Ministers and Ministries

Minister[G1249]: diakonos: a servant.

1. (Eph 3:7) Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift[dorea] of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power.

2. (1 Timothy 4:6) If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.

Ministry[1248]: diakonia. ‘the office and work of a diakonos’

1. (Luk 3:23) Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age

2. (Romans 11:13) For I say to you, Gentiles: As long indeed as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I will honour my ministry,

3. (Eph 4:11)  And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,

4. (Eph 4:12)  to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.

5. (2 Corinthians 4:1)Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.

6. (1 Corinthians 12:5)And there are diversities of ministries. but the same Lord.

7. (Colossians 4:17) And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.”

8. (2Ti 4:5) As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

1. The work of God

   1. God has one objective, and that is, to increase His Son. He purposes to have people come under the name of His Son and to share the life of His Son so that they become His own children. He designs to use these people for the increase of His Son in order that the personal Christ may also be the corporate Christ. For all the purposes of God are in His Son and all His works are intended to extend His Son!

   2. The tragedy surrounding the events in the Garden of Eden lies in the fact that instead of receiving the life of God’s Son man sinned, thereby turning himself against God and becoming a slave to Satan. And hence, thereafter the work of God first lay, negatively, in solving the question of man’s sin by delivering him from the bondage of the devil, and, positively, in causing man to accept His Son’s life. God would then be able to give increase to His Son so that His Son might fill all in all. Before the fall, God only required man to accept His life. But since his fall, man needs to have the double problem of sin and the power of Satan solved before he can receive the life of God. The redemptive work of God is therefore to deliver man from sin and Satan and to cause man to partake of His Son’s life.

   3. In order for us to understand God’s redemptive work, we need to realize that man is today under the power of Satan. Due to his following his own idea and thus committing sin, man made himself the enemy’s prisoner of war. To deliver him from the power of the enemy, God sent His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to the world to become a man. And as a man, Christ was led by the Holy Spirit to encounter Satan’s temptations and won the victory. Being filled with the power of God, He drove away Satan and delivered men from the enemy’s power everywhere. He died for us according to the righteousness of God. He shed His blood to cleanse us from all our sins. Originally God had His righteous judgment against sinners. But Christ received this judgment in our stead so that neither the righteous God nor the accusing Satan could have anything more to say. There is now absolute satisfaction, there is now total silence. The kingdom of Satan is now completely destroyed, since God’s judgment has been fully executed. Satan no longer has any ground to attack men. Such redemption is perfect and eternal, never seen in the past nor to be seen in the future.

   4. What is more is that our Lord includes in His death all those who believe in Him. His Cross is our cross. Our old man was crucified with Him on the Cross. Then, too, those who formerly had been in subjection to Satan have now passed out of his hand, with Satan unable to find his former subjects again.

   5. Not only this, but our Lord also released His life through His death and has become food to us so that we might share in His life. As a result, the plan which God foreordained before the foundation of the world is now fulfilled in us. We who today have the Son have become the children of God. Through faith in Him we partake of Him, He thus becoming greatly increased and expanded.

   6. Since the redemptive work of Christ is so complete, God has given Him all men as well as all authority of judgment. Today we have not yet seen Him executing His authority of judgment nor have we seen all men come to Him. Though He has all the authority of heaven and earth, we still nevertheless notice the power of the devil here. Why is this so?

2. The Church

   1. This is because the question of the Church has not been resolved. In the Bible there is not only in view the personal Christ but also the corporate Christ. The first has the total victory, but the second has yet to experience this victory. The personal Christ is the Head of the corporate Christ. Christ is the Head, the Church is the Body. Christ plus the Church is the corporate Christ. Christ Himself has fully overcome, but the Church is yet to experience His victory. The triumph of the Head must be experienced by the Body.

   2. Moreover, the Church has not fully known Christ, nor is she absolutely clear on the faith. Though the believers are people with Divine life, they are babes nonetheless and have yet to be fully grown up unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. The Church must arrive at a certain measure before she can satisfy God’s heart. God does everything for the sake of Christ, because Christ is His objective. God wishes all the redeemed to receive life only from Christ, to know Him fully, and to be like Him completely. It is the Will of God that all the grace and life in the Head would flow into the Body. All the facts in Christ must become experiences in the Church.

   3. Hence before Christ will bind Satan and bless the whole world by Himself, He must first establish His Church, thereby causing His people to partake of His victory, as well as arrive at the full measure ordained for them. Consequently, God has His own Work to do today. He is building the Body of Christ until all who compose it arrive at the unity of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, until they attain unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ (see Eph. 4.12,13). Such an undertaking of building the Body of Christ is God’s current Work. It occupies a large place in all the works of God. His today’s Work is centered upon this one thing: He is especially concerned with the upbuilding of the Body of Christ.

