One of my favourite passages in all of Scripture is found in Ephesians. Actually, Ephesians, though smaller as compared to other portions of Scripture, carries a very significant role in explaining some of the greater and more ‘cosmic’ concepts of the work of God. This small letter packs in much wisdom and revelation.

And one passage I really enjoy pondering is found in 4:7-16. It, too, is filled with rich aspects in regards to the purpose of God in Christ for the new covenant age that dawned so long ago. Though a bit of a lengthier passage, here are the words from the NIV:

From these words, we find that the goal for the body of Christ is both unity and maturity. Both of these are important. No, they are very important! It took me a while to grasp that one major goal of God was to prepare the bride for marriage to Christ (and I’ve still got more to grasp!). And this calls for movement towards unity and maturity. We cannot miss this if we are to fulfil the purposes of God.

But, there is another reason I like this specific passage.

Here, in these words of Paul, we are told that, when Christ ascended back to the Father to reign over all, he gave specific gifts to the church to help us move towards this unity and maturity. What are those gifts. There listed in vs11: apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers. These five gifts (or four, as some see shepherd and teacher as one gift, as in shepherd-teacher) are known as the Ephesians 4 ministry gifts, though many refer to them with various other names such as the ascension gifts (since they were given at his ascensions – see vs8) or the five-fold ministry gifts (or four-fold, if one believes shepherd-teacher are a combination gift).

Now, for the most part, many Christians, both in the past and in the present, have seen the necessity and function of only 3 of these gifts since the end of the first century AD and movement towards the closing of the canon of Scripture. Those three still needed are evangelist, shepherd and teacher. This means the ministry of apostle and prophet has ceased, and quite some time ago.

Of course, with the rise of Pentecostal, charismatic and neo-charismatic (‘Third Wave’) churches over the last 100+ years, one will definitely find churches that still believe prophets (and prophecy) are still necessary and active today. And with a massive 500+ million Christians who would count themselves as part of such Pentecostal, charismatic and neo-charismatic church groups, such a belief is not as uncommon in this earlier part of the 21st century.

However, most all Christians would find it difficult to venture down the path of allowing for apostles today. They were the ones called to write Scripture (kind of receiving the baton from the Old Testament prophets). They were the select few who were given Christ’s special authority to help the church transition into this new covenant gospel. A post-resurrection, physical experience is noted as one main requirement for an apostle and such was only privy to that first group. Once their foundational revelation and message was recorded (as found in our New Testament today), there would no longer be a need for such a ministry.

Now, before considering various views on which of these gifts are actually active today, I think it important to first ask this question: What is the purpose of these ministry gifts? They do not arbitrarily exist, as if God needed to add to his list of gifts for his people. There is a goal here.

Even more, this is an important practical question that we need to raise. We get so caught up in debating whether prophets and apostles could still exist today, we can actually forget why Jesus gave such gifts to the church.

Paul does make it quite clear in this passage as to the purpose of these ministry gifts:

• To prepare and equip God’s people for works of service, or ministry, since the Greek word could be translated either way (vs12).
• So that the body of Christ might be built up (vs12).
• To help Christ’s body reach unity in the faith and knowledge of Christ, becoming mature and grown up into the fullness of Christ (vs13).

Jesus desired to gift people in these ministries so that the body of Christ could be prepared, equipped, built up, unified and mature! Sounds a worthy purpose of God!

But I would add there is more here – not so much seen through the quotation of another passage in Ephesians. Rather, the grander purpose comes alive when we think about Jesus. If anything, at our core we have a Christ-centred faith. And so here is the even bigger picture worth emphasising before diving into the intricacies of these ministries:

• Jesus, himself, functioned in all five of these ministries. Meaning he was the great apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd and teacher.
• The Holy Spirit came in Christ’s stead to continue the exact same ministry of Christ. And, so, the Holy Spirit is the apostolic, prophetic, evangelistic, shepherding and teaching Spirit of Christ.
• The whole body of Christ, indwelt and empowered by the Spirit of Christ, is now called to be the whole Christ in the whole earth. That means we are an apostolic, prophetic, evangelistic, shepherding and teaching people. Not everyone individually in these 5 ministries. But the whole community functioning holistically in these five areas of God’s grace gifting.
• Therefore, Christ’s desire is to continue to gift individuals in such ministry roles to help equip the body to function wholly in these areas.

Now, I know those bullet-point statements are loaded. The questions might be overwhelming. But it does unfold into a very practical purpose. Of course, one may not have realised that Christ functioned in all five of these ministries. But he did. I mean, some realise Christ was a teacher or a prophet. But was Christ an apostle?

Yes, he was an apostle (and I’ll share some things in forthcoming posts). And it will do us well to remember that Paul, Peter, John or any of the others were not the greatest apostle or evangelist or shepherd. Simply stated, there was no other that lived out these five ministries like the divine Son. Of course, we wouldn’t expect anything less, right?

Hence, here we are today, some 2,000 years after Christ’s ministry, looking to be the whole Christ to the whole world. To accomplish this, I believe the best way is to function in ministry as Christ did himself.