Apostles and the 5-fold Ministries In the Bible

The apostles and the 5-Fold Ministry, What a concept. Do apostles and the 5-Fold Ministry exist in the Bible? As you will see, apostles and the 5-Fold Ministry do indeed exist in the Bible. There are those who would like to ignore apostles and the 5-Fold Ministry. Can we pick and choose those parts of the Bible that we want and leave the rest, sort of like a cafeteria Christian? There are many Christians who want to leave certain parts Bible for either the past or else the future. They don't want them to apply to their own lives. For many Christians, apostles and the 5-Fold Ministry would really cramp their lifestyle, just as for others any moral precepts would certainly cramp their lifestyles.

In a day and an hour when the church has become a good way to make a lot of money, get a lot of recognition, and create a religious experience without ever really having to submit to anything, what a weariness it would be to institute apostles and the 5-Fold Ministry as it is explained so well in the Bible--or else, they want to establish apostles and the 5-fold ministry who were not called by God. We can see this in many of the televangelists who gather people around themselves and create wealth (not to say that all Christians who appear on TV are bad, but some are).  We also see this in some radio ministries who throw out huge amounts of Scripture and claim an authority far beyond what God has even given to the apostles, the 5-fold ministry.  We also see this in local "pastors" and other "ministries" as they have been redefined in the church of today.  

• Ephesians 4:11-16  shows us that the apostles have the responsibility to perfect the saints, which is to say to bring them into completeness, to fully equip them. They equip them with doctrine and revelation of the Scripture, with the gifts of the Spirit, with government, with local elders and deacons, with the orders and the pattern of the church that God is building, with the foundation on which to build and with many other things.

Duration:

• Ephesians 4:11-13 The apostles will be here until 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.
• Though the church lost these gifts within the first centuries, God has been gracious to restore them.  There is one office gift, apostle, and four ministry gifts, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher here. As a result, the term, 5-fold ministry, may be a bit incorrect, but most people know what they mean when they say, "five-fold ministry."  
  

False apostles:

• 2 Corinthians 11:13 and Revelation 2:2 speak of false apostles.
• Acts 13:6, 2 Peter 2:1, Mark 13:22, Mathew 24:24, Mathew 24:11, Luke 6:26, Isaiah 44:25, Jeremiah 50:36, Jeremiah 23:16, Jeremiah 23:21, and many other Scriptures speak of false prophets.
• Acts 20:29, 2 Peter 2:1, 2 Peter 2:12, and Matthew 7:15 speak of false teachers.
• Ezekiel 34:2-10, Ezekiel 34:17-22, and John 10:12-13 speak of false pastors.

Apostles are NOT infallible:

• Galatians 2:11-15 shows us how Peter was in the wrong and Paul had to correct him.  This also shows that each apostle is under the government of all the other apostles.  God left no person who does not have to submit to others.
• James 3:2 tells us that apostles make mistakes.  Though they have responsibility to rule over the entire church and to receive revelation and doctrine for the entire church, yet, they can make mistakes.  This is why apostles make every effort to only teach the apostle's doctrine, that doctrine which has been revealed to all the brethren.  
  

Equipping with the Foundation:

• Matthew 16:18 is the record of Jesus declaring that He would build His church on the foundation, a mighty boulder (Himself) and that Simon was a little stone, indicating that Simon Peter would become part of the foundation.
• Ephesians 2:19-22 The apostles and prophets become the foundation of the church, and they are built on the Chief Corner Stone, the Lord, Jesus Christ, the only chief apostle.
• Hebrews 11:10 tells us that Abraham sought a city with foundations.
• 1 Corinthians 3:10 tells us that the apostles not only are the foundation built on Christ, the Chief Corner Stone, but they lay the foundation.
• Isaiah 28:16 prophesies the sure foundation. Now, we know that that foundation is Christ and the apostles have become part of the foundation by submission to Christ and by the setting of God.
• 2 Timothy 2:19 tells of the tremendous stability of this foundation. Though the apostolic offices and much more was lost for centuries, Christ has restored it to the church in that great worldwide move of the Spirit of God that began in 1948. From that time, though some went out from us, God continues to unfold His Kingdom from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
• Matthew 7:27 tells us that the church cannot stand without the foundation, and this is why Satan has set out to blind so many to this restoration.

