Biblical Models of the Equipping Ministry: Paul's Model

Biblical Models of the Equipping Ministry

Paul Model for Equipping Ministry

Approach Paul clearly favored the equipping ministry approach for church leaders. From the time of his earliest team relationship as associate to Barnabas (Acts 11:19-26) at Antioch, Paul practiced and taught an equipping ministry. Strong and superbly qualified as he was for singular leadership, Paul saw the essential wisdom of a shared ministry.

God’s Gifts Are to Equip God’s People for the Work of Service

Paul most clearly presented the equipping ministry model in Ephesians 4:11-16. There he set forth the relationship between those persons given to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, to the people of God, the church.

1. He identified the relationship in functional terms, not in terms of static position nor of governing authority.

2. He plainly declared the function of the recipients of the gifts to be God’s gifts to the church for “the immediate equipment of God’s people for the work of service” (v. 12, Williams).

Hull concluded:

Ephesians 4:12 provides the biblical foundation for a theological concept of “equipping” which is crucial to the vitality of the church. It defines the primary work of various specialized ministries as that of completely “outfitting” all Christians so that they will be able to fulfill the service which makes the church grow in unity and strength. This concept removes any barriers between clergy and laity because it assumes that every Christian belongs to the universal priesthood (see 1 Pet. 2:5-9).[1]

Paul stated the purpose of the equipping relationship: “for the ultimate building up of the body of Christ” (v. 12,). He indicated the extent to which the purpose was to be sought: “until we all attain to unity in faith and to perfect knowledge of the Son of God, namely, to a mature manhood and to a perfect measure of Christ’s moral stature” (v. 13,). He continued and characterized both in positive and negative comparisons the mark of the fulfilment of the purpose of God in affording His gifts to the church (vv. 14-15).

The headship of Christ over the Church

The apostle concluded the passage with the classic statement of the headship of Christ over the Church and the members properly functioning under His direction: For it is under His direction that the whole body is perfectly adjusted and united by every joint that furnishes its supplies; and by the proper functioning of each particular part there is brought about the growing of the body for its building up in love (v. 16,). The harmonious functioning of the church is to be achieved under the direction of Christ, through the equipping minis-tries of those to whom He has given the gifts, with the accompanying responsibility for exercising the gifts. He has given the gifts to persons. He gave the persons to the church.

The church has the responsibility for carrying out God’s assignment

“The perfecting of the Body is the work, not of ‘the ministry’ but of ‘all the saints,’ and the ministers are to prepare the saints for this work.’’[2] In other passages Paul referred to this concept (see 1 Cor. 12:14-31). But a better characterization of good church administration than that which he gave in Ephesians 4 is not forthcoming. The early church expanded rapidly “because of the leverage achieved when the few with special gifts saw their task as the training of the many to exercise those gifts which belong to every believer.’’[3]

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[1] William E. Hull, “Equipping: A Concept of Leadership,” Church Administration, January, 1972, p. 6.

[2] William E. Hull, “Equipping: A Concept of Leadership,” Church Administration, January, 1972, p. 6.

[3] William E. Hull, “Equipping: A Concept of Leadership,” Church Administration, January, 1972, p. 6.