What Are the Nine GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT?

The Bible lists the nine gifts of the Spirit in this passage:

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

On a side note, notice that verses 4-6 point out the tri-unity of God: The Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus Christ and Father God.

Now please take note that nothing is said about a person having to be a fivefold minister to function in any of these charismatic gifts. They’re available to the body of Christ in general, which includes you. Look no further than Stephen (Acts 6:8).

But what is the purpose of these nine spiritual gifts? Verse 7 emphasizes that any manifestation of one of the gifts of the Spirit is for “the common good” of believers (or potential believers) — “the common profiting,” as the Berean Literal Bible puts it — whether the manifestation is for the benefit of one person or a group. In short, these gifts aren’t for selfish, fleshly purposes, but for good (1 Peter 4:10-11). Meanwhile verse 11 plainly points out that these gifts are distributed to believers as the Spirit determines. In other words, a believer cannot turn on a gift of the Spirit at will; rather they manifest as the Spirit wills and in response to the faith of the believer. Let me explain…

For gifts of the Spirit to manifest in your life and at your local assembly, small or great, (1) believers have to know about them because faith comes by learning what God’s Word says on a topic (Romans 10:17) and (2) you have to “eagerly desire” them, as Paul put it as led of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:1, 31, 14:1, 39). This is why you have to stay away from the false doctrine of cessationism because it encourages believers to eagerly deny spiritual gifts, which is the very opposite of what the Scriptures instruct us to do.

Keep in mind that the believer’s New Covenant with God is a covenant (contract) of faith and so we receive from the LORD based on our faith (Hebrews 11:1, 11:6 & Luke 8:43-48). This explains why Christ was hampered from performing miracles in his hometown when he ministered there (Matthew 13:54-58). The passage closes with “And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.” It goes without saying that gifts of the Spirit will manifest more in an environment of belief as opposed to an environment of unbelief. I’ve experienced this in attending different fellowships: In assemblies where the group in general believed in gifts of the Spirit and expected them to manifest, they would, whereas in fellowships that “explained away” such manifestations due to the doctrine of cessationism or what have you, they would never manifest, and understandably so.

This doesn’t mean, by the way, that those who embrace cessationism aren’t genuine Christians loved by the Lord and worthy of fellowship; it just means that they’re not ‘eating’ everything the LORD has provided to bless & empower the Church. I encourage such dear brothers & sisters to open up to what God’s Word says about charismatic gifts and their benefits.

Now reread the list of nine gifts of the Spirit in verses 8-10 and you’ll notice that there are…

Three Categories of the Gifts of the Spirit

The nine gifts of the Spirit fit into three distinct categories, as follows:

1. Revelational: Three gifts that reveal something — a message of wisdom, a message of knowledge and distinguishing between spirits.
2. Power: Three gifts that do something — faith, healing and miraculous powers.
3. Utterance: Three gifts that say something — prophecy, tongues and interpretation.

Let’s look at each of these three categories and examine the three gifts thereof. We’ll consider biblical examples of each gift in operation in a situation.

The Three Revelational Gifts

As noted above, these three revelational gifts reveal something, whether it’s beneficial for yourself, someone else or a group of people, like a congregation.

A Message of Wisdom

This gift refers to receiving a word of wisdom that is strategic for victory in a challenging situation. This message is supernatural and not reliant upon a person’s natural intelligence or brilliance. For instance, the Messiah told believers that he would grant them this gift when they’re imprisoned for His Name and brought before high officials: “But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict” (Luke 21:14-15). Christ was possibly walking in this gift when he stumped his opponents with an immediate amazing response (e.g. Matthew 22:15-22).

Paul functioned in this gift when he saved the lives of desperate sailors during a storm at sea with an adamant word of wise advice (Acts 27:30-32). How would he possibly know with any certainty that, if these sailors left the ship, they would lose their lives? Obviously the spiritual gift of the word of wisdom.

A Message of Knowledge

This gift offers knowledge to the person that s/he wouldn’t otherwise know, like when Christ supernaturally knew where to apprehend funds for him & Peter to pay the yearly Temple tax — in the mouth of a fish at the nearby lake (Matthew 17:24-27). Interestingly, Jesus & his ministry team had enough funds in their treasury box to cover this tax, but this gift of the Spirit enabled Christ & Peter to apprehend money from a surprise source so that they could use their ministry earnings for things more pertinent to the needs of their ministry.

Another example would be how Christ knew the Samaritan woman at the well had five previous husbands and the man she was currently with was not her spouse (John 4:16-19). This enabled him to effectively ‘witness’ to her (John 4:28-29). Yet another example involving Jesus, is when he was privy to knowledge concerning arrangements for his ‘last supper’ with the disciples (Luke 22:9-13).

The message of knowledge can also be observed when Paul supernaturally discerned events while sailing to Rome during a storm that the sailors couldn’t discern and he was ignored to their detriment (Acts 27:10-11).

In the Old Testament the message of knowledge can be seen when Elisha supernaturally knew about his servant’s greedy activities behind his back (2 Kings 5:25-26).

Notice that this gift is called a “message” of knowledge; other translations say “word” of knowledge. It allows the recipient to know something in a fragmentary sense; it doesn’t enable the person to know everything about the person, people or situation. For instance, Christ got a word about what was in the mouth of one fish in the lake; he didn’t know what was in the mouths of every fish in that body of water. It’s a word of knowledge, not an encyclopedia of knowledge.

One last thing, the gift of the message of knowledge differs from the gift of prophecy in that the recipient receives a word of knowledge by the Spirit and then conveys it to those applicable (if this even applies), but it’s not conveyed as in the LORD speaking to others; rather it’s the recipient speaking in the first person. By contrast, when the gift of prophecy manifests the recipient conveys the divine word to the people as the LORD speaking to the people. Are you following?

Distinguishing Between Spirits (or Discerning of Spirits)

This gift enables a person to see in the spirit realm and the activity thereof, whether angels, demons, the LORD or what have you. For instance, Elisha prayed that God would allow his assistant to see that the angelic forces protecting them at Dothan were far greater than the troops of the menacing king of Aram (2 Kings 6:15-17). In the New Testament, Stephen was about to be stoned to death and looked up to Heaven wherein he saw the Lord standing at the right hand of the Father, which gave him the grace to handle his martyrdom (Acts 7:55). Meanwhile Paul was able to actually see the Lord on several occasions (Acts 23:11 & 27:23-24).

I should add that this gift of discerning of spirits is not the gift of paranoid suspicion, carnal judgment and gossip/slander, as wicked legalists think it is.

The Three Power Gifts

(Special) Faith

All believers have faith to some degree (if they didn’t, they wouldn’t be believers), so this gift could better be described as special faith. It’s a sudden supernatural impartation of faith to tackle a challenging situation, like the special faith it took Daniel to handle being thrown into the lion’s den (Daniel 6). No doubt Stephen was walking in special faith during his unjust seizure, potent public testimony and fatal stoning (Acts 6:8-7:60). Meanwhile Peter would have to operate in special faith to boldly command people who’ve been crippled for many years to get up and walk — and then they do it (Acts 3:1-10 & 9:32-35).

Healing

This gift of the Spirit should not be confused with the faith necessary for any believer to receive a healing at any given time, which you can read about here (see the corresponding video too). The charismatic gift of healing is a sudden impartation of faith to heal a specific malady regardless of the faith of the recipient. Christ’s amazing healing of the high priest’s servant with a cutoff ear is a good example (Luke 22:50-51). Another is Paul’s healing of Publius’ father of fever and dysentery (Acts 28:7-8).

I’ve been to services where the minister would say something like “There’s an anointing to heal back problems. If you’re suffering back pain, please obey the prompting of the Spirit and come up now.” People with back issues would then go up to the altar and the minister would apply the laying on of hands and the recipients would (presumably) receive their healing. After several minutes the minister would sometimes announce “The anointing’s gone,” which meant that those with back issues who refused to come up missed their window of opportunity.

Interestingly, the Pool of Béthesda was a type of the gifts of the Spirit and specifically this gift. Go here for details.

Miraculous Powers (aka Working of Miracles)

Several of Christ’s miracles could fall under this heading: Turning water to wine (John 2:1–11), the miraculous catches of fish (Luke 5:1–11 & John 21:1–14), feeding several thousands of people by multiplying a miniscule amount of food (Matthew 14:13-21 & Matthew 15:32-39), walking on water (Matthew 14:22-33) and calming the storm (Mark 4:35-41).

The apostles functioned in this gift as well at times: Peter raised Tabitha from death (Acts 9:36-43) while Paul raised Eutychus from the dead after he fell from a third story window (Acts 20:9-12). Another example would be when Paul rebuked Elymas and pronounced the Lord’s judgment in the form of temporary blindness (!), obviously in the hope that the sorcerer would be humbled and wisely repent (Acts 13:8-12). The passage clearly states that Paul was “filled with the Spirit” when he said this, not filled with the flesh. Since no believer has the power to make someone blind, including Paul, this was obviously a manifestation of the gift of miraculous powers.

The Three Utterance Gifts

Prophecy

The charismatic gift of prophecy is when the recipient has a word from the LORD for the person or people s/he is addressing. I’ve heard many such prophecies over the years and they’re always encouraging and comforting, as Paul pointed out (1 Corinthians 14:3). It’s a wonderful gift that blesses the Church. Unfortunately, but to be expected, it only manifests in assemblies that believe in the gifts of the Spirit — and divine miracles in general — and never in fellowships that embrace the faith-killing doctrine of cessationism.

I should add that, when a believer flows in this gift, it doesn’t mean they’re a fivefold prophet. It just means they’re a believer operating in this particular gift.

Tongues

When this gift manifests it’s simply a prophecy given in another language, unknown to the speaker. But please don’t confuse this charismatic gift with praying in the spirit, which is the believer’s spirit praying to God in a language that his/her mind doesn’t understand (1 Corinthians 14:14-15, 14:18-19 & Ephesians 6:18). The latter form of speaking in tongues is the result of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and is a type of prayer — it’s your spirit bypassing your understanding to pray to God via the use of your tongue (1 Corinthians 14:14-15). The gift of the Spirit kind of tongues, however, is not the recipient praying to God, but rather the recipient giving a word from God to the people. The two are very different. A believer who’s baptized in the Spirit can pray to God in the spirit anytime he/she wants to, day or night, whereas the form of tongues that is a gift of the Spirit only manifests as the Spirit determines in order to give a word from God to God’s children (1 Corinthians 14:2-5). Do you see the difference?

For this gift to be a blessing the body of Christ, it has to be accompanied by the gift of…

Interpretation of Tongues

When someone operates in the interpretation of tongues s/he is simply interpreting a prophecy that was given in tongues. Think about it in terms of two nickels equaling a dime: The charismatic gift of prophecy is the dime whereas tongues & interpretation of tongues are two nickels. The latter two combined are equal to prophecy.

When someone gives a tongue when believers meet — I’m talking about the gift of the Spirit — the Spirit will either move that person to interpret or move upon someone else to interpret because interpretation is necessary in order for the Church to benefit from this gift and be built up (1 Corinthians 14:5).

