Implementing the Five-Fold Ministry: Preferring One Another

“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them…”
(Romans 12:3-6)

There is no way the five-fold ministry can function in a church body without the foundational principle of preferring one another.

All of the passages in Scripture concerning the gifts of the Spirit and the five-fold ministry are written in the context of the body functioning together as a whole and each person doing their part. It is absolutely essential for any kind of unity and mutual love to exist in a body.

The primary reason church leadership structure collapses is because of everyone seeking their own. People think more highly of themselves than they should for three primary reasons:

1.)    They have not seen God rightly or experienced His presence, so they do not realize how small and insignificant they are compared to Him.

2.)    They do not see other people the way God sees them, so they do not realize His overwhelming love and the remarkable value of that other person.

3.)    They do not see themselves rightly, and base their value on the works of the flesh rather than on the value that God has given them. This not only leads to pride, but also to insecurity and self-condemnation. This causes the drive to seek the praise of man.

This must be combatted in several ways: One, each person must seek to love God with their whole heart and seek His glory only. Secondly, they must seek to love each other as they love themselves. Also, they must be healed and able to receive the love of God so they can actually love God, love themselves, and love others.

It is necessary for every person in a body to have the humility to lift someone else above their own needs. Because of human nature, all of this talk of the five-fold ministry sounds good until you try to put it into practice. However, there are some practical ways that people can grow together in love and service as a body.

 

One of the most practical ways is to stir up prayer among a group of people. If people pray together, it becomes difficult to hold a grudge, because God will not answer prayers in the context of bitterness, and He will make each person so miserable until they repent. Also, when you pray for people you begin to love them the way that God loves them and can look past their faults and failures. There is a reason why Jesus told us to bless our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.

 

Another practical way to grow in preferring one another is to activate the gift of prophecy among believers. Prophecy is meant for edification, exhortation, and comfort. When you prophesy over someone, you feel God’s heart for them and learn to see them the way God sees them, rather than seeing them in the natural. God always calls forth the true identity of that person according to the spirit rather than how they are behaving in the flesh. If we begin to call people out according to the spirit instead of according to the flesh, then we will call them into the identity God has created for them, and they will become healed and secure in His love.

Satan’s main attacks against the body of Christ are division, isolation, and accusation. Prophecy is one of the best antidotes to thwart the enemies plans and bring love and unity among a group of believers. Both prayer and prophecy go hand-in-hand to change the heart and conform the mind to God’s purposes, so that we grow in preferring one another over ourselves.

Releasing a Prophetic Voice: Outpouring unto Prophetic Messengers

And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy. (Acts 2:17-18)

In Acts 2, not only were apostolic messengers released in the time of the book of Acts, but also the promise of messengers to be released in a day when the fullness of Joel’s prophecy would be fulfilled—the Day of the Lord’s Return.

The Lord promised that He would pour out His Spirit and release dreams and visions on His menservants and maidservants, and they would prophesy.

God wants messengers who do not merely prophesy from knowledge in their mind, but He wants those who experience God in the place of encounter and prophesy from that place.

God can release a measure of encounter to His people at any time, but He has promised that there will be an outpouring in the last days like has never been seen and His people will prophesy.

Although this prophecy was partially fulfilled in both the book of Joel and the book of Acts, the fullness of it will not come until the last part of the verses happen—the moon turning to blood, vapors of smoke, fire, etc…The ultimate fulfillment of this verse will happen in the Day of the Lord’s return.

The Lord grants the realm of encounter to steady our hearts in the mundane and bring revelation on portions of the Word that have never come alive to us. Suddenly, a passage of scripture which never meant much to us, becomes a personal Word of the Lord that is alive and active in our hearts and message.

God grants dreams and visions so that the Word comes alive and is active for His messengers. Also, encounters are released so that there is a personal “word of the Lord” to cling to in times of hardship and difficulty.

Even though the Lord sends waves of His glory at different times, He will send an ultimate wave of glory in a last-days revival that will release prophetic messengers like the world has never seen.

They will prophesy from a place of encounter with God that is deep in their inner man and shut up like a fire. Even in the midst of judgment, they will have boldness and clarity (Acts 2, I John 4:17). Out of response to their prophetic message, all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Five-Fold Ministry: Teaching Role & the Gift of Discernment

And He 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, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting… (Ephesians 4:11-14)

Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man can come to the Father except through me” (Jn. 14:6). One of the names of Jesus is “the Truth.” Many times, the Holy Spirit is called “the spirit of Truth” (Jn. 14:26).

