Let's begin with a definition of the fivefold ministry. I'm going to borrow the definition offered by Colette Toach of Apostolic Movement International. She describes it as follows: "Five appointed leadership positions in the Church, each fulfilling a particular function and flowing in a specific anointing to bring unity and maturity to the body of Christ"
The foundation for the fivefold is based primarily in Ephesians chapter 4. In Ephesians, Paul writes about a mystery and in Ephesians 3:3 explains to us that this mystery is that the Gentiles would be part of the promise. Up until then, as far as the Jews were concerned, the Savior would come only to the Jews. It wasn't until Peter stood and preached and the Holy Spirit came upon the Gentiles that the Jews finally got it.
Paul goes on in Ephesians to give us a full picture of the body of Christ, that included this mystery of the Gentile being included in the body. In Ephesians 4:4-7 he tells us that there is one body and that you, a gentile, are part of that body. He also tells us that not only are you a part of that body but you have a calling within this body, not just a select few. Paul emphasizes in chapter 4 that God is in you, you are in God, there is one body. There is a place for you in the body.
To discover your part in the fivefold take a moment to complete this test.
By the time we get to verses 11-14 we begin to see why it's important for us to understand that we all play a part in the operation of the Church;
"So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming."
This passage does not use the term "fivefold ministry" but this is what is being referred to by Paul here. Paul goes on to explain that the purpose of all the fivefold is to mature and equip the Church. He also makes it clear that the fivefold ministry is meant to be accomplishing this even today because we obviously have not reached full maturity. Each of the fivefold ministry is meant to be in operation fulfilling verses twelve through fourteen.
I like the analogy of the hand and it's five fingers to help explain the fivefold ministry. Many in the church insist that offices such as the Apostle and Prophet are no longer for today. Well, imagine if the "body" said that it no longer needed the thumb and forefinger. How effective would that hand be? Imagine trying to change our clothes or bathe ourselves without thumbs and forefingers. In the same way that there are five fingers on your hand the Lord has placed five ministry leaders in the Church that help assist the rest of the body. The Lord never meant for Pastors to be the sole leader of the church. Each office has special gifts to enable it to operate effectively as it ministers to the body. Pastors simply are not equipped to operate in all of those gifts.
Having all five fingers (offices) brings balance to the church. The lack of these five offices is one of the reasons there are so many doctrines and why there is as much conflict as there is. It's because there is no balance. If we don't have all five fingers on our hand how can we be expected to care for the rest of the body. Showering and dressing become extremely difficult. I want to also clarify that there are many other ministries in the church but I just want to focus on the five offices of leadership for the sake of what RPM is called to do.
In verses twelve and thirteen of the fourth chapter of Ephesians clarifies the importance of these five offices. Paul explains that ALL of the fivefold are meant to equip and mature the believers. These verses are the starting point, now we need to understand that fulfilling their calling is dependent upon each of the fivefold working together in their strengths. Using my analogy of the hand again, I find it interesting that every single finger of the hand is unique. They each have a different look and function and they need each other for the hand to work effectively.