Purpose of Functioning Gifts

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. {4} For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: {5} So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. {6} Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, … (Romans 12:3-6 KJV)

One of the greatest disservices done unto the Body of Christ since the early church has been the defining of what are today called the 'office' ministries. They refer to the apostle, prophet, pastor, teacher and evangelist. The definitions that have been passed down from generation to generation since the second and third century have been corrupted to a point of uselessness and have hindered profitable growth within the body.

These erroneous definitions have been used to define positions rather than functions and have all but crippled the Body of Christ in its ability to arrive at a place of accuracy; unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

The definitions that have been forced into the Body by unscrupulous and controlling men throughout the ages have ruined the faith of many and caused great harm to the furtherance of the Gospel of Christ.

Was God aware of this corruption? Absolutely! It was ordained.

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. {4} For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude 1:3-4 KJV)

It was ordained of God that this corruption should occur; that there would be men who would contradict what Jesus had said seemingly to their own benefit and gain. The men who were ordained to this condemnation are totally unaware that it is them that Jude is referring to in this passage. These men and women have developed a gospel of power, but not a gospel of divine power. A gospel of control; a gospel of manipulation, intimidation and outright witchcraft in order to secure their positions over the called ones of God.

One of the greatest areas of this misuse of power has been in the area of ranking. Through an erroneous doctrine that applies a ranking system to the functioning gifts, men have assumed positions over one another and have elevated themselves to higher positions (hence more valuable/ visible) than the average believer. They have turned these rankings into weapons of control to coerce and manipulate the “average” believer into their own little armies of servants, rather than equipping the believers for service unto Christ.

As Paul alluded to in Romans 12, we are all members of one body (of Christ), but that we all have differing functions according to the divine influence upon our heart and the reflection of that influence within our lives. This measure of grace given each of us differs according to our ordained function within the body. Does this difference make anyone function or member more valuable than the next? The answer is both yes and no!

The misuse of these functioning ministries within the body can easily be seen in the overall lack of maturity present in the church today. The proliferation of erroneous doctrine is directly related to the lack of accuracy in the ministry gifts.

The value of any functioning gift is determined by the fruit it brings forth and the operational truth in which it releases. The application of truth is foundational to the accuracy of the gift. Truth without its application is hypocritical and a sign of Pharisee-ism rather than manifestation of accurate gifting.

But what is the purpose of the gift ministries?

{7} But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ… {11} And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; {12} For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: {13} 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: {14} That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; {15} But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ
(Ephesians 4:7, 11-15 KJV)

Paul again refers to the particular grace given for the functioning gift to operate within and he calls it the gift of Christ. It is not called the gift of Jesus Christ, but rather the gift of Christ. This is an important point to discern; the gift of Christ refers to the anointing given to fulfill the calling and does not imply an elevated status.

How the false teachers arrive at the ranking doctrine is by misapplying the following scripture.

And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:28 KJV)

Inaccuracy applied to this passage has resulted in ranking being applied within the Body of Christ. This was not the intended meaning of this passage. It appears that the error stems from the misunderstanding of the word first used in the passage above.

First: proton; firstly in time, place, order, or importance: before, at the beginning, chiefly

Through misuse of this definition many scholars/teachers have assumed that apostles are the most important of the office ministries and therefore higher in position. This is a wrong application of this definition; if that were true than God would be a respecter of persons. And scripture declares that He is not.

So then, what is meant by the definition first in time, place, order, or importance?

God sends apostles to bring about change in the body. Can God bring about these changes without using apostles? Absolutely. But God, in His divine wisdom, has chosen the foolish of the world to confound the wise and the chosen foolish come in the package of a man’s frame with the gifting of grace hidden within it.

A quick clarification is needed here. Can this package be female? Absolutely! Contrary to the teachings of many “apostles” and “teachers” today, the gift functions are without regard to sexual orientation. God gives, as God determines, and this too is born out in scripture; both old and new. In each of the sending scriptures (1 Corinthians 12:28, Ephesians 4:11) the word some is used in each passage. That specific word (actually two words) is ho-men and it is gender neutral. It can be used to define both males and females. Therefore, some that come may be male and some may be women!

Praise God, that in either case the word men speaks of the intensity in which they come. The calling requires them to be very intense in the application of their particular gifting and at times their intensity may be misconstrued as arrogance or pride when in fact it is just the manifestation of their calling.

How does this apply to proton? Proton was defined as first in time, place, order, or importance. When God sends an apostle to an area it is for the foundation to be laid. Jesus Christ is the foundation and all true apostles will build upon that core doctrine. Any other foundation is wrong and true apostles will challenge that to the death. False apostles will compromise core doctrinal issues for the sake of unity; whereas true apostles will choose to stand alone rather than give an inch of what the Lord has revealed to them. So what is the proton? Apostles come first to lay the foundation of Jesus Christ and him crucified. That is the importance of being first. Without an accurate foundation of Jesus Christ with which to build upon, nothing of any eternal value can be structured or fabricated.

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; (Ephesians 2:19, 20 KJV)

It is only after an accurate foundation of Jesus Christ has been laid that building can begin.

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:
(Ephesians 4:11-12 KJV)

The first operation is the perfecting of the saints. Casual doctrines of the past discerned this perfecting as the maturing of the saints. Though this sounds good on paper it is not what is being related in scripture. The word perfecting used here is katartismos and describes the complete furnishing of something. It comes from the word katartizo which means to complete thoroughly and has implications of repairing something that is broken; the adjusting that which is crooked, and the perfect joining of various parts.

If you were an interior designer hired to decorate a home, your mission would be to completely furnish the residence to achieve the owner’s desire. Functioning ministries should operate much the same way, for in the same way that an interior designer would view the space in question before starting the project to get an understanding of what was needed or lacking, functioning ministers should have a base understanding of the fellowship that they are to work amongst before they speak into it. This requires some level of relationship.

The current system of traveling ministries is flawed in that virtually no relationship is ever consummated and developed with the local flock. This is due to the fact that the traveling ministries rely on the body for their income and in order to meet daily expenses extensive movement is required.

The second flaw of the current system is that no deposits are left behind. Good words and services may occur, but life changing power is not deposited into the saints. This is due to the short time spans that the itinerant minister may spend at each location. Accuracy in relationship takes time. It is not possible for an itinerant minister to completely furnish anything in a congregation that he spends only a few hours over the course of a week with. Discernments must be made before adjusting/repairing can begin and that takes time; face to face time that involves the day to day interactions between the saints and the functioning minister. The act of perfecting requires continued interaction over time....

...To be continued