John Calvin Commentary Ephesians 4:11

"And he gave some [to be] apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;" — Ephesians 4:11 (ASV)

He returns to explain the distribution of gifts and illustrates in greater detail what he had briefly mentioned: that from this variety arises unity in the church, just as various tones in music produce sweet melody. The meaning can be summarized as follows: "The external ministry of the word is also commended because of the advantages it provides. Certain men, appointed to that office, are employed in preaching the gospel. This is the arrangement by which the Lord is pleased to govern His church, to maintain its existence, and ultimately to secure its highest perfection."

It may cause surprise that when the gifts of the Holy Spirit are the subject of discussion, Paul enumerates offices instead of gifts. I reply, when men are called by God, gifts are necessarily connected with offices. God does not confer on men the mere name of Apostles or Pastors but also endows them with gifts, without which they cannot properly discharge their office. He whom God has appointed to be an apostle does not bear an empty and useless title, for the divine command and the ability to perform it go together. Let us now examine the words in detail.

And he gave. The government of the church by the preaching of the word is first of all declared to be not a human invention, but a most sacred ordinance of Christ. The apostles did not appoint themselves but were chosen by Christ; and, today, true pastors do not rashly thrust themselves forward by their own judgment but are raised up by the Lord.

In short, the government of the church by the ministry of the word is not an invention of men but an appointment made by the Son of God. As His own unalterable law, it demands our assent. Those who reject or despise this ministry offer insult and rebellion to Christ its Author. It is He Himself who gave them; for if He does not raise them up, there will be none. Another inference is that no man will be fit or qualified for so distinguished an office who has not been formed and molded by the hand of Christ Himself. To Christ we owe it that we have ministers of the gospel, that they abound in necessary qualifications, and that they execute the trust committed to them. All, all is His gift.

Some, apostles. The different names and offices assigned to different persons arise from that diversity of the members that contributes to the completeness of the whole body—thus removing every ground for emulation, envy, and ambition. If every person displays a selfish character, strives to outshine his neighbor, and disregards all concerns but his own—or if more eminent persons become the object of envy to those who occupy a lower place—in each and all of these cases, gifts are not applied to their proper use. He therefore reminds them that the gifts bestowed on individuals are intended not to be held for their personal and separate interests, but to be employed for the benefit of the whole. We have already spoken at considerable length about the offices enumerated here, and will now say nothing more than the exposition of the passage seems to demand. Five classes of office-bearers are mentioned, though I am aware there is a diversity of opinion on this point, for some consider the last two to be one office. Leaving aside the opinions of others, I will proceed to state my own.

I take the word apostles not in the general sense that the derivation of the term might suggest, but in its own specific meaning, for those highly favored persons whom Christ exalted to the highest honor. Such were the twelve, to whose number Paul was afterwards added. Their office was to spread the doctrine of the gospel throughout the whole world, to plant churches, and to erect the kingdom of Christ. They did not have churches of their own committed to them; but the injunction given to all of them was to preach the gospel wherever they went.

Next to them come the Evangelists, who were closely allied in the nature of their office but held an inferior rank. To this class belonged Timothy and others; for, while Paul mentions them along with himself in the salutations of his epistles, he does not speak of them as his companions in the apostleship but claims this name as peculiarly his own. The services in which the Lord employed them were auxiliary to those of the apostles, to whom they were next in rank.

To these two classes the apostle adds Prophets. By this name, some understand those persons who possessed the gift of predicting future events, among whom was Agabus (Acts 11:28; Acts 21:10). But, for my own part, as doctrine is the present subject, I would rather define the word prophets, as on a former occasion, to mean distinguished interpreters of prophecies who, by a remarkable gift of revelation, applied them to the subjects they had occasion to handle; not excluding, however, the gift of prophecy, by which their doctrinal instruction was usually accompanied.

Pastors and Teachers are supposed by some to denote one office, because the apostle does not, as in the other parts of the verse, say, and some, pastors; and some, teachers; but, τοὺς δὲ, ποιμένας καὶ διδασκάλους, and some, pastors and teachers. Chrysostom and Augustine are of this opinion, not to mention the commentaries of Ambrose, whose observations on the subject are truly childish and unworthy of himself. I partly agree with them that Paul speaks indiscriminately of pastors and teachers as belonging to one and the same class, and that the name teacher does, to some extent, apply to all pastors. But this does not seem to me a sufficient reason why two offices, which I find to differ from each other, should be confused.

Pastors, in my opinion, are those who have the charge of a particular flock; though I have no objection to their receiving the name of teachers, if it is understood that there is a distinct class of teachers who preside both in the education of pastors and in the instruction of the whole church. It may sometimes happen that the same person is both a pastor and a teacher, but the duties to be performed are entirely different.

It also deserves attention that of the five offices enumerated here, not more than the last two are intended to be perpetual. Apostles, Evangelists, and Prophets were bestowed on the church for a limited time only—except in those cases where religion has fallen into decay, and evangelists are raised up in an extraordinary manner to restore the pure doctrine that had been lost. But without Pastors and Teachers, there can be no government of the church.

Papists have some reason to complain that their primacy, of which they boast so much, is openly insulted in this passage. The subject of discussion is the unity of the church. Paul inquires into the means by which its continuance is secured and the outward expressions by which it is promoted, and finally comes to the government of the church.

If he knew a primacy that had a fixed residence, was it not his duty, for the benefit of the whole church, to present one ministerial head placed over all the members, under whose government we are gathered into one body? We must either charge Paul with inexcusable neglect and foolishness in leaving out the most appropriate and powerful argument, or we must acknowledge that this primacy is at variance with the appointment of Christ.

In truth, he plainly rejects it as without foundation when he ascribes superiority to Christ alone and represents the apostles and all the pastors as indeed inferior to Him, but associated on an equal level with each other. There is no passage of Scripture by which that tyrannical hierarchy, regulated by one earthly head, is more completely overturned.

Paul has been followed by Cyprian, who gives a short and clear definition of what forms the only lawful monarchy in the church. There is, he says, one bishoprick, which unites the various parts into one whole. This bishoprick he claims for Christ alone, leaving the administration of it to individuals, but in a united capacity, with no one being permitted to exalt himself above others.