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The ministry gifts |
Introduction
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It is
written: “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one
hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of
all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:4-6). |
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Brothers
in the Lord, when you believed in the name of the Son of God you united
yourselves with the Lord and you became one spirit with Him, thus you became
members of the body of Christ. |
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We, as
believers in the Lord, are one body, we have one hope, that is, the hope of
glory to which God called us through Christ Jesus; we have one faith; we have
one Spirit, that is, the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba,
Father!’; we have received one baptism, that is, the water baptism ministered
to us by immersion in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit; we have one Lord, that is, Jesus Christ whom God raised from the dead;
and we have one Father, that is, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
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We have
nothing to boast about before God, because we have been saved by the grace of
God, and not by good works which we have done, “but to each one of us grace
was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift” (Ephesians 4:7 - NKJV),
which means that each one of us has his own gift from God and thus, since we
have different gifts, we do not all have the same function in the house of
God. |
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It is
written: “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:
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 fulness of
Christ: 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; But speaking the truth in
love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ” (Ephesians
4:11-15). |
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The first
thing I want to say about the ministry gifts is that “there are differences
of ministries, but the same Lord” (1 Corinthians 12:5 - NKJV), therefore the
ministries which God has appointed in His Church are different from one
another. However, though their function is different from one another, they
are given by the same Lord to those who have been called by God to the
ministry. The ministers of God know that they have received from the Lord
different gifts and that to each one of them grace was given according to the
measure of Christ’s gift. As you can see, the Scripture calls it ‘the measure
of Christ’s gift’, this because each ministry gift is given by Christ Jesus,
as it is written: “When He ascended on high …. He gave gifts to men” (Ephesians
4:8 – NKJV. Psalm 68:18). The ministry gifts too are from above, as it is
written: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above ….” (James |
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Paul said
of himself and of his fellow workers, who were ministers of the Gospel: “Not
that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but
our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new
testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but
the spirit giveth life” (2 Corinthians 3:5-6). As you can see, Paul and his
fellow workers had been made able ministers of the New Covenant by God and
not by other men, therefore it is wrong to think that a |
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Now let us
examine the way God worked in Paul, so that we may understand that it is God
who works in those whom He has chosen to fulfil a ministry or more than one
ministry (as in the case of Paul). |
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Paul of
Tarsus, according to the flesh, had lived a Pharisee and had been brought up
at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of his fathers’
law. Now one day it came to pass that while he was going to Damascus to
persecute the disciples of the Lord, he had a vision in which Jesus appeared
to him and, among other things, He said to him: “I have appeared to you for this
purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you
have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you” (Acts 26:16 –
NKJV). Before Jesus appeared to Paul on that road, Paul persecuted the Church,
but through that vision he turned to the Lord. In that vision which Paul had,
Jesus said to him: “I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a
minister ….” (Acts 26:26), this means that Paul was made a minister of the Gospel
by the Lord and not by men. Several years later Paul confirmed that he had
received the ministry from the Lord when he said to the elders of the Church of
Ephesus: “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to
myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I
received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God”
(Acts 20:24 – NKJV). After the Lord appeared and spoke to Paul, the men who
journeyed with him led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus where,
after three days - during which he was without sight and did not eat or drink
- God sent to him a certain disciple named Ananias so that Paul might receive
his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. “Then Saul [Paul] spent some
days with the disciples at |
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Paul went
up to Jerusalem only after three years to see Peter and remained with him
fifteen days, but He saw “none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s
brother” (Galatians 1:19 – NKJV). Also at Jerusalem Paul “spoke boldly in the
name of the Lord” (Acts |
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Paul
stayed at |
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God still acts
in a particular way (which may seem strange to some and incomprehensible to
others) in some people to make them ministers; do you know why? Because He
wants to show the proud and the vainglorious persons (such as those who think
that unless one attends a |
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Some
people are called pastors, teachers and evangelists, but unless they have
some sheets of paper before their face or in the midst of their Bible or
unless they have learned by heart their speech to recite it in public, they
are not able to speak about the doctrine of God or to preach the Gospel: only
in this way they manage to deliver a speech, they are so devoid of the Word
of God that if you take away from them their notes they are no longer able to
preach; this, because the word of Christ does not dwell in them richly; they
have a heart trained in covetous practices, their heart is not trained to
receive with meekness the Word. When the Jews heard Jesus they marvelled,
saying: “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?” (John |
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A man who
had worked as a carpenter turned |
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Do you
remember what the people of |
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God made
men like Peter, Andrew, James and John, who were fishermen, apostles,
ministers of the Gospel; they were not wise according to the world, for when
the chief priests and the elders saw the boldness of Peter and John they
“perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men” (Acts 4:13 – NKJV);
notwithstanding this the Holy Spirit spoke through them and performed mighty
works through them. Consider this: when we read the epistles of Simon Peter
and of John, we read the words written by two fishermen. They were not engineers
or professors who could show their ‘degrees’ but simple fishermen; yet we are
edified when we read their epistles, whereas we are not edified at all when
we hear those persons who are very educated expound the things of God with
words taught by man’s wisdom. |
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Brothers,
remember these things: Noah was a farmer but also “a preacher of
righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5 – NKJV); Amos, who was appointed as a prophet by
God, “was among the sheep breeders of Tekoa” (Amos 1:1 – NKJV) and he himself
confirmed this when he said: “I was a sheepbreeder and a tender of sycamore
fruit. Then the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said to
me: ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel” (Amos 7:14-15 – NKJV); when the
prophet Elijah found Elisha (whom Elijah anointed as prophet in his place) he
“was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the
twelfth” (1 Kings 19:19 – NKJV); when Jeremiah was set over the nations and
over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw
down, to build and to plant, he was only a child. |
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In this
generation also, God has chosen some farmers, some fishermen, some