So there you have it — the nine gifts of the Spirit.

Allow me to close with a pertinent question: In 1 Corinthians 12:31 Paul instructs us by the Holy Spirit to “eagerly desire the greater gifts.” Which of the nine gifts of the Spirit is the “greater gift”? Simply the gift that’s needed at the time. For instance, when Christ encountered the invalid at the Pool of Bethesda the gift of healing was needed, but also likely the gift of special faith, which would be necessary to boldly order a paralyzed person to get up and walk!

Related Topics:

What is Cessationism and is it Biblical?

Healing — How Do I Receive?

Should I get the Surgery or BELIEVE for Healing?

Baptism of the Holy Spirit — and It’s Benefits

Slain in the Spirit—Is it Biblical?

Can the Power/Anointing of God Rest on an Object?

The Fivefold Ministry Gifts — Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher

Prophets — New Testament and Old Testament (There’s a Difference)

Official Prophets (Ministers) and Independent Prophets (Ministers)

What is Oneness Theology—aka “Jesus Only”—and is it Biblical?

Comparing Jesus Christ with… Superman

Is the Holy Spirit God or a Divine Force?

What Is CESSATIONISM and Is It Biblical?

Cessationism (seh-SAY-shun-izm) is the erroneous belief that gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-11) ceased by the end of the 1^st Century when the last of the original apostles passed away and the biblical canon was completed. While most adherents of cessationism believe God still performs miracles, they don’t believe that the LORD works miracles through the gifts of the Spirit any longer. Nor do they believe that the ministerial offices of the apostle and prophet — with the signs & wonders thereof — are in operation today; they believe these ceased when what they call the ‘Apostolic Age’ ended, i.e. the 1^st Century.  Cessationists suggest that 1 Corinthians 13:8-12 supports this theory. Let’s read the passage from two different translations:

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

1 Corinthians 13:8-12 (NIV)

Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. ¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. ¹² For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

1 Corinthians 13:8-12 (ESV)

Cessationists argue that this passage contrasts life before and after the biblical canon was completed, but that’s obviously not what it’s talking about. The text contrasts our life on this Earth where “we see in a mirror dimly” with life on the other side of glory being “face to face” with our Creator; now we only “know in part” whereas then we shall “know fully” even as we are now “fully known” by the LORD (verse 12).

The “mirror” Paul references is translated from the Greek word esoptron (ES-op-tron); this was not like the mirrors we have today; it was a looking-glass made of highly polished metal, which produced an indistinct image of the person viewing it. Paul relates this to our time on Earth during this “present evil age” (Galatians 1:4): Compared to life on the other side of glory where we’ll see our Creator face-to-face, life on Earth is like seeing a poor reflection in an inferior mirror of the 1^st Century. In eternity we shall “know fully” instead of “knowing in part” as we do now; spiritual gifts, like prophecy and glossolalia, will no longer be needed in the perfect eternal age to come.

Since fivefold ministers (Ephesians 4:11-13) in the 1^st Century were known to flow in the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-11) — particularly apostles, prophets and evangelists (2 Corinthians 12:12 & Acts 8:4-7, 8:26-40, 21:8) — cessationists suggest that the offices of apostles and prophets have ceased in the Church since the 1^st Century, but they’re okay with evangelists as long as they’re revivalists or missionaries who lack any evidence of the gifts of the Spirit. The obvious problem with this belief is that nowhere in the New Testament do we see any indication that these offices would cease to exist by the end of the 1^st Century. The evidence cessationists desperately try to amass is weak and smacks of grasping for straws.

Furthermore, cessationists seem to emphasize how true apostles walked with the Lord on Earth, i.e. Christ’s former 12 disciples, like James, Peter and John (minus Judas Iscariot, of course). But Paul is the preeminent apostle of the New Testament who wrote far more epistles than any other apostle and he didn’t walk with the Lord when Christ ministered on Earth. If the Lord can call Paul to be an apostle well after his ascension, he can certainly call other believers to such positions — to this day.

The biggest problem with the religious doctrine of cessationism is that it encourages believers to deny what the New Testament Scriptures plainly instruct us to eagerly desire: Believers are exhorted to “eagerly desire” spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1, 31, 14:1, 39) while cessationism encourages believers to do the precise opposite.

This of course creates a spirit of unbelief when it comes to miracles, like divine healing. The problem with this is that our New Covenant with God is a covenant (contract) of faith and we receive from the LORD based on our faith, aka belief (Hebrews 11:1,6 & Luke 8:43-48). This explains why Christ was hampered from performing miracles in his hometown when he ministered there (Matthew 13:54-58). Do you want to be hampered from receiving miracles in your life? Then, by all means, embrace the doctrine of cessationism because it will kill your faith real quick.

I should add that, while cessationism is a false doctrine, it’s not an issue of eternal salvation. If a believer or sect embraces this doctrine it doesn’t mean they’re not  fellow believers, loved by the Lord. It just means their faith — their level of belief based on the false doctrine of cessationism — won’t allow them to eat everything the gospel of Christ has to offer; in this case, spiritual gifts and the blessings thereof. (Romans 14:1-6). Those of us with fuller understanding are not to look down on those with the lesser because it would be arrogant. Similarly, the one with the lesser revelation must not condemn the one with the fuller. On the contrary, we are to “accept one another… just as Christ accepted [us], in order to bring praise to God” (Romans 15:7). You could insert any non-essential doctrine or issue into this scenario and it would apply.

What perpetuates the false doctrine of cessationism? Certainly not what the New Testament teaches! Rigid sectarianism is the main reason. Believers grow-up spiritually in assemblies/sects that deny the gifts of the Spirit, as well as the offices of apostle & prophet, and the congregants who are eventually called into vocational ministry — pastors, teachers and evangelists (minus gifts of the Spirit) — will then teach/preach the same error to the believers entrusted to their care. It becomes ‘tradition’ to their sect as the decades or centuries pass.

Another factor is that people tend to prefer the mundane to the supernatural. The mundane is more reliable to them because it’s more comfortable to where they’re at spiritually and less challenging to their faith. In other words, it’s easier to be a cessationist. For instance, it’s easier for a minister to just teach/preach a sermon, counsel congregants and pray for believers before they have surgery than mess around with gifts of the Spirit or teach believers to simply pray for healing & actually believe it. I’m not condemning anyone here; I’m just sharing the way it is.

Furthermore, the deeper a minister or any believer goes in God the more reliant on the Holy Spirit & the supernatural they’ll be, like when it comes to needing a healing. This naturally results in persecution from believers who are less spiritually mature or who, for whatever reason, don’t “eat everything.” They’ll mock you as a “holy roller” and the like because the deeper things of God freaks them out. So there’s pressure in the Church, generally speaking, to keep one’s Christianity as mundane as possible. And this is why cessationism is so appealing in the body of Christ.

Lastly, continuationism is the name theologians have given for the scriptural belief that gifts of the Spirit have been available to the Church since it began and the offices of charismatic fivefold ministries never ceased, e.g. apostle and prophet. Those who embrace continuationism are “continuationists” (actually they’re simply believers who happen to believe what the Bible plainly teaches). The only thing that hinders gifts of the Spirit and charismatic fivefold offices in the body of Christ today is unbelief. And the false doctrine of cessationism feeds this unbelief.

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Related Topics:

What are the Nine Gifts of the Spirit?

The Fivefold Ministry Gifts — Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher

Healing — How Do I Receive?

Should I get the Surgery or BELIEVE for Healing?

Baptism of the Holy Spirit — and It’s Benefits

Slain in the Spirit—Is it Biblical?

Prophets — New Testament and Old Testament (There’s a Difference)

Hermeneutics — Proper Bible Interpretation

Berean Spirit — What is it? How Do You Cultivate It?

The Six Basic Doctrines of Christianity

Faith — What Is It? Why Is It Important? How Does It Grow?

Is the Holy Spirit God or a Divine Force?

What’s the Difference Between TEACHING and PREACHING?

The New Testament speaks of both teaching and preaching God’s Word, whatever the topic might be:

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

Matthew 9:35 (NKJV)

And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.

Acts 5:42 (ESV)

But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.

Acts 15:35

The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.

1 Timothy 5:17

Teaching and preaching are not one-and-the-same, but they are both necessary in effectively ministering to people. Let’s look at each…

Teaching

‘Teaching’ in the original Greek is didaskalia (did-as-kah-LEE-ah) and refers to the careful instruction of God’s Word. It’s more detail-oriented than preaching and less lively, although it’s certainly exciting when an anointed teacher opens up the Scriptures and you see things in God’s Word you never saw before. This was the reaction of people who heard Christ teach from the Scriptures (Mark 6:2).

It is teaching from the Scriptures that feeds people spiritually (Matthew 4:4).

Of course spiritually-regenerated believers can feed themselves through studying the Scriptures with the help of the Teacher, the Holy Spirit (1 John 2:27). It’s best to maintain a balance between these two — feed from God’s Word through skilled ministers and your personal devotional times.

Preaching

There are a few different Greek words translated as “preaching” in the New Testament. In Matthew 9:35 the word is kérussó (kay-ROOS-so), which means “to proclaim.” Another one is euaggelizó (yoo-ang-ghel-ID-zoh), which means “to announce good news or glad tidings.” Understandably, these two Greek words are sometimes translated as “proclaiming” in some English translations.

So when a minister or any believer preaches the Word of God they are proclaiming it, announcing it, whether the topic is the gospel of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17-21) or any other subject that the Spirit leads one to proclaim.

Teaching AND Preaching

Both teaching and preaching have to do with the “ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:1-4), which is homiletics. Whereas teaching spiritually feeds the listener/reader, preaching exhorts them to action, whether that is to practice what’s being taught (if it’s a practical truth) or to change one’s mindset (if it’s a revelational truth). For instance, walking in the spirit is a practical truth whereas the nature of eternal life is a revelational truth. The first one you practice while the other changes your mindset and therefore your attitude; for instance, the truth about eternal life in Christ had a profound impact on my thinking about death, grief and life in eternity.

Positional truths are also revelational in nature in that they reveal who the believer is in Christ and therefore how God sees him or her. This naturally has a positive impact upon the believer’s life because it deals with his/her identity. You can learn about positional truths in this video.

Obviously people need to be exposed to both teaching and preaching, not just one or the other. Some fivefold ministers (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers) are more adept at teaching the Word of God whereas others are more skilled at preaching. Some might be good at both. Prophets and evangelists are usually preachers whereas teachers obviously excel at teaching.

Apostles and pastors could lean one way or the other. I’ve been to assemblies where the pastor is an outstanding teacher, but not a preacher. I’ve been to other fellowships where the pastor is a great preacher, but a lousy teacher. However, in both cases the pastors had an anointing to oversee a local group of believers. Needless to say, pastors who aren’t good at teaching are going to have to schedule teachers to feed their congregations while pastors who aren’t good at preaching are going to have to bring in some preachers to inspire their people to action. All five offices of the fivefold ministry are necessary so that believers will be fully equipped for service in God’s kingdom (Ephesians 4:11-13). Believers shouldn’t be half-equipped or a third-equipped, but rather fully equipped; and both skilled, anointed teaching and preaching of God’s Word are necessary to accomplish this.

Related Topics:

Berean Spirit — What is it? How Do You Cultivate It?

Hermeneutics — Proper Bible Interpretation

What Does “Do Not Go Beyond What is Written” Mean in 1 Corinthians 4:6?

What’s the Diff between “Milk” and “Solid Food” (or “Meat”)?

Prophets — New Testament and Old Testament (There’s a Difference)

Official Prophets (Ministers) and Independent Prophets (Ministers)

The Fivefold Ministry Gifts — Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher

When people hear the term ‘minister’ they naturally think of a pastor, a minister who oversees a local assembly, but pastoring is only one of the five ministerial gifts in the body of Christ. This can be observed in this passage:

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Ephesians 4:11-13

While these five ministry gifts are distinguished, they have the same general purpose:

1. To equip or prepare people for works of ministry
2. To build up the body of Christ and the members thereof (not tear them down)
3. To facilitate a spirit of unity in the faith and knowledge of the Lord (as opposed to a spirit of rigid sectarianism)
4. To help believers grow spiritually, not stagnate and become lifeless legalists
5. To help believers attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (as opposed to a quarter measure or half measure)

Needless to say, every servant-leader — whether apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher — needs to make sure they’re fulfilling these purposes and not doing the opposite.

To accomplish their mission, all fivefold ministers naturally need to (1) know and walk with the LORD and (2) know God’s Word, not to mention be able to teach or preach it. Teaching is careful instruction whereas preaching is proclamation in an exhortative sense (you can read details here).

It goes without saying that (1) knowing God and (2) knowing God’s Word are both mandatory for servant-leaders in the body of Christ for obvious reasons (Luke 13:24-27, Matthew 7:15-23 & 1 Corinthians 4:6). Speaking of servant-leaders…

Fivefold Ministers Are to Be Servant-Leaders, Not Domineering Authoritarians

Believers with one or more of the fivefold ministry gifts are called to be servant-leaders in the body of Christ. They’re leaders, no doubt, but their style of leadership is servant-oriented rather than authoritarian. The Lord made this clear:

Jesus called them [the disciples] together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ²⁶ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ²⁷and whoever wants to be first must be your slave — ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Matthew 20:25-28

The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹²For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Matthew 23:11-12

They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” ³⁴But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

³⁵Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

Mark 9:33-35

The word ‘minister’ literally means “servant” and so fivefold ministers are to minister with a servant’s heart. This isn’t to say, of course, that ministers have to be perpetually sugary sweet as there’s a time and place for tough love, like when Paul openly corrected Peter for his legalism (Galatians 2:11-14) or when Jesus boldly cleared the temple of fools (Mark 11:15-18) or when Peter powerfully reprimanded a sorcerer in Samaria (Acts 8:9-24).

Fivefold Ministers Are to Build Believers Up, Not Tear Down

We saw above that fivefold ministers are “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:11-13). In other words, genuine ministers (and believers in general) are to overflow with life, not death. Why? Because we’re children of God and the LORD is the Fountain of Life (Psalm 36:9). This explains Christ’s prime directive: to give people life and life to the full, not death (John 10:10).

This isn’t to suggest, of course, that there’s no place for denouncing sins and encouraging repentance when ministering. Skilled ministers who are led of the Spirit will bring about a spirit of repentance through the ministry of the Word (Acts 6:1-4), but will also remove the burden of guilt, instill the Lord’s peace and motivate individuals onward. In other words, even though they denounce sin and spur repentance, their ministry is encouraging and inspiring. This is the minister’s job.

A good example of this can be seen in Jesus after his resurrection. Christ appeared to two of the disciples who were understandably discouraged because of his unjust crucifixion. The Messiah met up with them as they were walking along the road and they talked for a bit, but they were somehow prevented from recognizing him. After the Messiah departed, the two disciples reflected on the encounter: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32).

This is the effect Christ-like ministers should have on believers. You know you’re at a healthy assembly when you leave a service with your heart burning with inspiration and you see things in God’s Word you never saw before. By contrast, if you leave a fellowship feeling beat up, burdened and condemned it’s not a good sign. It indicates that the minister officiating that particular service has fallen prey to a form of legalism and has become spiritually toxic. This spirit of condo is at odds with the true ministerial spirit, which Paul summed up when he spoke of the authority ministers have for building believers up and not tearing them down (2 Corinthians 10:8 & 13:10).

You can read more about the arrogant spirit of condemnation & authoritarianism here.

So what distinguishes these five ministerial gifts — apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher? Let’s look at each one in general terms (a Scripture-based book could easily be written about each one):

Apostle

The word ‘apostle’ is apostolos (ah-POS-tol-os) in the original Greek, which means “one sent on a mission with a message.” Of course all disciples of Christ have this mission as the Lord instructed his disciples: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). But apostles like Paul and John had an anointing to go out and start assemblies, as well as oversee them. In order to start fellowships, an apostle obviously has to have the gift of pastoring.

A good modern example of an apostle is this powerful minister in my area who started a very successful fellowship, which then sprouted satellite fellowships all over the area. He eventually stopped pastoring the main assembly and now has the position of “bishop” and oversees all of these assemblies (we’ll look at the term bishop in a little bit). This certainly sounds like operating in the gift of an apostle, doesn’t it?

Paul also said that a true apostle is marked by “signs, wonders and miracles” (2 Corinthians 12:12). But this might be hard to come by in these days of gross unbelief, although I’ve seen modern apostles minister in this capacity; they’re out there.

If there are “true apostles” there are also “false apostles” (2 Corinthians 11:13-14). I once met a joyless, stern believer who insisted on being addressed as “Apostle Harrad” at all times even though he wasn’t remotely an apostle in any biblical sense.

How much of the above has to be relevant for a believer to be considered a true apostle? They’d have to:

1. Have a drive for reaching people and starting new fellowships,
2. Oversee several assemblies (at least more than one),
3. Have an anointing with the laying on of hands. (If you’re not familiar with the doctrine of laying on of hands, see this article and scroll down to the section, The Laying on of Hands, which is the 4^th doctrine of Christianity).

Prophet

‘Prophet’ in the Greek is prophétés (prah-FAY-tus) which means “an interpreter or forth-teller of the divine will.” Please don’t confuse this wonderful gift with that of an occultist fortune teller.

The prophetic word is encouraging and is able to touch believers in that specific area where they need ministered. For example, Acts 15:32 says, “Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers.” This is the purpose of the prophetic gift in the Church and reveals why it is so necessary — it encourages and strengthens believers. The original Greek word for ‘encourage’ in this passage means “to cause to move forward.” In other words, a prophetic word will inspire believers and provoke them to go forward and fulfill God’s call on their lives. This shows that prophets are more preachers than teachers. They see things in the spirit realm and proclaim God’s will that’s applicable to the situation or person, but they don’t go into scriptural details on doctrine, like a teacher would.

Have you ever been in the spiritual doldrums where you’re not necessarily walking in sin, but you just seem to lack that spiritual drive and passion for the Lord and your calling? The gift of prophecy has the ability to wake believers from such doldrums and spark them onward! It’s an awesome gift and a needed gift. As such, the office of the prophet should be valued and esteemed in the Church. Unfortunately, too many assemblies and sects are ignorant of it or, for various reasons, the gift lies dormant, which we’ll address later.

I’d like to offer a recent example of how a Spirit-anointed prophetic word can encourage the believer: I was discouraged about what was happening in the political realm recently after reading the Eeyore-like commentaries of a couple of ministers who, while certainly respectable and gifted as teachers, lack prophetic insight. Listening to them produced the vibe of “Woe are we as a nation; our sins have brought doom despite the millions upon millions of sincere, fruit-bearing saints in Christ and their many prayers.” I then exposed myself to four mighty men & women of God who flowed in the prophetic word. Unlike the other two downbeat ministers, these prophets inspired and encouraged. This isn’t to say, by the way, that there isn’t a time & place for a sobering prophetic correction from the Lord, like Christ did with the Laodicean assembly (Revelation 3:17).

While the word of prophecy is important and necessary in the Church this does not condone the abuse of this gift/office where people are made to feel like they’re in bondage to a prophetic word that may be off or even completely wrong. Nor does it condone the dictatorial antics of prophets who think their prophecies are the inerrant Word of God which must be blindly accepted and obeyed to the letter. The origin of this abusive error is this: confusing the New Testament prophet with the Old Testament prophet. These two types of biblical prophets are very different. The primary purpose of the Old Testament prophet was to lead and guide Israel through the Word of the LORD and, in fact, a lot of their words became Holy Scripture and are included in what we know today as the Old Testament. Jesus Christ was the last person to operate in the anointing of an Old Testament prophet (Hebrews 1:1-2) and, in fact, he was The Prophet that the Hebrews were waiting for almost 1500 years (Deuteronomy 18:15, John 6:14 & 7:40).

The New Testament prophet is different. The gift of prophecy was not given to the body of Christ for the purpose of leading and guiding God’s people, as was the case in the Old Testament, because believers are born-again spiritually and have the Holy Spirit within them for this very purpose. As Jesus said, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come” (John16:13). Since it’s the Holy Spirit’s job to guide believers in the New Testament era, we don’t need the gift of prophecy for this function. So when a prophet prophesies over you and says you’re to do this or that or go here or there, don’t receive it unless the Spirit has already been leading you in this direction. In other words, prophecies in the New Testament are to confirm what the Holy Spirit has already been leading you to do. You could say it’s an external source to confirm or compliment the believer’s internal source of direction from God. This explains why Paul instructed believers to test prophecies and “hold on to the good,” which means to eat the meat and spit out the bones (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21). Nowhere are we instructed to blindly accept a prophecy spoken over us. For important details see this article.

Evangelist

‘Evangelist’ in the Greek is euaggelistés (yoo-ang-ghel-is-TAYS), which means “a bringer of good news.” Like prophets, they’re preachers and not teachers. They proclaim by unction the truths of the gospel and the Word of God in general, but they’re not effective at detail-oriented teaching. Many hardcore missionaries would be examples of fivefold evangelists (by ‘hardcore’ I mean those believers who function as missionaries in a vocational sense as opposed to those who flirt with missionary work for relatively short periods of time). While euaggelistés only appears three times in the Greek scriptures, the verb form, euaggelizó (yoo-ang-ghel-ID-zoh), appears 54 times.

Evangelists can certainly minister to believers at revivals and what have you, but their drive & focus is reaching the lost with the life-changing Good News of the message of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

I knew a pastor who simultaneously had the gift of an evangelist, which was also the case with Timothy (2 Timothy 4:5). This particular pastor wasn’t good at teaching, although — as a pastor — he was gifted at overseeing an assembly and could preach. But I saw him at an evangelical service and he was exceptional at preaching the gospel and inspiring people to turn to the Lord in repentance and faith (Acts 20:21). This shows that fivefold ministers can have more than one of the fivefold gifts. A good example from Scripture is Paul, who was both a teacher and an apostle (2 Timothy 1:11).

