Ephesians 4:7-16: Spiritual gifts –pastor teacher, part 8.

Class Outline:

Title: Ephesians 4:7-16: Spiritual gifts -pastor teacher, part 8.

 

Tuesday November 30, 2021

 

After healing the blind beggar, Jesus then becomes his Shepherd, protecting him from the harsh jealousy of the Pharisees.

 

I am repeating some of the major points because that is the way of inculcation. We must learn to the point of having truth ingrained in our hearts to the point of familiarity.

 

PHI 3:1

Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.

 

2PE 1:12

Therefore, I shall always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you.

 

JOH 10:7-9

Jesus therefore said to them again, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am [ego eimi = emphasizing Himself] the door of the sheep. 8 "All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them [the sheep are believers if they have not listened to false prophets or shepherds]. 9 "I am [ego eimi] the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

 

The Shepherd does not the promise material wealth or physical health. He promises a fulfilled and joyous and abundant life by spiritual maturity, which is the full knowledge of Christ. Only the believer can know Him. This is a great blessing of eternal life.

 

Eternal life is knowing the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is giving to us to guide us into all the truth concerning the Father and the Son.

 

JOH 10:10-11a

“The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came [ego elthon = emphasizing Himself] that they might have life, and might have it abundantly. I am [ego eimi] the good shepherd;”

 

“abundantly” - perisson = extraordinary.

 

MAT 5:47

"And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more [perisson] than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

 

The translators attempt to expand on the one word perisson by adding “than others.” This is better translated, “And if you greet your brothers only, how are you extraordinary?” He is telling us that the life of His disciple is extraordinary.

 

The good Shepherd has given us an extraordinary life. We each must grab hold of it, and if we do, the Shepherd promises that we will have it. We grab hold of eternal life by learning what it is and then by faith, living it out in our own lives. Sometime, when living out the abundant life by faith, it will feel like you are only acting, like a child playing at adult things, but I encourage you to do it anyway. Imitation of the right thing will have a proper impact upon us, plus it shows that we desire the thing we are imitating. And don’t worry, in the spiritual life, through the power of the Holy Spirit within us, imitation will become reality. Time is limited. We are far better off reaching ahead to the upward call as soon as possible.

 

JOH 10:11-13

"I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life [psuche = life or soul] for the sheep. 12 "He who is a hireling, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, beholds the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf snatches them, and scatters them. 13 "He flees because he is a hireling, and is not concerned [melo = does not care for] about the sheep.

 

Giving His psuche implies much more than giving His body (soma or bios) or His way of life (zoe). He gave Himself fully, body and soul, for the life of the sheep.

 

The hireling is not as malicious as the thief, but he lacks the personal care of the sheep that the true shepherd has. He’s not trying to destroy. He simply doesn’t care.

 

The translators leave out a pronoun that John used in vs. 13 because it makes for a clunky English sentence. After melei there is an auto in the dative, meaning “to him.” Literally it would read, “and it is not a care ‘to him’ concerning the sheep.”

 

Kai (and) ou (not) melei (he cares) autw (to him) peri (concerning) twn (the) probatwn (sheep)

 

Wuest’s expanded translation has it: “and it is not a concern to him regarding the sheep …”

 

Why bother? The pronoun adds emphasis. The hireling emphasizes himself (“not a concern to him”) while the Shepherd also emphasizes Himself (“ego eimi”), but in a much different way because He is a much different self. The Shepherd emphasizes that He is the Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep, while to the hireling, the sheep are no concern to him.

 

If the shepherd doesn’t care for the sheep, but is a hireling, things will go along okay for a while, but when real danger comes, he will not stand in and protect the sheep.

 

In Christ’s parable the sheep are snatched and scattered, which means that in some way the members of the congregation will be hurt.

 

Contrasted to the good shepherd, who is devoted, is the hireling, who is interested only in his pay and not the sheep.

 

Sadly, there would be plenty of these in the church.

 

The good shepherd is concerned only for the sheep. He doesn’t care about being paid; hence he will lay down his life for the sheep, which for a hireling is a cost far too high. It is for himself that the hireling does what he does. His object is self-gain and his spirit self-regard, and so naturally he flees from danger. Some pastors throughout the world, throughout the history of the church have been hirelings while others have been true shepherds.

 

1CO 9:16

I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.

 

Paul would write that he was under compulsion to preach the gospel. Why? He was elected by God and didn’t apply for the job. The same is true of all the under-shepherds (pastors) who truly have that calling. Paul did not see his ministry as one in which he entered a contract with God for a paycheck. This is true of all of us concerning our spiritual gifts and the ministries, meaning the service and work, that God has given to each of us. None of us chose them. We each must agree with God that we are under compulsion to do them.

 

But then, in seeming contrast, Peter instructs the elders (presbuteros) to shepherd the flock, but not under compulsion. Paul says compulsion and Peter says no compulsion. Are they at odds?

 

1PE 5:1-3

Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, 2 shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; 3 nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.

 

Paul is referencing our calling, not by our will but by God’s. Peter is referencing our acceptance of our calling, our will to obey joyfully.

 

Pastors, shepherds, are to find for the sheep a more abundant life. It is regard for them that draws him to the work. All divine love is self-devoting.

 

In chapter nine the contrast is drawn for us by the apostle John in the treatment of the blind man by both Jesus and the authorities. The authorities having fallen into the idea, which commonly ensnares ecclesiastical magnates, that the people existed for them, not they for the people. The same happens in government, which reveals that often the church operates like the world when she is supposed to be a light to the world.

 

LUK 22:25-26

“The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called 'Benefactors.' 26 "But not so with you, but let him who is the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as the servant.”

 

The Lord taught this master principle, required of all in the kingdom of God, and Paul, Peter, and John expanded upon it until the entire principle of service in love and humility was recorded in the scripture.

 

The Pharisees, acting like worldly rulers lording it over the flock of Israel, rather than being good shepherds, persecuted the healed blind man because he followed his own conscience which saw the obvious facts of Jesus’ power and not the talking points laid out by the Pharisees. By Jesus interposing in the man’s favor, He indeed risked His own life, for this and many other actions by the Lord would contribute to their determination to put Him to death.

 

Jesus protected His flock even when doing so risked His life.

 

This sounds obvious for Jesus since His whole mission was from the start to lay down His life, but the manner of courage and duty found in Him and expected of us cannot be diminished by the fact that it was prophesied for Him. For us, martyrdom or the amount of persecution any one of will face for Christ’s sake is unknown.

 

Paul stood strong against false teachers in order to protect the flock.

 

Opposition to Paul occurred at the beginning of his ministry to the nations. Satan was already at work deceiving the world, and it was this world that Paul entered. We must not be shocked by opposition, it has been in your mission field for millennia before you entered; rather, let us be prepared and courageous and wise, depending on the Holy Spirit within us to guide and empower. It is easy to forget that Paul would be stoned, likely to death, on this first journey. It didn’t slow him down at all.

Map of Paul’s first missionary journey

 

ACT 13:4-12

So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 And when they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John as their helper. 6 And when they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the magician (for thus his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze upon him, 10 and said, "You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? 11 "And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time." And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord.