Let’s begin with the Words of Jesus; the Chief cornerstone of the Church. Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Note the operative word; revealed. Jesus did not say that He would build His Church (the body of Christ) by a “good” plan, or a plan devised by a denomination, or third party idea. He said that He would use Revelation (from the Holy Spirit [assumed]) to build the Church; and that would be the Rock. Jesus didn’t say that He was the Rock; He gave that credit to the Holy Spirit. The Bible does say that Jesus is the chief Cornerstone though. (The cornerstone was an especially important building point in those days. From it, all four corners could be determined as well as the height.)
There is one point that needs to be made at this juncture: Although this study is read with your eyes and understood with your mind, howbeit, loaded with Scripture, it must still be comprehended with your heart. In short understanding and knowledge must be Revealed to you. One of the major reasons that the Body of Christ is now where it is is a result of the mind trying to comprehend the things of the Spirit. Sure our minds must be used, but not before our spirit.
Revealed knowledge always agrees with the Word, or the spirit of the Word. The Bible tells us that if all that Jesus did were written, even the world could not contain it. The Apostles and Prophets only laid the foundation of the Church. The others (you and me) are to build upon the foundation. This explains the need for the 5-Fold (Eph 4) ministry active in the Body today. Each one of the 5-Fold ministry gifts has a specialized function; and no single gift is to be exhaled above the others. Yet we see, in the church today, the exaltation of the “position” of “pastor” to almost a position of worship. In 90+% of the churches you find those who have the position of “pastor” are not really gifted as Pastors; some are not really called and gifted at all but are simply filling a position; in other words, they have a JOB. Therefore, what that group is experiencing is not build or operated on Revelation understood from the Lord but on mans plan.
Application of the 5-Fold in the Church Today:
The Apostle:
· The Visionary; one who sees God’s vision for that particular group. Each person, in the Body of Christ is a member / cell. When members / cells come together, that “clump” of cells form a part of the Body IE. The finger, the toe, the hand etc. The Apostle sees the direction and purpose for that particular “clump” of cells and guides the clump to maturity. Identifying each member’s gifting and guiding it in the best direction to accomplish the purpose is also one of the facets of the Apostolic gift.
The Prophet:
· The Prophet is a “Seer”; one who sees how God wants to do something or how He is doing a particular thing. The Prophet helps to implement the vision as well as add to the vision. He sees what things, both in the spiritual realm and in the practical realm, need to be done in order to bring the direction to maturity.
The Evangelist:
· The Evangelist; one who stimulates the cells to replicate themselves; to reproduce. This gift is intended to teach and instruct each cell and clump of cells to grow by stimulating “movement” (a necessary function of each cell to that replication is realized or experienced). When “movement” occurs, the Love of Jesus is showered upon both the Believers and the dying world resulting in the Body becoming One in Him and the Body Growing in numbers respectively.
The Pastor:
· The Pastor; one who nurtures God’s Children. The Pastor will teach and lead, by example, the members into that personal intimate relationship with the Lord. IE. Introduce the Believer to the Presence of the Lord. He will also teach, by example, how to discern and apply each member’s Spiritual gift, the “Charisma” Gifts of Romans 12. The end result is Joy unspeakable.
The Teacher:
· The Teacher: one who has an unmistakable Anointing to dissect and impart the Truths of the Word. Word accuracy and definitions are motivating factors in imparting to Believers. The Teacher, typically, will spend hours researching and preparing for just a 10 or 15 minute dissertation.
When all 5 Gifts are present and functioning the Body of Believers will experience the result of the intended reason God gave them in the first place; …for the perfecting (maturing) of the saints, for the work of the ministry. The maximum amount of Joy will be the result. One-Gift-burn-out will not occur. (Eph 4:16 KJV) From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Note: The Apostle and Prophet are, however, a bit unique; they are foundation layers: Eph 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; .
The Bible also describes these gifts in an order of necessity and importance to the Body of Christ. 1 Cor 12:28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
The word “first” means exactly that; first in order and importance. The word “secondarily” means just that, second in order and importance and so on.
Picture your hand; there is one thumb and 4 fingers. The thumb is the Apostle and the fingers are the remaining 4 of the 5-Fold. The thumb has access to and can interact differently with the other 4 than can any of the 4 touches and interact with the others. Try picking up and using a fork with out the use of the thumb; you may be able to do it, but not efficiently. The ideal is for all 5 to do what they are designed to do.
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