Like apostles and prophets, evangelists in the New Testament were known to flow in the gifts of the Spirit, such as Philip (Acts 8:4-7, 8:26-40 & 21:8).

Pastor

The word ‘pastor’ comes from the Greek poimén (poy-MAYN) meaning “shepherd,” whether literally in reference to a shepherd of sheep (Luke 2:8) or figuratively in the sense of someone overseeing a flock of people. In the latter sense, Christ is the “Good Shepherd” of the Church (John 10:11,14,27) while fivefold ministers with the gift of pastoring are under-shepherds, as observed in this passage:

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: ² Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; ³ not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. ⁴ And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

1 Peter 5:1-4

Peter is an elder and an apostle and he is addressing elders here, but specifically pastors, as shown in verse 2 (the word ‘shepherds’ in the original Greek is the verb form of poimén). In verse 4 he notes the Chief Shepherd, Christ, which shows that pastors are under-shepherds, accountable to the Lord.

Verses 2-3 convey Peter’s six instructions to pastors:

1. “Shepherd God’s flock that is under your care,” which is phrased in the KJV as “Feed the flock of God” (1 Peter 5:2) and this corresponds to what Christ instructed Peter (John 21:15-17). Making sure the believers under their care are spiritually fed is the number one duty of pastors, which includes exposing them to the ministry of other fivefold ministers now & then so that they’ll be “fully equipped for every good work” (Ephesians 4:12). Feeding believers the word of God is called “the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:1-4). Notice, by the way, that those believers under the pastor’s care are called “God’s flock.” In other words, believers in the worldwide Church are God’s sheep, not the pastor’s sheep. The pastor merely shepherds certain believers for the period of time they are under that pastor’s care, which isn’t determined by the pastor, but by the believer (hopefully led of the Holy Spirit).
2. “Watch over” those believers that are under your care, which means oversee. This means to supervise or manage the believers under the pastor’s care, but it doesn’t mean to tyrannically dominate them in an authoritarian sense. The passage says that pastors are to serve as “overseers” and not lord it over believers, which are “God’s flock.” In light of this, whatever else ‘oversee’ means, we can be sure that it does not mean to lord it over people (more on this momentarily).
3. Don’t pursue dishonest gain, which means don’t be greedy.
4. Be eager to serve rather than begrudgingly serve. If a fivefold minister cannot pastor people with gratefulness and enthusiasm he should do something else in God’s service.
5. Don’t “lord it over” those entrusted to you, which means don’t be a pompous authoritarian. Pastors who lord it over those in their assemblies try to control or subjugate them in the sense of being the ultimate authority (except that they aren’t the ultimate authority, God is). If you’re a pastor, please don’t do this; serve with a loving, humble servant’s heart. Anyone functioning in the office of pastor who cannot do this needs to find another way to serve the LORD.
6. Be examples to “the flock” in all you say and do. This shows that ministry isn’t just about “the ministry of the Word of God” (Acts 6:1-4), but also actually walking with the Lord and walking in newness of life. In short, it’s not just talking the talk, it’s walking the walk. Talk is cheap.

When the elders of the church of Ephesus met Paul in Miletus, he instructed them to “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds [pastors] of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). This shows that elders (presbuteros), overseers (episkopos) and pastors (poimén) are synonymous in the New Testament. In other words, they refer to the same office, although “elder” could refer to another fivefold minister; for instance, the apostle John was nicknamed “the elder” when he was mature in years (2 John 1:1 & 3 John 1:1). (A nickname is a nickname, not a title; for instance, one pastor I knew was called Butch, even though his name was Bob). Also, an overseer could refer to an apostle since apostles start out as pastors and eventually oversee several churches. Even prophets, evangelists and teachers are overseers of the inner circle of their ministries.

Ideally, those effective elders in the Church who preach and teach should be paid (1 Timothy 5:17). Although fivefold ministers might have to take up secular work to pay the bills, which is what Paul occasionally did with tentmaking (Acts 18:3-5).

As noted earlier, all fivefold ministers must know the Word of God and be able to teach or preach so that the body of Christ is fed & exhorted spiritually at services. Pastors also have to have a gift to oversee an assembly of believers (apostles too, obviously). I’ve been to some assemblies where the pastors are outstanding at teaching God’s Word, which means carefully explaining topics in an insightful, inspiring manner. However, I’ve been to other fellowships where the pastors aren’t good at teaching, although they can preach and, like all genuine pastors, are good at overseeing a group of believers.

Obviously pastors who are also exceptional at teaching God’s Word have the fivefold gift of a teacher. Pastors who aren’t gifted at teaching are obviously going to have to enlist the services of fivefold teachers at their assemblies in order to effectively feed God’s sheep in their midst. Speaking of teachers…

Teacher

‘Teacher’ in the Greek is didaskalos (di-DAS-kal-os), which simply means “instructor.” Fivefold teachers have the anointing to carefully explain the Holy Scriptures in an understandable, enlightening way. They make the Scriptures come alive for their hearers/readers and help them to see things in God’s Word they’ve never seen before. They give structure to knowledge and their potent insights often result in believers thinking, “I’ve never heard this, but it makes total sense. Where did the minister get this?!” This is the reaction people had to Christ when he taught (Mark 6:2). It is teaching from the Scriptures that feeds people spiritually (Matthew 4:4).

Fivefold teachers differ from pastors (and apostles) in that they don’t have the gift to oversee people. I’m a fivefold teacher. I have the gift to teach believers, but not oversee them. To be an effective pastor you have to want to watch over people. I have no such desire. I operate in the ministry of the word (Acts 6:1-4) and pray for my hearers/readers and then it’s in the Spirit’s hands, as well as the hands of their local pastor.

I should point out that there is such a thing as a body teacher in the Church (Romans 12:6-8). Such believers have a gift to teach in the body of Christ, but they lack the anointing of a fivefold teacher. These may be fivefold teachers in seedling form, although not necessarily. In other words, as they grow spiritually the LORD will eventually lead them into the fivefold ministry. That’s what happened with me.

One pastor I know taught that fivefold teachers usually focus on one topic and teach it wherever they minister. This, of course, enables them to become experts at teaching that particular subject. This is not wholly accurate. Teachers are typically well-studied on myriad of topics — hundreds actually — and can effectively teach them all. However, a teacher may be led by the Spirit to focus on one particular topic and serve people accordingly. For instance, I know a fulltime minister who has about 75 gigs a year and he sticks to one basic topic with four sermons within that context, which means he’d have to be scheduled at the same assembly four times before even considering coming up with something different. Needless to say, if a minister sticks to one topic and four sermons within that topic, they’ll get good at it.

The Fivefold Ministry Offices

So there you have it, the five biblically-based servant-leadership positions in the Church — apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher.

In many camps, only the offices of the evangelist, pastor and teacher are active. The other two are pretty much dormant. They might have apostles in some partial form, albeit under a different name and usually minus signs and wonders (2 Corinthians 12:12). Meanwhile they omit the prophet office altogether. Some of these sects justify this due to their adherence to the erroneous doctrine of cessationism, the belief that the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-11) ceased by the end of the 1^st Century when the last of the original Church apostles passed away, including Paul. If there are no gifts of the Spirit then obviously the apostle cannot function in signs and wonders and the prophet cannot prophesy, which would make these gifts inoperable and irrelevant.

You can search in vain throughout all the above New Testament passages, but you’ll find no statement where the Spirit-led writers of the Scriptures say something like: “However, the positions of the apostle and prophet will only last a little while longer — till the end of this century — then they will cease, along with the nine gifts of the Spirit.” On the contrary, believers are encouraged to “eagerly desire” spiritual gifts, as shown in 1 Corinthians 12:1, 31, 14:1, 39, which would include the gift of personal tongues, otherwise known as glossolalia (gloss-ah-LAY-lee-ah). Paul emphasized eagerly desiring — pursuing — the “greater gifts” (1 Corinthians 12:31). What is the greater gift? Simply the specific gift that’s needed at the time!

Think about it, the religious doctrine of cessationism encourages believers to do the precise opposite of what the New Testament Scriptures actually instruct us to do. It encourages believers to eagerly deny spiritual gifts when God’s Word encourages us to eagerly desire them!

That said, while cessationism is a false doctrine, it’s not an issue of eternal salvation. If a believer or sect embraces this doctrine it doesn’t mean that they’re not a fellow believer, loved by the Lord. It just means their faith — their belief level based on the false doctrine of cessationism — won’t allow them to eat everything the gospel of Christ has to offer; in this case, spiritual gifts and the blessings thereof. (Romans 14:1-6). Those of us with fuller understanding are not to look down on those with the lesser because it would be arrogant. Similarly, the one with the lesser revelation must not condemn the one with the fuller. On the contrary, we are to “accept one another… just as Christ accepted [us], in order to bring praise to God” (Romans 15:7). You could insert any non-essential doctrine or issue into this scenario and it would apply.

What’s in a Name?

As suggested earlier, anyone who functions in one of these five ministry positions — apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher — could also be called an elder and, in some cases, an overseer. The Greek word for ‘overseer’ (episkopos) is also translated as ‘bishop’ in some English versions of the Bible, such as the KJV. A bishop in the Church is a fivefold minister who oversees a group of subordinate believers.

During my formative years as a young Christian, the assembly that I was involved with embraced these five biblical terms for the offices of servant-leaders. I think it’s best to stick to biblical terminology since the Holy Scriptures are our basis for doctrinal truth and practice (1 Corinthians 4:6 & 2 Timothy 3:16). However, if a camp/sect/assembly chooses to use a different term for a fivefold minister — whether the minister is called to be an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher — it would not change the fact that that minister functions within the position of one of these five offices. Are you following? In short, it’s nothing worth arguing about.

Fivefold Ministers, Great and Small

Fivefold ministers can be great or small and it doesn’t change the fact that they are indeed a fivefold minister, whether an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher. For instance, there are pastors in the body of Christ who shepherd a dozen believers and there are pastors who shepherd hundreds or thousands, but they’re both pastors.

‘Official’ Ministers and Independent Ministers

It should be pointed out that there are official and independent fivefold ministers in the body of Christ. Official ministers are those who function within the structure of a particular camp/sect/denomination. These ministers receive their credentials through schools in these groups and largely function within their camp. In most cases they only function within their camp. To one degree or another, their allegiance is to their sect and their human overseers thereof, but hopefully to God & the Holy Scriptures first and foremost.

Independent ministers, by contrast, function outside of sectarian tags even if they might get their human credentials through a particular group or via a school that serves Christians from several sects that operate under the banner of, say, Evangelicals. Of course, some genuine independent ministers don’t have proper public credentials at all, but neither did Christ or the original apostles; the latter simply walked with the Lord and were anointed of God.

Official ministers are generally reliable sources of Christian ministry, depending on how biblically-based their sect is, but they’re naturally prone to the flaws of their camp, whatever those might be. In cases where the Scriptures clearly don’t agree with a particular doctrine or practice of their sect, they’ll likely side with their group above the Scriptures since it’s convenient and that’s where they get their bread & butter, so to speak, not to mention their position/recognition. Few official ministers are willing to risk losing these things, although Martin Luther did so when he boldly posted the 95 theses on the Wittenberg Door and eventually split from the Catholic sect.

