That apostles and prophets are being restored to the Church, and are given the most authoritative offices in the Church and therefore are held more accountable by the Lord, is not in any way to denigrate the offices of evangelist and pastor/teacher. These offices are just as important to the working out of God's will on earth as are apostles and prophets. These offices do need a drastic overhaul, however. They need to be disenfranchised from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and be re-engrafted back into the Tree of Life. Remember, the choice for the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was Adam choosing to follow his own mind, deciding for himself what course of action to take instead of waiting for and leaning on the Spirit's guidance (Watchman Nee in The Spiritual Man, Volume 1). The Tree of Life was available to our forebears, but Satan made controlling one's own destiny look so inviting, that the Tree of Life-- total dependance upon the Spirit of God-- seemed by comparison, so un-adventurous, so ignoble." What! Let God make all the decisions? Why do you suppose He gave you a brain? He wants you to explore the options available to you" was the subtle implication in the deceiver's temptation, "make something of yourself-- get 'higher education'. It's irresponsibility and laziness to assume that God wants to lead you all the time. Take control of your own destiny, eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and you will be able to lean upon your own understanding" (cp. Proverbs 3:5).

We have carried this 'knowledge' theme over into every aspect of Christian life, and yet cannot see how debilitated we as God's people have become by it. We mouth one thing, but actually do another. We quote Phil. 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus... and yet cut back on tithing in order to keep our insurance premiums and health benefits up to date lest we be caught unprepared by old age, all the while sputtering and protesting that God doesn't want us to be foolish. When He calls us to go to the mission field and just trust Him to supply, we instead, seeing no viable means of support, stay at home, keeping our comforts and lifestyle intact. We got this way from eating the fruit of the wrong tree.

I say this only in regard to the ministry. If one is called to be a dentist, he/she should obtain a dentist's education. Likewise for lawyers, doctors, teachers, engineers, architects, etc. Such professions are of the world, to live in the world, and therefore need worldly schooling. The Church is not of the world, however, and the ministry is not to be a worldly profession! Therefore the training of the leadership of the Church must not come from worldly (parachurch) sources. Even if the teachers are committed Christians, they are compromising the nature of the Church and reducing it to worldly standards by following the world's methods of instruction. The Lord has revealed how He wants His leadership trained-- discipleship under apostles and prophets. That is the meaning of the Church being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Eph.2:20).

Jesus restored our access to the right Tree-- being Himself that Tree of Life. He is the vine (trunk) and we are the branches (Jn. 15:5). As He lived exclusively by the Spirit's leading, so too, must we. Did Jesus depend upon worldly wisdom to confront and expose the false beliefs and practices of the Pharisees? Did He rely on His own mentality to avoid the clever snares His enemies laid for Him? Or was everything He said and did under the direct prompting of the Holy Spirit? The answer should be obvious even to casual readers of the Gospels. The fact that He gave no teachings nor did any miracles until after He was baptized by the Holy Spirit reveals God's plan and order for ministry. This is confirmed when He commands His disciples to wait before setting out on their missions until the promise of the Father comes upon them-- the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5). Jesus was not educated beyond a normal, Hebrew Synagogue education, as were all boys in Palestine of that time. Neither were the men He chose as His apostles. They were basically educated just enough to conduct business and read Torah. It was enough for Jesus to be led by the Spirit exclusively, and likewise it was enough for him that His disciples were going to be similarly baptized and, subsequently, led in the same way. No man-made school, not even of Jewish origin, could prepare Jesus for His ministry. The same goes for all His disciples of the Church age. The Holy Spirit alone is the sap flowing in the trunk (Jesus) that flows into the branches (us); not a man-made education, not a man-made education plus the Holy Spirit. The purpose of the Church is to glorify God, and He cannot be glorified through any combination of man-made vehicles, but only by what God's Spirit accomplishes through vessels that have quit trying to mix the natural with the spiritual. Ever since the Garden of Eden, all that man touches and controls is tainted by the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. That tree was forbidden then, and it is forbidden now. The sap of that tree (knowledge) runs in our veins though, and leads us into deception and/or legalism in a vain effort to justify itself and us before a holy God. But God is not fooled by our posturing, even if we are. He requires one thing-- that which will give all glory to Him. He will not give or share His glory with another (Isa. 42:8). If a man can be educated to accomplish God's will, where is God's glory? What can a redeemed man transmit intellectually that an unredeemed man cannot? If education is merely a matter of presenting facts in an orderly fashion, who cannot educate another in supposedly spiritual things? But accomplishing the will of God is quite another matter. It takes the Holy Spirit to transform a son of Adam into a son of God. Mere transmission of intellectual information is useless in true regeneration, in fact, it often becomes a hindrance.