In our post-modern society, the idea of relativism has so permeated every area of our culture that it has replaced the idea of absolute truth. It has even crept into the church. The idea that there is more than one way to God has become a dominating premise in the whole of society.

The truth of the Gospel is absolutely opposed to any other way to God except through Jesus Christ. However, even in the early church, men were being persuaded to the right or left because of false doctrines that were infiltrating the church (Gal. 1, II Cor. 11:4).

Paul said in Ephesians 4:11-16 that the role of pastors, prophets, apostles, teachers, and evangelists was for equipping the saints into the work of ministry AND for bringing them into the fullness of the knowledge of Christ. The reason was so that they would not be tossed around by every whim of false doctrine.

There is a huge lack in the body of Christ of having discernment. Many people cannot discern truth from lies, and they cannot distinguish between soul and spirit. This is because they do not know the Word of God.

Although the Lord has raised up all those in the five-fold ministry to bring the Church into the fullness of Christ. I believe one of the main roles of the teacher is to teach the true, accurate Word of God to believers and to equip them with discernment.

Many times, the apostles exhorted the church to test all things and to hold fast to true doctrine (I Thess. 5: 21, I John 4: 1-6). The role of the teacher in the body of Christ is to systematically teach true doctrine to the church and to equip the body to search out the knowledge of God for themselves.

I believe that one of the spiritual gifts of a teacher is discerning of spirits, because they need to be able to see the lies infiltrating the body of Christ and correctly teach the Truth.

One of the names of Jesus is “The Truth” and when we look at Him, we will be able to discern all things that are false. God is restoring the Five-Fold Ministry back to the Church to train the saints in the truth of His Word, bringing them into the fullness of the knowledge of Christ, so that they will not be tossed about by every whim of false doctrine.

Untapped Tool of the Apostolic: Supernatural Language Ability

Even though an apostolic person or a missionary can be sent anywhere, many times, they are sent to different nations, languages, tribes, and tongues. Often, an apostolic person will travel all over the world.

Something the Lord has been teaching me is that the language barrier between peoples is a result of sin. When the people in ancient days built the tower of Babel, they were in rebellion together in unity against God, so the Lord confused their languages and scattered them to keep them from uniting together against Him (Gen. 11:1-10).

From that time on, there has been racial division and language barriers that resulting from man’s unified rebellion against God.

However, when the Lord poured out His Spirit in Acts 2, He brought together the nationalities and languages of the earth with the gift of tongues. As the apostles spilled out of the upper room prophesying, there were many different nationalities gathered together and each heard them prophesy in their own language.

Some people say that those listening understood the disciples as if they were speaking in their own language, and others say the disciples were actually speaking the languages through the utterance of the Holy Spirit. I think it could have been both.

When the Bible mentions the gifts of the Spirit, it mentions both “diversities of tongues” and the “gift of interpretation.” There are many ways that these gifts can play out, but I think that one way is an actual gift of speaking a foreign language that you only know by the Holy Spirit (diversities of tongues), and another way is understanding what a tongue is saying as though someone is speaking your own language (gift of interpretation).

I believe that there is a gift of tongues that is available for every believer to edify their own spirit (I Cor. 14:4), but that there is also a gift of diversities of tongues and a gift of interpretation that can be operated in at various times like the other spiritual gifts listed in I Corinthians 12. These gifts of diversities of tongues and of interpretation may not always be actual foreign languages, but they may be a prophetic utterance in tongues that can be interpreted for the edification of the body.

Also, praying in tongues unifies the body of Christ in any language or people group to pray together in unity by the Spirit. Even today, if you go to any nation in the world, believers can pray in unity when they pray in tongues, because each one speaks the mysteries of God (I Cor. 14:2). God is the one leading the prayers of the people through one unified language that is not in rebellion against God, but is in absolute unity with His will and purpose.

I also believe that the Lord can give a gift of learning and understanding languages for the mere fact that we are no longer under the curse of sin from the Tower of Babel, but we are now under the blood of the New Covenant and under the grace of the unified language given at Pentecost.

It is also my opinion that speaking in tongues often aids language comprehension, interpretation, and communication. I have also heard of scientific studies proving that speaking in tongues uses a specific part of your brain that is not used for any other purpose.

Frequently, I try to understand a language that I have never studied or spoken, and many times, I can understand the general topic of conversation just by dialoguing with the Holy Spirit. Once, I correctly interpreted Indonesian into English by the Spirit, and also dreamed in French and German even though I have never studied any of those languages. I also have some level of fluency in four other languages which I have studied, plus the ability to understand languages that are in similar language groups to those four original languages.

