What does 'a five-fold ministry' mean?


We update studies as the Lord Jesus leads us. You can find the latest update of this study at ChurchAges.net


We need teachers who can take the prophet's quotes back to the teachings of the apostles, to prove them from Scripture.

First published on the 20th of March 2018 — Last updated on the 13th of June 2022

Elevated ministries are not true church leadership

The doctrine of church leadership has evolved over many centuries in terms of human traditions and human common sense (which is based on human prejudice),  as churches attempted to solve their organizational problems with human wisdom. Thus, as time went by, the concept of church leadership moved further and further away from what is written about it in the Bible.

The Old Testament had an Aaronic priesthood that was elevated above the congregation of the people.  This elevated priesthood, that stood between God and man, was abolished when the New Testament began.

When Jesus came, the people loved Him, but He was a threat to the leadership with their elevated priesthood.

The Law failed because of the chief Jewish priests who persuaded the people, after that they had acclaimed Jesus on Palm Sunday, to demand His crucifixion the next Thursday.

Jesus, like Jonah, had to be in the tomb for three nights before He arose early on Sunday morning.

Thursday night. Friday night. Saturday night.

The term "Good Friday" is unscriptural.

Jonah is Hebrew. Jonas is Greek.
MATTHEW 12:40   For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Luke 22:2  And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him; for they feared the people.

Mark 15:11  But the chief priests moved the people,

that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.

The priesthood was thus a disaster, directly responsible for destroying the Jewish nation.

People just follow their elevated leaders without thinking for themselves. There are always the more dominant leaders who pressurize and demand conformity to their beliefs.

This is a dumb aspect of humanity that has devastating consequences.

The leadership of the church is critical.

ISAIAH 9:16   For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.

53-0614A  EARNESTLY CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH THAT WAS  ONCE DELIVERED TO THE SAINTS

But let me tell you, the Church of God is led by the Spirit of God. They move as the Spirit moves them. God didn't promise just to move with bishops.

Elders is what is the head of the church, every church.

Elders are the leaders or guides in the church. One man must not be the head of the church.

57-0908   HEBREWS  CHAPTER  FIVE  AND  SIX.1

Show me by the Bible what's greater, in the Bible, than a local elder to a local church? T

hat's right, yes, sir, the sovereignty of the local church, each church in itself.

ACTS 20:17    And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.

Paul placed the leadership of the local church in the combined hands of the elders. He did not appoint one man to be in charge.
ACTS 20:28   Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

Feeding the flock is the task of the shepherd. The shepherd was not one man.

The shepherd was the group of elders.

ACTS 20:29   For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

Wolves are not submissive. A wolf dominates the flock.

A single leader who dominates the church is a wolf.

The wrongly elevated priesthood of the 5 fold ministry

The Old Testament Jews had an elevated Aaronic priesthood that was between them and God.

In the New Testament, Jesus was lifted up on a cross as the only Person to be above the individual Christians.

The Devil has thus endlessly tried to re-create an elevated priesthood of the "fivefold ministry" above the congregation of the church. By succeeding in this concept, Satan has very successfully undermined the influence of Scripture on the church. If the leadership structure is unscriptural, then it is very easy to ignore other inconvenient Scriptures and accept man-made traditions and opinions.

The elevation of holy men above the congregation was called Nicolaitans. This process was efficient from a human church-system perspective as it installed a human boss to run the church. But it is also problematic because God hates this whole idea. He complimented the first church of the Ephesian church age for opposing the elevation of human leaders.

Revelation 2:6   But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

54-0512  The seven church ages

…. the Nicolaitan priesthood, how it begin right there in Ephesus. And that's where that church age fail in three hundred years of its existence. Before it went out of existence,

the Nicolaitanes begin to start up a doctrine, a priesthood of brethren

……..and begin to organize a priesthood. And from there it become a "deeds," what they were doing, saying these things on confessions, and so forth. And then it become a doctrine over here, and went into Babylon, and ended up down here, at the last time,

with all Christianity wrapped around it; just a little remnant to be saved out of it.