Equipping with Doctrine and Revelation:

• Acts 2:42-43 speaks of the apostles’ doctrine, and the church is to abide continually in this doctrine.
• Matthew 16:17 speaks of the apostles receiving the revelation.
• Ephesians 1:17 tells us that to understand the apostles’ doctrine, even when they are right there teaching it to us, we need the Holy Spirit of revelation.
• Ephesians 3:5 tells us that things hidden in ages past are now being revealed to the apostles and prophets.
• Romans 16:17 also refers to those who cause divisions. These were people bringing in doctrines that were not the apostles’ doctrine. It might be noted that the word, heresy, means "dissensions arising from diversity of opinions and aims" in the original Greek.
• 1 John 1:3-5 carries this further is stating that the apostles declare to the churches those things that have been revealed to them.
• Galatians 2:11-15 shows us that the apostles are not infallible and that they correct each other. They are in submission to each other and each apostle is under the government of all the other apostles.
• Ephesians 4:14 One of the functions of the apostles is to make it so the believers are not blown around by winds of doctrine. The apostles are united in ministry and in doctrine. None of them teaches a variant doctrine, and they discipline themselves.
• Acts 16:4-5 tells how the apostles delivered the decrees. They traveled and delivered the revelation and established it in the local churches.
• Acts 15:1-31 shows how the apostles determined doctrine and how they made sure that everyone was teaching the same doctrine once it had been revealed. It also shows that a single apostle did not consider himself able to establish doctrine. Note how the spiritual gifts in apostles gave the final answer. Then, the doctrine was entrusted to faithful men and carried to the local elders who must be apt to teach—the must be able to cause the people to understand the doctrine.
• Ephesians 1:8-9 tells us how the apostles equip the church with revelation of the doctrine and the meaning of the Scripture.
• 1 Corinthians 2:6-3:2 shows the revelation being given to the apostles by supernatural means, but the local church at Corinth was unable to accept it because of their spiritual immaturity. No one was able to understand these parts of Scripture until they were revealed to the apostles.
• In Romans 2:16 and Romans 16:25, Paul speaks of his gospel, and we can be sure from other Scripture that Paul’s gospel was the same as the gospel of all the other apostles.
• 1 Peter 1:16-21 informs us that the revelation of the meaning of Scripture is not given to one person. If it is revelation, it is given to all the apostles. Private interpretation is certainly not God’s method by which revelation is given to a local elder or deacon or member of the church. They must have had theologians in this day just like they have them today.
• Isaiah 28:9-10 shows us that revelation is given a little at a time. Many times, God has tried to move through people over the centuries, and they went so and so far, then claimed to have it all. Often, what they had was truth mixed with speculation. They forced God to find someone else who was not so puffed up in their thinking.
• Galatians 1:11-12 tells us that the doctrine is not given by man but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Only God can reveal the interpretation of Scripture.
• Sometimes, the apostles would give advice which was not revelation as in 1 Corinthians 7:10-11, and sometimes, the apostles would teach the revelation as in 1 Corinthians 7:10-11.
• The book of Revelation is an example of a something that God revealed to the apostle through a vision alone. Note that the revelation was given to an apostle.
• Galatians 1:15-18 and Galatians 2:1 tell us that Paul had to go and confirm that the revelation he had been given was correct.
• 1 Timothy 1:3-4 tells us that Paul assigned Timothy to work in Ephesus to guard against corrupt doctrine.
• 2 Thessalonians 3:6 give us an example of Paul teaching the people to withdraw themselves from anyone who teaches a doctrine other than the apostles’ doctrine.

