EPHESIANS 4:11 – Part 2 

SPIRITUAL GIFTS

A Pillar In The House Of Yahweh

Welcome and thank you for joining us as we continue on the disciple ‘ship’ series of the Spiritual Gifts for use in ministry.  This series is related to a previous post called “T.R.A.S.H. Talk, The Command To Build God’s House” and it is one of the seven pillars of which Wisdom has built her house and has hewn out her seven pillars (Proverbs 9:1) Click on above link to read the full blog post. For those of you new to this website, T.R.A.S.H. is an acronym for ‘Truly Redeemed And Sanctified In Him’.

If you have not read Part One, click HERE and you will be directed to the teaching.

The Spiritual Gifts series is designed to introduce you to the various ministry gifts that you read about in the Bible, specifically in Romans 12:4-8 (prophet, servant, teacher, exhorter, giver, ruler, mercy), Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher), and 1 Corinthians 12:7-13 (word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healings, miracles, prophecy, discernment, tongues, interpretation of tongues).  While there is some controversy regarding spiritual gifts, the word of God stands on its own authority—Yeshua HaMashiach.

In Part One we began with the gifts in Ephesians 4:11 and studied the gifts of Apostle and Prophet. In this post, we will cover Evangelist, Pastor, and Teacher.

Ephesians 4:1-16 – 1I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8Therefore He says:

“When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.”

9(Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. (color emphasis mine)

In the above passage of Ephesians, Paul is emphasizing unity of the Faith within the body of Christ and he immediately lays out the importance of the fruit of the spirit as works of faith to help achieve it. It is walking in and living in the Spirit that makes your walk worthy of the calling you are called to. Leaders within the body of Yeshua have the responsibility to equip the saints for the works of ministry. We must ask ourselves why are there millions still sitting in pews and never stepping into that which they have been destined to do for the kingdom of Yahweh here on earth? 

As we go over what these gifts truly represent and how they are to be used, we pray you will seek the Holy Spirit of Truth and develop a hunger and thirst for righteousness so that you may be filled. Yeshua is the perfect example of everyone of these Spiritual Gifts so it is most fitting to begin with Him.

Below is the original Paleo-Hebrew definition of each gift.  As you read about these five gifts, keep their original Paleo-Hebrewdefinition in mind. With understanding, you can better discern the fruit of the Spirit.

Paleo-Hebrew Definition:

1. Apostle – Messenger; One sent with a message
2. Prophet – Puts Seed in Hand (Seed is His Word)
3. Evangelist – Supports Truth with Authority
4. Pastor – Authoritative Understanding of Covenant
5. Teacher – Brings Truth to the Ear

We begin this study with Evangelist – Supports truth with authority. The word Evangelist (Ev-angel-ist) also has spiritual significance to its spelling with its prefix and suffix that few consider.

Ev = life or breath (Latin form of Eve, which is from the Hebrew Hayya, meaning “life” or “breathe”) 

angel = messenger; to send (comes from the Greek word angelos which means “to send”. The corresponding Hebrew word is malach (malachim in the plural) which means messenger. In both cases it is a type of “job description,” rather than a description of their essence or nature.) 

ist = one that does (“one that does.” The suffix -ist changes nouns, verbs, and adjectives into nouns, with the meaning “one that works with, is connected with, or believes in” the thing referred to in the stem.)

One given as an evangelist is one who Yeshua designates to send as His messenger, led by the Holy Spirit, and supports the Truth of the living Yeshua (the breath of Life). Yeshua appointed Evangelists will know the truth, have an authoritative understanding of the new covenant, and of course will support that truth with the authority Yeshua has given them. Authority carries power and anointing.

Also, notice the relationship of evangelist to an apostle—very similar although different. We want you to think about the goodness of Yahweh and His divine purpose for mankind and why the gifts of the Spirit are one of the pillars in His house and how they are designed to work together to equip the saints for ministry and to bring edification to the body. 

Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ), The Evangelist

^{Lk 4:18} “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, ^{Lk 4:19} to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

^{Mk 9:41} I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward. ^{Mk 9:42} “And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. ^{Mk 9:43} If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.

Yeshua’s whole prophesied ministry was a ministry of an Evangelist. He came in Truth, preached the gospel of the kingdom, and demonstrated the Truth in power and authority as he taught his disciples, healed the sick, cast out unclean spirits, and raised the dead. There was no greater evangelist than Him. His first evangelist outreach was His sermon on the mountain with His teaching on the Beatitudes. He told his disciples that whoever believed in Him would do the same works in faith as they saw him do and do even greater works than him. He cautioned His disciples to not rejoice in the fact that demons fled in His name but to rejoice that their name was written in the books of Life. Humility is an essential virtue of the spiritual gifts.

