When John Murray was professor of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, PA, he was once asked by a student if there were any verses that taught every believer is to be a witness for Christ. Murray certainly could have answered that question immediately, but it was his custom to give carefully considered answers. Thus, he told the student that he would give his answer the following day. When the morrow came, Murray had found eighteen verses that teach every Christian is to be a witness and he shared them with his class. I do not know the verses Murray shared, but I can imagine what some of them were. Certainly, Murray’s list would have included some of the following verses:
1. Acts 2:32—“This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.”
2. Isaiah 43:8—“You are My witnesses.”
3. Acts 8:4—“Therefore those who had been scattered went everywhere preaching the word.”
4. 1 Peter 3:15—“But sanctify Christ as Lord of your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you.”
5. Matthew 10:32, 33—“Therefore, everyone who confesses Me before men, I will confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”
6. Romans 10:9—“that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
7. 1 Peter 2:9—“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
I am particularly interested in that last verse since I have been preaching through 1 Peter to my congregation. The Greek word that Peter uses for ‘proclaim’ in 1 Peter 2:9 above is ‘exangello,’ which means ‘to fully proclaim.’ It is closely related to the more common word, ‘euangelizmo,’ which means ‘to evangelize’ or ‘to preach the good news.’ Both Greek words have as their root the word ‘angel.’ An angel, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, was a messenger for God.
The people whom Peter said were proclaiming the gospel were ordinary believers. According to Peter, therefore, all believers are angels; all believers are messengers of God; and, all believers are to fully proclaim the gospel to others. This fact is proved when we compare Peter’s salutation in 1 Peter 1:1 and the people to whom Peter preached on the day of Pentecost in 30 AD. On Pentecost, there were large crowds of Jews from all over Israel and from the Dispersion who gathered in Jerusalem and heard the sermon Peter preached on that day. Acts 2:9-11 tells us that the crowd was composed of “Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes.” No doubt, the 3,000 souls who were saved on that occasion were composed of some people from most those same regions. When those converts returned to their respective homes, they became the foundation for churches. It was to some of them that Peter wrote his two epistles as his salutation would indicate: “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1 Peter 1:1). They were ordinary believers. Peter’s words, therefore, are directed to them—not to some special class of officers, such as prophets, evangelists, or pastors-teachers. If that premise is correct, then the work of evangelism is to be carried on by every believer. And if every believer is to be an evangelist—that is, to be one who is actively engaged in evangelism—it baffles my mind how some people can assert that the office of evangelist has ceased. That would be tantamount to saying that the need for believers to pastor and teach still exists, but the office of pastors and teachers has ceased.
Regrettably, there were two Johns—two of the greatest Johns in the history of the church—who have been the source of most of the confusion concerning the permanency of the office of evangelist. One was John Calvin and the other was John Owen. I revere both men, but I am reminded by Christ to call no man ‘Lord.’ John Calvin, for all his greatness, was inconsistent and somewhat confused concerning the office of evangelist. In some places, he said the office had ceased with the apostles. In other places, he said that God could from time to time resurrect the office and even considered Martin Luther to be such an evangelist. Calvin’s confusion about the office of evangelist, in my opinion, has been the root of the confusion of many in the Reformed churches since then. I suspect John Owen took the position that the office of evangelist ceased with the apostles because of Calvin’s position. It is never easy to disagree with such giants of the Christian faith as those two men, but it takes more than their opinions to establish a truth. It takes the clear teaching of Scripture of to do so. There must be some Scripture verse or verses that teach that the office of evangelist has ceased. Of course, someone might retort that the same is true if one believes that the office of evangelist still remains. I agree and herein are my assertions from Scripture that the office still exists.
The first proof that the office of evangelist still exists is that fact that all believers are to be evangelists. Acts 8:4 says—“Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.” The word that is used for ‘preaching’ comes from the Greek root verb, ‘euangelizmo.’ It is a word that is often used about Christ and the apostles, but also about those who were ordinary believers. For instance, Acts 8:1 says—“And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.” The apostles remained behind in Jerusalem, but the believers –minus the apostles—were scattered when Saul began ravaging the church after the stoning of Stephen. It is an interesting fact that the greatest evangelist in the history of the church, the Apostle Paul, was responsible for forcing the members of the church to exercise their responsibilities as lay evangelists throughout Judea and Samaria.
Second, the clearest Scripture verse concerning the foundational gifts for the erecting of the church is found in Ephesians 2:20—“having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the chief corner stone.” Another passage in Ephesians 4:11, 12 is often referred to concerning the question of what gifts still remain and what have ceased. Those verses say—“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some asevangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11, 12 makes no distinction between the four different gifts given by God as to which have ceased and which are permanent. It is insufficient to resort to the opinions of Calvin and Owen that the first three have ceased and only pastors and teachers remain in the church today. Where is their exposition of a Scripture passage that clearly teaches that point? Opinions are opinions. Yet, we say we believe in Sola Scriptura. Sola Scriptura is not the same thing as Sola Calvina or Sola Owena. As 1 Peter 1:24, 25 says—“For, ‘all flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of the grass. The grass withers, the flower falls off, but the Word of the Lord endures forever.’ And this is the Word which was preached to you.” The opinions of Calvin and Owen, like the opinions of all men, are nothing more than the flower of the grass, unless they can support their opinions with a ‘Thus, says the Lord.’
