Over at the City of God Blog, "TheBrooks" posts a question on the exegesis of Ephesians 4:11-16. In particular he calls attention to the effect of including or excluding a comma between the phrases "equipping the saints" and "for the work of ministry." There are no punctuation marks in the Greek New Testament. Putting a comma there in English leads to a conclusion that Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists and Pastor/Teachers equip the saints and do the ministry. Leaving the comma out means that leaders equip Christians so that they do the work of ministry to each other and to the needy world around us.This was the very first Scripture passage I ever preached from, way back in 1972 when I was all of 15 years old (I still have a tape - it was really bad). I still hold to the interpretation that all believers are called to the exercise of their spiritual giftings, to "ministry", and that the role of pastors and elders is to guide and equipment the saints so that the Body can grow by that which every joint supplies. After over 35 years I see no reason to change that conclusion.
Thanks for the link! I'm going to post some more on this. I'm not too convinced by Gordon's exegesis, but then again I don't read Greek.
ReplyDeleteHave you read R. Paul Stephen's "Liberating the Laity?" I know it speaks to that question and sides with your conclusion.
Haven't read that book, but appreciate the referral. I don't know Greek either, so must rely on those who do. My original opinion on this passage was shaped by Ray Stedman's "Body Life," which I read back in the early '70's. That work was more a popular treatment than scholarly, but I found his treatment of the Ephesians 4 passage convincing.
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