If the church is to fulfill its commission she will need men who are skilled in the preaching of the Word of God: men who can proclaim the Gospel in all its truth and power, and men who can teach the Word of God in a comprehensive, systematic way that will fulfill the mandate to teach all things whatsoever Christ has revealed in the inspired Scriptures. In short, the church must have preachers and teachers who have been called of God and recognized by the church as such. This is not an option for us to consider but a mandate to fulfill; and to fulfill it requires three things of the church: 1. The church must challenge men to consider whether or not Jesus Christ has gifted them and called them to preach and teach the Word of God. 2. The church must see to it that the men who are called to preach are properly trained for the demanding work of teaching the Word of God. 3. The church must see its responsibility to support financially the men who preach and teach.

It's our desire for the church to be strong and to flourish so that Christ will be glorified by his people and his people will fulfill their calling in the Great Commission. And Jesus came and spake unto them saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." In this commission there is only one finite verb And that is the commission to teach or to make disciples.

And it is in the imperative mode. It's a command of Christ. The command is that we make disciples of all nations. A disciple is a committed follower of a teacher, a student of Jesus Christ. Now the means whereby this calling, this command is fulfilled is set forth in the commission itself in three participles, going, baptizing and teaching.

The going is the evangelistic mandate. Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Baptizing, we baptize those who repent and believe the gospel. Jesus said, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned." Teaching, teaching those who believe the Gospel, those who are baptized in profession of faith in Jesus Christ and who enter into the church as a disciple of the Lord Jesus. This is the Great Commission.

What I want you to note with me is the centrality of the proclamation of the Word of God in the Great Commission. If the church is to fulfill this commission, She will need men who are skilled in the preaching of the Word of God. Men who can proclaim the Gospel in all of its power and all of its truth. Men who can teach the Word of God in a comprehensive, systematic way that will fulfill the mandate given here to teach all things whatsoever Christ has commanded. In other words, the church needs preachers and teachers if she is to fulfill her calling in the Great Commission.

Now when I speak of preachers and teachers, I'm not speaking generally of the responsibility that all believers have to witness for Jesus Christ and the gospel, to teach and to admonish and to instruct others in the Word of God according to their place, their gifts, and their callings, such as a father in his home. But what I'm speaking of here in a specific sense are those men who publicly preach and teach by the call of God and the recognition of the church. I speak of those men who proclaim the gospel and who preach the Word in season and out of season, of the men who labor in biblical exposition seeking to edify the church by the proclamation of the whole counsel of God, of those men who give their attention to reading, to exhortation, and to doctrine for equipping the saints for the work of ministry. In short, in this message I am speaking of those men who devote themselves to the ministry of the Word of God. Without these men, the church will not be able to fulfill her calling in the Great Commission.

She will not be able to get strong, grow strong in the measure of the fullness of the stature of Christ she is called to attain. She'll be swayed to and fro by every wind of doctrine and become the prey to all crafty men who twist the truth to their own and to others' destruction. What I'm speaking about is the mandate and God's plan given in Ephesians chapter 4 verses 7 to 16, when you might want to turn there. Ephesians chapter 4 verses 7 through 16. Here are identified the men that I specifically have in mind.

In this text we have God's plan for the growth, the maturity, the stability, and the ministry of the church. If you will note in this plan, everyone in the body of Christ has their place. All are important. But I want you to know with me here this afternoon the unique and central role assigned by Jesus Christ to the certain men who are identified in chapter 4 and verse 11. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers.

Let me just identify these men with you and note these things. First of all, there are four men, four groups of men in number, and these four should be grouped in pairs. The apostles and prophets uniquely go together, as do the evangelists and the pastors and teachers. Second, please note with me that all of these men are preachers. They're all men who have been called to proclaim the Word of God to others publicly.

Third, I want you to see here that the focus in these groups is not on ecclesiastical offices, but on men who have been gifted by Christ and called by Christ to fulfill a particular function within the body of Christ. There are only two governing offices in the church beside the unique office of the apostle that has passed away at the end of the first century. There are elders, another term for that is bishops in the New Testament, and the other office is that of deacon. We're not talking about specifically in this verse the office of elders or deacons, though there's a close connection. The fourth thing I want you to know with me here is what these men and what their ministries are.

The apostles were men who were called by Christ to found the church and to complete the revelation of Christ to mankind through their preaching and through their writing. They were all eyewitnesses of the resurrection and the gospel message and the task of preaching it to the world was uniquely theirs. In the sphere of the church, their ministry and authority was not tied to one particular church and they labored through their teaching and their writing to guide the church into all truth. The ministry of The Apostles was limited to the era of the founding of the church in the first century and I believe it ended with the death of John the Apostle. Then we have the prophets.

These were men who were called by Christ to provide the church with divine revelation in the time between the founding of the church, the beginning of the church on the day of Pentecost and the completion of the New Testament Scriptures. They were the mouthpieces of God to provide direct revelation to the church before the New Testament was completed. Think of your church without any New Testament and the issues coming up within your daily life as the new covenant people of God, Jew and Gentile in one body, and that you did not have any of the New Testament to answer your question. God gave prophets to give direct revelation to the church in the interim between the beginning of the church and the completion of the New Testament. The ministry of the prophets, therefore, was a teaching ministry within the churches that had been founded by the apostles or by their direction and influence.