60-1205  The Ephesian church age

Now, Paul's wolves had become "Nicolaitane."

They were trying to form a priesthood like the Levitical priesthood,

which was foreign to the New Testament doctrine. Amen! The word Nicko, the Greek word Nicko means "to conquer, overcome." Overcome what? The laity, the Holy Spirit.

In the New Testament, we are all priests. There is no person above a priest, except the High Priest, Jesus.

1 Peter 2:9   But ye are

a chosen generation,

a royal priesthood,….

How did God want His church built up?

Ephesians 2:20    And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,

Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

:21     In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

The Old Testament weaves into the New Testament to always point to the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 3:2   That ye may be mindful of the words which were

spoken before by the holy prophets,

and of

the commandment of us the apostles

of the Lord and Saviour:

In terms of doctrine we need to line up with the prophets who wrote the Old Testament, and with the apostles who established the New Testament.

Jude 1:17   But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;

 

Ephesians 4:11   And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

This is the only verse in the entire Bible that says this, so we must be careful how we interpret it.

Today, each church rushes to appoint five people into these positions and then has the pastor as the person in charge of this committee. But did the early church do things that way? The early church is our only true example.

Matthew 18:20   For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

So two or three people can form a church. But they might not have all five ministries present.

Let us investigate the context of this verse that speaks of five ministries.

Ephesians 4:11   And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

:12     For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Five ministries that make Christians perfect. That is a huge responsibility.

2 Timothy 3:16   All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

:17   That the man of God may be perfect,

throughly furnished unto all good works.

Perfection is linked to believing and benefiting from all Scripture.

So the five ministries must be able to illuminate all Scripture.

"For the edifying of the body of Christ:"

The five ministries have to build up or edify the whole body of Christianity whether they attend your services or not. Whatever "church" they go to. These ministries have to apply to the whole church throughout its  2 000 years of existence, worldwide. Today there are 45 000 different denominational and non-denominational churches.  All are different but all claim that they are right. Something has gone seriously wrong. There is no longer unity of the faith. Churches follow their human leaders, disagree with each other, and have splintered apart like a broken mirror.

Ephesians 4:13     Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Romans 10:17   So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

We get faith from the written Word. We can only unify by believing the Scripture. We need to know the Word of God. Jesus is the Son of God and He is the Word.

Faith in the written Word as we grow to understand the Bible and illuminate its verses is our path to perfection.

So we need someone to teach us the Bible.

Ephesians 4:14     That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and

carried about with every wind of doctrine,

by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

We need someone to teach us sound doctrine that links Bible verses together.

Doctrine only has authority when it comes from the Bible.

Not the clever opinion of some man. Crafty men change the written Word to mislead people.

But Christ, the Word, is the Head of the church.

Ephesians 4:15     But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things,

which is the head, even Christ:

John 17:17   Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Ministers must have a love of the truth. A love of the written Word. Because the Word is Christ, and Christ is the Head of the church.

This is a vital concept. The apostles, when they began the church, never put the church under the authority of any single individual. There were twelve disciples to share the leadership. There were eight men who wrote the New Testament. Leadership was always a joint responsibility. No single man was the head of any church. Only Christ can be the Head of the church. We only listen to Him. He is the Word. So we must only listen to the Word.

Ephesians 4:16     From whom the whole body fitly joined together

and compacted by that which every joint supplieth,

according to the effectual working in the measure of every part,

maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

The body of believers refers to all Christians. Not just one church group that claims to be better than the others. Each part of the body has different abilities and functions. The parts of the body do not have to conform to each other. Christians should not try to copy or imitate each other. The body parts are only required to be in submission to the Head of the Body, which is Christ, the Word.

Ephesians 4:17  This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

Gentiles are naturally pagan worshippers. That is our nature. So we must not try to serve God in a way that appeals to us and which we enjoy. Our human religious instincts are just vanity.

Mark 7:7   Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

:8     For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, …

We must not create a form of worship that suits us. We must only obey the Bible.  We must not create God in our image. We must not impose our likes and dislikes on the Word of God.

