The Five Fold Ministry (PASTOR)

          All of the ministries have their importance and their function in the local church so maybe I shouldn't play favorites; but the Pastor is truly my favorite. Time and time again they stand behind a pulpit and deliver thus sayeth the Lord with few thank yous or pats on the back. They are the first to get blamed for the problems of the church and generally the last to get paid...many don't get paid at all. They ask for nothing in return but to be heard, not because they are narcissistic, but because what they have to say is important and comes from God.

           Through all of this they love us even when we act unlovable...and I have no doubt that to love some of us (including myself) takes many hours of prayer. Yet they persevere in their labor of love : PRESS ON PASTORS!! For whether we tell you or not and even when we act like we don't...WE NEED YOU!!

TEXT: Ephesians 4: 7-13

4:7  But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 

4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 

4:9  (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 

4:10  He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 

4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, PASTORS and teachers; 

4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 

4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:


Pastor (Greek - poimēn) : a shepherd (literally or figuratively)
Pastors (Hebrew - râ‛âh) : to tend a flock, that is, pasture it; intransitively to graze (literally or figuratively);    generally to rule; by extension to associate with 
Bishop (Greek - episkopē) : inspection (for relief); by implication superintendence; specifically the Christian “episcopate”

          The term Pastor is found only one time in the New Testament which is in our text. It is an Old Testament concept and by the definitions we can tell exactly what the meaning was used for...the shepherd of the flock.

          We know that Timothy was the very first official Bishop of any New Testament church while Peter was the Senior Bishop (Pastor). Christ referenced the shepherd on several occasions during His ministerial work here on earth so we  have plenty of resources to pull from. 

          In comparing the definitions we will find that the office of the Bishop is the Pastor and to this end the New Testament leaves us with plenty of information to study from.

Let's look at several passages in the Bible and see what they have to say about the Pastor.

John 10: 7-18

10:7  Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 
10:8  All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.

10:9  I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 
10:10  The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 
10:11  I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 
10:12  But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 
10:13  The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 
10:14  I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 
10:15  As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 
10:16  And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. 
10:17  Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 
10:18  No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

John 21 : 15-17

21:15  So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 

21:16  He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 

21:17  He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.



Psalms 23 : 1-2

23:1  A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

23:2  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

          The Pastor is the most versatile of all ministries in that one they must be able to feed and water the souls of the flock, they must be able to counsel the flock,they must be able to correct the flock and through all this must be able to defend the flock from the wolves with their very life if need be.

          Very few Pastors get the luxury of being able to only fill one role of the five fold ministry. Most not only have to be Pastors but usually have to be Teachers as well and sometimes Evangelists and even others at times. Paul told Timothy to do the work of an Evangelist and in another place told him to be apt to teach.

          The primary role of a Pastor is to be in direct leadership over a specific flock and to answer to God for the spiritual welfare of that flock. A Pastor is not in his role while standing behind the pulpit. A Pastor may never step behind the pulpit and still fulfill the role of Pastor. While behind the pulpit the Pastor is fulfilling the role of Evangelist and Teacher. The role of Pastor truly begins when he steps out from behind the pulpit. 

          The Pastor is in his truest form when in his office studying and praying and counseling. The Pastor's job is not to do the manual labor around the church...this is the job of all that would call themselves Deacons. The Deacons job was to do the menial tasks and physical labor so that the ministers wouldn't have to.

 Acts 6: 1-4

 6:1  And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. 

6:2  Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. 

6:3  Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. 

6:4  But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.



          The job of a Pastor is to take care of the personal-spiritual needs of the flock just as a father takes care of a child. The needs of the child are feeding, watering, clothing, shelter, instruction, correction, rebuke, punishment and most importantly love. If even one of these is left out, from the pleasant to the unpleasant, then the father as well as the Pastor is not doing their job as the Lord has laid out in His Word.

Love and Blessings,

Jonathan D. Saunders.

The Five Fold Ministry (EVANGELIST)

This is number three of five in the lineup and my goal as with all the others is to show the importance of having all of these ministries functioning properly in the Church. 