Another downside of ministers functioning solely within the framework of a particular sect is that they can become spiritually inbred with the corresponding rigid sectarianism. Their ministry — e.g. their sermons — are prone to cop a “same old, same old” vibe with little freshness. As a result, they can become uninspiring.

The strength of independent ministers is that they’re less interested in the official doctrines/practices of a particular sect and more interested in what the God-breathed Scriptures actually teach. They can shake things up for believers in a positive way. It goes without saying that receiving from independent ministers can be refreshing and invigorating. Actually, the Word of God and anointed ministers should always shake us up in a positive manner (I’m obviously not talking about abusive non-ministry tactics, like a wicked spirit of condemnation, which sucks the life out of believers). The potential weakness of such ministers is that their quirks and lack of strong governing structure can lead them astray into dubious doctrines/practices. However, any minister that simply sticks to the rightly-divided Word of God will avoid this pitfall.

You can read more about official ministers and independent ministers here.

The Fivefold Ministry Gifts Are God-Given Gifts or Positions/Offices, Not Titles

One last should be emphasized: The five ministry gifts are just that, gifts. They’re God-given talents which enable members of the Church to fulfill the leadership position/office in question, small or great. However, they are not personal titles since there is no indication in the Scriptures of any fivefold minister being referred to with such a title, like Apostle Jones or Pastor Jim.

For instance, Paul continually acknowledged his office of apostle (Romans 1:1, 1 Corinthians 1:1, 2 Corinthians 1:1, Ephesians 1:1, 1 Timothy 1:1, etc.), but he was simply addressed as Paul or “brother Paul” (2 Peter 3:15). Meanwhile Peter was called Peter, John was called John and so on (Galatians 2:6-9). This is the example set for us in the blueprint of Holy Scripture and is in line with what the Lord instructed regarding titles (Matthew 23:7-11).

In short, the fivefold ministry gifts are not and never were meant to be titles in the Church for ministers. If Paul & the other great fivefold ministers in the New Testament are secure enough in their relationship with God and their calling to be addressed simply by name, so can ministers since that time, including today.

The reason I bring this topic up is because the “title syndrome” can get pretty eye-rolling and it smacks of the flesh since it’s obviously centered around ego. For instance, I was at a church dinner where the pastor corrected his own mother for not addressing him with the title of Pastor. Seriously?

That said, if a fivefold minister wants to insist on a title, particularly for those under them in the Lord, that’s their call. What’s it to me? However, they should not expect believers who know what the Scriptures plainly teach on this topic to do so.

If you desire more scriptural proof on the irrelevance of personal titles in the Church, see this article.

A longer version of this article is now available in book form with loads of additional material!

You can purchase the print book here for only $7.38 (175 pages)

Or get the Kindle eBook here for only 99¢

Related Topics:

What’s the Difference between TEACHING and PREACHING?

Mentor & Protégé Dynamics

Should You “Obey” Your Pastor?

Ministerial Pitfalls and Abuses

Ministerial Abuse — The Diotrephes Spirit vs. the Davidic Spirit

Condemnation & Authoritarianism

Should Ministers Be Addressed with Titles?

Legalism — Understanding its Many Forms

Religion and Christianity — What’s the Difference?

Godliness and Religion—What’s the Difference?

Women of the Bible / Women in Ministry

What if You KNOW a Confrontation Will Turn UGLY?

When people offend you, confrontation & correction is a biblical solution to the problem (Matthew 18:15-17), but there are seven common sense guidelines for rebuke, especially if you want the correction to be successful.

Yet what if the individual that needs confronted is known for being difficult (with you, if no one else) and so approaching him/her with a correction will likely create more issues than resolve? Put another way, this person tends to bring out the worst in you and so a reprimand on your part will probably result in a nasty mêlée. If you sense this then don’t do it, unless of course the Spirit specifically leads you to do so. It wouldn’t be worth it. Only a masochist would willfully enter into such a draining, unpleasant confrontation.

If the person goes to your assembly you can procure the aid of spiritually mature elders and then confront him/her, which will help keep the situation from becoming nasty. If the offender doesn’t go to your fellowship you can recruit the assistance of spiritual friends or kin. If neither of these is a viable option, then just intercede in the hope that the transgressor will change, but otherwise keep your distance. If it’s a person you’re forced to brush shoulders with due to work, family or neighborhood then limit your contact as far as is possible.

Someone might understandably contend: ‘But the Lord said we must confront the individual in Matthew 18:15-17.’ Actually Christ’s instructions apply specifically to handling offending Christians from one’s own assembly, which naturally means his guidelines must be revised in cases where the transgressor is hooked up with another fellowship or is unchurched. The Messiah’s words are more general instructions than unbendable rules that must be observed to the letter in each potential case.

For support, consider Paul’s instructions to the believers in Rome:

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. ¹⁸ For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

Romans 16:17-18 (ESV)

Paul instructs believers to look out for those who tend to cause conflict and concludes by simply saying “avoid them.” He doesn’t say anything about confronting & correcting these troublesome souls; he merely says to keep away from them. Were these contentious individuals believers or heathen? Paul was obviously denoting people functioning within the fellowship of Roman Christians who were at least professing believers. Whether they were genuine followers of Christ or not, Paul stresses in verse 18 that they weren’t actually serving the Lord but rather their own appetites. He then reveals what marks such divisive people: They have a reputation for being smooth talkers who deceive naïve folks, that is, people who are incapable of discerning their carnal character.

What exactly is deceitful “smooth talk”? To be frank, it’s bullcrap or another word that shares the initials of Bernie Sanders. These types have a knack for telling stories and exaggeration. Put another way, they have the ability to dazzle listeners with their bullcrap; not everyone, of course, just those who are gullible and lack the ability to identify their bullcrap for what it is. These are fabricators, braggarts and flatterers who naturally create discord and division wherever they roam since it’s their very nature. Guard yourself from such ‘believers’ and steer clear of them. Don’t approach and reprimand them because they’ll despise you for it and turn the situation against you (Proverbs 9:7-9); they’ll try to tear you to pieces like the (hidden) vicious predators they are (Psalm 57:4, Psalm 3:7 & Proverbs 30:14). They want to lure you into the realm of the flesh, which is the plane from which they operate. They want to bring out the worst in you. Don’t take the bait. Keep away from them; intercede for them and shield the naïve sheep in your midst from their smooth-talking devices.

I had an in-law years ago who was so offensive and argumentative that I had to stop taking his calls. I’d delete his messages without even listening. Why? Because speaking to him, or even giving ear to a voicemail, was like consuming poison; it would throw my day off course — destroying my concentration and draining my energy. I found out a Christian relative refused to take his calls as well. Neither of us did this hastily; it took ten years of merciful forbearance and prayer. But life is too valuable to squander on arrogant, disrespectful troublemakers and liars, even if they profess to be Christians (Titus 1:16). Don’t give ear to such a proven contentious person unless you learn from a respected source that s/he is willing to speak with a smidgen of meekness and respect. If so, give it a try.

Here’s another relevant text on the topic:

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. ² For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, ⁴treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 (ESV)

Paul gave these instructions to his acolyte, Timothy. He exhorted him to “avoid” these fleshly types who had an “appearance of godliness” but no actual spiritual effectiveness (verse 5). This revealed that these were people who claimed to know the LORD but plainly lacked the power of a new life. Instead of fruit of the spirit — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, humility and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) — they reveal steady signs of hatred, selfishness, greed, boasting, arrogance, manipulation, ungratefulness, depravity, gossip/slander, recklessness and smugness. As with the passage from Romans above, the apostle doesn’t even tell his protégé to confront & correct such individuals; rather he directs him to simply keep away from them.

If the offenders you are dealing with share these carnal traits, rebuking them is pointless because they lack the spiritual character to receive correction, the primary fruit being love. It’s just not possible to correct bigheaded, rude, impulsive individuals without being pulled into a big nasty fight. It will likely drag you into the realm of the flesh and draw out the worst in you. These hardened types loathe spirituality and correction, regardless of whether or not they’re confessing Christians and attend a certain assembly. “Avoid such people.”

Discern Proper Timing When a Confrontation/Correction Is Necessary

Timing is another thing to consider when the possibility of an ugly confrontation surfaces. The Messiah’s handling of the Pharisees is a good illustration. The Pharisees & other legalists in the Holy Land were unjustly antagonistic toward Christ and were so hateful they literally schemed to slay him. They also transgressed against the LORD with their gross legalism and shady “leadership” in Israel. Keep in mind that Yeshua was Immanuel — “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14 & Matthew 1:23) — so these corrupt religionists were sinning against the Son just as well as the Father. Obviously the Lord would have to eventually confront them if they failed to respond to intercession and the preaching of truth, even though he knew it wouldn’t be pleasant. However, we observe Jesus leaving Judea for Galilee in the early days of his ministry in order to dodge a premature altercation with the Pharisees, who were troubled by his swelling number of disciples (John 4:1-3). They were obviously green with envy. Whilst Christ knew he would probably have to confront & correct these fake religious leaders, it was yet too early to do so; thus he evaded a clash altogether by going back to Galilee. The Messiah later reprimanded them to their faces, of course, and it was anything but pleasant (Luke 11:37-54 & Matthew 23:13-33).

This discloses the Messiah’s fight strategy regarding the possibility of open rebuke: He first tackled the situation in a moderate, lenient manner — dodging an ugly clash in preference to prayer & conveying the Word. He only upped the ante when the gentler method failed to produce results. When Christ dealt with spiritual individuals, like John “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” he rarely if ever had to take the tough love approach because spiritual people have the prudence to respond to the softer approach.

Paul adhered to this basic plan of action as well. He established the assembly at Corinth and set the doctrinal groundwork with much paternal love, compassion, kindness and intercession. But several years later he found out that the congregants were acting like spiritual infants and so he rebuked them (1 Corinthians 3:1-3); he was even ready to pull out the metaphorical whip (1 Corinthians 4:21). If they reacted wisely to the harder approach, meaning they meekly ’fessed up, Paul would of course return to his softer, favored style of ministry.

Let’s bring this home: If the prayerful, soft love manner isn’t effective, God may direct you or me to confront individuals in the Christian community, including ‘leaders’ corrupted by pomposity and religiosity, but we have to discern appropriate timing. Like Christ, we have to be guided by the Spirit and go with our spiritual instincts, even though this won’t change the likelihood that the altercation will be unpleasant.

This article was taken from chapter 3 of How to Handle OFFENSES: Personal & Criminal 

You can purchase the print book here for only $5.76 (121 pages)

Or get the Kindle eBook here for only 99¢

Related Topics:

How to Confront & Correct (and How NOT to)

Handling Personal Offenses vs. Handling Criminal Acts

Gentle Love and Tough Love

Condemnation & Authoritarianism

Understanding Humility

Is Name-Calling Ever Appropriate?

Accountability — the Good, the Bad and the Eye-Rolling

The Issue of Eating Meat Sacrificed to Idols

Forgiveness—Should You Forgive EVERYONE for EVERYTHING ALL of the Time?

