The Ministry Gifts
Ephesians 4:7-8 - But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.”
Ephesians 4:11-16 - And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 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; 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, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 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.
Just as the human body has five senses for its protection and care, God has provided five ministry gifts for the protection and care of the body of Christ.
The five-fold ministry resulted from Christ’s ascension to heaven. These gifts were released by Christ during His ascension and are therefore also known as the ascension gifts. The full expression of the ministry of Jesus requires the full 5-fold ministry to be in operation.
Each office of the five-fold ministry carries its own distinct anointing and has its own individual work. For these offices to work together and accomplish the building up of the body of Christ, they must recognize their differences and be yielded and submitted to one another. Each of these offices is directly responsible to the Lord Jesus Christ and is directed by the Holy Spirit, to the work of service.
It is important that we recognize that these are the ministry gifts given by Jesus and are not the same as the manifestations gifts of the Spirit because the gifts of the Spirit are given to every Spirit-filled believer as the Spirit wills. Jesus selects certain people to hold office in His church to carry the responsibilities of leadership. They are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. They are Christ's gifts of leaders to His church. Their responsibility is to lead the church and to train the members for ministry. Most of these will probably be engaged in full time ministry.
These ministries are given to the body of Christ as a gift. It must be clearly understood that a gift is not earned. For this reason, these five-fold offices cannot be earned. No one can appoint another person into these offices. The Holy Spirit may use the church leadership to confirm the call of God on an individual but they cannot decide to appoint a person into any one of the five-fold ministries.
The ministry gifts are appointed by God and not by the choice of men. Unlike the Old Testament, this gift is not inherited from one generation of a particular family to the next. The genealogy regarding spiritual inheritance finished with Christ. For this reason there are no recorded inheritances of the anointing from any of the apostles to their children.
Christ is the head of His church and it is He alone who determines who is called into any of the five-fold gifts. Each person is divinely endowed with the spiritual gifts necessary to carry out that calling. All the offices of the five-fold ministry are different functions and for different purposes and are to be performed by people who are chosen and anointed by God.
The five-fold ministry gifts of Jesus to His church are not founded upon the Law. Jesus gave new gifts under grace instead of under the Law and now includes the Gentiles also.
When Jesus was on earth He expressed all five of these ministry gifts.
1. Apostle
Hebrews 3:1 - Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus.
Jesus was the Sent One, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. He is the One whom we confess.
2. Prophet
Matthew 21:11 - So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."
Jesus functioned fully in the five-fold office of a prophet. Since it is Jesus who has given this gift to the body of Christ, the prophet should manifest the same qualities that Jesus displayed.
3. Pastor
John 10:11 - I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
Jesus was the good Shepherd which is the same word for pastor in the Greek translation.
4. Evangelist
Luke 4:18 - The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor.
Jesus was an evangelist and preached the gospel of the Kingdom.
5. Teacher
Matthew 9:35 - Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues.
Jesus spent a large portion of His ministry teaching and explaining Scripture from the age of twelve.
When He returned to the Father, He gave these gifts to men and women for the completion of the work He had begun and He gives an expression of Himself to the church in the form of these ministry gifts. The church that Jesus is building will be a church that represents the fullness of who Christ is. The five-fold gifts are given by Christ to the church at His ascension because He expected them to operate in His church.
All five ministry gifts are needed in equipping the saints, for the perfecting of the saints and for the edifying of the body of Christ.
It is the combined task and function of all five of these ministry gifts to bring the body of Christ into unity by working together. The five-fold ministry gifts were given to equip the saints for service and are to be active until that job is complete and the body of Christ comes to maturity.
The church today has certainly not come into full maturity and in unity of faith which proves that the five-fold ministry still needs to function and to be established in the body of Christ.
They are still valid and needed in the church today and will therefore continue in the church and will be in full operation.
The five-fold ministry can and should work together, while each does their own ministry and fulfill their individual gifting.
The church needs every function of the five-fold ministry gifts which Jesus has given to His church, but sadly very few Christians recognize all of them. Recognition is very important if the church is to benefit from these gifts.
Each of the five offices carries its own unique anointing and has its own individual work. For these ministries to work together to accomplish the building up of the body of Christ, they must recognize their differences and be yielded and submitted to one another.
They are each directly responsible to the Lord Jesus Christ and are directed by the Holy Spirit to do this work.
The Hand
The five-fold ministry represents the hand of God working in the church today. This is the hand that performs the work that He desires in this world today.
