The Gift of Apostles and Prophets
May 11/12, 2024
Daniel Im, Lead Pastor

We all have:
1. The same gift giver
- Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. (Ephesians 4:7 CSB)

- Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17 CSB)

2. Different gifts
- For it says: When he ascended on high, he took the captives captive; he gave gifts to people. But what does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower parts of the earth? The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, to fill all things. (Ephesians 4:8-10 CSB)

- And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11 CSB)

- See 1 Corinthians 12:8-11 and Romans 12:6-8

3. Unique roles
- And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11–12 CSB)

- APEST: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shepherds, Teachers

- “To drive the point home in relation to all the fivefold functions, we can say that without the apostolic function we would undercut the missionary purposes of the church in every age and context; deprived of the prophetic function the church would fail in its obligation to stand against unfaithfulness, unrighteousness, and injustice wherever these are found; without a deep sense of the evangelistic purpose the church would not feel itself obliged to proclaim good news in a bad-news world; without its community-building capacities (S) the church would not even exist as a viable entity in society; without the pedagogic functions (T) we would lack appropriate knowledge and wisdom, and so would be quickly lost or become dangerous fanatics. Because it is the Body of Christ—the literal embodiment of Jesus in the world—the church itself is always called to be missional, prophetic, evangelistic, pastoral, and wise.” - Alan Hirsch

Apostolic-Apostle
- Purpose: To help maintain and develop the sentness of the church

Prophetic-Prophet
- Purpose: To help the church fulfill her unique purpose of being God’s holy people in the world