Ephesians 4:11-16 reads,
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 the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
The purpose of the Holy Spirit was to bring in the mystery of God to bring both Jews and Gentiles together in one body. Only the great power of God could set aside all things that divide men and unite them on the common ground of brotherhood. The Holy Spirit destroyed every symbol of Judaism that divided them from the Gentiles. The Law was fulfilled and nailed to the cross, while the temple was destroyed. While it was still standing, it symbolized their reign that separated them from the rest of the world. The fourth chapter of Ephesians begins with the platform for the unity of the faith that could be kept and maintained with the proper attitudes listed in this grand chapter. This expression “unity of the faith” has nothing to do with denominational unity, but stands in contrast to the law that divided Jews from Gentiles; the faith united them into one body.
Then, verse 11 opens with a list of gifts that Christ gave the saints. We could easily combine all spiritual gifts with this list much like Romans 12 treats it. In that text, Paul references a variety of gifts along with the special role of apostles and prophets. This text, however, speaks of the men as the gifts that God gave His people. Since we are evaluating this text along with key points of the entire epistle, it is more accurate to see certain men that were guided by the Holy Spirit to teach the saints what the Holy Spirit revealed to them. The men were the gifts that form a quorum of teachers that Christ gave to the saints. This is distinguished from each member having their own specific gift from the Spirit. That which lists these men together is the shared role of teaching. They are treated together as if a series of spiritual relays were being run in which the baton was passed on to another. The principle of duplication is practiced so those trustworthy men could continue to allow others to hear the gospel and prepare for the end of the age (2 Tim. 2:2).
There is a set set of three clauses with the first being the ultimate aim of these gifts (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers). They were for the “equipping of the saints.” The Greek implies “correcting” in all that is deficient and “completing in number and all parts.”
The last two clauses follow subordinate aims that produce the result — the edifying of the body. This equipping of the saints was for “the work of the ministry.” This is not referring to the ministry like people use the word today when entering the preaching profession. Nor is the word used to refer to the church office of a deacon. The idea that these men hold some office of ministry in the church organization is an assumption. Some writers believe that the mother church bears, nourishes, and brings up children by the ministry. In other words, there is a distinction between the mother-church and its children. The mother church is an organization separate from the people that primarily provide for the edification of its members. However, the ministry of Ephesians 4 is a reference to individual service in the body. Even if we were to agree that these specified men were officers of the mother church, the grammatical reference to the “work of ministry” does not refer to them. It refers to those they are equipping for service, and that’s the entire body.
The context appears to use the phrase, “for the work of ministry,” in the general category of service under which all the gifts fall. Paul uses this expression the same way in 1 Corinthians 12:5 when he refers to the “varieties of ministries.” The gifts were given to equip saints for this practical end of service. Apostles and prophets could speak revelation from God, while only the Apostles could lay hands on saints as a means of receiving spiritual gifts. Evangelists, like Timothy and Titus, could use their prophetic gift to continue teaching others. They could not pass those gifts on to others but they could appoint shepherds to provide the same care when they departed to another city. Shepherds equip others for service, including the Deacons, about whose qualifications Paul discusses when writing to Timothy and Titus.
The certain variety of ministry that these all compose is the specific service of teaching. These men were given to equip saints in ministration or service that would, in turn, edify the body. The entire fourteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, which deals with the regulation of spiritual gifts, stresses edification as the purpose for the spiritual gifts. This word “edify” is associated with the building figure. Ephesians 2:20 reads, “Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself” (NLT).: The word “building” denotes both the structure erected and the act of erection. Paul links another metaphor in the body of Christ (cf. Eph. 1:23) to add the growth of a living body to the progress of a rising building (cf. 2:16). This work of ministry and building of the body of Christ, we may perhaps understand as means leading to the full equipment of the saints. [The prepositions πρός and εἰς are used here together, as in Rom. 15:2, apparently for the further and nearer objects in view.]