A prophet is someone who has a special gift for seeing clearly—in spite of everything and everyone— and who devotes himself to God according to the laws of purity in the most difficult situations. The overseer will realize this and make use of it by putting it into practice for the benefit of all. A teacher is someone who has a special ability to impart understanding to the others of that which has been revealed. He has a special gift to connect one truth to another, etc., into a teaching that serves as a guideline for the future. A shepherd is someone who has a special care for souls (the sheep) for their overall well-being. His work coincides with that of an overseer. An evangelist is someone who—grounded in the church— has a special gift to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ as the Savior of men and as the atonement for their sins. He has a special ability to convict people of their erring ways and that Jesus is the Messiah, the apostle of God. He shall remain in his local church where he belongs and faithfully perform his ministry until his dying day, so that he grows together with the others as a body up to the Head in all things; then he himself can learn to exercise the work of a prophet, teacher, and shepherd. Traveling preachers. All these hundreds of brothers that travel from church to church in order to preach conversion to the unconverted and peace and safety to the converted—they have all occupied themselves with things that do not concern them. There is no such ministry in the body of Christ. Nevertheless, this does not hinder God from using them, for He always uses everything and everyone in His ministry. All of them should remain in their church. There they will have an over-abundance of opportunity to serve the Lord according to God’s grace. If they are evangelists, it is only right and good that they remain in their church, faithfully and zealously performing their ministry for the salvation of souls, and to the joy and delight of the church. There they can work with their hands and have the opportunity of getting to know the truth of the word that it is better to give than to receive. This would be quite a different blessing than living off collections, surely knowing that one will receive the mites which the poor and weak, through laborious work, have put aside, plus the money that should have been used to pay off the debt at the merchant’s rather than being put into the collection, and the offerings of the ungodly, which is an abomination to the Lord. Prov. 21:27. Spiritually speaking, it is utterly deplorable, that one should pay brothers to travel to other brothers (churches) to proclaim Christ to the people instead of the brothers doing it. First of all, it is unnecessary. Secondly, it hinders the church’s own members, for every one of them has received the ministry of reconciliation from God. 2 Cor. 5:17-21. All these servants cannot possibly work because of all these traveling, preaching brothers. This is precisely one of the most effective ways of killing church life, and keeping it away. Therefore the “free assemblies” also become like other churches and synagogues after a while. They end up giving themselves a name, writing their names on membership lists, and listening to a Sunday morning (or afternoon) sermon. The servants who have a right to travel to the various churches are those who, by God’s grace, can and will put things in order in the churches and consciously lead them forward on the way of life. They are those who lay down their lives in this ministry. Such servants should also travel where the gospel has not been proclaimed previously or where there is no church assembly. An apostle is someone who has a special gift for not just actually keeping things in order in his home church, but who, by God’s grace, is able to put things in order in other churches and who can beget and establish new churches. Such a person is therefore able to strengthen, comfort, and guide even overseers. For example, Paul was an apostle of apostles, for he begot apostles, strengthening and guiding them. In 1 Thessalonians 1:1 and 2:6 we see that Paul calls both Silvanus and Timothy apostles. In his letters to Timothy we see that Timothy was Paul’s true son in the faith besides being guided by Paul. In his letter to Titus we see that Paul had appointed him to put things in order in the churches in every city on Crete; in other words, he was an apostle, and he, too, was Paul’s true son in the faith and was guided by him. A person who has the gift of exhortation (Rom. 12:8) is someone who is particularly sensitive to what is right and good and profitable, someone who has a strong love for what is good and that as many souls as possible can become as much as possible partakers of it. His work is to encourage unceasingly and to urge the members of the church to keep the good that they have and to pursue more of the same. A leader’s work and the gift to rule coincide with the work of an overseer and shepherd. Someone who has the gift to help (1 Cor. 12:28) is a person who is particularly enriched with a willingness to help others, to help wherever his help might be needed in any area, as far as God gives grace. The elders of the church are those who have advanced furthest in God, who have grown up to the Head in all things. Growth does not depend on certain ministries or gifts. Thus there are also elders who do not labor in either word or doctrine, who have neither been evangelists nor teachers. 