Saint Spotlight: Gregory of Nazianzus

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…” – Ephesians 4:11-12

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…”

• Ephesians 4:11-12

In His Church, God calls different people to perform different functions, complete different tasks, and speak different words – all for the encouragement and strengthening of His people. We see this in our own parish as teachers, ushers, guild members, musicians, missioners, and so on, faithfully obey God’s call and then bless the rest of us. Thanks be to God!

But this is nothing new; God has been calling men and women to build up the Body for centuries. Yesterday, the Church commemorated St. Gregory of Nazianzus. While we might not be well acquainted with Gregory, we still benefit from his bold faithfulness to God.

Amid much schism and heresy, Gregory held on to the truth of the Trinity: there is One God in Three Persons and Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man. Due in large part to his teaching, preaching, and steadfastness, what we now call the Nicene Creed was completed at the Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D. We still recite this Creed every Sunday in our worship. Thanks be to God!

The Trinity is one of the harder doctrines to understand, but it is crucial and beautiful. This morning in the Ladies’ Bible Study, we read Ephesians 1:3-14, which has much to say about the Trinity. Let me encourage you to read that passage, paying attention to what each person of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) does for us.

Then, as you give thanks for what our Triune God has done, may you also do the work of ministry to which God has called you, so that you build up the Body of Christ and bless the rest of us! Thanks be to God!

With gratitude and love for each of you,

BJ+