Ephesians 4:11Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Then the Apostle points us to divine providence and wisdom and says: the One who did so much, showed such power, and did not refuse to descend for our sake even to the lower regions, would not have made such a division of gifts without reason. Elsewhere he says that the Spirit did this: "in which the Holy Spirit," he says, "has made you overseers, to shepherd the Church of the Lord" (Acts 20:28). While here he says that the Son did this, elsewhere he says that God did it. Again: "And He gave some as Apostles, some as prophets," while in the Epistle to the Corinthians he says: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase" (1 Cor 3:6). And again: "He who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor" (1 Cor 3:8).

"And He gave." He said "He" with significance. For the One who took such care for us, and who for our sake did not refuse to descend even to the lowest regions, did not distribute gifts casually, but surely with wisdom and benefit. How, then, do you grieve, as though the distribution had been made unwisely? In one place he says that the Spirit distributes: "in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers" (Acts 20:28), and, "All these things are worked by one and the same Spirit" (1 Cor 12:11). Elsewhere he refers this to the Father: "God has appointed some in the Church, first Apostles," and so forth (1 Cor 12:28), and, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase" (1 Cor 3:6). Here he refers it to the Son. Thus the action of the Three is one.

And He, he says, gave some to be Apostles, the Twelve and the Seventy-Two. Others He gave as Prophets, who foretell the future, such as Agabus, who foretold the famine that was to come over all the earth (Acts 11:28). Others He gave as Evangelists, that is, preachers. Others He gave as Pastors, for the guidance of peoples, and others as Teachers, for the formation of the understanding of believers.

From this passage the unity of the Godhead of the Father and the Son is proved with the greatest clarity. Indeed, what is now ascribed to Christ as His gift is presented in the First Epistle to the Corinthians as the work of God the Father. For the Apostle says: "God has appointed in the Church first Apostles, second prophets, third teachers; after that, powers, gifts of healings, helps, administrations, and various tongues" (1 Cor 12:28).

The Apostles are bishops, and the prophets are interpreters of the Scriptures. Evangelists are ministers, such as Philip was. Although they are not priests, they can preach the Gospel without a chair, like blessed Stephen and the ever-memorable Philip (see Acts 8:5). Pastors may be readers, who nourish the people listening to them. For man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Mt 4:4). Teachers are those who cast out demons, since in the Church they subdue and cleanse the possessed. Or they are those who were accustomed to listen to readings and communicate them to children. This custom existed among the Jews, and this tradition was handed down to us also, but through negligence it has been forgotten.

At that time, as I have said often, there were those counted worthy of prophetic grace. The history of Acts mentioned the prophet Agabus and others who prophesied in Antioch (Acts 11:27-28). Among them was the divine Apostle himself. There were also evangelists, including blessed Philip, one of the seven (Acts 21:8). By pastors and teachers the Apostle means those appointed in cities and villages. Therefore he mentioned them after evangelists, since the latter preached while going from place to place.

By prophets Paul means not only those who, having acquired the Spirit of God, spoke about Christ and His coming. They could be called prophets only until the coming of Christ (cf. Mt 11:13). For after the One of whom the prophecies spoke had come, there surely remained no reason to regard them as prophets. Whom, then, should we understand by prophets? Those to whom Christ gave the gift of prophecy. In other words, those who discourse concerning God and, being filled with the Spirit, set forth divine knowledge. There are five kinds of speech about the law: the speech of the tongue, the speech of revelation, the speech of knowledge, the speech of prophecy, and the speech of teaching. Besides this, there is another ministry, that of the evangelist, who is called to recount the deeds of Christ and proclaim that Christ must be venerated.

The Apostles were those chosen by the Lord Jesus and sent to preach the dogmas of the pious faith and the ordinance of good conduct. There were twelve and seventy, and also the God-called Paul (Mt 10:5; Lk 10:1; Acts 26:17). By Prophets he means not those who prophesied before Christ, but those who, after Christ, foretold what was to be. Such Prophets were also teachers: "Barnabas and Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul" (Acts 13:1). Likewise Judas and Silas were such (Acts 15:32). So also were the Prophets who came down "from Jerusalem to Antioch," among whom was Agabus. He foretold the great famine that occurred under Claudius Caesar, and Paul's binding with chains in Jerusalem (Acts 11:27-28).

For this purpose, that is, for the peaceful and loving building up and growth of the body of His Church, "for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of ministry," Christ appointed "some Apostles. Some Prophets, some Evangelists, some Pastors and Teachers." It is noteworthy that the Apostle inseparably joins pastorship and teaching, as though suggesting that he is no pastor who cannot be a teacher. This shows the divine institution of the hierarchy and rebukes the Lutherans. This continues "until 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 full stature of Christ" (Eph 4:11-13).