1 Tim. 5:17. All these above-mentioned gifts, these servants, are servants of the church in spirit and in truth. They shall be tested and found faithful first before they are acknowledged as such. They shall be blameless, be the husband of one wife, ruling their children and their own households well. If they cannot do that which is good and right in their homes, they should in no wise deal with souls in the church; for the person who is not faithful in little things shall not be put over much. The overseer in the church and the apostles shall prevent such action. They shall make such people understand that the building is most holy, that it must be treated carefully. God apportions these gifts according to His wise and good counsel as He sees it is for the most profit for us all. A member may have a few of these gifts or several; or he doesn’t have to have any of them, but he may have other gifts. Life does not depend on any such gifts, whereas the use of the gift is in relation to the life of the person who possesses it. The gifts have been given for the common good. They belong to the church as a whole for edification, for the furtherance of the inner life; they are to contribute to making us perfect for the work of ministry. Everyone shall learn to do the work of an evangelist from the evangelist, the work of a shepherd from the shepherd, to instruct from the teacher, to rule from the one who rules, to help from the one who helps, etc., so that everyone is thoroughly equipped for every good work. In this way, the one who rules shall learn from the one who helps, and the one who helps will learn from the one who rules. When you add to this that the least shall receive the greatest honor, you can imagine the wisdom, harmony, and grace of this wonderful body. Through godly fear, through faith in God and a love of mercy and justice, a man who does not have a special gift for it can come to perform even the works of an apostle. Who can declare the greatness and love of our heavenly calling? And yet, how few people pay attention to it! I exhort those who do pay attention to it—through the love of Jesus Christ and His longsuffering—to do it even more for their own and the others’ good!Elias Aslaksen

You can rarely or never find a person who has a clear concept of what an exhortation is. Usually one is not bothered by people who have such care and show such goodwill toward others, and make the effort to exhort them, that they can have an opportunity to learn what exhortation is all about in that way. The reason is that evil is the ruling power among people, also among those who are converted. Almost every person will protest against the last part of this statement, and yet it is so. Those who have a good eye have no difficulty in seeing it. Most people do not see it, but then you can’t expect it either, for according to Peter’s word they are blind or nearsighted. 2 Pet. 1:8-9. For the person who looks at the stark reality in daily life, the folly of believers is also evident. If you examine people’s lives a little bit more closely, you will discover that the things that are pure and just bother them. They consider them to be their opponents. It is even troublesome for them to see a virtuous person, and even more so to hear him or have to deal with him. Only the sight of him reminds them of their own folly! On a natural level there is no such thing as an exhortation to do the good. All exhortation is considered to be a reproach. To exhort is the same as to provoke unto love and good works, to praise what is righteous and merciful, to encourage people to hold fast to the good that they have, and to pursue more of the same. Those who are hungry are greatly strengthened by it, whereas those who are satisfied make their dislike for it known, for they have no desire to run in the race; it does not suit them. They are slow and dull and have no sense for the things that are pure and lovely. A love of that which is good and its entrance into the hearts compels us to exhort each other. Paul says that in one place he had exhorted every single person in the church with tears night and day for three years. Whoever wants to can receive understanding from this. Most converted people have never in their life—not a single time—exhorted a single person in the church. The Thessalonians exhorted each other daily—this only by way of comparison. The need for love is often spoken about. We do indeed need love in order to do this, but not in order to smile and speak rousing words. Exhortation is therefore something that shall take place while everything is in order, while justice and mercy prevail, so that these forces will not lose their power in the hearts, but rather increase moment by moment. Admonishment and punishment are administered when there is something that is wrong in order to get rid of the evil. Consequently, exhortation is something that takes place before something bad has been done, whereas admonishment and punishment are administered afterward. Enlightenment and convincing are needed when a person has done something or is about to do something wrong without the person realizing it. In such a case, one shall not admonish or punish, because one doesn’t have a reason to expect anything better. Only where the person has been enlightened beforehand, where one with good reason could have expected something else, would it be fitting to admonish or punish. Then admonishment would be fitting and useful—which is precisely the intention. On average, every time a person is enlightened, every convincing word is received as a reproach or an accusation, or in the best case as an admonition. This is because one has become accustomed to the evil that is in the world. One is used to meeting only with reproach and accusation. However, fellow laborers of Christ do not practice that; they speak for their neighbor’s benefit—that which is reasonable. It is one thing to exhort, enlighten, convince, admonish, and punish; it is something totally different to reproach and accuse. The first are forces of salvation. The latter belong and lead to hell.Elias Aslaksen