Ephesians 4:18     Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

God says that the last church, the Laodicean church, is blind. We do not prove our beliefs from Scripture.

Christians follow the opinions of some human leader and as such do not search the Scripture and thus end up not knowing much about the Scripture. Ignorance of the Scripture has turned Christians into Bible-illiterates.  Why did Jesus write twice in the sand when the Jews wanted to stone a woman?  Christians just shrug their shoulders and ignore their ignorance of the topic. Jesus asked the disciples why they did not understand the 12 baskets and 7 baskets that were left over after He fed the thousands of people. Today Christians just shrug their shoulders and ignore the issue. Ignorance is bliss in the church. Why worry? Who cares? It is not important.

Really?

Any preacher who tells you to ignore a Scripture because he does not understand it, is protecting his own ignorance and not helping you in your quest for perfection.

If you cannot answer these basic Bible questions, then it means you are blind because when you look at the Bible verses you cannot see any light in them. The Bible is Light. So when we look at Scripture and say, "I do not know what it means", then either the Bible is not Light (which is untrue) because we claim that the Bible is not illuminating anything so it is safe to ignore that Scripture, or else (which is true), we are simply admitting that we are too blind to see the Light of God’s Word.

The five ministries must help us to be guided by all Scripture. So where are these ministries in a blind end-time Laodicean church age that does not know that it is blind?

Revelation 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and

have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

Each church group claims that it has a need of nothing. They need no correction from outside their group. Their church leaders provide them with all the guidance and information that they need.

But look what the Bible says about the wise virgins, the Spirit-filled Christians.

Matthew 25:4   But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

:5   While the bridegroom tarried,

they all slumbered and slept.

:6     And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

:7   Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

All the wise virgins are asleep today.

Every church denies this about themselves, claiming that they are awake and it is the other churches that are asleep.

MARK 13:35   Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

:36  Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

This is the heart of the matter. It is the church leaders, the so-called 'five-fold ministry' that has taken authority over the churches, that have kept the churches asleep.

The parable of the sleeping wise virgins says that all the wise, Spirit-filled Christians with oil in their lamps are asleep.

But no church wants to admit that about themselves.

So actually the church leaders are saying that the Bible is wrong. The church leaders of today cannot receive the Light of that parable because it condemns them. Being unable to see the Light means that they are blind.

What a testimony to deception.

The church leaders of today have managed to keep all the wise, Spirit-filled believers fast asleep.

PROVERBS 10:5   He that gathereth in summer is a wise son:

but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.

These same Spirit-filled Christians are happy to ignore and contradict all the Bible verses that they do not understand. Shine a light into a sleeping person’s eyes and they will tell you to go away and leave them alone.

That is how church members react when dealing with the many verses that they do not understand.

John the Baptist and Jesus never said anything polite to the religious leaders of the Jews.

The leadership of the church is where the main fault lies.

Christians all insist that they are part of the five wise virgins who waited for the bridegroom. But they totally ignore or brush over the fact that the five wise virgins were fast asleep. They simply deny that Scripture.

Nor do they know what the cry will be that wakes them all up, both wise and foolish.

Each church claims that its leader has woken them up and it is the other churches that are asleep. But the cry has to wake everyone up at the same time, both wise and foolish. This has never happened as the churches by and large all continue on their own chosen paths.

But the cry did not come from amongst the ten virgins. They were all asleep. So the cry will come from outside all the churches. The cry did not come from some great preacher in the past. The cry came just at the last moment, at midnight when sleep is deepest. What is that cry? Do you know or are you blind to that fact?

Billy Graham, arguably the greatest evangelist of the last century, said that if the Lord caught up His church to Heaven today then tomorrow about 90 % of church activities would continue unaffected. A scathing rebuke to today’s churches.

Christians admit that we are at the end time, but deny that they are part of the Laodicean church -- the last church that is blind. No church group wants to admit that they are blind. But Christ, the true Head stands outside the Laodicean church door.  No exceptions are mentioned.

