Do you see Jesus Christ at work in our society today? What kind of work is he doing? He is doing what he did in the days when he was on earth. The only difference is that he is no longer doing it through one solitary, earthly, physical body. He is doing it now through a corporate, complex body which exists around the world and permeates and penetrates every level of society. It is the same ministry, but now he does it through a different kind of body. We must understand that concept of the church. Individuals demonstrate Christ through the use of our Spiritual gifts.
We began to study spiritual gifts last week and we said that a spiritual gift is a God-given capacity through which the Holy Spirit supernaturally ministers to the body. Spiritual gifts are the Lord's primary means of making Christians become Christ in the world, His visible and manifest body. We saw last week that there are a total of 20 gifts listed in Scripture and these 20 gifts fall into different categories.
The first distinction is between the Gifts and the Gifted. Some of the gifts are personified and some are not. Some refer to gifts and some to gifted men. Generally, 1 Corinthians 12, which we are studying, speaks in terms of gifts, while Ephesians 4 speaks in terms of gifted men. Spiritual gifts have reference to the supernatural powers possessed by individuals, while gifted men have reference to the sovereign placement of gifted men in the church for the purpose of ministering to the body.
Let's go to Ephesians 4 and look at these gifted men.
Ephesians 4:11 (NKJV) "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some
evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,"
The things listed here are not gifts per say; there is not a gift of apostleship. These are gifted men who have special ministries.
Ephesians 4:7 (NKJV) "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of
Christ's gift."
This is talking about gifts. Everyone of us (believers) has received a gift or the divine capacity to minister to the body. The Greek word used for gift is dorea, which means a gratuity, a free gift. It does not focus on the undeservedness of the gift as does charismata, nor on the spiritual source of the gift as does pneumatikon, but on the freeness of the gift.
In Ephesians 4:3-6 the theme is unity. In verses 7-11 the emphasis is on diversity. Paul moves from the unity of believers to the uniqueness of believers. Each believer's gift is unique. The word measure is the Greek word metron, an instrument of measure. It has reference to a specific portion which is given by sovereign design from Christ. The Lord has measured out the exact portion of each believer's gift. We are gifted according to His plan, His purpose, His measure. We have no more to do with determining our gift than we did with determining the natural color of our skin, hair, or eyes. Some of you have changed the natural color of your hair, or eyes but you can't change your gift. God is the source of electing grace, equipping grace, and enabling grace.
A hundred believers with the gift of teaching will not all have the same degrees or areas of teaching ability or emphasis. According to 1 Peter 4:10 no Christian is to be a spectator. Every believer is on the team and has his part to play in the strategy of God's plan with his own unique skills, position and responsibilities. What happens when a team member decides not to play? There are no substitutes to send in.
At weddings, birthdays, and at Christmas we often receive gifts for which we have no use. We put them in a drawer, closet, garage or give them to someone else. But God gives no such gifts. Each of His gifts is exactly what we need to fulfil our work for Him. We never get the wrong gift or too much or too little of it. Your effectiveness in ministry is dependant upon two things: your gift and your commitment to the exercise of your gift. The only part you are responsible for is the commitment. How committed are you to ministry?
Now let's look at the Gifted in Ephesians 4: 8-11. Verses 9 & 10 are parenthetical; since were studying 1 Corinthians 12 and spiritual gifts, let's go from verse 8 to 11.
Ephesians 4:8 (NKJV) "Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity
captive, And gave gifts to men."
The Greek word used here for gifts is doma which means presents. The picture behind verse 8 is of a victorious general. After the battle is done and the war is won, the general distributes the spoils to his army. Verse 7 speaks of Christ's grace on believers individually. But verse 8 is describing certain gifts given by Christ to the church as a whole. These gifts are described in verse 11. Two of them are Foundational, which means they were temporary: Apostles and Prophets. And two of them are Fundamental positions: Evangelist and Pastor-teacher.
Let's look first at the Foundational positions.
