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apostles, etc., is in Eph. 4: 8-11. In I Cor. 12: 28 Paul goes out of his way to indicate
a numerical order in the gifts saying,
"FIRST apostles, SECONDARILY prophets, THIRDLY teachers",
whereas in Eph. 4: 11 we read:
"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some,
pastors and teachers",
and in Eph. 2: 20 we discover that the Apostles and Prophets were a "foundation"
ministry, and never to be repeated in this dispensation, whilst the Evangelist and the
Teacher are the legitimate successors of the Apostles and the Prophets, as we learn from
II Timothy:
"Do the work of an EVANGELIST . . . . . for (i.e. the reason) I (Paul, the apostle)
am now ready to be offered" (II Tim. 4: 5, 6).
"The things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou
to faithful men, who shall be able to TEACH others also" (II Tim. 2: 2).
"The apostles" of Eph. 4:, cannot refer to Peter, James, John and the rest of the
twelve, for they were called and appointed by Christ on earth (Matt. 10: 2-5), in a context
of miracles (verses 1, 8) and under a prohibition "Go not into the way of the Gentiles"
(verse 5). The apostles of Eph. 4: were given to the church by the ASCENDED Christ,
and so constitute a new order, especially given:
"For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the
body of Christ" (Eph. 4: 12).
Returning for a while to Paul's earlier ministry, we turn to Rom. 11: By referring to
Rom. 10: 21 "To Israel He saith", to Rom. 11: 25, 26, 28 "Blindness in part is happened
to Israel . . . . . and so all Israel shall be saved . . . . . the Deliverer shall come out of Sion
and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob", we can be assured that the Church is not
in view, but Israel as a nation. The figure employed here by the Apostle to illustrate the
union of the Gentile believer with Israel, is that of an olive tree. The Gentile nations as
such are not in view, but "believers" from among the nations, for the Apostle says:
"Because of unbelief they (i.e. the natural branches, Israel) were broken off, and thou
standest by faith" (Rom. 11: 20).
Here, then, under the figure of the olive tree, the unity of the Jew and Gentile that
believed during the Acts is set forth. This, however, is by no means all. There are
peculiar features that are of supreme importance, and must now be noted.
*The branches that were broken off were the unbelieving among Israel, the remaining
branches constituting a remnant. Into the place from which the unbelieving of Israel had
been broken off, the Gentile believer had been grafted, "contrary to nature".
[* - For a fuller examination of Rom. 9:-11:, with complete structural analysis,
the reader is referred to the book Just and the Justifier.]