Ephesians 4:11-12 states the following: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…”

Even though “teachers” is listed together with the offices of the ministry, including apostle, prophet, evangelist and pastor, what was the original intent of this passage and the inclusion of “teachers”?

Looking at the qualifications of a bishop (literally, an overseer) or an elder (compare New International Version) will help us to clarify this issue.

1 Timothy 3:1-7 states:

“This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop [“elder,” New International Version], he desires a good work. A bishop [“elder”] then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behaviour, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”

Notice that we read in verse 2 that a bishop or better overseer or elder must be “able to teach.” [The same expression is used in Acts 20:17, where it is rendered in the New King James Bible as “elder.” In Acts 20:28, the New King James Bible states: “overseers.” Compare the Jamieson Fausset and Brown commentary.] See also our Q&A on the biblical meaning of the term “elder”. 

We can conclude that a teacher is, at best, a function of an office or a rank–not itself an office or a rank. Sometimes, it does not even include a function of an office. We read that older women are to admonish or teach younger women (Titus 2:1-5), but older women do not function within a ministerial office or rank. In fact, Paul prohibits women to teach in church (1 Timothy 2:12). On the other hand, we have always understood that a minister’s wife fulfills a certain function (not an office or rank) in assisting, helping and supporting her ordained husband. We have usually referred to this fact by stating that a minister’s wife constitutes 50% of her husband’s ministry.

We also note that Jesus Christ was a Teacher. John 3:2  states: “This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.’” The Pharisees recognised that Christ was not only a teacher, but also a teacher from God. This was a function of His many titles–not a title per se.

He is called Son of God, Son of Man, King of kings, Chief Shepherd, High Priest, the Apostle, the Prophet, the Lawgiver (Shiloh, compare Genesis 49:10), and He had of course a great ability to teach others.

The revealed ministerial ranks or offices in the Church of God are (compare Ephesians 4:11-12):

Apostle

Romans 1:1 describes Paul as “a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God.” He is also referred to as an apostle in 1 Corinthians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1, and in many other places in the Bible. Jesus Christ is referred to as THE Apostle.

There is currently no one in the Church of God who holds this office or rank, although there might be some who have usurped this rank to themselves as “self-appointed” apostles. The only recognized apostle in the Church of God in recent years has been Herbert W. Armstrong who died in 1986. The Bible reveals that in the future, some (for instance, the two witnesses) will hold the office and rank of apostle, but this time has not yet arrived. Presently, we are warned not to accept those as apostles whom the Bible designates as false apostles and deceitful workers.

Prophet 

1 Corinthians 14:37 cautions us: “If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.”

Paul and Barnabas were prophets (Acts 13:1). Jesus Christ is referred to as THE Prophet.

As with the rank and office of apostle, there is currently no one in the Church of God who holds the office or rank of prophet, although there are some who have usurped this rank to themselves as “self-appointed” prophets. In the future, there will be those who will be functioning as prophets (for instance, the two witnesses), but this time has not yet arrived. Mr. Armstrong—even though he was recognized as an apostle—was not perceived as holding the office or rank of prophet.

Evangelist

Acts 21:8 states:  “On the next day we who were Paul’s companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.”

2 Timothy 4:5 states:  “But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

Today, there are several ministers in the greater Churches of God who hold the rank and office of Evangelist.

Pastor 

Today, there are quite a few ministers in the greater Churches of God who hold the rank and office of Pastor (compare Ephesians 4:11). In addition, this office or rank can be a little bit confusing to some because there are those in the Church of God who are fulfilling the function of a pastor or a “shepherd,” since they are looking after a group of people, but they have not been ordained (yet) to the office or rank of Pastor.

An Elder (see below) can be fulfilling the function of a Pastor, in that he looks after a group of God’s people.  But this is also true for an Evangelist, who fulfills the function of a Pastor and an Elder, being able to preach and teach. Usually, an Evangelist-rank minister was previously ordained to the rank of Elder and Pastor. Jesus Christ is referred to as the Chief Shepherd or the Chief Pastor.

Elder

Although not specifically mentioned in Ephesians 4:11-12, it has been recognized that the Bible speaks of the rank and office of Elder in numerous places.

James 5:14 states:  “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.”

Act 14:23 writes:  “So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”

Compare also 1 Timothy 5:17 and 1 Peter 5:5; and note 1 Timothy 4:14, referring to “the laying on of hands of the eldership.”

