December 06 2025

Saturday December 06

The Gift and Office of Evangelists

Ephesians 4:7-11

“But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift… And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.”

Today we are continuing to look at Ephesians chapter 4:11, where the Apostle Paul is talking about at least four offices that are in the local church that help it to be the kind of church God wants it to be. Which is a unified church, a loving church, a growing church, a church that builds up one another in love, and reaches the world with a gospel of Jesus Christ. A church that makes a difference in the world in which it's planted, wherever that is.

Already we talked about the office of apostleship. That was an original spiritual gift and office in the first century church that God gave to the 12 men who, along with the prophets, laid the foundation. Yesterday, we talked about the prophets, those who in that day were gifted and called forthtell the Word of God, along with the ability to foretell future events. Now today we're looking at the third office and that's the office of evangelists. This office and gift of evangelism is a very important part of the local church even today.

The spiritual gift and office of evangelists means that these are those in the church who “bear the good news”. That's what evangelist means. “Evangel”, “A bearer of good news”. Someone who takes the good news of the salvation that's available through Jesus Christ to the world that's lost and dying and on its way into an endless eternity to a terrible place called hell. This gift is crucial to the outreach and expansion of the church.

 As I have looked at this passage and thought about the spiritual gifting of the church, I want to remind you every gift, those 17 gifts that were given to the baby church, that listed in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12-14, and here in Ephesians 4, were all necessary for the local church, so that it could be a healthy and growing church that fellowships, that worships, that evangelizes, that disciples, that builds up one another, ministers and cares for one another and changes the culture and the world in which it's placed. Oh, how awesome that is.

I personally believe that every believer has at least one primary gift. I believe these primary gifts are the seven that are listed in Romans 12. You have at least one of those as your primary gift. But in some since we call all practice the gift of serving, the gift of giving, the gift of ministering. We all can practice most of the gifts, but we have that one primary gift.

It has also been very interesting to me that the way we look at things in the church, and respond to challenges that the church might have, will be based on the spiritual giftedness that God has given to each one of us. But all the gifts are necessary. They are very necessary for the church to be a healthy church. Every member exercising their particular gift. When you're exercising your gift, instead of wearing you out, there's something that energizes you, that frees you, that gives you fulfillment and contentment, and a sense of purpose in the church. It is vitally necessary and very important for you to know your spiritual gift.

When we look at spiritual gift and office of the evangelist, we might think of people like Peter who on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, who preached and 3,000 souls are saved. He is the main spokesman for the church in the early chapters of Acts. He is sent to Cornelius in Acts 10 and wins the first Gentile to the Lord. We even think the Apostle Paul had must have had this gift of evangelism. Later he would write to the church at Corinth how, “some plant and some water, but God gives the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:7-8).

Paul told Timothy, who I believe had the gift of pastor, serving in the office of pastor in many of the churches that Paul planted, and yet he told him do the work of an evangelist. In other words, all of us can be witnesses for Jesus Christ. At the same time understanding and exercising our individual Spiritual gifts.

I think of men in days past, like my dad, J. O. Grooms, D.L. Moody, Billy Sunday, Baily Smith, and Billy Graham, and today men like Rick Via and Steeven Kumar, who obviously have that Spiritual gift, and fulfilled the office of evangelist, and have been used to spread the Gospel around the world. We need these wonderful men of God as they go forth, and they bring new believers into the Kingdom. Then the pastors and teachers come in, and disciple and grow them. What a wonderful thing it is to see God functioning and working through the local church of believers to glorify His son Jesus Christ.

What a wonderful passage of scripture reminding us that each of us has a place in the church. May the Lord help us to discover our spiritual gifts, and then also exercise them today in the body of Christ.

God bless!