TEXT: Ephesians 4: 7-13

4:7  But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 

4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 

4:9  (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 

4:10  He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, EVANGELISTS; and some, pastors and teachers; 

4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 

4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Evangelist (Greek - euaggelistēs) : a preacher of the gospel; from a similar word meaning to announce good news (“evangelize”) especially the gospel: - declare, bring (declare, show) glad (good) tidings, preach (the gospel).

          The first thing I am going to do is to give you every instance of the word evangelist being used in the Bible. 

II Timothy 4: 1-5

4:1  I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 

4:2  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 

4:3  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 

4:4  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 

4:5  But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

Acts 21: 7-11

21:7  And when we had finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, and saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day. 

21:8  And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him. 

21:9  And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. 

21:10  And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus. 

21:11  And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

          The term evangelist originally denotes lay-preachers which are preachers of the Gospel that do not have any one specific place that they have settled to preach the Gospel; but rather preach anywhere that the Lord leads them and people (lost souls or other churches) need them. 

          Phillip is the only one in the Bible that is actually given the title of Evangelist and if we study what know about him both in the Bible and from other historical resources we will find that for the most part he traveled where ever he was led so as to preach Jesus Christ. His means of operation was not that of the Apostle per-se seeing as how he wasn't a missionary in the proper since but he did promulgate the Gospel, led souls to Jesus, Baptized and built up the church.

           The primary goal of the evangelist is to build up the church or in Biblical terminology, edify. Paul himself is a great example of several of the Gifts including Evangelist. We know that he was an Apostle by calling and he functioned in this office regularly by going on missionary journeys.  He operated as well in the office of the Prophet (not in the spiritual aspect but in the physical actions) by appointing and anointing the authorities in the areas that he would go into and Christianize. After this, he continued in the office of Evangelist by not only helping build up the churches that he would establish but would also keep regular tabs on these churches whether by letter or person thereby operating in the office of pastor as well. Paul truly was multifaceted. 

          The role of Evangelist is to come in after the Apostle has went in and made new converts (thereby starting a church base) and gave them guidelines, and the prophet has come in and set up the structure and brought them deeper into the knowledge of Christ. The Evangelist at this point builds up the church (physically and spiritually) and keeps tabs on the local churches and when needful, goes back to churches that have been previously established and reproves and rebukes in a manner that would not normally be accepted from a Pastor. Paul many times said in his writings "It is needful that I come unto you" or "It is needful that I write unto you". He was often times correcting problems that would arise in established churches that the Pastors couldn't or wouldn't deal with themselves. Sometimes a Pastor doesn't even know how to deal with a situation other than to pray and then God lays it on the heart of an evangelist to go in and help.


          Paul's journeys were called missionary trips but in all actuality several of his trips were not missionary in nature at all; but were evangelistic in the fact that he was going back to churches that were already established to either build up their most holy faith or to right a wrong.


          Paul told Timothy to do the work of an Evangelist. By this he was telling Timothy to be a church builder and to keep tabs on these churches as well as do the pasturing of the church that he was over. At this point in history the church was outgrowing itself. There were more converts to the faith than there was room in the corporate church setting which naturally meant that many house-churches were springing up. These were firstly going to need structure so that everything could be done decently and in order. Secondly they were going to need someone to watch over them so that these satellite churches didn't turn into cults by their very design. 

          According to scripture, Paul considered the office of Evangelist a paid ministry, even going so far as to rebuke one church for not desiring to give of their temporal means when he and those with him had sown unto them eternal things.


         I hope and pray that all who read this series will learn and grow in knowledge of the Word.

Love and Blessings,

Jonathan D. Saunders.

The Five Fold Ministry (PROPHET)

          This is the second calling or gift in the list that Paul gives us. 

My intent is still to help give a clearer understanding of the roles and duties of the individual ministries and to help people know what the several ministries look like when they see it in action.

          There are many that for whatever reason lay claim to a title whose role they are not fulfilling. 

Sometimes it is just due to simple confusion on what the title in and of itself truly means and at other times I feel that it is due to the glitz and glamor that comes with having a title attached to their name.