Philip, one of the twelve apostles, was one given the gift of an Evangelist. He was also one of the seven deacons. His dominate redemptive gifts were Prophet, Servant, Exhorter, Giver, Ruler, and Mercy. His spiritual gifts were ‘word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discernment.’ Scriptures say: 

^{Jn 1:43} The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” ^{Jn 1:44} Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 

^{Jn 1:45} Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote —Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

^{Jn 1:46} “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. ^{Jn 1:47} When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” ^{Jn 1:48} “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

Notice that not only was Philip an apostle and an evangelist, he also served in a ministry function of deacon with his gift of servant. You can read about this in Acts 6:1-3. For now, let’s see Philip as Evangelist, who by the way had four daughters with the gift of prophecy. Do you see Spiritual gifts within the body?

^{Ac 21:8} Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven.  ^{Ac 21:9} He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.^{Ac 8:26} Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”  ^{Ac 8:27} So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, ^{Ac 8:28} and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet.  ^{Ac 8:29} The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” ^{Ac 8:30} Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. ^{Ac 8:31} “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ^{Ac 8:32} The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. ^{Ac 8:33} In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” ^{Ac 8:34} The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?”  ^{Ac 8:35} Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. ^{Ac 8:36} As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” ^{Ac 8:38} And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

Examine carefully all we read that Philip did as an evangelist. The first thing to note is that he did nothing that wasn’t truly led by the Holy Spirit and Yeshua. He was filled with the Spirit of Yahweh and knew His Shepherd’s voice. When he was told where to go and what to do, he obeyed and saw the power of Yahweh at work. This is such a key component in any office of leadership for Yeshua. Without knowing and hearing His voice, going out in one’s own might and flesh rarely brings the demonstrated power and authority of the Holy Spirit. Blessings and opportunities are missed for both because the timing and/or anointing is out of sync. Sure, one may get some folks to attend their church on the corner, but then what? Unless they are trained and equipped for the ministry and released to walk in a manner worthy of their calling, it’s just works and is usually more for numbers within the coffers and pews than for the kingdom of Yahweh. 

Yeshua addressed this in Matthew 23:15:

15“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

Yeshua HaMashiach, The Good Shepherd (Pastor/Overseer)

Pastor- Authoritative Understanding of Covenant (In Hebrew the word for pastor is ra’ah (רעה). This word is also the word for shepherd. The root used here means to feed.) 

There are countless scriptures referencing the new Covenant of Yeshua HaMashiach. In the Study of Galatians – Chapter 4, we give a full overview of the two covenants (the covenant with the bondwoman and freewoman). There is also a blog on the Marriage Covenant for better understanding. 

Malachi 1:11 – 11For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the Lord of hosts.

The Coming Messenger

Malachi 3:1 1“Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple,
even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight.
Behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.

Hebrews 8:7-9 7For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 9not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. 

Hebrews 8:13In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

John 10:11-18 11“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. 12But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. 13The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. 14I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. 15As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

17“Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”

Matthew 26:26-29 26And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

27Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

The Marriage Covenant of the Yeshua

Ephesians 5:22-33 22Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. 25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 31“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. (Emphasis Mine)

As we see in the definition, the word Shepherd is the appropriate word over pastor. Overseer, elder, bishop will be found in scripture and they are synonymous with Shepherd. The word Pastor is not found. Although Pastor is the common use today in churches, a pastor is the spiritual overseer of Yeshua’s flock according to Yeshua’s holy standard. In the early church there were many men and women given to be spiritual overseers. They understood the covenant and were faithful in their office. Paul speaks of both men and women alike who served in this capacity.

James was one of many who walked in the office of Pastor/Shepherd or Overseer of Yeshua’s flock. His redemptive gifts were Prophet, Servant, Teacher, Exhorter, Giver, Ruler, and Mercy. His gifts of the Spirit were ‘word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healings, prophecy, discernment, tongues & interpretation of tongues.’ Scriptures say: 

^{Ac 15:13} When they finished, James spoke up: “Brothers, listen to me.  ^{Ac 15:14} Simon ⁵⁷ has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. ^{Ac 15:15} the words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: ^{Ac 15:16} “‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, ^{Ac 15:17} that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’ ^{Ac 15:18} that have been known for ages. ^{Ac 15:19} “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.  ^{Ac 15:20} Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols,from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. ^{Ac 15:21} For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

The Book of James was written by Yeshua’s half brother to offer instruction and exhortation to Hebrew Christians who had been scattered abroad the nations and were experiencing problems, as all of us do. His letter is more practical than doctrinal, although he expresses the sound doctrine of Yeshua and the importance of faith and works saying “Faith without works is dead”. He was giving a wake up call to all Christians to get their life in order with what they believe, because all of humanity will be judged. He reminds his readers that Yahweh is “The Father of Lights, with whom there is no variations and Yeshua is “The Lord of Glory”. 

