by Alan Langstaff

In recent times I have heard Bible Teachers on radio and TV present the idea that Apostles & Prophets were foundational to the beginnings of the church but were no longer operating in the Body of Christ today. They were there to get the church started and were just foundational. So just like with a building you do not have to lay a foundation over and over again. So you do not need the foundational ministries of Apostles & Prophets over and over again. But is that so?

In Ephesians chapter 4 Paul declares that these ministry gifts were given by the ascended Christ.

“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 ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (4:11-13 NKJV)

Now note a number of things in this passage –

1. It is ascended Christ who gives these ministry gifts of Apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors, teachers (note some see 5 gifts, others see 4 with pastor/teacher being one. I accept 5 because I observe that they represent two different ministry gifts).

2. It is given for a specific time. Paul declares that these gifts are given until. Until when? Until we all come to the unity of the faith. (See rest of verse.)

Now let us ask and answer the question. Have “we all come to the unity of the faith”? The answer is obviously we have not. So that means all 5 ministry gifts have not finished their work in the Body of Christ.

However many teachers do not share the whole passage and end up with what is called “cessationism” which is the theological doctrine that spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues and healing ceased with the Apostolic Age. By contrast “continuationists” believe that spiritual gifts including the gifts of Apostles and Prophets continue to this day.

Cessationism was a prevailing view in the time of the Reformation with teachers like John Calvin (from which we get this view as Calvinism.)

But is this so? Let us talk a bit further than the reasons already given.

A THESIS CALLED TEMPORARY GIFTS

My eldest daughter Beth was a brilliant student. Upon finishing her Masters’s Degree at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul Minnesota, she went on to do a Ph.D. in Historical theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, New Jersey. She graduated magna cum laude. The thesis she wrote for her Ph.D. was entitled “Temporary Gifts” and was an examination of John Calvin’s doctrine of the cessation of miracles, etc.

Now one of the main points about John Calvin’s teachings was simply this, she declares “John Calvin frankly admits the lack of explicit Scriptural evidence for cessation and appeals to the experience and to the historical record instead.”

In other words, Calvin’s position was not based on Scripture. Unfortunately, from that time onwards many teachers have likewise believed in “cessationism.”

APOSTLES & PROPHETS TODAY

In the last century or more teachers have been recognizing that Apostles and Prophets are Scripturally founding ministries for today. So let us see what those ministries involve.

APOSTLES – Instead of a theological definition of what are Apostles I have a simple definition. Apostles are “leaders of leaders.” They are gifted to be what one might call “Generals in the army of God.” Their influence is rather relational than hierarchical. They are not meant to be dictatorial but to assist the Body of Christ to grow maturely.

PROPHETS – Once again a practical definition. They are ministers who are given divine revelation of things to come. The gift of prophecy (1 Corinthians 12) are primarily for edification, exhortation, and comfort. This is a gift all God’s people can exercise. Prophet by contrast exercises the gift of revelation. The first is forth telling, the second is foretelling. One is an office, the other is a gift. Now, there are many prophecies in regard to the election here in America. Unfortunately, the batting average of political prophets is not really good.

THE HAND

Many years ago I had a teacher use the hand as a picture of the 5-fold ministries of Ephesians 4:1. Now illustrations are just that, they are there to illustrate and of themselves they do not prove anything.

APOSTLES – The Thumb
The thumb is the one finger that can easily touch all the other fingers. Apostles usually have a portion of all the four other ministries, but not in their fullness.

PROPHETS – The Index Finger
The index finger is the pointer and so prophets are often the one who points the direction God has for His people.

EVANGELISTS – The Middle Finger
Usually, the middle finger is the longest and the Evangelists are the ones who reach out to reach people with the Gospel.

PASTORS – The Ring Finger
The fourth finger is the ring finger and speaks of a heart for people. They are the shepherds of the flock.

TEACHERS – The Small Finger
They are the final small finger. Some suggest that they are the ones that can easily reach the ear. Teachers are the ones who teach people usually through the ear.

By the way, we should not get caught up with titles. For example, Apostles are often called by other titles even that of Bishops, Presidents, Elders, Overseers, etc. The name doesn’t determine the gift. The gift has to be one given by the Ascended Christ.

A FINAL WORD

We actually need all of these gifts to work in the church and help the church grow into maturity. Unfortunately, most churches do not have the benefit of all five ministry gifts at work in their midst.