carpenters, and even some manurers, some shoemakers, and many others who
haven’t had much schooling (some were even illiterate) and made them
ministers of the Gospel and enabled them to preach with boldness, with power
and with deep conviction (to some of them God gave gifts of healings and the
working of miracles), and this in order to put to shame those who think they
are wise and powerful, so that they cannot boast before God. |
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Apostle
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The
apostle is one who is sent forth by the Holy Spirit to preach the Word of God
to a nation (or to unevangelized regions). |
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Let us
take for example the twelve disciples of Jesus, who were appointed apostles
and sent forth to preach the |
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After the
Holy Spirit came upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost, other men were
appointed as apostles by the Lord; among them were Paul and Barnabas. Here is
how they became apostles. It is written: “Now there were in the church that
was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that
was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up
with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and
fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto
I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands
on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost,
departed unto |
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Among the
other apostles mentioned by the Scripture are also Silvanus and Timothy, who
were fellow-workers of Paul. We learn that they also were apostles of Christ
from the following words of Paul to the Thessalonians: “Nor did we seek glory
from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as
apostles of Christ ….” (1 Thessalonians 2:6 – NKJV), for when Paul wrote ‘we’
he referred to Him, Silvanus and Timothy, as it is written: “Paul, Silvanus
and Timothy, to the Church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 1:1 – NKJV). |
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Paul wrote
to the saints who were in |
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God “has
appointed these in the church: first apostles …..” (1 Corinthians |
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I conclude
by saying that just as there are apostles of Christ so there are also false
apostles, who transform themselves into apostles of Christ. Some false
apostles came in among the Corinthians, for Paul said to the Corinthians
about some: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming
themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is
transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his
ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end
shall be according to their works” (2 Corinthians |
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Prophet
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As for the
ministry of prophet, Paul wrote that God has appointed in the church: “…..
second prophets ….” (1 Corinthians |
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Brothers,
know this, that God still appoints some believers as prophets and it could
not be otherwise in that the ministry of prophet also is among the ministry
gifts. |
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Now, how
do we know if one was appointed as a prophet by God? He who has received the
ministry of prophet has received the gift of prophecy and some gifts of
revelation as well. According to the Scripture, the gifts of revelation are
the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge and the ability to distinguish
among spirits (or the gift of discerning of spirits). |
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A prophet
is one who often has visions and revelations. |
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God said
to Aaron and Mary: “Here now my words: If there is a prophet among you, I,
the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision, I speak to him in a dream” (Numbers
12:6 – NKJV). These words show that a prophet receives visions and dreams
from God; bear in mind this thing because it is one of the things that characterize
a prophet. |
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Under the Old
Covenant there were many prophets and if we examine carefully their ministry
we clearly see that besides prophesying when the Holy Spirit came upon them
they often received visions and revelations from God, through which God
revealed His word to them. |
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Samuel and
Elisha |
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Let us
take for example Samuel; it is written: “And all |
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Let us see
what the Scripture says about the encounter of Saul with Samuel in order to
understand how the gifts of revelation were present in the prophetic ministry
of Samuel. It is written: “And the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost. And
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It is
evident from the above mentioned Scriptures that the word of wisdom and the
word of knowledge were operating in the ministry of Samuel. However, besides
these gifts, Samuel had also the gift of prophecy (thus he prophesied, and I
remind you that “he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and
comfort to men” 1 Corinthians 14:3 - NKJV). Samuel stood as leader over the
group of prophets for when Saul sent messengers to take David, who was at
Naioth in Ramah, “they saw the group of prophets prophesying, and Samuel
standing as leader over them” (1 Samuel |
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So that
you may understand that the gifts of revelation are present in the prophetic
ministry, I will speak to you about the prophet Elisha as well. |
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After
Naaman the Syrian was healed of leprosy, it came to pass that Naaman urged
Elisha to take a gift but the prophet refused to take a gift from Naaman. However,
after Naaman departed from Elisha, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, pursued
Naaman and asked him for silver and garments. So he secretly took gifts from
Naaman. But God revealed Gehazi’s sin to Elisha through a word of knowledge. Here
is what the Scripture says: “But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of
God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving
at his hands that which he brought: but, as the LORD liveth, I will run after
him, and take somewhat of him. So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when
Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet
him, and said, Is all well? And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me,
saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from mount Ephraim two young men
of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and
two changes of garments. And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And
he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes
of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them
before him. And when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand, and
bestowed them in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed. But he
went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest
thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither. And he said unto him,
Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to
meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and
oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and
maidservants? The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and
unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as
snow” (2 Kings |
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Now, in
order to show you that Elisha was able to know some incidents which had
happened to other people only if and when God wanted him to know them, I want
to remind you of the following incident. “And it fell on a day, that Elisha
passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat
bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to
eat bread. And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is
an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little
chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a
table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us,
that he shall turn in thither. And it fell on a day, that he came thither,
and he turned into the chamber, and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his
servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before
him. And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful
for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be
spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I
dwell among mine own people. And he said, What then is to be done for her? And
Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old. And he
said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. And he
said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a
son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine
handmaid. And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha
had said unto her, according to the time of life. And when the child was
grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. And
he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to
his mother. And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat
on her knees till |
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Here is
now a revelation concerning a future event (that is, a word of wisdom) which
Elisha received from the Lord while there was a great famine in |
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The word
of knowledge and of wisdom in the Lord Jesus |
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Let us see
now a word of knowledge that Jesus (who was a prophet) spoke while He was talking
with a Samaritan woman. John says: “He [Jesus]
left |
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Here is
now a word of wisdom which Jesus spoke on the night He was betrayed. He said
to Peter: “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows,
you will deny Me three times." (Matthew 26:34 - NKJV). That word was
fulfilled on that same night, as Jesus had said. |
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The word
of wisdom in the prophet Agabus |
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In the
book of the Acts of the apostles Luke speaks of a certain prophet named
Agabus, who foretold two different events on two different occasions. Let us
look at them. First prediction; it is written: “During this time some
prophets came down from |
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How God
speaks to the prophets |
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The
prophets of old often received the word of God in vision; the following
expressions: “The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning |
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However, many
times God revealed His word to His prophets even without visions, that is, by
making them hear His voice. The passages of the Scripture which indicate this
way of revealing the word on the part of God are the following ones: “The
word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying ….” (1 Kings 18:1
– NKJV); “Now it happened, as they sat at the table, that the word of the
Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back” (1 Kings |
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God,
through His prophets, still reveals things to the Church and to men
individually. This means that even today, when God wills, He sends a prophet
to bring a specific word to a Church or to a man. |
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The gift
of prophecy |
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As I said
before, in the prophet are operating the gift of prophecy together with at
least two gifts of revelation (the gifts of revelation are three). In the
manifestation of the gift of prophecy there is no revelation of future events
for “he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men”
(1 Corinthians 14:3 – NKJV). I will give you some examples taken from the
Scripture to show you what the gift of prophecy consists of. |
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Isaiah,
who was a prophet of God, through the Spirit, by the gift of prophecy spoke
to men the following words of edification: “Give ye ear, and hear my voice;
hearken, and hear my speech. Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he
open and break the clods of his ground? When he hath made plain the face thereof,
doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the
principal wheat and the appointed barley and rie in their place? For his God
doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him. For the fitches are not
threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about
upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin
with a rod. Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it,
nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.
This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel,
and excellent in working” (Isaiah 28:23-29). |
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Here is an
example of exhortation spoken to men by Isaiah through the gift of prophecy:
“Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye
transgressors. …. Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your
fear, and let him be your dread. ….. Wash you, make you clean; put away the
evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do
well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for
the widow” (Isaiah 46:8; 8:13; 1:16-17). |
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Let us see
now an example of comfort spoken to men by Isaiah through the gift of
prophecy: “I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou
shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which
shall be made as grass; …. Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the
people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be
ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment,
and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for
ever, and my salvation from generation to generation. …. But now thus saith
the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear
not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the
rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire,
thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee” (Isaiah
51:12; 51:7-8; 43:1-2). Have you noticed that in the above mentioned
prophecies there is not any prediction of a future event, such as a famine, a
war, the birth of someone and the death of someone? |
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Warnings |
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Know this,
that when God exhorts a man through a prophet, if he accepts the words that
the prophet has spoken in the name of the Lord and he submits to the will of
God, he will prosper; but if he rejects the words of the prophet he will bear
the consequences of his rebellion. |
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I want you
to know also that God punishes those prophets who presume to speak in His
name anything He has not commanded them to speak; our God is holy, and thus
falsehood, even if it is practiced by one of His prophets, is an abomination
in His sight. God says in the law: “But the prophet who presumes to speak a
word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in
the name of other gods, that prophet shall die” (Deuteronomy |
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How do we
know if the thing predicted by a prophet in the name of the Lord is a word
which God has not spoken? We must wait for its fulfilment because when the prediction
of the prophet does not happen that means that his word was not the word of
God but just a word spoken presumptuously. For God says also: “And if you say
in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ –
‘when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen
or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet
has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him” (Deuteronomy
18:21-22 – NKJV). |
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Testing
prophecies and revelations |
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The things
which are spoken by a prophet of God in the name of the Lord must be tested
and judged, as it is written: “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the
others judge” (1 Corinthians |
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Here is an
incident which happened in the days of Jeremiah which teaches us that a
prophet can speak presumptuously. It is written in the book of Jeremiah: “And
it came to pass the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king
of Judah, in the fourth year, and in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son
of Azur the prophet, which was of Gibeon, spake unto me in the house of the
LORD, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying, Thus
speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke
of the king of Babylon. Within two full years will I bring again into this
place all the vessels of the LORD's house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon took away from this place, and carried them to Babylon: And I will
bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with
all the captives of Judah, that went into Babylon, saith the LORD: for I will
break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto
the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of
all the people that stood in the house of the LORD, Even the prophet Jeremiah