Among the many gifts of grace, the Apostle first points to pastoral gifts, as especially necessary for guidance toward salvation. "In the word 'He gave,' one must see both the divine institution of guidance and the divine appointment of guides." "The rank of apostleship, in the power it had among the first Apostles, cannot be repeated. Nor does this appear necessary, for the Apostles placed everything into the Church. To her they handed down the whole truth. To her they handed down the mysteries. In her they established the pastorate, the direct succession of apostleship. Its duty is to preserve what the Apostles placed in the Church, to keep it in action over all and throughout the whole Christian society" (Bishop Theophan).

In the community of Christians, each person has distinct natural abilities, and each receives a distinct gift of grace. Since both proceed from one and the same source, they need not oppose one another. Yet they may fail to act in harmony and so may not further the common goal of all.

From this arise disorder, lack of concord, and confusion, even when people try to act as they should. Therefore there must be directors of the common activity of all, rulers and guides for all and for each.

Add to this that, although Christian society is grace-filled, freedom and personal action are taken from no one. Therefore one may expect that anyone may sometimes act wrongly and even fall wholly from the proper path. Then this necessity becomes still more evident. The strong must bear the infirmities of the weak.

Moreover, not all in the world were Christians at the beginning of Christianity, nor are all Christians even now. Yet the Lord’s words, "Them also I must bring," are not false. Therefore there must be among Christians those who bring non-Christians to the Lord.

For as in the beginning He was pleased to bring them, not personally, but through the Apostles, so He always acts. For such reasons the Lord, the Head of the Church, was pleased to establish in the Church a special rank of persons.

He laid upon them care for the progress of existing Christians and for the conversion of non-Christians. He armed them with corresponding gifts of grace. Saint Paul reminds us of them in every epistle.

They are so essential in the society of Christians that one cannot even speak to it without reference to them. In the present epistle Saint Paul depicts their meaning in the Church more fully. He lists their kinds, indicates the duties laid upon them, and points to the goals toward which they must direct their labors.

The kinds of guiding persons. "And He gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers."

What the Lord gave here is not the same as what is meant in Eph 4:7. There the Apostle speaks of what is given to every Christian in the sacrament of Chrismation. Here he speaks of special gifts of grace to certain persons appointed as guides of the community.

In other places the Apostle indicates that these gifts are communicated through ordination: 1 Tim 4:14, 2 Tim 1:6, Heb 6:2. Here he says only that such persons in the Church are not from the society of Christians, but from the Lord Himself.

"He gave" all who were then in this rank. He also gave, and still gives, such persons to the Church even now, through grace handed on in succession, and sometimes with the help of direct and extraordinary indications.

In this expression, "He gave," one must see both the divine institution of guidance in the Church and the divine appointment of the guides. Saint Paul speaks of them this way everywhere.

At times he refers their appointment and election to God the Holy Spirit, as in his final address to the Ephesians: "in which the Holy Spirit has made you bishops" (Acts 20:28). At times he refers it to God the Father, as in the Epistle to the Corinthians: "God has appointed in the Church first apostles," and so forth, 1 Cor 12:28. Here he refers it to God the Son. For the actions of the Most Holy Trinity are undivided, as Chrysostom, Oecumenius, and Theophylact say.

He places the Apostles first, because they had everything, says Chrysostom. Properly these are the Twelve, with Saint Paul added to them. They were eyewitnesses of the Lord, witnesses of His Resurrection, sent directly by Him, and filled with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

They are prophets, evangelists, and pastors. They had gifts of healings and every understanding. Everything was combined in them and implanted in the Church through them.

Upon them the Holy Spirit descended in all His fullness. Through them He went forth into the Church and fills her. They are channels of the grace poured out upon the whole universe.

The rank of apostleship, in the power in which it existed in the first Apostles, is not repeated. Nor does this appear necessary, since the Apostles placed everything in the Church.

They handed over to her the whole truth which the Spirit of God revealed to them. They handed over to her the mysteries for the sanctification of the faithful. In her they established the pastorate, the direct succession of the apostleship.

Its duty is to preserve what the Apostles placed in the Church, and to keep it active over all and throughout the whole Christian society. The Church lives by the apostolic treasures and by the grace poured out from them, which continuously flows from generation to generation.

Where this stream has been cut off, there is no true life in Christ the Lord.

In second place the Apostle puts prophets. These are not the Old Testament prophets, but those who appeared in the new grace, persons with a special gift of discerning the future.

"At that time there were those deemed worthy of prophetic grace. The history of Acts mentions the prophet Agabus, Acts 11:27-28 and Acts 21:10, and other prophets in Antioch, among whom was the most blessed Apostle Paul himself, Acts 13:1," says Theodoret.

From certain indications about them one may infer that, together with insight into the future, they were given insight into the mysteries of the human heart and into what is hidden in Scripture.

At times they were given to utter a teaching word by a special stirring of the Spirit of God. This word was especially needful to the Christians present.

Their existence in the Church has not ceased and does not cease. Yet the manifestation of their gift is not always public and manifest to all.

The gift itself is not bound to any position in the Church or in society. Often it belongs to persons whom, according to the usual order, people do not even wish to notice.

Judging from the fact that only the pure in heart see God, and that prophetic insight is possible only in God and through God, one must suppose that this gift dwells chiefly in souls zealous for purity of body and soul, and advanced in it.