I am not saying this to boast; however, I am saying this, because I truly believe it is available for those who ask for it, but that not many people have ever thought about it. Some may say that I have a natural language ability and that may be true, but I also believe that there is a supernatural gift that is available for those who will lay hold of it. It is biblical. I believe also that many who are called to other nations get overwhelmed and feel disqualified with language learning, but I believe that we can move into the realm of faith like what happened in the book of Acts and the reversal of the curse through the New Covenant.

I have heard of many people who have spoken a foreign language by the power of the Holy Spirit in one instance or interpreted in another. Also, I have heard of those who have been downloaded with an entire language—I am still asking for this one!

I also believe that this is an untapped gift for the use of the apostolic that can be claimed for the mere fact that God has removed the curse of the sin of Babel by the power of the Blood of Jesus. We can now walk in the authority of the power of the Holy Spirit who knows every language on the earth. He can equip us with the ability to communicate cross-culturally and across the barriers of language if we will ask Him.

God’s will is for every nation, language, tribe, and tongue to come into the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Granting a supernatural ability to overcome the language barrier is nothing for Him.

Role of the Apostolic: Identifying Gift Packages in Body of Christ

Now that we have looked at the gift packages of the five-fold ministry, we can now look at the gift packages in the body of Christ. Not everyone is called into ministry and not everyone is called to the five-fold offices. However, every believer should be useful to God in bringing the kingdom of heaven into daily life in the world. Every believer can be equipped to edify and grow the body of Christ.

Part of the problem in the church today is that people show up looking for what they can get rather than what they can give. We need those who will call out the gifts and callings in believers to bring them into the fullness of the knowledge of God themselves, but also call them into the fullness of their inheritance in giving to the Body of Christ.

Many times in a church body, we may see someone who we think of as a revivalist. This type of person is typically anointed in deliverance. They move in the power of the Holy Spirit on a regular basis. We would typically see them as someone who baptizes in fire. Sometimes, I think this type of person may be an evangelist, but I think even more than that, this type of person would fall into the category of “worker of miracles” (I Cor. 12:10, 28). I think someone anointed in this area would have the gifts of miracles, discerning of spirits, and possibly varieties of tongues and/or interpretation of tongues.

Someone who is anointed in compassion ministry would possibly have: gifts of healings, mercy, and helps. This type of person would be a nurse or work in the healing ministry. They would also be the ones to have meal-ministries for those in hospitals or nursing homes.

Someone anointed in administration would typically have the gifts of administration and giving. They may also have the gifts of leading and exhorting, but not necessarily. They may also have a gift of prophecy that helps them administrate. Typically, a true administrator would have the gift of giving, because finances would be important to them, and they would be good with money. An administrator will be good at managing and carrying out the ideas of an apostolic visionary in a long-term way, but they will not always necessarily be good at taking a primary leadership role. Likewise, an apostolic visionary may have gifts of administration in order to begin a work, but they will not be good at carrying it out administratively in a long-term way.

There will also be people in the church body who have pastoral, teaching, evangelistic, prophetic, and apostolic leanings, but they will never carry-out the offices and are not called into full-time ministry. However, the leadership of the church can pull these people into functioning in the body and ministering to the lost even in the midst of their normal daily lives.

Gift Packages of the Five-Fold Ministry Callings

Although there is no hard-and-fast rule to this, there are certain gifts that are helpful to identify on a person to know the calling on their life or ways that God may use them in edifying the body and bringing in the lost. Many times, there will be approximately three or so gifts that a particular person finds themselves using more than others.

An apostolic person will typically operate in the gifts of leadership, faith, & administration to some level. Also, they will typically be gifted in exhortation. An apostolic person is usually a visionary, so many times, administration is not their highest gifting, but they can do it do some extent—and more than do it, they can see what needs to be done and call someone else into doing it. Many times, an apostolic person will also have a leaning towards another aspect of the five-fold ministry such as the prophetic or the evangelist. Many times, that leaning will bring in other gifts that go along with their primary role.

Someone whose primary function is in the prophetic will have a combination of all of the revelation gifts: words of wisdom, words of knowledge, and the gift of prophecy. They will be able to see what is happening and call it forth, but they always need to partner will the apostolic, the teacher, and the pastor to be able to implement what they are seeing. Many times, God will use them to identify someone with an apostolic call and thrust that person into beginning the work. Then, after the work begins, they will help call the church back to the vision and keep them in focus as time goes on.