For example, the church at Colossae. When the apostles then moved on from their founding work To other locations, the prophets were there by the call of God to edify and teach the church. I believe this ministry of the prophets in this technical, defined sense was needed only until the New Testament was completed and was in wide circulation in the church. You see the apostles and prophets were men who spoke as the occasion required by divine inspiration and they stand together according to Paul, Ephesians 2.20, as those who laid the foundation of the church. Now the evangelists here in Ephesians 4 11, these were men who like the Apostles, though without the Apostles' unique gifts and authorities, proclaimed the gospel and sought to plant churches in various regions and places.

They too were men who were called of Christ to preach, to preach the gospel and to establish new vibrant churches. The work of evangelists, however, was not related to the foundational era of the church only, but was that of the expanding church into all the world and it continues today. Pastors and teachers, these were men who like the prophets, though without the prophetic gift of inspiration, were men by the call of Christ who exercised a teaching ministry within local churches. Their ministry was the exposition and application of the inspired Word of God, the written Word of God for the edification of the church. And the work of these teachers was not limited to the foundational stage of the church, but the building up the church by the faithful teaching and preaching of the Word of God.

This identification of pastors and teachers, I want you to note here also that that is actually referring to one function, one office, not a governing office, but a function within the church. Not two. They were teaching pastors or pastors who teach. And they refer, the word refers specifically to men who were involved in a teaching ministry. The evangelists who were church planters carried on the work of the apostles after the apostles left.

Today we have evangelists, and I think their primary calling was that of church planters. They were like the apostles. They went out and preached the gospel and established churches. And then they were, then teachers are raised up by God to teach after the evangelists and the pastors, evangelists move on and the pastors take over the work that is there. The focus of these men that we've just identified is to equip the church for the work of ministry that's assigned to each individual believer in the church and in every aspect of life so that the church can become mature in faith and strong in doctrine.

You can see that in Ephesians 4 verses 12 to 16. Now I return to the opening point of my message here. If the church is to fulfill its commission, she will need men who are skilled in the preaching of the Word of God, men who can proclaim the Gospel. In all of its truth and power and those who can teach the Scriptures the Word of God, the inspired Scriptures of the Old and New Testament in a comprehensive, systematic way that will fulfill the mandate of Christ to teach all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And so in short, what the church needs is preachers and teachers who have been called of God and recognized by the church as such.

This is not an option for the Church of Jesus Christ to consider. I believe it's a mandate for us to fulfill. And if we're going to fulfill the mandate involved in the Great Commission, The plan of God involved in Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 11 through 16, there's three things that this requires of us, requires of the Church of Christ. First of all, the church ought to recognize and teach that Jesus Christ gifts and calls certain men to preach and teach the Word of God publicly. There is a call of God to this task.

Number two, the church ought to see to it that the men who are called to preach are properly trained for this demanding work. The church is responsible to train and to teach the men who Christ has called so that they then will be able to fulfill this high office. And number three, the church ought to see its responsibility to fulfill the Word of God by supporting financially the men who preach and teach. And those three points are going to be the burden of my talk today. And I do believe these three things need to be strongly emphasized.

In the ranks of those who are committed to what we're calling a family-integrated approach to church ministry. And I say this because I believe that some of us have failed in one degree or another, in one area or another, to comprehend or pursue this threefold responsibility. Some of us have failed to see The need for a called, trained, and supported ministry within our churches. Now there may be a number of reasons for this. I don't have time to explore them today, but I just will mention a few.

The formation of churches according to an informal house church model where all the men or a number of the men share in the teaching responsibility from week to week is quite prevalent. And number two, another reason is the theological or practical bias that some have against a trained and supported ministry. Number three, there just simply might be a lack of resources. The men are not available. The men with the necessary training are not available, or if they are the funds are not available to support them.

Another possible reason is the men who are being trained in our theological seminaries don't necessarily agree with the perspective that we are pursuing by the grace of God. But my purpose here today is not a negative one to look into those type of things, but a positive one. I want to lay before you the biblical basis for a called, trained, and supported ministry within our churches. And again to be clear, I don't want to be misunderstood. When I speak of ministers here, I mean preachers and teachers of the Word of God in terms of function and gifts and elders in terms of office.

So I'm talking about preachers and teachers in terms of their function. They are teachers. They're gifts. They are gifted to preach by Christ. And I'm talking here about elders then in reference to the office because the normal office wherein preachers and teachers exercise their ministry within the church is that of the office of elder.

This is brought together in 1st Timothy 5 17. Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. All elders are worthy of honor, double honor. But there's a special notice given here of that group of elders within that group of elders. There are men who are going to be laboring, devoting themselves to the word and doctrine.

Now the preachers and teachers we're talking about here today are those who, by the command of Christ, are helping to fulfill the Great Commission. And they're doing this as church planters, missionaries, and as pastors and teachers within established churches. Now the first thing we want to consider then is this. Jesus Christ gifts and calls men to preach and teach the Word of God. That's one of my propositions.

Jesus Christ gifts and calls men to teach and to preach the Word of God. When we use the word call, We're using in the sense of to summon someone or to appoint someone to a specific work, duty or responsibility. We're saying that Christ specifically summons certain men And he appoints these men to a specific work, to a responsibility within the body of Christ. Now this principle of God calling men to particular offices and that men have no right to call themselves to that work, nor the church can call them to that work if God has not, is illustrated and defined for us in Hebrews chapter 5 verse 1 and verse 4. And I'll collapse these together and read it this way.

