Waiters at the Table (Ephesians 4:12)

Paul reminds us in Ephesians 4:12–13 that God’s desire for the Church is to grow up and be built into a body that is mature and measured by the stature of Christ. And this “building up the body” process happens, according to Paul, when every believer is equipped and in active ministry.

In this message, Nathan examines Ephesians 4:12 and what it means for every Christian to be a “waiter at the table” for the work of Christ and His Kingdom.

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Key Passage: Ephesians 4:12

And He Himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ …
– Ephesians 4:11–12

The Ascended and Exalted Jesus Gave a Gift to the Church

• Ephesians 4:7 – But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
• Ephesians 4:11 – And He Himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers …

Why?

• Ephesians 4:12–16 – … for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ, so that we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming, but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is Christ, from whom the whole body, being joined and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the properly measured working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
• Ephesians 4:12– … for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ …

Equipping the Saints

• SAINTS (hagios) – holy ones, set apart, consecrated, dedicated; those set apart to God through salvation (1 Corinthians 1:2)
  • we are in the world but the world is not to be in us (illustration: ship in the ocean)
• EQUIPPING (katartismos) – equipping, perfecting, making adequate; completing
  • to make ready for use … restore to usefulness … putting a thing into the condition in which it ought to be ⁽¹⁾
  • Only found 1x as a noun in OT/NT but it’s basis (katartizō – verb – prepare, complete, restore) is found 13x
    • to furnish a house to make it ready to live in
    • to mend nets (make them usable) – see Matthew 4:21
    • in politics: to bring together (“reconcile”) two opposing groups (factions) so the government could function
    • a medical term for setting a broken bone (which heals and makes it stronger)
  • to make something fully qualified or adequate for a task; to make someone fit for a purpose; insure someone is properly conditioned for battle or a competition ⁽²⁾ 

Work of Ministry (Service)

• WORK (ergon) – work, deed, employment, to that which any one is occupied
• SERVICE / MINISTRY (diakonia) – service, ministry
  • in a broad Greek context (outside of the NT), the term was used to denote “service of every kind”—originating from the concept of a waiter (server) at a table … as the term was used in the NT, it also included: help in daily life and sharing Gospel-centered teaching ⁽³⁾ 

The ministry (priesthood) of all believers

• Acts 6:4– “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word.”
  • While the 4:11 group has a work/service to the ministry of the Word, ultimately the work and service (ministry) of the church belongs to all the saints … it is an “every-member ministry” ⁽⁴⁾
• It was this ministry of the saints that allowed the early church to rapidly grow and turn the world upside down (Acts 17:3)
• Every believer is in ministry (spiritual service) … attendance at church is not a substitute for participation (work) in the ministry of Jesus
  • Concept: symphony (we are all in ministry but we don’t all have the same role/focus: Romans 12:3–8; 1 Corinthians 12:4–31)
  • There is not a hierarchy in the body
  • Everyone in the church participates: Rom 15:14; 1 Cor 14:26; Eph 5:19; Phil 1:15; Col 3:16; 1 Thess 5:11
• Concept of the priesthood of all believers!
  • The indication in OT before the Levitical priesthood is that God was going to make all of Israel a kingdom of priests … yet because of sin, a lack of a fear of God,  and a desire for Moses to be the mouthpiece rather than hear directly from God, God chose the Levites to do the work of the priesthood.
    • Exodus 19:5–6 – “So now then, if you will indeed listen to My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My treasured possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
  • 1 Peter 2:5– … you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
  • 1 Peter 2:9 – But you are a chosen family, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light …
  • Revelation 1:6– … and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen.
  • Revelation 5:9–10 – And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain and purchased for God with Your blood people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And You made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth.”
    • also see: Is 61:6; 66:21

Ultimate Goal: Building up the Body

• Mixing metaphors
  • body: grows (organic)
  • buildings: constructed
• BUILDING UP (oikodomē) – edification, building, construction; building up – the act of bringing something closer to fullness or completion; understood as if assisting in the construction of an incomplete building
  • Key term in Paul’s ecclesiology – using the word 15 times in his letters (+9x in its related verb)
  • Same word is used in Ephesians 2:20–22 
  • The purpose of the church is always construction/growth not destruction (tearing down)
    • encourage (Hebrews 10:24–25), exhort (Hebrews 3:13), admonish (Colossians 3:16), comfort (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
    • 1 Thessalonians 5:14–15 – And we urge you, brothers, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.
    • Hebrews 10:24–25– And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

