Lesson 61 – What is the Five-Fold Ministry

Text: 1 Corinthians 12:27-28 KJV Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. (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.

Intro:

God gave the ministry to the church. In 1 Cor. 12:27-28 Paul said that God had set forth a distinction in the church. He first said that we are the body, yet we are members in particular. Then he goes on to say that God made several distinctions of gifts to the church that He set forth. In Eph. 4:11-12 Paul also stated that God gave ministers unto the church for its perfecting and edifying. God put this into place for the church’s benefit. Many scriptures clarify even further how the ministry was to operate within the church, as well as the qualifications for men who desired to fill these roles. 

Ephesians 4:11-12 KJV And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; (12) For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

There is a difference between the working, or function, of the ministry and the legal, or ecclesiastical, offices of the ministry. The titles given in scripture are different than the function of the ministry. Ephesians 4 says “He gave some to be…” which shows that He gave men to be various needful gifts in the ministry. These men all fit within the areas that were first mentioned in the passage from 1 Corinthians. This passage contains what we often refer to as the “five-fold ministry.” Paul is specifically saying that God gave men to fill necessary ministries or functions that perfect the church.

Function of the Ministry:

From the passage in 1 Corinthians, we see that the preacher is second only to the original apostles in importance to the church. The preached word is of absolute necessity to the saving of both sinner and saint. These called and anointed men of God are seen throughout the New Testament. To show them as more than a single term “preacher,” Paul wrote that there are various distinctions within the “preacher.” In Ephesians, Paul is not trying to lay out ecclesiastical titles that men are appointed to or hold. They are descriptions of how the ministry functions. God uses different men, and sometimes the same men at different times, to fulfill the functions that the ministry operates in.

Apostles – The word here designates “one sent” and when used in a specific context, or as a title, refers to the Twelve who met two qualifications: They were eyewitnesses of Jesus and they were specifically commissioned by Jesus as His apostle. Scripture refers in several places as “the twelve apostles.” Rev. 21:14 refers to the “twelve apostles of the Lamb.” Paul also was the “Apostle” to the Gentiles. The term “Apostle” used here for ministry function is the same word “Apostle” that designates the title of the original twelve. However, the original twelve are the only legitimate individuals who bear the title “Apostle.” The word used in Ephesians can include the original apostles as a gift to the church, but it is entirely likely that it intended to mean the times that God specifically would send a man to an unreached area with a calling to that country or area. That such men are still called seems evident by our knowledge of missionaries and church founders that go to areas and raise churches there.

Prophets – Although this, too, is a term that can be used both ways (to refer to an anointed preacher or a preacher who is specifically gifted to reveal sin or preach with unique insight into things unseen) the context here seems to specify the uniqueness of the prophetic ministry as seen in Old Testament prophets. Not so much a foretelling of the future or declaring blessings, but a powerful spiritual insight otherwise unknown.

Evangelists – This function of the ministry is indicated by the meaning of the word: “a messenger of good tidings.” Most scholars believe it describes the one who preaches the gospel with particular effectiveness to those who have never heard it.

Pastors – The Greek word “poimen” is only used here as a noun or term of ministerial office. Everywhere else it is used as a verb to describe the act of shepherding. It is a term that can be used to describe a shepherd. This is not describing the office we know as “pastor” but is describing the function and operation of shepherding, or caring for the flock. One of the things that ministry does is shepherd the people of God. Paul is telling the Ephesians about the work of the ministry rather than the offices they hold.

Teacher – The teaching ministry is one of the most important functions of the ministry within the church and this is how we are strengthened and matured. The Word of God is the most important directive in our life and men who can teach the Word clearly are a gift to the church.

Looking at all these terms as operations of functions makes it easy to understand how men can be used in more than one of these areas, often at the same time. These are not offices or titles that men aspire to or receive from other men. These are the ways that God uses men for the benefit of the church.

Acceptable Apostolic Titles of the Ministry:

Throughout the Scripture, we see the necessity for governance and oversight of God’s people. In the New Testament, several terms are given for offices or titles of the ministry. These terms come from accepted and known legal backgrounds, thus showing us that they are actually “offices” rather than “functions.”

The first thing we see is the Apostles appointing “Elders” in each city. Acts 14:23 says that they ordained, or appointed, “elders in every church.” 1 Peter 5:1-2 is an instruction to the elders, of which Peter says he is one, that they “feed the flock of God…taking the oversight thereof…” These men were appointed as overseers of the church. The term is taken from a Jewish background and denotes one who is greatly respected and esteemed as a leader. The Jewish background of the Apostles, as well as the background of the earliest congregations, likely was the reason this is the first term used for “oversight.” This word is also where we get the word “presbyter” which is a synonymous term for Elder.

The next term is “Bishop.” This comes from the Greek background and according to Fausset’s Bible Dictionary was used as a title for the inspectors that Athens would send out to rule and defend their subject states. This word has a legal background and would have been understood by both Jews and Gentiles of that day. Fausset goes on to say that the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament) used this title for those who had oversight of the Tabernacle. It is a term for legal oversight and is used in the New Testament as a synonymous term with Elder.

Pastor – This word is used several times in the Old Testament, and only once in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, it is used as a governing title for those in Israel who governed in various offices. Although the term comes from Israel’s background as a pastoral (or animal-keeping) people, it is used to designate a legal office of oversight.

All of these terms are from the legal and governing community. Because of their synonymous usage, they are titles for the same office. This office is the overseer of a local congregation. In Titus 1 Paul uses both “bishop” and “elder” to describe the same men. Various scriptures indicate that these men “rule” and take “oversight” and we are to submit to them.

Throughout the early church history, the Pastor, Bishop, or Elder of a church was the highest office in the church. It is the only office that was legally ordained by the Apostles who founded the church. There were deacons as well, but those were never referred to as a governing office. Only in the second and third centuries of the church’s existence did men create an office over this office. The process started because some churches gained greater prominence than others and people looked to them to help settle differences that arose. The pastors of these churches began to gain more importance and eventually, men began to refer to these bishops in a different way than other pastors or bishops.

Conclusion:

Today, the Apostolic Church predominantly uses the word “pastor” to denote the man with legal spiritual oversight over a congregation. Although the word “bishop” was used more in Scripture we began to refrain from that term because of the Roman Catholic corruption of church government. In recent years we have started to use the term for men who are influential in leadership of more than one congregation. This might be a man who retires from active pastoring and brings in another man to pastor the church. It might also be a man who starts branch works and those works refer to him as Bishop. A man who has several pastors look to him as a spiritual authority or leader in their life. Scripturally there is no office above the “pastor” and the term “bishop” is exactly the same as a “pastor.” However, based on the influence that some men have because of their “ruling well” and being worthy of “double honor” the Apostolic Church has started to use the word “bishop” to show how their lives and ministry have been used by God to such a great degree that other pastors look to these pastors.

Legally, there is no office of a “pastor of pastors.” Based on relationship, honor, and respect we see these men among us and they are a great blessing to the kingdom of God. Based on the principle of oversight found in church government, when pastors look to their pastor as a continuing guide and leader in their life, they realize that even though they may occupy the same ecclesiastical office as the man who is their father in the gospel, they still look to him as their pastor in their own life. They might call him “Elder” or “Bishop” to denote that special relationship. These are just some of the instances where we take license to use terms to denote the relationships among men in the ministry even though the terms describe only one “legal” or “ecclesiastical” office in Scripture.