Too many think they are converted spiritually when they are only persuaded intellectually. This results in an immunization to truth, and thereby, new life as well. Far too many assume they are Born-Again Christians because they have been saved or taught intellectually by 'Christian ministries', when in fact no spiritual communication ever took place. Such ones are steadfast in their belief that they are saved, even though there is no evidence of spiritual life in them. Loved ones who have longed for family members to 'get saved' grasp at straws that so-and-so is saved because he heard the gospel and gave mental assent and prayed 'the sinner's prayer', despite a complete absence of relationship to Jesus Christ in the life. They have become immunized by receiving a weak, inactive strain of educational religion calling itself Christianity, and are, therefore, almost incapable of receiving the real truth. This is the consequence of attempting to mix man-made education with the power of the Holy Spirit. Every and any parachurch organization is of man, not God, and He will not share His glory with them.

God is glorified when His Spirit takes what the world considers to be the base, the despised, the off-scouring (dare we include the uneducated?) and builds His kingdom in the hearts of transformed lives. Why are so many churches barely subsisting, just squeaking out a few faltering converts year after year? It is considered unthinkable to challenge the conventional way of doing things, but shouldn't we consider the power the early Church had at its disposal, and the results they yielded to the Lord with illiterate fisherman, as opposed to our pompous, man-educated methods and subsequent lack of results?

Just as we need to recognize the valid ministry of apostles and prophets again, we need to honestly face the truth about our requirements for evangelists and pastors in the light of the Spirit versus man-made education.

Official evangelists in parachurch denominations are summoned to visit 'dead or dying' churches and revive them with powerful, impressive oratory. Not that many 'churches' don't need revival, but is this the scriptural way to fulfill the office of evangelist?

We see in Acts 8 the account of Philip who went to Samaria and preached to those who needed to hear the gospel for the first time. Multitudes were convicted because of the power of the Spirit, and became converted and baptized. Then Philip was sent to a barren road where he encountered the Treasurer of the Ethiopian court. From a dynamic revival, Philip was obedient to leave and proclaim the Gospel to just one person in an obscure place. It was not Philip's job to establish a church in Samaria, that was for the apostles Peter and John. Philip's job was finished in Samaria with the proclamation of the Gospel, and he was moved on to his next appointment. How many evangelists today take it upon themselves to build churches and remain to pastor them, or to organize Bible studies and remain to teach them, when their real calling, the proclamation of the Gospel is ignored? Thus many evangelists squander their own calling by not utilizing the ministry of apostles to come in after them to establish churches and raise up pastor/teachers to take over the edification of new believers. This overworks the evangelist who doesn't have the necessary gifts or revelation to open and explain deeper things of the Word. Meanwhile, people who need to hear the Gospel for the first time are not hearing it because their evangelist has bogged himself down with pastoral duties God never called him to. This is why many churches remain immature. Their pastors are actually misguided evangelists, called of God to preach the Gospel, and not to bring maturity to the regenerated. Sunday after Sunday the evangelist/pastor only preaches how to be born-again, and the flock goes away hungry for deeper truth. The evangelist/pastor may know deeper truth, but seems unable to present it, no matter how hard he tries. Every message turns around to being born-again. Thus many pastors conclude that there are still people in their congregations who are not saved, and that is why the messages always turn out the same week after week. The truth of the matter is more likely that such a man is called of God to evangelize, not pastor. He is preaching the gospel to a saved congregation, frustrating himself, the congregation, and the purposes of God. Such men need to realize they are not walking in their proper calling, nor are they walking in faith, for they are not trusting God to raise up pastor/teachers for the new believers. It is imperative for the life and vitality of the Church that the needed adjustments be made. However, such adjustments cannot be made in the present system. Denominations only know pastor and evangelist. Either you are one or the other. If you are not a dynamic speaker, but have a burden to serve the Lord, you are put in the mold of pastor. The whole concept of today's evangelist is not based on Scripture, but on man's rationale.

