Holy Scriptures and Israel

Gideon Levytam: The study of Ephesians chapter 4. And I say, I'm just a member of the church. I'm going to come, I'm going to sit down, and I'm going to go every Sabbath or every Sunday or every Wednesday or whatever it is. We're going to come, we're going to listen. He's going to do the job and I am going to just carry on. I'm just a member. I'm going to heaven. Hallelujah.

But the Bible doesn't teach that, beloved brothers and sisters. The Bible says the gifted men were given for the equipping of the believers so that they in turn will do the work of the ministry. You want to see a healthy local church? You will see the brothers and sisters doing the work of the ministry. Of course, we do it with the leadership in mind, but to do the work of the ministry.

I don't need to wait for so-called Brother So-and-So to make that phone call for a discouraged sister. I don't need to wait for another person so I will make a visit. If I am a healthy believer that is growing and equipped with the things of the Lord, I myself take the initiative to take the responsibility. What a blessing it is to see.

Can you imagine that the right hand on your body will say, "You know what? I'm not doing anything until I get some instruction and somebody's going to do it. You know, I'm just there as a member. I don't need to be used as much." Can you imagine if you're not going to use your right hand in your function of the day-by-day living? Can you imagine? Try to do everything with the left hand. Same thing with your legs. Try to go places without your legs functioning properly.

No wonder many, many places, the assembly, the church is breaking down. Why? Because we depend on one man to do everything. And this is a mistake. It's not Bible. It's not what the Scripture teaches. The Scripture teaches in verse 12, "For the perfecting, maturing of the saints, so that they in turn will do the work of the ministry."

And the ministry is so large, brothers and sisters. Who can fathom the needs that exist among the people of God? So many discouragements, so many things that are going on among the people of God, so many breakdowns existing, and the people of God need to be built and edified. Can you imagine if the Lord can use us all in that work of the ministry? So we will be members that are moving and used by the Lord. That's beautiful to see that.

I wanted you to notice Peter wrote in 1 Peter chapter 4. It says in verse 10, "As every man has received the gift, even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." We all received gifts. We all have been instructed. We all are to use our gifts, being faithful or good stewards of the manifold grace of God, ministering the same one to another.

It is said when in certain places you only can pray when you've got to go to this clergy somewhere and he is the one who's going to pray for me. Otherwise, we can't pray or we can't move. That's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches us that we are to do the work of the ministry after we have been edified and built up by the gifted men that God had raised among His own people.

But now notice that. It's not only for the perfecting of the saint. It's not only that the saints will do the work of the ministry. But thirdly, it says in verse 12c, "It is for the edification of the body of Messiah." Now, hear the word edification. This is encouraging to stir us up, to ask ourselves the question: when I serve the Lord in one area or another, is the purpose of my heart to edify others?

If somebody leaves me after a conversation, was he or she edified, built up, or was he or she being torn down? See, a servant of the Lord builds, not destroys. There is plenty of destruction that is going on. Our responsibility is to be a builder. And you know, to build, it takes effort. It takes time. It takes prayer. It takes labor. It takes a lot of work to build.

To destroy, all we need to do is take a sledgehammer and we could destroy everything. To build a structure, it takes some time and effort. And it's so sad. It really grieves the heart of the Lord when the people of God allow Satan, the enemy, to use them instead of being builders, to allow Satan to influence them to destroy things. It is a shame when things like that are happening among the people of God.

And this is a challenge to us all. May the Lord only stir us up to be builders among the people of God, not destroyers, because we are not doing God's service, we're not doing God's people service if we are not doing things in the right way. And so he says in verse 12, "For the edifying of the body of Messiah," so the body of Messiah will be edified, will be built up, will grow, will mature for the glory of God, for the blessing of man.

And so the purpose of the gifts which were given by Yeshua the Messiah to the body, to the believers, is for the equipping of the saints, so the saints will do the work of the ministry in order that the body will be edified according to verse 12. What a challenge it is for us all. Now, the question is: how long can we continue on?

There are so many discouragements. You build, you build, and then something happens and destruction comes. And then you build, you build, and again and again something happens. And we know that very well. All of us know this by experience in the professing church. All of us have some part in building and then boom, something happens and there is a destruction, and then you have to work again. You have to continue on.

Well, look what he's saying to us in verse 13. The question is: how long the work of the ministry will go on? Is it only for a short season? How long? Well, it says in verse 13, "Until." Until what? "Until we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a mature man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, the fullness of Messiah."

Really, what we learn from this verse 13, how long? Until we all come to the unity of the faith. Notice he used the word "we." Paul is writing, and he doesn't say only "you" Ephesians, he says "we," including himself, and he's including all believers. Really, the Apostle Paul tells us here in verse 13 that the length of the ongoing work of the ministry is until one day we are going to be with the Lord in His presence in heaven.

