FIVE FOLD MINISTRY.

Topic: FIVE FOLD MINISTRY.

Text: Eph.4:7-14; 2Cor.5:18; Col.4:17.

Introduction: Ministry is too important to be done haphazardly. How we're leading in the core of our churches has to do with life-changing, eternity-consequential decisions. Therefore, we need to think through what ministry is all about. Sometimes we are more strategic about our grocery lists than our approach to ministry.

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 1 Corinthians 12:12-18 (NIV)

Body is a unit made up of many parts, which are arranged by God. In other words, God wants order in His church. Why? Because God is a God of order. So we need to evaluate our ministries and ask, "Is there order? Are we getting the maximum return out of the ministries that we have?"

Body: fivefold ministry comprised of apostleship, prophetic, evangelistic, pastoral and teaching ministries.

APOSTLE, APOSTLESHIP:

An apostle is a person sent with a special message. Certain leading individuals in the New Testament were called apostles. Apostleship refers to the duties of those who served as an apostle.

The Greek word for apostle is not used outside the New Testament in the same sense it is in the New Testament. It is derived from a sailing term, the verb "to send." It means a particular ship or group of ships, a marine expedition or the leader of such. It doesn't speak of authority, just an understanding of something being sent. Later, the word meant bill, invoice, and even passport.

In the New Testament, the word was used to point out those who had been sent by Jesus with the message of the gospel. From among the wider group of those who followed him, Jesus selected twelve men (Matthew 10:1-4; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16). These men maintained a particularly close relationship with him. They received private instruction and witnessed his miracles and controversy with the Jewish authorities. On one occasion, Jesus sent these men out to preach the message of repentance. They were also told to cast out demons and to heal the sick as Jesus himself was doing (Matthew 10:1-15; Mark 6:7-13, 30; Luke 9:1-6). This relationship is expressed in the saying, "He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me" (Luke 10:16, RSV; compare with Matthew 10:40). The Twelve were not merely to pass Jesus' teachings on but to represent his very person.

After the Resurrection, Jesus commissioned the Twelve (Matthew 28; Luke 24; John 20-21) to proclaim God's message on behalf of all men. Only those who had been with Jesus from the beginning of his ministry to his resurrection were called his apostolic witnesses (Acts 1:21-22). Paul qualified because he had seen the risen Christ (1 Corinthians 15:4-10).

In his writings Paul showed two ways to use the word "apostle." On occasion, it refers to persons given authority by local congregations to deliver safely specific gifts for other members of the Christian community (2 Corinthians 8:23; Philippians 2:25). More important are those passages where "apostle" takes on more meaning through the phrase "of Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1; 11:13; Galatians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; 1 Thessalonians 2:6). The "sent one" is the "sent one of Jesus Christ" (Romans 16:7; 1 Corinthians 9:1, 5; 1 Corinthians 12:28; Galatians 1:17-19). Where Paul claims his own right to this title, he always links this claim to a specific event in the past in which the risen Lord had appeared to him (1 Corinthians 9:1; Galatians 1:12, 16). He ranked this appearance alongside the first resurrection appearances (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). Paul understood his experience outside Damascus (see Acts 9:1-19a; 22:6-16; 26:12-18; Galatians 1:17) as a lifelong commission to preach the now-resurrected One (1 Corinthians 1:17; 2:1-2). His calling was chiefly among the Gentiles (Acts 9:15; 22:15; 26:17, 23; Galatians 1:15-16). It was through his preaching ministry that Christ continued to work, creating the new people of God (1 Corinthians 9:1-2; Galatians 2:8).

PROPHET, PROPHETESS:

A prophet or prophetess was a man or woman chosen by God to speak for him and to tell of events in the divine plan.

When Jesus raised the widow's son from the dead, the onlookers responded by saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us!" (Luke 7:16; compare Mark 6:15; 8:28). In Jewish thought, the clearest religious happenings found their focus in the call and ministry of a prophet. That was how God communicated his word to his people. In their response to Jesus, the people were in fact more correct than they knew. In him God had visited them. Though Jesus was much more than a prophet, he was in fact the climax of the prophetic order predicted by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).

THE TITLES AND HISTORY OF THE PROPHETS

The main words used to describe such individuals in the Old Testament are "prophet" (see Judges 6:8), "man of God" (see 2 Kings 4:9) and "seer" (see 1 Samuel 9:9; 2 Samuel 24:11).

