The Difference between gifts and offices in the local church

Paul wrote Ephesians from a prison in Rome. He loves the people of Ephesus. He encourages them, "I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints" (Ephesians 1:15). They're a really loving church family that’s learning to trust Jesus and emulate his character more and more. Paul wants them to continue to grow and mature. So, through this letter, he reaffirms what they already know and challenges them to take the next step.

That's what he does in chapter 4.

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift” (Ephesians 4:1-7).

Okay, so Paul is moving from God's oneness to the local church's oneness. God is one, so you all be one. And the way God desires to bring this wholeness, unity, or harmony is through his grace—the grace of gifts.

What specific gifts is Paul talking about? Let's keep reading.

“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:8-13).

So, Jesus is above all, yet he draws near us to bring the fullness of God's redemptive plans to fruition. He presumably could've snapped his fingers and made us all mature. But he doesn't. Instead, Jesus does the work of redemption, then appoints people––like you and me––with different abilities, roles, responsibilities, and callings, Paul says, to build up the body of Christ ... attain unity of the faith ... and grow in maturity.

You see, we've been called together to grow together. That's the Church. That's us. God has empowered us with specific roles and abilities to make us more like Jesus. That's the beauty of gifts and offices. 

Our Ephesians 4 Team learned to distinguish between these two concepts. When considering the organization of the local church, we should differentiate gifts from offices. Honestly, I think that's been an error in my thinking and our leadership's thinking since we started Church in the Square in September of 2018. This is one thing we're changing our minds about. Instead of seeing the distinction between gifts and offices, we've conflated them in some critical areas. Namely, we've conflated the gift of preaching and teaching with eldership. And so, today, we sense God's leading to pull those apart. In their official recommendation, our Ephesians 4 Team said, "under closer inspection, we see that ... Paul treats teaching as a gift, not an office." What’s that mean? What's an office? What's a gift?

The beauty of offices.

Offices is a way of referring to the governance or leadership structure of a church. The New Testament lays out particular offices or positions. Like the first four roles listed in Ephesians 4:11. Apostles and prophets were offices of the church in the season of its birth. That's why earlier in Ephesians, Paul says, “you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:19-20). So, the church was initially established on Christ through the defining roles of apostles and prophets. Today, their legacy is carried on through the leadership of evangelists and shepherds. While evangelists have a less clear role, the role of the shepherd (or pastor) is understood as interchangeable with elders (or overseers). In addition, Paul adds the role of deacons (see Philippians 1:1). So today, the two primary offices of the local church are elders (or overseers) and deacons. Elders "shepherd the flock of God" and exercise oversight (see 1 Peter 5:1-2). The apostles instituted deacons to serve the church by meeting the physical and spiritual of its members and surrounding community (see Acts 6:1-7). Elders and deacons give structure, authority, and leadership and administer care for the church. However, many more gifts aren't exclusively expressed in these two offices.

The beauty of gifts.

Notice the fifth thing Paul lists in Ephesians 4:11 is teachers. Scholar Linda Belleville (who was a helpful guide in our Ephesians 4 Team process) says, "teaching in the New Testament period was an activity and not an office, and it was a gift and not a position of authority"(Two Views of Women in Ministry, 123). Distinct from the offices of elders and deacons, many of God's people are entrusted with gifts, like teaching. In fact, at some level, every believer is expected to teach. Paul told the church in Colossae, Read Colossians 3:16 ... "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom." Our Ephesians 4 Team understood gifts to be an ability or calling that was individually given by Christ, affirmed by the church family, and encourages unity, love, and humility. They added, "It is not a feeling a person gets while performing, and it is also not about a feeling the church gets while watching the performance." A gift is an ability and calling entrusted to us by God and affirmed by his people.

While our focus was on teaching, it's important to note that the Lord has entrusted tons of different gifts to us. In addition to Ephesians 4, Paul lists spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians and Romans. In Romans, he writes, “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness” (Romans 12:6-8). That's the beauty. God has given us all different gifts, whether or not we serve in an office of the local church. We've all been given a calling and ability to help build up the body of Christ ... attain unity of the faith ... to grow in maturity.

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*This is an excerpt adapted from the sermon “Teaching: A Gift Given to the Church.”