Ascension Gifts - Part 4

In this post we will begin to examine the 'gifts' of Ephesians 4:11 in greater detail.

Verse 11

11 And truly He gave some to be apostles, and some to be prophets, and some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,

'He gave ... ' Note: 'He', is emphatic. It is 'He' that gave. Compare Ephesians 4:7.

Note also, the word 'some'. 'Some' (churches or places), need one gift, i.e. an evangelist; 'some' (churches or places) need rather a pastor or teacher. Absolutely nothing in Christ's service is left to mere human judgment or self-choosing. Even an apostle was not permitted to choose his place of service. (Acts 16:7; Acts 16:8).

• 'Apostles...' Christ's ministers [servants] are gifts to His people. Compare 1 Corinthians 3:5, "ministers as the Lord gave;" also 1 Corinthians 3:21, 1 Corinthians 3:22. The distinguishing features of an apostle were, a commission directly from Christ: being a witness of the resurrection: special inspiration: supreme authority: accrediting by miracles: unlimited commission to preach and to found churches.

• 'Prophets...' Preachers and expounders ... under the immediate influence of the Spirit, and thus distinguished from teachers. (1 Corinthians 12:10).

• 'Evangelists...' perhaps best seen as: Travelling missionaries.

• 'Pastors and teachers...' Pastors or shepherds. The verb 'ποιμαίνω' to tend as a shepherd, is often used in this sense. See 1 Peter 5:2; see Matthew 2:6. The omission of the article from teachers seems to indicate that pastors and teachers are included under one class. The two belong together. [No man is fit to be a pastor who cannot also teach, and the teacher needs the knowledge which pastoral experience gives].

We'll begin by examining the function of an apostle in more detail. Firstly, the question of the criterion for inclusion in this group needs to be examined.

We have already noted (verse 11 above) that the distinguishing features of an apostle were, a commission directly from Christ: being a witness of the resurrection: special inspiration: supreme authority: accrediting by miracles: unlimited commission to preach and to found churches.

And yet there appear to be many others named as apostles (in the Bible) who seem to fall short of this definition. We see Paul and Barnabas (Acts 14:4,14), Silas (1 Thess. 2:7), Apollos (1 Cor. 4:9), James, Jesus' brother (Gal. 1:19), and Andronicus and Junias (Rom. 16:7) referred to as apostles. These were people of wide influence in the church generally. Their ministry was certainly instrumental in the establishment of the churches.

In order to explain this (apparent) contradiction many see the 'original 12' as the 'foundational apostles' (see Ephesians 2:20) i.e. Christ is the cornerstone and the apostles and prophets to whom Christ gave the New Testament revelation together constitute the foundation.

The other (more general) apostles were 'sent ones' - yes; but were commissioned for a different and often very specific purpose and often by the Church itself. It should be noted, that once a 'foundation' is laid and a house is built, we don't (usually) rebuild the foundation. [Neither should we rip apart the house that the Lord has built as is clearly evidenced by the manifold divisions in the body of Christ today!]

Yet today, some are attempting to do just that, and are claiming the same authority as that given to the 'original 12' as justification for their actions!

Some have argued, that it is the Apostles and Prophets, who comprised the Church leadership. This position however, does not find support in the New Testament. According to the New Testament account, the first century Churches were 'shepherded' by local Elders, who were called and set apart by the Lord, to provide oversight.

The Elders themselves, although enjoying local autonomy at the individual assembly level often looked to each other and to certain ascension 'gift ministries' (usually those who founded the Church), for mutual accountability and support. Such a combined Eldership, often embraced the broader challenges facing the early Church collectively. But it is quite wrong to claim that the 'ascension gifts ministries' individually, or inclusive of a group, comprised the local Church leadership.

I note also, that many researchers today tend to focus on the 'apostle' almost exclusively. As though this particular 'gift ministry' were more gifted (and therefore most suited to be the primary leader) than any of the other 'gift ministries'.

Questions such as the 'succession of office'; are often asked in relation to this group of gifted individuals, often in an effort to bolster the premise that modern day apostles are 'equivalent' to the 'twelve'.

I'll make two quick points in relation to this, at this time:

1) The term 'office' is erroneous in relation to these particular gifts as we have already seen here.

2) If 'succession were a valid concern for the original 'twelve', then why after the death of James (the brother of John) did they NOT consider a successor?

In our next post we will continue our examination of the 'ascension gifts'.