Ephesians 4:11-16

Ephesians 4:11 HCSB

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

Gifted people God gives to the church.

Apostle:

One who is sent with a commission. Divinely appointed representative. The apostles were to give witness of the Resurrection, and therefore had to have seen the risen Christ personally

There are no new apostles today in the strictest New Testament sense. These men helped to lay the foundation of the church.

I want to differentiate that there are apostles and they are in our rich Christian history, and that there are not any NEW apostles.

I think the statement of there are not any apostles today is confusing because the apostles of the New Testament are people who lived on this earth and they saw and witnessed our resurrected Lord. So these apostles existed. Through scripture we read of their accounts of meeting with the Lord.

It is also true that there are not any new apostles today. Apostles witnessed our resurrected Lord.

Prophets:

Speak God’s word as a fore telling of what is going to happen in the future, and speak God’s word of how it is applicable to the present day. They operated under the direction of the Holy Spirit before their was a canon of New Testament Scripture.

As prophets spoke about the events of the future, the primary purpose was to say this is how we are to order and live our lives in the here and now.

The New Testament prophets had a gift of showing how the Old Testament scriptures had found their fulfillment in the Messiah. The Old Testament promises were fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah. They helped to make sense of all this.

Evangelist:

Those who are to announce the good news which is the good news that Jesus the Messiah is the Lord of the world and has dealt with evil on the cross and He has launched God’s new creation.

Pastors and Teachers

These are linked together. One office with two ministries. Pastor means “Shepherd”, indicating that the local church is the flock of sheep, and it is his responsibility to feed and lead the flock. Teaching involves instructing the church in God’s ways through the Word of God. The Word of God guides us and disciplines us to live more as God designed and to be fully human.

Ephesians 4:12 HCSB

12 for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,

Training

Equip the saints. This word is not found elsewhere in the New Testament but the corresponding word is used in Matthew 4:21 of repairing something; God’s bringing the universe in the beginning into its intended shape and order and of restoring to spiritual health a person who had fallen.

work or service of ministry.

Building up

Ephesians: An Introduction and Commentary b. Diversity in Unity (4:7–16)

The church is increased and built up, and its members edified, as each member uses his or her particular gifts as the Lord of the church ordains, and thus gives spiritual service to fellow-members and to the head.

Ephesians 4:13 HCSB

13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.

Reach:

Arriving at a final destination

The final destination is unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son.

Ephesians 4:14–16 HCSB

14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. 15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head —Christ. 16 From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.