Equipping with Government:

• 2 Thessalonians 3:4 tells us that the apostles have authority to command and the members of the church has a duty to do what they were commanded to do. The authority of the apostles went beyond establishing doctrines to government.
• Isaiah 9:6 Foretells that the government shall be upon His shoulder. The shoulder is part of the body.
• Daniel 7:27 The Kingdom and Dominion is given to the saints of the Most High.
• 2 Thessalonians 3:14 tells us that disobedience to the apostles’ commands resulted in putting the offender out of fellowship.
• The letters of Paul are either exercises of government over local elders and deacons or traveling deacons.
• The letters of James and John are letters to local churches.
• 1 Corinthians 4:18-21 and 3 John 1:9-10 show that the apostles have authority to deal with troublesome members in local churches.
• Acts 24:17 shows us that the apostles also equipped the saints by caring for their material needs.
• 1 Corinthians 11:2 tells of Paul commending the Corinthian church for keeping the orders, the ordinances, in the same way that he had delivered those orders to them. They gave themselves over to Paul’s instruction.
• 1 Thessalonians 2:15 establishes the authority of the apostles over the local churches.
• 1 Peter 5:1 tells us that the apostles are elders, and, taken in the context of all the other scriptures describing their authority, they are set over the entire church with universal authority.
• 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 shows us that apostles take the same role as a father has to his own children, but to the whole church. As the father governs the home, the apostles govern the entire church, each apostle being in submission to every other apostle in government.
• 1 Corinthians 4:15-17 tells of Paul’s fatherly relationship to the church.
• 1 Corinthians 7:17 demonstrates Paul’s apostolic authority.
• 2 Peter 3:1-3 warns that in the last days there will be some who scoff at the authority and sound doctrine of the apostles.
• Jude 17 shows that the safety of the church is in following the teachings and the government of the apostles.
• 1 Corinthians 3:10 shows that members, the ministries in the local churches, build on the foundation that was laid by the apostles.

Apostles equip the members of the churches with Spiritual Gifts:

• 1 Timothy 1:18-19 and 1 Timothy 4:14-16 and 2 Timothy 1:6-8 - Paul was part of the presbytery that prayed and prophesied over Timothy, imparting spiritual gifts to equip him for his ministry.
• Romans 1:11 tells us that Paul desired to impart a spiritual gifts to the members of the church at Rome.
• 1 Corinthians 12 speaks of the gifts and ministries in the church and how they lead to unity. These gifts cannot be separated from Christ.
• 1 Corinthians 1:21, 2 Corinthians 4:1-2, and Romans 7:15-25 - The ministry that we have is the Anointing of the Holy Spirit on us. It is not the fleshly nature. The two cannot be mixed. They are at war with each other.
• 1 John 2:20 & 27 show us that the Anointing is truth.

Many apostles are mentioned in Scripture:

• Twenty apostles are named in the New Testament of the Bible. Matthew 10:2-3 names twelve apostles.  
  
• In Acts 14:14, Barnabas and Paul are called apostles, and Paul called himself an apostles in some of his letters.  
  
• In Romans 16:7, Andronicus and Junia are of note among the apostles.  
  
• In 1 Thessalonians 1:1 & 2:4-6, Paul calls Silvanus and Timothy (and himself) apostles.  
  
• In 1 Corinthians 4:6-9, Paul calls Apollus (and himself) an apostle.

From the following Scriptures, we can see that apostles have the ministries of prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher:

The term, 5-fold ministry is a bit of a misnomer, although that is not really important. The important thing is obedience to the Spirit of God as He reveals the order in the Scripture. The apostle is an office. The other four, prophet, evangelists, pastor, and teacher, are all ministries. These four ministries are linked to the office of the apostle, though they can exist on the local Church level without the apostolic office.

Even though the term, 5-fold ministry, may not be totally accurate, the Bible does show that the four ministries are given to the apostles (the 5-fold ministry).

• Jesus, the Chief Apostle, was referred to as prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher.
• John 14:23 says that Jesus is the apostle. The ministry is the Christ in us, the hope of glory. The gift that He gave is Himself. The office of apostle is not the fleshly man, it is the Christ in the man holding the office. If we can discern the Body of Christ, we can see this.
• Hebrews 3:1 says that Jesus is the prophet. In the same way, the man who is set by God into the office of prophet has a flesh but is the ministry, the Christ in him, the hope of glory.
• John 4:19 says that Jesus is the evangelist in the same way.
• Luke 8:1 tells us that that Jesus is the pastor (shepherd). It is He appearing in His church in His abiding presence (parousia) with every member He has called to be a shepherd.
• John 10:14 tells us that Jesus is the teacher living in each one who is called to be a teacher, not to help them in the role but to be the Teacher within them and to do the work through them as they yield to the Holy Spirit.
 
• Ephesians 4:7, 8, 11 Grace (free gift) is given according to the measure of the gift. When Christ ascended, He gave gifts to men. He gave some apostles (one sent. This is an office, not a ministry. It is an elder or a deacon.), prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. The way this is written, the four ministries are the ones that apostles carry.
• The Ministry of Prophet
• 1 Corinthians 14:3 tells us that prophecy encourages, builds up, and comforts the church.
• Ezekiel 37:1-10 prophesies of how prophecy will be used to bring the Body of Christ into unity.
• Acts 13:1 tells of prophets and teachers in the church. Agabus is one who is named, both here and in Acts 21:10.
• There are different levels of authority in prophecy:
• Revelations 19:10 speaks of the lowest level of authority, the spirit of prophecy.
• 1 Corinthians 12:10 speaks of the gift of prophecy.
• Ephesians 2:19-20, Ephesians 4:7, 8, 11, and Acts 1:13 all speak of the highest level of authority, the ministry of the prophet.
 
 
• The Ministry of Evangelist
• 2 Timothy 4:5 speaks of Timothy being an evangelist. 2 Timothy 4:5 shows us that Timothy was doing the work of an evangelist. Timothy is named among the apostles and he is an evangelist. It is obvious that Paul, the elder, is directing Timothy’s work as a deacon, but both were apostles, sent by God as traveling ministries.
• 1 Thessalonians 1:1 and 2:6 show us that Timothy had authority to minister to the whole church—he had universal authority as an apostle, a traveling deacon.
• Acts 21:8 and Acts 8:5-6 speak of Philip the evangelist. Some think that Philip was a local deacon, though he was set as a deacon to the apostles so that the apostles would not have to deal with the distribution of bread. It is possible that an evangelist could be a holder of a local office in a local church rather than having the universal authority of a traveling ministry. Philip did travel.
 
• The Ministry of Pastor
• Psalms 23 speaks of the ministry of the pastor or shepherd, one of the apostolic ministries. It is amazing the amount of emphasis that is given to "pastors" in today's churches. The word, pastor, is mentioned only once in the Bible as a noun and then it is mentioned as a ministry of an apostle, a traveling ministry with universal authority over the entire church. It isn't even mentioned that much as a verb, as an action that is done, but it is mentioned more as a verb than as a noun. The word, pastor, means to care for the people as a shepherd cares for sheep.
• John 21:15-17 shows Peter being set in as a pastor. Peter was an apostle, a traveling ministry with universal authority.
• Acts 9:32 shows Peter acting as pastor (shepherd), not in a local church but to the entire church. There is no record in Scripture or in early church historical records of any local pastors. Those were added by men in later centuries. They are not the pattern of Scripture.  
  
 
• The Ministry of Teacher
• 1 Timothy 2:7 speaks of Paul as a teacher, one who makes people understand.
• 1 Timothy 1:11 and 2 Timothy 2:7 state that Paul is an apostle, a preacher of the gospel, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
• John 21:15-17 tells us Peter, a traveling elder, had the ministry of a pastor and also of a teacher.
• Isaiah 30:20-21 speaks to us of the ministry of the teacher.
• 1 Corinthians 2 lets us know that this teaching ministry does not work according to men’s wisdom but the things that the Holy Spirit teaches.
 

Who sets an apostle?

• 2 Corinthians 10:18 tells us that an apostle must be an apostle by more than just his own commendation and appointment.
• Acts 6:1-7 records the setting of a number of deacons to help the apostles.
• Galatians 2:8-9, Acts 9:26-30, and Acts 13:1-2 show that the apostles were on guard against false apostles, but Peter, James, and John discerned the call on Paul and a door opened so that Paul could enter into his ministry with the sanction of the Holy Spirit and the blessing of the apostles. This Scripture also sets the order that new apostles must be recognized by those who were set earlier in order to be considered legitimate apostles.
• Luke 6:13, Acts 1:1-2, Romans 1:1-5, and Ephesians 4:7-8 show that one must be called and appointed by God to be an apostle.