A. Apostle: The Greek word is apostolos. Thayer says of apostolos that it is "a delegate, messenger or one sent forth with orders". We need to make a distinction between the official or primary apostles and the apostles of the churches. There are three groups of Primary Apostles.
1. The first of the primary apostles is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 3:1 (NKJV) "Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,
consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,"
He is the first apostle or messenger; He is the sent One.
2. The Twelve in Acts 1 are also some of the primary apostles.
Acts 1:13 (NKJV) "And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where
they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and
Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James."
Here we have 11. In verses 23-26 we see that Matthias took Judas's place.
Acts 1:23-26 (NKJV) "And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed
Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, "You, O Lord, who know the hearts of
all, show which of these two You have chosen 25 "to take part in this ministry and
apostleshipfrom which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place." 26
And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven
apostles."
In verse 25 the term apostleship takes on a technical meaning. The term Apostle technically refers to the twelve, but two other men in the New Testament fall into the category of an Apostle.
3. Paul and James are the third primary apostle group.
Galatians 1:1 (NKJV) "Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead),"
Galatians 1:15-19 (NKJV) "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's
womb and called me through His grace, 16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach
Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, 17 nor did I go
up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned
again to Damascus. 18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and
remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the
Lord's brother."
Her we see two additional apostles, Paul and James. These are the official Apostles, 14 all together.
The Secondary apostles or messengers of the churches is the second group of apostles.
2 Corinthians 8:23 (NKJV) "If anyone inquires about Titus, he is my partner and fellow
worker concerning you. Or if our brethren are inquired about, they are messengers of the
churches, the glory of Christ."
The Greek word translated messengers is apostolos. They were apostles of the churches, not of the Lord. We are all apostles in the general sense of messengers, or sent ones.
Ephesians 4 uses apostle in the technical sense of an Apostle of Jesus Christ. Now what makes a person an apostle of Jesus Christ? What are an apostle's qualifications?
Acts 1:21-22 (NKJV) "Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that
the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 "beginning from the baptism of John to that
day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His
resurrection."
They had to be a witness of Christ's earthly life. And they had witness the resurrection, they must have seen the resurrected Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:4-8 (NKJV) "and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third
day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6
After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part
remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then
by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due
time."
Both Paul and James had seen the resurrected Christ. Paul saw him on the Damascus road according to Acts 9.
What was the ministry of the apostles?
Ephesians 2:20 (NKJV) "having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone,"
They, along with the prophets, were responsible for laying the foundation of the church. In Acts 2 the church is said to have been devoted to the apostles' doctrine. According to 1 Cor. 12:28 it is one of the most important gifts. Their doctrine was authenticated by the miracles that they performed.
2 Corinthians 12:12 (NKJV) "Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you
with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds."
They had unique abilities and miraculous powers. According to Acts 5:15-16 whenever Peter's shadow fell on people they were healed. They were a unique group for a unique period of history to lay down a doctrinal foundation.
Are there apostles today in the technical sense of the word? No, despite the pretentious claims of some. After the apostles fulfilled their function they passed off the scene. Once the foundation was laid their work was finished. The apostolic age was a transition period between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The apostles had no successors. W. Graham Scroggie writes: "Now, the New Testament, which was then in progress of formation, is completed, and to that we make appeal; that is our power and our authority, rendering the working of miracles unnecessary. If it be claimed that we may now do all that the apostles did, how is it that no one is writing Scripture?"
Charles Hodge says, "The apostles were the immediate messengers of Jesus Christ, sent to declare his gospel, endued with the Holy Spirit, rendering them infallible as teachers, and investing them with miraculous powers, and clothed with peculiar prerogatives in the organization and government of the church."
C. H. Spurgeon writes, "As the result of the ascension of Christ into heaven, the church received apostles, men who were selected as witnesses because they had personally seen the Savior. An office which necessarily dies out, and properly so, because the miraculous power also is withdrawn. They were needed temporarily, and they were given, by the ascended Lord, as a choice legacy."
