Stress Test Devotional May 4
May 04, 2024
EPHESIANS 4:11-14 | 11 He himself granted that some are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. 14 We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming;
While all bear some responsibility to empower the next generations, a few are called to teaching as a vocation. This famous passage from Ephesians four has incredible ramifications. The Holy Spirit is the motive force and guiding power of Christian community and mission. The Spirit endows each one of us with capabilities to ensure all the necessary gifts are present for God’s work in the world. Many of these capacities are part of our individual created nature, present from birth and then discovered, awakened, and developed by God through His Spirit. This is a radically egalitarian and democratic picture of the church as an interdependent enterprise. Teaching is one of those gifts. This gift can be employed to equip and empower others both inside and outside the church. In either case, the calling or vocation resides in the gift to be used, under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
Have you discovered and developed your gifts, in partnership with God?