TEXT: Ephesians 4: 7-13

4:7  But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 

4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 

4:9  (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 

4:10  He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 

4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, PROPHETS; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 

4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 

4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:


Prophet (Greek - prophētēs) :  a foreteller (“prophet”); by analogy an inspired speaker; this meaning comes from to words compounded together, the meanings of theses words individually are: 

               A) fore, prior to or superior to

               B) to show or to make known ones thoughts

          The prophetic office serves several roles in the church. The most commonly known being the foretelling of future events (John the Revelator).

          Many have the misconception that this alone is prophecy; but there are many types of prophecy. 

Outside of telling of the future, one aspect of prophecy is a divine understanding of prophetic scripture and of other scripture in general. (Christ Jesus, John the Baptist, David).

          The ability to have and interpret dreams of a divine nature (not to be confused with the gift of interpretation) (Joseph).

          Speaking under the complete influence of the Holy Ghost (not to be confused with the gift of tongues) (Saul : though this should not be a singular instance in the life of a prophet).

          Generally speaking, the calling or office of the Prophet is outside of the workings of the government of the church. (Read about most of the known prophets of the Old and New Testament). There are some rare cases in which the Prophet also holds and office in the church but this is not the norm, it is the exception (John the Baptist was also an Aaronic priest).

          Even though the Prophet is for the most part not in direct authority in the church, he/she still stands as the voice of Divine reason in the church and the words of the Prophets should always be considered of the highest regard due to the fact that the words that a Prophet speaks is not their own, nor are they studied out or preplanned in an outline as a sermon or lesson to be given to the body; but the words of the prophet comes from the highest authority in the church...the Holy Ghost. By denying the messenger or the message you deny the one that sends the messenger and His message.

          We must take extra care when laying claim to the calling of Prophet on our lives for there is a grave responsibility in this matter. You must be prepared to live a life not just separated from the world; but from most of those that you would normally call a pier as well. 

          You must be extra careful with you every word because the words that you speak are the words of a prophet and will be looked upon as such.

          There is a great weight placed upon the shoulders of a Prophet...the burden to always speak the words ordained by the Holy Ghost no matter how painful they may be. The willingness to be the voice of reason when the rest of the church has gone absolutely insane. You must have the ability to keep silent when everything within you wants to scream. 

          The voice of the Prophet will not be the popular voice and the largest part of the listeners will desire to hear something that will appeal to their senses instead of hearing the painful truth...which will pit you into direct conflict with others claiming to have the same calling upon their lives (I Kings chapter 22) (unlike the other ministries which usually only have to deal with indirect conflict from others claiming to have the same calling).

          Open you Bibles and go through and read the many different stories of the known prophets and you will see that many of them operated differently than the others but the one commonality is that they all spake as of the oracles of God under a heavy anointing.

I hope that you have learned something from this lesson.

Love and Blessings,

Jonathan D. Saunders.

The Five Fold Ministry (APOSTLES)

In this series of five posts I plan on revisiting a topic that I have taught on in the past. 

I have seen a great misunderstanding of the duties, the roles and the relationships of the several ministries of the church in regards to each other and to the flock.

I am writing this to give a clearer understanding of the functioning ministries of the church and the importance of having each ministry functioning properly.

I will talk about the five ministries in order of appearance in verse 11 of the text.

TEXT: Ephesians 4: 7-13

4:7  But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.  

4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 

4:9  (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 

4:10  He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 

4:11  And he gave some, APOSTLES; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 

4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 

4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Let us start with the original Greek definition of what the word apostle means.

Apostle (Greek - apostolos):  a delegate; specifically an ambassador of the Gospel; officially a commissioner of Christ (“apostle”), (with miraculous powers): - messenger, he that is sent.

Just as we the church should seek out and apply the Gifts of the Spirit in our lives for the edification of the body of believers, so too should we seek out and apply the five fold ministry in our churches today.

According to verses 12 and 13 of our text, the body is not complete without all five ministries properly functioning within the body.

This passage alone turns the doctrine of cessation on its own head due to the fact that the doctrine of cessation abounds only in the logic that the Holy Ghost stopped working when the last of the apostles died. I dare say that their are Apostles all around the globe today!! If this were not so then it would be reasonable to say that God left us with an incomplete body and that He so intentionally.