3. The Work of the Ministry

   1. For this important Work, God has chosen a number of men. This group of workers is responsible for His special Work. We do not mean to say that God has no other works today, nor do we mean to say that He has no other kinds of workers today. We simply maintain that God’s current Work is preeminently concerned with building the Body of Christ. No doubt God has many, many other workers today, but this particular group of workers whose work is to build the body of Christ are His special workmen.

   2. God has many works, and in His service there are many ministries. A ministry is that piece of work which God has particularly called someone to do. Some are called to perform this ministry, whilst others are called to perform other ministries. The number of ministries is very great since God uses people in many different areas. Nevertheless, the Scriptures show us that there is one special ministry which is distinct from all other ministries. Such a ministry is referred to in the Bible as “the Ministry” in distinctive contrast to the others. And the kind of gathering and building up of the Body of Christ associated with “the Ministry” is called “the work of the ministry” (Eph. 4.12 Darby). Many people there are who work the works of God, but only one group of people is entrusted with “the work of the Ministry.” Many are the ministries which God apportions to men, but one class of men alone is involved in “the work of the Ministry.”

   3. Let us see how the Word of God addresses this matter. “But to each one of us has been given grace according to the measure of the gift of the Christ. Wherefore he says, Having ascended up on high, he has led captivity captive, and has given gifts to men. . . And he has given some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some shepherds and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints; with a view to the work of the ministry, with a view to the edifying of the body of Christ; until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, at the fullgrown man, at the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ” (Eph. 4.7,8,11-13 Darby).

   4. Here we see two things which Christ has done following His death, resurrection and ascension: (1) Due to His complete victory, Christ has so led His enemy captive that the latter can no longer accuse nor abuse his former slaves. Christ has already overcome and ascended on high. He has taken captive all forces which in the past have tyrannized men. Hence all who are in Christ also have total victory over Satan. Soon Christ will manifest His authority on earth; He will bind His enemy and cast him into the bottomless pit. (2) Before Christ does this binding and casting, He will first manifest this authority in the Church by giving gifts to all whom He has delivered from the enemy, thereby on the one hand proving man’s elevation in Him and on the other hand enabling men to be an instrument of deliverance to other people.

   5. The gifts mentioned here are not those of the Holy Spirit given to men personally, but as Head of the Church the Lord grants grace to certain individuals that they may become His gifts to the Church to serve the saints and to build up the Body. In other words, the Lord bestows a group of workers as His gift to the Church for her edification. They are especially called by Him to do the work of the Ministry. Formerly they were slaves to the enemy, but now they are completely delivered because of the death and resurrection of the Lord. They further are being appointed by the Ascended Lord to be His powerful vessels for the emancipation of other people, since they are given authority by the Lord to do the work of deliverance which He Himself had done. They are a delivered class of people who have now become instruments in the Hand of God to attack the enemy.

   6. The intent of God is for all the redeemed to know Him and to be filled with His life and Holy Spirit without any mixture of the flesh. He accordingly needs some men whom He can use to do the Work of building up His people. While He waits for His enemies to be His footstool, He gives certain necessary gifts—that is, He gives His servants in the Ministry—to the Church for the gathering together of all whom He has called to share His Glory and for their being built up into His fulness.

   7. One thing, however, must be noticed here: the gifts referred to here are not those which the Holy Spirit divides to each severally as He wills (see 1 Cor. 12.11); rather, these are persons whom the Lord sets up in the Church for her edification and profit. Concerning gifts, we must distinguish between those given by the Holy Spirit to individual believers and those given by the Lord to the Church, since the Bible does indeed speak of these different kinds of gifts. One kind is given to believers individually, the other is given to the Church corporately. The gifts we individually receive from the Holy Spirit enable us to serve God in performing particular works. Some may prophesy, some may teach, some speak in tongues, some may heal the sick, and so on. These are the gifts which the Holy Spirit grants to individuals. Those which the Lord gives to the Church, however, are different. For what He gives to the Church are persons who possess the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

   8. Although today the Lord is in Glory, His heart yearns to gather the lost. Especially is He mindful of His saints (who are the Church), to whom He desires to give more of Himself so that they may be filled with Him. His thought is for His Church to receive all His various graces, to be led of the Holy Spirit, to know the Will of God, and to enter into the accomplished fact of His redemptive work. For the communication and supply of these blessings, He gives gifted persons to the Church. So that this work of the Ministry is different from all other ordinary ministries. Every believer is gifted, but only such gifted persons as herein described are called to perform this special Work. Every believer receives a ministry from the Lord, but all such ministries are of the general kind; only the Ministry of these men of whom we have been speaking is special.

