INTRODUCTION

Author: Pastor Johan du Toit

Overview

Ephesians 4:11,12 NKJV
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 the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.

When Jesus left the earth to take up His present-day ministry at the right hand of the Father, He gave some gifts to the church to minister to the saints. The purpose of these ministry gifts is to equip the believers for the work of the ministry, and to edify them with spiritual food, which is the Word of God.

These gifts came from heaven, from the throne of God, from the hand of the risen Christ. We know that the giving of a gift is the prerogative of the giver, and we must accept those gifts as the personal choice of the Lord for our own benefit.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

While we do recognize the ministry of the saints as necessary body ministry, where believers aid, support and encourage one another, the fivefold ministry gifts have a distinct place in the body of Christ. We cannot do without them if we want the church to be successful. These gifts were given to minister to the church until:

• We all come to the unity of the faith;
• And 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;
• But speaking the truth in love, we may grow up in all things into Him who is the head ‐ Christ.

Spiritual infants are easily drawn away after false teachings and other deceptions. The church needs all-around spiritual growth to arrive at its destiny of perfection in Christ. We cannot reach that place without the ministry of these five ministry gifts. Jesus gave them because we need them! Many churches practice a system of collective lay eldership to lead the church, but we have no Scriptural example for it.

As Jesus gave five different gifts, we need to receive ministry from all of them, as those walking in each one of them ministers according to his/her own calling, ministry and revelation. We cannot receive ministry just from one of these gifts; we have to recognize them all and receive ministry from them all.

Notice that Jesus gave these gifts, not man. The ministry is not a career that we can choose ‐ there is a divine calling behind it. Ministers who are not called by God have no anointing on their lives, and the difference will be clearly seen. Those whom God calls; He also equips.

II Corinthians 3:4‐6 NKJV 
And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 

While academic studies may be helpful, the real equipment for effective ministry comes from God.

• Ministry is not responding to a need.
• Ministry is not doing God a favor.
• Ministry is not a feeling that one gets.
• Ministry is not something that you do because you are “qualified” for it.

Peter was not “qualified” to minister to the Jews because he was an untrained and uneducated man (Acts 4:13). Paul, on the other hand, was trained and highly educated; he knew the Jewish laws, but God appointed him the apostle to the gentiles. God calls His ministers by His Spirit, and then He equips them by anointing them for the work they have to do.

Romans 1:1 NKJV 
Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God

I Corinthians 1:1 NKJV 
Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God... 

Galatians 1:1 NKJV 
Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead) 

We recognize a call on our lives by:

• A conviction in our own spirit. God is Spirit, and He speaks directly to our Spirit. A calling comes from God in a personal encounter with His Spirit. We are not called just because someone prophesied over us.
• A witness in our heart; a peace that follows on the calling experience with the Holy Spirit. You’ll just know that you know.

Callings may (but do not have to) be confirmed by a word of prophecy or a word of knowledge, but they do not come that way. Prophecy must always be judged, as following a false prophecy is dangerous.

Romans 8:14 NKJV 
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 

Paul was called by the Lord in a personal experience on the road to Damascus, but the confirmation came much later when he was praying with some believers:

Acts 13:2 NKJV 
As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul (Paul) for the work to which I have called them.” 

We recognize the callings of ministers by the anointing on their lives. An anointing is evidence of a call. People who are called have a life‐giving anointing that flows out of them. They minister to people from that anointing, and the people receive ministry from that anointing. There is no need to push, manipulate or threaten to get them to do something or to come to church: the anointing will motivate them. A successful church in the eyes of God is one where people are drawn through the anointing of

the Holy Spirit, not by eloquence, education, natural talents, a nice building or any other worldly thing. It may be possible to build a church using worldly rhetoric, but it will not stand for long.   Only the power of God can build a lasting congregation!