If there are no apostles today (no one sees the resurrected Christ or witnessed his earthly life) and if there have been no apostles in the sense of the fourteen since the days of New Testament, then are there temporary gifts? Yes! We can say with certainty that at least one of the gifts of the Spirit was temporary. This gives us a biblical precedent to surmise that other gifts may have been temporary.
B. Prophets: These comprise the second foundational group. Prophets were gifted men who were second only to the apostles in the founding days of the church. A prophet in the New Testament refers to one who has the insight into divine things and who speaks them forth. Sometimes prophecy was predictive as we see in Acts.
Acts 11:27-28 (NKJV) "And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28
Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going
to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius
Caesar."
Sometimes prophecy spoke for God rather than predicting the future. For instance, not everything Isaiah said was predictive. So prophets gave present and future truth. When they spoke of the future they were to be 100% accurate or they were to die.
Deuteronomy 18:18-22 (NKJV) "I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among
their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I
command Him. 19 'And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks
in My name, I will require it of him. 20 'But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in
My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other
gods, that prophet shall die.' 21 "And if you say in your heart, 'How shall we know the
word which the LORD has not spoken?'; 22 "when a prophet speaks in the name of the
LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has
not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him."
A prophet is the mouth of God:
Exodus 7:1 (NKJV) "So the LORD said to Moses: "See, I have made you as God to
Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet."
Aaron was to speak for Moses, who was as God to Pharaoh.
Marvin Vincent says of prophecy, "Prophecy is utterance under immediate divine inspiration; delivering inspired exhortation, instructions or warnings. The fact of direct inspiration distinguished prophecy from teaching." Before the completion of revealed truth in the Scriptures the prophets were inspired revealers of Gods teaching to the churches. They told the infant churches what they should do, believe, and teach. Their ministry was later superceded by the Bible.
What was the difference between a prophet and an apostle? In some cases there wasn't any. Paul, Peter, and John were prophets and apostles. The prophets seemed to have a more local ministry to the churches, while the apostles were the church planters. According to Ephesians 2:20 prophecy was also a foundational gift. So the gifts of apostle and prophet passed away during the foundation period of the church.
In AD 150 the churches faced their first controversy on this issue. Montanus and his two prophetesses claimed that the gift of apostle and prophet were renewed in him. Accordingly new revelations were given through him superseding the Scriptures. This situation forced the church to declare their position on the issue of extra-biblical prophecy. The churches avowed that the Scriptures were closed. The Word of God is all the prophecy we need.
2 Peter 1:19 (NKJV) "And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to
heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in
your hearts;"
Are there prophets today in a secondary sense? Aren't those who preach the Word with power and authority prophets? They are prophets only if they are speaking under inspiration, directly for God.
Are there prophets today who could write something that would have the authority of Scripture? No! John MacArthur says, "There are people who want to eliminate prophecy as still existing today. They have a problem, because if they eliminate prophecy, then what do they say the people are doing who proclaim the Word?" I say that they are teaching or preaching!
The prophets were a temporary group. They were around only until the close of the Old Testament canon. Then the prophets didn't appear again in the four hundred year period after the Old Testament writings were completed. When the New Testament was to be written, prophets appeared again. But as soon as the New Testament was completed, the prophets disappeared again. There aren't any prophets today because the Word of God gives us all we need. If you want to know God's mind on a matter read your Bible.
If there are no people today giving inspired utterance than are there temporary gifts? Yes!
The apostles and the prophets fell into the category of Foundational Positions in the early church. The next category is the Fundamental positions.
The Fundamental Positions:
A. Evangelist: When we hear the word evangelist we often think of someone who comes to a church for a week of meetings. He is a man with seven suits and seven messages. How many of you have that image of an evangelist?
The term evangelist only appears three times in Scripture: Eph. 4:11, Acts 21:8 , and 2 Timothy 4:5. In Acts 8 we see Philip using the gift of evagelism.
Acts 8:4-6 (NKJV) "Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the
word. 5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. 6 And
the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the
miracles which he did."
Notice that he was preaching about Christ rather than telling tear jerking stories. The New Testament was not complete so he was confirming his message with miracles.
