Equipping (2677) (katartismos from katartizo [word study] = mend, repair, make whole or perfect, of setting bones, mending nets in turn from katá = with + artÃzo = adjust, fit, finish related to ) means to make something or someone (in this case the "sheep" in the flock) completely adequate or sufficient for something. The basic idea is that of putting a thing into the condition in which it ought to be. In politics it is used for bringing together opposing factions so that government can go on. The English word equip means to furnish for service or action by appropriate provisioning. Equip describes the supplying with the items needed for a particular purpose, both of these definitions providing excellent pictures of the effect the gifted men should have on the body of Christ. Fitting or preparing them fully, so that thus equipped or fitted out they might serve the purpose for which they were made. Paul used the verb form (katartizo) in the context of a call for unity writing... Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions (schisms, parties, in present context referring to no division over personalities) among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. (Comment: Paul appeals for adjustments to be made in these personality divisions so that there might be unity in the church. Other issues that divided the Corinthian church included libertinism (1Cor 6:13), the relation of men and women in the church (1Cor 11:2-16), food laws (1Cor 8:10; 10:25), speaking in tongues (1Cor 14), and resurrection of the dead (1Cor 15). Paul used the verb form (katartizo) again in second epistle to the Corinthians in his closing admonition to the believers: Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete (present imperative = commands a lifelong, daily process until we see Jesus face to face!) (2Co 13:11) Comment: Katartizo conveys the sense here not of adding something that is lacking, but of putting things in order, of adjusting things that are out of adjustment as for example in describing fisherman mending their nets. Paul was commanding the Corinthian saints to mend their ways, to straighten themselves out, and restore harmony among themselves. Spiritual wholeness comes when the church, both collectively and individually, is in complete conformity to God’s Word. To equip the saints to do so is the responsibility of the church’s leaders. It is worth noting that in classical Greek this word group is derived from the root "ar-" which indicates appropriateness, suitability, usefulness, aptitude. Artios (katartismos) for example means suitable, appropriate, fitting a situation or requirements; hence also respectively, normal, perfect, sound in physical, intellectual, moral and religious respects. In mathematics it is used to describe what is straight and to denote even numbers. Artios properly signifies an integer or whole number in arithmetic, to which nothing needs to be added to make it complete. This word describes those persons who are complete, capable and proficient in everything they are called to be or do. When you're packing to go on a trip you have everything you need for the journey and you're ready to go! You are ready for the WORK of God once you have been trained by WORD of God! Regarding artios NIDNTT adds that... Of particular importance are those passages in which artios and its derivatives are used in connexion with the preparation and equipment of the believer and the church, for the service of God and their fellow-men. The adj. artios occurs only at 2Ti 3:17-note (see below), together with the perfect pass. participle exertismenos. In the OT scriptures the church of the New Testament has an indispensable, God-given guide to living, through which the man of God may achieve an appropriate state, viz. be equipped for every work of love: “so that the man who belongs to God may be efficient and equipped for good work of every kind” (NEB). Artios here does not imply perfection, as was originally thought, doubtless because of the variant reading teleios, perfect, in Codex D. Rather it refers to the state of being equipped for a delegated task... The terms artios and katartismos thus have not so much a qualitative meaning as a functional one. (Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986. Zondervan) As noted in the NIDNTT preceding definition, there are two cognates (relatives of katartismos) used in 2 Timothy which are very instructive regarding the primary tool God provides for the equipping of the saints... All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate (artios), equipped for every good work. (2Ti 3:16, 17-note) Comment: The primary tool God provides for the equipping of saints is His Word (see Simple Study on the Power of God's Word). Pastors (shepherds) are feeding the sheep solid food (Heb 5:14-note = no solid food , no maturity, no discernment!), preaching the pure milk of the word (1Pe 2:2-note = no milk, no growth!) in season and out of season, reproving, rebuking and exhorting with great patience and instruction (2Ti 4:2, 3-note)? You must feed yourself first (cp Paul to the Ephesian elders = Acts 20:32a), then feed your sheep and then teach them how to feed themselves on the word - see Inductive Bible study. Don't just give them "fish" to eat, but equip them with the tools that will enable them to "fish" for themselves anywhere in the Word. Basically katartismos refers to that which has been restored to its original condition, is being made fit or being made complete. The root word was used as a medical term used for setting bones! Secular Greek also used it to refer to the furnishing a house. Paul's use in the context of the body, the church, pictures the complete furnishing of the believer so that he/her might be made ready to fulfill his/her purpose in the body of Christ where he/she had been placed by God's Spirit. It follows quite logically that if the "sheep" are not equipped by the shepherds, the body will not function to its full potential or capacity, just as human body that is deficient in vital nutrients fails to fulfill its function optimally. If this is an important truth for the temporal, physical