THE gifts of the Spirit were placed in the church when it was founded in order that its completion might be assured. Men could not carry on this sacred work alone. The church is a divine institution. It must have divine grace, divine wisdom, divine power, and divine leadership, if it accomplishes its divine purpose. GoPH 28.1
Human talents were not—are not—sufficient to assure success to the spiritual activities of the body of Christ. Human wisdom would surely result in disaster to the program of salvation. Something more was needed — and is still needed — in the church of Christ, than anything and all that men can contribute, if God’s plans for His church are to be successfully consummated. GoPH 28.2
These considerations were, without doubt, in the thought of the divine Head of the church as the time drew near for His departure from the earth, and His return to heaven. He had given a great commission. His followers were to go into all the world, and take the gospel of His grace to every person. He had announced a great program, that of human salvation. He had made full provision in His own ministry, death, burial, and resurrection, for this salvation. He had declared that even the “gates of hell” would not prevail against His church, founded as it was upon Himself. GoPH 28.3
And now He, the Head, was about to depart. Most vital things to the salvation of men and the completion of the work of salvation required His presence in heaven. Was the church to be left alone, without divine leadership and divine help? GoPH 29.1
The leaders of the church were poor men, without scholarship, and without outstanding ability. They were of the peasant class, fishermen most of them. They had no prestige, no social standing or influence, certainly no political standing. The work they were engaged in already had brought, and would increasingly bring, upon them the opposition of the great and powerful social, religious, and political institutions of the world. They were not prepared, nor would any other group of men have been prepared, to take over the responsibility of leadership, unassisted by divine power, wisdom, and ability, in the church of the living God. GoPH 29.2
And so ” for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12), He “gave gifts to men,” and ‘‘He himself appointed some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors and teachers.” Ephesians 4:8, 11, Weymouth. GoPH 29.3
It was as though a great architect or con-tractor, having an imposing and important edifice to construct, drew his plans, employed workmen and superintendents, and then placed at their disposal all kinds of time and laborsaving devices, delivered to them the specifications and plans, told them the length of time they had before the building must be completed, made every arrangement necessary, assembled all equipment necessary, provided all material necessary, and then placed the work in their hands for accomplishment, and took his departure for “a far country.” GoPH 30.1
Suppose, instead of using the plans and equipment he had provided, the workmen had torn up the specifications, disregarded his provisions, scrapped his equipment and machinery, ignored his instructions, failed to use his materials, and gone about the task in their own way, without using anything he had provided? GoPH 30.2
This would be just about a parallel to the church’s attempting to complete its building and finish the divine program on earth without the assistance of the gifts that. God has given to do this very thing. These gifts were needed when they were first given, all of them; they are needed equally as much now, all of them. The church cannot finish its work in the world without their help and leadership. GoPH 30.3
When these gifts were all in the church, at the beginning of its witnessing, their influence unified the church as it has never been unified since. This is what the gifts were given to accomplish, that “we all attain unto the unity of the faith.” Ephesians 4:13, A. R. V. And the record is, when the gifts all manifested themselves, that “the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul.” (Acts 4:32.) As a consequence of this unity there was great success in preaching the gospel, for ” with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.” (Acts 4:31-33.) GoPH 31.1
Surely as we read such a description of the early church we must realize how greatly to be desired such a condition is, and how different it is from the condition that prevails among Christians at the present time. Division, separation, false doctrines, perverted teachings, and widespread apostasy have come into the Christian church. There is little unity of belief, and little unity of effort. There never has been a time when there has been such great diversity of opinion and doctrine in Christendom as now. GoPH 31.2
Is it not clear that if the gifts of the Spirit were necessary to maintain the unity of the apostolic church, they are more necessary now to restore that unity to the scattered followers of the Lord Jesus? What is to bring about this unity in these days when the church is expecting its returning Lord but the gifts of the Spirit that were conferred upon the church for this very purpose? GoPH 32.1
“Apostles.” The term apostle is not confined in the New Testament to the twelve, nor is the gift of apostleship limited to those first apostles. This word was in common use among the Jews, being given to the legate or officer who attended on various synagogues. It was especially bestowed on the messengers of the high priest or patriarch who went about collecting the temple tax paid by every Jew towards the support of the patriarch and the Sanhedrin. In its general use it meant a delegate, or envoy, or ambassador, accredited by some public authority, and charged with a special mission and message. GoPH 32.2
In the New Testament the word apostle is used in various ways. Sometimes it is limited to the twelve alone. At other times it has a wider and more general sense. In Acts 14:4, 14 it is used of Barnabas and Paul, who were not of the twelve. In 1 Thessalonians 2:6 it is used of Paul and his comrades. In Romans 16:7 it is used of Andronicus and Junia. In 2 Corinthians 8:23 the same Greek word refers to Titus and others as “messengers of the churches.” In 2 Corinthians 11:13 “false apostles” are spoken of, meaning the emissaries of the circumcisionists among the Jews. False apostles are also referred to in Revelation 2:2. Our Lord himself is called an apostle in Hebrews 3:1. GoPH 33.1
In John 13:16, “The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than He that sent him,” the words “he that is sent” are translated from the Greek word which elsewhere is translated “apostle.” The same word in the Greek is translated “messengers” in 2 Corinthians 8:23 and “messenger” in Philippians 2:25. GoPH 33.2
The gift of apostleship, then, is the gift of a pioneer, one who is sent as a messenger of Heaven and commissioned of God to open a new work, to break up the fallow ground, a frontiersman in extending the work of the kingdom. Every religious body has had its apostles, John and Charles Wesley for Method-ism, Luther for Lutheranism, John Calvin and John Knox for Presbyterianism, Roger Williams for the Baptists. They still have them in their missionaries; for missionary work among primitive, heathen people surely requires this gift. GoPH 33.3
The various bodies constituting Protestant Christianity also believe in the gift of evangelists, pastors, and teachers. They avowedly claim to possess these four gifts, apostles, evangelists, pastors, teachers. GoPH 34.1
But the passage under discussion names five gifts, not four. It speaks of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. These Protestant bodies neither claim nor possess the gift of prophecy. GoPH 34.2
Prophets are those who possess a divine gift of receiving from God by revelation His message for His people. Many Christian leaders teach that this gift has not been manifested in the church since apostolic times. But God declares it was placed in His church for all time, along with the other gifts that are acknowledged by all to still be in the church. The gift of prophecy belongs in the church now. To have its blessing and guidance and illumination would be of inestimable advantage to the church. What, then, has become of this gift? We shall arrive at the correct answer to this question as we continue this study. GoPH 34.3
“When He ascended up on high, He
led captivity captive, and gave gifts
unto men. And He gave some, apostles,
and some, prophets; and some, evangelists;
and some, pastors and teachers;
for the perfecting of the saints, for the
work of the ministry, for the edifying
of the body of Christ: till we all come
in the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, unto a
perfect man, unto the measure of the
stature of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:9-13 GoPH 35