Last week we began our study of the four basic purposes for which God created man. They are:
- to have fellowship with Him,
- to cultivate the garden,
- to be fruitful and multiply, and
- to rule over the earth and all that is in it.
We also addressed how a main purpose of the church and church life, is to help restore these purposes in the lives of believers. Worship helps us keep the fires burning for restoring our ultimate purpose—knowing the Lord and having fellowship with Him. The ministries and gifts given to the church are for helping to restore the other purposes.
Every Christian has been given a ministry, a purpose to fulfill in the church. This is stated quite succinctly in Ephesians 4:11-16:
and some as pastors and teachers,
for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the
body of Christ;
until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness
of Christ.
As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves
and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness
in deceitful scheming;
but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is
the head, even Christ,
from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint
supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the
growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
So we all have a part to play in the ministry and purpose of the church. Until the church is restored to its original purpose, the restoration of its members to their purpose will be crippled at best. Presently, in general, the church is far from being the dynamic, powerful force for reconciliation and restoration that it is called to be. However, many present and future leaders of the church have caught a vision of what it is supposed to be, and momentum is picking up for the church to be restored to its purpose.
When the church has been restored to its original purpose, we will see individual believers restored to their own individual purposes in the Lord. Then we will all be the powerful forces for reconciliation and restoration that we are called to be.
We must also understand that most will actually find the place where they function in ministry is the place of their occupation, not just in the meetings of the church. When this happens, both our place in the body of Christ and our career can become far more fruitful and fulfilling than otherwise possible.
If we have our priorities in the right order, we will not think of ourselves as a engineer, lawyer, or a doctor first, but we will think of ourselves in relation to our ministry first, and our occupation is a place that we walk in our ministry. In this way our office, business, or even our sport, can become our garden that we are to cultivate, and bear fruit in.
If we are not pursuing our spiritual ministry and purpose above any earthy position or profession, then we are serving the world first, and not the Lord. This is the first step to apostasy. As we are told in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” If we pursue anything before the kingdom, we will be at the very least distracted from our ultimate purpose. We must always, in everything, keep our kingdom purpose first.
Many will then be called to pursue other skills or professions as a part of their kingdom purpose, but these must always be kept as a means to a greater purpose. If our life is not founded upon our kingdom purpose first, then we will never know true fulfillment, peace, or satisfaction in this life.
Bearing Fruit
Because we were created to be fruitful and multiply, productivity is essential in our life if we are ever to be fulfilled. The only way we can truly bear fruit is to be joined to the Lord. This again brings us back to our primary purpose—knowing the Lord and having fellowship with Him. If we are drawing close to the Lord we will bear fruit.
The Lord said in John 12:32, "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." There is nothing more compelling or attractive in the universe than the Son of God. Accordingly, there is nothing more attractive than the person who is truly getting closer to Him, and becoming like Him. When we have been restored in our relationship to Him, and are abiding in Him, there will be an attraction in us that enables us to lead others to the redemption, reconciliation, and restoration of their purpose. It is in this way at the end, that the nations are going to come to the light of the church.
Being productive is very fulfilling, but there is nothing like the productivity of bearing fruit in the Spirit. Nothing can compare to the fulfillment of seeing someone else restored in their relationship to God, and then going on to bear fruit for Him themselves. Far more fulfilling than making a profit for our corporation would be to see the people in it changing and being restored. Building a company or an institution, can never be as fulfilling as building people into the temple of the Lord to which they are called to be, and seeing Him pleased with the work.
The Lord does not want this fruit wasted, but rather counted as precious. Just as the Lord walked with Adam in the garden, the main place where we will have fellowship with the Lord is in the place that He has given us to cultivate and bear fruit.
Our Personal Domain
As stated, each one of us will be given our own garden to cultivate, and it is also the spiritual domain that we are called to bear fruit in, and rule over. After our calling to first love God and be established in our relationship to Him, knowing our garden is the next most important matter in our life.
How do we know our garden, our spiritual domain that we have been given to cultivate? This can basically be answered by asking another simple question: Where are you now? Just as the Lord placed Adam in the Garden He had given him to cultivate, He has likewise placed us in our garden.
Wherever you are right now is the garden that you have been given to cultivate, bear fruit in, and rule over. The family you are in, the job you are in, the neighborhood you are in, even the prison you are in if that be the case, are the gardens that you have been called to cultivate for the purpose of restoring them to the kingdom of God.
A major point that we have been discussing is we must understand that only a small percentage of the ministries of the church are given for functioning within church meetings. Let’s face it—if all of the people in the church are equipped in their ministry and gifts, there are not enough meetings and time for them to function within what is presently considered “church.”
The problem is that we tend to still have a distorted view of what “church” is. Church is not just the meetings. And the meetings are not “church in session” as some have supposed. Church is in session 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We should be able to prophesy, or function in any of the gifts and ministries of the Spirit, just as easily Monday morning as Sunday morning.
To do this, most of us will have to take the religious trappings and restraints off of these gifts and ministries. We don’t have to say “thus saith the Lord” to prophesy. Some of the Lord Jesus’ most powerful and effective prophecies were given in what appeared to be just conversation. The anointed Word of God will accomplish what it is supposed to when it is shared, and does not need the bombast that a lot of us think it does to be “the Word of the Lord.”
Likewise, some of the greatest, most anointed, teachings may come out at the lunch table at work. Some of the most gifted pastors will never stand in a pulpit, but they will shepherd their fellow employees, their neighbors, little league team, Lion’s Club, bridge club, country club, army unit, prison unit, ship at sea...wherever God has placed us.
Multiplying the Fruit
Those who are faithful on one level will be given more ground to cultivate. Those who are faithful in shepherding their office or warehouse may then be given a position of spiritual authority to shepherd a city, and then even a nation. These are valid ministries of the church that are not necessarily to the church, which the church must learn to recognize and support.
It is important to understand the “garden” that the Lord has given us to cultivate, but we must also understand that the Lord promotes the faithful, not just those who “have a vision.” Visions are necessary, but having a vision is the easy part. Who has the faith, patience, focus, and discipline to see the vision become a reality is the issue. Whether we are recognized by the church or not, we must discern the garden(s) that the Lord has given us to cultivate, and be faithful in it. We need to watch over the kind of seed that is planted in our garden. We need to keep it weeded, watered, protecting it from the birds of the air, etc.