Where is the five fold ministry?

[Sister Alvear]

amen...

[Aquila]

It's my understanding that those fulfilling the ministry of Apostle are those we call Missionaries.

[TGBTG]

Originally Posted by Aquila

It's my understanding that those fulfilling the ministry of Apostle are those we call Missionaries.

To a large extent...

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by onefaith2

Ephesians 4 11 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:

13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:


Many churches recognize pastors, evangelists, teachers, and of course the select are known as prophets in apostolic ranks. However that is only four. Where is the office of the apostle? Has it ceased? Can anyone be called to that office today? If so, do you know anyone who you would truly consider an apostle?

How many church confuse the office with the 9 spiritual gifts today?

I’d like to address something. These “ministries” are often thought of as “offices”. But if you look closely… they are “ministries” of the body and for the body. In the first century church Christians didn’t have the concepts we have with “offices”. An Apostle was one that took the Gospel to a previously unreached region. A prophet was one anointed to speak the prophetic Word of the Lord and to deliver the Word of God anointedly. The Evangelist was any brother or sister who shared the Gospel rather it be by traveling church to church or just sharing in the market place. Those called to pastor spiritually mentored the flock, teaching Scripture, and building strong relational bonds. Teachers labored in the Word to teach doctrine. The average gathering was roughly 15 to 30 people in a house. Out of that 15 to 30 people you might have 10 gifted in the ministry of “pastor” and these mentored the flock together. All were called to be evangelists. You might have some feeling called to unreached regions. Two might specialize in doctrine. And three might be gifted in the gift of prophecy. There weren’t “offices” as we might think of them. It appears that “elders” were those who were spiritually mature in each gathering and that they worked together and in harmony, guiding and building up the flock. It was more like community… not a corporation. They called themselves Brother and Sister not as some form of “title”… but because they truly saw the church as a family. That being said, it was guided like a family.

Just had to drop that in here.

God bless.

[onefaith2]

Originally Posted by Aquila

I’d like to address something. These “ministries” are often thought of as “offices”. But if you look closely… they are “ministries” of the body and for the body. In the first century church Christians didn’t have the concepts we have with “offices”. An Apostle was one that took the Gospel to a previously unreached region. A prophet was one anointed to speak the prophetic Word of the Lord and to deliver the Word of God anointedly. The Evangelist was any brother or sister who shared the Gospel rather it be by traveling church to church or just sharing in the market place. Those called to pastor spiritually mentored the flock, teaching Scripture, and building strong relational bonds. Teachers labored in the Word to teach doctrine. The average gathering was roughly 15 to 30 people in a house. Out of that 15 to 30 people you might have 10 gifted in the ministry of “pastor” and these mentored the flock together. All were called to be evangelists. You might have some feeling called to unreached regions. Two might specialize in doctrine. And three might be gifted in the gift of prophecy. There weren’t “offices” as we might think of them. It appears that “elders” were those who were spiritually mature in each gathering and that they worked together and in harmony, guiding and building up the flock. It was more like community… not a corporation. They called themselves Brother and Sister not as some form of “title”… but because they truly saw the church as a family. That being said, it was guided like a family.

Just had to drop that in here.

God bless.

The office of the apostle and prophet was clearly outlined in the early church quite well. Philip was labeled cleary as an evangelist. However Pastor and teacher was not it seems.

[Sam]

Originally Posted by Aquila

I’d like to address something. These “ministries” are often thought of as “offices”. But if you look closely… they are “ministries” of the body and for the body. In the first century church Christians didn’t have the concepts we have with “offices”. An Apostle was one that took the Gospel to a previously unreached region. A prophet was one anointed to speak the prophetic Word of the Lord and to deliver the Word of God anointedly. The Evangelist was any brother or sister who shared the Gospel rather it be by traveling church to church or just sharing in the market place. Those called to pastor spiritually mentored the flock, teaching Scripture, and building strong relational bonds. Teachers labored in the Word to teach doctrine. The average gathering was roughly 15 to 30 people in a house. Out of that 15 to 30 people you might have 10 gifted in the ministry of “pastor” and these mentored the flock together. All were called to be evangelists. You might have some feeling called to unreached regions. Two might specialize in doctrine. And three might be gifted in the gift of prophecy. There weren’t “offices” as we might think of them. It appears that “elders” were those who were spiritually mature in each gathering and that they worked together and in harmony, guiding and building up the flock. It was more like community… not a corporation. They called themselves Brother and Sister not as some form of “title”… but because they truly saw the church as a family. That being said, it was guided like a family.

Just had to drop that in here.

God bless.

Thank you.
Some times it's hard for us in the U.S. in 2010 to realize that the way we "do church" today is so different from those early believers.

[Sabby]

Originally Posted by Aquila

I’d like to address something. These “ministries” are often thought of as “offices”. But if you look closely… they are “ministries” of the body and for the body. In the first century church Christians didn’t have the concepts we have with “offices”. An Apostle was one that took the Gospel to a previously unreached region. A prophet was one anointed to speak the prophetic Word of the Lord and to deliver the Word of God anointedly. The Evangelist was any brother or sister who shared the Gospel rather it be by traveling church to church or just sharing in the market place. Those called to pastor spiritually mentored the flock, teaching Scripture, and building strong relational bonds. Teachers labored in the Word to teach doctrine. The average gathering was roughly 15 to 30 people in a house. Out of that 15 to 30 people you might have 10 gifted in the ministry of “pastor” and these mentored the flock together. All were called to be evangelists. You might have some feeling called to unreached regions. Two might specialize in doctrine. And three might be gifted in the gift of prophecy. There weren’t “offices” as we might think of them. It appears that “elders” were those who were spiritually mature in each gathering and that they worked together and in harmony, guiding and building up the flock. It was more like community… not a corporation. They called themselves Brother and Sister not as some form of “title”… but because they truly saw the church as a family. That being said, it was guided like a family.

Just had to drop that in here.

God bless.

"It was more like community… not a corporation". Right on. We've heard it MANY times, the Body is "an organism, not an organization".
Boy, you opened a huge area of discussion with this!

The 5 fold ministry is alive and well today and depending upon the gifting of God, some preachers can fill more than one ministry at a time, as meets the need.

[Sam]

Originally Posted by Shingledecker

...
The 5 fold ministry is alive and well today and depending upon the gifting of God, some preachers can fill more than one ministry at a time, as meets the need.

Well, we can find over 20 people called an apostle in the NT, and just one of these is a woman.

The following are listed as prophets in the New Testament:
Anna (Luke 2:36)
John the Baptist (Luke 7:28)
Agabus (Acts 11:27-28, Acts 21:10) and unnamed others (Acts 11:27-28)
Judas and Silas (Acts 15:32)

Only one person is called an evangelist in the New Testament. That is Philip (reference Acts 21:8)

The word “pastor” is not found in the King James New Testament. The plural form “pastors” is only found in Ephesians 4:11

As far as I can remember right now, only the Apostle Paul is called a teacher (reference 2 Timothy 1:11)

In Acts 13:1 it mentions certain people who are called “prophets and teachers.” These people are Paul, Barnabas, Simeon, Lucius, and Manaen. From the wording, I don’t know if all 5 of these were both “prophets and teachers” or if some were just prophets and some were just teachers, or if some fulfilled both offices.

[james34]

the Bible does not teach about a 5 fold ministry,it teaches the gifts of the spirit for the edification of the body.

[onefaith2]

Originally Posted by james34

the Bible does not teach about a 5 fold ministry,it teaches the gifts of the spirit for the edification of the body.

Read Ephesians 4