A Gift to the Church (Ephesians 4:11)

Jesus has given a gift to His body—apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. But what are they and how do they function today?

In this study from Ephesians 4:11, Nathan explores these five areas, how they might be different today, and explains why God gave them to the Church. This message is bound to step on some toes, but will ultimately point all of us to the Giver of the gift, Christ Jesus.

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Key Passage: Ephesians 4:11

And He Himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers …
– Ephesians 4:11

The Generous Exalted Jesus

• Ephesians 4:8–10 Summary– Yahweh, the Living Triune God, in His humility, came to earth as a man. Jesus, the Son and the second member of the Trinity became “physical” — fully became a man — He became flesh and dwelt among us, see John 1:14. He died upon a cross, was buried, resurrected, and then ascended. In His ascension we find His exaltation and coronation as Lord and King over all. 
• Did not Jesus, as the second person of the Trinity, already have all authority, supremacy, preeminence, and exaltation? Yes. But the profundity is that now, because of the incarnation (God taking on flesh), Jesus, when He rose and ascended, did not give up His physicality (flesh/body). He is God, but forever will also be a man. In His resurrection, He had a glorified body like we will have (see 1 Corinthians 15:42–57), yet His body seems to still be marked by “dust/dirt” (Jesus has “flesh and bones” see Luke 24:39 – this new glorified body is what Paul calls a “spiritual body,” see 1 Corinthians 15:44 which is incorruptible and imperishable). Jesus physically ascended into the heavenly realms and we are told that He will return physically (see Acts 1:11). Scripture seems to indicate that when Jesus became man, it wasn’t merely for 33 years, but for the rest of eternity. Jesus now sits physically at the right hand of the Father, “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come” (Ephesians 1:21). Which means, now, for the first time, Jesus, with the dust of humanity, has entered into the throne room of the Living God and sits with all authority, power, and sovereignty.

A few key questions

• Though Jesus is the highly exalted one (Philippians 2:9–11), He walked in humility without any selfish ambition, pride, or self-protection (Philippians 2:3–8). How do I live?
• Jesus is lifted up and crowned King over all the universe. But is He crowned King and Lord within my life? Is He truly first place (preeminent)?
• Do I live in awe and in light of the truth that Jesus is exalted and triumphant over all sin, death, and darkness? Or do I live as if I’m trapped in the very things God rescued me from?

The Exalted Jesus Generously Gave Gifts

• Acts 2:33 – “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this which you both see and hear.”
• Ephesians 4:7, 11– But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. … And He Himself gave …
  • One would think that King Jesus, in His position of triumph, would give gifts of wealth and property as reward … instead, He gives the gift of people to help strengthen, protect, and equip the Church
• Jesus has ascended! And it is from this position of exaltation, supremacy, sovereignty, preeminence, and authority that He gives gifts out of the abundance of His generosity. He has given the Church everything they need to practically live as Christians and walk faithfully, godly, holy, pure, victorious in these days … as we live in unity with other believers.
  • Titus 2:11–14 – For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all lawlessness, and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good works.
  • Gift of salvation, through faith, by grace (Ephesians 2:8)
  • Jesus gave His Spirit (the Holy Spirit, the Promise of the Father) (see Acts 2)
  • Spiritual gifts (see Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, 14)
  • Specific people who proclaim the Word and lead the body for the purpose of equipping, edifying, and building up the Church (Ephesians 4:11–12)
  • Jesus doesn’t just give grace to people (4:7), He also gives specific people to people (4:11)*
• Ephesians 4:11–12– And He Himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and 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 …
  • gave (singular) – one gift to the Church (a team that strengthens the body)

The Fellowship of the Gospel 

• All these terms are supercharged in today’s culture (either for good or bad)
• A group (fellowship) all united around the Gospel for the purpose of building up the Church
• REMEMBER: The early church was surrounded by Greek and Roman cultural worship of the gods. People were being changed by the Gospel but needed direction, wisdom, correction to stay “on the way.” So God gave a gift to build up the Church so all the Church could do the work and ministry of caring for and strengthening one another in the Gospel.
• Andrew T. Lincoln – God gives Christ as head over all to the Church [Eph. 1:22–23], and it becomes His instrument in carrying out His purposes for the cosmos. ⁽¹⁾
• Ephesians 4:11 (AMP)– And His gifts were [varied; He Himself appointed and gave men to us] some to be apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the Gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of His flock) and teachers.

