KEY SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 4:8,11 ” 8‘ Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 11‘ And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;”

In 1st Corinthians 12, we learnt about the nine supernatural gifts of the Holy Ghost. We see in our key scripture another kind of gift. This time, it is ministerial gifts or ministerial offices.

A ministerial gift is a man or woman who is divinely endowed with the ability to function as an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist, a pastor, or a teacher to build the church of God. Each office has the unique supernatural gifts that go with it.

The Bible says such men are gifts to the body of Christ, that is, the church. We would consider the office of an apostle in detail. The Bible states clearly the purpose of these ministerial gifts:
Eph 4:12 KJV For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

An apostle ranks first in the order of authority and impact of operation among the ministerial offices. The word apostle means one sent with full power of attorney to act on behalf of another. He is sent to act on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Ghost. An apostle is not called by man or made by man. No one also makes himself or herself an apostle. It is purely divinely appointed Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)He is sent to do work for the Lord and therefore must be fully submitted and subjected to the Lord Jesus. An apostle normally functions in all of the nine supernatural gifts of the Spirit

Some people also claim there are no apostles in our times, and rather, it ended with the apostles in the bible. God still raises apostles in our days. The apostle is different from the other four offices because he has the ability to function fully in any of the other offices. This is why the apostle is ranked first in the ministerial offices and not the prophet. Any person, whether a man or woman with an apostolic calling, has the ability, the authority, and the anointing to raise a church without any outside help. He could also stay there to establish a school and send them forth to go and play various roles in the body of Christ. He can also set up a governing board for the church. Titus 1:5 “For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee”:

Today, the title apostle has become common with one not having the gifts and divine authority that go with it. 2 Corinthians 12:12 ” Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds”.

I pray the church of God would be circumspect in the way we go about giving these titles or appointing ourselves to such offices. All things must be done well to gain the right impact in the body of Christ.

PRAYER

I pray that in these last days, the Spirit of God would raise more men and women with an apostolic grace to speed up the end-time work of the church of God, in Jesus’ name I have prayed.

FURTHER STUDIES

Acts 4:33 ” And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all”.

Acts 9:27. “But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus”.