• We are not called by the needs we see
• We are not called by what we feel
• We are not called by what people tell us
• We are called by what we believe the Lord has spoken to our heart

There is a difference between a natural church and a supernatural church, and that difference is the anointing. The anointing is an appointment by God to serve, confirmed by the signs following:

• An anointed evangelist will get people born again where others are unsuccessful.
• An anointed prophet will speak true prophecies that are fulfilled, and words of knowledge that are correct.
• An anointed pastor will care for the flock effectively, while others may go through the motions and fail.
• An anointed teacher will have the lives of the people changed, while others will teach and teach without seeing results.

There are “pastors” and there are anointed pastors.

There are “evangelists” and there are anointed evangelists. There are “teachers” and there are anointed teachers.

There are “prophets” and there are anointed prophets. There are “apostles” and there are anointed apostles.

A minister’s call is recognized by the anointing that is on his/her life. Some people are called to be evangelists, but they try to be pastors; some are called to be pastors, but they want to be apostles; and so on. (Far too many pastors want to be apostles these days!)

It is important for us to be obedient to the call of God and do what He wants us to do. It is quite possible that a call may change after a while, but, even then, God’s anointing will still be upon it and it will be recognized by the people. Some people start off as pastors, but later become apostles, teachers, or evangelists. The highest calling for you is to be what God wants you to be.

Jesus is the head of the church; He decides. The church cannot promote you into something else, only God can.  The church board cannot change your call; only God can.

Ambition, zeal and education are good things in one’s life, as long as we use them to seek God’s will and not to promote ourselves. The test will always be in the anointing that rests on one’s ministry.

Titles do not make us what we want to be: calling yourself a pastor or something else does not mean you are one ‐ the anointing will prove it. The ministry gifts do not exist in names or titles but in effective ministry by the power of God.

Mark 16:20 NKJV
And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the Word through the accompanying signs. Amen. 

The Lord confirmed the word that they preached. He is the worker; we are His co‐workers.

• The signs followed them as they preached the Word.
• The sign that follows a teacher is that the people receive teaching.
• The signs that follow a pastor are that the people are well balanced and established in their faith.
• The signs that follow an evangelist are miracles and people getting saved and brought over from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God.
• The signs that follow an apostle are miracles, the establishing of churches, and divine authority (being spontaneously recognized by the people)
• The signs that follow a prophet are declaring the Word of the oracles of God, true prophecy, teaching, and preaching that establish the believers in their walk with God.

Of course, we do not always see the spectacular in operation in ministry ‐ we receive from the Spirit as the Word is ministered in truth.

We’ll go into more detail of the different ministry gifts later on in this course. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the church:

• He is the One who gave the ministry gifts.
• He is the One who calls.
• He is the One who equips.
• Let Him do it ‐ through you!

UNDERSTANDING THE FIVEFOLD MINISTRY GIFTS

When Jesus blessed the church with the five different ministry gifts, He intended for us to enjoy the wealth of a colorful variety of ministries:

• Pastors shepherd God’s flock.
• Teachers impart knowledge of the Word, not only by natural ability but by the divine ability of the Holy Spirit.
• Evangelists preach the Word under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, especially to the lost, but also to stir up the believers to evangelize.
• Prophets speak revelation by the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
• Apostles seem to flow in all of the abovementioned gifts.

All these gifts are necessary to bring balance in the church. In the church in Antioch some teachers and prophets were active, obviously with a pastor as head of the church (Acts 13:1). When they all ministered together unto the Lord, Barnabas and Paul were sent out by the Holy Spirit to fulfil their ministries.

Undue criticism amongst ministers often reveal an ignorance about the ministry gifts:

• Pastors and teachers often call prophets and evangelists superficial and hyped up.
• Evangelists sometimes call teachers and pastors boring.
• Apostles are often criticized for their authoritative spirit.

A mature attitude appreciates all these ministries for what they are ‐ gifts of the Lord Himself! The different gifts provide a balance and compliment one another:

• Prophets inspire teachers.
• Teachers steady prophets.
• Evangelists inspire us to win the lost out there in the world.
• Pastors remind us that souls still need much nurturing after they have been saved and brought into the kingdom.
• Apostles lead us into conquering new territories for the kingdom of God.

