According to Ephesians 4:11, the five offices divinely appointed in the church of the living God are: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Anyone can claim to be a minister after his theological training, but this does not fulfil divine requirements.

God-ordained men were placed into the Church: “… who from the beginning were eye-witnesses and the ministries of the Word.” (Luke 1:2) An eye-witness is not necessarily a minister of the Word, but a minister will recognise the things God does according to the Scripture. Jesus Christ said to His disciples: “Ye are my witnesses!”

A servant of God sees the things the Lord does and is enlightened by the Holy Spirit to understand what is taking place in the kingdom of God. “Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.” (Luke 1)

There is nothing uncertain about the things God does, but we should wait upon the Lord before we start to speak or write and get the perfect understanding of the matter first. Many people witnessed the things that took place in the days of Jesus Christ, but only the chosen vessels of God were used to speak and to write under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Luke was not presumptuous when he spoke of having had perfect understanding of all things from the very beginning. When God calls someone, He equips His servant with the ability he needs to accomplish a certain task. Then it is not the individual, it is God working through that person.

Luke records the account of the greatest announcement of that time, when he speaks of the bright shining light, which came down in the darkest of night, while the shepherds were watching their flock. “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) The light and the announcement went together with the message of that hour. This is the lesson we must learn. The light and the message point to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is All in All of God’s message. The shepherds had received a message. They were told where to go. What if they had only talked about the message, the light, the angels, that great heavenly chorus? All that was wonderful, but the shepherds acted upon the Word, took heed to the message, and found Christ, the answer, the centre of all things in the kingdom of God. There was no more need for any guessing or any interpretations of the light or the message, for God had interpreted His own Word by letting it come to pass – the Word became flesh. The shepherds did not worship the light nor the messenger, they worshipped Christ. Not the knowledge of things brings life; to know HIM is life eternal. Even if we would know all the hidden mysteries and have faith to move mountains, but miss out in knowing Him, without the true love God which is manifested through HIM, we would be nothing.

Luke was not a prophet, yet he had perfect understanding of all the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. It takes a prophet of God to bring out scriptural revelation, but after the promised Word of God is fulfilled, there must also be a God-given teaching ministry to place all things into their proper order.

God’s children are chosen and foreordained to be members of the Body of Christ. He has redeemed them by shedding His holy blood on Calvary; He sanctified them by the Word and the Spirit of Truth. Through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we are positionally placed into the Body of Christ. The Holy Scripture speaks of the specific members and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit through them, but because of ignorance and fear, the Church of the living God is bound spiritually. With the right understanding of God’s plan and purpose, true faith sets in and the Spirit of God begins to move.

The Bride-Church must be restored in doctrine, practice and the same power she had at the beginning. The real manifestations of the Holy Spirit cannot be dismissed simply because there are so many imitations. There is a vast difference if the people are using the gifts at their own discretion, or if they come together in the fear of God and wait until the Holy Spirit uses the vessel and the gift God has placed in the Church for the edification of all.

The Body of Christ should be His living manifestation on earth , whereby He speaks and performs all things according to His divine purpose. The time is at hand for us to reach perfection in Christ and in order to obtain this perfection in Him, we must find the Scriptural way. According to Ephesians 4, the five-fold ministry is placed into the Church “… for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry….” Before God can send the dynamics of the power of the Holy Spirit, the mechanics of the vessels to be used must be put into order. The Lord always keeps His promises, if we are willing to line up with His Word and acknowledge the conditions.

Sometimes people say, “We have Christ, we do not need a prophet, etc.” Is this to say that the early Church did not have Christ because there were prophets, apostles, teachers and so forth? Is this to say that these ministries were placed into the Church because they did not have Christ? Or must it be said that the early Church had Christ and therefore had all the God-ordained ministries? A true child of God will always respect a divine call and benefit from the God-given ministry.

The ministry of a God-sent apostles and God-ordained prophets is very essential in the New Testament Church. An apostle is a ‘sent-one’ with a special responsibility for the Church. In Acts 2:42 we read: “And they continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” It does not say “The early Church continued in the doctrine of the teachers, pastors or evangelists,” it speaks of the “doctrine of the apostles.”

In Ephesians 3, Paul makes the following statement concerning the mystery, which had not been revealed in the ages past, “… but now it is revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” He even goes on to say that the household of God “… is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.” (Eph. 2:20)

According to the Word of God, the apostles bear a great responsibility for the universal Church; likewise do the elders for the local assemblies. When a Bible question arose, the apostles and elders came together and stayed in the presence of God until they had received the answer. (Acts 15) After they went back to what the prophets had said, they could say, “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…” If we could only do the same and go back to the Scripture with every question, then the Holy Spirit would be sure to illumine us.

In Acts 13 we read: “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers… As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them”. These two men were already called of almighty God and now their calling was confirmed in the midst of the Church.

Time and space does not permit me to go into all aspects of the five-fold ministry. May God grant that all who are ordained by God would work in the same unity as we find in the early Church. Only then will the same blessings and the same effect be witnessed, for the same power of the Holy Spirit will be demonstrated through the Body of Christ.

According to Ephesians 4:11, the five offices divinely appointed in the church of the living God are: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Anyone can claim to be a minister after his theological training, but this does not fulfil divine requirements.

God-ordained men were placed into the Church: “… who from the beginning were eye-witnesses and the ministries of the Word.” (Luke 1:2) An eye-witness is not necessarily a minister of the Word, but a minister will recognise the things God does according to the Scripture. Jesus Christ said to His disciples: “Ye are my witnesses!”

A servant of God sees the things the Lord does and is enlightened by the Holy Spirit to understand what is taking place in the kingdom of God. “Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.” (Luke 1)

There is nothing uncertain about the things God does, but we should wait upon the Lord before we start to speak or write and get the perfect understanding of the matter first. Many people witnessed the things that took place in the days of Jesus Christ, but only the chosen vessels of God were used to speak and to write under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 

Luke was not presumptuous when he spoke of having had perfect understanding of all things from the very beginning. When God calls someone, He equips His servant with the ability he needs to accomplish a certain task. Then it is not the individual, it is God working through that person.

Luke records the account of the greatest announcement of that time, when he speaks of the bright shining light, which came down in the darkest of night, while the shepherds were watching their flock. “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) The light and the announcement went together with the message of that hour. This is the lesson we must learn. The light and the message point to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is All in All of God’s message. The shepherds had received a message. They were told where to go. What if they had only talked about the message, the light, the angels, that great heavenly chorus? All that was wonderful, but the shepherds acted upon the Word, took heed to the message, and found Christ, the answer, the centre of all things in the kingdom of God. There was no more need for any guessing or any interpretations of the light or the message, for God had interpreted His own Word by letting it come to pass – the Word became flesh. The shepherds did not worship the light nor the messenger, they worshipped Christ. Not the knowledge of things brings life; to know HIM is life eternal. Even if we would know all the hidden mysteries and have faith to move mountains, but miss out in knowing Him, without the true love God which is manifested through HIM, we would be nothing.

Luke was not a prophet, yet he had perfect understanding of all the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. It takes a prophet of God to bring out scriptural revelation, but after the promised Word of God is fulfilled, there must also be a God-given teaching ministry to place all things into their proper order.

God’s children are chosen and foreordained to be members of the Body of Christ. He has redeemed them by shedding His holy blood on Calvary; He sanctified them by the Word and the Spirit of Truth. Through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we are positionally placed into the Body of Christ. The Holy Scripture speaks of the specific members and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit through them, but because of ignorance and fear, the Church of the living God is bound spiritually. With the right understanding of God’s plan and purpose, true faith sets in and the Spirit of God begins to move.

The Bride-Church must be restored in doctrine, practice and the same power she had at the beginning. The real manifestations of the Holy Spirit cannot be dismissed simply because there are so many imitations. There is a vast difference if the people are using the gifts at their own discretion, or if they come together in the fear of God and wait until the Holy Spirit uses the vessel and the gift God has placed in the Church for the edification of all.

The Body of Christ should be His living manifestation on earth , whereby He speaks and performs all things according to His divine purpose. The time is at hand for us to reach perfection in Christ and in order to obtain this perfection in Him, we must find the Scriptural way. According to Ephesians 4, the five-fold ministry is placed into the Church “… for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry….” Before God can send the dynamics of the power of the Holy Spirit, the mechanics of the vessels to be used must be put into order. The Lord always keeps His promises, if we are willing to line up with His Word and acknowledge the conditions. 

Sometimes people say, “We have Christ, we do not need a prophet, etc.” Is this to say that the early Church did not have Christ because there were prophets, apostles, teachers and so forth? Is this to say that these ministries were placed into the Church because they did not have Christ? Or must it be said that the early Church had Christ and therefore had all the God-ordained ministries? A true child of God will always respect a divine call and benefit from the God-given ministry.

The ministry of a God-sent apostles and God-ordained prophets is very essential in the New Testament Church. An apostle is a ‘sent-one’ with a special responsibility for the Church. In Acts 2:42 we read: “And they continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” It does not say “The early Church continued in the doctrine of the teachers, pastors or evangelists,” it speaks of the “doctrine of the apostles.” 

In Ephesians 3, Paul makes the following statement concerning the mystery, which had not been revealed in the ages past, “… but now it is revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” He even goes on to say that the household of God “… is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.” (Eph. 2:20)

According to the Word of God, the apostles bear a great responsibility for the universal Church; likewise do the elders for the local assemblies. When a Bible question arose, the apostles and elders came together and stayed in the presence of God until they had received the answer. (Acts 15) After they went back to what the prophets had said, they could say, “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…” If we could only do the same and go back to the Scripture with every question, then the Holy Spirit would be sure to illumine us.

In Acts 13 we read: “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers… As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them”. These two men were already called of almighty God and now their calling was confirmed in the midst of the Church.

Time and space does not permit me to go into all aspects of the five-fold ministry. May God grant that all who are ordained by God would work in the same unity as we find in the early Church. Only then will the same blessings and the same effect be witnessed, for the same power of the Holy Spirit will be demonstrated through the Body of Christ.