So whoever is inside the church, claiming to be the head of the church, is a false head.

Today the pastor claims to be the head of the church.

Saying that the pastor is the head of the church is completely unscriptural.

The Bible condemns pastors six times which is scary

Let us start with the pastor.

What does the Bible say about a pastor?

Ephesians 4:11   And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

This is the only verse in the entire New Testament that speaks of a pastor.

Lists him as fourth in a group of five ministries.  Does that give him leadership dominance? Not at all.

 

"The pastor is the head of the church".  The Bible does not say that.

"The tithes belong to the pastor".  The Bible does not say that.

"The pastor will reveal the mysteries of Scripture". The Bible does not say that.

" Follow your pastor because he will see you through".  The Bible does not say that.

"You cannot live above your pastor or know more than him".  The Bible does not say that.

 

So the church’s emphasis on elevating a pastor to the position of church leadership is simply completely wrong.

Let us look at the track record of pastors from the Old Testament.

A pastor is mentioned eight times in the Old Testament but is criticized or condemned six times.

This is not a ministry that God is impressed with. Jesus was not impressed with Jewish religious leaders either. The leadership of the church is a very problematic issue.

Jeremiah 3:15   And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with

knowledge and understanding.

The one and only Scripture in the Old Testament that compliments the pastors.

But this applies to the time of the Millennium to 1000 years of peace when all the nations gather to Jerusalem which will be the main city in the Millennium. That is where the throne of Jesus will be.

In the Millennium they will realize that Jesus is the Lord, that He is the Lord God Almighty.

The nations will also know the name of the Lord.

So, this does not apply to the present days when the Trinity rules the churches and the nations do not know the name of God. You cannot find one name for God if you believe that God is three Persons.
JEREMIAH 3:17   At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD;

and all the nations shall be gathered unto it,

to the name of the LORD,

to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.

But the rest of Jeremiah's prophesies concerning pastors are not complimentary.

Jeremiah 2:8    The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not:

the pastors also transgressed against me,

and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.

"Knew me not". If you do not know a person's name then you do not really know that person.

Church leaders today do not know the name of their Triune God. They cannot find one name for three Persons. Thus they do not know Who God is.

Jeremiah 10:21    For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD:

therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.

Putting a man in charge of the church means he will stop seeking God’s will. He enforces his own ideas. The dissenters are chased out.

Each pastor emphasizes his own opinions and that has broken the church up into 45000 different kinds of churches and denominations.

Jeremiah 12:10    Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard,

they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.

Pastors turn aside from Scripture to quotes. Then their people know very little Scripture. Praising the pastor is the key to being accepted in denominations. The congregation becomes Bible-illiterate, unable to prove what they believe from Scripture. The people deny the Scriptures that contradict them.

Bible-illiteracy is a huge problem amongst church-goers.

Jeremiah 17:16   As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee:

Notice, that being a pastor means he is not following God.

Being in charge of a congregation does not motivate a person to follow God.

Being the pastor in charge of an assembly means that they are not following God’s Word.  The Bible never said that the pastor is in charge.

Pastors must stand down from being the church leader if they want to follow God.

But the money and the power are too tempting, so they will be in no rush to stand down and start following God.

Just preach what the church people want to hear.

Jeremiah 22:22   The wind shall eat up all thy pastors,

Winds speak of wars and strife.

Always fighting those who want to be Scriptural, pastors fight to maintain their authority and impose their opinions on the assembly. At stake is their income from the assembly that they control. People who do not see eye-to-eye with the pastor’s opinion are not welcome. There is much strife if you disagree with the pastor.

Jeremiah 23:1   Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.

ISAIAH 9:16   For the leaders of this people cause them to err;

and they that are led of them are destroyed.

65-1128M  GOD'S  ONLY  PROVIDED  PLACE  OF  WORSHIP

Out there in Tucson, is listening in this morning, I once wondered...

I've always constraining people, "Go to church, no matter where you go."

And I seen the people kind of pulling back, and going this way. And I thought, "What's the matter?"

