WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22
Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-13

Ephesians 4:11-13 says, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect/tel-i-os man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;…” Here is the word tel-i-os which unites us with Matthew 5:38,39. We are to love exactly the way God loves. According to Ephesians 4, the whole assignment of the five-fold ministry is bring us into each member’s respective Layer of God’s love. Each one of the five-fold have a different assignment for the maturing of the Body of Christ. That means the layer of love that a prophet carries is different from the layer of love that an evangelist carries. The layer of love that a teacher demonstrates is different from the layer of love that an apostle manifests. The whole assignment of each of the five-fold ministry is to bring us into spiritual maturity so that we can fulfill our destiny. Ephesians 4 defines Ephesians 3. Ephesians 4 makes it clear that God’s assignment on the five-fold ministry is to bring us into the fullness of their particular layer of God’s love. Each one of them has a different layer of love to impart because they represent a different piece of God’s heart! Any church that refuses to welcome all the five-fold giftings retards growth in the congregation.