   9. Such men are God’s ministers, God’s workers, who are appointed by the Lord to accomplish God’s Work through this Ministry. This group of special men includes the following: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds (pastors) and teachers. Let us now discuss the differences amongst these four classes of men .

   10. These four classes of persons may be divided into two categories: the apostles and the prophets for one, the evangelists and the pastors and teachers form another. This is because the apostles and the prophets lay the foundation (see Eph. 2.20), whereas the evangelists and the pastors and teachers build on that foundation. The first set of two comes directly from the Lord and establishes the foundation of God’s Heavenly Abode in an extra-ordinary fashion. The second set is comparatively more ordinary since the evangelists and the pastors and teachers save souls and edify the saints on the basis of the teachings of the apostles and the prophets.

   11. There is another way to distinguish these four classes of persons. The apostles and the evangelists are more for the Gospel, whilst the prophets and the teachers are more for the Church. The prophets proclaim God’s Word in a supernatural way, but the teachers expound God’s truth less supernaturally. The ministry of the prophets and teachers is especially confined to one local assembly.

   12. Please note that the words “Ministry” and “Work” so identified in this book have reference to this special ministry and work. Strictly speaking, pastors and teachers are one gift, not two, because teaching and shepherding are closely related. In the enumeration of the gifts in Ephesians 4, apostles, prophets, and evangelists are all mentioned separately—whilst pastors and teachers are linked together. Further, the first three are each prefixed by the word “some,” whereas the word “some” is attached to pastors and teachers unitedly, thus—”some apostles,” “some prophets,” “some evangelists,” and “some pastors and teachers,” not “some pastors and some teachers.” The fact that the word “some” is used only four times in this list indicates that there are only four classes of persons in question. Pastors and teachers are two in one.

   13. Hence we find that as it pertained to the church at Antioch, these two classes of men were recorded as being there (Acts 13.1). On the other hand, the apostles are appointed especially to the ministry of preaching the Gospel. But whilst the evangelists preach the Gospel in one locality, the apostles are to preach the Gospel everywhere.

   14. Though these four classes of persons are all God-given gifts to the Church, they do not necessarily represent by their class names the special spiritual gifts given to them severally by the Holy Spirit. We know that the prophesying of the prophets is a gift (see 1 Cor. 12.10 and Rom. 12.6) and that the teaching of the teachers is also a gift (see Rom. 12.7). But the Scriptures do not tell us what special gift makes the apostles. We do not even know what is the gift of the evangelists. There is the gift that is identified with the prophets and there is the gift that is identified with the teachers, but not the gift that is identified with either the apostles or the evangelists. So that whilst all four classes of men are in themselves gifts to the Church, only two amongst them are also personal gifts. Therefore, apart from the prophets and the teachers who respectively receive gifts of prophesying and of teaching, we are ignorant as to what special gifts the Holy Spirit bestows upon the apostles and the evangelists to equip them for their works. Nevertheless, all four are God’s appointed workers in the Ministry. They receive their ministry from Him to do His special work of building up the Body of Christ. They bear special spiritual responsibility in the Church for the realization of God’s purpose in this age.

4. Comparing Some Scripture Passages

   1. In order to understand these ministers in “the work of the Ministry,” it would be helpful to compare certain Scripture passages. In the Bible there are at least three passages which resemble the one in Eph. 4; namely 1 Cor. 12.8-10, 1 Cor. 12.28, and Rom. 12.6-8. In these three passages, various ministries, various persons, and various gifts are mentioned. Only in Ephesians, however, is the term “the Ministry” used. In order to know the distinction between Eph. 4 and the other passages, we must compare them.

   2. “For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom; and to another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit: to another faith, in the same Spirit; and to another gifts of healings, in the one Spirit; and to another workings of miracles; and to another prophecy; and to another discernings of spirits: to another divers kinds of tongues; and to another the interpretation of tongues” (1 Cor. 12.8-10).

   3. “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, divers kinds of tongues” (1 Cor. 12.28).

   4. “And having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith; or ministry, let us give ourselves to our ministry; or he that teacheth, to his teaching; or he that exhorteth, to his exhorting: he that giveth, let him do it with liberality; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness” (Rom. 12.6-8).