Any minister can operate in more than one office at any one time ‐ some pastors are also teachers and others are evangelists while they effectively pastor a church.

The fivefold ministries are like the fingers on a hand. When all the fingers are in place and working together, the hand will be able to fulfil its function.

• The thumb represents the apostle. It is the only finger that can touch all the other fingers ‐ the apostle can fulfil all the other ministries, namely of prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher.
• The index finger represents the prophet who points with his finger and says, “Thus says the Lord…”
• The middle finger is the longest one and represents the evangelist. He reaches outside the church to bring the lost in.
• The next finger is the pastor; it wears the wedding band that says he is married to the church. All the other ministries travel, but the pastor stays at the church to care for the flock.
• The little finger is the only finger that fits into the ear and it represents the teacher. He puts the Word of the Lord into the ears of believers.

1. THE APOSTLES

The list of ministries in Ephesians 4 begins with the ministry of the apostle. An apostle is someone who is sent forth, not going anywhere out of his own desire, but sent by God on a mission. Therefore, an apostle is always a missionary, although not all missionaries are apostles.

There are still apostles in the church today, although not in the definition of the first apostles; the twelve apostles of the Lamb (Rev. 21:14) were with Jesus during His walk on the earth and were witnesses of His resurrection. It is not certain if Paul ever saw Jesus in the flesh, but he did see the resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus.

Apostles are sent ones who go into areas where the gospel is not established, to preach, teach, win souls, and plant churches. This ministry gift is one with power and authority, and is accompanied by various signs and wonders:

II Corinthians 12:12 NKJV 
Truly, the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.

As apostles go out and establish churches after they have preached the gospel to the unsaved, they provide leadership to those churches to ensure they stay in God’s will and in line with the Word. Paul wrote the epistles to the churches to teach, exhort and even rebuke them: he had the authority to do so as he was also responsible for them. Note that authority is always brought into balance by responsibility. If an apostle has no responsibility for a particular church, he has no right to claim authority over it. Authority can only be exercised correctly by those who stand under authority themselves. Apostles provide leadership to infant churches.

The apostle Paul exercised great authority over people as well as churches.   He handed over the flesh of Hymenaeus and Alexander to the devil, and wrote detailed instructions by the Spirit to all the churches he led ‐ the epistles we still follow as the Word of God to us today.

The ministry of an apostle encompasses all the other ministries, namely that of prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher. Jesus was also an apostle (Heb. 3:1) ‐ He walked in every one of these five ministries as one sent by the Father.

The apostles were not apostles only in title, but first and foremost because they demonstrated the signs of an apostle ‐ they manifested that particular ministry (II Cor. 12:12). Dominant leaders find it easy to exercise authority over others and sometimes lightly claim the title of apostle, but in order for it to be true it must be brought into balance by the signs and wonders and the establishing churches out of nothing. It is better not to claim titles but to do what God instructs one to do. The church will recognize such a ministry and confirm any titles if necessary.

One cannot work one’s way up from the bottom to the top of the list; it remains God’s will and choice. The highest calling is the one that you have been called to, and every change that comes from God is promotion. Tradition and religion taught us to earn promotions the way it works in the world, going through the ranks: deacon ‐ elder ‐ pastor, but this is not how it happens in the church.

2. THE PROPHET

As is the case with apostles, there are still prophets at work today. The Word never said that these ministries would stop or that only certain ones would continue to operate. Anyone who prophesies in the church today is not necessarily a prophet, although a prophet does prophesy, but there is a difference between the gift of prophecy and the ministry of a prophet.

Prophets are itinerant ministers; they are people who travel from church to church to speak the Word of God under inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They teach, preach and reveal the will of God and the mind of God in certain situations. Like apostles, they are layers of foundations; establishing churches in

areas where the gospel is not yet established. Apostles and prophets are not the foundation ‐ they are foundation‐layers.

