And He gave some to be apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
Truth to Learn
God has provided gifted men to build and protect the church.
Behind the Words
“Apostles” is a transliteration of the Greek word apostolos, which is made up of apo, meaning “from” or “away from” and a form of the verb stellō, meaning “to set fast” or “to withdraw from;” in other words, “to send forth.” Apostellō means “to send forth on a specific mission.”
“Prophets” is transliterated from prophētēs, which is made up of pro, meaning “before, in place or time” and a form of phēmi, meaning “to tell.” Prophētēs refers to a person who is divinely gifted to proclaim God’s message, either before (in front of) people or before it takes place.
“Evangelists” is transliterated from euangelistēs, which is made up of eu, meaning “good” or “well” and a form of the verb angellō, meaning “to proclaim” or “to tell.” Euangelistē means “to proclaim the good news.”
The word “pastors” is translated from poimēn, which refers to “the person who guards and cares for a flock” or “a shepherd.”
The word “teachers” is translated from didaskalos, which refers to “one who teaches,” that is, “a teacher” or “an instructor.”
Meaning Explained
In verses seven and eight of this chapter, Paul told us that we were given gifts according to the measure that Christ determined. Like a conquering king, when Jesus Christ rose from the grave He conquered death and the one who previously had the power over death (Satan). As He rose from the dead, He “led captivity captive.” That is, Christ took Paradise and those in it out of Hades and raised them up to (but not into) the third heaven (see 2Corinthians 12:2-4). At that time, according to Paul, He gave spiritual gifts to men.
These spiritual gifts are described in at least four places in the New Testament; here, 1Corinthians 12:10, 1Corinthians 12:28, and Romans 12:6-8. In today’s verse Paul talks only about the gifts, and gifted men, responsible for the foundation and major construction of the church (the temple of God). The grammatical construction of this verse breaks this group of gifts into four categories; 1) apostles, 2) prophets, 3) evangelists, and 4) pastor / teachers.
Apostles are those who were sent out personally by Jesus Christ as witnesses of His ministry and His ascension (see Acts 1:15-22). Since there are no men alive today who have personally seen Christ, there are no apostles alive today. Prophets are specially gifted men who proclaim the Word of God either before events happen (Acts 11:28) or before others physically (Ephesians 3:5), and evangelists are those who are specially gifted to proclaim the Good News of salvation. The final group of specially gifted men described here are those who are pastors and teachers. From the Greek text it is evident that these men are gifted as both shepherds over God’s flock and as teachers of God’s flock.
Application
When Christ ascended from the dead, He did not leave us alone. Not only did he send His Spirit to indwell his church and empower us for His service, He also provided specially gifted men to build and watch over His body. We should all thank God for the gifted men He has provided for the church.
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2015 Will Krause. All rights reserved