094 Ephesians: Finding Your Place, Pt. 2
In Ephesians 4, the Apostle Paul lists five unique roles God has given each one of us in the Body of Christ. These spiritual roles are the unique callings distributed to believers that enable them to fulfill strategic functions for the church.
These five roles are (Eph. 4:11):
Apostle
Prophet
Evangelist
Shepherd
Teacher
These are often referred to as the “5-fold Ministries” or the APEST (after the first letters).
As we grow and mature into our unique roles, the Body is strengthened and the Kingdom is extended. But it’s wise to be alert to immature expressions of these gifts.
An Apostle is visionary, pioneering, always dreaming of new ground to take and new ways to take that ground. They have all kinds of new ideas!
But an immature apostle has difficulty discerning which of those ideas are simply good ideas and which are God ideas.
Another sign of immaturity is jumping from idea to idea. After a while, people don’t take immature apostles seriously because they always flit from one thing to another.
The Prophet is one who discerns the spiritual realities in a given situation, seeing beyond what most people see and calling them to action.
In contrast, when an immature prophet senses God is saying something, they insist on providing the interpretation and application themselves rather than releasing the revelation to a community of people outside of them to discern what God is saying and what they should do about it.
Another sign of an immature prophet is the tendency to assume they are always right.
An Evangelist loves spending time and sharing Christ with lost people and reminds other believers of a lost world.
An immature evangelist may want so much for people to be saved that they present a reductionist gospel. Just say this prayer and you’re “in.” They fail to talk about the cost of following Jesus.
Other times they can button-hole people, forcing the gospel down their throats which often turns people off.
Another sign of an immature evangelist is they may engage with a person until he/she crosses the line of faith and then move on to someone else. The young follower can feel like they were nothing more than a project.
The Shepherd possesses a deep love for the Body; sees needs, provides comfort, and gives encouragement.
But an immature shepherd often hesitates to challenge a person to change. They fear that, if pressed, the sheep might leave the fold. Yet to allow that person to keep on sitting in their neediness or brokenness is not loving.
Finally, there’s the Teacher who communicates the revealed truth of God’s Word so that others can understand it and obey it.
Immature teachers, however, can become so enamored with the Word itself that knowledge becomes the goal rather than application. The result is those around them become merely hearers of the Word rather than doers of the Word.
You might have a sense of what your role is. If not, here are some suggestions that might help you.
1. What does the assessment tool reveal?
2. What are the observations of those who know you well?
3. Which of the 5 are the most life-giving/life-draining to you?
4. Which of the 5 are the most fruitful/unfruitful for you?
5. What does your own discernment tell you?
Text: Ephesians 4:7-16
Originally recorded on April 3, 2016, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN.