Becoming Established By Ministry Gifts 2
(week 22/09)
Olubi Johnson
In our article last week, we saw that the five-fold ministry gifts or anointings are given to work sequentially together to get us established in the revelation knowledge of the advanced purpose of God for the church: the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
This week we will see that these anointings are to grow and develop in one man from whom smaller measures will be taken and put on others who in turn will grow and develop them and then pass them on to others, who again will grow and develop them and pass them on to others and so on:
2 Timothy 2:2 ESV …and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
It is vital to note that one man can have more than one anointing. For instance, Paul began with the evangelistic anointing at Damascus; then he grew into operating the pastoral, teaching and prophetic anointings at Antioch before being finally called into the apostolic anointing:
Acts 9:17-20 ESV So Ananias departed and entered the house and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” (18) And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; (19) and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. (20) And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”
This is the evangelistic anointing in operation in Saul who became Paul.
Acts 11:25-26 ESV So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, (26) and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.
Here, we see the pastoral and teaching anointings operating in Paul and Barnabas.
Acts 13:1 ESV Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
Here, we see Paul and Barnabas operating in the teaching and prophetic anointings.
Acts 14:14 ESV But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out,
Here, we see Paul and Barnabas operating in the apostolic anointing.
So, we see that one man can have more than one anointing and in fact we should operate in greater anointings as we grow in ministry since these anointings are intrinsically built into one another from bottom up:
The pastoral anointing can do the work of an evangelist (2 Tim. 4.5);
The teaching anointing can do the work of the evangelist and pastor;
The prophetic anointing can do the work of the evangelist, pastor and teacher;
The apostolic anointing can do the work of the evangelist, pastor, teacher and prophet as illustrated here in the ministry of Paul.
Furthermore, in a local church setting, for efficiency and multiplicity of operation, God will take a smaller measure of some of these anointings on the senior minister (or set-man (Num. 27.16) and put them on some of those operating under him, since they have not yet grown to be able to operate these anointings in the same measure as the set-man. In fact, at the moment we have not yet seen these anointing, especially the prophetic and the apostolic operating in their full measure on the earth. What we have at the moment are partial measures of these anointings, which will increase as we grow spiritually which is purpose of God to cause us to grow into the fullness of the measure of the stature of Christ.
So, God takes a smaller measure of these anointings from the set-man and puts them on those serving under him or under his covering like God did for Moses and the seventy elders and Jesus did for the 12 apostles and 70 disciples:
Numbers 11:16-17 ESV Then the LORD said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. (17) And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone.
Luke 9:1-2 ESV And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, (2)and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.
Luke 10:1 ESV After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.
Luke 10:17 ESV the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”
So, you need to recognize, submit to and obey these 5-fold anointings as God brings them into your life, through your set-man, those operating under his covering and others God may send to you, as you grow spiritually:
Ephesians 4:14-15 ESV so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. (15) Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
