Upon Jesus’ ascension, a task was
given to the church: to go and teach all nations, baptizing them. To accomplish
such a task, Christ gave the church five distinct types of ministers: apostles,
prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (Eph 4:11). Such offices should
not be confused with spiritual gifts, as listed in 1 Corinthians 12 or Romans
12. All believers possess spiritual gifts; yet, only a few hold an office of
the church. Holding an office is a privilege, not a right, and one which
requires exceeding accountability and seriousness.
Of the five offices of the church, there subsist a variety of opinions
and interpretations. For example, are these offices reserved only for men? The
answer to that question will vary greatly depending on the hermeneutic of the
one answering (and some more informed perhaps than others). Rather than
outlining my own reasons for holding my view, suffice it to say that I believe
these offices are not reserved only for men; yet, I am certainly able to see
the perspective of one who believes so.
Another question asked by many believers is whether all five churches
offices Paul lists continue to exist today, primarily the role of apostle and
prophet. Some reference Paul’s letter to the Church at Corinth to argue that
tongues and prophecy (often including apostleship) do not exist. “…but when the
perfect comes, the partial will pass away” (1 Cor 13:10). Since Paul speaks of
prophecy and tongues in this context, the assumption could be that such
abilities existed only for an ordained interval of time and not any further. I
believe that such a claim is a stretch and, yet, do not discount its
credibility.
While different in function, the goal of all five offices of the church
is the same: namely the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry and
building the body of Christ (Eph 4:12). For the following, I will operate under
the view that all five offices subsist today. How then should Christians
understand the roles of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher? My
aim is to examine each office and how it should appear in current contexts.
