So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (NIV)

Paul is in prison writing a letter to the church in Ephesus, a major city where Paul had been a missionary (Acts 19). With many new believers from the secular Greco-Roman culture, Paul spends the first part of his letter (chapters 1-3) talking about how the church is unified in Christ – a family unified by the grace received from Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross, unified by one God, one faith, one Lord, one Spirit, and living this out as one body.  

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But unity is not the same as uniformity. This new family consisted of lots of different kinds of people, people with different strengths, abilities, and personalities. And this family, the church, is living out a life that reflects building each other up in further unity, in knowing Christ more, and becoming more like him.

I found the Amplified version of today’s verse, which expands or “amplifies” the text, is helpful in describing the different examples Paul writes about:

“And [His gifts to the church were varied and] He Himself appointed some as apostles [special messengers, representatives], some as prophets [who speak a new message from God to the people], some as evangelists [who spread the good news of salvation], and some as pastors and teachers [to shepherd and guide and instruct].”

Now when I hear the words gift and people, I think of gifted people. In our culture, that usually means people who attain lofty heights in a specific area. Michael Jordan, a gifted athlete. T.S. Eliot, a gifted poet. Mozart, a gifted musician, and so on. For me, I often think, well I might be good at something, but I’m not gifted like so-and-so.

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I think a more helpful wording for us today might be “wired.” My paraphrase would be: Christ wired us each differently, some as sharers of the word, some as teachers, some as guides, or those with a caring heart. Now these are just examples of some of the ways God has wired his people. Paul’s list is not exhaustive.  

Paul is writing to challenge us to be used for “works of service,” calling all the unique people in the local church and church at large. This includes you. ACF describes this calling in one of our values: “we are contributors, not consumers.” Notice that neither this nor Scripture specifies how to serve but simply to have the heart to serve, as there are so many possibilities based upon our individual wiring.

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And to what end? To build each other up as we grow together in faith and knowledge in becoming more Christlike.

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Now sometimes, figuring out how God wants to use us to serve can be challenging.  What is more, we’re not just talking about traditional serving at church, but serving Christ outside the physical church building as well. Depending on what’s going on in our lives, our personalities, our desires, the leading of the Holy Spirit...how to use our gifts can be difficult to discern. And that struggle can be real.

But I think the important part is the heart, leaning into the Spirit to give us the heart of servants. Living that out can vary extravagantly, and I think Paul celebrates that! It’s our belief and relationship with Jesus that unites us, but there is freedom in the diversity of ways to live that out. Our challenge is to embrace the way God made us (which for me is a challenge) and to lean into the fact that God wants you to serve, even with all your flaws, uncertainties, and shortcomings – we can trust that he is bigger than those. If you’re not sure what your gifts are or how you can be used, reach out to someone. There are resources to help with that. But rest assured, God made you the way he did for a reason, and he loves you because you are you!

Thank you, Lord, for the way you made me. I mean that. And for the community of the church. Use me how best you can. Reveal how I can build others up, and may I be built up becoming more like you each day. Amen.