Our perception of the five-fold ministry stems from Book of Ephesians. "It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 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." Ephesians 4:11-13 (NIV)
Some believers feel that God has restored, or is restoring, the offices of apostle and prophet in the church today. So, since the body of Christ definitely is not “built up to unity in the faith and has not attained to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ,” therefore, the offices of apostle and prophet must still be an ongoing process and should be filled by those qualified for those duties.
Ephesians 2:20 says that the church is, "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone." So, if the apostles and prophets are our foundation for the church, we also continue to build our foundation. Hebrews 6:1-3 (NIV) tells us, “Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.” So we are thus encouraged and motivated by the Spirit and His Word, to move on from the foundation.
We know that our Lord Jesus Christ is active an active force in our church today, and we understand that His role as the cornerstone of the church was completed with His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. So, considering as such those facts about Christ, if the work of the cornerstone is, more or less complete, has the whole work of our apostles and prophets, “our foundation,” been fully competed, or not?
The obvious role of the apostles and prophets was to proclaim God's revelation, to teach the new truth that our church would need to grow and flourish. And, the apostles and prophets completed this mission by giving us the Word of God. The Word of God is the completed revelation of God. The Bible contains everything the church needs to know to grow, thrive, and fulfill God's mission. “. . .you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:15-16 (NIV).
The cornerstone work of the apostles and prophets is complete while the ongoing work of the apostles and prophets is now manifested in the Holy Spirit speaking through and teaching everyone God's Word. In that sense, our five-fold ministry is still active. Agreed?