For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for our sin. And no man takes this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron." Now, the notion that God calls men to preach and teach his word is found throughout both Testaments. In the Old Testament, we see God's call of Moses, men like Samuel, Elijah, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Ezra, and so on. In the New Testament, we see the specific call of Christ to 12 men, his 12 disciples. We see the call of Paul, of Barnabas, and Timothy.

In Mark chapter 3 verses 13 to 14, we hear this about Christ calling of his disciples. And he goeth up into a mountain and calleth unto him whom he would. And they came unto him. And he ordained 12 that they should be with him and that he might send them forth to preach." Mark 3, 13 to 14. In Acts 13, 2, In the church at Antioch, the scripture says, and they ministered to the Lord, that is the people of God there, and they ministered to the Lord and fasted.

And the Holy Ghost said, separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. Galatians 1 15 to 16, Paul speaks of his call and he says, but when it pleased God, and when it pleased Paul, when it pleased God, not when it pleased the church, When it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace to reveal his son in me that I might preach him along the heathen. And then he goes on to say he did not confer with flesh and blood. But it was God's call. Paul was driven throughout his entire life by the sense that God in his sovereignty had called him to a specific work.

Now this idea of a calling from God to preach and to teach his word As a public minister of the Gospel and the Word of God is a consistent doctrine within the churches of Christ. This is not something new we're talking about here today. It is part of our heritage. Lutheran churches, Reformed, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, congregationalist churches have all held to this doctrine that it is God who calls a man to the ministry of the word and without that call a man has no divine commission to fulfill that role as a public teacher and preacher in the Church of Christ. Martin Luther believed that no man can presume to undertake the office of teaching and preaching in the church unless he is called of God.

Here's what Luther said, quote, this call and command makes pastors and preachers. For it is God's will that nothing be done as a result of one's own choice or decision. But everything as a consequence of a command or a call, that is especially true of preaching, end of quote. According to Ronald Wallace in his book Calvin's Doctrine of the Word and Sacrament, he says that Calvin taught, quote, since the ministry of the word is an office of such high importance in the fulfilling of God's purpose with his church, it follows that no man has any right to take upon himself the authority of this office without being definitively and particularly called to exercise it by God himself." The Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon, while recognizing that all Christians have a duty to disseminate the gospel, all of us, and all of us are responsible to use our God-given gifts and to minister and to serve and to know the word of God and minister it according to our place and station in life and our calling. Nevertheless, he says this, all are not called to labor in the word and doctrine or to be elders or to exercise the office of a bishop, nor should all aspire to such works, since the gifts necessary are nowhere promised to all.

But those should addict themselves to such important engagements who feel, like the apostles, that they have received this ministry. 2 Corinthians 4.1. No man may intrude into the sheepfold as an undershepherd. He must have his eye to the chief shepherd and wait his beck and command. Wherever a man stands forth as God's ambassador, He must wait for the call from above.

And if it is not so, but rushes into the sacred office, the Lord will say of him and others like him, I sent them not, neither commanded them. Therefore, they shall not profit this people at all, sayeth the Lord." Jeremiah 23 32." End quote from Charles Spurgeon. Now this idea of a calling from God to preach and teach his word is firmly based in the New Testament doctrine that God determines a person's place and ministry in the church. Every Christian has a place in ministry, every one of us, but it's God who determines that, not us. This is what we call the doctrine of spiritual gifts, And that is that all Christians, men and women, are gifted by God to function as important members of the body.

Here's what Paul says in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 7 and verse 16. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ, from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplyeth according to the effectual working in the measure of every part maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." Now, one area of gifting, of spiritual gifting, and the spiritual gift is the Holy Spirit manifesting his power and purpose and will and knowledge through an individual. One area of gifting is that of teaching. Specifically in regard to the church and its public ministry is the gift of teaching to a man so that he might fulfill that office. We already read but I will read it again.

Ephesians 4 11 and 12. He gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for edifying the body of Christ. By the way, note here again, as I said earlier, but I want to emphasize this, the work of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors, and teachers says the perfecting of the saints. That's to equip them for service. They teach to equip, because all are responsible to live for Christ and minister.

Perfecting the saints for the work of ministry. A paid ministry is not so you can pay a pastor to do the work of the ministry in the church. You're paying them so they can teach you to do the ministry, equip you to do the work. And it's for the building up of the body of Christ as all work together. But he gave some.

Now in 1 Corinthians 12, 27, and 28, talking about the body of Christ and speaking of these men who are gifted, Paul speaks in a similar way here as he does in Ephesians 4-11, but here he doesn't mention evangelists, but he says this, now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular, and God hath set, God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers. You see, not all men are gifted and called to the office of teacher in the church. In 1 Corinthians 12, 29, Paul says, are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers?

The form of the original language here is very clear, and each question requires a no answer. Are all apostles? No. That's what Paul is saying. Are all prophets?

Of course not. Are all teachers? No. Not all men are teachers in the church. They all have a teaching function, particularly in their homes.

But we're not talking about that in this message. Those that God calls to the office of teacher in the church to the task of the public preaching of the word are the men who have been gifted. The two go together, the gifts and the call. The call and the gift. Those who have been called to the ministry are gifted to fulfill it and those whom God chooses to give the gift also extends the call.

But those who have not received this gift will not receive this call to the public ministry of the Word. And so this teaching office of the church, what I'm talking about here, needs to be viewed in reference to the following doctrines. Number one, God specifically calls men to the office of teaching. Number two, God gives the men that he calls the necessary gifts to be effective preachers and teachers. And number three, the church office through which the ministry of teaching is normally exercised is the office of elder.