   5. 1 Cor. 12.8-10 enumerates the gifts given to individual believers. Eph. 4.11,12 speaks of the persons whom the Lord gives as gifts to the Church. The gifts in 1 Cor. 12 are supernatural, whilst the gifts in Rom. 12 are ordinary as a result of the Lord’s grace and our faith. The nine gifts mentioned in 1 Cor. are those received when men are under the power of the Holy Spirit. Hence in verse 1 it says this: “Now concerning spirituals” (original Greek). The gifts in Rom. 12 are based upon the grace of God. God gives men grace so that they may manifest His grace by fulfilling their various functions as members of the Body. Consequently, the gifts enumerated are neither miraculous nor Spirit-moved but are rather of life. Even “giveth” and “showeth mercy” are viewed as gifts, for all of them are gifts

   6. according to grace. In Eph. 4, however, those persons mentioned are the Lord’s gifts given to the Church. The persons themselves are gifts, and the gifts they receive are such gifts as those enumerated in 1 Cor. 12 and Rom. 12. The emphasis of 1 Corinthians is power, whilst the emphasis in Romans is life. Ephesians speaks of the persons who possess these two different kinds of gifts, for the persons themselves are God’s gifts to the Church.

   7. “The Ministry” in Ephesians is unique and special. 1 Cor. 12 also speaks of ministry, but there it is the ministries (see verse 5, original Greek) which are of the common ordinary kind, of which the children of God receive severally before the Lord. The four gifts to the Church as cited in Eph. 4 are for “the work of the Ministry”; the nine gifts to individuals listed in 1 Cor. 12.8-10 are for the ministries as each person possesses a different gift for a different service.

   8. 1 Cor. 12.28 enumerates eight (or nine) classes of persons God has set in the Church. It is different from the gifts enumerated earlier in verses 8-10. For the earlier passage in 1 Cor. 12 refers to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, whilst verse 28 refers to the workings (or operations) of God. The first alludes to the gifts which the Holy Spirit gives to the church local, whereas the latter passage alludes to the workings of God in the Church universal. Verses 8-10 have reference to the gifts individuals receive from the Holy Spirit, but in verse 28 we see that God sets in the Church those men who have received gifts for His operation. So that there are eight (or nine) classes of persons cited in 1 Cor. 12.28 whom God has set in the Church, whereas in Ephesians there are only four classes of persons whom God gives to the Church for “the Ministry.” In the Church of God there are many who function, yet the four classes of persons mentioned in Eph. 4 alone take part in the special work of building up the Body of Christ. All the others have their usefulness and services, but only the four classes of persons enumerated in Ephesians are especially used for “the Ministry.”

   9. Of the four classes of persons in Ephesians, 1 Cor. 12 mentions three, the evangelists being left out. This is because the scope of Ephesians and Corinthians is not the same. The scope of the first is that of building up the Body of Christ, and therefore the evangelists are needed. They are listed prior to the pastors and teachers since they are the ones who initially bring people into the Body of Christ. Corinthians, however, deals with the workings of God in the Church, and hence it leaves the evangelists out of its list since the working of the evangelists is not in the Church but rather for the Church.

   10. One more thing is worth noticing: Romans, Corinthians and Ephesians all touch upon the Body of Christ; and yet even here they have their differences. Romans and Corinthians consider all the believers as members of the Body; consequently, all have gifts and functions (though they are not the same). Ephesians tells us how this Body is built by gifts (in this case, gifts in the form of men); it does not regard the four classes of persons as members of the Body; it instead reckons them as people who build up the Body, and thus their position is different from that of the rest of God’s children.

5. Analysis of These Four Classes of Persons

   1. As noted earlier, teachers and pastors are regarded as one class of persons, because those who teach must also shepherd and those who shepherd must also teach. These two kinds of work are interrelated. Furthermore, the word “pastor” as applied to any person is found nowhere else in the New Testament, but the word “teacher” is used on four other occasions. In the New Testament we find reference elsewhere to an apostle (e.g. Paul), and a prophet (e.g. Agabus), and an evangelist (e.g. Philip), and a teacher (e.g. Manaen), but nowhere in God’s Word do we find anyone referred to as a pastor. This confirms the fact that these four classes are not spiritual gifts but are rather gifted persons, and it also confirms the fact that pastors and teachers are one class of men. 

   2. Teachers are men who have received the gift of teaching. This is not a miraculous gift, but a gift of grace, which accounts for the fact of its being omitted from the miraculous gifts in 1 Cor. 12.8-10 and included in the list of the gifts of grace in Rom. 12. It is a gift of grace which enables its possessors to understand the teachings of God’s Word, and to discern His purposes, and thus equips them to instruct His people in doctrinal matters. In the church at Antioch there were several persons thus equipped, Paul being among the number. It is by the operation of God that such men are “set in the Church,” and their position is next to that of the prophets. A teacher is an individual who has received the gift of teaching from God, and has been given by the Lord to His Church for its upbuilding.