The word translated "prophet" has the idea "called" as its first emphasis. God takes the initiative. He selects, summons, and sends the prophet (for example, Jeremiah 1:4-5; 7:25; Amos 7:14). "Man of God" speaks of the relationship into which the prophet is brought by his call. He is now "God's man" and is seen as belonging to him (2 Kings 4:9). "Seer" indicates the new and remarkable powers of insight granted to the prophet. In Hebrew, as in English, the ordinary verb "to see" is used also of understanding ("I see what you mean"). It also speaks of the power to understand the nature and meaning of things ("He sees things very clearly"). In the case of the prophets, their powers of "seeing" were raised far above normal. The Lord inspired them to become vehicles of his message.

The line of great prophets began with Moses. He is recognized as the greatest prophet (Deuteronomy 34:10). All the distinctive marks of a prophet belonged to Moses. He understood his call (Exodus 3:1-4:17; compare Isaiah 6; Jeremiah 1:4-19; Ezekiel 1-3; Hosea 1:2; Amos 7:14-15). He was aware of the importance of historical events as the acts of God in which he confirmed his word (Exodus 3:12; 4:21-23). Moses also showed ethical and social concern (2:11-13), and cared for the helpless (2:17).

Deuteronomy 34:10 not only looks back to the greatness of Moses but also looks forward to the coming of a prophet like Moses. This accords with his own prediction (18:15-19), which anticipates a single, great individual prophet. Moses makes a striking comparison with himself. He says the coming prophet will fill just such a role as Moses filled at Mount Sinai (18:16). On that occasion, Moses acted as the prophetic mediator of the voice of God in a unique sense. At Sinai God shaped the old covenant into its completed form. In expecting a prophet cast in this mold, Moses was looking forward to another mediator, Jesus Christ himself.

The expectation for this great prophet was kept alive as God kept sending prophets to his people. In each case, such a prophet was known to be true by his likeness to Moses. In each case he would be viewed with excitement by genuine believers to see whether he was the great one come at last. In this light we can understand the excitement of the people who saw Jesus raise the dead (Luke 7:16).

The Old Testament mentions the existence of prophetic groups. They were sometimes called "schools." Elisha clearly had such a group under his instruction (2 Kings 6:1; see "sons of the prophets," 2:3, 5; Amos 7:14). They were probably "prophets in training" under the care of a master prophet. "Guilds" or "associations" would be better descriptions of the groups in 1 Samuel 10:5-11. Such groups enjoyed an enthusiastic worship of the Lord. They were touched with a marked activity of the Spirit of God. But at the heart of their devotion was "prophecy"-that is, a declaration of the truth about God himself. After this early period, the prophetic groups seem to have lost their significance. A more direct ministry of the word could well lie behind the comment in 1 Samuel 9:9.

INSPIRATION

The Spirit of the Lord lay behind the activities of these prophetic groups and people (1 Samuel 10:6, 10; 19:20, 23). The claim to divine inspiration is plainly registered from time to time (for example, 1 Kings 22:24; Nehemiah 9:30; Hosea 9:7; Joel 2:28-29; Micah 3:8; compare 1 Chronicles 12:18; 2 Chronicles 15:1; 20:14; 2 Chronicles 24:20). The Spirit inspired men and women to speak the very words of God (compare 2 Peter 1:21). Ezekiel records how he was made to eat a scroll. That enabled him to receive the words the Lord had written and speak what the Lord called "my words" (Ezekiel 2:7-4:4). The miracle is stated in a nutshell at the beginning of Amos (Amos 1:1, 3): "The words of Amos...Thus saith the LORD." Though the words were truly Amos's words, the words were also the Lord's.

TRUE AND FALSE PROPHETS

False prophets were to be separated from true prophets by means of three tests. The first test was doctrinal. In Deuteronomy 13 the motive of the false prophet was to draw the people away from the God who had revealed himself in the Exodus (Deuteronomy 13:2, 5-7, 10). Although the word of the false prophet might be supported by apparent signs and wonders (13:1-2), it was to be refused. This was not simply because it introduced novelty (13:2, 6) but because that novelty contradicted the revelation of the Lord at the Exodus (13:5, 10). The first test required that the people of God have knowledge of the truth so that they could recognize error.

