“And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came unto Cæsarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.”
Acts 21:8 KJV
Dr. Luke records, “Then we went on to Caesarea and stayed for several days in the home of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven deacons”. An evangelist is simply a preacher of the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ, a preacher of the hope humanity has in the Blood Sacrifice of Jesus Christ which frees us from the bondage of sin. Philip is described as both an evangelist and a deacon or a servant. When the Church first began, there were so many new disciples and they had to continue. Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the Word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.” And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them. Every minister must become a servant. Jesus Himself as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. God wants order and the Church has been given apostles, prophets, evangelists, 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. Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to lead us to serve the body of Christ as we surrender our will to His. Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment