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| Could Anyone Ever Have/Be All Four Apostolic Ministries or Have All Nine Gifts of the Spirit? |
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Could anyone ever have/be all 4 ministries of the apostolic ministries? Could anyone ever have all 9 gifts of the Spirit?
If so, what would you call such a person?
There are actually four ministry gifts plus the office of apostle mentioned in Ephesians 4. The office of the apostle, as has been restored in these last days, consists of two offices: Elder (like Paul and Peter) and Deacon (like Timothy and Titus who were directed by Paul but in submission had all the authority of Paul). The apostles all have at least one (and probably just one) of the ministry gifts mentioned.
The apostles are given so that there will eventually be no division in the Body of Christ and to equip the members so that they build each other up in love until we all come into the fullness of Christ in complete submission to, and unity with, the Head, Jesus. This will be the Manifestation of the Sons of God and we will all come as one totally complete man, in perfect order according to the pattern of Scripture, the measure or the stature of the fullness of Christ. This measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ can only be had as a Body joined in submission to and unity with the Head, Jesus Christ. This is often misunderstood to be an individual effort rather than the flow of the Anointing of the Holy Spirit through the Body of Christ bringing it into order, unity, and life.
The Holy Spirit shows you the answer through Scripture. The apostles provide the government for the church universal. Revelation is given to them--there is one apostle's doctrine. They intervene in disorders in the local churches. They come with authority to command, but they are gentle, humble, and don't lord it over. They don't act independently but as a body of apostles who are each under the government of all the others. None of them are authorized to establish personal doctrines or pet theories but they only teach that which has been revealed to the apostles as a body.
They are set for the unity of the Body of Christ. They are inter-dependent, not independent. For this reason, it is highly unlikely that any apostle would receive all four ministries. First, it would be too much to bear for one person. Second, it would not lead to inter-dependency that God is building. However, if an apostle ever were to have all four ministry gifts, that apostle would just be another apostle. That apostle would have no more authority than any other apostle. Apostles, as with any member of the church, receive their authority through submission to authority. If they can't submit to the authority that Christ has established on the Earth, then they can't submit to Christ the Head in Heaven.
Gifts, ministries, and offices are not given by God through tests, personal selection, or decisions made by man. They are given through the laying on of hands of the presbytery--a gathering of elders, generally having at least one apostle, for this purpose. Just as Paul laid his hands on Timothy and prophesied in the presbytery, so we have witnessed that it is to be in this day.
God is gradually leading the church away from the one-man ministry. He is guiding us toward local elders (plural) with no chief elder other than Jesus Christ Himself. In the multiplicity of ministries, there is much less likelihood of falling into error than with the one-man paid pastor. The church will be called back to the original order of local elders and deacons who do not receive a salary but who receive a double measure of honor. Apostles, that is, traveling elders and deacons, will receive their living as they travel from local church to local church just a Peter and John did, and Paul could have but turned it down.
The 9 gifts of the Spirit are given so that there will eventually be no divisions in the Body of Christ. These gifts are given so that God can operate them in the members of the Body of Christ to build each other up in love. This is all for the purpose of bringing us to the manifestation of the sons of God, the redemption of our bodies, the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. We have not yet had that fulfilled, of course. The church will walk into this as a Body, by companies. There will be those who must go first, like the Levites who first had to enter the waters of Jordan to stop the flow of the river at flood stage so that all the others could cross over. It is highly unlikely that all 9 gifts of the Spirit would ever be given to one person. First, that is too much responsibility for one person, other than Christ the Head, to bear. Second, some have wanted all 9 so that they could be independent and not needing anyone else in the Body or to lord it over others in the Body. This would not lead to unity. Author/Compiler Last updated: Dec, 2013 
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