My objective in the last series of messages is to show the interrelationship between the different types of gifts in the Body of Christ as expressed in a local church, and how these can help bring the Body to maturity as each part contributes its part. We need to see how the gifts in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4 are connected for the building of the Body of Christ. I must admit that writing is not doing justice to the subject. I highly recommend the CDs or tapes of the five to six parts message titled Building the Body series. It is readily available in the UK office and will be available in other offices as soon as we can get them out there latest by next month- February 2004. I wish all our readers a wonderful 2004. I trust this will be a year of fulfilment, fruitfulness and an abundance of favour on every side. Now to the message:

The five-fold ministry calling needs to be understood both in their purposes and their limitations when considered individually. The goal is to give full expression of the dimensions of Christ in equipping the Body so as to build itself up to give the correct picture of Christ as corporate entity on the face of the earth. Each office has its scope and within each, it is possible to see different administrations, functions and ministries yet the same Spirit is at work in them. How the ministries are received determines a whole lot of how the Body comes into maturity. These ministry gifts were designed to activate the various dimensions of Christ in the Body. They are meant for the Body in general. The teaching dimension of the members is activated when they receive the grace of the office of a teacher. So the teacher imparts not only knowledge but also grace to teach to the Body. That ability can be seen to flourish as members help one another through their ability to teach and explain the Word to edify and build up each other. Preaching is the proclamation or declaration of the Word and teaching is the explanation of it. Through preaching we obtain and we maintain what was obtained through teaching. All the ones called into the 5-fold office can and should preach also. This explains why a new convert can preach rather than teach because you give what you have. That person heard the preaching of the gospel and as he/she received the Word to obtain salvation, the ability to preach was also imparted. People become carers of each other as the office of the pastor affects them. Pastors are expected to teach also as the teaching gift helps in feeding the people with understanding. Understanding and ability to touch one another caringly can be seen in a church under a pastoral office. The body needs all not one or two. The evangelist’s office is known for its supernatural dimension of miracles, signs and wonders like in Phillip’s case in Samaria (Acts 8). This office also has the grace to bring people to salvation in large numbers. This grace needs to be imparted so that the Body can see more people come to salvation as every one contributes their parts for the building up of itself in love. In Acts 8, we see that Phillip was not involved in the process that led to the discernment of the contents of the heart of Simon the sorcerer. It took another type of spiritual operation to get that kind of result, without which Simon would have become influential in that new group of believers and would ultimately affect the expression of Kingdom life there if not changed on the inside. This explains many problems in churches today where the spiritual equipment to discern the hearts of people is absent and such people become leaders and eventually affect the growth of the Body and hinder the expression of Christ in that place.

Now for many years the whole Body has been used to these three mentioned ministries, namely the pastor, teacher and evangelist. These have defined ministry and people have come to expect ministry only in the light of these. Any other expression of ministry is usually frowned at and hence questioned in the light of these. The offices of the prophet and apostle are so different in expression that they sometimes face the attack from the Body itself.

THE OFFICE OF A PROPHET
The prophetic office is a peculiar one. This gift gets mentioned in all three categories of gifting that we are looking at and it demands some explanation because they are not the same. In the motivational gift category, in Romans 12, prophecy means a gift that characterises forthrightness and an ability to influence people with integrity moral uprightness. Those who possess this gift are sharp in their observation of sin and can be very strong in the stance for holiness. John the Baptist had this motivational gift in addition to the office gift of a prophet. That was why he spoke against the king of his time who took his brother’s wife. It cost him his head. It is possible to be in the office of a prophet and not have this motive gift. Prophet Nathan in the Old Testament did not have this motive gift in his prophetic operations. He still effected correction and judgement but he did it relationally. The information in the New Testament does not show that all the prophets mentioned had such motive gifts. In the 1 Corinthians 12, category of gifts called the charismatic gifts, the prophecy there has to do with a word of inspired utterance that brings edification, comfort and exhortation. It could come along with tongues and interpretation, word of knowledge and word of wisdom, as these utterance gifts are known to function together. This is not the same as the office of a prophet. This is for one called into it. Some degree of maturity is necessary to function in this office. This office is known to see the invisible, hear the inaudible and therefore can do the impossible. It is focussed on intimacy with God. It gives direction for the will of God to be done on earth. When this dimension is imparted, the believers will walk in accuracy in the spirit, as they will also see the invisible, hear the inaudible and can do the impossible. This office also brings correction when things are not in order. This office discerns the hearts of people and has the grace to speak into the core issues in matters that affect God’s Kingdom. It is the office that has been so well explained in the Old Testament as we see various prophetic operations there. Elijah in 1 kings 17, show us how prophets can bring down the judgements of God. The supernatural supply for the widow in famine was also in the operation of the office of a prophet. The process and problems in the office also are seen in Elijah’s life. All the prophets carry different lessons for us in the prophetic office. The level of intimacy and consecration necessary for this office can be seen also. “God, before whom I stand” Elijah said. Elisha carried a double portion of the spirit of Elijah and did many more miracles of supply, healing and deliverance in his days. The New Testament prophet is not supposed to curse and may not be the only or ultimate source of the mind of God as in the Old Testament. The outpouring of the Spirit of God on earth today is different from the OT days so we have the Spirit of truth in us to generally guide and lead us. Some specifics in the plans of God are still in the hands of His prophets and we do well to receive the ministry of the prophet today.