Until that time, we long for that all will come to the unity of the faith. We work towards it. Number two, and of the knowledge of the Son of God. Number three, unto a perfect, mature man. And number four, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, of Messiah. In other words, really, what Paul is saying in verse 13 is that the work of the ministry is going to continue on until we are going to be in the presence of the Lord.

You see, beloved brothers and sisters, that in heaven, we don't need to pastor and to teach anymore. In heaven, we don't need to evangelize anymore. Our job will be over. In heaven, we don't need to be perfecting or maturing anymore or being equipped anymore. In heaven, we don't need to do anymore the work of the ministry. In heaven, we don't need to edify anyone anymore. Why?

Because we're all going to be in the presence of the Lord. Sin will be totally removed. All believers are going to be in the presence of the Lord, never to separate from Him anymore, and all that work of the ministry that we do today is not needed anymore. In heaven, there will be no one sinner that needs to be saved. All are going to be saved. In heaven, there will not be one saint that needs to be edified anymore. All are going to be edified because we are going to be in the presence of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

John wrote it like this. Listen to what John said in 1 John chapter 3 and verses 1 and 2. John says, "Behold what manner of love, behold what manner of love the Father had bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God. Therefore the world knows us not because it knew Him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."

You see, when we're going to be in heaven, we're going to be like Him. We're going to see Yeshua our Messiah as He is. We no longer going to have the need of evangelists, pastors, and teachers. All that which was given for us today for the building up of the body of Messiah will never be needed anymore because we are going to be in the presence of the Lord. We shall be with Him. We're going to be like Him. We're going to see Him as He is.

So verse 13 will teach us that the work of the ministry, how long will it continue? It continues as long that the present-day dispensation of the church age is still with us and we are part of it. The moment we are going to heaven, we will never need to do the ministry. And you know what? Let me say that. When we're going to stand before the Lord and we will look back at the time that we could serve Him, that we could use our gifts for His glory and for the blessing of the people of God, we will sense this.

We will look back and we will say, "Boy, I wish I was a better servant. I wish I was a builder. I wish I was spending more time to edify the believers. I wish I had more time." But it's over. The time will be we're going to be in the presence of the Lord. Of course, we will not have any regret in that sense because we will have no more sin nature. But the point, beloved brothers and sisters, the purpose of the gifts were given for the perfecting of the saints, that they in turn will do the work of the ministry and that they in turn will edify the body of Messiah.

It's going to go on and on and on and on until the time will come and we are going to be in the presence of the Lord. And when we are gone, another one will take our place, and another one will be responsible to continue to do the work of the ministry. Now, look at the next verses, beloved brothers and sisters, verses 14 and 15. Why we need so much these gifts and why we need so much to do the work of the ministry?

Because we have a problem. And the problem that we have is that God's people are oftentimes not doctrinally taught and not practically walking in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. And we can apply this to ourselves. So Paul is writing, and look what he says in verse 14 and then 15. Notice in verse 14 he's emphasizing doctrine, teaching. In verse 15 he's emphasizing walking in love or speaking the truth in love.

Look, he's first of all in verse 14, he's emphasizing the fact that he does not want that the believers will remain children that are not taught sound doctrine. Look what he says in verse 14: "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive."

Now, you see what he's really saying. When children are young, they're inexperienced and they're very quickly swayed by everything that they are being told. That's the way it is. When we were children, we were just the same. So what he's really saying: that believers now—and you might have some believers that are for many, many, many years believers in Yeshua the Messiah, but they still behave as if they just accepted Yeshua yesterday, still like children.

Now, imagine when a believer doesn't grow and remain like a child, something is wrong. There is a problem. There is a problem when a believer is for many, many years accepted—"Oh, I remember 50 years ago I've accepted Yeshua the Messiah"—but how is it now? Are you still behaving like a child and not maturing spiritually? What about teaching and doctrine?

And you see what he's saying here. He says in verse 14, "That we henceforth," and I love the way the Apostle Paul he writes: "that we," he's including himself just like he did it in verse 13. "That we, me, Paul and you, Ephesians, that we henceforth be no more children." Listen, a believer that is not growing spiritually and remaining like a child, there is a problem. There is a spiritual problem.

And you wouldn't want your child not to grow, right? You'd ask yourself the question if your child will remain a childlike one even as he's growing tall physically but behaving like a child. It's not right. Something is wrong. Especially, you know, there are those children that have some sort of infirmities like autism or all sort of problems that one have. They don't grow. You know, there is a problem.

Well, it's the same thing spiritually, beloved brothers and sisters. When a believer who accepted Yeshua the Messiah is not growing, behaving like a child spiritually, and as he said, "tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine," there is a problem. He remains or she remains like a child. And the reason that the gifts were given or the gifted men in this context is so the believers will hear the word, will be maturing, do the work of the ministry, and edify the body of Messiah, that we will not remain like children, not mature and not growing.

