Ephesians 4:11

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

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Ambrosiaster

AD 400

Apostles are bishops, while prophets are interpreters of the Scriptures…. Even if they are not elders they can nonetheless preach the gospel without a chair, as Stephen and Philip are recorded to have done. Shepherds may be readers, who nourish the people who hear them by their readings…. Masters may refer to the healers in the church who constrain and chastise those who are troubled. Or they may be those who were accustomed to hearing the readings and imparting them to children, as was the Jewish custom. Their tradition was passed on to us but has by now become obsolete through neglect. –.

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Clement Of Alexandria

AD 215

"God gave to the Church, some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.". And since the omnipotent God Himself "gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; "

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Didymus the Blind

AD 398

This is a house set up and ordered by Jesus…. He does not do this in a casual manner. It is with the utmost discrimination and discretion: One is assigned to the rank of an apostle, one to the place of a prophet, others to look after the flock of Christ and to work at the divine instruction of others for those saints who are prepared to learn.

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Gaius Marius Victorinus

AD 400

The name prophets is given to those who, having received the Spirit of God, spoke beforehand of Christ and his advent. These were the prophets who “were until Christ.” But after he arrived, was there no reason for any further prophecy? What prophets does Paul speak of here? It is obviously those who being full of the Spirit spoke of God after his coming, continuing to expound the divine teaching. .

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Gaius Marius Victorinus

AD 400

There are five ways of speaking about the Scriptures: speaking in tongues, speaking in revelation, speaking in knowledge, speaking in prophecy, speaking in teaching…. But there is another thing apart from these. It is being an evangelist. This means to relate what Christ did and announce that Christ himself is to be worshiped. –.

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George Leo Haydock

AD 1849

Some indeed he gave to be apostles It is said (1 Corinthians xii. 28.) that God (even with the Greek article) gave some to be apostles and here it is said of Christ: another proof that Christ is the true God. (Witham)

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Jerome

AD 420

It is not to be supposed that as with the first three … he has allotted different offices to shepherds and teachers. For he does not say “some shepherds, some teachers” but “some shepherds and teachers,” meaning that he who is a shepherd should at the same time be a teacher. No one in the church, even a saintly person, should take to himself the name of shepherd unless he can teach those whom he feeds. –.

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Jerome

AD 420

From this passage Paul clearly confirms the divinity of the Father and Son. What Christ is here said to have bestowed [as in his first letter to the Corinthians] is nothing less than the gift of God. … Failing to understand this, Sabellius confused the Father and the Son, not grasping that, though distinguishable, they work together with single intent. –.

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John Chrysostom

AD 407

“First apostles,” because these had all the gifts. “Then prophets,” for there were some who were not apostles but were prophets, like Agabus. “Third, evangelists,” those who did not travel everywhere but merely preached the gospel, like Priscilla and Aquila. “Shepherds and teachers” means all those in positions of trust. Are these shepherds and teachers of less account? Certainly it seems that those who are stationary and reside in a single place, like Timothy and Titus, [are of less account] than those who go about the world preaching the gospel. But on another reading we cannot from this passage deduce subordination and precedence but from a different letter. .

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John Chrysostom

AD 407

What he said elsewhere, Wherefore also God has highly exalted Him Philippians 2:9, that says he also here. He that descended, is the same also that ascended. It did Him no injury that He came down into the lower parts of the earth, nor was it any hindrance to His becoming far higher than the Heavens. So that the more a man is humbled, so much the more is he exalted. For as in the case of water, the more a man presses it downwards, the more he forces it up; and the further a man retires to hurl a javelin, the surer his aim; so is it also with humility. However, when we speak of ascents with reference to God, we must needs conceive a descent first; but when with reference to man, not at all so. Then he goes on to show further His providential care, and His wisdom, for He who has wrought such things as these, who had such might, and who refused not to go down even to those lower parts for our sakes, never would He have made these distributions of spiritual gifts without a purpose. Now els... Read More

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Tertullian of Carthage

AD 220

Your curiosity, in whatever seems to you to hang in doubt, or to be shrouded in obscurity. You have at hand, no doubt, some learned

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