Some of the ministerial offices overlap, since some of the apostles referred to themselves also as elders. In 2 John 1:1, the apostle John refers to himself as an elder. The apostle Peter also refers to himself as a fellow elder in 1 Peter 5:1.

Paul was an apostle, a prophet, an elder, a preacher and a teacher (compare 1 Timothy 2:7; 2 Timothy 1:11). He fulfilled all these functions, but he was specifically ordained to the ranks of apostle, prophet and elder—not to the rank or the “office” of preacher or teacher. A similar description of functions is found in 1 Corinthians 12:28—this passage does not necessarily describe ranks or offices, although some are of course included: “Now God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues…”

In addition, the Bible recognizes the non-ministerial rank and office of deacon and deaconess (1 Timothy 3:8, 11). In order to become a deacon or a deaconess, one must be ordained to these offices. Also, to become an elder, one [including a deacon] must be ordained to that office. When somebody were to claim that as a deacon, he was also a minister, then such claim would be false (even though a deacon may be asked to give sermonettes or even sermons in Church services, under the direction and supervision of a minister. But he is not to heal the sick, cast out demons, baptize or ordain others etc.). Likewise, to become a pastor, one must be ordained to that office (even though an elder may be asked to fulfill the function of a pastor, see above). In addition, to become an Evangelist, someone has to be ordained to that rank and office.

With each ordination, God gives the ordained person who is being raised in rank an additional amount of His Holy Spirit so that he can fulfill the role and function of that office. See our Q&A on John 3:34. When somebody were to claim that as a deacon or an elder, he had the same amount of God’s Holy Spirit as a pastor or an evangelist, then that person would be making a false claim. And of course, ministerial credentials can be revoked by the Church of God if a minister proves through his conduct that he has become disqualified of and unfit for the particular rank, office and function. The same is true for ordained deacons and deaconesses. The idea of “once a deacon or a minister, always a deacon or a minister,” is not biblical.

In conclusion, the recognized ministerial offices or ranks in the Church of God are Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Elder.  Any other designation for a rank or title is not biblical. “Teacher” or “Preacher” are not ranks or offices, but they rather describe various functions. We do not refer to a minister as “Reverent,” as this designation is reserved for God.

For further information, please read our Q&A on ministerial ranks in God’s Church. 

Lead Writers: Rene Messier and Norbert Link

This question is related to the issue of “single procession” or “double procession” of the Holy Spirit, which is hotly debated in orthodox Christianity. For instance, while the Roman Catholic or Latin Church believes and teaches that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, the (Greek) Orthodox Eastern Church believes and teaches that it only proceeds from the Father, but that it is given through the Son. As both Churches believe in the concept of the Trinity (one God in three Persons, erroneously believing that the Holy Spirit is a Person), their explanation of the procession of the Holy Spirit is, by necessity, flawed.

When Christ was here on earth as a human being, it was the Spirit of God the Father which dwelled in Him. Prior to His human conception, the Spirit of Christ (1 Peter 1:11)—as well as the Spirit of the Father—dwelled in God’s prophets and others in Old Testament times, and subsequent to Christ’s resurrection, both His Spirit and the Spirit of the Father dwell in converted Christians who are called to salvation.

Let us first see that it was the Holy Spirit of God the Father which dwelled in the human being, Jesus Christ, when He lived here on earth.

We read in Luke 4:18-19 that Jesus, when He quoted the prophet Isaiah in a synagogue in Nazareth, applied the following passage to Himself: “The Spirit of the LORD [in this case, the LORD refers to God the Father] is upon Me [Jesus Christ], Because He [the Father] has anointed Me [Jesus] to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To preach deliverance to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed, to preach the acceptable year of the LORD.”  Referring to Himself, He told His audience: “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (verse 21).

He healed the sick through the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 5:17; 6:19; 8:46), but it was not His power, but the power of the Father’s Spirit in Him. Christ said that of Himself, He could do nothing (John 5:19, 30; 14:10-11).  It was the Spirit of God the Father, dwelling in Christ without measure or limitation, which gave Him the power to perform miracles. Acts 10:38 reads: “God [the Father] anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God [the Father] was with Him.” We also read that God the Father was in Christ [through the Holy Spirit] during His suffering (2  Corinthians 5:19), giving Him the strength to endure.

When He was here on earth as a human being, He had no Holy Spirit (of His own) to give to others, as He was not a glorified God being (compare John 7:38-39; see also our Q&A on John 7:39). At that time, only the Holy Spirit of the Father was in existence or available, and it was the Father’s Holy Spirit that dwelled in Christ.

