1 Corinthians 12:27-30 “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. (28) And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. (29) Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? (30) Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?”
The New Testament reveals three separate categories of gifts that are given to the church. The first category is what we call ministry gifts, the second category is what we call function gifts and the third category is what we call spiritual gifts. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul lists a sampling of all three categories for us. The ministry gifts he lists in this passage are the apostle, the prophet and the teacher. The function gifts he lists are helps and administrations. And the spiritual gifts he lists are the working of miracles, gifts of healings, varieties of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. The context of this passage is that Paul is teaching the church that each member of the body of Christ has a role to play within the body, and so he lists a number of gifts to explain the concept to us that we all have different roles to fulfil, and it is up to each one of us to find out what our gift is and then use that gift for the edifying of the church.
Ephesians 4:11-12 “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, (12) for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”
The first category of gifts that we will discuss is what we call the ministry gifts. The reason that they are called ministry gifts is because those who receive them are called by God to the ministry. In other words they are called to serve full time in the ministry of the gospel. Under the old covenant there was only one ministry gift, i.e. the prophet. Under the new covenant there are five different ministry gifts, which are listed by the apostle Paul in the above quoted passage of scripture, i.e. apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher. So why was there only one ministry gift under the old covenant compared to the five given under the new covenant? The main reason is purpose. Under the new covenant the ministry gifts are placed in the church to facilitate the growth of the church, for in this passage Paul tells us that the ministry gifts are given to equip the saints and edify (build up) the body of Christ. In another passage of scripture Paul refers to himself and other ministers as builders of God’s church, and they do that by adding members to the body and bringing them to maturity in Christ (1 Corinthians 3:10-12). And so each ministry gift specializes in an area that helps to facilitate growth in the church, both numerically and spiritually. Under the old covenant however, the prophet was never placed in Israel to facilitate the growth of the nation or in bringing its citizens to a place of maturity, but rather their main purpose was to provide guidance to the nation.
1 Corinthians 9:16-17 “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! (17) For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.”
The ministry gifts are given to the individual before they are born and they have no choice in the matter. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul explains to us that those who are given ministry gifts have been entrusted with a stewardship to preach the gospel. In another passage of scripture Paul tells us that those called to the ministry are separated to the gospel of God (Romans 1:1). And so we see that the primary role of all ministry gifts is to preach the gospel. Their stewardship is given to them by God and He holds those individuals accountable for their stewardship. The seriousness of that stewardship is communicated by Paul through his statement, “woe is me if I do not preach the gospel”. And so those who receive ministry gifts and choose to ignore their call do so at their peril. Someone asked why are ministry gifts held to such a high degree of account? The Lord answered that question for us when He said that to whom much is given, from him much will be required (Luke 12:48). And so because they need it, those who receive ministry gifts receive far more grace than their brothers and sisters in Christ. Nevertheless along with the abundance of grace given, comes the responsibility of using that grace for the growth of the church.
Michael E.B. Maher
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