Beyond the Sterile Order
Spiritual food with Jess – March 21, 2026
If we look at church structures and meetings today, there tends to be a strong focus on meetings, rules, and regulations surrounding physical and practical forms of service. Many serve through food ministry and other practical acts: serving tea and cake, helping in the office, assisting someone in need. Yet when it comes to spiritual giftings, there seems to be a profound lack of teaching and instruction within the church. The five-fold offices come to mind, and all of them are ministries. Why are we not having meetings and ministries centred around discussing how these offices should function and be used?
I believe the five-fold offices should still be active today, and that the church’s lack in spiritual gifting may be directly connected to this absence. If the Bible gives formal titles, who are we to avoid using or utilising them? Other than personal belief, there seems to be no clear reason for them not to be used today. That is the core of the tension: many feel that “technical” arguments are simply human logic used to explain away a lack of spiritual power or to keep church structures comfortable and controlled.
If we stick strictly to the text of the Bible, we do not find a verse that says, “Apostles will expire in 100 AD,” or “Prophets are only for the foundation.” Some argue that apostles and prophets were foundational to the church, but that does not mean we can’t perform the same miracles or operate in the same supernatural power today. The functions of these offices, equipping, teaching, healing, prophesying, and delivering are still needed.
In fact, Jesus Himself said, “Whoever believes in me will also do the works I have been doing, and greater works than these will they do, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12). This is a promise and a command: the works of Jesus: miracles, healings, deliverance, provision, and authority over nature are meant to continue through His church, and even expand through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
From that perspective, the reasoning appears simple:
The Command: Jesus gave five specific offices.
The Condition: They are needed until the church reaches maturity.
The Reality: The church is not yet perfect; therefore, these offices must remain.
Aren’t these offices supposed to work together to help the multitudes deal with every aspect of life, not just physical needs? How is serving someone a cup of tea and cake going to help a person be set free from demonic torment or deep anxiety if there is no spiritual ministry alongside practical service? Prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, apostles – rise up! If we remove ourselves from the equation and simply do what the Bible says, perhaps we would find ourselves seeing the Book of Acts lived out in real life.
And yet, why are the realms of demonic oppression, possession, and chains of bondage met with silence in the sanctuary? I speak of torment that suffocates the soul, of people bound by horrific dreams, besieged by intrusive and unclean thoughts, anchored by a heaviness that leaves the spirit feeling hollow, almost soulless. Scripture warns us that the enemy prowls like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour, and yet we allow these spiritual realities to remain hidden in shadow.
The afflicted are left unsupported, weary, abandoned in the coldness of the dark. Why does the Church tremble before the prophetic mantle? Why is there fear of those who carry the fire of God? We are called to be one body united, whole, not a collection of scattered fragments. We are commanded to bear one another’s burdens, not merely by offering bread and blankets, but by carrying the weight of the spirit, by reaching into the fire to rescue the heavy burdened.
If we fail to recognize those led by the Spirit, do we truly live within the Kingdom? If we suppress the gifts of others out of intimidation, then what have we become, if not hypocrites? We claim the name of Christ, yet attempt to extinguish the fire He Himself ignited. Fear has been crowned and taken the throne where the Holy Spirit should reign.
We saw its fruit during the pandemic, foundations cracking, structures shaking, revealing that profession of belief is not the same as walking in power. Even demons believe and tremble. Yet many who claimed Christ were shaken, built on the sand of routine rather than the solid rock. We traded discernment for comfort. Prophecy for religious sterile order. Truth for manipulated doctrine.
When repentance is left untaught, when darkness is not renounced, the gates stand open for the enemy. We starve ourselves of the nourishment already given for life and godliness. If our foundation crumbled under a brief season of uncertainty, let it awaken us. How far we have fallen from His glory.
Let us breathe new life into this unseen battle. Let the flame of the Spirit return to the center of the House. Let the five-fold ministries rise in power, equipping, healing, prophesying, teaching, and delivering, so that the multitudes may be set free in every area of life. I fear for the soul not rooted in Him, for I desire that not one should perish.