Pentecostals refer to apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelist and teachers as “the fivefold ministry” (Ephesians 4:11). Which ministry gift you are (as distinct from which spiritual gift you have) is seen in what takes place when you minister.
A couple we stayed with in England invited us to hold a two-day seminar in their home. Their pastor allowed us to use chairs from the church, and attended on the second day. He was a conservative man. He had not invited me to minister in the church for whatever reason, which was not my business.
About thirty people attended the meetings and some amazing things took place, as the Spirit of God touch people’s lives, some of which I’d not seen before, not even in Asia, where interesting things often do.
Since I was not booked to preach anywhere the following Sunday, we attended our friends’ church. It happened that the pastor who had visited our seminar was called on at short notice to preach elsewhere, leaving his assistant to take the meeting.
Much to my surprise he spoke briefly on the Holy Spirit and then invited the church members to activate their spiritual gifts. Eight members did so, and to my great joy seven of them attended our seminar! They testified to what they had seen and then prophesied!
It was a meeting I’ll never forget. A man I had not met came to me, shook my hand vigorously, and said: “I am running a children’s orphanage in China, and was a captain in the Royal Marines. If you ever get into any trouble, anywhere in the world, let me know and I will come and help you!” He was a tall, well-built man and every inch an officer. He had been touched by how the Spirit of God had flowed during the meeting, and his offer was a way of showing support.
The important thing to me was that during the two-day seminar I had done my job, teaching and demonstrating the gifts of the Spirit, and was able to sit back and observe those I had taught using them! (I’d had no inkling of this beforehand.) I was pretty chuffed, I can tell you, and praised the Lord for using them!
How do I know that I am a teacher with a gift of healing? Because I get more satisfaction from seeing the people I have taught using the gifts than using them myself. It’s not about us, it’s about Jesus the Giver of spiritual gifts, and about how he chooses and uses apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to train God’s people for the work of the ministry.
All Glory to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!