You are in ministry

1. Servant (waiter) at the table

• Work of service = work of ministry
• Wedding Feast
  • John 2:5– His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
  • A servant makes available what is provided – gives away all he has
  • A minister is not someone who comes up with or produces ministry
    • Receives in order to give away (principle of the Kingdom)
    • The highest position one could have in early church bespeaks of the greatest amount of service 
• Are you wearing a towel (to serve) or a bib (to consume)? 
  • Paul David Tripp – Your life is much bigger than a good job, an understanding spouse, and non-delinquent kids. It is bigger than beautiful gardens, nice vacations, and fashionable clothes. In reality, you are part of something immense, something that began before you were born and will continue after you die. God is rescuing fallen humanity, transporting them into his kingdom, and progressively changing them into his likeness—and he wants you to be part of it. ⁽⁵⁾

2. Slave of the master

• A similar idea and word Paul uses for servant is “doulos” – slave
  • slave has no agenda, has no rights, has no prestige
  • concept is the foundation for servant ministry
• Matthew 20:26–28 – “It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
  • the concept of ministry (servant) is surrounding notion of slave
  • Jesus did not come to be served (waited upon) but to wait tables

3. Source of ministry

• Ephesians 2:10 – For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
  • We are God’s poetry
• 2 Corinthians 9:8– And God is able to make every grace abound to you, so that in everything at every time having every sufficiency, you may have an abundance for every good deed [work] …
  • You have what you need for ministry
• This work is only done through the Spirit for it cannot be accomplished in the flesh (Galatians 3:3) 
• 1 John 4:9– By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
  • We are to live through the one who serves … THE Servant
• Ian Thomas – The Christian life can be explained only in terms of Jesus Christ, and if your life as a Christian can still be explained in terms of you – your personality, your willpower, your gift, your talent, your money, your courage, your scholarship, your dedication, your sacrifice, or your anything – than although you may have the Christian life, you are not yet living it! … It has got to become obvious to others that the kind of life you are living is … beyond all human explanation! ⁽⁶⁾
  • goes back to Ephesians 4:7 – But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
    • God supplies what we need – the grace to perform 
    • true ministry is never about your skills, talent, or personality
    • It’s about your availability and yieldedness to the enabling power of His Spirit

Ministry is not a “job”

• the early church did not see ministry as a day job or an activity
  • it was a location that you lived all the time
• God has not only created you, He has placed you in a place of ministry
  • you are there to be a waiter at the table
  • no matter what job has you in right now – you are a minister!
• Ephesians 3:7– [Paul] I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.
• Am I fully surrendered, radically obedient, and instantly available to God in every moment? 

FOOTNOTES

(1) The basic idea of the word is that of putting a thing into the condition in which it ought to be. // William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, The New Daily Study Bible (Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), 171.
(2) The noun describes the dynamic act by which persons or things are properly conditioned. … The statements about “God’s [splendid] armor” (6:10–17) and the use of imagery from the sports arena (1 Cor 9:24–27) would suggest that the “conditioning” of the saints takes place in a battle or in a competition. // Markus Barth, Ephesians: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary on Chapters 4-6, vol. 34A, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 439.
(3a) This activity is broad ranging, including help in daily life and promoting the common good, as well as serving at tables and providing gospel-centered teaching. // Lynn H. Cohick, The Letter to the Ephesians, ed. Ned B. Stonehouse et al., New International Commentary on the Old and New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2020), 270.
(3b) In contemporary non-biblical and LXX Greek, the noun diakoniā denoted service of every kind. Originally the verb “to serve” meant serving at the table [This is still evident in Mark 1:13; Luke 10:40; 17:8; 22:26–27; Acts 6:1–2]. In the NT a wide range of services is covered by this word, e.g. the mutual assistance of church members in secular daily matters and the apostolic “service of the word” fulfilled for the benefit of believers and unbelievers. // Markus Barth, Ephesians: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary on Chapters 4-6, vol. 34A, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 439–440.
(4) The church is to have an “every-member ministry.” // Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in Ephesians (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2014), 100.
(5) Paul David Trip, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands (Philipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2002), 20.
(6) Ian Thomas, The Saving Life of Christ and the Mystery of Godliness (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1988), 162–163.

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In Our Next Study Together …

I invite you to join me on this journey from the book of Ephesians to discover God’s eternal purpose, His plan for your life, and learn how to practically live out an abundant and fruitful Christian life. 

• The focus of our next study: Ephesians 4:13
  • We are going to talk about the “Perfect Man” (Jesus) and how He is the standard for the growth and maturity of our lives.
  • I encourage you to read through Ephesians a couple of times this week and focus specifically on Ephesians 4.