Verse 12 tells us that the gifted ones were given to the Body “for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ.” The many gifted persons in the preceding verse have only one ministry, that is, to minister Christ for the building up of the Body of Christ, the church. This is the unique ministry in the New Testament economy (2 Cor. 4:1; 1 Tim. 1:12).
According to the grammatical construction, the phrase unto the building up of the Body of Christ is in apposition to the phrase unto the work of the ministry. This indicates that both phrases refer to the same thing; hence, the work of the ministry is the building up of the Body. The apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers perfect the saints unto the work of the ministry. The word unto in verse 12 means resulting in, for the purpose of, or with a view to. This means that the perfecting of the saints is for the purpose of building up the Body of Christ. Whatever the gifted persons in verse 11 do as the work of the ministry must be for the building up of the Body of Christ. However, this building up is not accomplished directly by the gifted ones but by the saints who have been perfected by the gifted ones.
The work of the ministry is both of the perfecting ones and the perfected ones; the building up of the Body is the work not only of the apostles and the other gifted ones but also of all the perfected saints. The unique work of building up the Body of Christ is the responsibility not mainly of the gifted ones but of all the saints. Both the gifted ones, including the leading apostles, and all the believers, including even the smallest member, work together to build up the Body.
The gifted persons are for the perfecting of the saints. The gifted persons perfect the saints in the divine dispensing in order that all the saints may be able to do the work of the New Testament ministry, that is, to build up the Body of Christ. The gifted persons perfect the saints by nourishing them according to the tree of life with the life supply for their growth in life (Gen. 2:9; 1 Cor. 3:2, 6). The gifted persons perfect the saints to do what they do for the direct building up of the Body of Christ. The apostles perfect the saints by visiting the churches (Acts 15:36, 40-41; 20:20, 31), by writing epistles to the churches (Col. 4:16; 1 Cor. 1:2), and by assigning their co-workers to stay in certain places to perfect the saints (1 Tim. 1:3-4; 3:15; Titus 1:5). The prophets perfect the saints by teaching them to speak the Lord into people, by speaking in the meetings to set up a model, and by helping the saints to live a prophesying life by being revived every morning and overcoming every day (Acts 13:1; 1 Cor. 14:31; Prov. 4:18). The evangelists perfect the saints by stirring them up to be burning in the gospel-preaching spirit, by teaching them with gospel truths, by training them to preach the gospel, by helping the saints to be equipped with the power of the economical Spirit, and by setting an example of loving the sinners and praying for them (2 Tim. 4:5). The shepherd-teachers perfect the saints by shepherding—feeding and nourishing the young saints and teaching the growing saints (Acts 11:25-26; 13:1). The result of this perfecting is that we will all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, and at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13; cf. John 17:23). This perfecting will cause us to be no longer little children tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching in the sleight of men, in craftiness with a view to a satanic system of error (Eph. 4:14).
In order to be perfected, we must pay attention to life and to function. The way to be perfected is to grow in life and to become skillful in function. The Greek word rendered perfecting in verse 12 also means completing, equipping, and furnishing. To perfect a saint is to complete him, to equip him, and to furnish him. Only by growing in life can we be completed. Not until we become mature will we be completed. As long as, spiritually speaking, we remain under-age, we will not be complete. Mothers perfect their children by feeding them. Furthermore, parents equip their children and furnish them by training them to behave and to speak in a certain way. Thus, children are perfected by feeding and by training. The same is true with respect to perfecting the saints according to God’s economy. The saints need to be fed so that they may grow in the divine life, and they need to be trained so that they may function with the proper skill. We should all pray, “Lord, make me willing and ready to be perfected. I will receive the perfecting from the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the shepherds and teachers.”
We should not think that as long as a person is spiritual in life, he requires no training. Rather, in spiritual things, as in physical things, there is the need of training. In spiritual things we need the maturity, the growth in life, and we also need the skill. The maturity comes from growth, and the skill comes from training. Therefore, in order to perfect the saints, we need to feed them with spiritual food that they may grow, and we also need to train them to develop certain skills.
All the saints should be building members. The gifted ones mentioned in verse 11 are not high officials with a special rank. Rather, they are given for the perfecting of the saints (v. 12). The saints need to be perfected, equipped, furnished, unto the work of the ministry. The perfecting or equipping is related both to growth in life and to training in certain skills. The work of the building up of the Body of Christ should be carried out not only by the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers but by all the members. Hence, all the saints need to be building members. We should be not only members who have been built up but also members who build up the Body. First, the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers perfect the saints. This means that they build up the saints. Then the perfected saints become the building members.
In verse 16 Paul goes on to say, “Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.” Here joined implies the thought of joining by fitting; knit implies the thought of interweaving. The Body causes the growth of itself through the supplying joints and working parts. The expression every joint refers to the specially gifted persons, such as those mentioned in verse 11, and the rich supply must be the particular supply, the supply of Christ. Further, the expression each one part refers to every member of the Body. Every member of the Body of Christ has its own measure which works for the growth of the Body. The growth of the Body is the increase of Christ in the church, which results in the building up of the Body itself in love.
In brief, by His death Christ conquered all the enemies and solved all the problems. Through His resurrection He released all the divine riches, and through His ascension He received God’s chosen people with the divine fullness. From the time of His ascension, Christ has been working to constitute the vanquished foes into gifts for His Body. First, He comes to these vanquished foes and enters into them. Then He gradually fills and saturates them with Himself. Eventually, those who were once His enemies are transformed and constituted into useful gifts that can be presented to the Body. These gifts not only teach others but also transfuse Christ into them. In this way the members of the Body receive nourishment and are cherished. Then they will be sanctified, purified, and transformed to become functioning members. As a result, the whole Body will be fitly framed together and compacted by every joint of supply, according to the operation in the measure of every part. This will cause the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.