DAY 25: UNITY THROUGH THE FIVE-FOLD MINISTRY

DAY 25: UNITY THROUGH THE FIVE-FOLD MINISTRY

SCRIPTURE:

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Ephesians 4:11-13

OBSERVATION:

Just as God give different gifts to different members of the body for different purposes, He also gives 5 distinct ministries that should be at the forefront of every church – apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. We should bear in mind here that these titles are not meant to glorify men, but each are slaves in Christ, with the duty and calling to fulfill what God has prepared for them through their gifts.

Apostles are the founding fathers of churches, who delight in going from place to place, founding and establishing churches before turning the leadership over to local pastors and teachers to continue the caring, governance and teaching of the church. Apostles usually will tend to continue to disciple and train the pastors and teachers of the various churches, encouraging them and strengthening them in the Lord.

Prophets are those who are able to hear messages from God, and speak these messages of love and encouragement and strengthening to the people. It is a particularly difficult ministry that potentially can be misused and cause dissension and unhappiness where care is not taken. It is important to test every prophecy and for the church to be strong in the Word to ascertain the accuracy of the prophecies.

Evangelists are those with the particular gifting of gathering souls into the kingdom of God. They naturally and affectionately share the message of God’s love with all around them, and bring many to the Lord, and gather them to the church for further training and teaching.

Pastors take care of their congregation like a shepherd over its flock, caring for them, visiting them, praying for them, doing what he can to ensure they continue their walk in the Lord and grow from strength to strength.

Teachers are those who have particular strength in understanding and applying the Word of God and communicating it to the congregation to build them up and make them strong so that they will not be shaken.

Paul was clearly an apostle, but also an evangelist and teacher. Philip was renown as an Evangelist. John was a loving Apostle and Pastor who addressed his congregation lovingly as little children. There were prophets functioning like Agabus in the early church, and there were also great teachers like Apollos.

When all these ministries are functioning well in the church, she is able to move forward powerfully and effectively for the kingdom of God.

APPLICATION:  

Ultimately, as Christians grow in maturity in the Lord, they will find themselves drawn towards performing one or more of these five-fold ministries. In the Cell Group itself, we can also see this working. There are apostles who oversee the multiplication of cell groups and continue to see that the newly formed groups are strengthened and encouraged. In each cell group, there may be prophets who speak words of edification for the group. Likewise, there could be cell group leaders or pastors who watch over the members, and also natural teachers who are able to lead and teach Biblical truths from the Bible. Very importantly too, there are the evangelists who go out and bring others frequently to the cell group. We need to ask God to show us where our inclinations are and to help us develop the areas of our gifting to serve Him, beginning with the cell group and then moving on to the church level.

PRAYER:

We thank You and praise You, Lord, that You made each of us special with different inclinations and giftings. Show us O Lord, the places where you have prepared for us, and the work that You have graciously set for us. May we always have that heart of service that is willing to serve others in humility and truth. In Jesus name, Amen.