Unfolding the Kingdom An interview with DR. MARK J. CHIRONNA
How is the restoration of the 5-fold ministry essential for making an impact in the 7 mountains of society and culture?
What does it mean to be a part of an apostolic movement?
In Ephesians 1:9-10, Paul makes this assertion:
“ He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.”
The mystery of God’ s will for the whole of Creation is bound up in Christ, and there is a“ VIEW” God holds to which He is administering all things in relation to the ultimate fullness of times, when He will sum up all things in Heaven and Earth in Christ. That is God’ s“ view” of where‘ history is going.’ As Paul goes on to make his argument for this he explains that the sons and daughters of God not only will reign with Christ, they DO reign with the ascended Christ now. The expansion of the Kingdom into every dimension of the culture requires the ONGOING INCARNATION of Christ within every culture we take the Gospel to. Five-fold ministry is designed to equip the saints to incarnate Christ in every culture they invade. Cultural realities are shaped and formed by societal beliefs. Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers, according to Paul, are part of the ascended Christ’ s gifts to bring the Church to its full expression in the earth so that there can be a testimony of Jesus in every sphere and strata of society, rooted in the Culture of the Kingdom( Ephesians 4). When all five aspects of Christ’ s equipping ministry are flowing, goodness, beauty, and truth will find their expression in everything from education to economics and everything in-between.
When we think of the term apostolic, there are many dynamics associated with its use. One of the most important has to do with the fact that apostolic movements are‘ generative’, meaning capable of producing and creating offspring. In other words, an apostolic movement is capable of generating and creating things that have need and want to unfold, and reproducing things that will cause the future to
| 38 |