Daily Rhema: UNDERSTANDING MINISTRY GIFTS

Mark 4:33-34 KJV
And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.

We see the Lord Jesus, here, operating the ministry gift of a teacher.

Ministry Gifts are anointings that enable saints to function in the offices of the Apostle, Prophet, Teacher, Pastor and Evangelist.

These anointings are given by the Holy Spirit and can be initiated and developed through faith, prayer and exercise of the preaching and teaching of the Word of God that is relevant to the particular office (See 1 Cor. 12:28-29, Eph. 4:11).

Understanding the Ministry Gifts

An understanding of these offices is critical for the church in these end times because the fullness of these offices is being restored to the body of Christ.

It will be through the operation of these gifts in their fullness that God’s purpose, of the church coming to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph.4: 12) and the consequent preaching of the gospel of the kingdom to all nations (Matt.24: 14), will be accomplished.

Operation in a particular ministry office is not fixed but dynamic and subject to spiritual growth and development and God’s sovereign call.

For instance, Paul did evangelistic work as a saint (Acts 9:20), and later became a prophet and teacher (Acts 13:1) and finally an apostle (Acts 14:14).

Ministry Offices In Order Of Spiritual Power And Capacity

1Cor.12: 27-28 lists the five ministry offices in order of spiritual capacity and power of the anointings that empower the offices as follows:

First, the Apostle, second, the Prophet, third, the Teacher, fourth, the Pastor, and fifth, the Evangelist. The ministry offices of the pastor and the evangelist are mixed up in the latter part of the above scripture as “miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.”

We see another listing of the ministry offices in Ephesians 4:11.

In this scripture, the offices are mixed, rather than listed in order, except for the offices of the apostle and prophet, which are listed in order of spiritual capacity and power.

For instance, compare Eph.4: 11 where teacher is listed last, with 1 Cor. 12: 28 where the teacher is listed as third in order.

Contrary to popular belief in church circles all the offices or rather the anointings on the offices are not the same in spiritual capacity and power.

This is shown from the fact that the pastoral anointing can do the work of an evangelist but the evangelistic anointing cannot do the work of a pastor.

The evangelist preaches and teaches the ‘what’ of the gospel, to get men born again. The pastor preaches and teaches the ‘why’ of the gospel to encourage the saints to continue in faith.

By similar reasoning, the teacher preaches and teaches the ‘how in principle‘ of the gospel to cause the saints to grow.

The prophet preaches and teaches the ‘when’ of the gospel (1 Chr.12: 32), to cause the saints to progress and prosper in their understanding (2 Chr. 20:20) of the purposes of God for their lives and the kingdom.

The apostle preaches and teaches the ‘how in detail’ causing the saints to be able to experience the realities of God’s purposes and so become established in the faith (Rom. 1:11).

Similarly, the apostolic anointing can do the work of the other four offices; the prophetic anointing can do the work of the other three offices: the teaching anointing can do the work of the other two offices: pastor and evangelist.

Purpose of the Ministry Gifts
The essence of five-fold ministry is given in Eph.4: 12.

To perfect and mature the saints, to do the work of service in the body, which will in turn cause the body of Christ to be edified. As the saints mature, they will do the work of ministering to others, with the supreme goal of making every individual Christian conform to the fullness of Christ’s image.

Each ministry gift will impart its anointing to the saint who sits under that anointing, thus enabling the saint to do in a smaller degree, the work of that ministry gift.

The Need For Mature Ministry

Lack of spiritual growth in the body is due to a dearth of mature, five-fold ministry in the Church. Many are simply launching into ministry without proper preparation and spiritual development (1Tim. 3:6).

While head knowledge is good as a starting point, it is not enough to qualify a saint for five-fold ministry office. A minister at the five-fold office level must have also revelation and experiential knowledge, which can only come with time.

For more on today’s study visit:
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