body, how much more important is it for the eternal, spiritual body! Shepherds, feed your sheep. Have you ever just read an entire letter of Paul's together with your flock? This letter was meant to be read publicly but it seems we have drifted from such practices, for a variety of reasons. Are you encouraging your sheep to memorize the Word? (Ps 119:9, 10, 11-note)... to meditate on the Word? (Ps 1:2,3-note, Josh 1:8-note) Ray Stedman offers an excellent illustration (mending nets) of the practical meaning of katartismos . First observe the passage Stedman is referring to... Mt 4:21 And going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending (katartizo) their nets; and He called them. Stedman comments... In the original Greek, the word is katartismos, from which we get our English word "artisan"--an artist or craftsman, someone who works with his hands to make or build things. It is a special point of interest that this word first appears in the New Testament in connection with the calling of the disciples. As Jesus walked along the Sea of Galilee, he saw two pairs of brothers, Peter and Andrew, and James and John, sitting in a boat busily working. What were they doing? They were mending their nets. The word "mending" is the (Ed note: actually the related verb katartizo) word translated in Ephesians 4 as "equipping." They were equipping their nets by mending them. They were fixing their nets, making them strong, preparing them for service, getting them ready for action! Mending the Saints - The use of this particular word suggests that the role of the four support gifts (Ed note: the gifted men in Ep 4:11-note) within the church is essentially that of mending the saints, preparing them for service, getting them ready for action. This Greek word is also translated as "fitting them out" or "preparing." The Greek authority, J. H. Thayer, says it means "to make one what he ought to be." Perhaps the nearest modern equivalent is "to shape up." The ultimate aim of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor--teachers is the shaping up of the saints to do the work of the ministry. A moment's thought will make clear that the instrument to be used by the four support gifts in equipping the saints is the word of God. Obviously, all four support ministries relate somehow to that word...The task of the pastor-teacher is to use the Word of God to cleanse and feed the flock. The early church clearly understood that the word of God was the instrument of growth in the lives of Christians. Paul once spoke to the very elders to whom this Ephesian letter is addressed and said to them, And now I commend (place you beside is the idea = commercial technical term for giving something to someone in trust for safekeeping = to "deposit") you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified (Acts 20:32). And again, at the close of his career, he wrote to his son in the faith, young Timothy, and urged him to teach the inspired Scripture which were given, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. If pastors and teachers ignore the Word, God's divinely-provided instrument of equipping, then they should not be surprised if the saints in their charge are ill-equipped for--and ineffective in--the work of the ministry. That is why so many churches today are little more than spectator arenas where unequipped, unmotivated, uninvolved people sit around, waiting only to be kept amused and occupied. The teaching of the truth of the Word of God is what Peter calls "feeding the flock of God which is among you" (1Pe 5:2-note). The Word can both feed (see He 5:12, 13-notes He 5:12; 13 and 1Pe 2:2-note), and cleanse (John 15:3 and Eph 5:26-note), and the true pastor will constantly be using it to do both. He will seek to teach the whole truth of God. There is no better means to do this than through the expository preaching of the whole Bible. The expository method of teaching or preaching is to go through a book, or a section of a book of the Bible, leaving out nothing, commenting on everything, touching it all. That prevents a pastor from only skewing his preaching only to a few favorite "pet passages," and forces that pastor to keep truth in balance... Unfortunately, in many churches (and particularly American churches), there has come a strange reversal of roles between the pastor and the evangelist. This has effectively deprived churches of the biblical ministry of a pastor and has resulted in a sadly impoverished, untaught, unequipped people. The work of evangelism has been exalted over that of pastoral teaching in many American churches. (Body Life - see chapter "Shaping Up the Saints") (Bolding added) In the time of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the Temple, the Jews who returned from captivity were in great need of "shaping up", and so the following solution should not surprise us... While they stood (you mean they didn't even have wooden pews or padded chairs?) in their place, they read from the book of the law of the LORD their God for a fourth of the day; (note the effect the Word of God has on a tender, teachable heart!) and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the LORD their God. (Nehemiah 9:3, cp Neh 8:5 = The people often stood as a sign of reverence and humility = 1Sa 1:26; 1Ki 8:22; Lk 18:11,13) Comment: How many congregations would sit still for a fourth of a day to hear the book of the law read? ("In Nehemiah 8 we discover that apparently the congregation stood on their feet from morning until noon, for seven days, as the Scriptures were read and expounded compare Neh8:3,7,8,18. This is an amazing testimony of reverence toward God's Word, seldom, if ever, repeated since." Morris, Henry: Defenders Study Bible) One day we will be standing before the throne and before the Lamb, the Word of God, (Re 7:9-note), so why not "practice" standing now when the Word of God is read (no legalism here, all of grace motivated by love and reverential awe for so great a salvation and a Book so precious, standing as an act of worship. We stand when we sing songs written by men. Why do we not stand when we read Words written by God?