Everything that our heavenly Father does is according to a pattern. We can see that on a grand scale in the wondrous beauty of Creation all around us; we can see it on a more personal level by considering the incredible complexity of the human body, from the operation of the circulatory system and the brain down to the sub-molecular level of individual strands of DNA.
Likewise, everything Yahweh does in Scripture is also according to a pattern. When He told Moses to build the tabernacle in the wilderness, He said, “see that you make it according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain” (Exod. 25:40). This wasn’t some vague outline but a very detailed “blueprint”. Moses built the tabernacle according to Yahweh’s very exacting specifications, and when he had finished it and everything was in place, that’s when “the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle” (Exod. 40:33-38).
Similarly, after his father David had given him the pattern of “all that he had by the Spirit” (1 Chron. 28:11-12), Solomon built the temple at Jerusalem. Again, it was when he had finished it and everything was in place that the glory of Yahweh filled it.
Today, Yahweh no longer dwells in temples made with hands. Instead, He dwells within His people as individuals and collectively within His ekklesia (“church”). Nevertheless, He still has a specific pattern by which His dwelling place – the ekklesia – must be built. What is that pattern? According to Scripture it is what some have termed the “five-fold ministry”.
We’re told in Ephesians 4:8 that when Yahshua ascended to heaven, He gave “gifts” to men. A few verses later, those gifts are identified, along with their purpose: “And He gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of ministering, to the building up of the Messiah: till we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of Yahweh, to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Messiah” (Eph. 4:11-13).
The “five-fold ministry” consists of 5 ministry gift offices: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. They were given collectively to the Body for the purpose of the perfecting of the saints. Are all of the saints perfected? Have we achieved the ‘unity of the faith’ and reached the ‘stature of the fullness of the Messiah’? The obvious answer to these questions is ‘No’. Since the Body hasn’t become that ‘perfect Man’, then we obviously still need ALL of the 5-fold ministry gifts, including the apostle and prophet, functioning within the Body of Messiah.
When we build His house according to His pattern – the pattern of the 5-fold ministry – then and only then will His glory truly be manifested in all of its fullness. Only then will we become Yahweh’s glory on the earth, having prepared and readied ourselves to rule and reign with Him.
At Lion of Judah Family Worship Center, we recognize that we must build Yahweh’s house – the ekklesia – “according to the pattern” that He has given us. We fully embrace not just the concept but the reality of all of the 5-fold ministry gifts. We also recognize that, in order for the Body to become all that it is meant to be, each of us must take his or her place in the local assembly. We cannot fulfill our awesome purpose without men and women like you, people who recognize the need, understand the purpose, and desire to be a living part of the restoration of Yahweh’s order.
Come and join us in this incredible end-time work!