Scripturally, an evangelist is simply one who goes out and proclaims the Gospel to the unsaved. He doesn't open the church doors and expect the unsaved to come to him, but instead goes out seeking them, in the streets, in their homes, on the job, in the highways and byways. He doesn't necessarily expect to make a living off his mission, but often supports himself with a job so he can go about the work of evangelizing in his free time. Apostles, prophets, pastors-- all from time to time do the work of evangelism, as do the rest of the members of the Body of Christ. Remember, the ministry is given to prepare the Body to do the work of the Gospel, not to do all the work themselves. There are those, however, whom the Lord exclusively appoints and gifts to do nothing but evangelize. In the current system, however, such ones do not have an easy time of it if they don't have man-made credentials and have no broad base of support. Most obvious evangelistic efforts of today are done by either corporate-styled organizations, or youthful, idealistic entertainers. Both of these are recognized and sanctioned by the parachurch denominational structure, but not, necessarily, the Lord. Evangelism, by definition, is primarily a one to many, or a one on one communication of the truths of the Gospel. We falsely tend to judge the success of evangelism by the numbers of converts (statistics) we can claim... but is this true evangelism?

Effective evangelism is a goal of every true believer of Jesus Christ. We all want to lead someone to the Lord, have them recite the 'Sinner's Prayer' and pronounce them 'saved'. We agonize over loved ones who are not in the Faith, praying (often without much hope) for their sudden coming to the realization of their need to 'accept Jesus'. Yet we seldom engage the ones we long and pray over in conversation leading to spiritual things. We want to see the 'Whole Enchilada' at once, not understanding Jesus' words about sowing seed and letting it grow before trying to harvest a crop (Mark 4:26-29). Evangelism often takes place in unseen dribs and drabs, culminating at some later moment in a crisis and sudden flash of commitment. We observe the thunder and lightning of the crisis that brings one to cry out for forgiveness and newbirth, but we seldom see the painstaking groundwork the Holy Spirit has laid out over time in preparation for the repentant to come to that point of saving knowledge.

The following chart was shared with me by my sister and her husband some years ago as we visited and talked late into the night. I found it very helpful in understanding the timing of what is said during witnessing. The key to remember is: Evangelism is presenting an individual with an opportunity to accept or reject Christianity on its own merits apropos to his current level of need, understanding and receptivity.

-7 ..............no awareness of Christianity Rom. 1:25

-6 ..............some awareness of Christianity (Christmas, Easter) Rom. 1:25

-5 .............. grasp of basics (Jesus is God, God loves me) 2Tim 3:5

-4 ...............grasp of implications (Jesus died for world's sins) 2Tim 3:5

-3 ............... recognize personal need 2Tim. 2:25 -26

-2 ...............receptive and repentant 2Tim. 2:25 -26

-1 ...............Challenge & decision to follow Christ 2Tim 4:2,5

0 ...............REGENERATION 2Cor. 5:17; 1Jn. 1:9

+1 ..............evaluation of event, water baptism 2Cor. 13:5; Rom 6:6

+2 .............. fellowship Heb 10:25

+3 ...............growth, devotions, avoid evil 2Cor. 7:1

+4 ...............servanthood 1Thes. 5:11 ( my addition)

The above chart is, obviously, an over-simplification, nevertheless it serves as a good base for our discussion. Evangelism is no more or less than helping someone move from say, a negative seven to a negative six, or five on the chart. No, the person has not yet come to Christ, but evangelism, as much as they can hear at the moment, has taken place. The Good News has been communicated, if only to a degree. Every time we help someone come to a fuller knowledge of the Gospel than they currently grasp, evangelism has taken place. Remember, it is the Holy Spirit's job to bring the person to contrition and newbirth. Our job is to be faithful to express the good news by evaluating where the person is in their understanding of spiritual things and leading them to the next advance.