The word Apostle refers in a general since to all those that are saved, sanctified and filled with the Holy Ghost. How is this true? Because Christ has called each and every one of us as believers to share the Gospel with a lost and dying world and to be delegates sent with His authority in His name!!

Even thought the role of the Apostle is the second least talked about and referred to of the five ministries (the Evangelist being the absolute least referred to) we have the lives of the original 12 and Paul to base what the sign and calling of an Apostle looks like. (Bear in mind that someone with a calling might operate in more than one of the ministries. Example: Most Pastors must operate in the office of the Teacher as well. Paul even commanded Timothy to be apt to teach and to do the work of an Evangelist).

In a very specific since, the term Apostle refers to missionaries and many people get the calling of Evangelist and Apostle confused.

Right now I could name off the top of my head several Apostles that I have had the great pleasure of coming in contact with and maybe you as a reader could as well.

If you were living in the days of the early church and had a calling upon your life for the mission fields, you would have had the title of Apostle. This terminology is in no way to be misconstrued as being all inclusive of the original twelve disciples of Christ. The word Apostle (singular form) is used 19 times in the New Testament and not once in the four gospels. The word Apostles (plural form) is used 59 times in the New Testament and only 8 of those was in the four gospels.

The calling of the Apostle is every wit as important today as the calling of Pastor or Evangelist or any of the others.

Here are a few passages of scripture that may help distinguish who an Apostle is or can be, how many there are or were and what they are/were called to do.

The calling:

Mark 16: 14-20

16:14  Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

16:15  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 

16:16  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 

16:17  And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 

16:18  They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 

16:19  So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 

16:20  And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

I have underlined a couple key phrases in this passage that you should take special note of.

Only 12 Apostles?

Luke 10: 1-3 & 17-20

10:1  After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. 

10:2  Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. 

10:3  Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.

10:17  And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. 

10:18  And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 

10:19  Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 

10:20  Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

All the Apostles are dead?

Hebrews 3: 1 & 14

3:1  Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

3:14  For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

I hope that all who read this may grow in the knowledge and wisdom of The Word.

Love and Blessings,

Jonathan D. Saunders.

How do I get saved?

In this post we will use what is commonly referred to as the Romans Road. 

The Romans Road is a process of walking someone through the book of Romans in the Bible and revealing to them that they are a sinner in need of a savior and that the savior has already come and is ready to redeem them from their sin if they will but ask. That savior is Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God.

Romans 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Every human being by the very nature of being human has sinned (displeased God) and within themselves can not even come close to attaining to the glory that God would have us to walk in.
Because we are all in the blood line of the first man named Adam we all have his sin nature within us and this sin has been imputed unto all mankind. (I Corinthians 15:22).

Romans 3:10-18  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 

3:11  There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 

3:12  They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 

3:13  Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 

3:14  Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 

3:15  Their feet are swift to shed blood: 

3:16  Destruction and misery are in their ways: 

3:17  And the way of peace have they not known: 

3:18  There is no fear of God before their eyes.

No one is innocent and this passage gives us a glimpse at what our sin looks like in the eyes of a Holy God.


Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
One day, if we do not accept the free gift of salvation then we will have to pay for our sin. This is not just a physical death but it is an eternal spiritual death. We will be judged by a Holy God and His judgments are righteous and true (Revelation 16:7).

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Within this same passage we are also given hope though. The free gift of this very same Holy God is eternal life through His son Jesus Christ.
How did God give us a gift of life through His son Jesus Christ? I am glad you asked!!

Romans 5:8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Yes the wages of sin is death; but God loved us enough to send his son to die in our place so that we don't have to die.
Remember in the first step we found out that God imputed to all mankind sin because of one man.
GOOD NEWS!! He also, by one man (Jesus Christ) imputed life unto all mankind!!!
The death of Jesus payed the price for our sin and His resurrection proved that God accepted this payment.

Romans 10:9  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 

Because of Christ's death on the cross, all we have to do is confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead...THAT'S IT!! It really is that simple...Don't over think it...don't make it harder than it needs to be....CONFESS and BELIEVE!!

Romans 10:13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Just in case you are wondering if it really is that easy, YES...IT IS.... and this verse is proof.

