Living the Busy Life~

"And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there who had his hand withered. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.

"And he saith unto the man that had his hand withered, Stand forth. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful on the sabbath day to do good, or to do harm? to save a life, or to kill?
But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their heart, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he stretched it forth; and his hand was restored." (Mark 3:1-5 ASV)

Jesus said in more than one place in scriptures I must be about my Father's business, or I must do the work I was sent to do:

"But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh even until now, and I work." (John 5:17 ASV)

"We must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work." (John 9:4 ASV)

In Ephesians 4:11 we are told: "And he gave some to be apostles;" the commentary by Gill says thus:

And he gave some apostles,.... That is, he gave them gifts by which they were qualified to be apostles; who were such as were immediately called by Christ, and had their doctrine from him, and their commission to preach it; and were peculiarly and infallibly guided by the Spirit of God, and had a power to work miracles for the confirmation of their doctrine;  this was the first and chief office in the church, and of an extraordinary kind, and is now ceased; and though the apostles were before Christ's ascension, yet they had not received till then the fullness of the Spirit, and his extraordinary gifts to fit them for their office; nor did they enter upon the discharge of it in its large extent till that time; for they were not only to bear witness of Christ in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, but in the uttermost parts of the earth: 

Ephesians 4:11 continued: "and some, prophets;" Gill again says:

by whom are meant, not private members of churches, who may all prophesy or teach in a private way; nor ordinary ministers of the word; but extraordinary ones, who had a peculiar gift of interpreting the Scriptures, the prophecies of the Old Testament, and of foretelling things to come; such were Agabus and others in the church of Antioch, Act_11:27

4:11 continued: "and some, evangelists;" Gill commentary: 

by whom are designed, not so much the writers of the Gospels, as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, some of which were also apostles; as preachers of the Gospel, and who yet were distinct from the ordinary ministers of it; they were below the apostles, and yet above pastors and teachers; they were the companions of the apostles, and assistants to them, and subserved them in their work; such were Philip, Luke, Titus, Timothy, and others; these were not fixed and stated ministers in anyone place, as the following officers be, but were sent here and there as the apostles thought fit: 

4:11 continued: "and some, pastors and teachers;" Gill: 

but whereas the pastors are the shepherds of the flock, the overseers of it, and the same with the bishops and elders, and the teachers may be the gifted brethren in the church, assistants to the pastors, bare ministers of the word; so the difference lies here, that the one has the oversight, and care, and charge of the church, and the other not; 

So, then, the Apostles prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers all had different roles in the early church. These men had a special work given to them from God. 

The early church didn't have the complete revealed work of the New Testament at this time, but they would eventually. Until that time, they had the Holy Spirit to guide them into all truth. 

"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth:" (John 16:13)

"To whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto you, did they minister these things, which now have been announced unto you through them that preached the gospel unto you by the Holy Spirit sent forth from heaven;" (1 Peter 1:12 ASV)

"Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall be done away; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall be done away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away."(1 Corinthians 13:8-10 ASV)

The special work of the Apostles prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers was designed for:

"the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ:" (Ephesians 4:11-12 ASV)

We still have the need for this work, but not a special revelation and not in the same way.The apostles, of course have passed on. No one alive today has lived long enough to have physically walked with Jesus on earth. We still have evangelists, pastors, and teachers. An evangelist is one who preaches the word. A pastor, unlike the general idea is not a preacher per se. A pastor may preach ("The bishop therefore must be without reproach...apt to teach;" 1 Timothy 3:2 ASV), but is actually an 'elder, leader, or bishop' in the congregation. One who 'rules' the individuals of a congregation. 

See also: "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit to them: for they watch in behalf of your souls..." (Hebrews 13:17 ASV)

All of us are teachers in some way. Try to keep a positive attitude, a Jesus attitude. Remember, our lives are all busy with something. If we don't fill it with something purposefully ourselves, it fills itself.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!