THE FIVE-FOLD MINISTRY GIFTS
OF JESUS TO THE CHURCH
ARE FOR TODAY
But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Therefore He says:
"When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
and gave gifts to men." (Ps.68:18)
(In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also He who ascended far above all the heavens that He might fill all things.)
He gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, and for the building up of the body of Christ, until we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, into a complete man, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ, so we may no longer be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men, by craftiness with deceitful scheming. Ephesians 4:7-14
Since the birth of the early church of Jesus Christ on the Day of Pentecost, fifty days after the Resurrection of Jesus, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the 120 or so people in the Upper Room in Jerusalem, when they all were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, it has always been the will of God that the church leadership would be made up of all five "Ascencion Gift ministries" as stated above.
In the early church as recorded in the Book of Acts, it is clear that the five ministry offices of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher were operating in their respective functions as given by Jesus to the church.
The twelve apostles, including Matthias who had replaced Judas Iscariot, Jesus' betrayer, went out from Jerusalem to all parts of the known world with the Gospel, planting churches and appointing pastor-shepherds of local churches.
The ministry office of prophet in the Book of Acts is attributed to a number of people:
Agabus: A prominent prophet from Judea who accurately foretold a severe famine during the reign of Claudius (Acts 11:28). Later in Acts 21:10-11, he famously acted out a visual prophecy using Paul's belt, binding his own hands and feet to predict Paul's upcoming arrest in Jerusalem.
Judas and Silas: Described as "themselves prophets" (Acts 15:32), they were sent from Jerusalem to Antioch with Barnabas and Paul
Prophets of Antioch: Acts 13:1 names a specific group of believers functioning as prophets and teachers in the church: Barnabas, Simeon (called Niger), Lucius of Cyrene, Manean and Saul.
Philip's daughters: Acts 21:8-9 mentions that the evangelist Philip had four virgin daughters who prophesied.
The ministry office of evangelist in the Book of Acts specifically is stated in the person of Philip, who was also one of the seven "deacons" appointed by the apostles in Acts 7. The apostle Paul encouraged his "son in the faith," Timothy in his role as a church pastor/shepherd to also "do the work of an evangelist."
The ministry gift of pastor is mentioned by Paul in the list of the five-fold ascension-gift ministries of Jesus to the church in Ephesians 4:11
In the Books of 1 Timothy and Titus, Paul outlines qualifications of those who aspire in God to be "bishops," or overseers - which is, in effect requirements for a pastor or church elder.
Many biblical scholars view "pastor" and "teacher" as a combined gifting, emphasizing not only care for the flock, but also use of Scripture to guide them through teaching.
As to the ministry gift of teacher, in the early church, the apostles and prophets had teaching roles also. Priscilla and Aquila, a first-century married missionary couple were co-workers with Paul. They possessed a profound theological understanding. When they encountered the eloquent preacher Apollos in Ephesus, they took him aside to explain "the way of God more accurately."
The apostle Peter, in Acts 3, after the healing of the lame man at the temple gate, spoke to those gathered there who were amazed to see this man healed and able to again walk, who had been lame from birth.
He said: " Those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and that He may send Jesus Christ, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began." vs.18-21 [Boldness and italics mine]
For over a thousand years following the first few centuries of the Christian church, when Biblical truth gave way to man-made doctrine and traditions, the church was led by a priestcraft, who bore little resemblance to the ministry gifts to the church by Jesus of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher. There was no or little equipping for ministry of the laity. The practice of indulgences was introduced by the Catholic Church in order to instil fear into people concerning their eternal destiny.
From the time of Martin Luther, some 700 years ago, there has been a restoration of the five-fold ministry gifts to the church over time, starting with the pastor at the time of Luther, then that of the evangelist with the Wesleys and Whitefield in the 1700's. The ministry gift of teacher came to the fore with the Charismatic Renewal of the 1960's and 70's.
Over the past thirty years, the ministry offices of prophet and, increasingly that of true apostles have been being restored to the church worldwide.
In the late 1990's, C. Peter Wagner, a church growth expert and missiologist, coined the term "New Apostolic Reformation," (NAR) expressing the reality of the rise of Holy-Spirit anointed modern-day apostles and prophets, bringing revelation and restoration to the body of Christ of divine church order and authority.
Sadly, there has been much maligning of the NAR by those who do not accept that apostles and prophets are required for the church - especially from the Cessationist camp, who believe they were meant only for the early church age, until all the first apostles had died, and the canon of Scripture was complete.
These folks also believe the gifts of the Holy Spirit ceased to be relevant to the church with the completion of the canon of Scripture. They reject outright present day operation of the gifts of the Spirit as stated in
1 Corinthians 12:4-11. They would say that God can still heal today, but if He does, it is a sovereign act of His will without any "anointed" person required to pray in faith.
Another aspect of restoration of truth and ministry to the church lost over the centuries is that of women in ministry, pertaining to leadership, teaching and preaching roles. Just this last week, in America, the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant grouping in America has voted overwhelmingly to reject women in public ministry. Very disappointing move!
Yes, there are people who claim to be true Holy-Spirit, God-ordained apostles and prophets who are not, but, as the old saying goes: "We shouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater."
The apostle Paul warned concerning those who say they are apostles, and are not, in his day. Yes, that warning surely applies today as well. But I truly believe we are living in days when true apostles and prophets ordained by the Living God and anointed mightily by the Holy Spirit are joining the company of the ministries of evangelist, pastor and teacher around the world, bringing unity and order to the body of Christ. These ones are seeing mighty demonstrations of the glory of God in multitudes saved, healed and delivered from demonic oppression. Signs, wonders, healings, miracles, lives transformed from darkness to light, the captives set free from the power of sin and demonic bondage into the liberty of the sons (and daughters) of God is becoming the reality of the church worldwide where these ascension-gift ministries are welcomed and encouraged to thrive under the direction of the Holy Spirit, bringing honour and glory to Jesus, our mighty King of kings, Lord of lords and soon-coming Messiah! h
