Gifts from God

In Ephesians 4, Paul speaks of one body, one Spirit, one faith, one God and Father of all. He goes on to say that God has given grace to each one of us, and that God's purpose reigns supreme.

But then the direction seems to change. Paul begins a list of job titles: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (v. 11-12). What is this all about? In context we see that God, the ruling Monarch of the universe, wants to give gifts to people. This is a list of the gifts He has given.

When we think of gifts, we might not think of these particular things. But God gives these gifts for a reason: to prepare God's people for works of service, to build up the body of Christ until we all reach that unity that Paul spoke of in the early verses of the chapter.

Some say that these gifts are no longer in place; that God gave the gifts as the Church was being birthed. The gifts were specifically for that transition period and are no longer needed. After all, we don't see any apostles around, do we?

Others believe, as we do, that God has not taken back His gifts. We still have evangelists; we still have pastors and teachers. What about prophets? A prophet was a person called to speak forth the words of God as God spoke them. We might not see this as frequently as in the days of the Early Church, but we do see these people from time to time.

What about apostles? Are there any apostles in these modern times? The Greek translation of the word is "one who is sent or called." We believe the ministry of an apostle is alive and well, especially in the work of missionaries. Missionaries are those who have been "called" to take God's Word to remote places of the earth.

God's gifts to the Church are still at work today. God has a different form of leadership than we might expect. His ways are not man's ways. God doesn't take a poll or a vote. The Church is not a democratic institute. We must follow what God says to us in the manner He directs. Don't plan what you want to do and then hope that God shows up. Find out what His plans are and then you show up.

For next week, do some study on these four ministries: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor-teacher. Also take a look at 1 Corinthians 12.

Prayer Requests

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16)

• Lamar asks for prayer that his life would change into the life the Lord wants him to have. Also pray that he gets at his p.o. problem.
• Pray that Crystal's job would allow her to get back in church on Sundays.
• John Cavanaugh asks that you would please pray for God's provision and protection from the enemy as they begin a new career.
• Jessica asks you to pray for her to get a job, pray for her family, and pray for David to have a home plan.