Servants in the Church

For long enough, evangelists have, in addition to preaching the gospel, taken it upon themselves to act as apostles, prophets, shepherds, and teachers. This accounts for the current condition of church life. The evangelist is in his proper place as long as he preaches the gospel. However, if he then takes on tasks beyond his ministry and assumes the role of a shepherd and teacher, to lead new converts further along the way, then things go awry.

In addition to evangelists, God has placed apostles in the church to watch over the churches, prophets to maintain divine vigilance, teachers to instruct in the doctrine which accords with godliness, and shepherds to watch and guide, until “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.” Eph. 4:13.

However, the evangelist, whose task is to add new souls to the church, has also taken upon himself the enormous task of bringing up the lambs on his own. The fruit of this folly has long been apparent. In virtually every large town, the churches have split into two or three factions, after the “last revival.” There’s nothing left in the evangelist’s storehouse, so people start biting each other because the trough is empty. As time goes on, new converts cannot find enough nourishment in a gospel that only pertains to sinners; that’s why they end up dying from spiritual hunger. This recent revival has certainly helped people come one step further, compared to the bondage they were in before, since they have received the baptism of the Spirit and the gift of tongues. Nevertheless, in spite of all the division and backsliding, it hasn’t dawned on them that God has placed other spiritual gifts and people in the church so they can all work together toward a healthy growth in the faith.

If we look at Israel, we can see the prophet’s task and how vital it was to keep order in the congregation. When Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron and said, “‘Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ And Aaron said to them, ‘Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.’. . . And he received the gold . . . and made a molded calf.” Exodus 32.

Moses would never have done this. He was a prophet of a much higher caliber, one of whom the Lord could say, “If there is a prophet among you [i.e., like Aaron and Miriam], I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. Not so with My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face.” Num. 12:6-8.

When Moses came down from the mountain, he “saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies).” Ex. 32:25.

Moses was by no means an evangelist or an eloquent speaker like Aaron, yet in spite of his eloquence, Aaron was unable to lead the people. He was too weak; he did not have a clear and direct connection with God. God could only speak to him at night through dreams. During the day, he was preoccupied with listening to the people and heeding their voices, just like Saul was in his day, which led to his own corruption. 1 Sam. 15:24.

Aaron was unable to provide the people with spiritual nourishment. All discipline vanished, and the people cast off restraint, desiring to mold for themselves a god.

Are things not the same today? People mold gods for themselves because they have run out of spiritual food and because they want to please the people. Just as Aaron allowed the people to bring him all their jewelry in order to mold a golden calf for their enjoyment, today a cry goes out to the people in every place where God has adorned His people with spiritual gifts, asking them to send in reports right away about healings, revivals, baptism of the Spirit, and the gift of tongues. These adornments are used to mold a golden calf which the people dance around. They are set free from Moses and his tablets with commandments, and the sound of the people’s rejoicing can be heard from far off. Read Judg. 8:22-27 about how Gideon collected the plunder from their victory and made it into an ephod to be worn as a garment. By doing this, Israel practiced idolatry, and it became a snare to Gideon and his house.

To reject those whom God has placed in the church incurs vengeance. Every discerning person who opens their eyes to see, inclines their ear to hear, and uses their mind to understand will recognize that the churches today are far from where they should be, precisely because apostles, teachers, prophets, and shepherds are not being allowed to do their tasks.

And whose fault is this? The evangelist gathers to himself. Because of his own ignorance, he keeps the others in ignorance by gathering this flock of new converts to himself—the converts that God intended to be added to the church. And why does the evangelist do this? He does this in order to have an attentive flock around his pulpit, and by having more people, the collections will become more lucrative. The root of this sin is a desire for honor and a care for their livelihood. The root of it all is unbelief.

Yet, God be praised, the light has begun to shine, and day has dawned in these areas. We have confidence in God that His people will soon receive sufficient knowledge and sufficient light so they can see, hear, understand, and judge for themselves in these different matters.