   3. The work of a teacher is to interpret to others the truths which have been revealed to him, and to lead God’s people to an understanding of the Word, and encourage them to seek and receive for themselves Divine revelation through the Scriptures. The sphere of a teacher’s work is mainly amongst the children of God, though at times they also teach the unsaved (1 Tim. 4.11, 6.2; 2 Tim. 2.2; Acts 4.2-18; 5.21,25,28,42). The work of the teachers is more one of interpretation than of revelation, whereas the work of the prophets is more one of revelation than of interpretation. They seek to lead believers to an understanding of Divine truth, and they seek to lead unbelievers to an understanding of the Gospel.

   4. Evangelists are also our Lord’s gift to His Church, but exactly what their personal gifts are we do not know. Both the teachers and the prophets are set up by God. What enables a teacher to teach is the gift of teaching (Rom. 12.7), and what enables a prophet to prophesy is the gift of prophecy (1 Cor. 12.10). But the evangelists are different from the teachers and the prophets, for although they are also set up by God, we do not know what special gift God gives to enable them to be evangelists. For the Word of God does not speak of any evangelistic gift.

   5. Even so, evangelists are one of the four classes of persons whom God has appointed to the Ministry. The Bible does refer once to Philip as being an evangelist (Acts 21.8), and Paul on one occasion encouraged Timothy to do the work of an evangelist and fill up the measure of his ministry (2 Tim. 4.5). Notice, however, that it is not the preaching of the Gospel but the doing the work of an evangelist; for the matter before us is not that of gift but of ministry. Evangelists are one of the ministries in the Ministry. Apart from the three occasions referred to, the noun “evangelist” is not found in Scripture, though we frequently meet the verb which is derived from the same root.

   6. In the Word of God the place of prophets is more clearly defined than that of teachers and evangelists. Prophecy is mentioned amongst the gifts of grace (Rom. 12.6), and amongst the miraculous gifts we find it again (1 Cor. 12.10). God has set prophets in the Church universal (1 Cor. 12.28), but He has also given prophets for the Ministry (Eph. 4.11). There is both the gift of prophecy and the office of a prophet. The prophet is both a man set by God in His Church to occupy the prophetic office, and a man given by the Lord to His Church for the Ministry.

   7. Let us notice especially that in the original Greek the word “prophecy” in both Rom. 12.6 and 1 Cor. 12.10 are verbal nouns. Thus, we are to understand the prophets along two different lines: one is to speak for God as men who are moved by the Holy Spirit and have received miraculous power; the other is to speak for God as men who have the power of the Holy Spirit in ordinary life. In the Old Testament period, a prophet was (1) to predict, (2) to preach, and (3) to pronounce God’s Will towards individuals. According to the New Testament, however, a prophet still prophesies with miraculous power and preaches in spiritual power, but he no longer pronounces God’s Will towards individuals. This is because all shall know of God in themselves (see Heb. 8.11). The words spoken by the prophets carry authority, for in prophesying or in preaching there is the power of the Holy Spirit. They receive from God revelations pertaining to future or present situations—these being either for warning or for edification.

   8. Of the four classes of gifted men bestowed by the Lord upon His Church for its upbuilding, the apostles were quite different from the other three. The special position occupied by apostles is obvious to any reader of the New Testament. They were specially commissioned by God to found churches through the preaching of the Gospel, to bring revelation from God to His people, to give decisions in matters pertaining to doctrine and government, and to edify the saints and distribute the gifts. Both spiritually and geographically their sphere is vast. That their position is superior to that of prophets and teachers is clear from the Word: “God has set some in the church, first apostles” (1 Cor. 12.28). Also in the Ministry, the apostles head the list. For they are God’s chosen workers and foremen. They are especially entrusted with the Work of God.

6. Ministry and Gift

   1. Apostles belong to the Ministry, but they are quite different from the prophets, evangelists and teachers, because unlike these three, it is not their gifts that determine their office; i.e. they are not constituted apostles by receiving an apostolic gift.

   2. It is important to note that apostleship is an office, not a gift. An office is what one receives as the result of a commission: a gift is what one receives on the basis of grace. “I was appointed . . . an apostle” (1 Tim. 2.7). “I was appointed . . . an apostle” (2 Tim. 1.11). We see here that apostles are commissioned. Being an apostle, therefore, is not something which is subject to receiving an apostolic gift but is that which is subject to receiving an apostolic commission.

   3. What is the difference between office and gift? Whatever is commissioned is office and whatever speaks of enabling is gift. Natural gifts are what we naturally possess, whilst spiritual gifts are what we possess through the Holy Spirit. Office is the result of commission. Apostleship is an office. This is clearly told of in both First and Second Timothy.