Insights on OFFENSE & FORGIVENESS from Joseph’s Story

Why You should always Forgive when the Offender is Repentant

Nosiness and Manipulation (NOT Spiritual)

Legalism — Understanding its Many Forms

Can the Power/Anointing of God Rest on an Object?

During the days of the early Church, articles that Paul touched, like handkerchiefs and aprons, “were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them” (Acts 19:11-12). It was the same thing with Peter’s shadow (Acts 5:15-16). These things had the anointing of God on them and thus physically or mentally ill people exposed to them were healed and demons fled! A good example from the Old Testament would be the power of God on Elisha’s bones, which resurrected a dead man (2 Kings 13:20-21).

There’s no reason that this principle wouldn’t apply today, assuming that the man/woman of God in question is genuinely anointed of the LORD. Keep in mind, however, that, just because someone may be anointed of God, it doesn’t mean that they’re perfect in doctrine or practice.

Related Topics:

Healing — How Do I Receive?

Slain in the Spirit—Is it Biblical?

Demonic Spirits — How to Deflect Them

GRACE — What Is God’s Grace? How Do You Receive It? How Do You Grow In It?

Christianity — Does it Weaken People or Empower?

FREEDOM! LIFE! JOY! POWER!

Dunamis (Dynamite) POWER — Is Within YOU!

Is Christianity a “Relationship with God”?

Prayer—Communing with God

How to be a GIANT-KILLER

Comparing Jesus Christ with… Superman

Baptism of the Holy Spirit — and It’s Benefits

Relating to God from Different Angles — Father, Friend, Helper, Creator, King, Almighty, Master, Savior, etc.

What is the difference between healthy fear of the LORD and unhealthy fear? Is it possible to “feel at ease” with God while, at the same time, having reverence for God?

These are good questions. Think of it in terms of a wise father and his boy on Earth: The dad takes the kid places, teaches him things and has a loving relationship with him, but the son doesn’t want to rebel because (1) he loves & respects his father and (2) he knows he’ll be properly disciplined (Hebrews 12:10-11).

Also, consider that we (believers) relate to God from different angles as disclosed in the Bible: God is our Father, Christ is our savior & friend, the Holy Spirit is our helper & comforter; the LORD is our Creator, our King (Psalm 74:12), the Almighty, etc. From each of these perspectives we relate appropriately as child, friend, recipient, created one, priestly servant and so forth.

God is our Father in Heaven (Matthew 6:9 & 23:9). Christ called the disciples his friends (John 15:15), but also stressed servanthood (Luke 17:7-10). The epistles emphasize believers being sons/daughters of the Father (Romans 8:15), but also says that we are royal priests of the Most High (1 Peter 2:9 & Revelation 1:6) as well as servants/slaves (Philippians 1:1).

In short, our relationship with our Creator isn’t one-dimensional and therefore shouldn’t be one-dimensional. Balance is key.

Related Topics:

Trinity — Father/Son/Holy Spirit — Yes or No?

The Basics of Christianity

Prayer—Communing with God

Is Christianity a “Relationship with God”?

Legalism — Understanding its Many Forms

Created in the Image of God — What Does it Mean?

Is There Such a Thing as RIGHTEOUS HATRED or RIGHTEOUS ENMITY?

Yes, there is such a thing as righteous hatred or righteous enmity. Believers are instructed to “be imitators of God” and “follow God’s example” in Ephesians 5:1 and the Scriptures clearly show that the LORD hates certain things:

¹⁶ There are six things the Lord hates,
seven that are detestable to him:
¹⁷         haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸         a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
¹⁹         a false witness who pours out lies
and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

Proverbs 6:16-19

⁴For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;
with you, evil people are not welcome.
⁵ The arrogant cannot stand
in your presence.
You hate all who do wrong;
⁶     you destroy those who tell lies.
The bloodthirsty and deceitful
    you, Lord, detest.
⁷ But I, by your great love,
can come into your house;
in reverence I bow down
toward your holy temple.

Psalm 5:4-7

⁴ The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord is on his heavenly throne.
He observes everyone on earth;
his eyes examine them.
⁵ The Lord examines the righteous,
but the wicked, those who love violence,
he hates with a passion.

Psalm 11:4-5

In response, someone might understandably ask: ‘But I thought God loved the whole world, as it says in John 3:16?’ Let’s read that popular verse:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

The Greek word for ‘love’ in this passage is the verb form of agapé (ah-GAH-pay), which refers to practical love, as observed in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. In other words, God so loved the world that he did something practical — the suffering & death of His Son — to redeem those who are willing to repent and reconcile (Acts 20:21). However, this obviously does not mean that God has tender affection for every person on Earth, past & present. In other words, God isn’t close to every person and adores them with warm fuzzies. There’s another Greek word for love in the sense of tender affection & respect and that is phileo (John 11:36).

With this understanding, you don’t have to have phileo love for people — affection/respect/closeness — to agape love them. Why? Because agape love refers to practical love and has little to do with affection, that is, liking the person. This explains how we can fulfill Jesus & Paul’s instructions to love our enemies (Luke 6:27 & Romans 12:20-21). Do you like your enemies, that is, phileo love them? Are you close to them? Of course not. But this isn’t a problem because we are not commanded to phileo love our enemies, we’re told to agape love them. Are you following?

This explains why agape love is often defined as “unconditional love” since it is practical in nature and, again, not dependent upon liking the individual or on how well they treat you. I should add that loving someone in an agape sense — i.e. practically loving them — does not just refer to gentle love since tough love is sometimes in order.

We know from the Scriptures that “God is love” (1 John 4:16) and so our Creator loves (agape) the world, just as the most popular passage states, John 3:16. What this means is that God is extending practical love to all human beings even though unbelievers are unregenerated “children of wrath” by nature (Ephesians 2:1-5). I was only saved and “made alive with Christ” because of God’s great agape love!

But God does not phileo love everyone, that is, have tender affection for them. He doesn’t have a close bond with every human. Why else do you think the Scriptures instruct us to “come near to God and he will come near to you” (James 4:8)? If we have to make a willing effort to come near to our Creator in order for the LORD to come near to us, that obviously means God isn’t near to everyone. For instance, do you think God is up there observing the many pedophile priests and saying, “Oh, I just have so much warm affection for these sick perverts?” Do you think the LORD was close buddies with genocidal political monsters, like Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot? Of course not.

You can read more about the different types of love in the Bible here.

Hatred of Evil is Righteous

The Bible says “Let those who love the Lord hate evil” (Psalm 97:10). Furthermore, we know that Christ is the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24) and wisdom plainly says: “To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech” (Proverbs 8:13).

A critic wrote me and said he felt I was “hateful.” To which I responded: “The only thing I hate is evil, lies and corruption.” As the Bible says: “The righteous hate what is false” (Proverbs 13:5).

This is why I hate the Democrat Party & Liberal idiotology because so much of what they say & do is based around gross lies, slander, corruption and immorality (RINOs too, of course). They’re satan’s favorite political party in America in light of the fact that they’re anti-Christ, anti-JudeoChristian, pro-thug, anti-police, pro-lawless, pro-strife, pro-perversion, pro-deviance, pro-baby killing (including letting abortion survivors die on the table), pro-silencing Conservative voices and more. All of these things are the bad “fruit” of Dems/Libs — their beliefs and policies — and Christ said that we can identify false prophets “by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-23).

While I don’t like hardcore Dems/Libs — that is, I don’t have any affection/respect for them and therefore I’m not close to them — this does not prevent me from loving them in the practical sense of agape love, which of course includes tough love when necessary, like “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15 & John 7:7) .

Righteous Hatred / Righteous Enmity / Righteous Hostility

‘Hatred’ means “enmity” or “hostility” and, as detailed above, there is such a thing as righteous hatred, righteous enmity or righteous hostility. Righteous hatred is not evil, but good. Why? Because it’s righteous.

Consider Hebrews 10:13, which references Christ’s “enemies” who will eventually be made his “footstool.” ‘Enemies’ in the Greek is echthros (ech-THROS), which is where we get the feminine echthra (EKH-thrah) translated as “hatred” in Paul’s list of works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-21. So there is such a thing as righteous hostility or righteous enmity; and this explains passages that say point blank that the LORD hates the arrogant, the violent, etc. (e.g. Psalm 5:5 & 11:5).

The wages of sin is death, which the Almighty Creator must ultimately execute on those who reject the gracious offer of reconciliation and eternal life through the gospel; that is, those who refuse to repent (Acts 20:21). This is the “second death” that the unrepentant will face where “raging fire will consume the enemies of God” (Revelation 20:13-15 & Hebrews 10:26-27,31).

Notice that those who refuse to repent are called the “enemies of God.” They’re God’s enemies by their own choice (James 4:4). The LORD must carry out this “second death” because He’s perfectly just; and divine justice demands the execution of the penalty of sin. However, the LORD is also love, which is why He’s offering a way out for sinners; i.e. redemption. The Creator doesn’t “want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Please notice the balance of God’s righteous hatred and agape love. Too many believers swing to one extreme or the other and end up with error: The LORD is either a big mean cop in the sky who can’t wait to punish sin and abolish sinners or God is so loving he would never judge & punish sin. The truth is in between these two extremes. As they say, the middle road is the way to go. See the article Hermeneutics — Proper Bible Interpretation for details.

Close

Most believers are ignorant of these biblical truths and don’t realize that enmity can be righteous and justified. Did you know that the LORD loves justice and hates crime (Isaiah 61:8)? This explains why He ordains human governments to punish wrongdoers; that is, criminals (Romans 13:1-4). Believers are called to imitate God (Ephesians 5:1) and therefore we are to love justice and hate crime as well, which involves seeing to it that criminals are apprehended and punished according to the God-ordained governing authorities.

Obviously carnal hostility (hatred) is different from righteous hostility. Carnal hatred is rooted in enmity based on arrogance, envy, jealousy and rivalry, which are all works of the flesh (Proverbs 6:16-19 & Galatians 5:19-21). People who regularly and unrepentantly walk in carnal hostility are “in the darkness,” even those who say they’re believers. That’s what John was getting across in 1 John 2:9-11. Being “in the darkness” is STAGE ONE level spirituality, which is the lack of spirituality; you can read more about the stages of spiritual growth here.

Related Topics:

Is There Such a Thing as RIGHTEOUS ANGER?

The Four Types of LOVE in the Bible

Gentle Love and Tough Love

Jesus Christ — Milksop or Mighty Lord?

What Does Love “Always Protects” Mean?

Deny Yourself or Love Yourself — Which is It? (Both)

“Be Merciful, Just as Your Father is Merciful”

Understanding “the Right” and “the Left” from a Biblical Perspective

The Left’s Unbalanced View of Christ & Christianity

Is Name-Calling Ever Appropriate?

GRACE: What is It? How Do You Grow in It?

What Is ONENESS Theology—aka “JESUS ONLY”—and Is It Biblical?

