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Concerning the work of the ministry, Ephesians 4:12-13 says that it is to minister Christ to men for the building up of the Body of Christ, the church, until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. This is God’s work in His New Testament economy. This is the focus of God’s work in the New Testament, which especially stresses the building up of the Body of Christ.
For such a building work of the Body of Christ, God has particularly separated a group of people and given them as gifts to the church. Ephesians 4:8 says, “Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive and gave gifts to men.” “Gifts” here does not refer to the gifts given by the Holy Spirit to the individuals (Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:8-11); it refers to the gifted persons—apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherd-teachers. After rescuing men from Satan and death through His death and resurrection, Christ in His ascension, with His resurrection life and through the Holy Spirit, gave spiritual abilities to His rescued ones that they might build up His Body; He also separated some from among them and gave them as gifts to the church to perfect the saints for the building up of His Body. Ephesians 4:11 tells us that the ascended Christ gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some shepherd-teachers to the church.
“Apostle” in Greek means the sent one. An apostle of the Lord is a believer who is called and sent out by God through the will of God (1 Cor. 1:1; Eph. 1:1) and according to the command of God and of Christ (1 Tim. 1:1), with the authority of God to preach the gospel of God, to teach the divine truths, and to establish churches. Apostles are the greatest gifts given by Christ to the church, and they are also placed by God in the highest office in the universal church (1 Cor. 12:28; Rom. 1:5). They are not ordained by man, but appointed by God Himself; not sent out by man, but sent out directly by God. God appoints the apostles in particular and sends them out to work for God in different places and establish churches (Acts 8:14, 25; 13:2; 14:21-23).
While the Lord Jesus worked on earth to fulfill His ministry, He chose twelve disciples to continue His work and called them apostles (Luke 6:13; Mark 3:13-14; 6:30). They occupied a special place in God’s economy. The Bible refers to them not only as apostles, but also as the twelve apostles (Rev. 21:14). Concerning them, the Lord said, “That you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom; and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:30). Thus, they occupied a special place which is not shared by the other workers of God. Christ has a particular throne, and they also have their twelve thrones. Judas lost his apostleship due to his betrayal of the Lord; therefore, God chose Matthias to rank with the other eleven (Acts 1:25-26). In eternity the names of the twelve apostles will be written on the foundations of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:14), indicating that they will occupy a special place among the redeemed even unto eternity.
Many people think that only the Twelve were apostles. Actually, besides the Twelve there were many other apostles. Ephesians 4 tells us clearly that the Lord Jesus in His ascension gave some apostles as gifts to the church. These clearly were not the original Twelve, for they were appointed when the Lord Jesus was still on earth.
Immediately following the descending of the Spirit, the twelve apostles carried on the work from Acts chapter two to chapter twelve. Then in chapter thirteen we are told that there were in the church in Antioch prophets and teachers and as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:1-2). This was the Holy Spirit sending men out for the work; He sent Paul and Barnabas out from Antioch. Then in Acts 14:4, when they were in Iconium, they were referred to as apostles. This shows us that the workers sent out by the Holy Spirit were apostles. Although they were not among the Twelve, Paul and Barnabas were also apostles. Aside from the Twelve, the Holy Spirit is still sending out apostles for the accomplishment of God’s New Testament economy.
In the New Testament, not only Barnabas and Paul were apostles, but many others also were raised up by the Holy Spirit to become such apostles. Silas and Timothy (1 Thes. 1:1; 2:6) were referred to as apostles; the two brothers sent by Paul to deliver the donations to the needy brothers in Judea were called apostles of churches (2 Cor. 8:23); Andronicus and Junia were notable among the apostles (Rom. 16:7); and James, the brother of the Lord, was also an apostle (Gal. 1:19). All these were apostles in addition to the Twelve. Because there were many other apostles besides the Twelve, it was possible for the false apostles to call themselves apostles (2 Cor. 11:13; Rev. 2:2).
Although apostleship is the highest office set up by God, the apostles are not a group of extraordinary people. They are simply a group of workers sent out by God to preach the gospel and establish the churches. Therefore, as long as one is sent out by God to preach the gospel so that men may be saved and may receive the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 11:4-5), and to convey God’s word to men (2 Pet. 3:2), whether in the past or at the present time, he is an apostle. The proof of one’s apostleship is found in the fruitful result of his work (1 Cor. 9:1-2) and in his power, which includes life power in all endurance and miraculous power in doing signs and wonders (2 Cor. 12:11-12).