I went to some of them,

"The first day you're there, they'll approach you, 'Join our church.' If you don't do it, you're not welcome." See? See? It's a forced thing, it's forced upon you, see, and that's Babylon.

But in Christ, you come in by election; not by force, your heart pulls you in.

God did not put His name then in Babylon. Closely now.

He cannot put His Name in Babylon, the churches.

Oh, they, they put His Name in there, but He never. No.

You are only welcome in the church while you agree with the pastor.

Disagreeing with the pastor means you have to leave.

Jeremiah 23:2   Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock,

and driven them away, and have not visited them:

behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.

This is not a good track record. God is not very impressed with pastors.

There are 45000 different types of churches. So what makes each pastor think that they are right. They are disagreeing somewhere with all the other pastors, who also claim to be right.

53-0614A  EARNESTLY CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH THAT WAS  ONCE DELIVERED TO THE SAINTS

But let me tell you, the Church of God is led by the Spirit of God. They move as the Spirit moves them. God didn't promise just to move with bishops.

Elders is what is the head of the church, every church.

57-0908   HEBREWS  CHAPTER  FIVE  AND  SIX.1

Show me by the Bible what's greater, in the Bible, than a local elder to a local church?

That's right, yes, sir, the sovereignty of the local church, each church in itself.

I TIMOTHY 5:17   Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.

Not all the elders are preachers. But all the elders play a role in the running of the church.

The church is not just ruled by preachers.

 

God only mentions pastors once in the New Testament.

Here is an order of importance. First apostles, second prophets, third teachers. Then the other ministries in the church.

1 Corinthians 12:28   And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

Teachers explain the truth from the written Word of the apostles and prophets.

It is essential that the people are taught the truth from Scripture.

Notice, that there is no mention of pastors.

A pastor was not an office that God set in the church

It is all the elders who play their various parts.

The importance here is to establish sound doctrine.

The activities of the church are in vain unless what is taught is absolutely true.

Apostles and prophets form the foundation

Apostles were originally called by Jesus.

Luke 6:13   And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

Acts 2:42   And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine

The apostles wrote down the basic doctrines for the church to believe.

Acts 15:6   And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter The apostles, often consulting with the local elders, finally established the basic decrees for the churches to follow.

Acts 16:4   And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.

:5     And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.

By believing what the apostles wrote, which became our New Testament, the early church was established.

2 Corinthians 12:12    Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.

The men who were called apostles produced great supernatural signs and wonders to vindicate their calling.

Revelation 2:2   I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

Others tried to claim that they were apostles. But the early church only believed the New Testament which was written by the original apostles. If you did not say what the original apostles said, then you were a liar. So in terms of doctrine, the later people claiming to be apostles were redundant. The only doctrine that counted was what the original apostles wrote.

Many missionaries were called apostles during the missionary age. But they had absolutely no say over doctrine. They could only say what the original apostles said. Where the missionaries disagreed with the Bible, the missionaries were wrong.

Revelation 21:14    And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The great holy city reinforces that the apostles were the foundation of the truth that could never be changed.

Ephesians 2:20    And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,

Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

:21     In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

The apostles wrote the New Testament. The prophets wrote the Old Testament. This is where truth is established. The foundation was laid way back in the past. The church has been building on it for 2 000 years.

The apostles and prophets are not modern ministries that can modify the Bible.

A person can have a gift of prophecy. But that is not the foundation of the church. The Word prophets of the Old Testament are the basis of what we believe.

 

The larger and stronger stones are first put into the foundation so that the weight of the whole structure can rest securely upon them. We can never get away from the foundation that was laid. We can only build upon those Scriptures.

1 Corinthians 3:10    According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

:11    For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Paul established the foundations for the seven church ages.

Human leaders would move off Paul’s foundation and take the church into the Dark Ages. Then Reformers would start to bring the church back to the Scriptural foundation of Paul.

Micah 5:5   And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.

Eight principal men were the eight men who wrote the New Testament.

The seven shepherds were the seven church-age messengers who inspired their church age to get back closer to Scripture.

 

1 Peter 2:5   Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

There are three basic jobs to be done when building with stone.

  1. First, cut the stone out of the mountain. That is the work of the evangelist. The "saved" stone is rough and ready but it has started.
  2. Secondly, the stone must be cut and smoothed, and shaped. That is the job of the pastor. Pastoral care. Helping the new convert to cope with life’s problems and teaching them the basics of Christian living so that they can believe in God and live a better and holier life. This is the milk of the Gospel. They must be encouraged to believe in the Bible and seek God until they are baptized with the Holy Ghost,
  3. Thirdly, the shaped block must then find its place in the building of God’s spiritual Temple so that they can grasp deep teachings and handle the meat of the Gospel. Placing a person in the Plan of God is a ministry of a teacher.

 

So let us look at the five ministries.

There are only three ministries when it comes to establishing the truth of Bible doctrine.

1 Corinthians 12:28   And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

This is the order that establishes sound doctrine. Go outside this order and you will mess up.

First, the apostles wrote the New Testament and established the doctrine of the Gospel of Grace.  No one can change the New Testament in any way.

Then secondly, there is another foundation for truth. The prophets refer to the Old Testament who established the outline and shadow that the New Testament had to fit into.

In addition, there were New Testament prophets who prophesied of many future events, like the Revelation of the apostle and prophet John.

But there is one special prophetic ministry that must come in the seventh or last church age that has to reveal the hidden mystery of Scripture by revealing six of the seven Seals so that we can finally unravel the mysteries that have been sealed up inside the Bible. The seventh Seal which refers to the Coming of the Lord obviously remains a mystery. No one knows when He is Coming.

Revelation 10:7   But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

But this ministry comes second because the end-time prophet cannot come with new doctrines, he has to restore the seventh church age back to what the apostolic fathers believed in the first church age.

Revelation 22:9   Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren

the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book:

worship God.

Notice how this great prophet who had revealed so much to John was careful to keep all the sayings that are written in the Bible. John was both a prophet and an apostle. But none of the new revelation that he gave contradicted anything that was already in the Bible.

Malachi 4:5   Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

:6     And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children,

and the heart of the children to their fathers,

lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

John the Baptist turned the Jewish fathers back to their children, Jesus and the apostles. Then the disciples grew to become the apostolic fathers of the first church. We are the little children at the end time who have to turn back to the beliefs of the original apostolic fathers.

"Prophets" (plural) is a reference to the prophets like Moses who wrote the Old Testament.

Mark 1:2   As it is written in the prophets,

Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

Matthew 22:37   Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

:38     This is the first and great commandment.

:39     And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

:40     On these two commandments hang all

the law and the prophets.

Matthew 26:56    But all this was done,

that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.

Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.

 

There are also local prophets who have a gift of prophecy to encourage the local church of their day.

But these local prophets have no say over doctrine. Only the original apostles can determine that.

Acts 11:27   And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.

:28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.

Acts 13:1    Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

Acts 15:32   And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them.

False teachers tell you what you want to hear

The third step is teachers.

They have a special ministry that has to unite the Old and the New Testaments. They have to establish a doctrine by running it through the Bible as they connect the different verses together. Tracking down a doctrine through the Bible that starts in Genesis and ends in Revelation is a specialized skill.

It takes a lot of hard work. The Bible is a thick Book that takes a lifetime of serious study. And then some.

People prefer to swap that effort for the much easier reading of human quotes and man-made opinions.

2 Timothy 4:3   For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall

they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

:4     And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

"Having itching ears" means they tell the people what they want to hear.

Pastors make up their own unscriptural doctrines that just pick and choose a few Scriptures. They cannot follow these beliefs through the Bible, and they chase out any teacher who can contradict them from Scripture.

False teachers become popular by subjecting themselves to the wrong beliefs of the pastors, telling people what they want to hear.

JEREMIAH 5:31   The prophets prophesy falsely,

and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so:

and what will ye do in the end thereof?