7. God’s Gift to the Church

   1. There is not only difference between office and gift, even in gifts there is the distinction between personal gifts and gifts to the Church. Since we have just stated that apostleship is an office and not a gift, what does the Word of God mean when it says, “He gave some apostles” (Eph. 4.11)? Here we need to distinguish as to whether the term “apostle” signifies a personal gift or a gift to the Church; whether it signifies a spiritual ability obtained personally from God or a class of persons the Church receives from God. Let us remind ourselves of what we have said earlier, that apostles are a class of persons the Church has received from God; for no such thing as an apostolic gift is ever cited in the Scriptures. It is therefore not a question here of apostleship being a gift given to an apostle, but a gift given to the Church; it is not a spiritual gift given to a man, but a gifted man given to the Church. Eph. 4.11 does not say that the Lord gave an apostolic gift to any person, but that He gave men as apostles to His Church. Men have received gifts of the Spirit which have qualified them to become prophets and teachers, but no man has ever received a spiritual gift which has qualified him to be an apostle. Apostles are a class of people the Church has received as our Lord’s gift for its upbuilding.

   2. “For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom; and to another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit: to another faith, in the same Spirit; and to another gifts of healings, in the one Spirit; and to another workings of miracles; and to another prophecy; and to another discernings of spirits: to another divers kinds of tongues; and to another the interpretation of tongues” (1 Cor. 12.8-10). This passage enumerates the gifts of the Holy Spirit given to individuals. It lists the various gifts men receive in order to speak the word of wisdom or the word of knowledge, to be prophets or healers of sickness, and so on. But there is no mention of any apostolic gift, that is, the gift the Holy Spirit gives to men to make them apostles.

   3. “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, divers kinds of tongues” (1 Cor. 12.28). In the former passage which enumerates the gifts given to individuals (verses 8- 10), the apostles are not included. In this passage which speaks of the men set up in the Church by God, we find that “apostles” heads the list of God’s gifts to the Church. It is not that God has given His Church the gift of apostleship, but that He has given it men who are apostles; and He has not given the gifts of prophecy and teaching to His Church, but He has given it some men as prophets and some men as teachers. God has set different kinds of workers in His Church for its edification, one of which is apostles. They do not represent a certain kind of gift, they represent a certain class of persons.

   4. The difference between the apostles, and the prophets and teachers, is that the latter two represent both gifts given by the Spirit to individuals and at the same time gifts given by the Lord to His Church, whereas apostles are men given by the Lord to His Church, but they do not represent any special personal gift of the Spirit.

   5. By comparing these two passages in 1 Cor. 12, we can easily see that whatever gift is enumerated in the first passage is almost matched by whatever man is set forth in the second passage. The two seem to complement each other, except in the case of apostles—who are not listed in the gifts of the Holy Spirit but are listed first amongst the men whom God has set in the Church, since apostles are God’s gift to the Church. Through them the spiritual blessings of God flow to the Church. Nothing is mentioned as to the supernatural enabling the apostles received from the Holy Spirit. They are especially related to God’s workings in the Church.

8. The Church Universal and the Church Local

   1. Something amazing is hinted at here. “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers” (1 Cor. 12.28). What church is this? It is that which comprises all the children of God, both past and present, home and abroad; and therefore it is the Church universal. In this Church God has set “first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers.” But in 1 Cor. 14.23 we read of “the whole church ... assembled together.” What church is this? Obviously, the local church, for the Church universal cannot gather together in one locality. It was in this local church that the brethren exercised their spiritual gifts. One of them would have “a psalm,” another “a teaching,” another “a revelation,” another “a tongue,” and another “an interpretation” (14.26), but more important than all these was the gift of prophecy (14.1).

   2. In Chapter 12 apostles took precedence over the other ministers, but in Chapter 14 prophets took the precedence. In the Church universal apostles are first, but in the local church prophets are first. How does it come about that prophets take first place in the local church, since in the universal Church they only occupy the second place? Because in the Church universal the question is not of personal gifts of the Spirit, but of God’s gift of ministers to the Church, and of these apostles rank first; but in the local church the question is one of personal gifts of the Spirit and of these prophecy is the chief, because it is most important.

   3. Not only are the apostles left out of Chapter 14, they in addition are not even mentioned in the exercising of spiritual gifts. This is because, as we have seen, apostleship is not a personal gift. In the exercising of spiritual gifts, the prophets stand first; but in the listing of God’s workers, the office of the apostle surpasses all. In 1 Cor. 14, there is no place for the apostles. For in the area of gifts, the gift of prophecy is the greatest; whereas in the area of office, there is none greater than the apostles. Hence in the assembling of the local church the greatest gift is that of prophecy because the prophets reveal the mind of God, both current and future. In the Church universal, however, the apostles have the highest office.