I became a Calvinist and a Presbyterian in the latter part of 1970 by reading two books simultaneously. Both were given to me by a professor at Millsaps College, a liberal Methodist college in Jackson, Mississippi. The one was A Compend of Wesley’s Theology. The other was A Compend of Calvin’s Institutes. My goal was to resolve the issue of predestination in my own mind. I read Wesley and he gave his opinions while philosophizing to buttress his arguments. Yet, his opinions were unconvincing to me. Then, I read Calvin on the subject. Calvin time after time would write, “Thus, says the Scripture” and then quote a Scripture to prove his point. I became a Calvinist and a Presbyterian because of Sola Scriptura—not because of John Calvin or anyone else. Now, here is the point. Neither John Calvin nor John Owen have a “Thus, says the Lord” to prove their opinions that the office of evangelist has ceased. They only have their opinions. That was not sufficient for me in 1970 concerning predestination and it is not sufficient for me in 2024—54 years later—concerning the office of evangelist. I will tip my hat to Calvin in this respect, though. At least, he knew he was on somewhat shaky ground which is why he spoke so inconsistently concerning the matter. In other words, his conscience was never fully decided one way or the other.
Ephesians 4:11, 12 is not the passage where we can decide a matter of such great importance. And let me be clear that the matter of the ‘office of evangelist’ is not a secondary issue. It is a matter of first importance because it concerns the proclamation of the gospel which is the primary responsibility of the church. Ephesians 4:11, 12 teaches nothing concerning the passing away of any gifts God has given to the church. There is no exegetical basis from that passage to conclude which of the gifts, if any, have ceased and which still remain.
Instead, Ephesians 2:20 is the passage where we must look for light and a “thus, says the Lord.” That verse says—“having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the chief corner stone.” “Apostles and prophets” could be interpreted as referring to the prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles of the New Testament, but if that was the case it seems that the order would have been reversed. The great Charles Hodge said, “”That the prophets here mentioned are those of the new dispensation, is evident—first from the position of the terms.” He then gives several exegetical arguments in favor of that view, including references to Ephesians 3:5 and 4:11, 12 wherein apostles are always mentioned first and then prophets second. Apostles, prophets and Christ all have this in common—they were empowered to reveal the truth to the church. Christ, of course, is the Cornerstone. It is revelation through Him by the Spirit or about Him by the Spirit that is the ultimate foundation of the church. Once that revelation was complete with the writing of the last book of the New Testament, there no longer was a need for the gifts that were primarily revelatory in nature—apostles and prophets. Christ Himself is no longer revealing His truth. Vision and prophecy were sealed up (Daniel 9:24) at the end of the Apostolic Age because the foundation had been fully laid. The church is neither to add to nor take away from that foundation, that revelation (Cf. Revelation 22:18, 19). Thus, the gifts of apostles and prophets—which were revelatory in nature—have ceased.
Someone might ask how Ephesians 2:20 proves that the office of evangelist has not ceased. It proves it because the gift of an evangelist is not mentioned as being part of the foundation of the church. The gift of evangelist is not revelatory and is, therefore, permanent. The argument of Calvin and Owen is that evangelists have ceased because they were an extraordinary gift for the laying of the foundation of the church. Au contraire. Where is the passage that says that? Ephesians 2:20 says that the foundation was laid by the apostles and prophets with Christ being the corner stone. Evangelists are not part of that foundation. Rather, all believers are evangelists—and will always continue to be—because the church is built up in every place through the work of evangelism. Evangelism is always needed and that need will never cease. There is no longer a need for apostles and prophets. The canon of Scripture is completed. Christ has already given His church all the revelation she needs. There is no need of any further revelation from the mouth of Jesus or through the apostles and prophets. Yet, there is always a need for evangelism and evangelists. If all believers are evangelists as 1 Peter 2:9 and Acts 8:4 teach, then how can anyone object to elders who are especially gifted in evangelism exercising the office of an evangelist? That would be like saying, ‘We do need preachers, but we need preaching.’ The need requires the office. If preaching is needed, preachers are needed. If evangelism is needed, evangelists are needed. Revelation is no longer needed because it has been completed and, thus, the gifts of apostles and prophets have ceased.
Third, the overwhelming testimony of the church is on the side of the office of evangelist. Wherever you find evangelical Christianity in the history of the church, you find the exercise of some such gift as the office of evangelist. That was true before the Reformation and true ever since then. I have listed numerous instances of such in other articles. Indeed, the clearest sign that a church or denomination is going to eventually slide into heterodoxy and then heresy is a negative attitude towards evangelism and the office of evangelist. All of church history testifies to that fact.
The Church needs gifted evangelists in every congregation of every denomination. The Church needs every believer to be a witness for Christ and ‘proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light’ (1 Peter 2:9). And, the Church will always need both lay evangelists and the office of evangelist.
Dewey Roberts, Pastor of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Destin, FL
www.vanguardpresbyterianchurch.com
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