TEACHING AND INSTRUCTION

February 13, 2022
Peter Veysie

TEACHING AND INSTRUCTION –

APEST(Apostles Prophets Evangelists Shepherds and Teachers)

Living loving learning and leaving a legacy

Ephesians 4:11-16

With Peter Veysie

George Methodist Church

Sunday 13th February 2022

8am and 10am Communion

Then Thembalethu

Introduction

I am deeply concerned often at the nature of our theological depth in the church with regards to teaching. So often we find ourselves sitting comfortably under instruction which we know is clearly not biblical. I always ask the question – “What did Jesus say and what did He do and this guides me to discern as to how to interpret the text and so when it comes to doctrine or preaching on a Sunday morning it has to start from that premise and I have to also unlearn some of the things that I have held onto for so long and repent of my stubborness to budge from what I have assumed the word to be saying. As we explore the 5 fold ministry today we will find that the Word is opening our hearts up to understand the function rather than the title of these words. For far too long the church has puffed up these five causing us to believe that it is only given to an exclusive few who bear the title rather than the function.

We also have many who have been called to serve the Lord sadly being stuck behind their titles without a real sense of what it means to serve and so today I want to explore the area of teaching and to ssay that somehow we need to get back to simple functional church around the 5fold ministry of the church.

The world is changing at a rapid pace but the Word is constant and so we need to as the YFC slogan still says be Anchored to the Rock but geared to the times and ensure tht those two are held tightly together.

If we look at the stats and even more so due to covid the church in the west is in rapid decline and the church in the east and in Africa is on the incline. Churches are closing daily and finding that they are ministering to an aging congregation in the MCSA and so we have the opportunity of turning this around through sound teaching instruction and guidance coming from the Holy Spirit and sensitively speaking to a new generation who are waiting for this.

Ephesians 4:11 -16

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

The fivefold ministry – apostolos – sent when, prophetos – one who speaks for the Logos. Euangelian – a bearer of the good news, pastor – shepherd and teacher is self explanatory.This is very clear that thes were not titles but ministerial functions. We have become obsessed with titles and this is so not the point !!!!! It’s for others and not for ourselves and all of us have some particular part to play in the fivefold ministry.

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

The steadying of the boat in a very stormy sea. We are being tossed and turned right now and if we have some spiritual depth as opposed to being infants we will weather the storm.

1. Live

Teaching gives us an understanding of how to live and so Jesus himself has given himself to us as the very Word. John 1:1 and John 16:13 being guided into all truth by the Holy Spirit.

Living out our faith in this way has to be within the context of our gifting and yes the Holy Spirit has given us gifts so that the body of Christ can literally live and be built up and Jesus has given us minstries to equip us for living. We have become so focussed on the shepherd/pastor teacher model that we have lost the art of living with apostles prophets and evangelists, and they a critical part of the whole and are sitting right her right now in this gathering !!!

2. Love

Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. We always start from the premise of “what did Jesus say and do ?” And so at the start of everyhting and the end of everything is love but it is held together by instruction and learning. Our obedience to the Lord comes out of loving and doing what we are called to be and do.All ministry and mission is given and done out of love and not dominance. God has given the fivefold ministry clearly for the building up and not the breaking down and so it all needs to be done in love.

3. Learn

The challenge around the body of Christ is a lack of real understanding as I have said of the five-fold ministry and the way that we operate within these ministries which are given to the church.

Epictetus noted!that,“it is impossible to teach a person what they think they already know. In other words if we think we have really got it locked down pretty tight then we’ll never feel the need to learn anything new about it.”

Structural solutions can never repair an already cracked church system; more often than not, such solutions end up hindering the agency and ministry of the whole people of God by professionalizing the ministry and creating dependencies that ensure that the people of God remain immature and unformed.

What would be the “secular” terminology to describe each of these functions?

The Apostle is The entrepreneur: Innovator and cultural architect who initiates a new product, or service, and develops the organization.

The Prophet is The questioner: Provocateur who probes awareness and fosters questioning of current programming leading to organizational learning.

The Evangelist is The communicator: Recruiter to the organization who markets the idea or product and gains loyalty to a brand or cause.

The Shepherd is The humanizer: People-oriented motivator who fosters a healthy relational environment through the management of meaning.

The Teacher is the Systems-thinker who is able to clearly articulate the organizational ideology in a way as to advance corporate learning.

Hirsch, Alan. 5Q: Reactivating the Original Intelligence and Capacity of the Body of Christ. 100 Movements (DH). Kindle Edition.

Apostles Govern

While we will focus on these five, we must not forget that Paul is not giving us an exhaustive list. In 1 Corinthians 12:28, he says, in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Only three of the five in Ephesians are repeated here again, while Paul adds other kind of people and functions. Surely we would not equate an apostle with an administrator, yet both are in the same list, and there is no reason to assume a hierarchy, or that one function has more value than another. On the contrary, those who speak the Word of God, who preach and teach (which is all part of the five-fold ministry) are held to higher accountability. Their goal is not to serve themselves, but the flock of God, so that they would attain all the fullness in Christ (Eph 4:12-13).

With transparency comes greater responsibility, and with responsibility, higher accountability. God has set His leaders in place for His church to function, and those truly called into these places will have been tested and proven, having gone through the fire of preparation, displaying true humility and Christ-likeness, not desiring a position, but wanting to serve their King anyway He wants them to.