The second test was practical and required patience. It is stated in Deuteronomy 18:21-22: the word of the Lord always comes to pass. This requires patience because, as 13:1-2 indicates, a false word may be supported by an apparent spiritual proof. The call of 18:21-22 is a call for patience. If there was any real doubt about whether a prophetic word is true or false, the people had to wait for the turn of events.

The third test was moral, calling for watchful discernment. Jeremiah, of all the prophets, was most distressed in his spirit by the presence of false prophets. He gave the longest and most sustained consideration to the problem (Jeremiah 23:9-40). His answer is striking and challenging. The false prophet will be found out as a man of unholy life (23:11-14). Thus, the message has no note of moral rebuke but rather encourages men in their sin (23:16-22).

THE FUNCTION OF THE PROPHET

It is sometimes said that prophets are not "foretellers" but "forthtellers." As far as the Old Testament is concerned, however, the prophets are forthtellers-declaring the truth about God-by being foretellers-predicting what God will do. Prediction is not seen as an occasional or an unimportant activity in the Old Testament. It is the way the prophet went about his work. Deuteronomy 18:9-15 explains the function of the prophet in Israel. The surrounding nations are revealed as probing into the future by means of a variety of fortune-telling techniques (18:10-11). These things are forbidden to Israel on the ground of being detestable to the Lord (18:12). Israel's uniqueness is maintained when the Lord gives Israel a prophet (18:13-15), while the nations look into the future by use of diviners. Elisha (2 Kings 4:27) was surprised when he couldn't see the future; Amos teaches that the Lord reveals his plans to the prophets (Amos 3:7). But prediction in Israel was totally unlike what other nations had. In no way was it motivated by a mere curiosity about the future.

First, biblical prediction arose out of the needs of the present. In Isaiah 39 faithless Hezekiah undertakes a military arrangement with Babylon for security. That prompts Isaiah to announce the future Babylonian captivity. Isaiah does not snatch the name Babylon out of thin air. It is given to him within the situation in which he was called to minister.

Second, prediction aimed at giving knowledge of the future was to result in moral reformation in the present. The moral calls of the prophets find their explanation in what the Lord is about to do (for example, Isaiah 31:6-7; Amos 5:6).

Third, the predicted course of events was aimed at stabilizing the faith of the true believer in dark times. For example, various passages in Isaiah (Isaiah 9:1-7; 11:1-16; 40:1-3) have the effect of shifting the focus from the immediate tragedy to coming glory.

METHODS OF COMMUNICATION

In foretelling, the prophets were forthtelling. They were proclaiming the wonderful works of God (compare the definition of prophecy in Acts 2:11, 17). For the most part, this proclamation was by direct word of mouth. Prophets and prophetesses were people of the word. Their words were like messengers sent by God (Isaiah 55:11). They had all the divine power of the creative word of Genesis 1:3 (compare Psalm 33:6). Sometimes that word was accompanied by a sign or symbolic action (for example, Jeremiah 13:1-11 ; Jeremiah 19; Ezekiel 4:1-17; 24:15-24 ). Sometimes it was identified intimately with a person (Isaiah 7:3; compare 8:1-4). Such things were like visual aids; the word would be made clearer to those present. But it would seem that the intention of the symbolic action (sometimes called an "acted oracle") was not so much to make understanding easier. It was intended to give more power and effect to the word as it was sent like a messenger into that situation. This is the conclusion to be drawn from 2 Kings 13:14-19. The extent to which the king displayed the word in action determined the extent to which the word would prove effective in bringing events to pass.

The final collection of the words of the prophets is in the books that have been preserved. Jeremiah 36 may be taken as an object lesson. The prophets took the time and trouble to record their spoken messages in writing. There was stress on careful word-by-word dictation (Jeremiah 36:6, 17-18). But the actual literary form of the messages themselves tells the same tale. What we find in the books of the prophets cannot be the preached form of their words. Rather, it is the studied wording in which they preserved (and filed away) their sermons. It stands to reason that people who were conscious of communicating the very words of God would see to it that those words were not lost. We may take it for granted that the prophets preserved a written record of their ministries. We have no way of knowing whether each of the named prophets was directly responsible for the final form of his book. The careful way in which the books of Isaiah or Amos, for example, are arranged is best suited by assuming that the author was also his own editor.

EVANGELIST:

Evangelist is a New Testament term referring to one who proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ. There are only three occurrences of the term in the New Testament. The apostle Paul exhorted the Ephesian church to walk worthy of their calling (Ephesians 4:1-12). The exhortation stressed the gifts of the Spirit given to each member of the body of Christ at Ephesus. Paul explained that the ascended Christ has given "some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers" (Ephesians 4:11, NASB). Paul was saying that Christ calls persons to these ministries and gives them to the church. The evangelist is one of Christ's gifts to the church. The meaning of the term indicates that the task of such a person is to function as a spokesperson for the church in proclaiming the gospel to the world. An evangelist is similar to an apostle in function, except that being an apostle involved a personal relationship to Jesus during his earthly ministry (Acts 1:21-22). The role of the evangelist differs from the role of the pastor/teacher. The evangelist makes the initial proclamation of the news of Christ, and the pastor/teacher provides continuing follow-up ministry that develops maturity in the believer. The reference to Philip the evangelist (Acts 21:8) supports the idea of evangelism as a gifted ministry to which Christ calls some in the church.

More than one gift or ministry may be performed by the same person. Paul charged Timothy with his responsibilities as a pastor and teacher, and also exhorted him to "do the work of an evangelist" (2 Timothy 4:5). Therefore, "evangelist" can refer to a person called to that distinct ministry, and also to a function that may be performed.

PASTOR: This term literally means "shepherd." It is used in both the Old Testament and New Testament in a figurative sense for rulers and leaders. Most often the word is used in the New Testament as a metaphor for "leader." It is translated as "pastor" only in Ephesians 4:11 (also in KJV, ASV, RSV, NIV, TEV).

Pastors and teachers together formed a group who complemented the work of apostles, prophets, and evangelists. The titles "bishop" and "elder" refer to the same office in the New Testament (Acts 20:17, 28), and "pastor" seems to be practically synonymous with them, as shown by Jesus being referred to as "the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls" (1 Peter 2:25, KJV). The verb "to shepherd" is used to describe the work of local church leaders (20:28; 1 Peter 5:2), and often the congregation is called a flock. It is the pastor's responsibility to build up the body of Christ by watching over the congregation (Hebrews 13:7) and countering false teaching (Acts 20:29-30). More detailed information regarding the duties and responsibilities of pastors is found in Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus, which have come to be called the Pastoral Letters.

TEACHER:

Teachers kept the values and collective knowledge and learning of a nation and passed them on to each new generation. In Old Testament times the first teachers were often parents (Deuteronomy 6:7, 20-25; Deuteronomy 11:19-21). Leaders like Moses and Aaron were told to teach the Israelites (Leviticus 10:11). Later the priests and Levites had a teaching function (Deuteronomy 24:8; 33:8-10; 2 Chronicles 17:7-9; Ezra 44:23; Micah 3:11). God himself is thought of as a teacher (Psalms 25:8, 12; 27:11; 32:8; 86:11; Isaiah 2:3).

In the New Testament the Greek words for "teacher" (noun) and "to teach" (verb) are widely used. John the Baptist was called a teacher (Luke 3:12). The term is used more than thirty times of Jesus (Matthew 4:23; 5:2; 7:29; 9:35; 11:1; Mark 1:21; 2:13; 4:1-2; 6:2, 6, 34; Luke 4:15, 31; 5:3; 6:6; John 6:59; 7:14, 28; etc.). People recognized his teaching as authoritative (Matthew 7:29; Mark 1:22; Luke 4:32). Even as a boy of twelve, he talked with the teachers of the law in the temple (Luke 2:46). These teachers of the law were often associated with the Pharisees (Luke 5:17); for example, Gamaliel was a Pharisee and a teacher of the law (Acts 5:34). The term "rabbi" was often used to mean teacher. The rabbi was held in great honor. In the early church the teacher was well-known and respected (Acts 13:1; 1 Corinthians 12:28-29; Ephesians 4:11; 2 Timothy 1:11; James 3:1).

Conclusion: fivefold ministry as stated above was not given to the church for personal profit but for the edification of the body of Christ. 1Cor.12:7. The aim of the carriers of these ministries should be to discover, develop and deploy people for the work of ministry. These ministries must be administered in such a way that it will bring glory to God the giver of the gift and the grace.

Note that these ministries were given to the church but their scope of function is not limited to the church alone. It is prayer that God will make our churches stronger and healthier in Jesus name.

Prepared by: Prophet Sam Adebayo.

samadebayoministry@yahoo.com

08038943366 or 07088831001.