After they were sent, the apostles’ principal work was to go out to preach the word of God. This is clearly depicted in Acts 13:4-6: “They therefore, having been sent out by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed away to Cyprus. And having come to Salamis, they announced the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews....And having passed through the whole island as far as Paphos,...” The apostles were always on the move doing the work; they did not settle down to shepherd a church, but they were constantly traveling. The result of their preaching was that as many as were appointed to eternal life believed, and there were ones saved among both the Jews and the Gentiles (Acts 13:46-48).
When the apostles were sent out to a place where there was no local church, they would preach the gospel and bring salvation to men who would then become the church in that locality. Then they would choose some from among the saved ones and appoint them to be the elders, and they would commit the church in that locality to the leadership of the elders. Beginning from Acts 13, apart from Antioch, almost all the churches were founded in this way (Acts 14:20-27). The goal of the apostles’ work in their going out was to establish churches. Their preaching of the gospel was the means for them to achieve this goal.
Prophets (referring to persons) are gifts given by Christ to the church (Eph. 4:11); prophecy (referring to the ability to prophesy) is a gift given by Christ to individual believers (1 Cor. 12:10; 14:1). What Christ gives to the church are the prophets, the persons; what Christ gives to individual believers is the gift of prophecy, the ability to prophesy. Christ gives the gift of prophecy to individual believers that they may prophesy. Then He gives those who have the gift of prophecy and the ability to prophesy as gifts to the church that the church may be built up. Hence, regarding the persons, they are the gifts given by Christ to the church, and regarding the ability they have received, it is a gift given individually to them by Christ.
The ministry of the prophets brings in God’s revelation. In the church they not only speak for God and speak forth God, but sometimes they also predict for God for the edification of the church. At times they speak for God and speak forth God in an ordinary way through the spiritual power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 12:6); at other times they predict for God in an inspired way by the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:10). Both are the prophets’ speaking for God in the power of the Holy Spirit. Hence, both carry God’s authority, and both can cause man to receive the revelation which is from God, and sometimes even cause unbelievers to be benefited (1 Cor. 14:24-25).
As the greatest gift in the local church, prophets can cause a local church to be built up more than the other gifts (1 Cor. 14:4-5). In the meetings of the local church prophesying to speak for God can render the greatest spiritual supply to the church. Just as apostleship is the greatest office for the universal church, so prophesying is the greatest gift for the local church. Hence, the Bible says that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20).
Although the prophets are for the local churches, yet because they have the gift of speaking for God, wherever they go they can prophesy to build up the believers and the church. Agabus, Silas, and Judas were prophets in the church in Jerusalem, but when they went to Antioch or Caesarea they were able to prophesy, to speak for God (Acts 11:27-28; 21:8-11; 15:22, 30, 32).
Evangelists are also Christ’s gifts to the church (Eph. 4:11), but how they become such men is not told in the Bible. Prophets and teachers can be such men because they have received the gift of prophecy and the gift of teaching, respectively (1 Cor. 12:10; Rom. 12:6-7). But the Bible does not tell us how the evangelists become evangelists or on what basis they become evangelists. Perhaps because they have received the evangelistic gift, they are set up by God to be the evangelists with the evangelistic office.
The work of the evangelists is to preach the gospel. Although God commands all believers to preach the gospel, the Bible shows us that God especially set some to be evangelists. They do not preach the gospel in an ordinary way; they are wholly devoted to the work of gospel preaching. Gospel preaching is their work. Philip was such a person (Acts 21:8). Whereas the work of the prophets and teachers is, in general, directed toward those who are within the church for their building up, the work of the evangelists is directed toward those who are outside the church to save them into the church. The evangelists travel from place to place to do the work of gospel preaching. For instance, Philip was in Jerusalem originally; then he went to Samaria and many other places to preach the gospel (Acts 8:5-12, 26-40; 21:8). Although the evangelists may preach the gospel to save sinners, it is the task of the apostles, not the evangelists, to establish churches officially in every place (Acts 8:5-12, 14-17). The evangelists can merely go out to different places to preach the gospel; those who can go out to preach the gospel and establish the churches are the apostles.