Apostle

• APOSTLES (apostolos) – delegate, envoy, messenger, apostle; normally someone who has been taught directly by Jesus and who is invested with the authority to speak on His behalf.
  • “Someone sent” … a “divinely appointed representative” (special ambassadors / agents of God’s work)
  • Lynn H. Cohick – … “apostle” generally refers to a key leadership position in the church, whose duties include presenting true doctrine and moral guidance in accordance with the gospel. The person is sent with authority and represents that authority. Paul declares that the authority of his apostleship is Christ (Gal 1:1). ⁽²⁾
• Apostles and prophets are the foundational “gifts” of the Church
  • Ephesians 2:20 – [God’s household] having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone … (also see Ephesians 3:5)
  • 1 Corinthians 12:28– And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.
    • doesn’t appear there is a hierarchy in Eph 4:11 (outside of capital “A” apostle) … 
• 2 different groups of “Apostles” in Scripture
  • 1. The Capital “A” Apostles were eye-witnesses of the life, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus (see Acts 1:21–22). Consisting of the original 12 apostles plus Paul (1 Cor. 15:8–9; Gal. 1:1; 2:6–9), they were directly commissioned by Jesus to establish the form and function of the Church, to give governance, to correct doctrine, and to write Scripture under the direction of the Holy Spirit. 
  • 2. Lowercase “a” apostles – people are called apostles after Jesus’ earthly ministry such as James (1 Cor. 15:7; Gal. 1:19), Barnabas (Acts 14:4, 14; 1 Cor. 9:6), Andronicus and Junias (Rom. 16:7), possibly Silas and Timothy (1 Thes. 1:1; 2:7), and Apollos (1 Cor. 4:6, 9). These lowercase “a” apostles were not eyewitnesses of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, nor did they have authoritative position to govern the global Church or write Scripture. Rather, they were sent out and commissioned by the Church to preach the Gospel and establish churches in accordance with the pattern that the capital “A” Apostles established. Today, we would call this group missionaries and church planters.
    • Their primary focus was preaching the Word and planting churches (i.e., missionaries)

Prophet

• PROPHETS (prophētēs) – prophet; someone who speaks in behalf of and interprets the will of a supernatural being, often rebuking or predicting events
  • A term used in both Jewish and Gentile contexts referring to a person who makes know the will of the gods/God (mediating divine revelation)
• Lynn H. Cohick – … a term that is widely used in religious contexts by both gentiles and Jews. This person makes known the will of the gods/God. In the Old Testament, the prophet speaks on behalf of God, receives visions, offers signs, and brings warnings to the people. In the New Testament, the noun occurs extensively, most often in the Gospels, and refers to an individual who proclaims God’s will. ⁽³⁾
• 2 main functions of a prophet biblically
  • 1. Foretelling (future events)
    • Only a third of prophetic literature is predictive in nature
  • 2. Forthtelling 
    • Reminded people of God’s laws (His standard for right and wrong)
    • Warned listeners of God’s blessings and curses
    • Urged people to turn from sin and return to God (Hebrew word “shoob” (turn, return, repent) appears over 1000+ times in OT)
    • Hosea 14:1– Return, O Israel, to Yahweh your God, for you have stumbled in your iniquity.
    • Joel 2:13 – And tear your heart and not your garments. Now return to Yahweh your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness, and relenting concerning evil.
    • Ezekiel 33:11– “Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares Lord Yahweh, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’”
• MAIN ROLE was to strengthen, encourage, edify, and comfort others (see 1 Corinthians 14:3–5). In short, they explained the relevance of the Gospel and the will of God.
  • Prophets were unaffected by popularity and hence would boldly (and sharply) preach God’s Word with a desire for repentance … speaking with a sting.
• Revelation 19:10b (NKJV)– For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

A.W. Tozer – Great industrial concerns have in their employ men who are needed only when there is a break-down somewhere. When something goes wrong with the machinery, these men spring into action to locate and remove the trouble and get the machinery rolling again.