Acts 8:26 (NKJV) "Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is desert."
Acts 8:34 (NKJV) "So the eunuch answered Philip and said, "I ask you, of whom does the
prophet say this, of himself or of some other man? 35 "Then Philip opened his mouth, and
beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him."
The evangelist doesn't have to have a crowd to preach the gospel: he preaches everywhere to everyone. The evangelist is given to the church and energized for the purpose of winning people to Christ.
2 Timothy 4:5 holds the third occurrence of the word evangelist.
2 Timothy 4:5 (NKJV) "But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work
of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."
We could translate this "do an evangelist's work." There is no article before evangelist which indicates that Paul was speaking of a type or quality of work rather than an official position. Paul was saying, "Don't forget to reach out to the lost Timothy, do what an evangelist does".
Not all evangelists were apostles, but all the apostles were evangelists. The work of preaching the gospel which belonged to the apostles is now the work of the evangelist. Eusebius, a 4th century historian, reported that the first century church fathers said, "Evangelists were the successors to the apostles who died."
The role of an evangelist seems to be to preach the gospel, win people to Christ and plant churches. Maybe some of you have been in a church that never got past the stage of evangelizing. The man who started the church is still there and just keeps preaching to the lost. Every service is an attempt to win the lost. He needs to move on and let a Pastor-teacher take over and teach the people God's Word.
George Whitfield was an evangelist who demonstrated the power of God. For all his life he was an asthmatic. When he preached he gasped for breath. When he came to Newberryport, Connecticut the villagers found his lodging and asked him to preach in the middle of the night. The preacher came down the stairway and stood on the bottom step. There he preached the message of Christ to the people in the hall, on the porch, and out in the yard. He held a candle in his hand in a little candle holder. When the candle burned down and went out, George led a benedictory prayer, went back up to his room, lay down, and died with an attack of asthma. How could an asthmatic be such a powerful preacher? God empowered him. Spiritual gifts are a supernatural enablement of God. Billy Graham is an evangelist, for he compels people to listen to the good news of Jesus Christ.
There is not a gift of evangelism, this is a gifted man. We are all to do the work of an evangelist. Are you?
2. Pastor-teacher: This is one gifted man rather than two men or gifts. The use of kai, linking pastor and teacher instead of the usual de, implies that one cannot be a true pastor without being also a teacher. This is the ministry that fills up the void created by the absence of the prophets. When the New Testament prophets died off the teaching pastor then had the local ministry to a body of believers.
2 Peter 2:1 (NKJV) "But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there
will be false teachers among you..."
The teacher is doing what the prophets did in a revelatory sense, but he uses the written Word of God. He is to shepherd the church, to feed and lead.
What is the teaching pastor to do? He is to pastor and teach. As a pastor he protects the flock; as a teacher he feeds the flock. This is a gifted man rather than an office. There is no office of pastor-teacher. No one man has the organizational control of the Church.
Elders (plural) have the oversight of the church instead of one man.
Acts 20:17 (NKJV) "From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church."
James 5:14 (NKJV) "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church,
and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord."
Note that elders is plural and church is singular. Do all the elders have to be pastor-teachers? No!
1 Timothy 5:17 (NKJV) "Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor,
especially those who labor in the word and doctrine."
All elders lead, some lead well and some also labor at teaching. The labor Paul refers to is an intensive, Spirit- imparted devotion to Scripture, a Spirit-imparted gift. Not all elders are pastor-teachers, nor do they have to be. There is no special spiritual gift listed as a qualification or requirement for elders in 1 Timothy 3 or Titus 1.
The gifted men who are pastor-teachers often try to exercise many of the other gifts in the local church and they end up doing everything except teaching. A pastor-teacher's main job is to teach the Word. Notice our Lord's emphasis on teaching.
John 21:15-17 (NKJV) "So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,
"Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You
know that I love You." He said to him, "Feed My lambs." 16 He said to him again a second
time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I
love You." He said to him, "Tend My sheep." 17 He said to him the third time, "Simon, son
of Jonah, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do
you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love
You." Jesus said to him, "Feed My sheep."
