SPIRITUAL GIFTS – Part Five

The Speaking Gifts – Part A

By Michael K. Farrar

God’s Breath Publications

 

Ephesians 4:11-13

“And He gave some… as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”

 

There are five Speaking Gifts. These spiritual gifts are Pastor/Teacher, Teaching, Exhortation, Word of Wisdom and Word of Knowledge. They relate specifically to preaching, teaching, explaining and expositing the Word of God to other followers of Christ. The revelation of God is complete in the Old and New Testaments so we do not have prophets today who “fore tell” future events, but we do have what we might call “prophets” who “forth tell” the Word of God. These prophets we call specifically “pastor/teachers.” When these gifted individuals preach or teach God’s Holy Word they edify the body of Christ through expositing and explaining scripture as they illustrate how it can be applied to daily life. These “pastor/teachers” are called various titles as you can see below. Scripture references are included.

 

PASTOR/TEACHERS (Greek = Pastor = Poimenas / Teacher = Didasko) – Elders/Bishops (Local Church)

 

Peter                              1 Peter 5:1

Church at Antioch        Acts 13:1

Church at Corinth        1 Corinthians 12:28

Every Church               Acts 14:23

Every City                     Titus 1:5

Church of Jerusalem   Acts 15:4, 23

Church of Ephesus      Acts 20:17, 28

Church of Philippi        Philippians 1:1-2

John                              II John 1, III John 1

 

Bishop/Elder/Overseer: 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9

Deacon: Acts 6:3, 1 Timothy 3:8-13

Deaconess: Romans 16:2, 1 Timothy 3:11

 

The diagram below is from Dr. Charles Swindoll’s, “Spiritual Gifts Study Guide.” It illustrates God’s design for the church and how it is to be built. The foundation is built upon Jesus Christ who is the cornerstone. The foundation is made up of apostles, prophets as well as evangelists and pastor/teachers. These gifted individuals equip the saints for the building up of the body of Christ so that works of service can be done within the body to one another.

 

Since the spiritual gift of pastor/teacher is so closely related to the gift of prophecy I will share some information on how they are similar, but also how they are different.

 

PROPHECY (Greek = Propheteian)

 

Romans 12:6-7

“Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;”

 

Many times when we speak of the gift of prophecy people think that that it is always predicting the future (fore telling) or sharing new or additional information directly from God through the Holy Spirit. During New Testament times prophecy simply meant speaking publicly “before” other people. Historically the idea that prophecy was a word used for only predicting the future (fore telling) did not develop until the Middle Ages, so we must be careful how we view this gift of God that was given in New Testament times. As I stated above, we no longer have prophets who “fore tell” the future but we do have a form of prophet who “forth tell” what God’s Word means and how to apply it. This spiritual gift is that of pastor/teacher. Prophecy comes from two Greek words. They are in English, “to speak” and “beforehand” or “before.” This applies to pastor/teachers for they “forth tell” Holy Scripture and “speak” or “stand before” other members of the body when preaching and teaching.

 

In the Old Testament prophets often spoke words from God that they didn’t comprehend because they were a vessel God was using to communicate to His people. These new revelations were written down and became what we now call the Old Testament of the Bible. In New Testament times the Apostles, who were also prophets, spoke and wrote the New Testament and were communicating new revelation from God. These revelations came to be known to us as the New Testament of the Bible.

 

2 Peter 1:20-21 “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”

 

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

 

Now that Holy Scripture is complete and finished we do not have prophets who share information that is not already contained in scripture. It is forbidden by God for anyone to attempt to add or subtract anything from God’s Word.

 

Revelation 22:18-19 “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.”

 

Modern day “prophets” are called pastor/teachers, sometimes elders and/or bishops, in our church fellowships. A pastor/teacher does not predict the future or give new revelation, but they do the work of a prophet in the sense that they “stand before a crowd” (the true meaning of a prophet), and proclaim the gospel, motivate people to action, help them understand how to apply Jesus’ teachings to their life and edify, exhort and comfort followers of Christ (1 Corinthians 14:3-4).

 

1 Corinthians 14:3-4 “But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation.”

 

Today, there are false teachers and various unscriptural individuals who claim to be apostles and prophets in the full sense of the word but this is in error.  

 

2 Peter 2:1-3 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. 2 Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; 3 and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”

 

It is interesting that in Romans there is a critical quality check on one who uses their gift of prophecy.

 

Romans 12:6 “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;”

 

Here Paul is saying in the original Greek that if you are going to preach or teach (prophesy) make sure that your sermon, message or teaching is in agreement with THE FAITH or THE WORD OF GOD. The implied meaning of this is that the “content” of a sermon or teaching on the Word of God needs to AGREE with the Word of God accurately. We are told in scripture that when it comes to either teaching or being taught, we are to listen with a godly discernment and take care how we receive any spiritual teaching.

 

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 “Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances.  But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.”

