WelcomeFor where your treasure is, there will your heart be also
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The call to an exclusively Christian ministry is not easily defined. What form the call takes is unimportant, but the one who goes into an exclusively Christian ministry cannot afford to be unsure of his or her call. Whether we are in a secular job or in exclusively Christian work, our calling is equally to be a servant of God. The nature and sphere of work may differ, but we are all called to represent the Lord worthily before others and to bring them to a saving knowledge of Him. The five-fold ministry resulted from Christ’s ascension to heaven. These gifts were released by Christ during His ascension and are therefore also known as the ascension gifts. The full expression of the ministry of Jesus requires the full five-fold ministry to be in operation. Each office of the five-fold ministry carries its own distinct anointing and has its own individual work. For these offices to work together and accomplish the building up of the body of Christ, they must recognize their differences and be yielded and submitted to one another. Each of these offices is directly responsible to the Lord Jesus Christ and is directed by the Holy Spirit, to the work of service. It is important that we recognize that these are the ministry gifts given by Jesus and are not the same as a secular vocation. Jesus selects certain people to hold office in His church to carry the responsibilities of leadership. They are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. They are Christ's gifts of leaders to His church. Most of these will probably be engaged in full time ministry. Their responsibility is to lead the church and to train the members who will do their work of the ministry outside the four walls of the church in the market place. These five-fold ministries are given to the body of Christ as a gift. It must be clearly understood that a gift is not earned. For this reason, these five-fold offices cannot be earned. No one can appoint another person into these offices. The Holy Spirit may use the church leadership to confirm the call of God on an individual but they cannot decide to appoint a person into any one of the five-fold ministries. The ministry gifts are appointed by God and not by the choice of men. Unlike the Old Testament, this gift is not inherited from one generation of a particular family to the next. The genealogy regarding spiritual inheritance finished with Christ. For this reason there are no recorded inheritances of the anointing from any of the apostles to their children. Christ is the head of His church and it is He alone who determines who is called into any of the five-fold gifts. Each person is divinely endowed with the spiritual gifts necessary to carry out that calling. All the offices of the five-fold ministry are different functions and for different purposes and are to be performed by people who are chosen and anointed by God. The five-fold ministry gifts of Jesus to His church are not founded upon the Law. Jesus gave new gifts under grace instead of under the Law and now includes the Gentiles also.
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