Ephesians 2:20 NKJV
having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone

Agabus was a prophet, and he revealed something about the future in Paul’s life ‐ something that Paul already knew ‐ under inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Prophets have insight in the spiritual world, and operate in the revelation gifts, i.e. word of knowledge, word of wisdom and discerning of spirits, apart from prophetic utterances.

A prophet therefore speaks under guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit: words of revelation, wisdom, foretelling of future events, and preaching and teaching the Word.

As prophets may foretell future events, some people have the unbiblical urge to follow after them to hear “a word from the Lord.” By doing this they actually imply that they cannot hear the voice of the Spirit themselves. All prophecy must be judged and should never contradict or go beyond the written Word of God.

Pastors need to be careful before allowing any kind of ‘prophet’ to speak in their churches. Weaker Christians may believe everything a prophet, or a so called prophet, says, and enter into things that are dangerous to themselves and others. Prophecy is only safe when it comes as a confirmation of what God had already spoken to the heart of the person concerned. When Agabus spoke to Paul, it was no new revelation to Paul, as it was previously revealed to his own heart. When Paul was separated for the ministry by a word from the Lord, it was no surprise to him either ‐ he was already called by Jesus on the road to Damascus.

Accurate prophecy and/or words of knowledge and/or words of wisdom are not necessarily sufficient grounds to recognize an individual as a true prophet: fortune tellers and mediums who operate under the influence of (evil) familiar spirits also know information about people’s lives. A good test for any minister, including prophets and apostles, is their submission in a local church. No one in the body of Christ should operate independently and without the spiritual oversight of a pastor. The relationship between a prophet and his pastor provides a good barometer to judge a prophet by. If he lives in rebellion, or has a strained relationship with his pastor, his motives should be questioned and he should be refused to minister in any church. Remember, the tree is known by it’s fruit.

Prophets are also human, like the rest of us, and should not be judged too harshly or required to be complete and perfect before he is recognized as a prophet.   Pastors, teachers and evangelists also make mistakes but are often too critical and judgmental towards anybody who is known to be a prophet. It is important for the church to be exposed to all of the ministry gifts: all five of these gifts were given to edify and equip the saints for the work of the ministry. If a church is exposed only to the ministry of the pastor (either it’s own and/or visiting ones), it may copy his weaknesses or be underdeveloped in certain areas. A balanced view can only be beneficial to the church.

3. THE EVANGELIST

Evangelists form a part of those gifts given to the church according to Ephesians chapter 4. They are the ones who go out to minister outside the church to the unsaved who need to hear the gospel. They are the “salesmen” of the gospel, and are mostly extrovert in their personality. They relate comfortably to all kinds of people. Although they should operate from a local church under the protection and authority of the local oversight, the main part of their ministry is spent outside the church. They are gifted with an ability to effectively reach the lost and bring them to Christ.

In Acts 6:5 we read about Philip, who was appointed as a deacon (helper) to serve tables in the church at Jerusalem. In Acts 21:8 we read about him again, this time as an evangelist.   He was a man full of the Holy Spirit, who did great signs in Samaria (Acts 8:5‐12). The Bible doesn’t say when Philip was called into the ministry of an evangelist, but in Acts 8:5‐12 we read how Philip went to Samaria to bring the gospel to the Samaritans with great signs and wonders.

Evangelists travel much in the fulfilling of their ministry. Many ministers who do not live lives of integrity try to escape the discipline of the local church by embarking on a travelling ministry. Such people may cause great damage to churches, and leave the pastor behind to repair the damage after they have left. But this does not at all mean that all evangelists are dishonest!

A very important part of the evangelist’s ministry is that they have an obligation to edify and equip the believers for the work of the ministry. They must visit churches from time to time to motivate believers to reach out with the gospel, and they will teach from their own position and experience on how to be an effective witness of the Lord.

4. THE PASTOR

Although the ministry of the pastor is rather low down on list of ministries in Ephesians 4, it is by no means an inferior calling. The pastor’s ministry is the only one that stays with the people ‐ he doesn’t travel from church to church. He faces the flock every day. While the other ministries come and go, and do not have to wrestle with the daily needs and problems of the people, the pastor is there to walk with them through life. He will share their joys and sorrows, and will be there to see if the counsel he gives in fact works for them.