But note this as well. As all elders, although all elders must be able to teach, not all elders are called to specifically take the burden of the public teaching ministry of the church. That's the division we see in 1 Timothy 5, 17. They have to be able to teach, obviously, within their role, but not all are necessarily called and gifted to be a teacher. Might help if you had an elder who had the gift of administration, didn't necessarily have the gift of teaching.

But he still needs to be able to handle the word. Every Christian needs to be able to do that. But there's this particular call to the office of teacher. I believe it is unbiblical to view a church's teaching ministry as a task shared by all the men of that fellowship, unless every one of the men in the fellowship is a called gifted preacher. But how does God call a man to the ministry of the word?

He does it through his word and spirit, and he does it through the body of Christ, through the church and its functioning government. It's through the word and his spirit that God makes known to a man that he has called him to this work. The call of God can come suddenly and unexpectedly. But more often, I think, it is a growing conviction upon a man. Through the word of God, through prayer, and the ministry of others, a man comes to the belief, the awesome, amazing, fearful belief that God has called him to preach.

I always find it interesting to hear the stories of how God has called individual men to the ministry of the Word of God. My own testimony, very briefly, is that only a few months after I was converted, as I sat in a courtroom, not because I was on trial, I was in jury duty, and I was reading the word of God and I was reading through Acts chapter 20 and these words, as I read them In my normal Bible reading, God laid hold of my soul and said, this is your life. Here's what it said. But none of these things move me. Neither count I my life, dear, unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify of the gospel of the grace of God.

And I felt God lay his hand on me and say, son, this is your course. This is your ministry. But, you know, it's not enough for a man just to say, well, God's called me. Because when God calls a man, he also, through his providence, informs the church of it. In other words, for a man to assume the public office, not only does he need to have a call from God that he is convinced of, the church needs to be convinced of it too.

And God works through his word, spirit, and providence to reveal to a church or to the church those men that he is called and gifted. And so there's an internal call of the Spirit of God and there's an external call of the church to a man to preach the Word of God and fulfill the office of pastor and teacher, which is the office, normally as I said, elder. These two work together always, And they're both necessary to confirm the will of God. You see, an individual may err in their perception that they're called and they have the gifts. We do make mistakes and this is a very important area we don't want to make a mistake in.

So an individual may err in this regard. On the other hand, a church may air in who it appoints. It is only when both the internal and the external call are clear, in clear harmony, that we can have assurance, as best men can have assurance, that God has called certain ones to be teachers within his church, within our fellowship. Well, how can a man discern this call? We're getting back to the internal aspect and a man looking at his life.

How can you discern If God has called you to this work, let me suggest four things. Do you have a desire to preach and teach? Is this desire, well, the passing thought of a moment, you see a man preach, well, I'd like to do that sometime. Or is it a growing conviction and even a passion within your soul to serve Christ in the public ministry of the Word? You can't get away from it.

Everywhere you turn, After God has begun this work to reveal his will to you in this sense, this is what he wants you to do, you can't escape it. And by the way, most men who are truly called and have that sense of responsibility begin to build, they want to escape it. As Paul Washer said, when he felt God had called him, he wanted to take off, get in his car and drive to California. Secondly, do you have a clear sense of the calling to the work? First was you have a desire to preach and teach.

Now I'm asking do you have a clear sense of this? Can you point to a specific time and place, a specific scripture or sermon or a book through which you believe that God has called you to the ministry? That's one way. There's another way though, I think. Are you able to describe, could we sit down and talk about it?

You could show a growing burden in your life to preach and teach that is now so solidified in your mind that God has called you to this task. Number three, do you love the word of God and have an intense desire to study it? A man who has no desire to immerse himself in the study of scripture has not been called to publicly teach it. The two go together. God, when he says God calls a man to be a preacher, he first calls him to be a student.

For Ezra had prepared his heart, set his heart, his mind upon this, to seek the law of the Lord. The word seek there means to diligently study it. Ezra prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord and to do it and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments, Ezra 7-10. Number four, do you see good results from any opportunities that you have had to teach the word of God to others in your church or preach the gospel to others? Have others profited from your teaching?

Have they told you so? Have others suggested to you that this may be an area that God has gifted you? So I would say the desire to preach and teach, a sense of calling from God, works that are consistent with the calling to teach, and one of the main works is that you love to study. There's an effectiveness when you teach and there is a satisfaction in teaching. I think all of these are essential signs.

They're indicators. Not foolproof. We need the testimony of the body as well, but they're indicators that God is calling you to this task. And of course the church has to consider this, but one thing that we need to be doing as church and one of my burdens here today is to challenge men, Older men, because God sometimes in his grace calls a man to preach when he's 50. But more normally he calls when you're young.

And all the young men within the sounding of my voice, my challenge would be to you to consider if God has called you to preach. You notice I've not said young ladies because that's not an office open to them in the church. Psalm 6, 8, 11 says, the Lord gave the word, and great was the company of those that published it. Are you one of those men whom God has called to publish his word as an evangelist or a teacher? When you hear that verse, the Lord gave the word.

I'm ready, Lord, to publish it. Just give me the call. Number two, not only does God call and gift men, the men who are called to preach and teach must be properly trained for the demanding work of the public ministry of the word of God. To be gifted and called does not counsel or cancel out the need for preparation and training. It actually necessitates it.

