FIVE SMOOTH STONES - The Five Ascension Gifts in the Heavenly Shepherds Bag

FIVE SMOOTH STONES — The Five Ascension Gifts in the Heavenly Shepherd’s Bag

Fortunately we can have a foundational understanding in this area by looking at three Greek words and their association with the roles of the apostle, prophet and teacher to establish, confirm, and strengthen the Church. These words are sterizo, episterizo, and stereos. When Paul the apostle wrote to the Church in Rome, he was clearly writing to a Church which already existed and had been planted previously. It was functioning as a Church. This Church was at a place of maturity to receive the expansive treaties on faith and salvation which we call the book of Romans, yet he still desired to bring his apostolic gift to establish the Church in Rome. Romans 1:1: “ Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 10 making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established. ” (sterizo) Apostles are called to lay foundations even today, to establish the Churches in the present truth that Jesus, the Head of the Church, sends them to strengthen the substructure of the Church He is building (Matthew 16:18). Apostles are the architects of the Church (1 Corinthians 3:10, refer to Chapter 13), and as architect, they are very interested in the foundation of the building, but are also involved in the building all the way until its completion with the capstone. Ephesian 2:20: “ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit .” Matthew 21:42: “ Jesus said to them, Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes” ? NIV 1996.

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