The pastor is the leader of the flock. While Jesus is the Chief Shepherd (I Peter 5:4) of the church as a whole, the pastor is the under‐shepherd, the one who leads the local flock. The pastor is the one who is held accountable by God because he is called, and as such he must be free to follow the leading he receives from the Holy Spirit. Too often the pastor is opposed and subdued by obstinate elders who are supposed to help him in the work of the ministry. The pastor’s measure of faith (by obeying his call and leaving his vocation to do so), should be met by an equal measure of faith by other leaders in the church. An easy way to understand authority is that the one who appoints has authority over the one who is appointed: God appoints the pastor, the pastor appoints leaders. Accountability works this way as well. The same rule of authority that is balanced with responsibility applies here: he who has the responsibility has the authority and is accountable.

In His messages to the seven churches in the book of Revelation, Jesus addressed the angel (Greek: aggelos = messenger; singular) of the church ‐ not elders or deacons. He who is called is accountable for what he was called to do, and should not be hindered. On that great day of accountability the pastor will stand before Jesus to give account of his calling ‐ and he will stand there by himself, without elders or deacons: he will not be able to either blame them or depend on their support.

Where the word “pastors” appears in the plural form, i.e. Hebrews 13:7, 17 and 13:24, one must not get the impression that the letter was written to a single church with more than one pastor, as is the case sometimes today. The early church consisted of small home churches scattered over large geographical areas, which required some pastors to lead several churches. In this regard see Romans 16:5; I Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15 and Philemon 2.

Pastors who live upright lives and who preach, teach and live biblically, should not be treated with unfair suspicion, but rather be appreciated and supported in what they endeavor to do for the Lord. There are pastors who get out of line with God’s Word, and into all kinds of things that have nothing to do with their call, and they need to be confronted and restored.

The pastor is responsible for everything that happens in the church. Each departmental head must realize that he or she is there to help the pastor fulfil the vision God has given him for the church. All authority given to anybody else in the local church is delegated authority, which does not mean that the pastor has transferred his accountability to them: in God’s eyes he remains responsible. Delegated authority is always subject to final authority. Where this principle is not understood, the danger of division and rebellion will never be far away.

Some larger churches have more than one pastor, but in every church only one of them will be held accountable by God, no matter what was agreed upon by man. It is a very unhealthy practice to put two or more pastors on the same level and expect the people to be equally loyal to all of them. Sooner or later a problem will arise and cause the church to split. God never created anything with two heads! No matter how we reason about it, God has always worked through the leader of His choice. Where there is a need to have more than one pastor on the staff of the church, there must be a clear understanding as to which is the senior pastor, the one who has the final authority and the responsibility, and every member in church should know and understand their different roles.

A pastor must be able to teach. Teaching is the spiritual food of the flock, and every pastor must be able to teach to effectively fulfil the office of a pastor. All those souls who come in through he witness of the flock and the ministries of the evangelists, apostles and prophets end up in the pastor’s hands. He must teach, counsel, help, protect and govern (lead) them as a shepherd looks after his sheep. He will be more involved with the people than any of the other ministries.

4.1 The Pastor as Leader

Leadership is a ministry (Rom. 12:8). God appointed leaders to do the work of the ministry and to lead the church into fulfilling His purposes and vision. God is a God of order, not of confusion. He has always worked through His own appointed leaders. God is not democratic, neither is His kingdom (democracy is the voice and will of the people). This does not mean that a leader is always right, and it gives pastors no right to be headstrong or autocratic. But it does mean that the responsibility ends with the pastor, and that he must follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and not necessarily the desires of the people. He must be someone that pleases God, who called him, more than man.

A wise pastor will listen to the counsel of spiritually mature Christians who have the Kingdom of God at heart and then follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in his heart.