There are variations of Oneness theology, but it comes down to the idea that the LORD is one singular person and thus manifests as Father, Son or Holy Spirit. This belief is unitarian and opposes the tri-unity of God. More specifically, Oneness theology advocates that Jesus is the one true God and can manifest as the Father or the Holy Spirit. Put another way, the LORD manifests as one person in three different ways or modes, but God does not consist of Father, Son & Holy Spirit at the same time, that is, distinct and coexisting persons in the divine nature. This belief is called modalism in theology and is a popular doctrine with Oneness Pentecostals, also known as “Apostolic” and “Jesus Only.”

With any biblical topic it’s important to look at all the relevant passages. We must be careful not to draw a conclusion based on certain passages at the expense of other pertinent ones. Obviously, the more overt and detailed verses on a topic take precedence over the more sketchy and ambiguous ones, not to mention they expand our understanding of them. But its error to ignore or “write off” clear passages on a subject. (For details on common sense Bible interpretation go here).

We know that God is one (Deuteronomy 6:4 & Isaiah 45:5-6,18), but the Scriptures reveal that Father, Son & Holy Spirit are included in this divine oneness. This is why the LORD spoke of himself in the plural in the opening chapters of the Bible (Genesis 1:26 & 3:22, not to mention 11:7).

Christ said “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30) (see also John 14:9, 8:19 & 12:45), but he also clearly revealed that they are distinct (John 5:19-27 & 15:10). The distinction of Father, Son & Holy Spirit can plainly be observed in this passage:

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Matthew 3:16-17

Something similar happened when the Messiah took Peter, James and John up a high mountain and was amazingly transfigured before them. Notice what Father God says to the three disciples as Peter started babbling:

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

Matthew 17:5

Here’s yet another passage in which the Father speaks from Heaven in reference to the Son:

27“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

John 12:27-28

All of these verses disprove Oneness theology. If the plain sense makes sense — and is in harmony with the rest of Scripture — don’t look for any other sense lest you end up with nonsense.

The Son Prayed to the Father

Furthermore, Christ prayed to the Father throughout the Gospel accounts, as shown in Matthew 11:25-26, John 11:41-42 and John 17. For those who argue that he did this merely as a pretense to set an example for believers, this would mean that Jesus was just putting on an act whenever he prayed, which is what hypocrisy is (the Greek word for ‘hypocrite’ literally means “actor”).

Secondly, Yeshua was often ALONE when he prayed, as observed in Mark 1:35, Matthew 14:23 and Luke 22:39-42. Needless to say, you can’t very well “set the example” for someone else when you’re alone with the Heavenly Father. Those who embrace Oneness theology would argue that Christ was setting an example for readers of these biblical accounts in centuries to come but, if this is so, 1. Jesus’ communion with the Father would be fake since he wasn’t literally praying to the Father in Heaven while alone on Earth and 2. there’s zero indication in these texts that the Son & Father’s communion wasn’t real and merely an example for readers of the Scriptures in centuries to come.

Look up any of these passages and you’ll notice that none of them say anything whatsoever about Jesus’ prayers being phony and merely a pretense to set an example for believers.  I repeat: If the plain sense makes sense don’t look for any other sense lest you end up with nonsense.

The Father and Son Conversing in the Old Testament

When Christ prayed in the New Testament he was conversing with the Father (remember, prayer is communion with God). The Son and the Father can also be seen conversing in the Old Testament:

So the LORD sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. ¹⁶ When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

2 Samuel 24:15-16

The Angel of the LORD is the pre-incarnate Christ and both the Father and Son are the LORD — aka YHWH, Yahweh — as proven in detail here.

Thus when the LORD talks to The Angel of the LORD as a separate person on this occasion, it is evidence of what theologians call “the Trinity”: Father God instructed the Son to withhold his hand from destroying the capital city and the Son complied. This is in harmony with what Jesus testified — He only does what the Father commands (John 8:29 & 15:10).

This isn’t something peculiar to 2 Samuel 24:16 as we observe the same thing in other passages, like this one:

Then the angel of the LORD said, “LORD Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?” ¹³ So the LORD spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.

Zechariah 1:12-13

This passage shows that both “the angel of the LORD” and Father God were present at the same time. Since we know Christ is The Angel of the LORD this text is simply depicting two persons of the triune Deity talking to each other. This explains why God refers to Himself in the plural in the creation account, as noted earlier:

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…”

Genesis 1:26

And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 

Genesis 3:22

Again, this plurality doesn’t suggest the false notion of polytheism because the Scriptures stress that the LORD is one (Deuteronomy 6:4 & Isaiah 45:5-6,18). It simply denotes one God in three persons: Father, Son & Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19 & 2 Corinthians 13:14). You can read clear details about the tri-unity of the LORD here.

Addressing the Main Argument for Oneness Theology

Let’s consider the main argument of those who embrace Oneness theology (or lean toward it):

‘Christ instructed his disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). However whenever the apostles applied this directive they always baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (e.g. Acts 2:38, 8:16, 10:48 & 19:5).

Were these disciples disobedient or did they do exactly what Christ instructed?

Jesus commanded to baptize in the name (not names) of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Is Father, Son and Holy Ghost a name? Or are they titles?

If they are titles then when Jesus says to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, doesn’t this plainly mean that the Father, Son and Holy Ghost ALL have ONE name?

And what is this name?’

The Father, Son & Holy Spirit do share a name and that is the LORD, which is YHWH, transliterated from the Hebrew, and pronounced Yahweh (YAH-way) (or YAH-hoo-way for devout Hebrews). This is the name of God, known as the Tetragrammaton, which appears in English Bibles whenever you see the word “LORD” (all capitals). You can read details here.

As for the name ‘Jesus’ (or Yeshua in Hebrew), this was the name the angel Gabriel gave to Mary to call her miraculous God-given son, as shown in Luke 1:31. This name was specifically given because ‘Jesus’ is the transliteration of a Hebrew term meaning “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is salvation.”  So ‘Jesus’ is the God-given proper name for the Son when he manifested in the physical realm while ‘Christ’ — aka “Anointed One” — is his title, signifying that Jesus was sent from God as humanity’s King and Deliverer, our “salvation” and, hence, our Savior.

However, the Son existed prior to his incarnation and before he was known as Jesus (Yeshua), as clearly shown here:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

John 1:1-3

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Matthew 1:23

This explains the careful phrasing of this verse:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

The human Christ was born, but the eternal Son was given because the Son already existed from eternity.

Whilst Father/Son/Holy Spirit are the LORD, Yahweh — and therefore “share” that name — only the Son has the name Jesus (or Yeshua in Hebrew) and the title Christ or Messiah, aka “Anointed One,” not to mention Immanuel, “God with us.”  Remember, ‘Jesus’ literally means “the LORD is salvation.”

‘But why did the apostles baptize in the name of Jesus if the Messiah instructed us to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?’

Before the Lord ascended he instructed believers:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Matthew 28:19

This is the method for baptizing believers in water. So why do we see so many instances in the New Testament where people were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ without mentioning the Father or Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38, 8:16, 10:48 & 19:5)?

The answer is simple: The phrase “in the name of” is one-and-the-same as “in the authority of.” This can be observed in this passage, which takes place after the miraculous healing of a crippled beggar:

They [the Hebrew rulers, elders & teachers of the Law] had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, ¹⁰ then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.

Acts 4:7-10

The Hebrews asked, “by what power or what name did you do this?”  Peter replies that it was by the name of Jesus Christ that they healed people.  In other words, “in the name of Jesus Christ” meant by the power and authority in Jesus Christ.  This can be observed in several New Testament passages:

Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

Acts 3:6

She [a girl who had an evil spirit] kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

Acts 16:18

So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, ⁵ hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.

1 Corinthians 5:4-5

And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

1 Corinthians 6:11

always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 5:20

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.

2 Thessalonians 3:6

The phrase “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” and its variations are synonymous to “in the authority of Jesus Christ.” Thus when a new believer is water baptized in the name of Jesus, they are baptized by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. While the Father, Son & Holy Spirit are one in the sense that they are all three the LORD — that is, Yahweh — they are not indistinguishable. Human salvation is focused on the Son, which is why the most popular verse of the Bible says:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

First, notice that Father God and the Son are distinguished. Secondly, note that it’s necessary to believe in the Son to receive eternal life. While both the Father and the Holy Spirit are the LORD, Yahweh, it’s necessary to believe in the Son to receive redemption & eternal life. Why? Because he is the part of God — or person of God — that died for our sins and was raised to life for our justification (Romans 4:25, 5:8, 5:10, 1 John 4:10 & Revelation 1:18).

Thus God, the Father, gave the Son the name that is above all names, Lord Jesus Christ:

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:5-11

Observe, incidentally, that verse 11 refers to the LORD as “God the Father,” as opposed to “the Son” in John 3:16 (cited above). Furthermore, verses 5-6 say that Christ is God and equal with God. In other words, both Father and Son are equally the LORD, Yahweh, which corresponds to the afore-noted John 1:1-3.

But the Holy Spirit is the LORD too, as observed in the afore-cited Matthew 3:16-17 (and Mark 1:10–11), as well as the fact that Peter said Ananias “lied to the Holy Spirit” followed by “You have not lied just to human beings but to God” (Acts 5:3-4). Bear in mind that Christ plainly distinguished the Spirit from both the Father and Himself (John 16:7). For those who argue that the Holy Ghost is merely the “force of God” and not a person, the Spirit is referenced with personalized pronouns (John 16:13), has a will (1 Corinthians 12:4-7), an intellect (1 Corinthians 2:10-13), personally guides/directs (John 16:13 & Acts 16:6), speaks (Acts 13:2) and can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30). Hence, the Holy Spirit is not merely a force, but a divine person, coequal with the Father and Son.

Whilst Father/Son/Holy Spirit are equally the LORD, Yahweh, there is subordination in an economical or relational sense. For instance, the Scriptures very clearly show that the Father is the head over the Son and this is explicitly stated (1 Corinthians 11:3 & 15:27-28). While the Father and Son are equal in being, the Son is subordinate to the Father in function or relationship. Hence, Jesus would never contradict the Father; in fact, he can’t contradict the Father because, as he said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30) (see also John 14:9, 8:19 & 12:45).

This all ties into the point of this section: When Christ instructed that we are to baptize believers “in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” he meant in the authority or power of the LORD — Father/Son/Holy Spirit. And since the Son, Jesus Christ, is the obvious focal point of human salvation (remember, Jesus’ very name means “Yahweh is salvation”) the apostles baptized believers in the name of — the authority of — our Lord Jesus Christ.

Obviously baptizing believers in the name of the Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit and baptizing them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ are acceptable when performing this ordinance.

I’m sure you’re seeing how Oneness theology is unscriptural. But this doctrine creates other glaring problems…

In Oneness theology God is currently the Holy Spirit on Earth, which would mean that the Father is not in Heaven. If this is so, who are we praying to?

Christ instructed that we are to pray to the Father in the name of Jesus (Matthew 6:9-13, John 14:13-14, 15:16 & John 16:23-24), but in Oneness theology God is currently the Holy Spirit on Earth, which would mean that the Father isn’t in Heaven and the Son isn’t at his right hand interceding for us (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25, & 1 John 2:1). This begs the question: Who are we praying to?

