Gimme Five!
"The same one who came down is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that his rule might fill the entire universe. He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ. Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love." —Ephesians 4:10-16 (NLT)
I've heard it said that one should never say, "never." And I suppose that there's some wisdom to that counsel. I have thought some things would never be, but God proved me wrong (more than once, by the way). Having said that, there are some things that one can say never about. Such as:
God will NEVER lie to you, because it is impossible for God to lie (See Hebrews 6:18). And, you will NEVER get to Heaven if you don't turn from your sin (repent), believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and receive Him as Savior, because there is only one way to the Father, and that's through faith in Jesus, His Son (See John 14:6). Or, you can NEVER please God if you don't live by faith, because "without faith it's impossible to please God" (See Hebrews 11:6). Or, you will NEVER enjoy the forgiveness of God if you don't forgive others because if you don't forgive others their trespasses, God will not forgive you (See Matthew 18:21-35).
I could go on, but, here's the point I want to make—the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ will NEVER be what God has called her to be and she will NEVER do what God has called her to do until the five ministry gifts that Christ has given to the Church—the apostle, the prophet, the evangelist, the pastor, and the teacher—are all recognized, received, and functioning in their God-given gifts and callings.
The problem is, many church bodies only recognize the gift of pastor. That's whose name you will usually see on the sign out front of most churches. But where is the apostle and the prophet? And what about the evangelist and the teacher?
Many church bodies lack vision, purpose, and direction for lack of an apostle. Others struggle with division and sin because the voice of the prophet is seldom heard. And some lack a heart for the lost in this world because the gift of the evangelist is not received. Let me say again—the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ will NEVER be what she is created and called to be until these gifts are given their place in the body of Christ.
Let's pray that God will help us see our need for these gifts, and that we will receive them to the glory of God.
The subject of the five fold ministry has never been addressed outside the charasmatic camp.(The Baptist, Methodist etc. know nothing about it) Within the charasmatic grouping of church bodies, the subject was given a certain amount of attention during the 1970's and early 80's. Since then, no one seems to be addressing the subject at all.
There is precious little known of the ministry of the Apostle and Prophet in the pentecostal/charasmatic camp nowdays. There is more of an awareness of the teacher's ministry and the evangelist, but still those offices are widely misunderstood.
For the church to function effeciently, all 5 offices must be understood, respected, and utilized. Step one has to be a renewed emphasis in educating the body concerning these various offices. The second step is to begin to support these ministries at the local level. In most churches, so few members tithe that the church can barely keep up with a salary for a pastor. If they were to desire to put a teacher or evangelist on staff, they simply wouldn't be able to afford it.
The fact that churches are widely underfunded translates into the reality that people called to full time ministry as a teacher, or evangelist, or prophet, sometimes feel forced to take a pastor's position in order to work full time as a "minister." A prophet doesn't make a good pastor, and so it goes.
Someday, with God's help, we will get all this straight, and the church will go foward in much greater power.
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You are correct in your observation and evaluation of the situation, Verl.
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You have a lot of wisdom Dad! I love you! Thanks for lettin me play on Thursdays with ya, it's an honor!
X0X0
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Dear Brother Randy,
I firmly agree with your entry on the apostle and prophet. It is a sad commentary that over the years the church has only recognized certain personalities as prophetic gifts. When they were recognized,they were only from a certain portion of the Body of Christ. I firmly believe that the day and time is upon us to discover the ministry of the apostles, as well as the prophets among us. I know it is on the horizon. Your entry is very timely my brother.
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I know that this is a little late but, in ref to apostles and prophets I must confess that I've met 1 "Apostle" that I would not walk across the street to hear again, and 1 Apostle that I would love to see and hear as often as possible. As for prophets, I've only met two people in my life that I would say with assurance were prophets but only know one personally(somewhat). I know a couple of people that I think may step into that, but have not as yet done so. I've seen and heard a lot of Apostle So-And-So and Prophet So-And-So, but I'm sorry you gotta show me. No doubt that the church suffers for the lack of God called and annointed Apostles, Prophets, etc., and there is no doubt that many in the church will reject them, but when people begin to fully function in these offices the whole situation will look totally different! I think that when those who claim to be (and may actually be called to be) Apostles and Prophets quit advertising themselves to be something and begin to demonstrate the calling they will be more widely respected. I do not mean to disrespect anyone and perhaps I expect too much, but I'm tired of seeing people claim to be something that there is no indication of (other that the advertisement in Charisma magazine, or the internet, etc. In my understanding Apostles are not people who start a church and prophets are not people who go around saying "thus saith the Lord". They are people who may do that but they also do much, much more. As for the Evangelist, I'd like to meet one. But to me, they are not traveling preachers. Traveling preachers are preachers and not necessarily anything else. I've only personally met one evangelist. He could stand up and talk about peanut butter and people would line up to accept the Lord! I truly look forward to the restoration of the five-fold ministry. I believe that it is on the way, but for the most part is yet to manifest. At least that's the way that it looks to me.
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