Individual Gifts
From 1 Corinthians 12:8-11 we see the gifts given to individuals, these being: Words of Wisdom, Words of Knowledge, Faith, Healing, Miracles, Prophecy, Discernment of Spirits, Tongues and the Interpretation of Tongues for the common good.
Ministries Defined
Ephesians 4:11-16 is traditionally used to explain what is known as the 5-fold ministry, that being the ministries of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. That raises the following questions: are these offices of the church still relevant today; are they expected to be in every church; or are they reserved for only the universal church? Please note that these are ‘offices’ gifted to the church, not gifts for individuals, though the gifting would expect to be present in one fulfilling the office. It should be obvious that although there are those that deny the ongoing appointment of these offices within the Body of Christ, that these offices are still being appointed by Christ. Whether all who call themselves apostle, prophet etc really are what they claim is another question, but the surety is that genuine ministers to these offices exist today, as the one who appoints them still exists today (Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever). As officers for the Body of Christ one may not necessarily find all offices fulfilled within each and every congregation, but every congregation should be able to have access to these offices.
Is the 5-fold ministry a scriptural reality? The answer must be that the list of the 5 ministries in Ephesians chapter 4 is not the entire list of the ministries appointed by Jesus to administer to the saints. First Corinthians chapter 12 verses 28-30 lists offices for the Body as well. The gifts to the church can be understood as being the offices appointed to lead, guide and maintain the body, either locally, regionally or globally. Although a person having an individual gifting (such as prophecy) may not necessarily be placed in that Office, though most definitely, one in the Office must have the appropriate gift(s).
