Ephesians 4:12

He gave. In Greek the word for “he” is emphatic, meaning “he himself,” the one just described.

Apostles. See on Acts 1:2; 1 Cor. 12:28. Paul is not so much saying that certain gifts were given to men in order that they might become apostles, as that they who had received the gift were themselves being given to the church. The church was receiving to its ministry men who were properly equipped for their functions. Compare Rom. 12:6-8.

Prophets. See on Gen. 20:7; Matt. 11:9; 1 Cor. 12:10. Prophets were expounders and explainers of the will of God that had been made known to them by supernatural means. They are mentioned along with apostles in Eph. 2:20; 3:5. The idea of foretelling is not essential to the meaning of the word, nor is the predictive element found in all prophetic utterances (Acts 15:32; 1 Cor. 14:3). The prophetic gift was indispensable to the founding of the church in NT times, and is the appointed guide of the remnant church (Rev. 19:10).

Evangelists. Gr. euaggelistai, “preachers of the gospel,” related to the verb euaggelizo (see on Acts 8:4). The euaggelistai were apparently not attached to any particular locality, but bore their testimony from place to place. They probably did not exercise the full authority of apostles (Acts 21:8; 2 Tim. 4:5). The ministry of the evangelists appears to have been directed chiefly to the heathen, whereas the pastors and teachers served the local congregations.

The question may be raised as to why Paul does not refer to the work of bishops, deacons, and others at this point. Apparently he is here speaking of those who were conspicuous by having received the gifts of the Spirit for the purpose of instruction, rather than of those whose work was more administrative — without, however, implying either superiority or inferiority. These offices were not mutually exclusive.

Pastors and teachers. The structure of this phrase, in the Greek, suggests that Paul intends to speak of two phases of one office. Any effective ministry is a teaching ministry. The pastoral function of the ministry is presented in John 21:16; Acts 20:28, 29; 1 Peter 5:2, 3; etc., and the teaching aspect in Acts 13:1; Rom. 12:7; 1 Tim. 3:2, and many other passages. The Master Himself was the great pastor-teacher, shepherding the flock and teaching them.