said, Amen: the LORD do so: the LORD perform thy words which thou hast
prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the LORD's house, and all that is
carried away captive, from Babylon into this place. Nevertheless hear thou
now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people;
The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both
against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and
of pestilence. The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the
prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD
hath truly sent him. Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the
prophet Jeremiah's neck, and brake it. And Hananiah spake in the presence of
all the people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Even so will I break the yoke of
Nebuchadnezzar king of |
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- a woman
can teach, while the Word of God says: “I do not permit a woman to teach” (1 Timothy
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- if a
woman prays to God with her head uncovered she does nothing wrong, while the
Scripture says: “But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head
uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head
were shaved” (1 Corinthians 11:5 - NKJV) |
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- if a
woman wears jewelry or expensive dresses she does nothing wrong because God
‘looks at the heart,’ while the Scripture states: “I desire therefore that
the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;
in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with
propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly
clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good
works” (1 Timothy 2:8-10 - NKJV) |
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- divorced
people can remarry, while the Scripture states: “Whoever divorces his wife
and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced
from her husband commits adultery” (Luke |
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We reject
all these prophecies because they contradict the Word of God and thus they do
not proceed from the mouth of God. It is not the Spirit of truth who speaks
these prophecies but the spirit of error. These things are nice in
themselves, yet at the same time they are untrue. |
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There is
another biblical story which shows that God cannot contradict His own Word,
it is the story of that prophet who came from |
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Some
prophets, by their false prophecies, are trying to induce those teachers who hold
fast to the truth to turn their ears away from the truth. In order to induce
the simple to reject the sound doctrine, they try to deceive them into believing
that the doctrine of God is out-of-date, that the doctrine of God needs to be
revised, but the doctrine of God is not to be revised at all, and woe to
those who try to revise it, they will bear the consequences of their
rebellion, no matter who they are. |
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Some false
teachings on the prophetic ministry |
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It is not
true that the pastor is also a prophet in that he speaks of the things to
come written in the Word of God, such as the coming of the Lord and other
events which are to take place. A pastor is also a prophet if God has given
him also the prophetic ministry, otherwise, no matter how much he speaks
about the things to come which are written in the Bible, the fact that he
speaks of these things does not make him a prophet. |
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Neither is
it true that we are all prophets in the Church because when we speak of the
Lord to other people, we speak to them from God as did the prophets of old. The
fact that one evangelizes and proclaims the Word of God in the name of the
Lord does not mean that he is a prophet, for in order to be considered a
prophet a believer must have received the gift of prophecy and gifts of
revelation. |
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Even the
fact that one has the gift of prophecy does not mean that he is a prophet,
because a prophet – I say it again - besides the gift of prophecy, has also
some gifts of revelation. “Are all prophets?” (1 Corinthians |
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Some teach
that since the Holy Spirit has been poured out, and He guides every Christian
into all truth, today we do not need prophets any longer, as the Israelites
needed them under the Old Covenant. However, this cannot be proved by the
Scripture, thus we do not accept it. |
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In the
early Church there were some prophets; the Scripture says that Judas and
Silas were prophets (Acts 15:32); in the Church that was at Antioch there
were some prophets (Acts 13:1); the ministry of prophet is mentioned among
the ministry gifts Paul speaks of in his epistle to the Ephesians (Ephesians 4:11),
and it is also mentioned in one of his letters to the Corinthians, as Paul
wrote to them: “Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his
peace. … And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God
is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the
saints” (1 Corinthians |
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The swift
of foot shall not escape, Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself. The
most courageous men of might Shall flee naked in that day," (Amos |
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Of course,
Paul said that what is spoken by the prophets must be judged, but he did not
forbid the prophets to speak in the church: the apostle said also that if
anything is revealed to another (that is, one of the prophets) who sits by,
the first must keep silent, therefore Paul did not believe that God had
ceased giving revelations for the Church. Why then should we believe that God
has ceased giving revelations? Note that when Paul says: “If a revelation
comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop” (1 Corinthians
14:30 – NIV), the word ‘revelation’ does not refer to ‘a teaching of the Word
of God’ (as some say for lack of knowledge) because a short time before Paul
says: “How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has
a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an
interpretation. Let all things be done for edification” (1 Corinthians |
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Paul said:
“Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians |
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As for the
prophetic ministry under the Old Covenant, I want to say this. As you know,
under the Old Covenant the Spirit had not yet been poured out upon all flesh,
however I remind you that at that time God anointed some kings with the Holy
Spirit and those kings were guided by God also through some revelations, that
God gave them by the prophets. David, for instance, was anointed with the
Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit was in him, yet on certain occasions God
spoke to him through the prophets. While Saul was persecuting David, and
David was in Mizpah of Moab, the prophet Gad said to David: “Do not stay in
the stronghold; depart, and go to the |
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I have
mentioned these incidents of the life of David so that you may understand
that although the Spirit was upon David and in David, for the Holy Spirit
spoke through him, God spoke to David through His prophets as well. From this
point of view, things have not changed, because even though the saints have
the Holy Spirit in them (those who are filled with the Holy Spirit have a
greater measure of the Holy Spirit than those who have not yet been filled
with the Holy Spirit), and the Spirit guides them, on some occasions God
speaks to them through the prophets (by a prophecy or by some visions), just
as He did under the Old Covenant. On the other hand, the prophet Agabus
received from God a personal message for Paul, while Paul was at Caesarea
(Acts 21:10-11), therefore no wonder that God sometimes guides, comforts, strengthens,
and rebukes His sons, through some revelations given to the prophets. I do
not understand why we should say: ‘The ministry of prophet is no longer
necessary!, and at the same time: ‘However, the ministry of pastor is
necessary!’. All the ministry gifts are profitable to the Church, no one of
them is useless. I say to you who affirm that the prophetic ministry is no
longer necessary because the Spirit who is in us guides us into all truth:
‘As things are, according to your argument, if you say that the Spirit of
truth guides you into all truth, you should have no need of the pastors
either, who shepherd you, nor of the teachers, who teach you. Why then do you
recognize these ministries but you do not recognize the ministry of prophet?
Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no
need of you’, nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you’. No,
much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary
….” (1 Corinthians 12:21-22 – NKJV). Listen to me, you who say that the
ministry of prophet is not necessary in the Church: if one of your eyes could
speak and you heard it say to your right foot: ‘Listen, I don’t need you!’,
would you be happy? Would you not say that something is wrong with one of
your eyes? Would you not see a division in your body? Do you think then that
by saying such a thing about the prophetic ministry you make the Lord glad,
who is the Head of the Church? No, brother, the Lord does not like at all
these words of yours; come to your senses, acknowledge that the prophetic
ministry is still profitable; be wise for the Lord says: “My son, if your
heart is wise, my heart will rejoice – indeed, I myself ….” (Proverbs |
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The false
prophets |
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I want to
say something about the false prophets, so that you may not ignore their
existence and you may beware of them. |
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The
apostle Peter said that in ancient times there were some holy men of God who
spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, but he said also that there were
also false prophets among the people. That is clearly confirmed by the
Scriptures of the Old Testament, which teach that on the one hand there were
prophets who spoke by the Holy Spirit, and on the other hand there were some
false prophets who used their tongues and said: ‘The Lord says’, when the
Lord had not spoken to them. |
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Before
speaking about the false prophets, their false prophesies, and their wicked
conduct, I want to speak to you about the conduct of the people of |
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The Israelites
forsook the Rock of their salvation and turned to the idols of the nations
surrounding Israel, they played the harlot after those idols, for they made
for themselves idols and put them on the high places and they offered incense
and sacrifices to their idols (they even caused their sons and their
daughters to pass through the fire to their gods). In addition to this, the
Israelites stole, murdered, lied to one another, were lovers of money; according
to what the Scripture teaches, the Israelites forsook the commandments of
God. God saw their iniquities and was grieved in His heart; however, He was
not indifferent and so He sent the prophets to the Israelites and commanded
them to make known to the Israelites their sins and to exhort them to repent.
The holy prophets of God obeyed God and spoke the words of God to the
rebellious people; now I will quote some of the warnings the prophets gave to
the people of |
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Jeremiah
said: “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your
heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth
like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your
doings” (Jeremiah 4:4), and again: “Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith
the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am
merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. Only
acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy
God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and
ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD. Turn, O backsliding children,
saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city,
and two of a family, and I will bring you to |
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Ezekiel
said: “Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of |
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Isaiah
said: “Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye
transgressors. …. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings
from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment,
relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow” (Isaiah
46:8; 1:16-17) |
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God said
to the people of |
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Isaiah
said: “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But
if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of
the LORD hath spoken it” (Isaiah |
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Jeremiah
said: “But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not
to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of |
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How did
the rebels react to the warnings of the holy prophets? They persecuted,
slandered, beat, put in prison, and killed the prophets. |
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However,
there were also false prophets in the midst of the people of |
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Therefore,
from the Word of God we learn the following things about the false prophets: |
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they are greedy for money, for they prophesy for money, and thus if one gives
them something to eat they proclaim ‘peace’, but if one puts nothing in their
pockets they prepare to wage war against him |
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they commit adultery (or other sexual sins) for they are sensual persons |
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they love and practice falsehood because they speak about things which they
have not seen and which they have not heard from God, thus their predictions
fail |
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they are unjust because with lies they make the heart of the righteous sad,
whom God does not make sad; and they strengthen the hands of the wicked, so
that they do not turn from their wicked way |
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the rebellious people speak very well of them because the false prophets
flatter them by telling them that they will have peace and no evil will come
upon them |
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Therefore,
we conclude that the false prophets are really bad trees, which bear bad
fruit. However, just as the Lord did not leave the false prophets of old unpunished,
so the Lord will not leave the modern false prophets unpunished. Jesus said
that “every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into
the fire” (Matthew |
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Brothers,
there are many false prophets. Beware of them, lest you be torn by their
teeth. Remember that inwardly they are ravenous wolves even though they come
to you in sheep’s clothing (Matthew |
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Evangelist
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The
evangelist is one who goes from one town and village to another,
evangelizing, that is, proclaiming the Good News of the |
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Philip was
an evangelist, for the Scripture calls him “the evangelist” (Acts 21:8 -
NIV). Philip had been appointed to wait on tables together with other six
brothers, for he is also called “one of the seven” (Acts 21:8 - NKJV). Here
is what Luke says about the choosing of the seven: “And in those days, when
the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the
Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the
daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples
unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God,
and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of
honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over
this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the
ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they
chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and
Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of
Antioch: Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid
their hands on them” (Acts 6:1-6). At that time a great persecution arose
against the church which was at |
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Therefore,
the evangelist, according to the example we have in Philip, preaches the
Gospel, heals the sick (thus he has received gifts of healings), and he has
power to baptize in water those who repent and believe in the Lord. |
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Someone
will say: ‘What is the difference between the apostle and the evangelist,
since both of them preach the Gospel to the unbelievers?’ Here is the answer.