We have this treasure, brothers, in earthen vessels, and these vessels must be made fit for the master's use. The calling to teach the Word of God is a high calling and it loads the teacher with great responsibility. My friends, if we will give account on the day of judgment, every one of us, for every idle word we've spoken, it will be weighed and scrutinized by the Holy One of Israel. If we will give account for every idle word, how much more will a man give account for every word he spoke in a public setting, exercising the office of teacher and saying, Thus saith the Lord. I tremble to think of it." And James was dealing with people who took a very low view of this or a presumptuous view when he said in James 3, 1, my brethren, be not many masters.

And that's the word for teachers. Be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. James is saying do not be anxious to be a teacher in the church because all who teach due to the nature of that office will actually receive a stricter accounting of their lives, of their doctrine, and they will receive a greater condemnation for any error that they have lived or taught, because they lead others from the path. One of the things that has been a humbling experience for me is to be involved in writing and publishing, where you get your master together and you send it to the publisher, and you make a mistake. And it comes back from the publisher times a thousand or two thousand or whatever.

That's like a teacher. When he teaches, it's reproduced. He has to be a pattern in doctrine and example, and when his pattern is wrong, others follow it. John Gill says about James 3.1, be not fond and forward and ambitious of being preachers of the word, but rather choose to be hearers of it, agreeably to the advice of chapter 119, be swift to hear, slow to speak. This office should not be entered into a pun without suitable gifts, a divine mission and a regular call by the church.

Should men enter into the office of teaching without a call or perform it negligently or live not according to the doctrine they teach others, such would be judged out of their own mouths. And by their own words, their condemnation would be aggravated." End quote. This text in James is not only a warning to not covet the office of teacher, But if you are called, it is a warning not to dare to enter that office until you've equipped yourself to the proper study and preparation, to the study of the scriptures, adequate training. Who would dare here to operate on a human body, the life at stake, who had no knowledge of the human body or the extensive knowledge required, or no special training in the art of surgery. You don't want to lay your hands on that precious life.

Who would allow themselves to be operated on by someone who had no specific training to do it? Yet many are presumptuous to think they're qualified to be teachers of the word of God even though they lack the necessary knowledge and training. Many allow themselves and their loved ones to be taught by those who are not gifted, trained or called to be teachers of the word. If the knowledge and training are necessary to be a doctor and care for the human body, how much more are knowledge and training necessary to be a minister of Christ and care for the human soul? The necessity of preparation and training for ministry in the office of a teacher in the church is illustrated by two of the greatest teachers in the history of God's people, Ezra in the Old Testament and Paul in the New.

Ezra was raised up by God in one of the most critical times in Israel's history. The return from the Babylonian captivity. The people of God have been devastated by sin and the humiliation of being deported from their own land by a fierce, idle, worshipping, heathen nation. Their nation had been broken, but this return was a rebirth of the covenant people, and a man was needed to call the people back to the law of God and instruct them in all of its riches. Without a man to lead them into the knowledge of God's law, there was no hope for the future of the people of God.

Their greatest need at that point was not a great military leader, not a great king or political figure. The greatest need was a teacher, a teacher of the Word of God and to meet that need God called and gifted and gave Ezra to Israel. And Ezra faithfully fulfilled his calling and turned Israel back to the law of God. But we must not think that Ezra became what he became or achieved what he achieved without hard work, without preparation, without a season of intense study. Ezra 7, 6 says, this Ezra went up from Babylon.

He was a ready scribe in the law of Moses. A ready scribe. This means he was a learned man, skilled in the law of God. He had a comprehensive knowledge of what he was going to teach. And he knew how to interpret it and apply it to every area of life.

But how did he become a ready scribe? Again, Ezra 7, 10, for Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord and to do it and to teach in Israel's statutes and judgments. He had prepared his heart. Heart in the Hebrew is the mind, the focus of life. He had set as the very focus of his life and his purpose in God's world to study the law of God.

The word seek here means to seek and search something out. He was consumed with the passion of searching out the knowledge of the law. So number two, he could live it first. Notice that. Seek the law of the Lord and that he would do it.

Then he felt he was qualified to teach it in Israel. The Apostle Paul was called by Christ to take the gospel to the Gentile world and he played the leading role in the founding of the church, the New Testament church. The place and significance of Paul's ministry in the history of redemption is nearly unparalleled, except perhaps by Moses and his role in the Old Testament. Not only did Paul take the Gospel of the Gentiles and planned churches throughout Asia Minor and Macedonia. He is the author of 14 of the 27 books of the New Testament.

But God prepared his servant before he began these works. The preparation and training of Paul and his role as an apostle actually began in the promise, the providence of God with his intense training in the law of God and the Old Testament scriptures on one of the leading teachers in Jerusalem of his day, Gamaliel. In the school of Gamaliel, Paul would have studied the Torah from the perspective of the Pharisees, granted, but nevertheless, he would have received thereby a good education that would have included extensive reading and study in the scriptures, the Hebrew scriptures, and training in biblical exegesis. It has been suggested by some that Paul achieved what we would call today in the level of scholarship a doctor of theology. But then Christ called him.

But even after Paul's conversion, he didn't go right into preaching. From what we can surmise from Galatians chapter one, verses 16 to 21, after God called him, he did not immediately go to preach. He spent three years in Arabia, and many believe, most believe, this was a time in his life of sorting through this incredible change that had coming, and seeking to understand and take his learning that he had received in Judaism, but now reinterpreted in light of Christ, and apply it to his new faith in Jesus as the Messiah. It is no doubt that in those three years he searched the scriptures day and night under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to see how they testified of Christ. There are even indicators in his writings that somehow, Whether personal appearance or just through a miraculous teaching ministry, Christ himself instructed Paul.