 

Here again we see scripture is telling us to examine everything carefully. We do not despise or look down upon what is preached, taught or prophesied, but we examine to make sure it is in agreement with Holy Scripture. All preaching and teaching is to be examined to make sure it aligns with basic true Christian doctrine. Our examples are the Bereans.

 

Acts 17:1  “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica (Berea), for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.”

 

We see in the next passage that in the New Testament times prophets were allowed to teach and speak, but the content of their message had to be validated by others as to its validity. This verse also describes that this gift of prophesying, preaching and teaching was for the purpose of exhorting, building others up in the faith.

 

1 Corinthians 14:29-33 “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”

 

What is the spiritual gift of pastor?

 

PASTOR (Greek = Poimen)

 

While the spiritual gift of pastor is related to the gift of prophecy, there are some slight differences. The normal meaning of the Greek word for pastor is that of a “shepherd.” It emphasizes the care, protection and leadership of the man of God for the flock, the local church congregation of followers of Christ. While teaching can be identified as a ministry gift all its own (1 Corinthians 12:28), pastors and teachers are often found expressed in a single office of leadership within the local church fellowship. The following scripture passage demonstrates this close relationship.

 

1 Timothy 5:17-18 “The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.”

 

As I mentioned earlier an elder or bishop is the same as a pastor/teacher. The Greek word for elder is “presbuteros” which denotes an older person. The Greek word for bishop is “episkopos” which means “overseer.” The qualifications for bishop in 1 Timothy 3:7 and that of an elder in Titus 1:5,7 are the same. In 1 Peter 5:1-2, Peter associates all three words together.

 

1 Peter 5:1-2 “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder (presbuteros) and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd (poimaino)  the flock of God among you, exercising oversight (episkopeo) not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness;”

 

Luke also uses all three words together as well in the book of Acts.

 

Acts 20:17, 28

“From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders (presbuteros) of the church. 18 And when they had come to him, he said to them,… “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers (episkopeo), to shepherd (poimaino) the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

 

When we look at these words to describe this spiritual gift, we find that Elder emphasizes who the person is, bishop speaks of what they do and pastor deals with the attitude and character of the man. This tri-fold description tells us that this individual possessing this gift feeds and leads the local church family.

 

Pastoring and teaching shepherds as spiritual overseers have the following ministry responsibilities.

 

Determine the process of governing the local church body. (Acts 15:22)

Oversee the local church body. (Acts 20:28)

Ordain others in the local church body. (1 Timothy 4:14)

Rule, teach and preach. (1 Timothy 5:17)

Exhort members in the body as well as refute false doctrine. (Titus 1:9)

Act as shepherds, setting an example for all to follow. (1 Peter 5:1-3)

Pray for those who are in need. (James 5:14)

 

“As the apostolic era came to a close, the office of pastor-teacher emerged as the highest level of local church leadership. Thus it carried a great amount of responsibility. Elders are charged with the care and feeding, as well as the spiritual guidance, of the entire church. There was no higher court of appeal, and no greater resource for knowing the mind and heart of God with regard to issues in the church…Elders are not to operate by majority rule or vote. If all the elders are guided by the same Spirit and all have the mind of Christ, there should be unanimity in the decisions they make (1 Corinthians 1:10, Ephesians 4:3, Philippians 1:27;2:2). If there is division, all the elders should study, pray, and seek the will of God together until consensus is reached. Unity and harmony in the church begin with this principle.”

John MacArthur

 

“…as the heart of the local ministry he (the pastor/teacher) nourishes and protects. Like a shepherd, he leads his sheep into green pastures beside quiet waters and watches over them with his rod and staff to protect them from harm (Acts 20:28-29, 1 Peter 5:1-8).

Charles Swindoll

 

“The pastor is simply a shepherd, as the name of the gift implies. He loves the Lord’s people and has a heart for the flock. He cares for the weak, the sick, and those who are going astray. He counsels the young, cares for the needy, and comforts the bereaved. He does these tasks supremely well because he has the shepherd’s heart and the pastoral gift.”

John Phillips

 

God gave pastor/teachers, elders, overseers and bishops  for the “perfecting” or “equipping” of the saints as it states in Ephesians 4:12. The Greek word for “perfecting” or “equipping” is “katartismos”. This is the only place this word appears in the New Testament. The “verb” form of the word occurs in many places and it is often used in reference to the mending of fishing nets (Matthew 4:21). The meaning behind the word here as it is used in Ephesians 4:12 is that of making something fully ready, of perfectly equipping a follower of Jesus Christ to not only live as He did, but to reach out and minister to others in numerous ways. Thus the pastor/teacher has an important ministry in shepherding, teaching and exhorting followers of Christ to grow in their faith, obedience to God’s Word and service towards others. We can see how this spiritual gift, like all the others, was given to edify and encourage other believers in His church. That is why it is so important each Christian should seek to discover the spiritual gift or gifts the Holy Spirit gave them at the moment they gave their life to Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

 

Next time we will cover the spiritual gifts of teaching, exhortation, word of wisdom and word of knowledge.