What’s It All About?

Posted by Chris Case on Feb 3, 2011 in Daily Bread | 2 comments

When reading through the Word, it can be often easy to skim past substantial verses, because on their surface they seem straightforward or they are just ‘church speak’ and we just don’t always grasp it.  This verse today has amazing depth but it is also one of the most misunderstood and often misused verses in Scripture, and there’s nothing like writing a Feed One Another on it.  Now, there’s other ways to look at this Scripture, and I’m pretty sure Alan will teach a way that differs than mine (so I may be fired after this entry), but here’s how I see it… and its application. (Just as a disclaimer, this may be a little boring up front, but need to do a little commentary before the application!)

Paul is a careful user of words, and its often important to see how he uses similar words elsewhere in his writings.  Briefly before this verse, Paul writes concerning “prophets and apostles” in Ephesians 2 as a way of representing the writings in both the Old and the New Testament.  If Paul’s use of that nuance in regards to the classification of prophets and apostles exists just before this, wouldn’t it go to show that we should do the same here?  Even in Acts 1, as the Apostles are trying to figure out who can be the new “replacement” Apostle, their prerequisite is that “it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection” (Acts 1:21-22). With that in mind, although their could be a defense for people having apostolic characteristics, such as church planters and those who carve new paths, I think Paul’s is referring to a more specific understand of apostles here as those who witnessed Christ’s resurrection and have started writing the Gospels.

Now, in regards to Evangelists, I think this continues Paul’s nuance to refer to those who have begun to infallibly record and teach the hidden things of God that are now being revealed. I think these include those who did not have the office of Apostle, but assisted and traveled to perform the work alongside those that were, including the likes of Philip, Luke, Titus, and Timothy.

Lastly, because of the nature of the past tense nature of Paul’s statement… that he GAVE the church these things, as opposed to he GIVES (and continues giving) the church these things, I think even the nature of the preachers and teachers refered to specifically here are those who helped shape the cannon on scripture in addition to the prophets. These may include folks like David, Solomon, the Chronicler, etc.

All that being said, I don’t deny the gift of prophesy in the New Testament church (1 Corinthians 14:5), preachers and teachers in the New Testament church (1 Timothy 2:7), but I am not sold that these verses are dealing about current giftedness within the body.

To me, I see this as Paul teaching that through all of the Word of God, He has given us everything we need to be complete, mature, and equipped for works of service, so that we can achieve unity in the Church. Paul is simply holding up an even higher and more amazing view of the role of the Word of God as taught and communicated through time, and how only when we are firmly grounded in that, can the Church achieve all that it is suppose to be. With this view of Scripture, we will eventually lead to an understanding of the various gifts God gives people and how they can be used in the body, but I believe Paul is teaching that through all of the knowledge God has passed through the apostles, prophets, teachers, preachers, and evangelists, we now have all the equipment we need in the cannon of Scripture to be what God desires us to be. Now… we just need to actually apply knowledge and reading of the Word with practice.

But as iron sharpens iron, I’m open to totally being wrong on this!  What do you think of it?