He said, I did not receive my gospel from any man. I didn't go to Peter to learn it. I received it directly by revelation from Christ. Christ was preparing him. And so Paul's ministry was grounded in extensive preparation, untold hours of labor.

Now none of us here will be called to be an apostle and none of us will quite fill the same position as Ezra did in post-exilic Israel. But every man who is called to preach and to teach the Word of God needs suitable preparation for that task. The foundation for public ministry must be laid before the public ministry begins. And I think this preparation is both a responsibility of the man himself and of the church. A man who believes that he has the gifts of teaching and has a call from God to exercise those gifts as a teacher in the church must qualify himself for the ministry by the diligent, fateful study of the scriptures.

As I've said earlier, one of the first proofs to me that a man has been called to preach and teach as he loves the word of God and he's committed to its study. Study is the watchword for a teacher. As I thought about how to get this next point across, I'm just in my own experience, I would say this, what others might say differently. There's at least a 20 to 1 ratio between the time and effort of study and the time of public teaching. And that's minimum 20 hours at least adequately to prepare a message.

And that doesn't even include the hundreds of hours just in general study and preparation. I'm talking now in my ministry 20 to 1. If you're not willing to make do that kind of work, if you think you can just open your Bible and say I'm ready to teach, I believe you've not been called because you don't have a hunger to study. As a result, outstanding example, But Paul's admonition to Timothy should also be applied to all aspiring teachers and preachers of the word. Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

The word study here means to be zealous, to be eager, to make every effort. To what, To be approved of God. As a teacher, you want to make every effort that you're approved of God and the conditions under which you meet his approval is that you Rightly divide the word of truth. You will never meet God's approval as a teacher unless you're rightly dividing his word. And this means, rightly divide means to guide something along a straight path.

This means then to teach the word aright according to its truth. Expound it soundly. Preach it fearlessly. How can you preach something fearlessly if you don't know in the depths of your soul based on study, meditation, and prayer that that's what God has said? The work involved in being a teacher does not begin when you become a teacher.

It begins years before your public ministry commences. But what constitutes the necessary areas of study that will prepare a man for the work as a teacher in the church? We'll list ten areas. English Bible, that is the whole content of the Scriptures, needs to be known through repeated reading and meditation upon the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, not just from Matthew to Revelation. It's the whole counsel of God we're after, and it didn't just begin in Matthew.

Christ began to speak through Moses. Theology – we must know theology in its biblical, systematic, and historical dimensions. Number three, history. And I'm talking about Old Testament history, the history of the Old Testament people of God, and New Testament history, and then after the canon closed church history. Number four, hermeneutics, which refer to the sound, right principles of interpreting the Bible.

Number five, biblical introduction. This is where we have these issues that we have to look at today, men, if we're gonna teach. Issues of higher criticism were subjects of the authorship, the original recipients, the content and historical context of the individual books of the Bible are considered. This is extremely important for exegesis, but it's also important because men, we are called to defend the faith against the higher critical attacks in these areas. Number six, biblical languages.

Hebrew and Greek, the Bible was written in Hebrew, the New Testament in Greek. A knowledge of these languages is extremely valuable for teachers of the Word of God. And therefore, I would say this, though all men will not be able to attain to an expert knowledge of that, who can, maybe the teachers and seminaries, but all teachers and elders should aspire to some level of first-hand knowledge, some level, ah, I'm not interested in Hebrew and Greek. You have to be interested in it if you're a teacher. And the knowledge, if we had to rank these Greek, is the most important.

Number seven, apologetics, How to defend the faith against all forms of unbelief. Number eight, Christian ethics. The knowledge of how God's law applies to all areas of life. Number nine, Christian worldview. These are all areas you need to be studying in and working in.

And that is how to view every aspect of life, philosophy, science, education, business, politics, history, and whatever from a biblical perspective. That's what your people need. And you need to know it. Have a working knowledge. We're not going to be able to obtain depth and grade in all these areas.

It's impossible. We're all limited. We need to give attention to these. And number 10, pastoral theology and preaching. This is the study of the ministry of the church with specific reference to the work of pastors in counseling and guiding souls and prayer and the things that are so important.

This would also include a study of the teaching of the word of God. We call it homiletics, how to prepare and deliver sermons. I would also say a man aspiring to the office of teaching and preaching in the church should also begin right now, if he hasn't already, to begin a personal library of study. They're the tools of your workmen. Before God called me, I was a carpenter.

I was very careful. I got all the tools I needed into my carpenter's workbox, toolbox. Because when I was on the job and the tool wasn't there, it was embarrassing and difficult. So I wanted to, what tool do I need here? What tool do I need here?

We need to be thinking and understanding that books, the works of other men, of God, have gone before us and done incredible acts of scholarship and devotion to Christ in the Word. None of it's infallible, but it's important, and we need to build a personal library in these areas. That's the man's responsibility. What about the church? The church is responsible by teaching and training for those men whom they consider to be faithful men, called men, who aspire to the office.

Paul, speaking to Timothy, says, thou therefore My son, be strong in the grace that's in Christ Jesus and the things that thou has heard of me among witnesses. The same, commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others. Now there's a general application of this that we can draw from this passage, but I think contextually this is the apostle speaking to his assistant who was a gifted man in one of the categories of Ephesians 4-11, and then he is to take what Paul passed on to him and to pass on other men gifted in the categories of Ephesians 4.11 because he wants them to be able to teach others just like Paul has been teaching the church and Timothy has been teaching the church. Timothy needs to prepare other men to carry it on because Timothy won't always be here. A generation is coming when Timothy won't be there to speak and he needs to pass this on to other men.