Obeying a man and following a man is just so much easier. People love to be in that much easier and lazier system.

Hebrews 5:12   For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

If you know very little about the Bible then you have not listened to a proper Bible teacher.

People become popular by repeating the quotes of the church leader.

There is so little emphasis on the Bible that Christians struggle to even prove the most basic doctrines from the Bible. Bible-illiteracy is a huge problem in churches.

Matthew 15:9   But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

True teaching is only based on Scriptures

Teaching can only occur when Bible verses are joined together. Anything else is just human opinion which is simply a waste of time, even f it sounds clever.

Matthew 28:19   Go ye therefore, and

teach all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

:20     Teaching them to observe all things

whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Jesus uses the word "teach" and in the next verse says "teaching".

This repetition is a serious emphasis on teaching, which shows how easy it is to get doctrine messed up.

All Scripture must be considered. No Scripture can be left out just because it does not fit into your theory.

No wonder there are 45000 different kinds of churches and over 100 versions of the Bible. It is so easy to go wrong.

True teaching makes the comfortable uncomfortable.

Teaching the truth is not designed to make the teacher popular.

Teaching is mentioned before baptism because it is more important. If you teach them wrong, they get baptized wrong and knocked out of the Bride, and become part of the saved foolish virgins right from the start.

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are titles. None of them are a Name.

So what is the Name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost?

If God is a Trinity of three Persons, then He has no Name.

You cannot have one name for three People.

Acts 2:38   Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

So the Name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is Jesus Christ.

This revelation requires the knowledge of the Godhead.

So sound teaching underpins each step that we take towards the Lord.

63 0724  GOD DOESN'T CALL MAN TO JUDGMENT WITHOUT FIRST WARNING HIM

The teacher is a special man. He sits back under the anointing of the Spirit and is able to take the Words and put them together by the Holy Spirit, that,

the pastor or evangelist either one could not compare with him.

The following list is the usual way that Christians are established in the faith.

Ephesians 4:11   And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

Salvation is first established in the New Testament that the apostles wrote. The prophets refer to the writings of the Old Testament. The prophecies of the Old Testament establish Jesus as the Messiah. Evangelists then start the process by focusing on the conviction for sinfulness which creates a desire for repentance and forgiveness.

Pastors apply pastoral care as they take the new converts through the milk of the Gospel to establish their faith in Scripture so that the person can proceed through holiness to the Holy Spirit baptism.

Then teachers can place the person into the big Plan of God for their age.

Bible teachers, who only preach from Scripture, are entrusted to reveal the deep mysteries of Scripture. This alone offers guidance for each individual to understand the Bible better.

The most difficult problem that each person has to solve is to find their individual place in the Plan of God. People rush in to find safety by conforming to the group-experience of a church.

But Jesus stands outside the church, so church-goers do not develop a deeper personal experience with the Lord.

They swap that for the mirage of finding safety in a church-experience, agreeing with the errors of the pastor.

REVELATION 3:14   And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write;

REVELATION 3:20   Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice,

"Any man".    God has given up on the church as a whole. He is only appealing to individuals.

The pointlessness of a church-experience with a follow-my-leader attitude based on a pastor is what is keeping all the wise and foolish virgins complacently asleep. Then, when the wake-up call comes, it tells everyone to go out. So, in the end, everyone will get out of their favourite church anyway.

False doctrine is what keeps us asleep.

We sleep in darkness, but the truth is light.
MATTHEW 25:5   While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

:6   And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

Pastors do not have a teaching ministry. Pastoral care is based on helping people overcome their personal problems and difficulties as well as family and work problems.

1 Corinthians 12:28   And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

It is essential to establish the revealed truth of the Bible accurately, which is a teacher's ministry. When God set some in the church, He never mentioned pastors. Thus pastors have no Scriptural claim to be the head of a church.

Having these other ministries operating when the church is subject to wrong teaching is rather pointless, as the people will not be ready for the Coming of the Lord while they spend their time in error.

 

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” — 1 Corinthians 16:23