Ministry Offices - The Evangelist
Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
Ephesians 4:11-16 (NLT)
Ministry Offices - The Evangelist
David’s Notes from Bible College
THE EVANGELIST
EPHESIANS 4:11,12
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; AND SOME, EVANGELISTS; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.
1 CORINTHIANS 12:28
28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that MIRACLES, then GIFTS OF HEALINGS, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
The word "evangelist" occurs only three times in the New Testament.
1. In Ephesians 4:11, as quoted above.
2. In Acts 21:8 the Bible speaks of "Philip the evangelist.”
3. In Second Timothy 4:5, Paul told Timothy, who was the pastor of a New Testament church at the time, to "do the work of an evangelist ."
THE EVANGELIST
A. The meaning of the word "evangelist" is: One who brings the evangel (the good news); a messenger of good tidings.
B. The evangelist brings the message of the redeeming grace of God.
C. The evangelist's favorite theme is salvation in its simplest form.
D. The only New Testament example we have of an evangelist is Philip. Philip's ministry is the model because it is the only one God gave us.
Philip had just one message, and that was Jesus Christ.
a. Philip's message to Samaria:
ACTS 8:5
5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, AND PREACHED
CHRIST UNTO THEM.
b. Philip's message to the eunuch:
ACTS 8:35
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and PREACHED UNTO HIM JESUS.
c. One notable characteristic of evangelists is this: No matter what scripture they begin with, they preach Jesus. That is their calling. That is their message.
d. The supernatural equipment accompanying the evangelist's ministry includes "miracles" and "gifts of healings.”
The evangelist is plainly a direct endowment or ministry gift from the Lord (Eph . 4:11). Yet in First Corinthians 12 :28, the evangelist is not mentioned by name in this list. (Neither is the pastor mentioned by name in this list. The apostle is. The prophet is. The teacher is. But the evangelist and the pastor are not.) The evangelist is mentioned in the First Corinthians 12:28 list when it says "miracles, then gifts of healings ."
e. Miracles and gifts of healings can also go with other offices, but we know from the only New Testament model, Philip, that miracles and gifts of healings should accompany the evangelist's ministry.
ACTS 8:5-8
5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached
Christ unto them.
6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, HEARING AND SEEING THE MIRACLES WHICH HE DID.
7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, WERE HEALED.
8 And there was great joy in that city.
Healings followed the preaching of Christ. Scripture says, "Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses," you could not preach Christ in His fullness without preaching the healing part of our redemption also.
What we call an "evangelist" many times is an "exhorter."
a. There is the ministry of exhortation (Rom. 12:8).
b. An "exhorter" exhorts people to be saved.
c. The supernatural equipment of miracles and gifts of healings does not follow the ministry of exhortation.
d. One may start out as an exhorter and as they prove themselves faithful, God may set them in the office of the evangelist later.
A Divine Fire
If the divine gift or endowment of evangelist is within a person, there will be a divine fire burning within him or her.
A burning, heavenly fire on the inside of your spirit could be a good sign that you are an evangelist.
1. Philip is first seen as a deacon (a helper) in the church (Acts 6:1-6).It would be safe to say that the apostles ordained Philip as a deacon, but they gave him no commission to evangelize. Yet we see him down in Samaria with this heavenly gift burning in his spirit, which urged him to preach the gospel with glorious results.
Paul said, ". . . woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!" (1 Cor . 9:16). If one really has a divine call burning fire within him, no matter what the office, he will say like Paul, "Woe is me if I preach not the gospel!”
2. God told Jeremiah to prophesy against Israel. God also told Jeremiah no one would listen and that he wouldn't have any followers . Jeremiah grew weary and once said, in effect, "I'm not going to prophesy anymore unto this people . I'm not going to speak anymore in His Name." (We would say, "I'm not going to preach anymore.") Then Jeremiah said, "...But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones ..."(Jer. 20:9).
3. The marks of a true evangelist are evident in the ministry of Philip, our one New Testament model:
The Life of an Evangelist
1. Supernatural advertisement.
a. There was something to see and hear in Philip's ministry :"And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, HEARING and SEEING the MIRACLES which he did"(Acts8:6).
b. Philip the evangelist was equipped with the particular spiritual gifts needed for his ministry - working of miracles and gifts of healings. The display of these spiritual gifts through him is the finest form of advertising there can be.
2. True evangelists must preach the Word.
a. In the ministry of the evangelist, the preaching of the Word of God is essential.
b. Divine power will draw a crowd. Miracles and healings arrest and compel people's attention. But it is in believing the Word that men are saved.
ACTS 8:12
12 But WHEN THEY BELIEVED PHILIP PREACHING the things conerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
1. Miracles and healings were mentioned earlier (vv.6,7). The people saw these things in demonstration. But the Bible does not say people were saved, "When they believed what they SAW...."It says they were saved, "When they believed Philip PREACHING...."
2. No one was saved until Philip preached the Word. People were saved as a result of his preaching.
c. Paul told Timothy (and remember Paul also told Timothy to do the work of an evangelist), "Preach the Word" (2 Tim.4:2).
d. Only the preaching of the Word affects the persons will as a sinner.
3. Individual decision.
a. Conversion is an individual matter. It is something personal between the human spirit and God.
b. God records the mass conversions in Samaria, and then He finishes the chapter with the account of the evangelist and the importance of Ethiopian, he was just one person. God cares about every single person.
c. The supreme gift of a real evangelist is the power to bring a person's soul to a decision for Christ.
4. The evangelist's need for others.
a. The diversity of ministry gifts God has set in the Church are dependent upon one another for their fullest expression and most lasting results.
b. Sending Peter and John to Samaria is significant in this regard.
ACTS 8:14
14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John.
The need to work with others:
1. As an evangelist, Philip had the ability to get people saved, but his ministry did not extend beyond bringing people into salvation.
2. Philip had no ability to establish a church, or to get people rooted and grounded in the Word, or to teach them.
3. He seemingly did not have the ministry to impart the baptism in the Holy Spirit like that Peter and John had (vv. 14-17).
4. Philip did his job in getting the people to God by preaching salvation through Jesus Christ. Then the apostles sent others to take them on in God.
One person will never be able to do everything. Every minister is limited. But God is not limited. That's why we need one another.
Howard Carter was a great pioneer of the Pentecostal Movement. He founded the first Pentecostal Bible school in the world. It still exists in England today. The revelation God gave him concerning the gifts and manifestations of the Holy Spirit as recorded in First Corinthians 12 is regarded as fundamental truths today.
Rev. Carter had a ministry of laying on of hands to get people filled with the Holy Spirit. His wife was the one who had the gifts and manifestations of healings. If a person wanted to be prayed for healing he would always have his wife pray for them. He knew the gift God gave to him and used that gift. He knew there many gifts and manifestations given to people in the Body of Christ today. He knew his wife’s gift and did not try to operate a gift God that had given to him, because he knew he did have that gift. He recognized that he was limited. He could have laid hands on the woman that needed healing in faith as any believer can do. But there are people who are specially endowed by the Spirit of God with a healing anointing to minister to others. He knew he was not one of these people.
Some might be endowed with both laying hands on people to receive the Holy Spirit and to receive their healing, but Carter knew he was not. He recognized his limitations and he recognized another's persons ministry. Not one of us is all-sufficient in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. We need one another.
Remember, The evangelist's ministry is more of a traveling ministry, it is ministering to the unsaved.
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