The apostle is sent by God to preach in another nation, while the evangelist,
in most cases, preaches in his own nation; furthermore, the apostle goes to
preach in unevangelized regions (that is, where there are no churches), there
he founds some churches and has elders elected for them in each church, while
the evangelist, in most cases, goes to preach in regions where there are
already some churches, he preaches the Gospel and then he goes away. |
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According
to what is written in the book of the Acts of the apostles, there is another
difference between the apostle and the evangelist; the apostle possesses the
power to lay hands on believers that they may receive the Holy Spirit (that
is, he possesses the power of imparting the Holy Spirit), while the evangelist
does not have this gift. This is what we infer from the following facts,
which happened in Samaria after many of the Samaritans believed and were
baptized by Philip: “Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that
Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the
Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and
they received the Holy Ghost” (Acts |
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Pastor
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A pastor
is one who has been appointed by God to shepherd and to keep watch over the
flock of the Lord. |
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As for
this ministry, it must be said that the ministry of pastor is mentioned only
in the epistle of Paul to the Ephesians. There is not even a single passage
in the Scriptures of the New Covenant which clearly affirms that someone was the
pastor of a certain church. According to the Scriptures of the New Covenant,
in the days of the apostles the Churches were shepherded and watched by the
elders, that is to say, every church was governed by some elders (or bishops)
who took care of the flock of the Lord. The passages of the Scriptures which
show that the churches were led by some elders (or bishops), equal to one
another in power, function and rank, are the following ones. |
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Book of the Acts of the apostles: “And from |
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Epistle of Paul to the Philippians: “Paul and Timotheus, the servants of
Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at |
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First epistle of Paul to Timothy: “Neglect not the gift that is in thee,
which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the
presbytery. …. Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double
honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine” (1 Timothy |
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Epistle of James: “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the
church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the
Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise
him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him” (James |
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First epistle of Peter: “The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a
fellow elder …. Shepherd the flock of God which is among you …. Likewise you
younger people, submit yourselves to your elders” (1 Peter 5:1,2,5 - NKJV). |
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● Epistle to the Hebrews: “Obey those who rule
over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who
must give account” (Hebrews |
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As you can
see, all the above mentioned passages speaks of the elders of the church but
they do not mention the pastor of the church. However, we have to say also
this: the fact that the ministry of pastor in mentioned only once in the New
Testament and that the New Testament never speaks of the pastor of a church,
does not mean that it is wrong for a church to have a pastor who is helped by
a group of elders. Someone will say: ‘Does the Scripture somehow teach that a
church can have a pastor and a body of elders then?’ Yes, it does. Now I will
show you from the Scriptures that a church can have a pastor. |
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When Jesus
appeared to John, who was on the island that is called |
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In
addition to this, when the Lord appeared to John, “He had in His right hand
seven stars” (Revelation |
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To sum up,
we say that all the Churches of God have a body of elders. However, while
some of them are ruled only by elders, equal to one another in rank, power
and function (no one of them is called pastor, but actually all of them do
the work of a pastor), some others are ruled by some elders and a pastor as
well, who is the president of the body of elders, the spokesman for the
elders, and the one who, as a matter of fact, has a greater power than the
elders. One thing is sure: in both cases, the faithful are not left to
themselves because they are watched by people who have been appointed to
shepherd the flock of God. |
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Let us see
now how the pastors must shepherd the flock of the Lord. The apostle Peter,
to whom the Lord, before He ascended to heaven, had said: “Feed my sheep”
(John 21:17), wrote to those who have been called to shepherd the flock of
God: “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof,
not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory
that fadeth not away” (1 Peter 5:2-4). |
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First of
all, I want to say that the flock belongs to God, that is to say, the sheep
belong to God; He has bought them at a price, and this was confirmed by Paul
also when he said to the elders of the Church of Ephesus: “Take heed
therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy
Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath
purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). I have said this because there
are some pastors who call the church of God ‘their church’, ‘their sheep’ and
this is not true because the sheep which the pastors are called to shepherd
belong to the Lord, for the Lord Jesus said to Peter: “Feed my sheep” (John
21:18), and not: ‘Feed your sheep’. |
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The pastor
must shepherd the flock of God not because he must, but because he is
willing, as God wants him to be; he must not consider his ministry an
unpleasant and useless work, rather he must consider his ministry a wonderful
and useful work, thus he must fulfill it joyfully. The pastor must shepherd
the flock of God not for dishonest gain (that is to say, he must not take
advantage of the generosity of the sheep of God), therefore he must not be
moved by greediness but he must shepherd the flock sincerely with a good conscience.
The pastor must not lord it over the sheep entrusted to him by the Lord, that
is to say, he must not rule the flock with violence and harshness, but he
must be humble. Jesus said: “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last
of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35 – NKJV); thus, the Lord does not
condemn those who want to be first or great among His people, but at the same
time He tells them what they must do in order to be first, that is, they must
be last of all and servants of all. However, many pastors want to be served,
but they refuse to serve; they want to be first and great by walking
according to the stubbornness of their heart, refusing to humble themselves
and to serve the flock of God; how can such people think they are great? Of
course, they may be considered great by people who are arrogant like them,
but certainly they are not considered great by those sheep who are meek and God-fearing,
and who are still waiting for their pastor – who does not care about them and
acts out of self-interest - to take care of them. |
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Someone
will say: ‘Could you tell me what the work of a pastor consist of?’ Well, his
work consists in feeding the sheep of the Lord, in protecting them from the
savage wolves, in strengthening the weak sheep, in healing the sick sheep, in
binding up the broken, in seeking the lost sheep, in rebuking those who need
to be rebuked. If a pastor takes heed to himself and to the flock of the Lord,
