In this series, we discuss the work of the Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers as outlined in Ephesians 4:11-16. In our consideration of this passage, we will look at what the role of these men is, the goal of their work in the body, and the outcome. This is to the end that we will find help in navigating the issues of passivity and lack of growth in the church, especially in Africa, by calling these men to stand up to their responsibilities. When they play their roles well, the church will be both united and mature in Christ.

Introduction

In our Part 1 of this series, we did an elaborate introduction to this subject. We noted explicitly that ministry training is the primary duty of the officers of the church, within its local, community context. While seminaries are doing a great job, we will be on good footing if our discipleship and Christian education ministries in the local church gave INTENTIONAL thought to the training of their members for the works of ministry.

In this part of the series, we will be introducing what Ephesians 4:11-16 presents in accordance with our discussion on ministry training in the local church context.

Ephesians 4:11-16

11 – And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 – for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 – till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14 – that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15 – but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ
16 – from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love

This passage can be viewed in four parts, which will make up the various dimensions of our discussion. We will be looking to see what the text is saying and what it may be communicating to the reader.

The four parts under consideration in this passage are; the gifts, their function, the goal, the outcome. We will dedicate this part of our series to the gifts and their function.

Note here that I am discussing their global prescribed function, and not their individual functions. Any attempt at their individual, independent functions is not intended to present a comprehensive, researched teaching on the subject, but a highlight for the sole purpose of clarity to the general.

Firstly, let us consider the various gifts in this passage.

The Gifts (Ephesians 4:11)

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

Markus Barth in “The Anchor Bible” on Ephesians comments that all these gifts are gifts of men, in fact, they are gifts of men whose function is primarily that of speaking.

“Out of the many gifts Christ gave to the church, these are mentioned because of their relevance for the unity of the church” Markus Barth – The Anchor Bible

These men are specially gifted to the Church as a token from the Lord of the Church in order that there may be completion and order. This idea is defined in their function as will be discussed later. But in this section, let us consider the various gifts as are stated in verse 11.

The first of these gifts is the Apostles. While we are not in this paper considering the function of each of the gifts, it is good to mention, even in passing, how these people perform their speaking function and in what context. That said, generally speaking, the apostles are known to be groundbreakers. In other words, they carry the message of hope and salvation to new, unexploited lands. Basically to places that have not heard about Christ, and often their ministry results in the establishment of new congregations.

Following the apostles closely, we have those identified as Prophets. These are generally considered those who bring guidance to the church. These men, ordinarily, should bring the mind of God to the people of God in very specific situations. While this happens in context, it is worth noting that there is an abuse of the idea of prophecy today in the Church.

However, the hope is that the truth of the Scriptures will again find its place in the hearts of Christians of our time. That we may not become the reason why a gift of Christ would be abused, misused, or totally neglected. This is a major reason why every local congregation should consider engaging in intentional ministry/theological training for her members.

Following the prophets, we have the Evangelists. Whereas we have the apostles taking the word of salvation to new grounds and to unreached areas, the evangelists’ role in the ministry of evangelism is usually generally considered to be that of general, regular proclamation of the gospel message with the hope of calling unbelievers to salvation. While the apostles may be considered missionaries in a sense, the evangelist is more of a general minister/herald to the lost wherever they may be located.

Then we come to the last two gifts mentioned in the text; Pastors and Teachers. While there is still great debate among theologians of various backgrounds as to whether these are two men or one, a close look at the text’s grammatical structure would suggest strongly that while these are two operations, yet they may be given to the Church in one man.

This is the reason for the tension between proponents of five-fold and those of four-fold ministries. Personally, however, I think both of them have reason to argue as they do. And while this paper is not about settling this debate (which will definitely never be settled), it suffices to say that I agree more with the four-fold idea following a grammatical reading of this verse. This would mean, however, that while there are four gifts (men) given to the church for the sake of unity in the body, we see clearly that these four gifts operate in five dimensions, the last, being doubled as one gift (man).

That said, the Pastor and Teacher generally speaking, is established in the church, teaching progressively the whole counsel of Scripture to the believers and caring for the sheep. He is considered as the one responsible for the growth and wellbeing of the ones that come into the fold as a result of the work of the evangelist.

While this analysis of the various gifts is primarily stated as would be generally accepted within evangelical circles, it cuts across the basic idea of their operations considered across the entire church body.

The crucial question in this article, therefore, as established earlier is; why would Jesus apportion these special gifts to the Church?

While we have a hint in the previous verses (vv. 1-10), it is important to look into their function as stated in the following verses.

The Function of the Gifts (Ephesians 4:12)

12 – for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.

This verse has suffered a great deal in the hands of various interpreters as observed by Talbert. However, careful grammatical and literary consideration would reveal that the stated function of the various gifts of Christ is one, that of equipping the saints for the work of ministry.

“The gifted individuals mentioned in verse 11 train or equip the saints, all of whom have been gifted as well in other ways, for their work of ministry/service, the purpose being the church’s edification.” Talbert, Charles H – Commentaries on the New Testament: Ephesians and Colossians.

This is the point of focus of this series of articles. If the Church would be unified in its operation, there must be proper understanding of the function of these specially gifted men in the Church. Proper reading of this verse will communicate that failure in the function of these men will have a direct consequence on the general health of the body of Christ.

This alone begs for careful consideration in any discussion that touches upon the primary function of the gifts of Christ to the church. That while all a member of the body of Christ have been gifted of the Spirit, there are some, whose gifting is not just a matter of receiving, but even more specifically, they have been given as gifts to the body.

These “men gifts” together have as a major responsibility, to train/equip the gifted men of the Church for the works of ministry. These works of ministry are necessary, urgent, numerous and diverse. But that’s all, these works of ministry are alsodelicate, requiring proper training. Very often, in cases where this training is lacking, we observe either an abuse, misuse, or a complete disuse of the gifts that should make these works relevant to the church body.

This communicates that, if every gifted individual must function properly within the body, they must appreciate and would have first benefitted from the weight of the gifts of Christ (men gifts). The idea of equipping brings to mind the concept of sharpening.

If the gifts of the Spirit are tools for ministry/service in the church, the gifts of Christ are the tools for the sharpening of these gifts of the Spirit.

Conclusion

We have seen in this part that the major, prescribed responsibility of the gifts in Ephesians 4:11-12 is that of equipping the saints for the works of ministry. When these men gifts function properly, there can be a sure expectation of uncommon impact, flowing throughout the body as a result of each gifted individual wielding his ministry tool effectively in the service of the entire body.

In the next part, we will be rounding off this series with a look at the goal and the outcome of the proper functioning of these gifts.

Pastor Tanko Brain Mbuli is the administrator of the Cameroon Bible Institute and a Para-educator at the Online Bible Institute.