An evangelistic person will typically have the gift of miracles, faith, and words of knowledge. God uses them to bring in the lost and activate believers in evangelism. Therefore, they will often operate in words of knowledge for healing, miracles, and specifics about an unbeliever, so that person is moved to believe in Jesus. They also typically operate in a gift of faith and divine appointments that puts them in the right place at the right time to lead someone to the Lord.

Typically, a pastoral person will be gifted in helps/ministry, teaching, and mercy. Many times, they are also gifted in giving as well. These are your disciplers. They are the ones who care about the day-to-day needs of the people. It is helpful to pair these people with evangelists, so that they disciple the people that the evangelist is saving. Even though all of the ministry roles should serve like Jesus did, the pastoral person is a servant at heart and highly merciful and full of compassion. They get into the daily lives of people and help them move forward in knowing Jesus.

Finally, the teacher will be gifted in teaching, ministry, and discerning of spirits. Many times, they will also be gifted in exhortation as well. The reason why a teacher would be gifted in discerning of spirits is that the job of the teacher is to give correct doctrine and correct false doctrine. It takes a high-level of discernment to speak right doctrine in a timely fashion to combat false doctrines of demons that infiltrate the church. Typically, a teacher helps to stabilize the prophetic person in keeping them in right doctrine and also providing discernment. Contrary to common opinion, a prophetic person may be high in the prophetic, but they usually do not have much discernment. Pairing a prophet with a teacher helps brings balance to both roles.

Role of the Apostolic: Identifying Spiritual Gifts

Part of the role of the Apostolic is to call out the giftings in other people and set them in roles and teams according to their giftings. For this reason, an apostolic person must know the different giftings and be able to identify them on a person. It is also helpful to know how they might be packaged in a certain individual to carry out a specific function.

Three of the primary passages concerning the spiritual gifts are as follows: I Corinthians 12:3-8, I Corinthians 12:27-31, and Romans 12:3-8. The primary passages describing the Five-Fold ministry are Ephesians 4:11-16 and I Corinthians 12:27-31.

From these three passages on the spiritual gifts, there are twenty-one gifts listed and some of them overlap. Eliminating the repeating ones, there are seventeen remaining from these passages: words of wisdom, words of knowledge, gift of faith, gifts of healings, gift of prophecy, working of miracles, discerning of spirits, different kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues, helps (or serving), administrations, ministry, teaching, exhorting, giving, leading, and mercy. (Some may combine helps & ministry, but I will leave it separate for now).

Not every person has all of the gifts. I believe every person can operate in all of the gifts at different times because every believer has the Holy Spirit living inside of them, so at any point, God can use any believer to operate in one of these gifts.

However, God designed the body of Christ to function as a body with different parts. Each person has their own part to play, so God will grant them certain gifts that they continually operate in more than the other gifts. Many times, God will package these gifts in a person to fulfill a certain role in the body of Christ.

We will take the next few blogs to discuss how these gifts may be packaged to carry out different roles.

Five-Fold Ministry: Importance of Lifestyle

Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. (I Corinthians 9:26-27)

Before His return, the Lord is going to bring the Body of Christ into the fullness of the five-fold ministry and the fullness of the gifts of the Spirit. However, God does not only want the Body of Christ to operate in the fullness of the nine gifts of the Spirit (from I Cor. 12:8-10), but He also wants the body to operate in the nine fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22).

The nine fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. These are fruits in our character that come from abiding in the spirit and becoming transformed into the image of God. These are not called “fruits of our own will-power”—as though we can muster them up as a form of discipline. These are “fruits of the Holy Spirit.” We can only develop this character of godliness through relationship with the Holy Spirit and abiding in the Spirit.

The nine gifts of the Spirit are what are sometimes referred to as the “power gifts.” These gifts listed in I Corinthians 12 are as follows: words of wisdom, words of knowledge, faith, healings, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, different kinds of tongues, and interpretation of tongues. These gifts are the outflow of our life of walking in the spirit.

The nine fruits of the Spirit are what is evident in the character of someone who is living a life in the Spirit. They are a result of our vertical relationship with God (love God with all your heart). The nine gifts of the Spirit are the outflow of that relationship that spills over to edify the people around us (love your neighbor as yourself).

Unfortunately, someone who moves in the gifts does not mean that they have godly character. On the other hand, someone who spends too much time focusing on their own walk with God and does not care about others means that something is not right there as well.

It seems, however, that finding those who value righteousness and godly character is more difficult than finding those who value the gifts. We must be careful not to place more emphasis on the gifts than on the character.

As ministers, we must seek to grow both the gifts and the character in an equal fashion. Otherwise, we will find that even though we preach the truth to others, we fail to live by it, and we become disqualified ourselves.