God's Gifts To His Church
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler
Scripture Reading:
“And
He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and
some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the
work of the ministry.”
— Ephesians 4:11-13
Paul
warns us about those who, whether wittingly or unwittingly, would
spread unsound doctrine among us. We are living in a time when some of
the brethren seem to deem it important to find something new. Of course,
it is not our intent to discourage anyone in regard to exercising the
“Berean spirit.” However, care should be taken not to undermine the
foundation upon which our faith rests. We do well to remember that the
“Doctrinal Statement” our forefathers forged for us was a product of
intense debate with the denominational leaders of their day. Each plank
of the statement was carefully crafted as a defense and confirmation of
the Fundamentals of the faith and Paul’s gospel. Therefore, let us not
be too quick to challenge those things which are “tried and true.”
At
this late hour, there are those who tell us that the “gifts” of
evangelists, pastors and teachers or pastor-teachers are no longer in
operation today. Some have even gone as far to say that the enabling
“gifts” have also passed. This flies in the face of our “Doctrinal
Statement,” which has served us well for over fifty years. It states:
“The
gifts necessary for the ministry of the Body of Christ are those
enumerated in Ephesians 4:7-16. Of these, only the gifts of evangelists
and pastor-teachers are in operation today. All the sign gifts of the
Acts period, such as tongues, prophecy and healing (I Corinthians
12:1-31), being temporary in character, have ceased (I Corinthians
13:8-11).”
Here
in Ephesians, one of Paul’s later epistles, the apostle sets the tone
for the course of this dispensation. Clearly, the context of this
portion concerns itself with the gifts God has given to His Church. It
is true that the gifts of “apostles” and “prophets” passed with the
completion of the Word of God (I Corinthians 13:8-13 cf. Colossians
1:25). Once the Word of God was dispensed, these two offices and the
gifted men who held them were nonessential. We now have something far
better, the written revelation that they handed down to us, which is to
be obeyed in matters of faith and practice.
There
is no indication, whatsoever, that the gifts of evangelists, pastors
and teachers have ever been withdrawn. In fact, Paul plainly states
their purpose: “For the perfecting [maturing] of the saints, for the
work of the ministry, for the edifying [building up] of the Body of
Christ.” And how long shall this continue? “Till we all come in the
unity of the faith, and of the knowledge [Gr. epignosis — full
knowledge] of the Son of God” (Ephesians 4:13).
Surely,
it could not be said there has ever been a period in Church history,
past or present, that the “unity of the faith” has been attained, much
less a “full knowledge” of the Son of God. But this is exactly what we
are being asked to believe; that is, the unity of the faith has been
attained. Perhaps, we should put this to the Berean test.
Creation:
Some believe God created all things in six literal twenty- four hour
days. Others teach the “ruin and reconstruction theory” that God
created, destroyed and re-created. This is commonly called the “gap
theory” which places millions or billions of years between the original
creation and the re-creation.
Redemption:
The battle has raged for centuries over whether Christ died for the
sins of all mankind or merely for the sins of the elect. Which do you
believe?
Things
to Come: It is well known there are those who believe the events
covered in the Book of Revelation are entirely futuristic. Many would
challenge this assertion as absurd. They teach that the early chapters
of the Apocalypse describe the various stages of Church history up to
the present “Laodicean” age. If we agree that there are two camps of
interpretation on any Biblical subject, then we have yet to come into
the unity of the faith.
There
is not one scintilla of evidence that the “unity of the faith” has ever
been attained by all. Even in Paul’s day, the saints were wielding the
sword of the Spirit against one another (II Timothy 1:15 cf. 2:17-19).
In addition, we must inquire: Has the Church come to a full knowledge of
the Son of God? That is, of His person, work and present heavenly
ministry. We shall answer this question with a question: Has the Church,
which is His Body, acknowledged the preaching of Jesus Christ according
to the revelation of the Mystery?
The
“unity of the faith” and a “full knowledge” of Christ is a goal set
before us that will never be fully attained until the Rapture. Thus, the
responsibility of Gods gifts to His Church is to proclaim the whole
counsel of God in light of the Pauline epistles. Why? that the saints
might be established in the faith!
There
is also an experiential side to this truth as well. When God called me
into the ministry nearly thirty years ago, it was definitive. Other
pastors have testified of similar experiences, which confirms that the
“gifts and callings of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:29).
Beware of those who would rob you of this precious truth!
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