By THE SPIRIT Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter 4:
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
The purpose of the five-fold ministry of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers is to serve and build up the Body of Christ through the motivation of Love. If done in that manner then the Body of Christ will be perfected into full unity of the faith. By this you can observe the fruit of any ministry and determine if this straightforward mandate is being fulfilled. Love must be at the center of focus in each of the five-fold ministries otherwise self interest creeps in and men begin to build another temporal kingdom to suit their own needs as the Body of Christ suffers in some aspect.
If we are part of this Body of Christ then we should have Christ in our focus at all times for we are His. As we mature we should expect to become more Christ-like and take on His qualities. Our priorities should change and thus our attention will shift from the things of the world to the deeper Spiritual matters. We should expect peace in our lives to increase as well as joy.
As we follow the Truth, the Truth will follow us. Though men try to deceive us, FATHER will expose them and protect us from their tricks, craftiness, and deceitful plotting. In some cases FATHER will use us to expose such plots. FATHER will order our steps so that we can minister to those who are now ready to have ears to hear. There will be some we pass by without saying a word for they are not yet ready to receive. According to HIS purpose we express HIS Love to those willing to accept it.
Spiritual occurrences and events become more frequent in our lives. We are not troubled but know that the veil between the physical and the Spiritual has been removed in order that we will flow in HIS power and authority without resistance. The Heavenly Hosts are among us fulfilling FATHER’S plan, Will, and purpose. As we continue to move toward unity FATHER allows us to see more clearly and understand the need for HIS judgments to come forth. We no longer see this physical life as the “endgame” but only as a small part of eternity. With that in mind, we can release people more easily and allow them to receive their correction from FATHER without our intervention.
The Truth is the Standard by which we live and we are unwilling to accept anything less. The Truth will divide mankind into two major groups- the Body of Christ and everyone else. In the final analysis the Body of Christ will minister to the other group as FATHER leads so we must focus on becoming fully mature in order that we can most effectively minister to all mankind. We must pursue unity in Love and quit attempting to divide but rather to see what we have in common. We must acknowledge that there is only one agenda to pursue and it comes from FATHER. HE has the final say in what we pursue so we should focus on hearing HIM in all situations.
Let each on of us become as Christ and express His qualities. Let His Love be expressed in our word and deed. As we do His Body will become spotless and without wrinkle.