EXPOSITION:
At the heart of the possessing the nations agenda is the mandate of equipping the church with values and principles of the Kingdom of God to cause transformation in every sphere of society. God has called us (Christians) out of the world and sent us back into the world to transform worldviews, philosophies, and ideologies to bring them under the authority of the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
It is for this reason Christ has placed leaders over his church. Today’s reading makes it clear that it is Christ Himself who gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to equip His people. We can see that God’s intent and purpose for the church are to have a community of believers who are matured into the fullness of Christ. Since attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ does not happen in a day, the Christian must be humble and constantly allow himself to undergo training.
Anyone who is not properly equipped with the basic skills in accomplishing a particular task ends up not performing to the required level. In the same way, as God seeks to unleash His church for battle in these end times, there is the need for the church to engage in the basic rudiments of the Christian faith such as prayer, fasting, studying the Scriptures, evangelism, etc. while allowing leadership to help nurture the gifts God has deposited in them. The church is equipped to gain stability and gain immovable grounds against the storms of the devil.