The evangelist in the Four-fold ministry is one who has been uniquely called and gifted by God to perform this function more often than any other member. He is given gifts of discernment and words of wisdom and knowledge (1Cor. 12: 8,10) that provide a basis for the subject to both understand and trust what is being explained (Acts 8:34-35). The Holy Spirit works through the evangelist He has ordained via the spiritual tools He has given to enable repentance and faith in the convert. Without the equipment the Holy Spirit provided, as well as specific direction, the evangelist, like any other member of the Four-fold ministries, cannot effectively function.

Therefore, too often so-called evangelists of today resort to man-made techniques that border on or trespass over into questionable practices. They utilize worldly music, magic tricks, puppet shows, cinematic and dramatic presentations, all in the effort to relate to their 'target audience'. Surveys are taken, statistics are evaluated, votes are counted and committees consulted in order to arrive at a feasible plan of mass evangelism. Music events are designed to overwhelm audiences with thunderous sound, hypnotic lights, captivating lyrics and sheer dynamism in the expectation that genuine repentance will be the result. But man's methods can never serve the Lord of Glory, for all this is from the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil, not the Tree of Life.

Evangelists need to recognize the newbirth can only come from the Lord's working in an individual's life, not all the manipulation, hype and glitz Madison Avenue techniques can produce. Man-made 'decisions' will sometime or sooner fall back to the world, being only intellectually persuaded, but still spiritually unconverted. Millions in our nation claim to be born again, being the product of man-made methods of evangelism and education. Where then, is the spiritual fervor and holiness in our nation that is the result of such a multitude of followers of Jesus Christ?

Evangelism has been reduced to 'accepting Jesus', instead of repentance and regeneration. The musicians, magicians, and sports heroes who urge a simplistic 'Come-to-Jesus-and-have-your-problems-solved' gospel are immunizing people against the true Gospel. People don't need to have their life's problems solved, they need a whole new life! Hari-Krishna can solve problems, as can: meditation, yoga, EST, martial arts, Silva Mind Control-- all these satanic solutions work on problems. But the end result is still death. Problems exist to draw our attention to our need of a Savior Who can give us a New Life! Receiving a new life automatically takes care of the old life's problems.

Pastor/teachers (hereafter referred to as pastors) are another part of the ministry that has been misunderstood and thus, degenerated to unscriptural standards. Unscriptural requirements such as college degrees are demanded in most cases, while spiritual maturity is optional. It is possible to even have a pastor that is not born again! How? He has a degree from a 'good school'. Meanwhile, mature saints, in whom God has invested a true shepherd's heart, are unrecognized and unsought, or given diminutive responsibilities despite their wisdom and maturity, because they do not have the necessary, man-honored degree. Those who are appointed by God to the office of pastor often lose their doctrinal purity and zeal for God's House in the process of thinking they need and seeking man's accreditation. They go to a Bible School or seminary and are often taught why the Bible, or at least portions of it, are no longer relevant. Even those with apostolic convictions lapse into denominationalism and a parachurch way of doing things, losing their spiritual edge. If seminaries were God's ordered way, would He not have established them when the Apostles of the Lamb were active? If we recognize that the book of The Acts is the blueprint for the Church, why have we resorted to making old, man-made wineskins? What was wrong with the Holy Spirit's methodology in establishing the Four-fold ministry for the edification and maturation of the saints. When did the Lord decide a man-made education would be superior to Holy Spirit discipling and anointing?

A true pastor will be found shepherding the sheep whether officially recognized and paid or not. In fact it is the issue of salary that often separates true pastors from hirelings. Not that a pastor shouldn't be supported by those he teaches (Gal. 6:6), because he should. But the Word does not anywhere indicate that a guaranteed salary, living expenses, benefits, and retirement program should be his expectation.

