 Ephesians chapter 4 verse 7: “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift…. 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,  12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,  14 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. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 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.” English Standard Version. Check other translations. Previously we decoded “saints”: Saints are us! So what does, “to equip the saints” mean? There are 63 English translations for Ephesians 4:12 now at BibleGateway.com. I count four ways they translate “equip”, with four pictures these translations bring to my malleable mind: 
Recall that “saints” are part of a word family, the hagios clan. There are 233 New Testament verses featuring members of that family: Holy Spirit, holy city, holy man, holy angels, holy child, holy name, holy prophets, holy covenant, holy writings, holy kiss, and more. Though numerous, these contexts all consistently focus on the notion of the “holy”. "Holy" describes something or someone dedicated to God, or something or someone that God declared to be set apart for him. Thus God has declared us holy; not by our merit, but by Christ's. God had to tell Moses he was standing on holy ground. I don't mind when someone treats me like dirt. Through Christ you and I are holy dirt. By contrast, the New Testament word family for “equip” consists of just this one verse, Ephesians 4:12. The source word, katartismon, has no brothers or sisters. But katartismon has cousins: the katartizo family and katartisis family. These verses give contexts for translating the relatives of “equip”.  Translation results among the relatives of “equip”: • prepare • bring forth • mend, repair, or prepare (fishing nets) • finish (work) • prepare (for destruction!) • unite (in same frame of mind) • mature • restore (someone benched for wrongdoing) • supply, complete (what is lacking) • prepare, provide (a body) • create (the universe!) Ahha! “Repairing” the saints probably came from James and John mending their nets. Peeking outside the New Testament (according to Thayer, Kittel, & BDAG), other Greek writings of the time add perspectives for katartismon: setting bones; furnishing a house; arming soldiers; artistry; competency; professionalism. Perhaps Paul saw this wide range of interpretation. He goes on to identify what happens when we successfully equip:
When we have these nine or so virtues, then congratulations! We will be equipped saints! We will be prepared, repaired, and perfected saints. These verses don’t completely reveal a process or a program. For that, what we have here is people. Just people, not programs. The first-century churches had apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors/shepherds, and teachers. These people were saints and they served saints. All the saints served God, one another, and the community. Ha. If these saints, even the apostles, were 100% perfect, then the New Testament would be much shorter! Their mediocrity or occasional slips are a plus for us! While the apostles and company had missionary and first-responder roles in equipping the saints, let us not forget verse 7: “to each one is given a gift”. Each saint has a role in the growth of saints. If we want how-to lessons on how to serve, how to increase in faith and knowledge, how to mature, how to speak truth in love, and more, we have records of how these saints did it: The New Testament.  Equipping the Saints It was possible to go from zero to hero for one fellow, but his shepherd was Jesus. Ditto for this guy. Skill with your saintly vehicle benefits from coaching from other saints. The Bible records that missionary saints like Paul and Barnabas received help from one another and from the other saints: encouragement, money, hospitality, companionship, even correction. How ought the church do equipping? Is there a process, action plan, curriculum, catechism, program, or teacher’s guide? I assert that direction for equipping the saints is hidden in plain sight. It’s the Bible. Right: Some assembly required. Do you find the Bible puzzling? Enlist a holy hitchhiker like this guy did. Tip: The Bible is long. Parts are for you now, parts are for other situations. Starting in Genesis is ok. Exodus has drama and directives. Then jump way forward and read Luke several times. Luke’s sequel, Acts, made me a Christian.  Leaning on holy people is essential. Pondering God's holiness helps. We also cannot neglect the prompting of God’s Holy Spirit. Just as Moses walked unknowingly on holy ground, just as Jesus walked and talked with two people without their immediate recognition, the Holy Spirit's direction is present even if we don’t recognize it. The higher view of GPS (God’s Powerful Spirit) will become preferred to following hunches and feelings, you know, like babies on the stormy ocean. One aspect of equipping is learning in doing. You’ll succeed at some attempts but mess up so much. Other saints can help you get up and stumble on. I enjoy fresh saints and canned saints. By canned saints I mean written or spoken advice I store for times of need and for continuing education. Another key concept is that saints differ in gifts. That’s stated in Ephesians chapter 4. Check also Romans 12 and the more controversial 1 Corinthians 12. How do you discover spiritual gifts? Consider my experience in an older article, Which Muppet are You? Another Biblical approach to discovering and developing your spiritual gift is in Kevin McConaghy’s super-duper list, The “One Anothers” of Scripture. A book by Gene A. Getz, Building Up One Another, comments on these equipping nuggets. Not enough? I was privileged to hear one of the last sermons of Ray Stedman, so I claim him as one of my equippers. He wrote a book, Body Life, freely available here. Body Life documents the equipping and growth of Peninsula Bible Church in a very hostile environment. Apostle Paul gives the following encouragement to his protégé Timothy and to us: “Keep using the gift God gave you … let it grow, as a small flame grows into a fire. God did not give us a spirit that makes us afraid but a spirit of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy chapter 1) 
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Our Writers:At The Surge we love doing things together... that includes writing a blog! Here are a few of our main contributing authors: Greg JohnsonJesus++ Anna Mari GreenEnjoys being busy and trying lots of new things. But she loves Jesus, her family, good food, photography, and travel Dwaine DarrahOur fearless leader, and Lead Pastor at The Surge. His experience in counter terrorism with the CIA prepared him for ministry and he likes dogs and babies even more than E does. EE (short for Eric Reiss) is the XO / Wingman at The Surge and likes dogs, music, Mexican food, his wife Karen and his daughter Evangeline... not necessarily in that order. Archives
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