Now, that's something that the Apostle Paul has been concerned about many, many times. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 13 and verse 11. Paul said this: "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, and I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things." Now, very clear. When I was a child, I behaved as a child. I understood as a child. I thought as a child. I spoke as a child. But now when I grow up and became a man, well, it stopped. I have to put away childish things.

So a believer that is not growing spiritually is really remaining like a child. He's saying to us, and he's speaking about himself as well in Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 14, "that we henceforth be no more children." Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 14 and verse 20: "Brethren, be not children in understanding. However, in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men." In other words, what he's saying: in understanding the truth of God, don't be children. Mature, grow up, be like men. But in doing evil, in doing malice, remain children. In other words, don't do malice. That's what he's really saying.

But as a grown-up man in understanding, grow up. Don't stay childlike. Grow up and become mature believers in Yeshua the Messiah. Another verse I've got to read in 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 7. Paul said to Timothy, the whole chapter really began that in the last days perilous times shall come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, and so on, proud, he says in verse 2, without natural affection, traitors, having a form of godliness.

And then he said in verse 7, "Ever learning and never come to the knowledge of the truth." Learning and learning and learning and learning and never come to the knowledge of the truth. How we, if we are not growing, can be like so? Don't remain a child spiritually. Don't be those that are tossed to and fro with carrying about with every wind of doctrine.

A few years ago, I remember we used to have Bible classes here, not in this building, in another meeting, and something began here in Toronto. And the whole world seems to come here, the Toronto blessing. I'll never forget it. People who knew their Bible very well were willing to go to bark like dogs, to cock-a-doodle-doo like chickens, and claiming that God visited us.

They knew their Bible very well. They knew it's not from the Word nor from the Lord. But they were willing, like as it says here, tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine. Oh, another man came. He is going to fix all my problems and he's going to tell me some new things. There is nothing new beyond the Scripture. If we only read the Bible and if we submit, our problem is to submit to the Bible, to the Word of God. There is nothing new.

What we have is what we have. Heaven and earth will pass away. God's Word will remain the same. We are just going in a circle with every wind of doctrine. Another guy come, another preacher come to town. Oh, here we go. He going to fix our problem. You know, this is our problem. And I'm not blaming anybody, I'm speaking for myself. That's why we have constantly this issue of not accepting the simple Word of God as it is given to us in the written Word of God.

And Paul is saying every wind of doctrine. The wind come, we're going to move this way, from the east to the west. Oh, now it's blowing this way. We're going to go this way. And we don't have enough, if you would say, backbone to say, "Wait a minute, I don't understand everything, but I know what the Bible teaches me and it is here that I would like the Lord to help me to submit to an already given Word of God that we have in our hand." And remember those Ephesians, they didn't have the book of Ephesians in their hand yet. But they needed to learn that the gifts and the gifted men that were given to the body of Messiah were given to them in order to do the work of the ministry and to be edifying the believers.

Now, here it is another, and notice verse 15 as we draw towards the end here. Not only that the believers are not to remain children, but they are to grow. Grow. Look at this. It says in verse 15: "Speaking the truth in love, may grow up into all things, which is the head, even Christ, even the Messiah." Grow. You know, the last verse of 2 Peter chapter 3 says, "But grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Yeshua the Messiah."

You want to be used by the Lord? I want to be used by the Lord? We are to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the person of Yeshua. The more we know about Him, the more we are going to be mature believers that are used by the Lord for the edifying of the body of Messiah.

Now, to conclude, Paul is saying in verse 16, from the head, this is the Messiah Yeshua who is in heaven, the whole body is joined together, as it says in verse 16: "From whom," this is meaning from the Messiah, "the whole body," this is the body of believers, "fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth according to the effectual working in the measure of every part maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love."

You notice that he used the word love here twice? In verse 15, "speaking the truth in love," and in verse 16, "edifying itself in love." The word here for love is the word *agapeo*, which means unconditional love. You want to build the body of believers, it does take much love, meaning much unconditional loving of the people of God.

You know the people of God? You know very well, we are not always lovable. Nevertheless, love, as we mentioned it already in the previous ministry meeting, love is that which enable us—the love of Messiah constrained us—enable us to do the service of the Lord for the edifying of the body of the Messiah. And it is all from Him.

The body is fitly joined together. Every joint supplies and every part makes increase. In other words, if one part doesn't function right, the body cannot grow and increase. And that's why, unfortunately, many times we don't grow as a body, whether it is locally or whether it is universal, we don't grow because not all of us, sadly to say, are really doing our part, using the gifts that the Lord had given to us and using it in love for the benefit of the people of God.

So brothers and sisters, the gifted men were given so the body of Messiah will be edified or mature, so they will do the work of the ministry, so they will be used by the Lord to build up the body of Messiah. May the Lord help us, may the Lord use us for His name's sake.