Pastor - poimḗn (pronounced poy-mane')– properly, a shepherd ("pastor" in Latin); (figuratively) someone who the Lord raises up to care for the total well-being of His flock (the people of the Lord).
The word "pastor" has its primitive roots in the latin word past, which means to graze. A pasture is land that is covered with grass and other low plants suitable for grazing animals, especially cattle or sheep. Thus the pastor's anointing is a pasture i.e. a feeding place for the sheep. The Pastor's anointing is where the people of God are cared for, ensuring that they grow up in holiness and in their measure of the Spirit.
THE PASTOR'S OFFICE
Numbers 27:16-21
16 Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation,
17 Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd.
18 And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him;
19 And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight.
20 And thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.
21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the Lord: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.
Here we see a type of Apostolic Order in the Old Testament. The concern here is that the people had no one to shepherd them. Moses' ear was constantly at the mouth of the Lord, and the priest had his duties. Thus, who was going to care for the sheep? Hence, Moses, enquired of the Lord to place a man over the congregation, that He may be free to be in fellowship with the Lord, to receive the commandments that would govern the people, and likewise, the priest would be free to do his duties.
Are you seeing the correlation here? Moses is a type of apostle, and the priest a prophet. It is the apostle's gift that receives the revelation of Jesus Christ, and the mystery of Christ which establishes both the doctrine and the governance of the Body of Christ. If you take note of the following chapter you will realize something.
Numbers 28:1
1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, My offering, and my bread for my sacrifices made by fire, for a sweet savour unto me, shall ye observe to offer unto me in their due season.
This causes us to know that Moses was still receiving the commandments that would govern the people, however, it was now Joshua's responsibility to ensure that those commandments were carried out. Likewise, while the apostle tends to the work and word of the Lord, a pastor is set over the congregation to implement every word that the Lord has poured out from the apostle by ensuring that they walk and are raised in it.
Take note of verse 18
And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him;
By laying hands Moses was both ordaining and anointing Joshua. Look at the following scripture.
Numbers 11:16-17
16 And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.
17 And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
Here is another type. When we discussed the apostle's gift we mentioned that they walk in a measure of all the gifts. This is for the purpose of raising up those gifts in the Body of Christ by way of not only teaching but also by demonstration. The reason an apostle is able to do this is that their revelation of the mystery of Christ gives them wisdom as to the function of each gifting. Also, an apostle is a pioneer of the faith thus he is equipped to walk in whatever measure of the Spirit is needed to either start, sure up, and/or build a work.
All this presents the issue of an apostle bearing all the load of ministry by himself. If so they will never be effective in their primary function of pioneering. If the apostle becomes stuck pastoring, they will never be able to continue the work of the ministry, ensuring the mystery and gospel of Jesus Christ is preached in all the world in their time.
Thus, even as Moses, Jesus (the chief apostle) has divided his spirit to every man allowing individuals to walk in the measure of the pastorate, without being an apostle. Thus, an apostle is able to start a work, and/or sure up a work then move on to others after placing a pastor over it.
In the types (shadows) given above in the book of Numbers, the anointing that was upon the Moses was imparted to others, likewise, the anointing that is on an apostle is imparted to the pastor.
Ephesians 4:8&11
8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Follow me here, it is Jesus who gives the gifting of the pastor to specified individuals. This gift that He gives is an anointing and a heart to care for the people of God, and ensure that they stand in righteousness. However, though they may have the gift to pastor this does not mean they will know how to ensure the people are kept in line with God's will. They most definitely will have the heart to keep the people, but because their gift does not receive a revelation of the mystery of Christ, they will care for the people out of whatever principles they pull from the scriptures or what they have seen others do. These principles that they coin may or may not be accurate. As a result, the people will be hollow sons of God, because they lack the substance that only the mystery of Christ can supply.
Romans 16:25
Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
There is substance that only comes from the knowledge of the mystery of Christ. Paul says here, that it is of the power to establish a son. Thus, without the preaching of the mystery, the people cannot be established in true sonship. They will lack the knowledge to truly walk according to God's will. Neither will they be able to satisfy God with the faith He requires, because without the mystery of Christ being taught they will not know what God is expecting them to believe or walk in. Thus, a pastor needs an apostolic influence in their lives, that will pour a revelation of the mystery of Christ into them. This will reveal the doctrine of Christ, clarify how their gift works, and inform them on what they should do to work ministry.
Therefore a pastor must walk in an apostolic anointing. This does not mean that the pastor becomes an apostle, rather this means the anointing, doctrine, and wisdom that is in the apostle to shepherd the people is imparted to the one with the pastor's gift. How is this impartation accomplished? It is imparted to the pastor by the apostle training that pastor in a knowledge of the mystery of Christ and in the methodology of the work of the ministry (Eph 4:11-12). Therefore, they no longer only have a heart to care for the people, but also the wisdom and word to effectively do it.
Thus, in the scripture we see apostles setting up churches and pastoring them, then after a while, they would set a pastor over that work. The apostle then moves on and oversees from a distance. This is what we see in the books of Timothy. Timothy's responsibility was to pastor where he was, but Paul gave him the instructions on what to do.
The Prophet's responsibility is to give witness to such a decision, even as Eleazar did above. There were also cases where churches started by themselves, but in scripture, you would always find that those churches would reach out to an apostle so that they could receive a flow of apostolic governance.
Hence, if issues arose in the church that were beyond the wisdom of the pastor to handle they would write letters to the apostles, who would give answers to those questions and/or even operate in their power of spiritual authority to deal with them.
Apostle Kareem Flowers
Sunrise with Jesus
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