In third place Saint Paul puts evangelists. "These are those who did not travel through all lands, but only preached, like Priscilla and Aquila," says Chrysostom.

That is, they preached the Gospel when and where occasion required, without having evangelism as their exclusive work. Yet this does not apply to all known by the name evangelists.

Philip, one of the seven deacons, is called an evangelist, Acts 21:8. After leaving Caesarea, he later traveled with his daughters through Asia Minor and preached the Gospel, though under the guidance of Saint John the Theologian.

With the other Apostles too there were persons who labored in preaching according to their direction. All of them may be numbered among the evangelists.

In the work of preaching they are second after the Apostles. The Apostles were original, while these depended on them and were sent by them where need required.

Chrysostom also says, "Perhaps he calls those who wrote the Gospel evangelists." Saint John of Damascus writes, "One person in the Church performs evangelism by word or writing. Philip, for example, preached by word, while those who wrote the Gospels preached by writings."

There is no reason to suppose that Saint Paul did not mean them also, since by that time the first three Gospels were already circulating among Christians. Among the apostolic companions and evangelists were the holy Evangelists Mark and Luke.

In these two forms of evangelism, the ministry of evangelists has continually remained in the Church. Pastors, successors of the Apostles, sent some to preach in lands that did not know God and His Christ.

Others, with their blessing and guidance, wrote, setting forth the truths of God. To the first belong all those equal to the apostles, such as Cyril and Methodius for the Slavic peoples. To the second belong all Church writers.

In our own time and among us, evangelists are our missionaries. It would be better to call them evangelists. May God’s blessing rest upon their heads and accompany all their labors.

In fourth place Saint Paul puts pastors and teachers, "to whom the whole people was entrusted," says Chrysostom, and "who were appointed by the Apostles in cities and villages," says Theodoret.

These are bishops and priests. They are last in the Apostle’s list, but first in the labors of building the Church, both then, afterward, and now. Bishops are such as successors of the Apostles, and priests as their closest helpers.

Souls are entrusted to the bishop. Since he cannot be everywhere himself, he shares his labor with others capable of bearing it. Priests are the eyes, feet, and hands of the bishop.

The bishop with the priests is one indivisible pastorate.

It happened that the Apostles sowed the seed of faith in some place, left it, and went farther. They entrusted the believers to pastors whom they had chosen and ordained.

These pastors then, by the grace of God, grew the seed planted by the Apostles into a great tree. They edified the existing believers and acquired new ones, in the same place or in the surrounding regions.

We see an example of this in the labors of Saint Paul. Acts relates that after preaching the Gospel successively in Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, the Apostle again passed through all those places.

He was "strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith," and "when they had ordained presbyters for them in every church, with prayer and fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed" (Acts 14:22-23).

The Apostle was there another time as well, but only to oversee whether everything was proceeding rightly. The churches grew by the grace of God from what had been placed in them at the beginning, under the guidance of the God-given pastorate.

What happened in these places was repeated everywhere else throughout the world. The Apostles then passed away. In the churches everywhere there remained the successors whom they had appointed, the pastors.

They remained the chief guides and agents of the work of Christ, though not its original agents. They acted according to the foundations laid by the Apostles.

Apostolic authority and power remained in the Church. Yet it belongs not to private persons, but to the whole body of bishops. Acting conciliarity, it is the lawgiver and ruler of the Church.

Thus, after the beginning, the pastorate became the chief thing in the Church during her continuing existence. To it chiefly applies what the Apostle next says about the duties and goals of the guiding persons in the Church.

Blessed Jerome dwells longer than others upon pastors. He first says that pastors and teachers are one and the same. Then he gives lessons to pastors, which it is fitting for us to hear from the mouth of a man of such strict life.

"One must not think that, as in the preceding words, 'some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists,' the Apostle indicated different persons, so also by the words 'pastors and teachers' he indicated different persons.

"For he did not say, 'some pastors, some teachers,' but 'some pastors and teachers.' He gives us to understand that these are the same persons.

"He teaches that whoever is a pastor must also be a teacher. In the churches, no one should take pastoral office upon himself who cannot teach those being pastored.

"Every head of a church must be both pastor and teacher. He is a pastor of sheep and a teacher of men.

"I suppose that even now in the churches, as there is a prophet and evangelist, a pastor and teacher, so there may also be an Apostle with all the signs of apostleship.

"Conversely, both outside and inside, both in the Church and in heretical assemblies, there are many false apostles, false prophets, false evangelists, false pastors, and false teachers.

"As for heretics, there is no doubt. Since their faith is false, everything among them is false.

"But do you not see false pastors even in the Church? They pasture the sheep not as pastors, but as hirelings.

Thus Jesus Christ distinguishes the states, having appointed in the Church Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, and Teachers for the perfecting of the saints. For not by chance, but by strict judgment and discernment, one is appointed to the rank of Apostle, another to that of Prophet. Some are made pastors of Christ's flock, while others receive the task of instructing the saints who are ready to learn.