The Greek word feed in verse 15 & 17 is bosko which means to provide food. This refers most obviously to the teaching ministry of the pastor-teacher. In verse 16 he use the word poimaino, which means to shepherd. The emphasis in this text is on the feeding. The way a shepherd cares for his sheep is to feed them. A pastor-teacher's priority is to feed the people.
The text in Ephesians 4 says the gifted men were given for a specific purpose:
Ephesians 4:12-13 (NKJV) "for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness
of Christ;"
We have such a strong tendency to think of these gifted men as professional Christians. These are what we call "the clergy" and "reverends." Almost invariably we include in this class of people only those who have gone through some kind of specialized training school and spend their full time at this kind of work. It does, of course, include that kind of people but it is not limited to that.
The pastor-teacher's calling is to equip the saints. His purpose is not to build great buildings, gather large crowds or collect large sums of money but to mature the saints. Who are the saints? All believers are saints. The literal Greek of this verse reads: "for the perfecting of the saints unto a work of ministry unto the edifying of the body of Christ."
The gifted men don't have three purposes but one, to perfect the saints. Did you know that God wants you perfect? The Greek word for perfecting is katartismos, which means to be fully equipped, full grown, mature. That is God's goal for your life: maturity. He wants you to be like Christ because to be mature is to be Christ-like, so that you act as he would.
Romans 8:29 (NKJV) "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the
image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren."
How do we progress from the new birth to maturity? Let me say first of all that it has nothing to do with how long you have been saved. The passage of time will not automatically mature a believer. Spiritual maturity involves three ingredients.
1. You must spend time in the Word of God. You will never mature apart from this discipline. John 17:17 makes this clear.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV) "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of
God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."
This is where the gifted men come in: the pastor-teacher's job is to teach you the Word of God. Calvin said "Those who neglect this means [pastor-teacher] and yet hope to become perfect in Christ are mad."
2. Secondly God brings trials and suffering into our life to help us grow, according to James 1:2-4 and 1 Peter 5:10.
3. The third thing that we need in order to mature is accountability: we need someone to encourage and exhort us to press on to maturity. Most Christians today have no accountability.
I can help with two of these. My driving passion is to teach the Word of God. I can also help with accountability if you are willing. But making you suffer is not one of my responsibilities.
What is your responsibility? It is also found in verse 12: "for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. " These gifted men exist for the equipment of the saints unto
the work of the ministry and unto the building up of the body of Christ. Who is to do these two things? The saints, the people! That is God's intention. It is not the job of the pastors. It may come as a shocking surprise to many of you that it was never God's intention for pastors to visit all the sick, comfort the bereaved, preach to the lost or teach the newly converted. All these are part of what is called here "the work of the ministry and the building up of the body of Christ." The pastor-teachers are to train and equip, undergird and motivate the people to do this work. It is the people who are to do the work of the church. Anything less than this is a terrible distortion of what God intended the church to be like. Perhaps no concept has been more damaging to the effectiveness of the church than the idea that the job of the people was to bring the world into the building to hear the gospel and the pastor's job was to preach it to them. Nothing could be further from the truth. The business of Christian people is to take the good news of Jesus Christ out to where people are, and once they become Christians out there, then they are to come to church. Now this does not mean that we shut the doors of the church to anyone who comes in as a non-Christian. They are perfectly welcome, but they should come with the understanding that they are coming into a Christian gathering to hear what Christians believe and learn what Christians find in Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Church.
You are to do the work of the ministry. That means that you are to use your gift to minister to the body and in the world. As you do this the body is built up, or matured. It becomes Christ-like when you use your gift. 'm using my gift by I'm teaching you. Are you using your gift? Are you doing the "work of the ministry" and building up the body of Christ? How? What are you doing? What have you done in the last week that would classify as the "work of the ministry." How have you helped the body to mature? Let me close with the exhortation of Peter:
1 Peter 4:10 (NKJV) "As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."
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