The Prophet of the Five-fold Ministry
Writer Author Sylvia Huffnagle
Christian Article
:
Church
- Fiction No
Eph: 4:11-16: And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12: For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15: But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Paul likened the body of Christ to a human body. He mentioned body parts such as eyes, ears, unmentionable parts. He did not mention the kidney, but all human bodies have to have at least one of them.
Kidneys are glands which separate water and waste products. The kidneys are sophisticated reprocessing machines. Every day, your kidneys process about 200 quarts of blood to sift out about 2 quarts of waste products and extra water. Your kidneys measure out chemicals like sodium, phosphorus, and potassium and release them back to the blood to return to the body. In this way, your kidneys regulate the body’s level of these substances. The right balance is necessary for life, but excess levels can be harmful.] Taken from Modern Biology by Henry Holt and Company, Inc. Copyright 1956
There should be at least one kidney in the local body of Christ. I think prophets are kidneys. Sometimes prophesy comes by tongues and interpretation, but I’m talking about a gift certain people have whereby they care greatly about the condition of the body and are motivated to see that it is cleaned up and kept clean. They get their information and inspiration from God--the Holy Spirit and the Holy Bible.
Their purpose is to discern where the church is missing it and what needs to be done about it. They function in the body as God designed kidneys to function--doing what they were created to do to help the body be healthy, prosperous, and productive. They are not dangerous because they do not operate apart from the body--they are subject to the body just as the body must cooperate with them and be responsive to them.
I do not think today’s churches have kidneys. I think they were rejected by the immune system which interpreted them as foreign matter or as the enemy. This happened because the immune system could not discern their real function and thought they were accusers of the brethren or members who had a critical spirit.
To show you what I’m mean I will use an illustration. In that earthquake in San Francisco in October of 1989 the Bay Bridge collapsed and many people were seriously hurt some even crushed and some decapitated.
There are faultfinders for bridges. Their job is to thoroughly inspect bridges on a regular basis and determine where there might be weaknesses and to recommend measure to be taken to reinforce the weak areas. They are faultfinders and yet they are doing a good service. They are not the bad guy. They are needed. What happened in the case of the Bay Bridge, I don’t know whether their warnings were ignored, or whether the city was trying to dig up the money, or whether they neglected to consult a faultfinder. The results of not heeding a faultfinder were devastating.
Therefore in the body of Christ, I maintain that faultfinders are necessary, but they must have Christ’s Spirit and they must work as a team with the other body members. Their function must be understood and appreciated and their input must be heeded by the body.
What would be different?
The church would not get off the written Word of God to the left nor to the right.
Rev: 22:18-19: For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Ezek: 44:5-7: And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary. 6: And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations, 7: In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations.
8-14: And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves. 9: Thus saith the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel. 10: And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity. 11: Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them. 12: Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity. 13: And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. 14: But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.
15-18: But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD: 16: They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge. 17: And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. 18: They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.
Sylvia Huffnagle
Editor's Comment:
About the Writer Author
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Pennsylvania
Country:
United States
Email:
huffnagl@verizon.net
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www.straightpaths.truepath.com/about4.html
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