In other words, a discipleship program where the church is passing on to men whom God has called and gifted to teach others. Now how has the church carried out that function in the past? First of all, prospective ministers, having their basic education, would then study scripture and theology under an experienced and knowledgeable man who was already an ordained pastor and teacher in the church. A man or perhaps a few men would train for ministry and in the Bible and theology under a godly man who had proved himself as a teacher of the word of God and a man who was already in ministry. Just like in the colonial period, a man would get his education and then he would read a law under a lawyer.

A man who got his general education would then study medicine under a doctor. The pattern was that men would get their general education and then study scripture and pastoral ministry and teaching under a man of God. Another way in which the church has done this is prospective ministers have studied scripture and theology in a theological seminary. In this model, a church or denomination or association of churches, perhaps even an independent entity that wants to get into this, hires a theological faculty to train and teach men. Now I would say this, and I don't have enough time to get into this, this is survey, but there's advantages and disadvantages to both approaches.

Today, clearly, the seminary model is the most dominant. Doesn't mean it's the best or the only way. My thinking is we as the people of God need to give serious consideration to reviving the discipleship method of training men for the ministry that was dominant in America until the 1800s. And we must remember this, that those who train the pastors and teachers are those who set the doctrine and practice for years to come. Who do you want that in the hand of?

By the way, when we centralize it in seminaries, Satan says it's going to be easy to take over the churches. I'll just take over the seminaries. And that's what he did. That's how liberalism came to America. Good seminaries were taken over by enemies of the faith.

And then they taught the prospective ministers and those ministers went out and taught the churches and apostasy reigned. In the remaining few minutes, I want to just comment briefly on this. I know Jason Dohme taught about this in another session, and you can go there for a fuller exposition. But I want to say this. The men who are ordained to preach and teach the word of God in the church are to be paid for their labor by the church.

Now this subject is a sensitive one to many Christians. The idea of financial support for pastors and teachers, the plan of supporting some of these men even full-time stirs up in some negative connotations of a clergy, laity distinction, of churches where members pay professionals to do the work. But brothers and sisters, we cannot let those types of unbiblical situations blind us to the actual teaching of the Bible on this subject. And it is the duty of the church to support financially those who Christ calls and gifts and the churches ordained to these ministries. In my opinion, this is of pressing importance within our circles.

Number one, here's why. The lack of financial support or adequate financial support for those who teach hinders the ability of those men to properly study and prepare for their sermons and Bible studies. There's only so much time anyone has in a week. And if a man works a full-time job to support his family, there will not be sufficient time left for him to carry out the study and preparation of his sermons. Again, as I said earlier, it takes a minimum of 20 hours for a man to adequately prepare for a sermon, to give a one-hour Bible message.

How many men with a full-time job and a family have time to give that minimum? What's the result of a situation where a man who's teaching does not have that to those 20 hours? He'll either have to take his time from his family, which is a disaster in the making, or shortchange his preparation, do the best he can with the five or ten that is available to him. One way or another, you're going to have a very frustrated man. Another reason why this is of importance to the subject is the lack of financial support or of adequate financial support for those who teach lowers the quality of teaching presented by the church.

A church that does not support its teachers either is ignorant of their responsibility. They don't know about it or they don't put a premium on the teaching of the word. There's an old adage, you get what you pay for. And that adage can be applied to the teaching ministry of your church. You will get what you're willing to pay for.

I'm only willing to have a man who gives five hours to his matches. That's all the word of God's important to me. I want a man, or I want a man who is free to devote himself, a man that God has called and equipped to teach me the riches of Scripture. It's interesting to note that in Puritah, New England, the highest paid men in that society, the highest paid, were pastors and preachers. You can tell the value of a society by what they pay people.

And we know where our God is. It's in the football field, the baseball diamond, and then it goes from there. In the history of New England, written by John Winthrop, first governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. I was reading this recently in his journal, the first meeting of the governor and his council. The first meeting after they landed from the Arabella.

The first meeting. The first official business they undertook was to provide for housing for pastors. First business, how do we provide for our preachers? Because they knew that the whole colony's future depended on the men of God that have been called to preach. And the church's failure to embrace the biblical mandate to pay its pastors and support men full time, number three, discourages men from even considering the call of God as their vocation.

I'm not contradicting here the thesis that a man must have a call from God and be ordained of the church before he can fill that office. Simply saying that by our disobedience, we have discouraged men even from considering the possibility. They've closed their ears. John Calvin, his commentary on 1st Timothy 517 said, Paul enjoins that support shall be provided chiefly for pastors who are employed in teaching, such as the ingratitude of the world that very little care is taken about supporting ministers of the word. And Satan, by this trick, endeavors to deprive the church of instruction by terrifying many through dread of poverty and hunger from bearing that burden." End of quote.

I'm afraid that very few of our young men in our churches today are considering pastoral ministry as a vocation for the simple reason that few of our churches are willing to call a man to preach and then to pay him, to do that great work. My friends, I believe we're making a mistake here And we're going to pay the price down the road. What is the biblical teaching on the subject of paying pastors and ministers? Quick survey in the Old Testament, the priests and the Levites were supported in their ministry by the tithes and offerings of the people of Israel. You say, well that's not very significant because we don't have a priesthood, we don't have a temple, and we're not offering sacrifices.