For these men a smoothly operating system has no interest. They are specialists concerned with trouble and how to find and correct it.

In the kingdom of God things are not too different. God has always had His specialists whose chief concern has been the moral breakdown, the decline in the spiritual health of the nation or the church. Such men were Elijah, Jeremiah, Malachi, and others of their kind who appeared at critical moments in history to reprove, rebuke, and exhort in the name of God and righteousness.

A thousand or ten thousand ordinary priests or pastors or teachers could labor quietly almost unnoticed while the spiritual life of Israel or the church was normal. But let the people of God go astray from the paths of truth, and immediately the specialist appeared almost out of nowhere. His instinct for trouble brought him to the help of the Lord and of Israel.

Such a man was likely to be drastic, radical, possibly at times violent, and the curious crowd that gathered to watch him work soon branded him as extreme, fanatical, negative. And in a sense they were right. He was single-minded, severe, fearless, and these were the qualities the circumstances demanded. He shocked some, frightened others, and alienated not a few, but he knew who had called him and what he was sent to do. His ministry was geared to the emergency, and that fact marked him out as different, a man apart.

To such men as this the church owes a debt too heavy to pay. The curious thing is that she seldom tries to pay him while he lives, but the next generation builds his sepulcher and writes his biography, as if instinctively and awkwardly to discharge an obligation the previous generation to a large extent ignored. ⁽⁴⁾

Evangelist

• EVANGELISTS (euangelistēs) – evangelist, proclaimer of the gospel; a person who announces information about recent and important events worthy of celebration; gospelteer
  • A bringer of the Good News of peace (in the Roman world an evangelist brought news of peace – either of an enemy king being killed in battle or news of diplomatic success or of an emperors accession). 
  • Gospelteer – here is THE Good News of the one who is the Prince of Peace! He has conquered every enemy and has ascended to sit with all power, authority, and dominion. His name is Jesus!
• An evangelist proclaims the Gospel of Jesus and its relevance to both believers (Romans 1:15) and unbelievers (Romans 10:14–15), calling them to repent and turn to God.
  • William MacDonald – They have special ability to diagnose a sinner’s condition, probe the conscience, answer objections, encourage decisions for Christ, and help the convert find assurance through the word. ⁽⁵⁾
• Travel – The concept of evangelism is connected to feet in multiple places in Scripture (e.g., Ephesians 6:15) and thus evangelism involves the idea of travel.

Pastor

• PASTORS (poimēn) – shepherd, pastor, minister; a leader of a Christian congregation understood as a shepherd over a flock of sheep
  • “Pastor” is the latin word for “shepherd”
  • “Undershepherds” of Christ … guard, protect, comfort, and guide the flock
    • God in the OT is called a Shepherd (Isa 40:11; 63:11; Jer 23:3; 31:10; Ezek 34:2–10) and Jesus in the NT is called the Good Shepherd (John 10:11)
  • The early church was surrounded by a culture that worshipped other gods and, like all humanity, there was a propensity to drift (whether passively or actively) back into sin and the life that Christ redeemed us from. Pastors were there to instruct, encourage, guard, and guide them into godly Christian living. ⁽⁶⁾
• Andrew T. Lincoln – [“Pastor”] suggests the exercise of leadership through nurture, care, and guidance. … Their function appears to have been preserving, transmitting, expounding, interpreting, and applying the apostolic gospel and tradition along with the Jewish Scripture. They were specialists in the inculcation of Christian norms and values and the conduct appropriate to them, and in this way became particularly associated with the qualities of wisdom and knowledge. ⁽⁷⁾
• Constantine R. Campbell – Shepherds in any culture do not enjoy high social status. They are not wealthy. They do hard, thankless work. The shepherd of ancient Israel was also a very dangerous vocation. Not only did they face the threat of wild animals and harsh conditions, but the terrain was often treacherous. … Shepherds literally risked their lives on a daily basis for the sake of their sheep. That is the point of Jesus’s self-identification as the Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11–16). ⁽⁸⁾
• 1 Peter 5:1–4 – Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing not under compulsion, but willingly, according to God; and not for dishonest gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Teacher

