God desires all of His children to live abundant lives in Christ. Jesus Himself came to earth as a human to allow us to do that, through His death and resurrection (see John 10:10). He gave us the keys to the Kingdom, and we can now live the life we were meant to live (see Matthew 16:19).
Many of us, however, don't know that. Many of us think that only ministers or people who were called to ministry are the only ones who can do that. That is so wrong. We must realize that ministers are here to equip every Christian to live the life God wants us to live!
Ephesians 4:11-16 explains this to us in great detail:
"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."
Do you want to fulfill God's call on your life? If you do, here are three things that you need in order to do so.
1) Christ Jesus our Lord
Of course, we can't do anything without the Lord Jesus Christ. He Himself said in John 15:4-5,
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."
2) Equipping
Ephesians 4:11-16 tells us that we need to be equipped so that we can do the work of ministry. The word "ministry" here simply means "service" to God. It means bringing the gospel of Christ to all men and serving them so they will get to know God.
Many of us think that "ministry" only means church work. It means serving, whether the person we serve is inside the church or outside the church - inside the church so that our fellow believers will be edified and grow in the Lord, and outside the church so unbelievers will see and know the Lord.
Equipping also means training or discipling. We are being taught what the Lord Jesus taught. We grow in Him and build our foundations on Him so we won't be shaken no matter what.
3) The Holy Spirit
Lastly, if you have the Lord Jesus and have been equipped for the work, you need the Holy Spirit.
Many believers don't know the Holy Spirit. Mystical Christians call Him the "Power," or the "Giver of anointings," and that's it. Emotional Christians say the only thing He does is give them "goosebumps." Powerless Christians say He does not empower today's believers the same way He did the early church, with spiritual gifts and signs and wonders.
The Holy Spirit is God's power dwelling in believers in Christ Jesus. When He does something, He does give us great feelings or goosebumps. He still empowers today's Christians the same way He did the early church. The thing is, many of us don't obey Him and develop intimacy with Him like the early church did.
Jesus Christ Himself walked in the power of the Holy Spirit (see Luke 4:14). He walked in constant communion with the Father and walked in sync with the Holy Spirit. He promised that we'd be able to do what He did and more (see John 14:12), but we won't be able to do that on our own. We need the Holy Spirit who empowered Him.
Thankfully, because of what He has done, we have been made temples of the Holy Spirit. If the same Spirit that created all that was created and enabled Christ to live a holy, sinless, and God-pleasing life lives in us, what makes us think we can't do it?