After Christ’s resurrection and glorification, both He and the Father would be able to dwell in converted Christians, through the Holy Spirit emanating or proceeding from both of them. John 14:23 says: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and WE will come to him and make OUR HOME with him.” We read that the Father sends the Holy Spirit in Christ’s name (John 14:26); that Christ sends the Holy Spirit (John 16:7); and that Christ sends it from the Father (John 15:26; Acts 2:33). As we will see, the different wording can be explained in that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father AND of the Son.

When the New Testament speaks of God, it is foremost referring to God the Father, but it is true, of course, that Jesus Christ is also God and referred to as such on several occasions. In Romans 9:5, Christ is called “the eternally blessed God” “who is over all” human beings. In Titus 2:13, Jesus Christ is called our “great God and Savior.” In Hebrews 1:8-9, Christ, the Son of God, is also called “God,” and it is stated that His God—God the Father—anointed Him with the oil of gladness. John 1:18 states that Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son, is God and has made the Father known to us (compare International Version).

Still, in most cases, when speaking about God, the reference in the New Testament is to the Father (compare 1 Corinthians 3:23). And so we see repeatedly and consistently that the Holy Spirit of God the Father dwells in converted Christians. God the Father revealed His truth to us through HIS Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10). We have received the Spirit which is from God the Father “that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God” the Father (verse 12).

We read that we are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God (the Father) dwells in us (1 Corinthians 3:16). This is repeated in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “… your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit [which] is in you, [which] you have from God, and you are not your own. For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Again, we read in 1 Thessalonians 4:8 that God (the Father) has given us HIS Holy Spirit, and 1 John 4:12-13 adds that we know that we abide in God (the Father), and He in us, “because He has given us of HIS Spirit.”

This is clearly confirmed in Romans 8:11, 14:

“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through HIS Spirit [which] dwells in you…  For as many as are led by the Spirit of GOD, these are the SONS of God…”

And still, we ALSO read that the Spirit of Christ, the SON of GOD, dwells in converted Christians.

Romans 8:9 makes this very clear: “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of GOD dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of CHRIST, he is not His.”

Acts 16:7 says that the Spirit of Jesus did not permit Paul and his coworkers to go into Bithynia (compare New International Version and Revised Standard Version). Philippians 1:19 speaks of the “supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ”, and Galatians 4:6 states:

“And because you are sons, God [the Father] has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father.’”

We see, then, that it is the Spirit of God the Father AND the Spirit of Jesus Christ which dwell in us. For further information, please read our Q&A on the procession of the Holy Spirit. 

We explain in that Q&A that the Holy Spirit is not a person, but the power of God emanating from both the Father and the Son. It is “one” Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:11,13), because the Father and the Son are “one” (John 10:30)—they are of one mind, totally unified (compare John 17:11). For an in-depth explanation, please read our free booklets, “Is God a Trinity?” and “God is a Family.”

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

God created marriage as a union between a man and a woman. This would exclude, for instance, marriage relationships between two men, or two women; nor would it allow polygamy.

In the booklet,  “‘In the Beginning…’ Answers to Questions from Genesis,” by the Worldwide Church of God, copyright 1980, the following is stated about polygamy:

“God never approved or sanctioned the practice of polygamy. He did permit it in the law of Moses–just as He allowed divorce because of the hardness of man’s heart (Matt. 19:8). Nevertheless, according to the Bible, the ideal marital state is one husband and one wife who become one flesh in marriage for life. God gave Adam one wife (Gen. 2:24). Jesus also said that from the beginning it was God’s will that a man leave his parents and cleave to his wife–not wives–and the two of them would become one flesh (Matt. 19:4-9). In the New Testament, a minister or a spiritual leader is to set the right example and have only one wife (I Tim. 3:2). In addition to the scriptural admonition, polygamy is against the laws of the United States and most other countries. Romans 13:1-7 states that Christians are to obey the laws of the land.”

You should also compare our Q&A on polygamy.  

The outdated concept of polygamy sometimes included concubines. As Gill’s Commentary explains in regard to Genesis 22:24, a concubine was “not an harlot, but a secondary wife, who was under the proper and lawful wife, and a sort of a head servant in the family, and chiefly kept for the procreation of children; which was not thought either unlawful or dishonourable in those times such as was Hagar in Abraham’s family.”

But the fact that God designed marriage as a union between one man and one woman does not mean that just any man-woman union is approved by God. For instance, God did not intend religiously-mixed marriages (when a “believer” marries an “unbeliever”), see our Q&A,  or interracial marriages (see our Q&A).

