We need to study these [spiritual] gifts for the sake of the church. It is a striking fact that in each of the three main passages about the gifts, there is the metaphor of the church as the body of Christ. It seems to be tied in very closely with New Testament teachings on the gifts. In other words, gifts are essential for the church to function properly. The gifts are the members of the body. If the body is not equipped, it will be crippled.
All too often the church of Christ reminds me of what someone once said about a big football match in the premiership. He attended a football match and afterward he said,
I saw 50,000 people in desperate need of exercise, watching 22 people in desperate need of a rest.There is a certain amount of truth in that. There is a majority of people who do very little and a minority of people who do far too much. All too often that can be the pattern of the church. Is it true of your congregation? I think it can be true to some extent. Maybe you can do much more in the service of Christ than you have done.There may be a lot of gifts in your congregation which are not being used, or not being given a channel to be used. If your church is to have a powerful impact in your community, one of the essentials is that every believer be mobilised for service. Every believer. It is not the task of a few; it is the privilege of all. Remember how Paul in Ephesians 4:1–32, says that the work of the pastor teachers is to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. When each part is working properly, the church is healthy. The church is productive and fruitful only when each part is working properly. All too often the church is like a semi‑paralysed body; it is limping. It is inefficient because many of the parts of the body are not working. So, for the sake of the church, we need to study it again.1
Edward Donnelly
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,