared these works for us. We need to prepare for those works. The most important thing that means is that we are cultivating holiness in our character. In 2 Timothy 2:21 it says, “If a man cleanses himself from unholy and ignoble things, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.” Holiness translates into usefulness. These are holy works and they require an attitude of holiness. We can’t just show up in any ole’ condition. The tasks God has set out for His man are holy, and the man must meet the tasks.
How do we get prepared then? How can I be ready for good works? The answer is in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. Turn there with me. Paul says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, correcting, rebuking and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Thoroughly equipped – thoroughly prepared. I love that verse because it ties together the good works Christians are supposed to do with the good words God has spoken. God’s Word is absolutely indispensable when it comes to getting ready for good works. Unless you are being equipped by God’s word my brothers and sisters you are sorely unprepared for the good works God has prepared for you to do. This reminds us of the point last week that the purpose of the pastor-teacher is to teach, and His teaching has to do with nothing other than the word of God. He teaches the truth of God’s Word. That’s why you see in Ephesians Paul saying things like: “teach the truth in love” (v15); “[you] were taught in Him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus” (4:21); “the belt of truth” (6:14).
If you are not studying personally, then by all means be in Church to hear God’s Word. If you miss a week – and I hope you don’t – then listen online. If you are studying, use the Sermon Study Guides. Get God’s Word. If it costs you all you have, get God’s Word. The worst thing about America is all the households with old Bibles in mint condition.
This year I wanted to put some hanging flower baskets up on our porch. So I went to one of those big flower shops and bought a couple baskets with ivy geraniums just spilling over the basket. They’re big and beautiful. And they came with a little tag that said they needed to be watered every day and fed every week with flower food. In order for flowers to grow and be beautiful, lush, vibrant and healthy, they need to be fed flower food. Christians need food too. We need Christian food. We need food and water to grow spiritually healthy, beautiful, vibrant and strong. We need the pure water of God's Word, and a diet of nutritious Scripture a Christian will grow strong roots and be able to flourish in the seasons of life.
#2: Church growth happens when everyone serves everyone.
We hear a lot about church growth these days. There are conferences, books, blogs, consulting organizations and so on. Everybody wants to grow and everybody wants to be the hottest thing in town. But, you want to know what the key to Church Growth is? It’s right here in verse 12. Read it carefully because it has to do with you. Paul says, “to prepare God’s people [that’s you] for works of service [that’s what you do] so that the body of Christ may be built up”. This says that church growth happens when each of you are serving each other. In verse 7, remember, Paul said that Christ gave each of us a certain kind or amount of grace, and that grace was serving grace. It is grace that enables us to serve and be productive contributors to the well-being of the Body. As each of us serve others, according to the grace we have been given, then the body will be getting built up. It depends on you. Others depend on you.
Illustration: Bo Jackson. Was the finest piece of athletic machinery. He was voted the greatest athlete ever over guys like Michael Jordan…. He played both professional baseball and professional football and was a star in both. He never worked out in a gym yet he ran faster than anyone else: no one could catch him on the football field, he stole bases all the time on the baseball field. He has the record for the 40 yard dash at 4.17 seconds. He he hit the ball farther, he threw the ball farther than anyone. I saw him throw out the speedy Harold Reynolds at home plate – from the warning track 340 feet away. You have to see it to believe it. But one of the greatest sports tragedies occurred when Bo Jackson busted his hip only a few years into his career. He was never the same. The superstar athlete set to break all sorts of records and become the most legendary athlete in history was sidelined for good.
You’re saying so what’s the point? The point is that if the body is going to be function exceptionally, every part has to be working and working with all the other parts. Bo Jackson’s biceps worked great. His thighs were still as good as they ever were. His mind was sharp. His core was strong. Everything on Bo Jackson was in superior shape. Except one thing. His hip. His hip kept him from becoming all that he ever could have been. It didn’t matter that everything else worked fine, his hip held up the whole rest of the body from doing what it was supposed to do. Each part of Bo Jackson's body matters, and, each part of the Body of Christ matters. If one part isn't working, it keeps the whole Body from doing what it could do. The whole Body needs the whole Body. That's the way it is designed.
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