This is one of those questions that has unfortunately caused much division across the landscape of Christianity. While many denominations have various opinions on the validity of the Five-fold offices in operation today, it’s important to see what the Bible actually says.
Ephesians 4:11-13 is the key passage that deals with the Five-fold offices. This is what it says, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. In these verses of regarding the Five-fold offices, we are presented with conditions of their use and the time frame of their operations. These gifts are given to equip the saints for the work of ministry, and to edify the Body of Christ. It is the following verse (v.13) that shows us how long these offices will be in operation.
There are four conditions that must be met before these offices will cease to exist or be in operation:
- Until we all attain to the unity of the faith
- Until we all attain the knowledge of the Son of God
- Until we become mature men
- Until we attain the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
If we take a serious look across all Christendom, it will be evident that the Body of Christ has not met all or some of these conditions. That being the case, and according to Scripture, the Five-fold Offices are then still in operation today.