3 CURTAINS

**And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.**

ZECHARIAH 13:6

The True Five-Fold Ministry

Posted: 10 September 2023

Categories: Church Matters

The True Five Fold Ministries....

We had many in the past who claimed they were or are five fold, but if you look at their dealings over the years, there is only a one man ministry in the church, maybe with one or two deacons and even some trustees, but in reality...it is just one man office claiming themselves as pastors, yet they leave their own churches and try to preach in another established churches..exchanging their own office with another or trying to do the work of a missionary (apostle)...thereby losing sight of the needs of the local members, who are supposedly their sheep. Would a shepherd go and tend to another flock...leaving their own flock and still claim "my sheep hear my voice"? Some don't even trust their own assistant pastors to carry out their duties, or even have someone lead in a tape service while they are absent from their post of duty.

There is also an important quote, where the prophet adviced the missionaries to train up local missionary who can cover their own countries better than an outsider, for they are accustomed to their own climate, food and environment.

I chose for an image of these five fold, the wonderful lumbar bones of which there are exactly five...the strongest support bones of the upper torso. One local pastor suggested that the Ribs represent the 12 Patriachs, the 12 Thoracic bones, the 12 Apostles, The Heart is the throne of God, the Holy Spirit surrounded by the four chambers (perhaps representing the 4 Creatures, Lion, Ox, Man and Eagle), And the 7 cervical bones, the Seven Church Age Messengers with the Axis and Atlas bones representing Elijah and Moses..or Michael and Gabriel etc....

Now we pay attending to the prophet over the years with the quotes below. The true offices as revealed by him....prophets...teachers, ....

As I thought on my way P:64 [59-0814]

64 And then there's five ministerial offices. How many believes that? Sure. And that's first, apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors, evangelists. How many knows that?Now, how can you say there's a pastor or evangelist without saying there's a prophet? How can you say there's a prophet when there isn't an apostle? See, some people like to say, "Oh, there's pastors, and evangelists, and teachers, but they don't want to say prophets. The same God said, "teachers and evangelists," said, "prophets." He keeps His Word. We don't penknife It, just preach It. That's what it is... God's up... It's up to God to take care of His own Word. Don't you believe that?

Door inside door P:71 [58-0209E]

71 The Bible said, "First are apostles." Is that right? The apostles, we call them today, missionary. That's the first. The highest calling is a missionary. What does "apostle" mean? "One sent." What does a "missionary" mean? "One sent." A missionaries, prophets, teachers, pastors, evangelists. How many knows that's true? Well, we have to have them all. Some's pastors, some's teachers, some's evangelists, some's missionaries and some prophets.Now, we have those things in the church. They're... What are they for? Does the... Is the apostle is the highest calling. A missionary is the highest calling. Prophet and so forth down... But they're not any different. They're all God's servants set together to temper and bring the body of Christ together.

God keeps His Word 2 P:63 [57-0307]

63 Then, I have spoke to you. I've told you from the Word. And the Word said that He set five offices in the church: apostles or missionaries, prophets, teachers, evangelist, and pastors--I mean true God-called teachers, evangelists, prophets, and pastors. That's right. And if we are the Vine--or we are the branches, and He's the Vine, He energizes the Vine with His Life. And if it's a apple tree life, it'll bring forth apples, is that right? And if we're the branches, and we are energized with Jesus Christ, it'll reproduce the life of Jesus Christ again. That's what the church is supposed to do, not something without life, but His life, what He did. "These things that I do shall you also." Watch that.

Prophets are born not made.

It is I be not afraid P:90 [62-0726]

90 Now, your brethren, your pastors, they may not be able to prophesy and foretell things, 'cause prophets are born prophets. There's a gift of prophecy in the church, but prophets are born prophets, always. See? The--the voice of prophecy in the meetings, the gift of prophecy has to be judged.But notice. Now, but there is more than a... There's apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists. See? Them are all offices. And these brothers... I'm not a teacher, or preacher (See?), because I can't hold their office. They can't hold mine. But God has set in the church... These men are God's men too, just as much right to pray for anybody. And I'm only here...
See, we're all like (so my Indian brethren will get it), we're all fishing. We are. And there's just so many fish in this lake that's got to be caught, and that's all of it. The Kingdom of God is like a man took a net, and went, throwed into the net, pulled it out, he had frogs, lizards, bugs, snakes, and fish. But they was fish to begin with; they was frogs to begin with. Just a little while, and the frogs will hop back in the water, and the snakes will run back, the water spiders will back off, and the crawfish will run under something. But the fish is the Master's.

Warning then judgment P:51 [63-0724]
50 And then the prophet is a--is a--of the Bible... A real, genuine prophet is a special person. Not a special, be any different from anybody else, but he's got a special job. See? And having a special commission, he's got to be special (a little out of the way from the others) in order to do that.It's just like God has liked His prophets to be an eagle.
Now, a eagle is a special bird. He's just a bird, but he's a special bird. And he can fly higher than other birds. He can see farther than other birds. And now, in order to go higher, he's got to be built so he can go higher. And what good would it do him to go up there unless he could see what he was doing after he got up there? See? So he has to be a special built bird. See? He's kind of in the--in the hawk family; he's a ripper with the bill. And he eats the... Many of them are scavengers. There's about forty different kinds of eagles.

51 But, you see, in the church there is the pastor, and that pastor is a special person. He's built to where he can--he can put up with the fusses of the people. He--he--he's a burden-bearer; he's the ox of the team. He--he's a man that can set down when the--somebody's got something against somebody else, and set down with them two families, and take neither side, and reason it out, and bring it right back into sweetness. See? He--he's a pastor; he knows how to take care of things.The evangelist is a special man. He's a man that's burning like a fireball. He runs into a city and preaches his message, and gets out of there somewhere else. See, he's a special man.
The teacher is a special man. He sets back under the anointing of the Spirit and is able to take the Words and put them together by the Holy Spirit, that the pastor or evangelist either one could not compare with him.
And then we find out the apostle is a special man. He's a--he's a setter-in-order. He's a man that's sent from God to set the things in order.

