private)Paul’s charge to Timothy in preaching the word was to be ready to convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching (2 Tim. 4:2). Paul is not speaking of congregational oversight for the evangelist any more than he does for the elders. God did not put me in charge of a congregation or a particular work of a congregation. His work knows no limitations of location or place of work. Wherever he may go where he speaks to others of Christ’s love, he will soon know of their faith in Christ or their lack of knowledge concerning Him. In this way, he may spread the gospel of Christ to all who have not heard.
One of the common mistakes made in support of a specialized ministry consecrated by God is to compare the priesthood under the Mosaic covenant. Joseph Lathrop explains,
“No man taketh this honor to himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron;” and as were his sons. They were consecrated by Moses, God’s minister, according to his appointment, that they might minister to him in the priest’s office. Korah and his companions fell under an awful condemnation because they presumed to offer incense with unhallowed hands, pretending that all the congregation was holy and that one had as good a right as another, and they as good a right as the sons of Aaron, to perform the solemn functions of the priesthood. To these impious usurpers, Jude compares those who had crept into the church unawares, turning the grace of God into wantonness.” He says, “They have gone in the way of Cain, run greedily after the error of Balaam, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. All Christians are to exhort, reprove and comfort one another, as there is occasion; but public teaching in the church belongs peculiarly to some; to those who are given to be pastors and teachers” (An Exposition of the Epistle to the Ephesians, 7).
First, his mention of “public teaching in the church” presumes the establishment of a local church wherein professional preachers/priests teach the laypeople. His conclusion presumes an institution or organization where such business is done. The “public” teaching that is referenced in the Bible is only a reference to teaching to more than just disciples, but a multitude of unbelievers. Jesus demonstrated this when he taught in a public forum, but resorted to a private setting to address His disciples in particular. Paul’s example in Ephesus (Acts 19:9-10, 20:20) and the example of the early disciples in Jerusalem is that they met in the home (private) or in a public forum like the courts of the temple (Acts 2:46, 5:42). The public teaching was not a house full of non-Christians, but a mixed company of believers and unbelievers in a public place, who may even dispute Paul’s teaching. “Public” teaching was not done “in the church” in the sense of an organization made up of a local assembly of saints.
Second, one must ascertain the overall context of the first-century teaching that involved the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit. To carry this forward to our time, we are forced to accept the same divine guidance in our teachers. This would mean that the same power given to them under the guidance of the Holy Spirit is given to chosen individuals of our time. This has yet to be proven by anyone today. They all study and prepare for their presentations. In my experience, I have never observed flawless lectures or sermons, not to mention the perfect use and application of the Scriptures. In fact, I have witnessed more people claiming guidance of the Holy Spirit making glaring mistakes, misquoting texts, and making atrocious misapplication of scripture. If this is any indication of what is meant by spirit-filled teaching, then the New Testament authors were no better. If we can have no more confidence in the Scriptures than this, we would be justified to throw it all in the trash.
In addition to that, the priesthood to which Lathrop alludes was a very specialized ministry of the Mosaic dispensation that could only be performed by the tribe of Levi. There were even specialized divisions of labor among them. The Old Covenant was a shadow of which the new and more glorious covenant was the reality. It is not the covenant under which we serve God, today. But, the New Testament teaches the priesthood of believers and the fulfillment of God’s plan to finally develop a kingdom of priests (cf. Exodus 19:6, 1 Peter 2:9) among every member of the body of Christ.
The four conclusions from the New Testament saints are that (1) they were all given the Holy Spirit in the sense of having some gift of the Spirit (2) all of them were priests and performed some needed role in ministering to the body, (3) apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers were not limited to public teaching, and (4) these gifted men held no offices in a church institution or local church organization.