Ephesians 4:11-16 “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, (13) 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; (14) that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, (15) but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- (16) from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
So what did Jesus, as the head of the church, give the ministry gifts for? The Holy Spirit answers that question for us in the above quoted passage of scripture. Ministry gifts are given to the church to fulfil three main functions. Firstly, they are given to equip the saints. Secondly, they are giving for the work of ministry. And thirdly, they are given for the edifying of the body of Christ. The body of Christ only grows when each member in the body does their share, i.e. does the work that the Lord has called each one to do. But this only happens as those who are called to the various ministry gifts, equip the saints to operate in their own gifting’s and function in the body. This brings me to a very important point, which is the recognition of all the ministry gifts in the church. We will discuss each of the main gifts in further detail, but the point that I want to make at the outset of this teaching is that the church need to be exposed to all of the ministry gifts. To the degree that the church is not exposed to these gifts, she will not be properly equipped for the work of ministry and will not grow as God intended. I am not saying that all local churches should have all five main ministry gifts resident in their church. What I am saying, is that every church should be exposed to all the ministry gifts as and when the Lord makes them available to the local church, for each ministry gift has its own function and anointing. So how long has the Lord given these ministry gifts for? Again, the Holy Spirit answered that question for us in the passage of scripture quoted above. These gifts are given 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. The church has not yet reached this state. And so, because the church has not yet attained to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, our Lord continues to place the ministry gifts in His church.
Acts 6:2-4 “Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. (3) Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; (4) but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
The primary function of the ministry gifts is to minister the word of God. In the previous passage of scripture the apostle Paul tells us that ministers are used by the Lord to steer His people away from deceitful doctrines, which is obviously done by teaching sound doctrine to the church. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Peter reinforces the truth to us that the primary function of the ministry gifts is to minister the word of God.
Colossians 1:28 “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”
Some ministers are used to preach the word and some are used to teach the word, and some can be used of the Lord in both preaching and teaching. As revealed in the above quoted passage of scripture, we see that the apostle Paul was used by the Lord in both preaching and teaching. The ministry gifts that can be used to either teach or preach or a combination of both, are apostles, prophets and pastors. The ministry gift of evangelist only preaches however, and the ministry gift of teacher only teaches. So what is the difference between preaching and teaching? Simply put, to preach carries with it the meaning of proclaiming something, while to teach carries with it the meaning of explaining something. Preaching is more animated; it is more expressive, whereas teaching is explaining something in a calm, controlled manner. Although for the rest of the teaching I will use these terms interchangeably, I trust that you now have a better understanding of the difference between the two. As you picture in your mind those whose ministries you have listened to in the past, you will be able to identify which are preachers, and which are teachers of the word.
Michael E.B. Maher
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