Therefore it says, "When He ascended on high He led a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men."
…And He gave the Apostles, the Prophets, the Evangelists, the Shepherds and Teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…
Ephesians 4:8, 11

In Ancient Rome when a conquering General returned from the wars he would parade a crowd of captives through the streets, and he would give gifts to his friends from the booty of war he had taken. Some of those gifts would be slaves from among the captives he had brought. A particularly valuable slave, talented, well-educated and useful, was a gift given to serve honored friends.

The point here is that the Lord Jesus, as He ascended on high, distributed gifts to the human race from among the “captives” He liberated from the enemy. His gifts are people: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shepherds (Pastors) and Teachers. We call them the “Gifts of Christ.”

The Apostles, as Christ’s personally appointed ambassadors, and the Prophets established the Christian Church by laying the Foundation they  wrote and left us the Bible, (the “foundation of the Apostles and Prophets”).  Once their work was done, they were not replaced; their work continues to this day through the Scriptures. Everything done since them is to be built upon the Foundation they laid.

The Evangelists are those who lead people to faith in Christ. Their work is ongoing and they are replaced in every generation, building the church in each generation on the same Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets.

The Pastors and Teachers are also renewed in every generation, as they continue to build the church in each local community, solidly basing their work on the Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets.

The building material? Living stones; you and me, fitted together into a temple for God to dwell in.

Any work not built on the Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets (the Bible) is a different building, it’s not the Church of Christ, no matter what it calls itself.

So Paul, one of those Apostles appointed by Christ, said, “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.”
(1 Corinthians 3:10)

Lord, You have given me the gift of Your Word, the Foundation. You gave someone in my own generation to lead me to trust in You, and others to shepherd and teach me to follow You, building me on that Foundation. Thank You for these gifts! Amen.

Pastor Dan Giles