Yes, that is true, but Paul himself appeals to that law in 1 Corinthians 9, 13 to 14 for the sake that the New Testament church needs to follow that same pattern and support their ministers. When Jesus sent his disciples out to preach the gospel, the kingdom, the towns and villages of Israel, he instructed them not to take any money with them, but to depend on the people that they ministered to for food and shelter. He sent them out and he said, as you go preach, saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils. Freely received.

Freely give. Then he says this, provide neither gold nor silver nor brass in your purchase. Don't take any money with you. No script for your journey, no food. No, not two coats, no, not two shoes, nor staves, for the workman is worthy of his meat.

And that means his food. And he says, and into whatever city you enter, inquire who is worthy and thereby until you go. The key phrase is the workman is worthy to be given his sustenance on the basis of his work. That's what you men go out and do all the time. You're a workman.

You serve. You give a product. You give a service. And you're worthy of remuneration for that work. Jesus is saying to his disciples, I'm sending you to do the greatest work that men have ever done.

And you are not imposing on anybody. When you go into their city and you depend on them and expect them to clothe you, to feed you, and give you shelter. And he said this in Luke 10 17 when he was talking with the sending out of the 70 on a similar mission. He said, in the same house remain eating and drinking such things as they give for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Now this explicit teaching of Christ is quoted by Paul and applied to the church's responsibility in 1 Timothy 5, 17.

Paul quotes this saying of Jesus and does it in the context of supporting ministers. The apostle Paul repeatedly taught that ministers of the gospels and teachers in the church should be supported by those to whom they minister. In 1 Corinthians 9, 13 to 18, in answer to his critics, Paul gave an extensive defense, the largest defense in scripture, of the right of preachers of the word to be compensated financially for their work. He says in regard to his fellow ministers, have not we power to forbear working? And he means doing another occupation for our sustenance.

Don't we have that right? And then he says later on, even so hath the Lord ordained, not Paul, the Lord has ordained this, that they which preach the Gospel should live of the gospel. And that doesn't mean they should live lives consistent with the gospel. Of course, they should do that. But that's not the teaching of the context.

They should receive their living wage. They're living from that ministry because the labor is worthy of his hire. In Galatians 6, 6 Paul writes, let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teaches than all good things. This is an imperative, a command. It commands the people of God to make sure that they give generous compensation to those who teach them.

In 1 Timothy 5 17, Paul says, let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine for the Scripture saith, thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn, and the laborer is worthy of his reward. This text is a clear and unmistakable call and challenge to churches to give financial support to their elders, particularly to those who teach. And I believe double honor simply means generous compensation. That's a full expression of the church's appreciation. The London Baptist confession, which many of our churches go by, says this.

The work of pastors, being constantly to attend the service of Christ and his churches in the ministry of the word and prayer, with watching for souls as they must give an account to him. It is incumbent on churches to whom they minister, Not only to give them all due respect, but also to communicate to them of all their good things according to their ability so as they may have a comfortable supply without being themselves entangled in secular affairs. And may also be capable of exercising hospitality toward others, as this is required by the law of nature and by our express order of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath ordained that they that preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel." And from the London Confession. Now one thing in 1 Corinthians 9 that's very important is Paul's own choice not to accept financial remuneration. And he explains that.

I don't have time to go into that. A man has the right to expect that. But he may choose for many different reasons not to receive it. He has the liberty to deny it. But the church doesn't have liberty to deny it.

And remember too that Paul, he also received gifts from the Philippians. He says explicitly, I praise God that you thought of me. And you send me these gifts. Therefore, Paul did not have to make tents. He could give more time to his work.

And I think what we see here is the fact that Paul understood the nature of the ancient world and the religious charlatans who went around with their religious show and their healings and their preachings just to make money and make merchandise of this charade of their religion. And Paul did not want to be classed in that way at all. And so when he went in preaching, he was not going to have any impediment to his ministry. But once the churches were established, he was willing to receive their support, even as the Philippians did. In this message, we've endeavored to establish three fundamental points concerning the public ministry of the Word of God in fulfillment of the Great Commission.

I bring you back to how we started. We're talking about how we're going to fulfill that. In one of the ways in which we're going to fulfill it, this is not the only way. It's just part of the picture. Number one, Jesus Christ gifts and calls men to preach and teach the Word of God.

Number two, the men who are called to preach and teach the Word of God must be properly trained and prepared for the critically important ministry of teaching. And number three, the men who are ordained to preach and teach the Word of God in the church are to be paid for their labor by the church. And understanding and obedience to these truths are crucial for the future of the Church of Jesus Christ. If you love the church, you'll consider carefully each one of the things I've said today. I conclude with a particular word of application to our young men.

I challenge you to consider God's will in your life as he called you to preach his word? The Lord gave the word. Great was the company of those that published it. Has God called you to be one of those company? Are you one that Jesus Christ has ordained to be an evangelist, a pastor and teacher?

That's a question you must answer on your knees with your Bible open and under the guidance of the elders of your church. And may God's will be done. Amen. Let us pray. Father, we do love your church.

We want to understand this dimension of church life. It's so important. Give us understanding. Bless each one here today. Oh God, there's a young man listening.

When thou has put this call, speak to him. In Jesus name, Amen. On the subject of conforming the church and the family to the Word of God and for more information about the National Center for Family Integrated Churches where you can search our online network to find family integrated churches in your area log on to our website ncfic.org and by the members of the FIC. F-I-C dot O-R-G.