While there are many different ideas in the body of Christ today about each one of these five offices or functions this is what we believe as a church:

Jim Goll defines an apostle as “one called and sent by Christ to have the spiritual authority, character, gifts and abilities to reach and establish people in Kingdom truth and order, especially through founding and overseeing local churches.” An apostle has “a burden to build something that didn’t exist before” ~ Kim Terrell. They lay the foundation of new local churches and see to it that they come into full maturity. That is the church that person will be the apostle to – which means he/she will not have any authority as an apostle in other churches, which is what many today claim. Paul himself wrote to the Corinthians, “Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 9:2).

Apostles have a burden to ground their church in solid biblical teaching, an example of which we can see in Acts 11, when Paul and Barnabas spent two years at Antioch, teaching and equipping them. Apostles have the desire to train and raise up church leaders who will come into full maturity in the church, to release them, and then move on to plant another church. Making themselves “redundant” is their greatest reward, as they father their spiritual children into adulthood.

Let us remove the mysticism from the term “apostle”, and see it for what it really is. Dick Iverson once stated in an interview, “…you don’t find “Apostle” written in large letters on my door. I would rather say that I do apostolic work. It isn’t just a title, it’s work, W-O-R-K.”

Prophets Guide

“A man or woman who represents the interests of God to the people. Having stood in the council of God, the prophet releases a clarion call to the people of what is in God’s heart at the moment.” ~ Jim Goll

Prophets reveal God’s heart to His people, giving guidance to individuals and the body, giving revelation, as well as interpretation, application and timing. We see several examples in the book of Acts. In Acts 21, Agabus is a good example of where prophecy can be rightly interpreted, yet applied wrongly, as Paul was urged not to go to Jerusalem, escaping the predictive prophecy of his fate. In this case, we see prophecy as fore-telling, yet it is also forth-telling which is often neglected by those who run after prophetic words.

Evangelists Gather

An evangelist carries a great burden for those who are not a part of the kingdom of God yet, and an anointing to preach the gospel to them that comes with great conviction and draws them to the Lord. They will often have signs and wonders following them to confirm their message.

The prime example of an evangelist in the New Testament is Philip. He was one of the men chosen to serve the widows in Acts 6, and he is the only one specifically called an evangelist (Acts 21:8). In Acts 8 he obeys the Holy Spirit and brings the Ethiopian eunuch to a believing knowledge of Christ.

“Evangelists create converts, while apostles create disciples” (Kim Terrell). Their foremost desire is to see people come into the kingdom, then leaving the discipling to others. They love teaching others how to win people, and never feel like they are actually doing enough and accomplishing their task. While they are grieved to see believers’ indifference regarding the lost, they do have an anointing to impart God’s broken heart to the body. Evangelists are absolutely crucial for numeric growth in the local church and the kingdom of God.

Pastors Guard

The pastor is the heart of the church. He is a shepherd who deeply cares for his sheep, ready to lay down everything for them. He wants them to be fed, to grow, to be equipped, to develop their giftings and step into the calling of God for them. In the local church they are the bridge between the different offices and functions, listening to all sides and restoring calm and order where necessary. Jesus, the supreme Shepherd, taught a lot about shepherding the sheep, giving us a great example of what a pastor should look like. The pastor’s greatest concern is always the well-being of his sheep and His body, not only bringing training, but correction and protection where necessary.

The office of the pastor is the one most recognized today of all five. Because of a lack of understanding of the other four, those called by God to these other offices have often had to become pastors, therefore filling shoes that were not theirs, and creating tension in their churches because they could not meet their sheep’s need. It is time for the church to allow evangelists, teachers, apostles and prophets to be what they are called to be and take their rightful place in the church.

Teachers Ground

Teachers teach and edify the church, imparting divine life and anointing to their listeners who become more hungry for the Word of God, as the teacher illumines Scripture and brings forth truth never seen by their listeners before. While prophets reveal the heart of God, teachers reveal His mind. Prophets and teachers balance each other in the church, which can also create a tension. Prophets have revelation of hidden things in the future, while teachers of the hidden things in the Word. Teachers reveal the specifics of the revealed truth, while prophets reveal the spectrum. While prophets possess foresight, teachers have insight. While prophets are risk takers, teachers move by understanding and are planners. And the list could go on. Teachers are very essential in the body of Christ, to give the sheep a good foundation of the word of God. Sometimes, churches that place a high emphasis on being “Spirit-led” neglect the solid grounding of the Word. A simple saying to remember: Teaching of the Word without the Spirit, and we will dry up. Chasing the Spirit without teaching of the Word, and we will blow up.

Sandbox church www.sandboxchurch.com

4. Leave a legacy

15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

Don’t you just love how people use this phrase to judge and abuse others. The truth of God’s Word releases and frees people up to be more like Jesus.

The legacy we leave behind or not is a mature body and I do believe we have a lot of work to do in this area. What we leave behind is so important and critical for the next Generation to find Jesus. Our speaking the truth in love is our urgency to share the deep love of God for others in a very caring and meaningful way so that they are drawn closer and not chased away !!! It’s the legacy of love that Jesus taught his disciples and they practised this.

16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

We are joined together and each part matters – supporting ligaments – as a runner I am super aware of these !!!

Leave a legacy of support, growth and love so that each part continues to do it’s work.