The office of pastor, is a calling of God, demanding hard work (1Tim. 3:1). Those who respond must realize that it is not a 'career opportunity', but a labor of love. Much is given out, and little thanks returned. A total commitment and investment in other's lives is required. Privacy and personal time will be at a minimum for those who truly want to serve the Lord in this capacity. And a great deal of heartache will accompany the calling. Prestige, security and influence is what many think of when they observe the parachurch method of pastoring, but the true pastor walks a much different road of service. An in-depth look at Psalm 23 renders a good job description for the office of pastor. Everything the Lord does as Shepherd is what His under-shepherds will be found doing. What a far cry this is from what we have come to think of as a pastor. A pastor's heart only wants to serve the Lord by serving others, bringing them to maturity in the knowledge of and obedience to Christ. Job benefits, retirement, social standing, wealth, community prestige have very little or nothing to do with the true calling of pastor. Instead, the onus of upholding the truth of Jesus Christ as taught by the apostles is theirs in abundance.

I have observed 'men of the cloth' (where is that in Scripture?), paid good salaries by Bible-believing churches to uphold and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who, when called upon to perform some ceremonial prayer at a civic function, vacillate and pray not in Jesus' name, but in a 'generic god's name', so none present would be offended. They dare not sully their public reputation by offending any other religion by praying in Jesus' name. Such men are hirelings, not pastors. Lord, deliver us from such!

The Lord ordained four powerful gift ministries to build (and in our day, rebuild) the Church upon her original foundations of the apostles and prophets. The forces of darkness (Four 'D's') are doing everything they can to keep God's people in ignorance of what the Church is and how she is to be governed so that they might continue their reign of rebellion, deceiving the nations and making the voice of the Church ineffectual. Indeed, many believers think everything is fine, expecting life to continue just as it is, and that God will only bring us to maturity in heaven. Apostles to such ones are relics of a by-gone era, as are prophets. Their steerage is not needed, and those who would restore them to the Church only cause confusion and stir up hard feelings. "Let denominations continue," they say, "they are doing no major harm by keeping us divided."

This totally misses the point of Ephesians 4:13 where it is indicated that the offices of the Four-fold Ministry will continue to be needed until we are:

*unified in the Faith

* filled with knowledge of the Son of God to our experiential maturity

* like Him ( I John 3:2).

Has this happened through denominational experience? Of course not! How can unity occur in the midst of prescribed and encouraged tolerance of error? How can a system derived by well-meaning but uninspired men accomplish the work of anointed and appointed apostles and prophets? We prevent the Lord's will by obstinately clinging to an organization rather than the Faith. The Four-fold ministry is given to the Church to imbue, teach, demonstrate and encourage the use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in a proper framework, giving glory to the risen Lord Jesus. Instead, we not only see the failure of denominationalism to come into line with the Lord's declared intention of unity, but actually see it support disunity. Denominations are intent upon preserving their own separate existence at the expense of truth. They are organizations that do not derive their life from God, but from the cleverness of man (Tree of Knowledge...), and thus will never be able to come into line with the Lord's will pertaining to unity and maturity in Him! Trying to excuse this obvious breech of obedience, many try to relegate the actuation of this passage to heaven, but that is clearly not what the text teaches. In heaven there will be no need for gifts (1Cor. 13:10)-- charismatic (that is-- gifts distributed to individuals for use in the Body meetings) or Four-fold ( that is-- giving of gifted men to the leadership of the Church).

Today the (para)Church is dominated by a man-educated intelligentsia instead of the Anointing (1Jn. 2:27). There are rare instances where intellectuals are also anointed and appointed by the Lord to leadership, but like Paul, such 'advantages' are relegated to the dungheap in order that there be no confusion. But the vast majority of Christians have fallen prey to the subtle temptation to replace anointed men with merely educated (2Tim. 3:7) men, for education is much easier and more convenient to attain than anointing, and doesn't depend on a call and gifting from God. Thus we have a system which produces myriads of educated, but un-anointed evangelists and pastors, without apostles, without prophets. Jeroboamism can never accomplish the will of God .

This is not to say that the Four-fold Ministry is ignorant or untaught. Far from it! They study to show themselves approved (2Tim2:15) of God (not man), using Spirit-inspired writings of holy men as well as Scripture. Obedient to the Spirit's prompting, they also investigate the movements and philosophies of the day, but only to the extent and for the purpose of exposing their error in the light of God's Word. Ignorance is dangerous, but so is education from the wrong Tree.

