Printer-Friendly          E-mail this page

Evangelist, Function of
(From Forerunner Commentary)

1 Corinthians 3:9-10  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) If God places us within an office in the church—as an elder or a deacon—it must be looked upon as a blessing that is a responsibility, not a reward! It is given for God's purposes. Paul even had his office as apostle because it was given to him. It is implied that all the powers to perform it were also given. He used them to lay the foundation. Everybody else is the same way. The important thing is that each one of us must use our gifts to build. Paul says, "Be careful how you build." The foundation that was laid is Jesus Christ. When we begin to expand on it, it consists of the apostles and the prophets as well—the things that they wrote and the examples that they set. Everybody is to build on the same foundation! God gives everybody the gifts to enable them to do so. To some, God gives gifts to be apostles; to others, He gives gifts to be an evangelist, pastor, teacher, or whatever. They are given, though, and every time God gives an office, He gives all that is needed for the person to fulfill that office—including overcoming sin. The Bible consistently teaches that an office is not a place from which to exercise power, but a position from which to exercise service. The authority is certainly there, since God gives it. He always gives the authority to go with the office, but having it means that the elder or deacon must also have the right perspective on how to use the office God has given him. The office is given, not earned. John W. Ritenbaugh Grace Upon Grace

Ephesians 4:11-12  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) An apostle is "one sent forth" with Christ's gospel message of the coming Kingdom of God. The apostle also supervises the proclaiming of that message to the world by means and persons other than himself. Also, an apostle has supervision over all the local congregations or churches of God (I Corinthians 16:1; II Corinthians 11:28). The prophets set in the foundation of the church are those of the Old Testament era, whose writings were used to form a considerable part of New Testament teaching and functioning. The word "prophesy" is often used in the sense of "to preach or proclaim." So some of the preachers in God's church might well be termed "prophets"—but no literal prophets in the early New Testament church are mentioned as having any executive, administrative, or preaching functions. Evangelists in Paul's day were leading ministers proclaiming the gospel to the public, even raising up local churches and having supervision over some churches under an apostle. Therefore, an evangelist may hold executive function under the apostle in the church today. An evangelist is not necessarily stationed in one place. Pastors are ministers placed over a local church or group of local churches. In the early New Testament church there were also teachers who were not necessarily preachers. Yet all ministers and teachers are called elders in other New Testament passages. Therefore, in God's church today there are both preaching and non-preaching elders. Preaching elders pastor local churches. Then some elders, not all of whom are preachers, are called local elders in the church today. What and Why the Church?

 

XML RSS  feeds available		The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment Sign up for the Berean: Daily Verse and Comment, and have Biblical truth delivered to your inbox. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. See what over 50,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. Email Address:     King James VersionNew International VersionNew King James Version
We respect your privacy. Your email address will not be sold, distributed, rented, or in any way given out to a third party. We have nothing to sell. You may easily unsubscribe at any time.

Printer-Friendly          E-mail this page