Body Ministry – BT4:  Where do the preachers fit in?   They are supposed to be the evangelists!

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From the previous BLOG about Ephesians 4:11, we also see a relationship between the evangelist-preacher (a), apostles, teachers (b), and even prophets (i) – these “equippers” are all simply grace-gifts of Christ to help build up the Body of Christ.  They are not people, positions, offices, or titles!  This is especially true in 2 Timothy 4:2 where Paul encourages Timothy, the evangelist to “preach/herald the [gospel] logos message . . . to gently convince/correct (c), charge/urge/rebuke, and parakaleo ‘come alongside to counsel’ [just like the Paraklete Holy Spirit does] . . . with absolute patience and/coupled doctrine/teaching (d)” and “strongly urge and/coupled teach these things (e) . . . devoting yourself to the . . . the invocation/summoning (f), and the teaching. Do not neglect your grace-gift [of evangelism/preaching he received by the laying on of hands] . . . practice these things, immerse yourself in them . . . Keep a close watch on (g) yourself and on the teaching (h).  Persist in this, for by so doing you save (rescue/heal) both yourself and your hearers.” Paul was training Timothy to be an preacher/evangelist like himself.

<Notes> a) kerux:  preacher, announcer, herald, town-crier proclaiming critical news for the public to know.  1 Timothy 2:7; 2 Timothy 1:11; 2 Peter 2:5; from the verb kerusso:  25 occurrences of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ:  Luke 9:6, 20:1; Acts 8:25, 40, 14:7, 21, 16:10; Romans 1:15, 15:20, 16:25, 1 Corinthians 1:17, 9:16, 18, 15:1; 2 Corinthians 2:12, 8:18, 10:16, 11:7; Galatians 1:8, 9, 11, 3:8, 4:13; 2 Timothy 2:8; 1 Peter 4:6, b) Paul was a preacher, apostle, and teacher:  1 Timothy 2:7; 2 Timothy 1:11 – see Coaches and Facilitators and Teach One Another, c) reprove, d) didache: the teaching, e) 1 Timothy 4:11, cf. 6:2, f) 1 Timothy 4:13:  paraklesis from parakaleo:  the “calling to be close-beside” the congregation is the “invocation” or “summoning” of the Paraklete Holy Spirit was still an early Church tradition per Hippolytus of Rome in 200 AD, g) ep + echo: hold upon – that’s a function of an overseer too, h) as specific kind of teaching – the “sound doctrine” Paul taught him of Jesus’ sound words/saying: 1 Timothy 1:10, 6:3; 2 Timothy 4:3, i) Acts 13:1.

That should make many of you wonder who that person up there talking to you every Sunday thinks they are?  If they are speaking the gospel logos message then they are preachers/evangelists, but then you have to ask:  “Are there any unsaved people in the congregation that they are preaching to in order to save?”  Maybe there IS some regular church-goers that really aren’t saved?  Also if they aren’t speaking the gospel, they really aren’t preachers, but simply one of many teachers in the Body-of-Christ that should be using their grace-gift of teaching!  But then why do they call themselves “preachers?”  And just try to stand up, or raise your hand, to add your teaching to a service!  But 1 Corinthians 14:26 says that each of us is to bring a didache teaching to the gatherings.  It seems that many churches are NOT following biblical models of church structure!

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Spiritual Education, Body Ministry, Church leadership equippers, Preachers are supposed to be evangelists NOT bible-teachers, Preachers are a grace-gift not a person position office or title, Most preachers are actually just teachers hogging the ball, The New Testament says we are to have a plurality of teachers