Gideon was the least in his father’s house, and his family the weakest in Manasseh, yet he was God’s choice to deliver Israel from their enemies. He had a low self‐esteem (Judges 6:15). With all that was available in the nation of Israel, no man would ever have thought of Gideon as a possible Judge to lead and deliver them.

Apart from this, his methods were not so logical either.   Israel feared the Midianites, and so did Gideon. Their army was no match for the Midianites, yet, when it came to attacking them, he let 22,000 men go back home. Try to explain that to a board of elders!

Even then, the 10,000 that remained were still too many, so he reduced them to three hundred by picking only those who drank water like a dog ‐ again not a strategy that the wise would readily approve of.   Now remember, nobody else was there when God spoke to Gideon, they only had his word for it. But by these three hundred men God delivered Israel in a miraculous way. Think about it for a while: would you have followed him?

God always works through a leader. Moses grew up in the palaces of Egypt and did not share in the sufferings of Israel. While they were toiling in the heat, he enjoyed life as a royal prince. Suddenly one day he showed up and told the people of Israel that he came to free them from the Egyptians. He couldn’t speak properly, and needed his brother to interpret for him. Hardly a man that one would follow, especially with so many risks involved. But God called him, He spoke with him, and used him mightily.

We can study the lives of all the great leaders of the Bible: David, Deborah, Samson, the apostle Paul: they were all men (and women!) who stood under God’s orders and acted on His voice in their lives. Whom God calls, He also equips.

As a leader, the pastor will always be criticized by some people ‐ it is impossible to please everybody all the time. Pastors must be strong in this area and should not be swayed from the course God put them on by the gossip and criticism of the people. The best way to deal with criticism and gossip is to weigh the source; this in itself will provide enough direction as how to deal with it. The best way to evaluate criticism is to see what place the kingdom of God has in the critic’s life: if he/she is on fire for God and faithful in all things, the pastor might decide to pay attention to what they say. People who spread negative stories around, in general have other priorities and a different agenda.

Where criticism is valid, the pastor should be mature enough to admit to it and make the necessary adjustments. The flock wants to see that their pastor is human and great enough to admit it.

Invalid criticism is better forgotten without paying any attention to it. This goes for all other leaders in the church.

In the services, the pastor should be the one who preaches and teaches regularly. He knows the needs of the people and should cater for it in his ministry from the pulpit. The whole service is his personal

responsibility: from the praise and worship to the end, his leadership should be respected. The different events in the service must stand under a central authority for order to prevail in the church. Unruly or carnal people might try to take advantage and disrupt a service if a person with a lesser authority oversees it.

People who wish to contribute to the service with a song, a testimony, etc. must arrange this with the pastor beforehand so that he may discern and see where it could best fit into the service, if he decides to allow it. Most of the time he knows what to expect in the service and if any particular contribution will enhance the service or not.

This also goes for prophecy: the Bible clearly teaches that prophecy must be proved and tested, and the best time to do so is before it goes out and causes confusion or damage to the flock. The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets and they can tell the pastor quietly what they have received in their hearts before they address the congregation.

Some people don’t like this, but the pastor is still responsible before God for what he allows to happen in the church. If a person has truly received a word from the Lord, he/she will be humble enough and have faith enough to have it tested by the pastor or a spiritually mature leader beforehand.

Strong leadership in the church is a blessing, but a weak leader will cause uncertainty in the hearts and minds of the people. A spiritual pastor cannot afford to be manipulated by anybody in the church, whether it be a senior person, a music leader, a businessman, wealthy people or anybody else. Carnal people will not always be willing to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and may delay or disrupt the work of the Lord in the church. Of course ungodly pastors who try to rule the church in an autocratic way should be confronted by his overseers.

Leaders are there to help the pastor in his task and to provide godly counsel to him. As he holds the final say in all matters, leaders serve as helpers and an advisors to him. Although certain responsibilities may be delegated to certain leaders and departmental heads, the final responsibility, and therefore the final authority, remains with the pastor and he should never be challenged on it.

You cannot pastor people who do not trust you, who do not support you or who won’t allow you to lead them.

4.2 The Pastor and Authority

Authority is a Biblical principle, and everybody in the Body of Christ must submit to some form of authority on earth. Western cultures sometimes have a problem with this, but it remains a godly principle that needs to be in place if the church wants to prosper in the things of the Lord.

As the pastor is the one with the final responsibility in the church, his authority should be respected at all times ‐ even when his decisions do not please everybody. The things of the Spirit do not always make sense to man because God’s logic is so different to ours. If we want a Spirit‐led church, we will have to make certain sacrifices and submit to the man God put there. As long as the pastor is in line with Scripture, his authority should be respected. When he does get out of line with Scripture, or lives a lifestyle that is not pleasing unto the Lord, he should submit to the guidelines of those who serve as his overseers. Nobody in the church is above authority and everybody should be able to tell where and to whom he/she submits on earth. We all submit to the Lord, but since God-ordained leadership, we ought to submit to someone on earth as well.

An area where the authority of the pastor is often violated is when other churches or ministries, without consulting the pastor, involve members of his flock in their ministries or activities. People may be requested to preach, sing, play music, organize events, lead camps, give spiritual guidance and counseling, and so on. This is a very unhealthy practice.

There may be a valid reason why a person should not be involved in ministry at any given time; the pastor knows his people, their capabilities, and spiritual state. Capability and availability are not the only reasons why someone should be selected to do ministry in the body of Christ: spiritual maturity and relationship with the local church are of greater importance. Much rebellion and misunderstanding have come out of this practice.

Alternatively, the pastor may need the person for service in the local church, where his/her first commitment should lie. Imagine if the pastor expects to use a particular person in the church for something that needs to be done, and he finds that out he is serving in someone else’s ministry. This is not beneficial for building healthy relationships in the church!

Apart from the arguments above, the least one can do is to be polite and channel all such requests through the leadership of a local church.

5. THE TEACHER

The teacher is mentioned last on Paul’s list of ministries.

In the Bible we find three different lists of ministries, in Ephesians 4, I Corinthians 12:28,29 and in Romans 12:4‐7. The teacher’s ministry is the only one found in all of these lists. There is a difference between the teaching ministry of a pastor, a five fold teacher (called to teach) and the motivational gift of teaching in the local church, e.g. Sunday School teacher, etc…

Anointed teachers do not only impart academic knowledge; they teach spiritual knowledge, revelation knowledge, by the Spirit of God. It is of little benefit to the church to just teach natural understanding of the Bible. In New Testament times there were many scribes, people who spent their lives studying the Scriptures and taught in the synagogues.   But when Jesus came on the scene, a totally different type of teaching was heard because He was anointed with the Holy Spirit and spoke words of life.

Matthew 7:28,29 NKJV 
And so it was, when Jesus ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 

A called teacher will have a gift to teach, not just a human ability or skill. It is one thing to teach but something else for the people to receive teaching. Many times one can stand and teach the people without ever seeing them receiving teaching and applying the principles that they have learnt.

Teaching formed an important part of Jesus’ ministry, and it should still be so today. The church needs much teaching. The kingdom of God cannot operate on carnal knowledge; we need to know the spiritual principles of the kingdom in order to be effective in what we do.

I Corinthians 1:19‐21,25 NKJV 
For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”  Where is the wise?  Where is the scribe?  Where is the disputer of this age?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through (it's) wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe...Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 

There is a great deal of human wisdom at work in the church today, causing it to be weak and without power. Man always wants to understand everything about God before putting it into practice, but the Bible says that God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than ours: His logic is different to ours. That is why we need anointed teachers to reveal God’s thoughts and wisdom to us.

Ephesians 1:17‐20 NKJV
...That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope  of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.. 

The Holy Spirit is our teacher (John 14:26), and He also works through called ones who speak under His inspiration.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hagin, K. E. (n.d.). The Ministry Gifts.

Nelson, T. (1982). The New King James Version Bible. Thomas Nelson.