Romans 5:1  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 

Of course doubt will set in and people may try to tell that there was nothing to it but emotionalism...don't be discouraged because this verse gives us assurance that we can have peace with God because Christ Jesus lives in our hearts.

Romans 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 

This is saying that you no longer need to worry about your past because you now are focused on your future...your past is past...LEAVE IT THERE!!!

Romans 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 

8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

This passage is God's promise to all those that believe on His Son unto salvation...WHAT A PROMISE!!

If you would like to give your heart to Christ then I have placed a prayer at here at the end.
The words of this prayer WILL NOT save you! Only confession of Jesus Christ as Lord and acceptance of Him into your heart can do this but we understand that not everyone will know what to say nor how to say it so we give you this prayer with the expectation that if you are saying it that you are also believing what you say...and that's a good thing.

"Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and that my sins have separated me from your love. I also recognize that my sin makes me worthy of death in your eyes. But I now know that Jesus Christ is Lord and He died once to save me from this punishment and I now accept Him into my heart and I will choose to live for you. Thank you for forgiving me and giving me eternal life. Amen."

My prayer is that someone will find their way to this sight and give their heart to Christ and work for Him.

Love and God Bless,

Jonathan D. Saunders.

The Fruit of the Spirit

TEXT: Galatians 5: 22-24

5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 

5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 

5:24  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.



So this is really nothing more than a continuation of my first blog entitled "The Works of the Flesh".

Paul leads off by giving us a stark contrast of what a persons lifestyle is like that walks being led by the Spirit of God as opposed to the one being led by his/her own fleshly desires and lusts (which is of Satan).

My Pastor has spoke on this account a few times and I have taught on this also but in the church it seems that we forget this passage so easily yet we never seem to forget to correct or rebuke or judge others (these are all Biblical things until they are done in the flesh and then they cease to be Godly and edifying.).

Paul was very systematic in what he had to say and knowing this it is logical to assume that he wrote the fruit of the Spirit in this order for a reason and not by random happenstance.

One leads to the other and the other to the next and so on and so forth. So let us start from the first one.

Love (Greek - agape) - affection, benevolence (the love of mankind accompanied with the desire to promote their happiness), charity
There is a reason that Paul named love first. Without this one then the rest are only outward lip-service and hypocrisy

Joy (Greek - chara) - cheerfulness, calm delight
Eventually, if you learn to love just enough you will not be able to help but to be joyful. True love will bring joy.

Peace (Greek - eirēnē) - to be at one, quietness, rest
A person that grows in love and joy enough will desire to be at peace with all men and will go out of their way to seek such peace. (Romans 14:19, Hebrews 12:14)

Longsuffering (Greek - makrothumia) - forbearance, fortitude, patience
I just can't see a truly patient person that hasn't first learned peace.

Goodness (Greek - chrēstotēs) - usefulness (if it isn't useful it isn't any GOOD), excellence, kindness
If a person that is has true patience isn't useful in the church then I don't know what is. You are either useful or worthless. No one was called to be a bench warmer. You can't or shouldn't be in any leadership position in the church if you are not useful.

Faith (Greek - pistis) - faithfulness, reliance, constancy
A vehicle is useful (goodness) but is it reliable? The junk car is reliable (it never leaves the yard) but is it useful. Are you faithful? Can God, your pastor, the church, the sinner, the job count on you to be there?

Meekness (Greek - praotēs) - gentleness, humility
A person that grows in true faithfulness in all things will become extremely meek. Christ was faithful even to the death of the cross and He described himself as being meek and lowly. Let us take a lesson from our dear Saviour.

Temperance (Greek - egkrateia) - self control
This will be a natural by product of growing in all the rest. Knee jerk reactions will not be a problem. You will have learned to act instead of react. You will have learned when to open your mouth and when it is best kept shut. You will have learned when to fight and when to stand still. You will have learned how to bring you body under subjection. You say you have self control; I ask you how much you fast and how often you pray and for how long. I feel just from my own personal experience and form what I've seen within the walls of the church that this one is the most lacking of all.

If you wish to know how much a Christian has grown in their spiritual walk then start listing what fruits are evident in that persons life. When you get to one that you know that said person doesn't have just start working your way backwards until you find the last one that you know they have and that is where they need to grow some more in.