In addition, as we will explain, the Bible prohibits today marriages between brothers and sisters or between a man and his niece. This then poses the question, Where did Cain get his wife after he had murdered his brother Abel?

In the booklet “In the Beginning…” the following answer is given:

“Cain married one of his sisters. There simply wasn’t any other female for him to marry. In Genesis 5:4-5 we read: ‘And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters: and all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died…’ These brothers and sisters would have had to marry each other in order to obey God’s command to propagate the human race (Gen. 1:28).”

The commentary on the Torah by Richard Elliott Friedman agrees, stating that Genesis 5:4 gives us “the presumed answer to the question of where Cain’s wife came from.”

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible elaborates:

“… he [Adam] begat sons and daughters; not only after the birth of Seth, but before, though we have no account of any, unless of Cain’s wife; but what their number was is not certain, either before or after; some say he had thirty children, besides Cain, Abel, and Seth; and others a hundred. Josephus says the number of children, according to the old tradition, was thirty three sons and twenty three daughters… the families listed in this chapter must have been large by today’s standards. Given their long life, this is not at all unusual.”

Regarding Genesis 4:17 (“And Cain knew his wife…”), Gill states:

“Who this woman was is not certain, nor whether it was his first wife or not; whether his sister, or one that descended from Adam by another of his sons, since this was about the one hundred and thirtieth year of [man’s] creation…”

We addressed this issue at length in our Q&A, “Where Did Cain’s Wife Come From?” We stated that “Cain married a female descendant of Adam–perhaps one of Adam’s daughters, or even one of Cain’s nieces.”

The booklet “In the Beginning…” continues:

“Today, there are biblical laws which forbid marriage between those who are closely related. But, it was not wrong for brothers and sisters to marry at that early time in human history. However, in Abraham’s day it was permissible to marry only one’s half-sister. Abram married his half-sister, Sarai (Gen. 20:12). Nahor married his brother Haran’s daughter (Gen. 11:29). There was then no genetic harm to the children. When men and women over the centuries continued in sin, it became genetically harmful for close blood relatives to marry (see Leviticus 18), and for the sake of future generations it is forbidden.”

In the book of Leviticus, at the time of Moses, we find clear instructions regarding prohibition of marriages between partners “near of kin” (Leviticus 18:6). In our above-mentioned Q&A on Cain’s wife, we wrote:

“Apparently, certain laws governing incest did not become established until the time of Moses. Any such requirement of God is not revealed until Leviticus 18:6-17, where God described–from that time forward–those type actions as ‘wickedness.’ Verses 9 and 11 specifically forbid marriage with one’s step-sister, or with one’s half-sister, and verse 6 forbids incest between father and daughter and between a brother and his full sister (compare The Nelson Study Bible, comments to verses 6, 9 and 11).”

The Pulpit Commentary explains regarding Leviticus 18:6-18:

“In the code before us, confirmed by that in Deuteronomy, marriage is forbidden with the following blood relations: mother (verse 7), daughter (verse 17), sister (verse 9…), granddaughter (verse 10), aunt (verses 12, 13…); and with the following relations by affinity: mother-in-law (verse 17…), daughter-in-law (verse 15…), brother’s wife (verse 16…), stepmother (verse 8…), stepdaughter and step-granddaughter (verse 17), uncle’s wife, or aunt by marriage (verse 14…)… incest is intercourse with a brother’s wife. Yet this is commanded under certain circumstances in the Book of Deuteronomy, and was practiced in patriarchal times.”

However, this law is no longer binding for us today (see our free booklet, “And Lawlessness Will Abound…”, pages 52-53).

Regarding Leviticus 18, verse 17, Gill explains:

“Thou shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter,…. That is, if a man marries a woman, and she has a daughter, which is the man’s daughter-in-law, after the death of his wife he may not marry this daughter…” Verse 17 continues to state that he is not to marry her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter either.

However, as will be explained below in regard to the prohibition against marrying two sisters, the prohibition against marrying a woman and her daughter from a prior marriage should be viewed in the light of polygamy. Even though God had allowed polygamy in Old Testament times, He made clear that a man could not marry a woman and her daughter at the same time. The Soncino commentary states that “a legal marriage with both is not possible.”

A similar prohibition is expressed in verse 18: “Nor shall you take a woman as a rival to her sister… while the other is alive.”

