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When we talk about ministries in the Church, many focus attention on only the five-fold ministry gifts or the ascension gifts: apostolic, prophetic, evangelistic, pastoral and teaching. Some even limit ministry to evangelism, church planting and pastoring. But this is poor understanding of ministry in the Church.
Of course, Christ Jesus gave the five-fold ministry gifts, and Paul listed them in his letter to the church in Ephesus (Ephesians 4:11). However, Christians must study the Bible with open mind to discover other ministry gifts Christ set in the Church.
Paul did not state every ministry gifts in his letter to the church in Ephesus. Christ Jesus also gave some to be scribes, who are into the scribal ministry. Paul himself was a scribe just like Silvanus who wrote for Peter (1 Peter 5:12-14). Luke was a scribe, who wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of Apostles.
In other words, there are people Christ has divinely chosen, ordained, anointed and commissioned to serve as prophetic scribes in His Church. They are great teachers of the Bible. They powerfully minister to believers who receive inspiration and impartation through reading.
“Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and SCRIBES, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town” (Matthew 23:34, Emphasis mine).
In the text above, we are informed that Christ sent scribes as His servants just like prophets and wise men. Scribes are writers; all writers of the books of the Bible may be said to be scribes though many stood in other ministry offices.
Prophetic scribes communicate God’s Word by writing through books and articles published in journals, newspapers, magazines among other media, including websites.
They explain gospel truths to warn, inform, educate, edify, comfort, inspire and ground believers in the faith as they read the Bible and receive illumination and insight on what they have read and meditated upon.
One interesting thing about the ministry of the prophetic scribes is that their writings outlive their generations. In the first-century, scribes wrote God’s Word they heard or received on parchments for others to read and learn years after.
Now, it is vital to point out that every true ministry in the Church originates from God. God through Christ Jesus gave all ministry gifts and spiritual gifts for the edification and equipment of all believers.
God Himself is a writer. He wrote His commandments on tablets of stone and handed them to Moses to read to the hearing of the congregation of Israel (Exodus 31:18; 32:15-16; 34:1).
And in several passages of Scripture, we read about God asking His servants with scribal anointing to write messages He would speak to them about. He often appeared to them in visions and dreams (Jeremiah 30:2; Revelation 1:10-11; Habakuk 2:2).
In the Old Testament, Ezra stands out as one of the outstanding scribes used by God to write His Word to His people (Ezra 7:6). He had great knowledge in Scripture and teaching.
During the days of Jesus, in Israel, there were scribes who had deep knowledge of the Law. They copied or transcribed the Law, wrote its commentaries and taught the people. They also prepared and issued legal documents when asked.
You can now see that scribal ministry has been in operation for centuries. It is, therefore, important that today’s Christians, especially those in Africa accept and support its growth to contribute to the advancement of the gospel.
By James Quansah
