Two Are Better Than One

EPH 4:11 - EVANGELISTS, eu-ag-ge-lisTES, 3x, Strong #2099

From #2097 eu-ag-geLIzo,55x, to announce good news, esp. the Gospel

See ev-agGEli-on, 77x, #2098, especially the good message of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God

1. Acts 21:8 (1-14, #2099, I. Panin's NNT) PHILIP: FIRST MENTION OF EVANGELIST, ONE PROMOTED FROM A DEACON. “And on the morrow we departed, andcame unto Caesarea: and entering into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we abode with him.” Both Philip and Stephen were lifted from the rank of deacon into the third of the 5-fold ministries. No man chooses such a place for himself - neither do men set a fellow-man into this position without receiving the Lord's mandate for this decision.

2. EPH 4:11 (1-16, #2099) EVANGELISTS: A GIFT OF CHRIST TO THE CHURCH. “And HE gave some as apostles; and some, prophets; and some evangelists; and some shepherds and teachers.” Jesus gavethese 5-fold ministries to the church. This act along with “set” in 1 COR 12:28 are in the “Aorist tense” in the Greek. We in English do not have this remarkable tense - that may appear in the past, present or future. In the above 2 cases they are both in the past aorist tense. This is a tense complete in itself, rounded off, but with continuing consequences. Application? God intends that as long as the church remains in this world, these 5 ministries, including apostles and prophets, should continue to function.

3. 2 TIM 4:5 (1-5, #2099) PAUL'S COMMISSION TO TIMOTHY AS AN EVANGELIST. “But be you sober in all things,suffer hardship, do an evangelist'swork, fulfill your :ministry.” Paul took Timothy as a young man to groom him as an apostolic pastor of a city church, and as a future replacement to Paul himself. But in a secondary calling, Timothy is to function as an evangelistalso. He was a timid young man, and needed this exhortation.

4. Acts 15:7 (6-21, #2098) PETER; FIRST TO BE COMMISSIONED TO PREACH GOSPELTO GENTILES. “And when therehad been much questioning, Peter rose up, andsaid unto them, Men andbrethren, YOU know that a good while ago :God made choice among you, that by my :mouth the nations should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.” Though Jesus later raised up Paul as the apostle to the Gentiles - yet in the beginning He chose Peter, the apostle to the Jewish circumcision, to first give the gospelto the Gentiles. God is God! In His hidden wisdom and Sovereign choice, He as our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer, has the prerogative to do with each of us as He will.

5. Acts 20:24 (17-38, #2098) THE GOOD NEWSOF THE GRACE OF GOD: IS HIS KINGDOM! “But I hold :life of no account as dear unto myself, so that I may accomplish my :course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of :God.” God's grace comes to mankind through the preaching of the Gospelof the kingdom. As Moses peculiarly was chosen of God as the apostle to Israel, so Paul in the New Testament is His choice as apostle to the Gentiles. By preaching the Gospelof the Kingdom to them, he was like Timothy also - doing the work of an evangelist.

6. MAT 4:23 (18-25, #2098) A KEY PART OF JESUS' MINISTRY: PREACHING THE GOSPELOF THE KINGDOM. “And he went about in all :Galilee, teaching in their :synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every infirmity among the people.” Jesus in perfect measure exemplified all of the 5-fold ministries - functioning in perfect balance. He as it were divides Himself for His Body - us - dividing to each that ministry that is according to Hiswill. In this verse we see Jesus the Evangelistoperating.

7. MAT 9:35 (9:35-10:15, #2098) JESUS: COMMISSIONS 12 APOSTLES WITH GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM. “And :Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their :synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every infirmity.” In a more specific manner Jesus again demonstrates the office of the Evangelistbefore His 12 chosen disciples to soon become apostles. He then commissions them and sends them forth to do the same working of miracles that accompanied the preaching of the Gospelof the Kingdom by Jesus.

8. MAT 24:14 (1-31, #2098) A GOSPEL MANDATEOF UNUSUAL SIGNIFICANCE. “And this :gospel of the kingdomshall be preached in the whole inhabited earthfor a witness unto all the nations; and then shall the end come.” This is one of the most significant and illuminating mandates for apostles and disciples in the entire New Testament. Let us ponder it carefully. Notice the word then. The end is dependent upon the fulfillment of this mandate.

NOTE: Someone in the past came up with the following analogy for the 5-fold. He took the “hand” with the 5 fingers, and gave the Apostle as the thumb, that had ready and easy access to the other 4 fingers.

Next he saw the pointing second finger as the Prophet. This is quite an accurate description of what a prophet does!

The middle finger is the longest, and represents the Evangelist. This ministry tends to go to “The Regions Beyond,” further than the other ministries tend to go.

The fourth finger is the Pastor, closely associated with the fifth finger, the Teacher.

There has been some controversy over whether there is a 5-fold or 4-fold ministry delineated in Ephesians 4:11, because the latter two are separated by an “and,” not a comma.

However, in 1 Corinthians 12:28, the Teacher is given a prominent third position next to the Apostle and Prophet, without a mention of the pastor. This would seem to set forth a distinctive position for the Teacher.

Some have noted that in Isaiah 9:6-7, Jesus is given in His Pre-incarnate state, 4 double names: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. They have linked these with Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist and Pastor-teacher, these 4.

I tend to side with 1 Corinthians 12:28 to settle this problem, and therefore stick with the 5-fold.