What is an evangelist?
Ephesians 4 lists the evangelist among the gifts the ascended Christ handed down to His people, and the word turns up as a title for only one man in the whole New Testament. So what actually makes someone an evangelist — a talent for public speaking, an official post, or something else entirely?
A gift, not a job title
The starting point is that the evangelist is given by Christ Himself, and no amount of natural ability can manufacture the gift.
C. H. MackintoshAn evangelist is one who possesses a genuine gift from Christ, the Head of the Church. If a man does not have this gift he is not an evangelist, no matter how fluently he can speak. We believe there is one feature which always marks a true evangelist — an intense love for souls and a thirst for their salvation so that Christ may be magnified.
Because the gift comes straight from Christ, it does not depend on anyone's permission or appointment.
Morrish Bible DictionaryThe gifts are given directly from the risen Lord. They are completely independent of any human choice or claimed authority, and they are for the help of the church everywhere.
The meaning of the word
The name itself describes the message rather than the method.
A. J. PollockThe meaning of the word evangelist is the bearer of glad tidings. Those tidings are the gospel of the grace of God. Wherever he goes he is marked by setting out the gospel of God.
Only one man in Scripture carries the title, and he grew into it from lowly service — Philip, one of seven men chosen in Acts 6 to handle the practical care of the poor.
F. B. HoleStephen went on to become the first Christian martyr. Philip became a greatly used preacher of the gospel, the only man called an evangelist in Scripture (see Acts 21:8). Every true servant of God has begun with small and humble things, so let none of us despise or dodge them, as we are naturally inclined to do.
Where he works
Commentators note that the evangelist appears in the gift lists of Ephesians 4 and nowhere else, and they explain it by where his work is done.
A. J. PollockThe evangelist certainly has as much place in the house of God, and in the assembly, as any other believer, but the sphere of his service is clearly outside the assembly, and in the world of sinners. He goes far and wide in his search for sinners for Christ, who, when saved, are "added to the church" (Acts 2:47).
Yet Ephesians places him among gifts given for building up the body — so his outdoor work is not a separate enterprise.
W. W. FeredayThough his work necessarily lies outside the Church, it is not independent of it. Many seem to think so today. The evangelist works for the building up of the body in his way, just as truly as the pastor and teacher do in theirs. Neither the saints in general nor the preachers should ever lose sight of this. There is a tendency in some quarters to look down on evangelism. May the Lord mercifully keep us from such a spirit!
What marks him out
Beyond the gift, writers describe a whole character shaped by the work.
Samuel RidoutThe evangelist is a man of prayer, for he realises that the work is all of God, and that "methods" are worth very little. He is a man of faith, who counts on the living God. He is a student of Scripture, so that he may present only the truth to souls. He is a man of courage, not afraid to go even where chains and prison may await him. He is a man of energy, ready in season and out of season. He is a man of perseverance, not discouraged if he fails to see immediate fruit from his labour. Lastly, he is a man of humility, glorying in another, saying from the heart, "Not I, but the grace of God which was with me."
Converts are not left behind
The work does not end at conversion, since all these gifts aim at believers helping one another.
Leslie M. GrantThe true evangelist never sends a new-born baby in Christ back into spiritual darkness, but makes sure the new believer is built up and strengthened in the Word of God.
A memorable picture ties the two ends together.
A. J. PollockIt has been well said that the evangelist should be like a pair of compasses — the fixed leg planted firmly in the assembly, for he should be a good churchman; the moving leg stretched out as far as the Holy Spirit leads him, it may be to the ends of the earth. So he brings his converts first to the feet of Christ and then to the assembly.
The work is open to more than the gifted
Paul's charge to Timothy to do the work of an evangelist shifts the emphasis from title to task.
W. T. P. WolstonDo the work of the evangelist. People ask me, "Are you an evangelist?" "I don't know," I reply. I do not know or care whether I am one, if only I can do the work of one. The work of the evangelist is to bring Christ before souls, and to bring souls to Christ.
Summary
- Given — the evangelist is a gift handed down by the ascended Christ, not a post filled by human appointment or by fluent speech.
- Glad tidings — the name means bearer of good news; his one subject is the gospel of the grace of God.
- Outward — his sphere is the world outside, yet his labour still builds up the body, so despising his work is a spirit to be feared.
- Marked — prayer, faith, Scripture, courage, energy, perseverance and humility show the gift is real.
- Anchored — like compasses, one leg fixed among God's people and the other stretching as far as the Spirit leads, he brings converts to Christ and then home.