Dear Owen, re. the so called ‘five-fold ministry’ Ephesians 4:7, 15 some Bibles refer to, verse 11, a man has the gift (N.T.), others refer a gift to a man (NKJV), and men teach that only certain people have received the gifts. But in verse 7, it is given “to each one of us” and in verse 11 we are divided by the word “some”. If my understanding is correct, where did laity and clergy come from?
Ephesians 4:7 teaches that each of us was given grace (and spiritual gifts), but 1 Corinthians 12 teaches that there are a “variety of gifts” (verse 4), and we each have different gifts. Within this variety of gifts, there are the gifts that you mentioned in Ephesians 4:11. We sometimes refer to those with these gifts as members of the “clergy,” and those with other gifts as members of the “laity.” However, no matter which spiritual gifts we have (and no matter how men might categorize us), we are expected to use our
spiritual gifts for the glory of God.
Also, 1 Corinthians 12:29 says, “…All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? …” This is confirmation that we don’t each have all of these gifts. In addition, there are special requirements for those who have some of these “clergy” gifts, such as the requirements for a pastor in 1 Timothy 3:1-7.
I hope that I have answered your question. If not, please reply.
Thanks,
Owen