Bible Studies

MINISTRIES OF THE CHURCH

by Arlene Salcedo
09/01/20
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“Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, ³ being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

⁷ But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸ Therefore it says,

“When He ascended on high,
He led captive a host of captives,
And He gave gifts to men.”

⁹ (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) ¹¹ And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. ¹⁴ As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; ¹⁵ but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” - Ephesians 4:1-16 (New American Standard Bible)

The topic I am about to discuss has been subject of constant controversy in church.  There are still Christians who do not accept or understand the biblical institution of five ministries.  To study the subject I do not want to entertain other arguments as to the credibility of the Bible (does it really institute the five ministries?).   I am a Christian, therefore I believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God and give it full credibility. I will present the subject as it is stated in Scripture and try to explain it simply. Therefore, I pray I receive discernment to help others understand God’s message to us, for his glory.

Let’s get some context first.  The book of Ephesians is an epistle written by Paul (who was in prison) to the people of Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ.  It gives us behavioral guidelines and instructions for Christian living.  Let’s next see what the previous chapters were about.  Chapter one tells us we are chosen and adopted by God the Father as sons and daughters for the glory of Christ (our identity, who we are in Christ). Later, Chapter two tells us we were of the flesh but now are saved by grace through faith (how we receive our identity). On chapter three we are told that some things that those before Christ had no knowledge of, are now revealed through the Spirit (we are ready to understand and receive wisdom, guidance and discernment) grounded in love.

With this preamble, in chapter 4 Paul beseeches us (v.1-3) to act according to our calling (to emulate Christ and share the good news of redemption), guarding the unity of the Spirit (in Spirit and truth) in the bond of peace (we are linked by the gift of peace Christ gave us).

Paul continues (v. 4-6) asserting there is one body (the body of Christ our Savior, the church), one Spirit (the Holy Spirit), one Father (the first person of the trinity), one God (our triune Lord), one faith and one baptism. With this he is providing a necessary creed a teaching. 

He initiates verse 7 with the word “BUT”. Why? Well since on verse one of the chapter he was talking to the calling given to all Christians, he wants to distinguish between this general calling and what he is about to describe.

This is when he talks about all of us receiving grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ who went to Hades and to Heaven (redeemed us , freed us) and then gave (the specific calling and corresponding grace) “as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers” (v. 11). So, indeed, Christ instituted five different and distinguishable ministries. Immediately in verse 12 Paul asserts the reason why these five ministries exist: “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ”.

Now, what are those ministries characteristics and duties?

1)    Apostles – The Greek word for apostles means messenger, a delegate, someone who conveys a message with the authority of the sender, someone commissioned to represent another.  Part of the controversy we made reference to, involves the apostolic ministry.  Some people believe that only those 12 initial apostles were entitled as such, but the Bible refers as apostles to others that did not walked with Jesus, such as Barnabas and Paul.  It is worth to note that Jesus gave the twelve initial apostles authority and power to drive out demons and cure diseases then sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and heal the sick. (Luke 9: 1-2) He also appointed seventy-two others and sent them as well (Luke 10: 1, 9). So, I discern that apostles are those to whom the authority and power has been given by Jesus to perform miracles and wonders while conveying the message of redemption, irrespectively of the date. Along with prophets is one of the foundation rocks of the church (Ephesians 2:20).

  2)    Prophets – The Bible has shown us how god gave the gift of prophecy to some of his chosen.  Prophets are seers, people who by God’s revelation (Amos, 3:7) have the ability to see things or future events and declare about it.  “No prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”  (2 Peter 1: 20-21 ) Along with apostles is one of the foundation rocks of the church (Ephesians 2:20).

 3)    Evangelists – They have the gift and calling to tell the good news of salvation to groups of people everywhere, they are preachers of the Word.  They do not have a specific group of followers that they lead like a pastor. The term is used to refer to Philip (Acts 21:8) who went from one city to another preaching the word and performing signs. (Acts 8: 4-7, 40) Also, their calling is to preach, to correct, to rebuke and to encourage  (2 Timothy 4:2, 5)

 4)    Pastors – The word has its origins in the latin word for shepherd.  Pastors are teachers who evangelize, have the gift of leadership; they lead a group of followers to whom they minister, whom they care for like a shepherd cares for his sheep. They are spiritual leaders for their sheep. They will be in charge of that specific group over whom they have certain authority. The term is used interchangeably in Scripture with the following terms: elder, bishop, and overseer. (1 Peter 5:1-3)  It is also used to refer to the elders and deacons.  Specific criteria are expressed as needed in the character of a pastor (elder, deacon, bishop, and overseer): “The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer 1 must be above reproach, he husband of one wife,2 sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into ha snare of the devil.” (1 Timothy 3:1-7); “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— 6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife,4 and his children are believers 5 and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer,6 as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound 7 doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” (Titus 1:5-9); “and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men,1 who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2).

 5)    Teachers – Teachers are those who have the calling for and gift of instructing and educating others.  They teach biblical truth and doctrine (2 Timothy 3:14-17), but they do not have a specific group of followers that they lead like a pastor. Scripture establishes they will be judged more strictly (James 3:1)

 Because of the way the last part of verse 11 is written, there is some controversy as well regarding if “pastors and teachers” is one of four ministries or if they are separate ministries altogether.  The way I see it is that all pastors are teachers, but not all teachers are pastors.

 I am personally convinced there are five distinct ministries instituted by Christ. May this study help you fulfill your calling.