Bible Studies

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Pentephonics Part 1


1 Corinthians 12:7 “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all” NKJV

Ok, now don’t be confused by the title of this rant, no I havn’t been spending too much time learning music theory and pentatonic scales. I want to talk about the five fold ministry and really all church ministry in general. “Pente” means five, and “phonics” because and I’m going to talk about the basics and foundations of ministry in the church. No, I’m not going to teach you how to read with “hooked-on-phonics”. We’re going to explore the differences, responsibilities and the places of the five fold ministry through the lenses of the New Testament. Not tradition. I’m sure everyone who is reading this could name them off the top of their head, but can you name them in your church? Now then off let’s find out where this whole concept comes from, so let’s open our bibles up to:

Ephesians 4:11-16 “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 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; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head — Christ — 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” NKJV

So Paul is laying the ground work on how churches and the body of Christ are to act and function, and to point out that it isn’t by our own merit or ratification but by Christ giving these gifts to us. These gifts are for a purpose, to build up the whole not ourselves. This isn’t a race against each other or some sort of competition to see who is the best at whatever. It is about building the body of Christ through the local churches & denominations. Now I know that for the better part of the last 100 years the five fold has been seen this way; apostles are the heads of the organization/denomination. Prophets hide in the basement. Evangelists go to other countries. Pastors run the church. And teachers baby sit the infants and school kids. Also that the shape of the five fold is a pyramid, which you climb up based on seniority, personal merit and tithing.

We also have the situations where different… well, most churches will only accept one or two of the five and forget the rest (mainly apostles and prophets). But this isn’t how Christ designed it, for a group of believers of any size to grow, mature, and reproduce. All five are mandatory, or else you run into problems and stagnation. Let me put it this way, if a church only has apostles it will become deadlocked in bureaucracy. If a church only has prophets if goes into a charismatic tail spin. If there are only evangelists it becomes a “Ferris wheel” of revivals. If there are only pastors they inevitably build a wall and become isolationists. If there are only teachers then legalism enters in and brings pride with it. We are one body remember 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, we cannot all be eyes, or feet or mouths, yet one will be the “corn-chute”. We are only complete when we have each other. And we cannot be content with excuses with the divisions of denominations, where one group has faith, and another has teaching, and another works miracles. They think as long as everyone is doing there own thing the body is complete. No, each individual church must operate in all aspects, we are suppose to be working together not avoiding and shunning because an arm can’t agree with a rib. As Christ is one with God, so we are to be one with Christ and one another in love.

Now back to the five fold, first off lets re-read Ephesians 4:11 in the amplified and see if we can spot a difference

Ephesians 4:11 “And His gifts were [varied; He Himself appointed and gave men to us] some to be apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the Gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of His flock) and teachers.” AMP

It looks a lot different doesn’t it. There seems to be more behind these words than common church going has taught us. So lets dig into each one.

First off Apostles, (or G652 for those with a Strong’s Concordance.) The literal definitions of this “call” are; a delegate, ambassador, commissioner of Christ (with special powers) and the root definition “one set forth with a message or orders”. It sounds a little different than someone in a suit at the denominational office. Probably our best example of an apostle in the church age would be Paul. Here are a few examples

1 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,” NKJV

2 Timothy 1:11 “to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.” NKJV

2 Corinthians 12:12 Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds. NKJV

1 Corinthians 9:1-2 “Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 2 If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.” NKJV

He preached the gospel, with signs following, he founded churches and he left successors. He heard God, ministered to the people, and laid foundations for others to build on. He was “sent forth” on the road to Damascus and carried out his call al the way to the end. And this is still our example today, it is funny how in our day most of the work of an apostles is actually done by missionaries who most only consider as evangelists. It’s not about pushing paper or calling your self an apostle on your business card your life inside and outside church must back up your claims. Also the term apostle (G652) can also be translated as messenger, which goes back to the original meaning “one sent forth”, here’s an example.

2 Corinthians 8:23 “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.” NKJV

Next prophets, the most feared, forgotten and shunned of the five. Let’s start with some dictionary work, G4396; a foreteller, inspired speaker, one who speaks forth openly, proclaimer of a divine message. When most people think of prophets they usually assume people who know the future, and this is partly true (see Acts 21:10-11) but not the whole story. There is much more to these people, their primary job is, to hear from God and to speak out His words. It isn’t unusual for prophets to also be teachers since it is part of their call to build, watch over and encourage the congregation. New Testament prophets weren’t birthed in the last 100 years or the Pentecostal movements, they were part of the original church I the book of Acts.

Acts 13:1 “Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers:…” NKJV

Acts 15:32 “Now Judas and Silas, themselves being prophets also, exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words.” NKJV

They were and still are a vital part of the body of Christ responsible to teach and expound the word of God, to perform signs and wonders, to call down fire and holiness and to be the watchtowers. However in our day the prophets are rejected, this is best summed up in a quote by Leonard Ravenhill “a prophet is the villain of today and the hero of tomorrow”. It is their place to prophecy and to teach others to hear directly from Jesus. (Later I’ll get into the difference between a prophet and everyone being able to prophecy.) The gift is not for themselves but to teach the others how to hear, see and touch the Father.

Next week, we’ll study Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers and a few surprises.


To be continued
Written by Cameron Conway
http://revolutionarysrant.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Revolutionarys-Rant/155457674486542?ref=mf

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