What is the purpose of the five-fold ministry gifts?


The Bible teaches us that there are five ministry gifts that God has given to the church.

And He (Jesus) Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.
(Eph. 4:11-12 NKJ)

These five gifts equip the Christian to do the work of the ministry and edify each other (Eph. 4:16). In addition, each Christian has a supernatural gift on the inside of them that is called a grace or body gift (Rom. 12:6-8). Christians are to operate in their grace (body) gifts on a regular basis (1 Peter 4:10-11).

Men and women in the five-fold ministry also have a supernatural "grace gift" on the inside of them. Their gifts are designed to equip Christians to operate in their body gifts. This is what doing "the work of ministry" means.

Notice how Scripture declares that all five ministry gifts are needed in equipping the saints. The pastor is the most common ministry gift, but he alone cannot fully equip the Christian. This is why, as a pastor, I have guest ministers into my church.

There are times when I have apostles, teachers, evangelists, or prophets come to my church so that the people can be fully equipped. There are things that a prophet can impart into my church that would be impossible for me to do.

If a Christian is to be strong, they must sit under a pastor, and that pastor, as master conductor, must bring in these other gifts to complete the body in a harmonious fashion.

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