And He gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some shepherds and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ. Eph. 4:11-12
In my first post for this series I discussed the emergence of the “five-fold ministry” doctrine with the intent of examining the validity of the present concept of the grace gifts listed in Eph. 4:11. I also stated my intent to bring a greater level of accuracy to the definition and function of these gifts. But first, I chose to consider their work, namely the “equipping” of the saints, to hopefully initiate a shift in thinking. In this post I will move further through this verse to consider the resultant impact of the work of apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds & teachers (APEST).
We must see that in this whole section from verse 11-16 the only work associated with the APEST’s is that of equipping – or better stated, mending (read the first post in this series). Every other action flows from the saints. How strange then it is that the APEST have been crafted into a class of individuals collectively called “ministers,” when verse 12 clearly reveals the saints as the “ministers!” At this point let’s clarify that the word translated “ministry” (gr. diakonia) speaks of dependence, submission, and constraints of time and freedom. Interestingly, the Greeks regarded diakonia as degrading and dishonorable, being a society intent on self-actualization and self-fulfillment. The logos of this word to a first century Greek did not convey what it has come to convey in the modern context. As well, the thought of their being something titled “the ministry” (the diakonia) as a subset of all believers would have been foreign to the apostles and elders in the first century.
Some might argue that Paul refers to “the ministry” in Acts 20:24, 2 Cor. 5:18, and Col. 4:17, but we must realize he speaks from a first century context – not a modern Christian context. For him the diakonia (ministry) implied a task-oriented, practical work of caring for the needs of others that has far greater implications and stewardship than merely preaching or teaching. It is always the service (ministry) of something – not their being a conglomerate of “offices” called “the ministry.” Verse 12 also reveals that the building up of the body is accomplished through the works of service by the saints, not the “five-fold ministers.” So then the notion that scripture even supports the idea that there is anything called “the ministry” (five-fold or otherwise) is questionable since, by definition, all saints are in “the ministry”- not merely those of the APEST sort.
Next, notice the word “work,” which in the Greek is the word ergon, meaning to be engaged in accomplishing something by hand, art, industry or mind. It connotes the expenditure of effort in realizing a desired outcome. So then we see that all saints are to be engaged in some outworking of the grace of Christ that intentionally serves others, and the APEST’s are crystallizations of that grace whose work is to mend, align and repair the saints so that they can accurately and effectively administer their respective service. These crystallizations of the grace of Christ (aka APEST) were never meant to be individually celebrated or titled. Rather, they exist to infuse the saints with APEST impartation such that all believers function with an apostolic, prophetic, evangelistic, shepherding and teaching grace within the context of their respective works of service. The emphasis here is not the APEST’s, but the service of the saints, for one another, to produce a mature corporate man in the earth. As maturity emerges the individual distinction of the APEST’s diffuses, for the entire body becomes an APEST expression as each individual part works properly and supplies it’s respective measure of grace to the whole (vs. 16).
This is a significant shift in thinking that requires prayer and discussion far beyond a blog post. But in short, there is not a sub-class of Christians who are “the ministers,” nor is there an all encompassing thing called “the ministry.” We are all engaged in the service of our King Jesus, who by the Holy Spirit distributes His grace in varying measure to “each one” (Eph. 4:7). Some exhibit a crystallization of respective grace for the express purpose of infusing that grace into the saints, who in turn intentionally serve one another with a view towards growth into a mature corporate man.
Awaken us Lord Jesus to see beyond what has been seen.
Of course this requires further prayer and discussion, but initially implies a change in the manner of reunion that Christianity have. Our life style change when one understand this true.