It’s clear in these passages that the Father is on the throne in Heaven with the Son at the Father’s right hand, interceding for us as our Advocate. Meanwhile the Holy Spirit is on Earth indwelling spiritually-regenerated believers and guiding them into all truth, amongst other things (John 14:16-17, 14:26, 15:26 & John 16:7-8). In other words, the LORD, Yahweh, is indeed one, but is not functioning as one of these three; rather the LORD functions as all three due to the tri-unity of Yahweh — Father, Son & Holy Spirit.

Other Arguments by Those Who Question the Tri-Unity of God

It was pointed out earlier that the LORD spoke of himself in the plural in the opening chapters of the Bible (Genesis 1:26 & 3:22, not to mention 11:7). Someone wrote me by first citing this passage:

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:26-27

The man followed-up with this understandable question:

‘In one verse it says “our image.” In the next verse it says “His image.” Which is it — Our or His?’

The answer is both, as explained earlier: The Scriptures teach that the LORD, Yahweh, is one (Deuteronomy 6:4 & Isaiah 45:5-6,18), but other clear passages denote one God in three persons: Father, Son & Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19 & 2 Corinthians 13:14). You can read clear details about the tri-unity of the LORD here.

This is an example of what theologians call “truths in tension,” which refer to two biblical truths that seemingly contradict and, yet, are both true. In the case of God’s oneness on the one hand and tri-unity on the other, these truths are paradoxical, but they’re not contradictory and actually balance each other out. How can we explain this paradox? Think about it in terms of the clover, which is one small plant, but consists of three petals; or the human being, which is one being, but consists of spirit, mind and body.

The man then cited a couple other passages:

At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. ³ And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.

Revelation 4:2-3

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.

Revelation 5:6-7

Followed by this comment:

‘If Jesus sits on the right hand of God why does John only see ONE throne with ONE Person on the Throne and in the MIDST of the throne we see Jesus stand up and take the book out of the hand of Him that sat upon the throne. We see also that Jesus has the spirit of God symbolized as eyes and horns which are a part of and not external to Him.
How would you explain this scripturally?
This is why I said God is not three persons like stated in the Trinity.’

These verses establish the tri-unity of the LORD: Father God is on the throne while the “Lamb” refers to the lamb that was slain, the Son, Jesus Christ. This reflects what was established earlier: The Heavenly Father is on the throne in Heaven with the Son at his right hand interceding for us (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25, & 1 John 2:1). Just because Christ is at the Father’s right hand doesn’t mean he can’t get up and walk in the midst of the throne from time to time. Meanwhile the Holy Spirit is represented by “the seven spirits of God sent out into all the Earth.” The number 7 is figurative of completeness, so John — by the Spirit — is simply identifying the fullness of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2, Revelation 4:5, 5:6 & Zechariah 4:1-10). The book of Revelation is full of symbolic language and that’s the case here.

‘We see also that Jesus has the spirit of God symbolized as eyes and horns which are a part of and not external to Him.’

That’s because the Lamb (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit are one just as the Father and Son are one (John 10:30), which explains why the Holy Spirit is also referred to as the Spirit of Christ in Scripture (Romans 8:9). As far as the Holy Spirit not being external to Christ, the text plainly says that “the seven spirits of God” — aka the Holy Spirit — was “sent out into all the earth” while the Lamb was in Heaven in the center of the throne of the Father. So the Spirit is one with the Lamb, but also external to the Lamb.

This man concluded with this point:

‘God is not three persons like stated in the doctrine of the Trinity and neither is He “Jesus Only” as the Oneness people believe.
The truth according to the Scriptures lies somewhere in between these two extreme views of the Godhead.’

This presumes that those who embrace the tri-unity of God deny the oneness of God, which simply isn’t true (as explained above). Again, the fact that the LORD, Yahweh, is one consisting of Father/Son/Holy Spirit is an example of “truths in tension”; it’s a paradox, but not contradictory. They balance each other out. Please remove from your thinking that those who embrace what theologians call the Trinity are opposed to the Oneness of God. They’re not.

If all of this is clear in the Scriptures, why do some believers staunchly embrace Oneness theology?

Answer: Because of an unbalanced approach in their scriptural studies, as well as the social pressure of sectarianism.

Regarding an unbalanced approach to theology, anytime someone ignores or plays down clear, relevant passages on a subject they’re violating the hermeneutical rule of Scripture interprets Scripture and thus they inevitably wind up with error, even if it’s partial error. Error by its nature cannot set people free (John 8:31-32); on the contrary, it will put you into religious bondage. For more on common sense Bible interpretation, go here.

But why would anyone ignore or play down plain, explanatory verses on a topic? Usually because of rigid sectarianism. This is faction-ism wherein believers get stuck in a particular sect and refuse to think outside of the box of the indoctrination thereof, regardless of what the Scriptures clearly teach on the topic in question. In other words, their loyalty is to their sect/assembly/pastor to the point that it overrides clear and balanced biblical teaching, which isn’t healthy. It’s a myopic mentality that tends to hinder the apprehension of truth — and therefore freedom — but also fosters spiritual dependence & immaturity. You can read details here.

Closing Word

While Oneness theology & its various interpretations (e.g. “Jesus only”) is a false doctrine, I have no doubt that sincere believers who embrace this belief are genuinely saved and therefore brother & sisters in the LORD. After all, you don’t have to properly understand someone’s nature in order to have a relationship with him/her. For instance, does a person have to properly grasp my physical/mental/spiritual make-up to have close fellowship with me? Of course not. Just the same, you don’t have to have a perfect understanding of the Creator’s nature to have a genuine relationship.

T.D. Jakes is a good example of a genuine minister of God who embraced Oneness theology for decades, but came to see the scriptural truth of the tri-unity of God and publicly acknowledged it in January, 2012. Does this mean he didn’t really know the LORD before that or that he wasn’t a true believer? Obviously not.

Nevertheless, Oneness theology is a false doctrine and cannot be condoned. Once a believer who adheres to this doctrine sees the truth God expects him/her to change their mind accordingly, whatever the consequences, including persecution from staunch Unitarians or getting kicked out of a Oneness group.

Related Topics:

Trinity — Father/Son/Holy Spirit — Yes or No?

THE Angel of the LORD — Mighty Angel or Pre-Incarnate Christ?

Does God have a Feminine side?

God’s Name — YHWH (Yahweh), the Tetragrammaton

Christ: “The Anointed One” — What Does it Mean? What Does “Jesus” Mean?

Sectarianism — What is It? What’s Wrong with It?

The Jehovah’s (False) Witnesses — Why You Should HEAD FOR THE HILLS

Created in the Image of God — What Does it Mean?

Is Christianity a “Relationship with God”?

Legalism — Understanding its Many Forms

Is the Holy Spirit God or a Divine Force?

“Be Merciful, Just as Your Father Is Merciful”

What did Christ mean when he said “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful? Let’s read the full quote:

“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

Luke 6:35-36

The Lord was stressing here that, if we do good to our enemies and show them mercy we are being “sons (or daughters) of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” In other words, he’s encouraging us to imitate our heavenly Father, which is a scriptural principle (Ephesians 5:1 & 1 Peter 4:11). Since our Father in Heaven is kind and merciful to thankless evildoers we should extend them the same grace.

This is an awesome general principle to live by, but it shouldn’t be mistaken to mean that we’re obligated to perpetually offer sweetness and mercy to wicked ingrates who repeatedly spit on our genuine efforts of goodwill and peace. After all, God showed Herod Agrippa much patience and mercy even though he was a pompous persecutor of the Church, but when he imprisoned Peter and put James to death, as shown in Acts 12:1-5, Herod’s days were numbered and he was dangerously nearing the limit of the LORD’s tolerance (1 Thessalonians 2:15-16). When Herod arrogantly accepted praise that’s only due the Most High at a political speech he was swiftly wiped off the face of the earth by “an angel of the Lord” (Acts 12:23).

What should we make of this? God showed this wicked unbeliever much patience and mercy, but when Herod foolishly chose to spurn his awesome grace, time after time, the Sovereign Lord withdrew his mercy and decisively executed stern judgment. This occurred in the New Testament era and this is our heavenly Father whom the Messiah said we should emulate. Chew on that.

Christ himself acted the same way when he walked the earth. He prayerfully and patiently extended mercy and peace to his unbelieving enemies, avoiding conflict at first, but when they refused to yield to God’s grace and repeatedly responded with murderous antagonism and unrepentant legalism he radically rebuked them to their faces (Luke 11:37-40 & Matthew 23:13-33), not to mention fearsome deeds, like clearing the temple of greedy fools (John 2:13-17 & Mark 11:15-18).

Or how about the occasion where Paul openly confronted Elymas the sorcerer? He “looked straight at Elymas and said, ‘You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?’ ” (Acts 13:8-12). The passage clearly states that Paul was “filled with the Spirit” when he said this, not filled with the flesh. But there’s more: The apostle also pronounced the Lord’s judgment in the form of temporary blindness (!), obviously in the hope that the sorcerer would be humbled and wisely repent (verses 9 & 11).

In light of Paul’s instructions in 1 Timothy 2:1-3, he no doubt researched the areas he was assigned to minister, in this case Cyprus, and subsequently bathed the peoples in prayer, which would include the proconsul and Elymas, the latter of whom was a celebrity of sorts. This is what I always do before I minister at a location. Hence, before even meeting the people of Cyprus the apostle prayed for them and blessed them, including the well-known magician.

My point is that Paul extended love and peace to this man before even meeting him, but when the fool responded with persistent stubborn antagonism, trying to steer people away from God and the gospel, the apostle reacted in a decisively stern manner, led of the Spirit. I think we can all agree that Paul wasn’t Mr. Christian Nice Guy on this occasion.

So, yes, by all means “love your enemies” and “be merciful as your Father is merciful.” Repeat as necessary. This should always be our initial response to unbelieving opposition. But this doesn’t ludicrously mean we’re bound to perpetual sugary sweetness. Ministers who advocate this aren’t being balanced with the Scriptures; either that or they simply don’t know how to read.

When some fool repeatedly spits on your gracious attempts of goodwill and peace you’ll feel righteous anger stir up within you; obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit and act boldly and decisively, just like Christ and Paul did, not to mention Peter (Acts 8:18-24). You’re being a faithful Christian when you do this. In fact, you’re emulating God Himself. Don’t let any misguided religionist convince you otherwise.

Related Topics:

Handling Personal Offenses vs. Handling Criminal Acts

Turning the Cheek — What it Means and Doesn’t Mean

What Does “Go the Extra Mile” Mean?

“If Someone Takes Your Cloak, Do Not Stop Him from Taking Your Tunic”

Turning the Cheek — What it Means and Doesn’t Mean

Gentle Love and Tough Love

Judging—When SHOULD You Judge and When SHOULDN’T You Judge?

Forgiveness—Should You Forgive EVERYONE for EVERYTHING ALL of the Time?

Absolute Pacifism (Unbiblical) vs. Limited Pacifism (Biblical)

Jesus Christ — Milksop or Mighty Lord?

Cast Your Cares! (Venting)