9. The Personal Gift of the Apostle

   1. Who are the apostles, then? Apostles are those gifted persons whom God has chosen to be His fitted vessels by sending them out to preach the Word and to build up the Church. They are those gifted ones who have received a special office, they being appointed by God to travel around for the work of the Ministry. Although apostleship is an office, the apostles without doubt have their personal gifts.

   2. An apostle may be a prophet or a teacher. Should he exercise his gift of prophecy or teaching in the local church, he does so in the capacity of a prophet or a teacher; but when he exercises his gifts in different places, he does so in the capacity of an apostle. The implication of apostleship is being sent by God to exercise gifts of ministry in different places. It is immaterial to his office what personal gift an apostle has, but it is essential to his office that he be sent of God. An apostle can exercise his spiritual gifts in any place, but he cannot exercise his apostolic gifts, because an apostle is such by office, not by gift.

   3. Nevertheless, apostles do have personal gifts for their ministry. “Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers, Barnabas, and Symeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen the foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. And as they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them” (Acts 13.1-2). These five men all had the gifts of prophecy and teaching—a miraculous gift and a gift of grace. From that company of five two were sent by the Spirit to other parts, and three were left at Antioch. As we have already seen, the two sent out were thereafter called apostles. They received no apostolic gift, but they did receive an apostolic commission. It was their gifts that qualified them to be prophets and teachers, but it was their commission that qualified them to be apostles. The three who remained in Antioch were still prophets and teachers, not apostles, simply because they had not been sent out by the Spirit; the two became apostles, not because they had received any gift in addition to the gift of prophecy and teaching, but because they additionally received an office as a result of their commission. The gifts of all five were just the same, but the two received a Divine commission in addition to their gifts, and that qualified them for apostolic ministry.

   4. In the beginning, the Lord Jesus called twelve disciples to Himself and gave them authority to cast out unclean spirits and to heal all manner of disease. Then the Scriptures follow this up by saying that this same group of men, now sent forth by the Lord, were called apostles (Matt. 10.1,2,5). The gift they received was a miraculous one, but the office they received was the apostleship. It was not because they became apostles that they were given a special apostolic gift. A mathematician, for example, is skilful in mathematics, though he may not necessarily be a professor of mathematics. He will not become a professor of mathematics until he is employed by a university. To have the knowledge of mathematics is an ability, to be a professor of mathematics is a position. Gift is spiritual ability, whilst apostleship is a position. If a person has gift but is not sent forth by God, he is not an apostle, just as a mathematician is not a professor until he is engaged to be such. Accordingly, apostles are not identified as such by their having any ability but by their having a special position. A professor must have ability, but his having ability does not guarantee him a position. Paul and Barnabas had the same gifts as Lucius, Symeon and Manaen; nevertheless, they became apostles and obtained a special position because they were commissioned by God.

10. The Sphere of Their Work

    1. The sphere of an apostle’s work is quite different from that of the other three special ministers. That prophets and teachers exercise their gifts in the local church is seen from the statement, “There were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers.” You can find prophets and teachers in the local church, but not apostles, because they have been called to minister in different places, whilst the ministry of prophets and teachers is generally confined to one locality (1 Cor. 14.26,29).

    2. As to evangelists, we do not know their special sphere, as very little is said of them in God’s Word; but the story of Philip, the evangelist, throws some light on this class of ministers. Philip left his own locality and preached in Samaria, but whilst he did good work there, the Spirit did not fall upon any of his converts. It was not till the apostles came from Jerusalem and laid hands on them that the Spirit was poured out. This would seem to indicate that the local preaching of the Gospel is the work of an evangelist, but that the universal preaching of the Gospel is the work of an apostle. This does not imply that the labours of an evangelist are necessarily confined to one place, but it does mean that that is their usual sphere. In the same way the prophet Agabus prophesied in another place, but his special sphere of work was his own locality.

11. The Procedure of Divine Ordination

    1. We know that certain men become prophets and teachers because they receive the gifts of prophecy and teaching. We do not know for sure what gift makes men evangelists. The apostles, however, are definitely an office and not a gift. They are specially called and commissioned by God to be such. It is quite adequate for persons to be prophets, teachers (and pastors), and evangelists so long as they have gifts. We do not read anywhere that aside from their gifts they must undergo any certain procedure of Divine ordination. Of the four classes of persons in the Ministry, three of them become such ministers directly through their gifts. Those who are so gifted become such persons.

    2. The apostles, on the other hand, are different in this regard. Though they too belong to these four classes of persons in the Ministry, they are quite distinct from the other three in that they do not become apostles directly through any gift. The apostles may have gifts similar to those of the other three classes of persons, but they have a special calling and special commission which the latter classes do not have. So far as gift is concerned, an apostle may be a prophet; yet he is more than a prophet because he has received a special commission. The other three classes of persons join the Ministry through gift, but the apostles join the Ministry through commission.

