Can this verse really be for us today? Aren’t apostles and prophets gone now that we have God’s word The Bible? Not only is this verse for us today, it is essential for us today if we want Christianity to flourish and spread. It is also crucial for times of persecution of the Church. I believe we will see a time when the Church, even here in the United States, will be persecuted even unto death. When this happens, the Church will go underground and the ministries of Ephesians 4:11 will need to be manifested or Christianity will die out.
If I am right about the persecution of the Church, it means Christians will gather together in small groups at homes, and not in the large services we have now. Small groups where everyone needs to serve Christ using the gifts which Christ has bestowed upon them.
If I am wrong, then we still need every Christian to use their God given gifts in order to expand Christianity to the world and help younger Christians to grow. No matter what the future holds, we need to see growth in the church and Ephesians 4:11 is a key to that growth.
We will take a look at each of the five ministries mentioned in the text and see how they are vital for today. Too often we have a conception of what each of these offices entails, but are our views truly Biblical?
Apostle
Prophet
Evangelist
Pastor
Teachers
This post is based upon the book "Viral Jesus" by Ross Rohde
Photo Credit: Bible Study Pictures 001 by SamH one
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