THE OFFICE OF THE APOSTLE
The Apostolic office is truly the first being the last. It was the first office in the new order when Christ came and it is the last to be restored in our times. This is the office that governs and operates in Godly wisdom to see God plans, purposes and processes being done on earth. It can be likened to the Architect in the building industry. The industry has civil engineers, quantity surveyors, estate planners etc. Whenever anything will be done according to specifications all need to put heads together. The architect is mainly in charge of the design and oversight of construction of the building project. The Apostle is pretty much like that in the building of God’s house. The wisdom to build, the understanding of process and the grace to break into new grounds and territories are seen in the office of the apostle. Wisdom is the signature of the apostolic office. This office carries a great level of impartation. The apostles Paul and Barnabas were used of God to break new grounds for the gospel of the Kingdom and they raised leadership in churches by ordaining Elders. See Acts 13-14. Apostles have grace to nurture others into their destinies. Paul fathered Timothy and Titus and helped others to be all God has ordained for them. The apostolic grace takes a portion of all the others. Apostles are prophetic as seen in Acts 8 when Apostle Peter discerned the heart of Simon as being full of bitterness. Governmental grace is seen in the apostolic office. This office also calls for maturity to stand in.

The first twelve who saw Jesus’ ministry on earth and were eyewitnesses of His compassion stand in a unique apostolic grace and office. The book of acts is a showcase for the apostolic office. Healings, raising the dead, breaking new grounds were common things seen in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. For instance, Peter took the Gospel to the gentiles-the centurion in Acts 10 and the breakthrough believers breaking new grounds in Antioch after they have been imparted by the apostles in Jerusalem in Acts 11. Unusual miracles were done through the lives of the apostles. The bible says that the apostles and prophets were the foundation of the church and Jesus Christ is the Chief Cornerstone, Ephesians 2:20. This means their lives, revelations and teachings should be the foundation upon which the church is built and the Lord Jesus stands as that which is showed off as the Chief Cornerstone.

When the offices are functional, the gifts of the Spirit will no longer be strange phenomena and we can all take our places in the body as we yield to the Spirit of God within His understood boundaries for our operations and functions and we can God glorified as souls are saved, healed and established in the truth. The body will be built as we all supply our parts in the building. The five fold offices are trans-local. That means a teacher in the five-fold office can function as a teacher any where in the Body at large. An Elder or deacon does not do that their work is related to a particular group in a local assembly.

LIMITATIONS ON EACH OFFICE
Let us look at some limitations to these gifts in operation. The teaching office has the tendency to become dogmatic on the long run. When not exposed to other gifts and streams of knowledge, it can dry up and just become life-less principles of truth. No one was meant to function alone. They do not carry the fullness of Christ in any one gift.

The evangelist tends to be excited with the crowd and anything is allowed as long as they are healed and they are gathering. When evangelists head up churches, many Simons get involved with out being identified. I pray that many will value team leadership and allow other gifts to build the body as well.

The prophetic office has loads of problems. They can be spooky, become isolated and loose connection with the real world we live in. Elijah had a ‘me-alone syndrome’. They can see demons in everything and sometimes see the future without knowing how to navigate into it. I pray prophets will allow the wisdom of apostles to help them bring balance to what they see in the spirit.

The Apostles tend not to know their boundaries. The governmental grace in that office tends to see what can be done to help others and sometimes they are not appreciated for trying to help. If their grace is not recognised and sought after, it can produce confusion. Paul knew his “metron” (Greek) in 2 Corinthians 10:12-15. He knew his limits. Where there is recognition, acceptance and willingness to change, the apostolic office can function. Where these are not there the office is limited. It is a foundation laying grace and cannot be built on other labours. Like the prophetic office, it tends to need to root out pull down and destroy before it can build and plant.

All offices are also limited by the limitation of the make-up of the person who functions in that office. Personality traits are an important aspect of the operation in the office. Where these traits are not seriously under the influence and power of the Lord, they tend to act as limitations to how the offices can operate. We all need prayers to do the will of God.

As every one identifies their place, and humbly take it with a right heart and attitude, we will be willing to launch out into new areas of operations and be bolder as a Body.

There is a very strong tendency to conform to the expectations of the general Body at its present level of understanding. There is safety in this but as we mature and have understood how to function given our peculiar make up, it may become necessary to slowly venture into new areas. Changes are bound to happen if we are to keep growing. May the Lord help us to keep growing until we all come to stature, the fullness of the stature of Christ. Some how the shortcomings of others seem to be the training ground for my maturity and yours as we allow the Word to dictate our response to others’ failings. We hurt with those who hurt and rejoice with those who do thereby grow together in their pain and victory. Only the wisdom of God can fathom such. Their needs activate my gifts, grace and growth. Mine does the same for them too. Their challenges stir up my faith as I long to see God’s power work in them. Their joy and testimony gives a double assurance that our common faith in God is sure and I will soon be experiencing a testimony like theirs. My involvement is the key to my fulfilment. I need to be involved so my gift can bring the necessary dimension that it should bring to others’ lives. My involvement will also cause other dimensions in me to be activated for more effectiveness. To God be all the glory for the things He has planned for our fulfilment in life.

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Rev Kola Ewuosho