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Five Guys

Words of Faith Final

 

Five Guys

Words of Faith 3-5-2021

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2021

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

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Ephesians 4

[11] It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, [12] to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up [13] until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

 

      The Body of Christ is equipped by a five-guy approach in feeding and preparation so that we might become all that God wants us to be.  By His enabling grace, God gives leaders to the Body of Christ through specific people He chooses. They don't even have to be guys. These are leaders who equip the Body for the works of service that God has planned for them.

      This is often called the Five-fold Ministry.  These are people who have special leadership functions in the church and who represent the authority of the Lord within the Body.  Each of these equipping gifts have a specific that contributes toward one purpose-- the building up of the Body.

      The five gifts of leadership are Apostles - Prophets - Evangelists - Pastors – Teachers.  We might think of these as specialists in our lives-- a physician, dentist, trainer or counselor.  The Five Ministry gifts attend to the Body of Christ and equip her to do works of ministry and grow strong.

      The biggest misconception regarding these giftings has been the assumption that God raises up these people to DO the various works of ministry FOR the church as employees or chaplains.  The Scripture could have easily said-- He gave ministerial staff to do five areas of ministry for the churches.  This is not the case.

      So, who are these people, and what do they do? What is the goal, and what are the methods?

      APOSTLES - means sent one, ambassador, or emissary.  Apostles were first identified only with the Twelve Jesus commissioned and then Matthias and Paul.  Later, there were many identified as those gifted to equip and carry the Gospel to new places or cultures. This ministry is often associated with missions.

     PROPHETS - means an inspired speaker who is a foreteller or a forthteller.  Old Testament prophecy ended with John the Baptizer but New Testament prophets provided edification, exhortation, and comfort (1 Cor. 14:3). They probably revealed God’s will to the church when the biblical canon was incomplete.  They bring inspired proclamation of God’s Word to God’s people in God’s time.  They may have a word of knowledge or the discerning of spirits, but they are not fortune tellers and do not add to the canon of Scripture.

     EVANGELISTS - equip God's people to proclaim the Gospel of Christ.  They certainly are gifted as a teller or announcer of good news and may be a preacher of the Gospel. Evangelists have an urgency to spread the Gospel. Evangelists are not responsible for converting people– only for telling the Good News and supporting the message with prayer.

     PASTORS - are shepherds or keepers of the flock.  They are not itinerant but rather settle in a congregation.  These leaders protect the flock of God's people from wolves, predators, and false teaching, often by exercising the gift of teaching as well.  Pastors guide, comfort, and nurture the group of believers-- and train others to give comfort and guidance.

     TEACHERS - didaskalos - means an instructor, doctor, master, or teacher.  These leaders equip God’s people through instruction, rightly dividing the Word of God.  These are people God gives to the Body to bring forth insight into the Word that can be applied in practical ways for guidance, comfort, and nourishment.

      The Greek grammatical construction actually puts Pastor-Teacher together here.  It is a good assessment that while not all teachers are pastors, all pastors are teachers. 

      Here is one way to think about this.  Who are the Five Guys in your life? Who is the Apostle in your life and in the Body where you are?  Who has God given you to teach you about carrying the Gospel to other cultures?  Who is the Evangelist in your life?  Who has God given in your life to inspire and teach you to share the Gospel?  Who is the Prophet in your life?  Who equips you by speaking inspired, Godly, Scriptural truth into your life and confronting the sin that easily creeps in?  Who is the Pastor in your life?  Who is watching out for you through teaching, nurture, comfort, and care?  Who is the Teacher in your life?  Who rightly divides the Word of Truth as a manner of equipping you?

 

     Father God, help me to recognize the Leaders You have furnished in my life.  Give me humility to be under their care.  Give me grace to learn and be equipped.  Give me vision to see the shaping You are doing through the leaders in my life.  In Jesus’ Name.

 

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2010, 2021

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)       

2820 Business Center Blvd.

Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.