According to the grammatical construction of the original text of Ephesians 4:11, shepherds and teachers refer to one class of persons who have the gift of shepherding and teaching. They have received the grace of God and are burdened to take care of the believers, and they also know the Bible and understand the teachings of God’s Word so that they can help the believers to know the truth. The shepherds’ shepherding and the teachers’ teaching are two-in-one and are inseparable. Those who shepherd must also teach, and those who teach must also shepherd. Hence, shepherding and teaching are one gift, and shepherds and teachers are the same class of persons. In the New Testament we find reference to an apostle (for example, Paul) and a prophet (for example, Agabus) and an evangelist (for example, Philip) and a teacher (for example, Manaen—Acts 13:1), but nowhere in God’s Word do we find anyone referred to as a shepherd. This confirms the fact that shepherds and teachers are one class of persons.
The work of the shepherd-teachers is to shepherd and teach the church of God, that is, to feed, nurture, instruct, and lead people with the word of God. Prophets speak the word of God with revelation; teachers interpret the word of God in an ordinary way. What the prophets speak is mainly God’s revelation; what the teachers teach is mainly the truths already revealed in the Word. Based on what God has revealed, the teachers interpret to others the truths that others may be enlightened and edified in the truth. They, like the prophets, function mainly in the local church (Acts 13:1), but wherever they go they can shepherd and teach the church of God. Apollos was such a person. Wherever he went, whether to Ephesus or to Corinth, he instructed others and watered them with the word of God (Acts 18:24-28; 19:1; 1 Cor. 3:6).
Christ gave these gifted persons to the church for the perfecting of the saints that the saints may participate in the work of the ministry, that is, in the building up of the Body of Christ. The saints need to be perfected and equipped unto the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:12). “Unto” in the original language means resulting in. The perfecting of the saints by the gifted persons results in the work of the ministry. According to the grammatical construction, the work of the ministry is the building up of the Body of Christ. What the gifted persons do is to perfect the saints to do the same thing as they do, which is the work of the ministry, the building up of the Body of Christ.
The building up of the Body of Christ should not be carried out only by the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherd-teachers; it should be done by all the members. Hence, the saints are the building members. Furthermore, the work of the ministry, as mentioned in Ephesians 4:12, does not refer merely to the work of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherd-teachers, but it even the more refers to the work of the saints. Hence, the building up of the Body of Christ is not carried out directly by the gifted persons in Ephesians 4:11; it is accomplished by the perfected saints. The gifted persons should learn how to perfect others, and after finishing the perfecting work, they should leave the building work to all the members of the Body and let all the members build up the Body of Christ directly.
Ephesians 4:16 says, “Out from whom all the Body, fitted and knit together through every joint of the supply, according to the operation in measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.” This indicates that all the members, having been perfected by the apostles, prophets, and other gifted persons, operate according to each one’s own measure, performing each one’s own function, and thus build up the Body of Christ directly. The perfecting work done by the gifted persons does not build up the Body of Christ directly; their work builds up the Body indirectly.
The center of God’s New Testament economy is the building up of the church, the Body of Christ. For this work, Christ separates a group of gifted persons out of His saved ones, and gives them as gifts to the church. He gives four classes of persons: apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherd-teachers. Apostles are the greatest gifts given by Christ to the church, and their office is placed highest in the universal church. The work of the apostles is to preach the gospel, teach the truth, and establish the churches. Prophets are those who speak for God. They not only speak for God, but they also speak forth God, and sometimes they also predict for God. Their ministry brings in God’s revelation. At times they speak for God and speak forth God in an ordinary way through the spiritual power of the Holy Spirit; at other times they predict for God in an inspired way by the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit. Both are for the edification of the believers and the building up of the church. Prophesying is the greatest gift in the local church, and it can build up the local church more than the other gifts. The evangelists are also gifts received by the church from Christ. Their work is to preach the gospel. They do not preach the gospel in an ordinary way; they are wholly devoted to the work of gospel preaching. Whereas the evangelists can merely go to different places to preach the gospel, the apostles can preach the gospel everywhere and also establish the churches. Shepherds and teachers are one class of persons who have the gift of shepherding and teaching. Their work is to shepherd and teach the church of God, to nourish, nurture, instruct, and lead the believers. The prophets speak God’s word with revelation; the shepherd-teachers interpret God’s word in an ordinary manner. The shepherd-teachers instruct others according to the revelation spoken by the prophets, and thus cause others to be edified in the light of the truth. Christ gives these four kinds of persons as gifts to the church for the perfecting of the saints, that the saints may participate in the work of the ministry, which is the building up of the Body of Christ. They do not build up the Body of Christ directly; they perfect the saints to build up the Body of Christ directly. Hence, their building of the Body of Christ is indirect.
