The Main Issue
"Apostles" = Authority and NT Canon
"Prophets" = Authority and Inerrancy
"Evangelists" = Authority and Ability
"Pastors" = Authority and Change
"Teachers" = Authority and Steadfastness
*ALL OF THESE ARE WORD-CENTERED*
Throughout the Christian centuries, no principle of church life has proved more revolutionary—and more bitterly fought!—than the declaration of Ephesians 4 that the ultimate work of the church in the world is to be done by the saints—plain, ordinary Christians—and not by a professional clergy or a few select laypeople. We must never lose the impact of the apostle Paul’s statement that apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers exist “for the equipment of the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12).
Note that neither the apostles and prophets nor the evangelists and pastor-teachers are expected to do the work of the ministry! They are not even expected to do the work of building up the body of Christ! Those tasks are to be done only by the people—the ordinary, plain-vanilla Christians we often call “the laity.” The four offices of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher exist for one function and one function only: to equip everyday Christians to do the work God has given them—and gifted them!—to do.
Ray C. Stedman, Body Life: The Book That Inspired a Return to the Church’s Real Meaning and Mission, Revised Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers, 1995), 115.