The fingers of the hand symbolically represent the five-fold ministry that God sets up within the church. The hand feeds, cares for, and washes the entire body.
The hand needs all the fingers and its thumb to be effective in its work. The church needs all five of its ministry gifts if it is going to be effective.
The five-fold ministry equips all the other ministries and it is they who do the work.
The ministry gifts serve to reveal the plan of God. The apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers are like fingers stretching out. They must learn to balance one another out and work together in order to get the task done.
1. The thumb represents the apostle
The apostle is the thumb because it is the only finger that can touch all the others and enables us to grip. It therefore establishes and brings order to the other ministries. The thumb is obviously different to all the other fingers of the hand. The thumb is solid.
It is shorter, fatter, and blunter and set in the hand very differently to the other fingers. In fact all the other fingers, although different to one another, have vast similarities and, compared to the thumb, are all basically the same. The thumb is set in the hand in such a way that it can face each of the other fingers face to face and can interact with all of them, and indeed can oppose them as well, to keep them in line when needed.
Although the thumb is too blunt and short to do the delicate work in the palm, it can certainly keep a close watch on all the fingers within the palm. The thumb is also the closest to both the heart and the head.
2. The forefinger represents the prophet
The forefinger or index finger is the one that points, shows the way and directs. The index finger represents the prophet who points the way and warns.
3. The middle finger represents the evangelist
The middle finger stands out from among the rest and reaches out to save the lost. It is the longest and besides the thumb the strongest finger and is supported on all sides by the other fingers.
It has the longest reach of all the fingers and can reach out the furthest to hook in and draw in others into the palm of the hand, where the whole hand clasps them and ministers to them.
4. The ring finger represents the pastor
The ring finger represents the pastor, because that finger is associated with love, caring, and faithfulness.
The pastor is symbolically married to the sheep and is always with them. This symbolizes the marriage between Christ and the church.
5. The little finger represents the teacher
The little finger balances the rest of the hand and represents the teacher.
It is the smallest finger, the shortest and thinnest, and the only one small enough to clean out the ears.
The little finger is almost separate from the rest of the hand, but is perfectly placed on the outer edge of the hand to catch those who are falling out of the palm of the hand. It is very important and is often needed to bring people back into the hand.
If the little finger lets go the grip is severely weakened. Though seemingly small and insignificant, the little finger is designed specifically for digging into inaccessible places.
6. Relationship between each
The apostle works best with the prophet. The index finger is closest to the thumb. The apostle and prophet work closely together and form the foundational ministries.
The index finger is closest to the middle finger. The Prophet works closely with the evangelist as well.
The pastor is located between the teacher and the evangelist. These are the two the pastor works best with. One wins souls, the other trains them. The pastor oversees the process. A shepherd leads his sheep.
The evangelist is between the prophet and the pastor. Someone has to take in the new babes and feed them and shepherd them. The pastor and teacher are well equipped for this. The prophet provides insight for the evangelist and helps keep things pointed in the right direction. They hear from God and reveal His heart and purpose for the hour, not just the future.
The little finger cannot function or work on its own. It is interesting to note that the last two fingers, ring and little finger, are almost inseparable, when the one moves the other must move in near unison.
The teacher works really well alongside the pastor, but not the evangelist or the prophet. They mostly benefit the pastor and the congregation.
Foundational ministries
Ephesians 2:20-22 - Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
The apostles and prophets are the two foundational ministries in the body of Christ.
Jesus revealed Himself to be the cornerstone of the church and continues to build it through His apostles and prophets.
1 Corinthians 12:28 - And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets…
Apostles are the first and prophets are second among the ministries in building the church of God because they lay a foundation of understanding concerning the mystery of Christ.
Unfortunately, these are the two ministries that are least recognized in the church today. God is bringing order back to His church and is fully restoring the ministry of the apostles and prophets.
Without the ministry of apostles and prophets the revelation of the blueprint necessary for the building is incomplete.
The prophet works closely with the apostle as they lay a foundation and bring strength and order to the body of Christ. God has given His grace to apostles and prophets to receive a revelation of His mysteries and to reveal them to the body.
When we look at the current state of the church, it is clear that it needs to make significant foundational shifts and changes. It is evident that the ministry gifts of the pastors, evangelists, prophets, and teachers are active in the church today. When we make a comparison of where the church should be headed in terms of its maturity and unity, the office of the apostle has not been fully restored to the church. The bride of Christ can only prepare for the Bridegroom once all five of these anointing are fully active.