• TEACHERS (didaskalos) – teacher, instructor, master; a person who instructs others by imparting skills or knowledge; probably as an occupation
  • Present and protect the message and doctrine of the Gospel … to proclaim, explain, clarify, and help with the application of Scripture (also see Acts 15:35; 18:11, 25; Rom. 2:20, 21; Col. 3:16; Heb. 5:12)
  • The first four groups will all have been teachers … and all believers have an aspect of teaching one another (Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 5:12) … but this group seems to specialize and be gifted in teaching (see:  (1 Thess. 5:12; cf. Gal. 6:6; 1 Cor. 12:28; Rom. 12:7; Acts 13:1; James 3:1)
• William Barclay – The people who came into the Church were coming straight from worship of Greek and Roman gods; they knew literally nothing about Christianity, except that Jesus Christ had taken hold of their hearts. Therefore these teachers had to reveal the full extent of the Christian faith to them. They had to explain the great doctrines of the Christian faith. ⁽⁹⁾

Today …

Not about titles or position

• Ephesians 4:1–2 – … walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility …
• Eric Ludy – Throughout the past two thousand years, even the greatest, most amazing Christian leaders have not assumed the title apostle.  Athanasius did not presume such a title.  Waldo, Luther, Wesley, and Whitefield did not assume the title apostle. Charles Spurgeon, Hudson Taylor, William Booth, and C.T. Studd, all men that changed the face of Christianity and modern missions in their day all did not presume themselves apostles.  Even Billy Graham, the modern equivalent of Wesley and Whitefield shied away from such a grand title of apostle and instead bore the title reverend. ⁽¹⁰⁾
• Hebrews 13:7– Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.
  • Such leaders are gifts and instruments in God’s hands to bring about spiritual growth, maturity, sanctification, unity, and equipping the body for ministry.
• Ephesians 4:11–16– And He Himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and 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 full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ, so that we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming, but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is Christ, from whom the whole body, being joined and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the properly measured working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

FOOTNOTES

(1) Andrew T. Lincoln, Ephesians, vol. 42, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1990), 248.
(2) Lynn H. Cohick, The Letter to the Ephesians, ed. Ned B. Stonehouse et al., New International Commentary on the Old and New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2020), 267–268.
(3) Lynn H. Cohick, The Letter to the Ephesians, ed. Ned B. Stonehouse et al., New International Commentary on the Old and New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2020), 268.
(4) A.W. Tozer in the foreword to Leonard Ravenhill, Why Revival Tarries (Grand Rapids, MI: Bethany House, 2004).
(5) William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1935.
(6) “At this time, the Christian Church was no more than a little island surrounded by the worship of other gods. The people who came into it were only one remove from their old way of life; they were in constant danger of lapsing into the old religions; and the duty of the pastor was to shepherd the flock and keep them safe.” // William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, The New Daily Study Bible (Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), 170.
(7) Andrew T. Lincoln, Ephesians, vol. 42, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1990), 251.
(8) Constantine R. Campbell, The Letter to the Ephesians, ed. D. A. Carson, Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2023), 179.
(9) William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, The New Daily Study Bible (Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), 170.
(10) Taken from Eric Ludy’s sermon The Pattern Passers, April 30, 2017.

Photo Credit: Kevin Carden

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In Our Next Study Together …

I invite you to join me on this journey from the book of Ephesians to discover God’s eternal purpose, His plan for your life, and learn how to practically live out an abundant and fruitful Christian life. 

• The focus of our next study: Ephesians 4:12
  • We are going to examine the purpose for why God gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to the Church.
  • I encourage you to read through Ephesians a couple of times this week and focus specifically on Ephesians 4.