Some may suggest that Jesus couldn’t be the model for ministry because the church age didn’t begin until after Jesus’ resurrection on the day of Pentecost. Therefore, the work Jesus did with the disciples predates the church and cannot be considered a model for ministry in the church. I disagree.
In Matthew 16.18, Jesus states, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16.18). The phrase, “build my church” is exactly what Jesus was doing during this earthly ministry. He was, in a very real and practical way, laying the foundation of the church with himself as the cornerstone and the men he trained as the foundation.
The Apostle Paul acknowledged this when he wrote, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Ephesians 2.19-22).
Years ago when Liz and I first moved to Oklahoma City, we built our first house. I can still remember the foundation being poured. We walked among the studs and prayed over each room as it was being built. We wrote scriptures on the foundation slab. Finally, the project was complete and we celebrated on move-in day. If someone were to ask me, “When was the house built?” I wouldn’t say it was built on move-in day. It all started when the footings were laid, the rebar was fitted, and the concrete was poured. That was the beginning of the house.
In the same way, Jesus’ earthly ministry was laying the footings, tying the rebar, and pouring the foundation of the church that would ultimately take full shape with the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. You can see this as you read the gospels. By the strictest definition, the church is a group of believers in Jesus Christ who have been called to follow him. That is exactly what the first followers of Jesus did.
They each responded to Jesus’ invitation to “follow me.” They were followers of Jesus. They belonged to him. They possessed eternal life based on the work of Christ on the cross (John 10.14-16; 27-30). The functional ministries of the church also began with the first followers of Jesus. The followers of Jesus experienced forgiveness of sins (Luke 5.23; 7.48; John 10.28), lived in community (Mark 6.31; Acts 1.13-14), preached the gospel (Mark 3.13, 6.12), baptized believers (John 4.2), received the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26.26-29), worshipped Jesus (Matthew 14.33, 28.17; Luke 24.52), prayed (Luke 11.1-13; Acts 1.14), received the commission to spread the gospel (Matthew 28.18-20; Acts 1.8), exercised power over the demonic in Jesus’ name (Mark 6.7), and experienced the moving of the Spirit (John 20.22) all prior to the day of Pentecost.
Therefore, since Jesus’ ministry to his church began with the calling of his disciples, the ministry of Jesus is the ministry of the local church. The apostles are described as the foundation of the church because they knew Jesus personally, were trained by Jesus, and carried on the work of Jesus as the church continued to grow and multiply.
It’s interesting to note that Paul, who fills in more details about church structure, leadership, and function, personally followed the pattern of ministry Jesus established (I Corinthians 11.1) and continued the disciple-making strategy of Jesus (2 Timothy 2.2). Jesus is the model of ministry for the church because Jesus is the head of the church (Colossians 1.18, Ephesians 5.23), the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2.20), and the builder of the church (Matthew 16.18).
This blog features an excerpt from one of our books, Bold Moves.