when the Lord appears, he will receive glory and honor from Him. |
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Someone
will say then: ‘What will happen to those pastors who act out of
self-interest, who lord it over the sheep of the Lord, who do not take heed
to themselves nor to the |
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Here is
what God said about these pastors through the prophet Ezekiel: “Thus saith
the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of |
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Jesus
Christ spoke of the hireling, who is the one who keeps watch over the sheep only
for money. Here is what He said: “But 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. The hireling flees
because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep” (John |
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Here is
what God said about the shepherds who lived in the days of the prophet
Isaiah: “His watchmen are blind, they are all ignorant; they are all dumb
dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yes, they
are greedy dogs which never have enough. And they are shepherds who cannot
understand; they all look to their own way, everyone for his own gain, from
his own territory. ‘Come’ one says, ‘ I will bring wine, and we will fill
ourselves with intoxicating drink; tomorrow will be as today, and much more abundant”
(Isaiah 56:10-12 - NKJV). Here is how the Scripture describes all the pastors
who do not care about the sheep of the Lord; they are blind, thus they are
unable to recognize good and evil and to lead the church in the paths of righteousness;
they are ignorant, thus they are without spiritual understanding because they
refuse to heed the Wisdom of God and to follow His advices; they are like
dumb dogs which are unable to bark, which love to slumber, therefore they do
not watch over the sheep because when they see the danger they do not bark. What
is the use of a watchdog which does not bark? The evil workers comes in among
the sheep to introduce their false doctrines and to draw away the sheep of
the Lord after themselves, but these pastors are sleeping, they are very busy
looking for their own gain. |
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These
people do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, “and by
smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans
16:18 – NKJV); the sheep which were entrusted to them are scattered, they
fall prey to the false prophets and the false teachers, who catch the sheep
for their pastor is sleeping. Jeremiah said: “For the shepherds have become
dull-hearted, and have not sought the Lord; therefore they shall not prosper,
and all their flocks shall be scattered” (Jeremiah |
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If the
sheep of the Lord do not pursue holiness, these pastors do not care about it
at all; these pastors are not grieved when they see the corruption and the worldliness
spreading among the flock of the Lord; they are not grieved when they see the
sheep going astray on the mountains of unfaithfulness, and they do not have
compassion on those sheep which are weak and downhearted because they are
merciless; they do not defend the truth because they do not love it; they do
not take heed to themselves, and if the name of God and the doctrine of God
are blasphemed because of their frequent scandals they do not care about it
at all because they have become famous and – according to their opinion -
they can take the liberty of causing offenses because they will always find many
naive believers who are willing to follow them and to support them; they are adulterers
(or fornicators or even homosexuals), they are lovers of money, they play the
fool in the presence of all, they amuse themselves in vanities, they are
friends of adulterers and of thieves and they take pleasure in walking with
them; the commandments of God and the fear of God are not before their eyes,
but behind their back; they are haughty and unable to humble themselves, “yet
they lean on the Lord, and say: Is not the Lord among us? No harm can come
upon us” (Micah |
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Teacher
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A teacher
is one who teaches the Word of God, he is able to teach it accurately because
the Lord has given him the ability to teach. |
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Besides
being an apostle, Paul was also a teacher; for he said to Timothy: “To which [the
Gospel]
I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles” (2 Timothy
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Paul, a
teacher of the Gentiles, wrote to the saints of Colosse: “Him [Christ]
we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we
may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (Colossians |
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Paul stayed
in Corinth “a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them” (Acts
18:11 – NKJV); in Ephesus for three years he did not cease to warn each one
of the saints with tears, and when he spoke to the elders of the Church of
Ephesus he said to them: “I have not shunned to declare to you the whole
counsel of God” (Acts 20:27 - NKJV). This is what a teacher does where God
opens a door to him; he stays in that place to teach the saints the whole
counsel of God |
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The
teaching of a teacher is elementary (milk) when it is delivered to the
newborn babes in Christ; while it is perfect (solid food) when it is
delivered to those who are of full age; in both cases, the teaching is sound
and profitable. |
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Besides
Paul, there were other teachers in his days, some of them are mentioned by
Luke when he says: “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain
prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and
Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the
tetrarch, and Saul” (Acts 13:1). |
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Nowadays,
in the midst of the |
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Even the
fact that a believer has obtained a degree or several degrees (no matter what
kind of degree), and that he is able to speak about God with eloquence, does
not mean that he is a teacher. To be a teacher he must be able to teach the
Word of God: he has a doctor’s decree which was conferred on him by the
University, but he does not have the ministry of teacher which is conferred
by the Lord |
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False
teachers |
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Now I want
to speak to you about the false teachers who are among the people of God,
reminding you of what the apostle Peter wrote in his second epistle about the
false teachers and commenting on his words briefly. Peter said: “But there
were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false
teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even
denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift
destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom
the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they
with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time
lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. For if God spared not the
angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell [Greek: Tartarus], and
delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And
spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of
righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And
turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an
overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his
righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth
how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto
the day of judgment to be punished: But chiefly them that walk after the
flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are
they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Whereas
angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation
against them before the Lord. But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be
taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and
shall utterly perish in their own corruption; And shall receive the reward of
unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time.
Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings
while they feast with you; Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot
cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with
covetous practices; cursed children: Which have forsaken the right way, and
are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the
wages of unrighteousness; But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass
speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet. These are wells
without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of
darkness is reserved for ever. For when they speak great swelling words of
vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness,
those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise
them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a
man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have
escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the
latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for
them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known
it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened
unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit
again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire” (2 Peter
2:1-22) |
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In ancient
times there were also false prophets among the people of |
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The false
teachers are as crafty as foxes and by their craftiness they introduce
strange and perverse doctrines into the church; “They trust in empty words
and speak lies … They hatch vipers’ eggs … he who eats of their eggs dies” (Isaiah
59:4,5 - NKJV), says the prophet Isaiah, and in fact those who have accepted
the destructive heresies taught by the false teachers have wandered away from
the truth. The false teachers have denied the Lord who bought them, which
means that they once believed in the Lord but afterward they forsook Him. |
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These
deceitful workers take pleasure in saying things they ought not to say; they
are sensual persons, and those who are enticed by their sensuality follow
them and imitate their ways, and because of these false teachers the way of
truth is blasphemed by those who are outside. Why do unbelievers blaspheme
the way of truth? Because these deceivers, who claim that they are in the
truth and on the way of righteousness, are worse than unbelievers who do not
know the Lord! False teachers are lovers of money, and they exploit those
believers who are sincere and naive, who do not have enough discernment, extorting
money from them by their smooth but at the same time deceitful words, that
they may live a lavish lifestyle. The pretexts used by these false teachers
to snatch money from the hands of believers are various; know this, that they
do not say to you: ‘Give us your money because we want to buy some luxurious
cars, we want to build some pleasant palaces, and we want to amuse ourselves
in vanities’, rather they say to you: ‘Give us your offerings for the work of
the Lord and God will bless the work of your hands, your barns will be filled
with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine’, these are words which
the bondservants of Mammon know very well and recite well before the crowds
of people who go to listen to their empty speeches. Judas Iscariot was one of
the apostles of the Lord, and when Mary took a pound of very costly oil of
spikenard and anointed the feet of Jesus, he said: “Why was this fragrant oil
not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” (John 12:5 – NKJV).
As you can see, Judas said that the fragrant oil could have been sold for
three hundred denarii and given to the poor, therefore he said something
which was not wrong in itself. However, he did not say those words “because
he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money
bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it” (John 12:6 – NIV). The
false teachers speak like Judas Iscariot, for they say that they want to help
the poor, they want to spread the word of the Lord and exhort people to give
them some money for these good causes; but at the same time they live in luxurious
mansions, they have expensive cars, they wear designer clothes, gold watches;
in other words, they live a lavish lifestyle. These people are like Judas,
for they are thieves; however they will not go unpunished because God will
repay them according to their works in due season. |
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God did
not spare the angels who did not keep their proper domain but left their own
abode and committed fornication with the daughters of men, for He sent them
to Tartarus [the deepest abyss of Hades] and delivered them into chains of
darkness to be reserved for the judgment of the great day. |
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God did
not spare the world of the ungodly in the days of Noah, for He punished it by
bringing in the flood on the world, and He put to death all living things who
were on the face of the earth, as it is written: “So He destroyed all living
things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping
thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth” (Genesis |
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God did
not spare |
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The above
mentioned stories teach us that God loves righteousness and knows how to
deliver the godly out of temptations, but also that God returns all the wickedness
committed by the wicked on their own heads. Know this, that God will judge
the unjust, those who live according to the flesh, and those who despise
authority; and the false teachers are among these people for they are full of
all unrighteousness, they walk according to the fleshly lusts, and despise
authority. |
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These
impostors despise and insult the governing authorities, which are appointed
by God, such as kings, governors, ministers, judges, public prosecutors; they
refuse to honor the governing authorities, while the Scripture commands us to
honor them. It is written in the law: “You shall not … curse a ruler of your
people” (Exodus |
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The false
teachers take pleasure in guzzling, which is one of the works of the flesh, for
they count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime, they get drunk on aged
wines and intoxicating drinks. During the love feasts they give themselves
over to guzzling, that’s why Jude says that “these are spots in your love
feasts” (Jude 12 – NKJV). Do you know what else they do in the love feasts?
They delight in their deceptions. Like the ungodly mockers at feasts, these
people like entertaining their hearers with their scurrilous jokes; they have
eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, and this is what God
says about them: “They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for
another man’s wife” (Jeremiah 5:8 – NIV). |
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These
false teachers entice those souls who are unstable; Peter calls them
“accursed children” (1 Peter |
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They were
on the right way, but they have forsaken it and gone astray; they have run greedily
in the error of Balaam for profit; they are wells without water and also
clouds without water which are carried about by every wind of teaching. ‘What
is the use of a well without water to those who are thirsty?’ These people
are totally devoid of the wisdom of God, but they are full of the demonic
wisdom; they are devoid of the sound doctrine, but they are full of fables
and false doctrines, thus they can’t edify those believers who walk in the
Spirit and know the voice of the Lord. Notwithstanding this, we must admit
that these deceivers have a hold over the crowds; on the other hand Peter
said that “when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure
through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually
escaped from those who live in error” (2 Peter 2:18 – NKJV), therefore, we
are not surprised by their ‘success’. Jude said that “they mouth great
swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage” (Jude 16 – NKJV), which
means that they say many untrue things and that they flatter their hearers in
order to win their confidence. One of the things these idle talkers do is
this: they promise liberty to their followers, for they say that they know
how to set people free from all sins and troubles, while they themselves are
slaves of corruption because they are again entangled in the pollutions of
the world (which they had escaped) and overcome. The latter end is worse for
them than the beginning; this is why Jude calls them “late autumn trees
without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots” (Jude 12 – NKJV).
Brothers, beware of false teachers. |
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Conclusion
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Before I
conclude, I want to tell you that Christ has given the above mentioned
ministry gifts to men for the perfecting of the saints, that the |
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What shall
we say then about the presence of the false apostles, the false prophets, and
the false teachers among the people of God? Brothers, there must be such
people because it is written: “For there must also be factions among you,
that those who are approved may be recognized among you” (1 Corinthians |
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We must
admit that many false prophets and false teachers have risen up from among
the |
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We, who
have believed in the name of the Son of God, praise God because He has made
known to us the truth and He makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. To
God be the glory now and forever. Amen. |