One – Leadership

Intro
● We’ve been in a series where we have been looking at God’s desire for us to be unified as one
people, the church.
● It’s based out of Ephesians 4; a passage where the apostle Paul talks about oneness. He speaks
about: One Body, One Lord, One Faith, One baptism and One Hope.

One Leadership
● Ephesians 4 doesn’t mention the term, “One Leadership”, but it does speak about the leadership
of the church, and its impact on us being One.

Ephesians 4:11-13 (NLT) Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets,
the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers 12Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his
work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13This will continue until we all come to such unity
in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full
and complete standard of Christ.

● This passage lists 5 types of leaders that were given to the church.
o Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors & Teachers

If you are interested in learning more about the specific roles of each of these groups of leaders and
what some groups call the 5-Fold Ministry, join us this week for the Overtime Podcast.

● All of these people created a leadership structure that worked together to help start and lead the
organized Body of Believers.
● The passage we just read says the leaders have a purpose: To equip God’s people to do His work o For the purpose of building up the church, so that we would become spiritually mature.

We are told what spiritual maturity looks like (Ephesians 4:14-15)
▪ We are supposed to understand God’s Word
▪ We’re supposed to learn to speak truth in love

● Jesus is the head of the church (Ephesians 4:15), but he uses human leaders to communicate
information, direction and guidance as well as coordinate actions to ensure overall health.
● What is it that the leaders are equipping us with?
o Sound doctrine, Biblical understanding, Opportunities to serve, Develop gifts
● God’s Word tells us that He has given each of us gifts to use in the Body (1 Corinthians 12,
Romans 12, 1 Peter 4))
● Each part of the body plays an important part, and we all need to use the gifts He’s given us to
function properly (Ephesians 4:16, 1 Corinthians 12)
● God’s Word gives us guidelines on who should lead and how to lead (Titus 1:6-9, James 3:1)
● Church leaders are also supposed to view their role differently than what we see in most
leadership positions in the world.

1 Peter 5:1-4 (ESV) So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the suf erings
of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed:
2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;
3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.

● Many people know these verses, but far fewer people know what the Bible says about being a
good follower of that leadership.
● We are supposed to submit to the leadership of the church regarding things in the Body of Christ
(1 Peter5:5, Hebrews 13:17)

o Of course this doesn’t mean to sin. But our responsibility to our leaders is to obey our
spiritual leaders as they lead the church in a godly way.
o We all submit to authority – even our elders have mutual submission to each other
o Leaders are supposed to guide and coordinate the activity of the church to help
accomplish the purpose of the church.

▪ As each part does its work, the body is built up!
● Clearly, each person is supposed to do their part using their gifts to help build up the body.
Common reasons people don’t do this:

o People want someone else’s gift instead of the one God gave them – Gift envy
o People have tried to get people to use a gift they don’t have – Gift projection
o People don’t know what their gift is or how to use it – Gift development
o Remember, not everything we are good at is a gift from God. Some things don’t actually
build up the body!

● When we all do our part, amazing things happen!
Ephesians 3:20 (NLT) Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us,
to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

● God partners with us to:
o Reveal Himself to us
o Help us become more like Jesus
o Remind us that we are a family.
o Show the world who God is and what it looks like to be a Christ-follower