Offices in the church

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Offices in the church

In Ephesians 4:11, Paul lists five offices; it was Jesus who gave some to be:

1. Apostles.
2. Prophets.
3. Evangelists.
4. Pastors.
5. Teachers.

In 1 Corinthians 12:28, Paul broadens the offices and overlaps them with various gifts:

1. ‘First of all apostles.’
2. ‘Second prophets.’
3. ‘Third teachers.’
4. ‘Then workers of miracles.’
5. ‘Also those having gifts of healing.’
6. ‘Those able to help others.’
7. ‘Those with gifts of administration.’
8. ‘And those speaking in different kinds of tongues.’

God also gave various functions and abilities. In Romans 12:6–8, Paul lists seven ‘motivational’ gifts (as some call them):

1. Prophesying.
2. Serving.
3. Teaching.
4. Encouraging.
5. Contributing to others’ needs.
6. Leadership.
7. Showing mercy.

In 1 Corinthians 12:14–27 Paul shows how various functions cohere with each other ‘that there should be no division in the body.’

Apostles

New Testament apostles had a unique kind of authority in the early church: authority to speak and write words which were “words of God” in an absolute sense. To disbelieve or disobey them was to disbelieve or disobey God. The apostles, therefore, had the authority to write words which became words of Scripture. This fact in itself should suggest to us that there was something unique about the office of apostle, and that we would not expect it to continue today, for no one today can add words to the Bible and have them be counted as God’s very words or as part of Scripture.

In addition, the New Testament information on the qualifications of an apostle and the identity of the apostles also leads us to conclude that the office was unique and limited to the first century, and that we are to expect no more apostles today.

The Greek word translated as apostle (Gk. apostolos) can be used in a broad or narrow sense. In a broad sense, it just means “messenger” or “pioneer missionary.” But in a narrow sense, the most common sense in the New Testament, it refers to a specific office, “apostle of Jesus Christ.” These apostles had unique authority to found and govern the early church, and they could speak and write words of God. Many of their written words became the New Testament Scriptures.

In order to qualify as an apostle, someone

(1) had to have seen Christ with his own eyes after he rose from the dead and

(2) had to have been specifically appointed by Christ as an apostle.

There was a limited number of apostles, perhaps fifteen or a few more—the New Testament is not explicit on the number. The twelve original apostles (the eleven plus Matthias) were joined by Barnabas and Paul, very probably James, perhaps Silas, and maybe a few unnamed others. It seems that no apostles were appointed after Paul. Since no one today can meet the qualification of having seen the risen Christ with his own eyes, there are no apostles today. In place of living apostles present in the church to teach and govern it, we have instead the writings of the apostles in the books of the New Testament. Those New Testament Scriptures fulfill for the church today the absolutely authoritative teaching and governing functions which were fulfilled by the apostles themselves during the early years of the church.

One objection to the idea that there are no longer apostles comes especially from people in the charismatic movement. The argument is that the “fivefold ministry” of Ephesians 4:11 should continue today. This verse says that when Christ ascended into heaven, “he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers” (Eph. 4:11). Therefore, it is argued, the church today should have (1) apostles, (2) prophets, (3) evangelists, (4) pastors, and (5) teachers.

However, this does not seem to be the correct interpretation. Ephesians 4:11 talks about a one-time event in the past when Christ ascended into heaven (vv. 8–10) and then at Pentecost poured out initial giftings on the church, giving the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers (or pastors and teachers). (Note the aorist kai edōken, “and he gave,” which indicates a one-time completed event.) Whether or not Christ would later give more people for each of these offices cannot be decided from this verse alone but must be decided based on other New Testament teachings on the nature of these offices and whether they were expected to continue. In fact, we see that there were many prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers established by Christ throughout all of the early churches, but there was only one more apostle given after this initial time (Paul, “last of all,” in unusual circumstances on the Damascus Road). Therefore, I do not think that Ephesians 4:11 is a persuasive argument for the existence of apostles today.

Though some may use the word apostle in English today to refer to very effective church planters or evangelists, doing so seems inappropriate and unhelpful, for it simply confuses people who read the New Testament and see the high authority that is attributed to the office of apostle there. It is noteworthy that no major leader in the history of the church—not Athanasius or Augustine, not Luther or Calvin, not Wesley or Whitefield—has taken to himself the title of apostle or let himself be called an apostle. If any in modern times want to take the title apostle, they immediately raise the suspicion that they may be motivated by inappropriate pride and desires for self-exaltation, along with excessive ambition and a desire for much more authority in the church than any one person should rightfully have.

Elders and bishops and pastors

These three terms are used interchangeably, and generally put on equal footing.

There are three Greek words:

1. episkopoi: bishop; literally overseer.
2. presbuteroi: elder; an older man.
3. poimen: pastor; a shepherd.

All these are used interchangeably.

1. Paul told Titus to appoint ‘elders’ (Tit. 1:5).
2. He then called them elders, or bishops (Tit. 1:7).
3. The elders at Ephesus were to be overseers (Acts 20:28).
4. Peter told the shepherds to be overseers (1 Pet. 5:2).
5. Bishops (elders) carried on the work of the apostles.
6. We saw above: teachers succeeded apostles; so too bishops.
7. Paul taught Titus (a bishop) to appoint bishops who could ‘encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it’ (Tit. 1:9).

A specific requirement for a bishop/elder/pastor that they must be ‘able to teach’ (1 Tim. 3:2). This is not required for a deacon.

Deacons

The Greek word, diakonoi, literally means servant, deputy or attendant. Deacons were appointed by apostles (Acts 6:3–4) but were also chosen by the people (Acts 6:5).

They were to make the work of the apostles easier as seen in Acts 6:2–4:

So the twelve called the whole group of the disciples together and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to wait on tables. But carefully select from among you, brothers, seven men who are well-attested, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this necessary task. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

Thus, we see that the apostles were to devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word. The deacons were to take care of the matters that arose that would divert the apostles from preaching and teaching.

Deacons were not required to teach or preach (1 Tim. 3:8–14). However, Stephen was a powerful teacher (Acts 6:9–11; Acts 7) and Philip was an evangelist and powerful preacher (Acts 8:5, 26–40).

Some argue that Romans 16:1-2 means a woman can be a deacon. In the Greek, diakonon, means "deacon" or "deaconess":

Let me introduce to you our sister Phoebe. She is a deacon in the church at Cenchreae. I want you to welcome her in the Lord, as is proper for one of God’s people. Please give her whatever practical assistance she may need from you. She has been a benefactor to many people, myself included.

However, the assumption elsewhere is that deacons would be men (Acts 6:3; 1 Tim. 3:8–13).

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