Ephesians 4:11-16 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:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about
with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness,
whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is
the Head, even Christ:
16 From whom the whole Body fitly joined together and compacted by that which
every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of
every part, makes increase of the Body unto the edifying of itself in love.
These ministries are given by God to bring forth the Body of Christ into maturity, unto the measure of the fullness of Christ. However, this responsibility is not theirs alone. Verse 16 says that every joint supplies. So there is also a flow of the Holy Spirit through the members that complements the ministry of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.
The question is asked, “I understand that these ministries are given to bring the Body into the fullness of Christ. How do they do that? Do they do it by merely preaching about Christ? just preaching the Scriptures?” No! Preachers all over this world have been preaching about Christ, and the people aren’t coming into His fullness. Something more than that is needed. The ministries of verse eleven are those that have learned how to be channels for God, that He may flow through them. There will be no effective ministry until we yield to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and His life is flowing through us. That means we must drink of Him, and then out of our most inner being will flow rivers of living water (John 7:37-38).
Apostleship is not a position of exaltation. There is only one Apostle and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Anyone that He ministers through as the Apostle has an apostolic ministry. The same for a prophet. There is only one Prophet and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. And those He moves through as the Prophet has a prophet’s ministry. There are many running around the country claiming to be apostles and prophets, and Christ is not moving through them at all.
The same principle is true for the evangelist, pastor and teacher. There is only one Evangelist, one Pastor and Teacher. But when the Lord ministers through someone in those capacities they have that kind of ministry. An apostle is a channel for The Apostle, a prophet is a channel for The Prophet, etc. These ministries are able to bring forth the Body of Christ into His fullness because they have learned how to minister in the realm of spirit. They know how to drink of the Lord and then let Him flow through them to the members of the Body. They are doing what Paul said in Romans 1:9, For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit.
Copyright © 2000 by Henry DuBose