Ephesians 4:11

“And He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers”

“And He gave some”: Here are "some" of the gifts that Christ has given to the Church. “It is not suggested that such gifts are restricted to those that are specifically named; those that are named exercise their ministries in such. way as to help other members of the church to exercise their respective ministries” (Bruce pp. 345-346). This is the point of Ephesians 4:12. “But before he explains that purpose he specifies. series of gifts given with that in view” (Gr. Ex. N.T. p. 329). “He gave”: “These operations did not spring up by themselves or on the basis of human will. They existed in the mind of the Lord from the beginning and did not result from the church's development through the ages as some contend” (Caldwell pp. 175-176). Therefore these "gifts" did not "evolve" in the church, as some contend that the "office" of elders evolved over time. Not so, we find elders in the earliest stages of Christianity (Acts 11:30), and in the very first congregations established. “Apostles”: “Their principle function was to provide eye-witness testimony that Christ was who He claimed to be (Acts 1:21-22; Ephesians 3:32-33; Ephesians 10:30-41; 1 Corinthians 9:1). Their credentials were miraculous signs designed to establish their credibility (Mark 16:17; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Hebrews 2:3). Since their essential qualifications or credentials cannot be duplicated today, we necessarily conclude that these functionaries are not personally present in the church today” (Caldwell p. 176). Stott makes. good point when he says, “The original apostles as eyewitnesses of the historic risen Jesus can in the nature of the case have no successors. and their authority is preserved today in the New Testament, which is the essential ‘apostolic succession'” (p. 161). Therefore, the role of the apostles to provide unity and growth for the body of Christ, was and is still accomplished by their writings once they died (John 20:30; 2 Peter 3:2; 2 Peter 3:15).

“Prophets”: The prophet was. "mouth-piece" for God (Exodus 2:1; Exodus 2:12; 2 Peter 1:20). “In this sense we must again insist that there are no prophets today. Nobody can presume to claim an inspiration or use their introductory formula ‘Thus says the Lord'. If this were possible, we would have to add their words to Scripture, and the whole church would need to listen and obey” (Stott p. 161). The very fact that other "inspired" books have not been added to the New Testament following the days of the apostles and New Testament prophets, is objective proof that these two gifts have ceased or served their purpose, because God has never failed to get His message into print. Hence the completion of their writings, which would bring "all truth" promised by Jesus (John 16:13), would also bring about the cessation of such gifts as inspired utterance or prophecy (1 Corinthians 13:8). “Evangelists”:. bearer of good news or preacher of the gospel. One of the mistakes that many denominational commentators make on the word evangelist. is that they define such men as "traveling missionaries", in contrast to. located preacher, yet the Bible mentions men who were called evangelists who worked with congregations for many years (Acts 8:40; Acts 21:8; 2 Timothy 1:3; 2 Timothy 4:5). “ Announce glad tidings. They announce or teach good news” (Caldwell p. 177). Seeing that men can still meet the qualifications for being an evangelist, and still accomplish the work (See the books of. and. Timothy and Titus), this gift this exists today.

“Pastors”:. shepherd. "Pastors" were not "located preachers" in contrast to. traveling evangelist (another popular denominational concept even to this day), rather "pastors" were the shepherds of the local congregation, who are also called "elders" or "bishops” and “overseers" (Acts 20:17; Acts 20:28; Titus 1:5; 1 Peter 5:1). These "pastors" must meet specific qualifications (1 Timothy 3:1; Titus 1:5). “Teachers”: This would include uninspired individuals who were gifted at teaching (Acts 13:1; 2 Timothy 2:2; James 3:1).

The intended goal of such gifts