52 The prophet is a special man. A prophet is a man of whom the Word of the Lord comes to, because the prophet is so designed life that his subconscious and his first conscious is so close together that he doesn't go to sleep to dream his dream; he sees it when he's wide awake. See? Now, that's something God has to do. See, he sees what's going.A prophet foresees way off (See?) the things that is coming. He sees the cup of God's wrath, full, before it is filled. See? He can say, "THUS SAITH THE LORD. God will destroy this city except you repent." Why? He's an eagle. He rides way in yonder. See? And he looks way off there, and he sees that cup of wrath poured out. That's what the prophets look at. He ain't looking what's going on here; he's looking yonder. He's saying, "It's a-coming." He can go so high till he can see that shade. He said, "The world will be...?... darkness and gross darkness." He's up high enough, the sun's shining now, but he sees that shade coming, and he's--he's--he's saying what he's looking at. It ain't here yet, but it'll sure be here. That's right. It's going to be here, gross darkness upon the people. He knows it's coming, years away, yet he sees it.
Amos, that anointed prophet of God, he saw the--the darkness and the judgment. He seen Syria come down with their chariots and sweep through there, slaughter them people out. He saw it coming and the judgment of God upon them now, fifty years before it happened. But, you see, being a prophet, he was lifted up into the Spirit and he saw it far off. See? He saw the cup full before it was filled.

53 Like Abraham, God told Abraham, "Your seed shall come into this country and sojourn here for four hundred years, and then I'll bring them out with a mighty hand, because the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." See? God knew that cup was going to fill up. He was speaking with His prophet. He told him now, "You see that cup of the Amorites down there (See?), but their iniquity's not filled up yet, Abraham. Don't say nothing about it now, hold off, but it will come. And when their cup's filled up, and then four hundred years, I'll drive them out like locusts before you, and I'll establish your seed here in this land." Amen. That's the prophet of the Lord.

54 Now, when he speaks of his vision, whether it's wrath or whether it's healing, it may linger, but it's got to come to pass if he speaks it in the Name of the Lord. See? It might be a blessing that he speaks for you. He might tell you a certain thing, and you can't see it at all. You say, "How can it be? Why, it's a... I--I--I... He told me, 'THUS SAITH THE LORD, this is going to happen, and that was going to happen,' and it--it ain't happened. The man's wrong." Now you'll be judged for disbelieving It, but it's going to happen anyhow. See? It's got to happen."Though it linger," the Bible said, "yet will it speak in its season." It'll come to pass.

Nine spiritual gifts

Greater than Solomon is here P:6 [62-0725]

6 Prophets have the Word of God, and are borned a prophet. A gift of prophecy is different. That's a gift. Now, there's nine... there's five ordained gifts in the church: apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors, evangelists. Now, that is the five gifts that God places in the church by His foreknowledge.Then there's nine gifts that's locally in the church: speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, and gifts of wisdom, and knowledge, and--and prophecy, and so forth. Them's nine spiritual gifts that operates through the church. But then there's nine--five office gifts that God puts in the church. And, oh, how we love to see them all operating in the...
One of them is the pastor, teacher, and those things. Then the others comes along in confirmation. Gifts are to magnify. And God's just got it so even a fool will not be excused, will he? He will... It's so simple the way God has made them. And I like that.
The more simpler you become, the greater you'll become before God. That's right. Don't never try to lift yourself up. When you do, you're bringing yourself down. See? He that exalts himself shall be abased.

Gifts should be operating in each local church

What it takes to overcome all unbelief P:14 [60-0729]

14 Now, the initial and original way to receive any redemptive blessing is by hearing the Word of God, because faith cometh by hearing, hearing the Word of God, like the ministers preach. If that were you and I, that would be sufficient. If the people didn't want to believe us, why we just let them go on. But God is so good, and so full of mercy, till after all that He sent His Word, then He sent gifts into the church. We all believe that. I Corinthians 12, there is nine spiritual gifts in the church. That's in every local body, or should be in every local body, the gifts of healing, the gift of wisdom, the gifts of knowledge, the gift of a--a all these other gifts is in the church. Nine different spiritual gifts is in every local body.Then God has gifts that He has foreknown for each age and has placed them into the church. Now, we find out there's five of those gifts. The first of them is missionaries or apostles. The word "apostle" means "one sent." The word "missionary" means "one sent." A missionary is sent, and apostle is sent. God sends His missionary; God sends His apostles.

Local Missionary Baptist Church burned down...and Brother Branham traveled across the countries...
Trial a P:62 [64-0427]

62 And what it was, a noise came into that tree like a wind turning, like a whirlwind. And I got up and looked back. And I'm on the witness stand, remember. There was a voice spoke from that, said, "Don't you never smoke, or drink, or defile your body. There's a work for you to do when you get older." It scared the life out of me. And I went on. Things begin to happen. Things begin to prophesy and taking place. And now, when... I was a little boy then, about seven years old.Then about seventeen years after that I was--had become a minister, a Baptist preacher of the Missionary Baptist Church. Dr. Roy E. Davis ordained me as one of the local pastors, give me rights then by the state to marry, bury, baptize, so forth. And the Missionary Baptist Church burned down, which I was assistant pastor at the time. And Mr. Davis come back to Texas, which he was of Davis mountains, and--and down near Van Horn, Texas. That's where they come from. And so, while he was gone I started to take over the congregation, got a tent, and I begin to preach in the city (just a boy preacher).

to be continued,,,,,