To do this they will need to grow more in the previous ones going all the way back to agape, for from this one will all the others flourish.

Let us therefore be fruitful and grow in the Lord.

Love and Blessings,

Jonathan D. Saunders.

The Works of the Flesh

Text: Galatians 5: 14-21

5:14  For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

5:15  But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

5:18  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

5:20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

5:21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

This post will be directly connected to the next one I will post in a few days.

We will do a quick run through up to verse 20 which is really where I want to take this lesson out of.

Verse 14 is beyond self explanatory...it is the words of Christ Himself  (Matthew 22:34-40).

Verse 15: Paul goes on to give a warning to the Galatians which we should all head and which seems to be a great problem in the church today.
It has been said many times that the Church is its own worst enemy and I have found this statement to be profoundly true. Within the same walls we bite and devour and consume one another until there is nothing left to give to the world that is need of something greater than itself.
How can we claim to have hope for a lost and dying world when we suffer from the same maladies as they?

Verse 16: If we are led by God's Spirit we WILL NOT walk according to the manner of this rotten flesh.
It just isn't going to happen. When I see someone committing fleshly acts it stands to reason that they are in the flesh and not in the Spirit...it's pure logic...no way around it.

Verse 17: You are not your own master no matter what you think or feel about it. You will either do God's bidding or the bidding of the flesh which is of Satan. You will serve one of two masters...God or the Devil. Whom do you choose? (Matthew 6:24)

Verse 18: For in in-depth explanation of this scripture see I Timothy chapter 1 in its entirety and pay close attention to verses 4 through 9.

Verse 19-21: In this passage Paul gives us a run down of what acts, thoughts, emotions, etc. that you will find in someone that is operating in the flesh and not the Spirit of God (remember, you can't operate in both. Bitter and sweet water can not come from the same fountain.)

Adultery - sexual relations with someone other than your spouse (remember, this includes the act as well as thoughts and emotions)

Fornication - Sexual relations before marriage (the Greek describes this as harlotry)

Uncleanness - (Greek) by quality this means impurity both physically, mentally, spiritually and morally (Philippians 4:8)

Lasciviousness - (Greek) filthy, vices (any type of filth that could get out of your control...smoking, drinking, cussing, pornography, gambling, gluttony...you get the point.)

Idolatry - (Greek) idol worship (anything that you esteem in word, deed, thought or action as higher than God which can include tv, social networks, money, bills, spouses, jobs, theology...I myself have had a problem in this area with bills...I too often forget that God is bigger than my bills and then I start stressing and sweating and wondering how I'm gonna pay them instead of saying "God, they are in your hands and I'm your child...HELP ME!!")

Witchcraft - (Greek) Magic, medication (yes that was straight from the Greek dictionary...WOW...the actual Greek word is pharmakeia which is where we get the English word pharmacy).

Hatred - (Greek) hostility, enmity (Christ said if you hate someone then you are guilty of murder...remember...acts, thoughts, emotions, etc.)

Variance - (Greek) quarrel, wrangling, contention, debate (hmmmm), strife (I won't expound on this one though I should.)

Emulations - (Greek) indignation, jealousy, envy, zeal (any of these backed with malice)

Wrath - hatred in action (Greek was too difficult to give a proper direct English translation without going ad-lib)

Strife - (Greek) intrigue, faction (gossiping, cliques, us-four-and-no-more, we were here before you and will be here after you are gone...get the point!!)

Seditions - (Greek) dissunion, dissension, division, (how many times have we seen one person cause a split in the church)

Heresies - (Greek) heresy is the actual Greek word and meaning (any one that teaches something other than what the general populace or group is teaching. In this case it is meant for those that teach something other than the inspired Word of God)

Envying - (Greek) ill will

Murders - (Greek) to slay

Drunkeness - (Greek) intoxicant or intoxication (This alone should...but won't...settle the "Is it ok to drink alcohol" debate)

Revellings - (Greek) carousal, rioting,letting loose

If Christ comes back and you are doing one of these or haven't gotten any one of these under the blood of Christ you will not make Heaven you home. If you think otherwise then you need to read the last verse very carefully again.

Thank you and God Bless!!

Jonathan D. Saunders