    3. Let us recognize that, in the local church, what is emphasized is gift and not office. And hence there is the biblical record of how the prophets exercised their gift, but there is no place in Scripture showing this concerning the apostles. Notwithstanding the fact that apostles are God’s gift to the Church, they themselves do not gain anything. When a person gifted with prophecy exercises his gift of prophecy in different places to which he has been sent, he is an apostle. The individual gift of an apostle may not be prophecy; he may instead have the gift of healings. Even so, he is commissioned by God to exercise his gift in various churches.

    4. In Eph. 4 the church local and the Church universal are viewed together, and so the Body of Christ is employed as an all-inclusive term. There the apostles, the prophets, the teachers, and the evangelists are lumped together. Actually, though, the spheres of their work are different, since in at least the case of apostles, their sphere of work occurs not only in a local place but in other places as well.

    5. God thus lays upon these two groups of men (the apostles and the rest) the responsibility of the work of the Ministry. According to His pleasure He gives gifts to some local brothers as prophets and teachers and evangelists that they may serve Him and His Church with these gifts. In addition, out of these gifted persons He chooses especially one class of men and sends them out to do the Work which He calls them to do. Besides their gifts they also receive an office. They become workers with a mandate. Just as the gifted brethren serve the local church with their gifts, so these specially commissioned brethren faithfully fulfill their ministry of building up the Body of Christ amongst various local churches.

    6. Through these men God imparts His grace to His Church. And these men cause all the grace of the Head to flow into the Body by the gifts given them by the Holy Spirit. Ministry is nothing less than to supply Christ to the Church: ministry is to communicate the Christ they know to the Church: for the purpose of God lies in the Church gaining Christ through their gifts.

    7. God has given these classes of persons to the Church for the perfecting of the saints with a view to the Work of the Ministry and the building up of the Body of Christ—until all believers attain unto a full-grown man, which is the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ Who is the Head. As Christians we should grow into Christ by acknowledging Him as our Head and accepting His grace and command so that we may be filled increasingly with Him. For this very purpose, God through these men reveals Christ and His riches to all the members so that all may grow into Him Who is the Head of the Body, into the One Who is all and in all, into the one and only Glorious Man. The Church ought to know deeply the riches of Christ through the instrumentality of these men in order that she be no longer tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine perpetrated by the wiles of the enemy (Eph. 4.14).

    8. As the prophets serve the local church with their gift, even so, the apostles serve the churches in many places with their office. These two classes of persons are extremely important because both kinds of works—extra-local and local in nature—are in their hands. Hence the Bible tells us that God’s holy temple is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets” (Eph. 2.20).

    9. The prophets, teachers and evangelists in the local church are but those who have such gifts. Because of their particular gifts they take part in the Ministry—in the building up of the Body of Christ; yet they do not occupy any office to govern the local church. The administrative responsibility of the church is vested in “the overseers and deacons” (Phil. 1.1 mg.). The elders occupy the highest office in a local church even as the prophets remain the most important gifted person in a local church. Yet in God’s Work—in the work of the Ministry of building up the Body of Christ—there are these four classes of persons. But amongst them all, the apostles stand foremost since they have an office which the others do not have.

    10. We see, then, that in local church government, the office of the elders is the highest; and that in the building up of the Body of Christ, the office of the apostles is the greatest. It is because of this that the New Testament, when speaking of solving a local problem which is also related to other churches, singles out “the apostles and the elders” (see Acts 15.2,4,6,23).

    11. Even though the apostles are the greatest in God’s Work, they have no position in the local church. Elders occupy the highest office in the church, but they have no part in the work of the Ministry. The prophets have the most important gift, nevertheless, they have neither office in the church nor overall responsibility in the Work.

    12. In the local church two aspects must be equally emphasized: one is government, the other is edification. Government is a matter of office, and hence there are elders and deacons. Edification is a matter of gift, and hence there are prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers. The function of the elders is to take care of the daily government of the church, whilst the work of the prophets and teachers is to edify when the church assembles. In the event that some elders are also prophets and teachers, they may govern the church in its daily affairs as well as edify it in the meetings.

    13. The apostles play no part in the daily administration of the church, neither do they take responsibility in the regular edification in the meetings. If any apostle is also a prophet or a teacher, and though he may not govern the church directly as do the elders, yet he can— during the time of meetings—edify the local church in his capacity of prophet or teacher.

    14. To sum up, the office of the apostles requires them to go to many places to do the Work of the Lord. And by the various gifts they receive (such as their being prophets, teachers, etc.), they are able to build up the brethren in different local churches.