SATURDAY June 12, 2021

Growing in the Faith

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...
Ephesians 4:11-13

In the early church, prophets were commonly associated with making futuristic predictions. However, in the New Testament, a prophet was one who made a proclamation as they taught God’s Word. The only person who I would consider to be close to a prophet would be Dr. Billy Graham, because he has preached the Gospel all over the world. When a person uses the gift of prophecy in teaching, it does not necessarily mean something about the future is revealed. Its purpose is for edification, encouragement and consolation.

Prophecy is nothing if used without God’s love. It is of no value: ...though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge ... but have not love, I am nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2). In fact, all the gifts of the Holy Spirit are to be operated in love. A person with the gift of prophecy usually occupies a position of leadership in the ministry, along with apostles and teachers, as this gift is used when teaching the Word of God. There are charismatic ministries that believe in prophets today. They believe they speak futuristic things––be careful of deception.

An evangelist is defined as one who proclaims the Good News. An evangelist devotes himself entirely to preaching the Gospel message of salvation. Preaching is only for the non-believer. Billy Graham was a great evangelist. He would give a simple message of salvation and hope, and then an invitation was given so people could accept Christ.

The gift of pastor/teacher is used for teaching. Once a person becomes saved, they come into the church, and the pastor/teacher helps them to progress in Christ. A pastor feeds the congregation with the Word of God and helps people understand doctrinal terms and theologies found in the Bible; otherwise, how in the world will people in the body of Christ grow?

...grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
~2 Peter 3:18~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!