That is why God appointed apostles as the foremost authorities in the Church. They have no allegiance but to the Lord Jesus. No denomination can recall them for deviating from the company line, no mission board has authority to threaten or control them through finances, no deacon board can influence, intimidate or oblige them to teach 'this but not that'. They are under one authority and one authority only-- the Lord Jesus. The Church is to test those claiming to be apostles, and honor only those who prove true. A devastating judgment awaits those who take this position upon themselves, and likewise, dire consequences will befall a body that rejects a true apostle or prophet. This is repugnant to modern believers who want their authorities under controlled guidelines, while they excuse themselves from being under any real authority. The rebellion of the Church is evident in their forsaking God's true authorities and choosing to loyally follow dry wells and broken cisterns (Jer. 2:13).

This is not to imply however, that apostles, or any part of the Four-fold ministry, are not approachable, correctable, or infallible. A true elder ministry will be very sensitive to the corrective word of the Lord through any member of the Body of Christ.

It is also imperative that the ministry be baptized-- immersed (overwhelmed)-- in the Holy Spirit. The meetings of the local churches are dependant on the personal ministry of the Holy Spirit, if they are following the pattern given by the Lord to the apostles. How can an unspiritual believer discern the mind of the Lord? It is the Spirit that reveals the mind of the Lord, and unless there are those exercised in hearing the Lord (via the gifts) how can the meeting hear from the Lord? This is what the Four-fold ministry is re-arising to re-establish-- restoration of the proper knowledge and use of the gifts of the Spirit so the meetings can again be Spirit led, not just occasionally interrupted by Him. A denominational spirit is threatened by not having absolute control over the meetings. Organization and planning are all that merely educated men can know. Trusting a whole meeting to the Spirit's leading-- and (gasp) to those claiming to have His gifts-- is more than any person desiring to dwell in comfort, sanity and safety can reasonably be expected to risk. Such mistrust of the Holy Spirit is the result of eating from the wrong Tree.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit were distributed to the Body of Christ for edification and warfare, that we as the body of Christ, His Church, might be established (Rom 1:11). God has ordained the Four-fold Ministry to exemplify, teach and imbue others with those gifts that the Faith might continue till Jesus returns. Many believers have put aside the gifts as irrelevant relics of a by-gone era, and most have put aside the only God-ordained ministry able to properly teach and distribute those gifts-- apostles. Is it any wonder the Church is defeated by satanic forces, infiltrated by creeps (Jude vs 4), overrun by ambitious self-seekers, and rejected by the unsaved as irrelevant? Indeed, we live in an age when many believers are entirely disgusted with the Church and seldom, if ever, attend. There is no sense of the dynamic God of the Scriptures evident, only the rehearsed, well-turned phrases of education, or the hype of emotionalism, as in the Toronto influence spreading through the land.

But here and there are little pockets of believers who dare to believe God has called them to come out from among the worldly religious system of disunity, seeking to be filled with the true, scriptural knowledge of the Lord. A struggling but anointed Four-fold ministry is arising at God's call to once again pick up the threads of the Faith and strive to live in obedience to His Word, by the power of His Spirit. The demonic spirits that have scattered, emasculated and shamed the Church are terrified that God is raising up His anointed craftsmen again, for it foreshadows their last, hate-filled fling before they are cast into the Pit at the Lord's return. The power of God's Spirit loosed again upon the earth through His bond-servants, few though they may be, will mark the beginning of the end of Satan's reign over the earth usurped from Adam's stewardship. This is why such suspicion and opposition is aroused in the community of comfortable saints whenever a radical return to 'the Faith' as revealed in the pages of the New Testament, is urged. Accusations of legalism, division, cultism, narrow-mindedness and the like are conjured in the minds of believers by legions of teaching evil spirits intent upon keeping the Church ineffectual and in bondage. And yet, such churches call themselves 'New Testament' churches.

Do you hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches?
 

© John MacLeod 1997