The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown commentary states, quoting verse 18 from the Authorized Version: “Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her”:

“The marginal construction involves an express prohibition of polygamy; and, indeed, there can be no doubt that the practice of having more wives than one is directly contrary to the divine will. It was prohibited by the original law of marriage, and no evidence of its lawfulness under the Levitical code can be discovered, although Moses—from ‘the hardness of their hearts’ [Mt 19:8; Mr 10:5]—tolerated it…”

“The second interpretation forms the ground upon which the ‘vexed question’ has been raised in our times respecting the lawfulness of marriage with a deceased wife’s sister. Whatever arguments may be used to prove the unlawfulness or inexpediency of such a matrimonial relation, the passage under consideration cannot, on a sound basis of criticism, be enlisted in the service; for the crimes with which it is here associated warrant the conclusion that it points not to marriage with a deceased wife’s sister, but with a sister in the wife’s lifetime, a practice common among the ancient Egyptians, Chaldeans, and others.”

Gill disagrees, stating:

“… some have concluded… that a man might marry his wife’s sister after her death, but not while she was living; but the phrase, ‘in her lifetime’, is not to be joined to the phrase ‘thou shall not take a wife’; but to the phrases more near, ‘to vex her in her lifetime’, or as long as she lived… for that a wife’s sister may be married to her husband, even after her death, cannot be lawful…”

This concept, as expressed by Gill, does not seem to be convincing, especially since verse 18 says: “Nor shall you take a woman AS A RIVAL to her sister… while the other is ALIVE.” A marriage is binding as long as the partners are alive, and it ends, when one of the two partner dies. At that time, the surviving sister could not be looked upon as a rival of her deceased sister; therefore, God expressly stated that polygamy, which was not God’s Will to begin with, should most certainly not be extended to two women who were sisters. It is true that Jacob, being deceived by his uncle, was married to two sisters, Leah and Rachel, but many serious problems were the consequence.

In considering the prohibitions of certain marriages, as listed in Scripture, we find that the Bible nowhere specifically prohibits marriages between cousins. In the past, marriages between cousins were not that unusual. Some have even concluded that Mary and Joseph were first cousins, compare http://www.abecedarian.org/Pages/Lineage.htm . Today, it is considered illegal in many countries. For instance, in the US, half the states declare it to be illegal, and as Christians, if we are living in a country or a state which declares marriages between cousins to be illegal, we are to obey the law of the land.

Some claim that a prohibition of marriages between cousins is included in the Bible, as the list in Leviticus 18 only contains some examples, without mentioning every single relationship by name. Others disagree, stating that God is very specific in His prohibitions, which are not only addressing blood relationships, and that the fact that marriages between cousins are not prohibited means that they are permitted.

The Associated Press concludes in an article, dated April 20, 2002, that marriages between cousins are not biblically prohibited, stating:

“Must first cousins be forbidden to marry? In the Bible, and in many parts of the world, the answer is no. But the answer is yes in much of church law and in half the 50 United States. This issue became news when the April issue of the Journal of Genetic Counseling said risks have been exaggerated for serious birth defects, retardation or genetic diseases among children of first-cousin marriages.

“Generally, an unrelated couple has a 3 percent to 4 percent risk of having a child with such problems, while marriages of close cousins add 1.7 percent to 2.8 percent to the risk. Genetic problems are considerably higher with the forms of close inbreeding that the Bible forbids and secular culture abhors as incest.

“First cousins cannot marry under the age-old laws of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, covering much of world Christendom. But in the Reformation, the Church of England followed Protestantism’s ‘sola scripture’ (Scripture alone) principle and returned to biblical law, which also binds traditional Jews. Under Queen Elizabeth I, Anglicanism decreed that ‘no prohibition, God’s law except, shall trouble or impeach any marriage outside Levitical law’… This ‘Levitical law’ is found in Leviticus 18:6-18, supplemented by Leviticus 20:17-21 and Deuteronomy 27:20-23. Among the forbidden couples are parent-child, sister-brother, grandparent-grandchild, uncle-niece, aunt-nephew, and between half-siblings and certain close in-laws…

“The idea of moving beyond the Bible to ban first-cousin marriages… was promulgated as Catholic canon law by a church council in 1215. The Orthodox Church’s prohibition dates from a council in 692.”

We are also informed that Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin married their first cousins, but that cousin marriage was banned by the Roman Catholic Church under Pope Gregory I in an attempt to prevent the accumulation of wealth and power within families.

To summarize, the Bible is very specific regarding prohibitions of certain marriages. When in doubt about entering a particular marriage relationship, which might be perceived as being against scriptural injunctions, counsel with one of God’s true minister would be highly recommended.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link