Apostles build the church:

• Ephesians 4:12-16 shows us that the apostles have the responsibility to perfect the saints, which is to say to bring them into completeness, to fully equip them. They equip them with doctrine and revelation of the Scripture, with the gifts of the Spirit, with government, with local elders and deacons, with the orders and the pattern of the church that God is building, with the foundation on which to build and with many other things.1 Corinthians 3:10-11 shows that an apostle must be able to lay the foundation.

Discerning apostles:

• All traveling elders with universal authority must meet the same criteria of qualification as the local elders as described in 1 Timothy 3:1-13.
• 1 Corinthians 3:10-11  tells us about the signs of the apostle in signs and wonders.
• 2 Corinthians 12:12  tells us about the signs of the apostle in signs and wonders
• 1 Corinthians 4:15-16, Philippians 3:17, and 2 Thessalonians 3:7 speak of the example that is to be set by the apostles—they must be above reproach. They must be followers of Christ in a very real sense.

Apostles link the church to Jesus and the Father:

• 3 John 1:9 shows us that God has linked the Church by the Spirit through the apostles to the Father and to Jesus.

Apostles are servants:

• 1 Corinthians 4:1 Apostles are servants.
• 1 Corinthians 4:10-13 tells a little bit about the apostles. They lived a very hard life, not like some today who drive around in limousines and fly in private jets.
• 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 indicates the weight of responsibility of the apostles and tells that the work of the apostle is not a life of ease as some professional "ministries" enjoy today.

There are no chief apostles:

• 1 Corinthians 1:12-15 & 3:3-10 show us that there is NO chief apostle, that it is an act of immaturity to compare apostles, that apostles are servants, that apostles plant and water but God gives the growth, that they are laborers together with God, and that they lay the foundation that is Jesus Christ.

Apostles receive their living from the gospel:

•  2 Timothy 2:4-6 compares the work of the apostle to the work of a soldier.
• Matthew 10:9-10 and Luke 10:7, show Jesus sending out the apostles and they are to receive their living for the work.
• 1 Corinthians 9:1, 7, 9, 10, 14, 15  is a place where the apostle Paul is explaining that the apostles do receive their living, though he refused to accept any money for the work.  
  
• 1 Timothy 5:17-18 is the only verse in Scripture that refers to local elders and what they ought to receive for their labors.  Just as a father in a home receives honor, so the local elders receive honor, or at least they ought to receive honor.
• Ephesians 5:33 & Ephesians 6:1-3 show that a father and mother in the home receive honor and love rather than money just as the local elders and deacons receive honor rather than money.  
  

Some have tried to turn the apostles into local elders, no doubt to try to justify salaries for local men, but the apostles traveled:

• Acts 15:36 tells of how Paul traveled.
• Acts 15:41 tells of Paul and Silas traveling.
• Acts 16:4-5 tells how the apostles delivered the decrees as they traveled.

Traveling deacons:

• 2 Timothy 4:5 – Paul, the traveling elder instructs Timothy, the traveling deacon.
• 1 Timothy 1:3 shows Timothy under the direction of Paul.
• Titus 1:5 shows us that Titus has universal authority but under the direction of the apostolic elder.
• Colossians 4:7-9 show Tychicus, who was also helping Paul in Greece, and Onesimus under the direction of Paul.
• 2 Timothy 4:12 shows Tychicus being directed in his work by Paul.
• In Titus 3:12, Artemas, the apostolic deacon, was sent by Paul with a message for Titus.
• Acts 6:8  shows the power of Stephen. The ministries of Stephen and Philip show that the deacons have powerful authority in spiritual ministries in the church.

Apostles

The Church, What Is It and What Is Its Purpose

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God has established the pattern of Scripture, for life and for the Church.

You can feel free to use the Contact Form further down on this page to ask any question regarding this pattern of Scripture. The Church, the Body of Christ, and discernment of this Body, is the method that God is using to finish the work in His Body. The Body of Christ, God's Temple, is built up by that which every joint supplies, building each other up in love, and the Temple must be built according to the pattern of Scripture.

We believe the Holy Scriptures teach:

• The 5 apostolic ministries (Ephesians 4:11)
• The nine gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8-10)
• Local congregations overseen by elders and deacons (Titus 1:5)
• Every member having and being a ministry in the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:11)
• Being led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14)
• The gathering together of the Body of Christ (Genesis 49:10, John 17:21)