As a point of clarification, many people believe Timothy and Titus to have been Pastors; however, they were not. They were actually apostolic representatives for Paul that acted under his guidance. They had the gift of Ruler/Administrator and were responsible to appoint overseers and deacons in the churches. Timothy stayed behind in Ephesus for two years without Paul, with the charge to make sure the church was not teaching any other doctrine than the sound doctrine, and Titus was left in Crete to appoint elders (pastors/overseers) in every town. Both men were to return to join Paul upon completion of their assignment. 

Today there are churches led by men and women who are called pastors and yet Yeshua has not given them the gift of pastor. They may have a heart for Yeshua, but because they have been trained and equipped in accordance to man’s standards, which teaches a business model of church, and not actually called by Yeshua, the church body sitting under them falls under the category of a dead, sleeping, or sleep-walking church and many have and will stumble and fall. See teaching on the Glorious Church.

Yahweh is currently removing many from their posts because they have not an authoritative understanding of His Covenant and are causing many to stumble and fall.

Yeshua HaMashiach, The Teacher

Teacher – Brings Truth to the Ear

^{Jn 3:1} Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. ^{Jn 3:2} He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signsyou are doing if God were not with him.”

^{Mt 7:24} “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ^{Mt 7:25} The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ^{Mt 7:26} But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ^{Mt 7:27} The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” 

^{Mt 7:28} When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ^{Mt 7:29} because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

^{Jn 7:14} Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. ^{Jn 7:15} The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having studied?” ^{Jn 7:16} Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. ^{Jn 7:17} If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. ^{Jn 7:18} He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.

This is where understanding of the difference between a Pastor, Teacher, and Elder comes in. The three are interchangable. In 1 Timothy 3:2, you’ll read that all elders must be trained to teach. However, a Teacher must also have authoritative understanding of covenant in order to teach. The true gospel of Yeshua HaMashiach has been distorted and perverted because of a lack of understanding and people suffer from a lack of knowledge.

Aquila and Priscilla – Husband and Wife were given to be Elders/Teacher. Their dominant redemptive gifts were Servant, Teacher, Exhorter, Giver, and Ruler. Their gifts of the Spirit were ‘word of wisdom, faith, healings, and discernment.’

^{Ac 18:2} There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them,  ^{Ac 18:3} and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.

^{Ac 18:24} Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures.  ^{Ac 18:25} He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John.^{Ac 18:26} He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

^{Ro 16:3} Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. ^{Ro 16:4} They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. 

^{Ro 16:5} Greet also the church that meets at their house.

Paul warns us in the Book of Galatians that if anyone teaches any other doctrine than the true gospel of Yeshua HaMashiach that he/she is accursed. James warns teachers that they will be held to a higher standard and accountability before Yahweh. Teachers must walk in full responsibility of Truth, not in selective responsibility. 

James 3:1-5 1My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. 2For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. 3Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. 4Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. 5Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.

There are those who preach and there are those who teach and while the two overlap in areas, there is a distinction between the two. Preaching involves such things as exhortation, exposition, admonition, encouragement, and comfort, while teaching the word is the transfer of information and instruction for the purpose of training and equipping.  Coupled together shines the light of Yeshua upon His bride.

Romans 10:14-17 – 14How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

16But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” 17So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

In closing this teaching series on the Spiritual Gifts in Ephesians 4:11, may it be imprinted upon your spirit and heart that in all things relative to the gifts of Yeshua. If you have not already done so, go through the teachings on Romans 12:4-8.  All the gifts must be demonstrated in love, without conceit, nor from selfish ambition or personal gain. For we do all things for the glory of Yahweh, in honor of Yeshua HaMashiach, for the kingdom of heaven here on earth.

We invite you to join in the continuation of the disciple ‘ship’ series of the Spiritual Gifts. If you are not subscribed to this website, please subscribe below and you will be notified when new posts are available.

Until then, be blessed and know you are loved.