Temperament and the Apostolic Gift

The Restoration of the Apostle Ministry
and its Correlation With Temperament
Jackson Snyder, August 25, 1997

There has been much talk and written material lately (1997) concerning the "restoration" of the "apostolic gift" for the eschaton. I can demonstrate that, of all "gifts," the apostolic is least in need of restoration, for it has been the most active of all callings since "apostolic times." Yet the very definition of "apostle" is at stake today. The purpose of this essay, then, is to define "apostle" precisely, explain it's function in God's economy, and offer a strategy for identifying the spiritual gifts of the potential apostle.

THE WORD "APOSTLE"

Apostello is defined as "one sent with a mission." It is a sending to be differentiated from the generic pempo. So apostello is a special sending. An apostle, in the general sense, is one sent on a special mission. David Stern's Jewish Bible translates it as emissary, a very literal and definitive rendering.

If the word is broken down into its parts, we get

stello, which is Greek for "stand away" (and Latin for "star") and
apo, which is "off" or "from."

This may give us some idea as to why the apostle is on a special mission. Stars were equated with angels and were thought, in the time of Christ, to be living beings, and in charge of the universe.

Jerome's (d. 420) Vulgate translates the Greek apostello as the Latin missio, from which we get "missionary." This is an early witness to the function of apostle. Missio is something of a military term, meaning "one discharged" as on a military mission. In fact, an apostle is a missionary - called of God and sent to fulfill a particular and often immediate and limited purpose, as illustrated throughout Luke's Acts of the Apostles.

THE PURPOSE OF THE APOSTLE

Therein, apostles may be sent "on mission" to start churches, impart the Holy Spirit, baptize, teach, preach, translate, and use their pneumatikoi, but usually for a limited time only. Apostles don't seem to "install themselves on the bridge" but become the bridge, installing others in positions of authority (presbyters and deacons), then going "off" to whatever the next mission is.

THE APOSTOLIC GIFTS

I believe that the so-called "Five-fold Ministries" that Paul speaks of in Ephesians 4:11ff are actually "Four-fold Apostolic Gifts." My case requires a literal translation from the Greek text. Though not traditional, my literal translation is just as valid as any other:

And He gave some apostles: and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some shepherds, also teachers, for the organizing of the saints to deacons' work.

In this difficult passage, "apostles," the direct object of Christ's giving, is

the first of these giftings,

set apart from the others by the Greek particle men.

Men never stands alone in Koine Greek, but requires de or kai to complete a series of two or more things compared or contrasted. It designates the setting off of one thing from other things. It is often left untranslated. I translate it here with a colon (":") - the English punctuation mark that sets one word or phrase apart.

What the literal translation says is that

Apostles are those sent on a mission
And working in a four-fold, pneumatic abilities
For the purpose of organizing the saints, by
Delegating the ongoing work to deacons,
And thus building up the mystical Body of Christ.

This is exactly what missionaries, including the first Apostles, have been doing consistently since the time of Christ and now more than ever. Missionaries go into the situation to which they are called, domestic or foreign, God energizes the pneumatic ability needed, the mission is accomplished sometimes, and the reins are turned over to others. Apostles and missionaries are the same. Textual analysis, history, and now reason bear this out.

APOSTOLIC GIFTS AND TEMPERAMENT

Now on to speculation: What determines the frequency and order of the apostolic gifts when given to an individual? Through research and testing of lay ministers over the years, I have found significant correlation between temperament, gifting, and utilization.

Temperament, as defined by Arno, is a gift of God at conception that helps determine how a person will behave in any particular situation. A person's temperament profile consists of three areas:

Inclusion (who is included in their relationships),
Control (who they want to control or be controlled by), and
Affection (who they want to love or be loved by).

There are five basic temperaments, four are classic and date back at least to the Greek Republic:

Supine (service motivated)
Melancholy (task motivated)
Choleric (control motivated)
Sanguine (relationship motivated)
Phlegmatic (unmotivated but steady).

A person may have a different temperament for each facet, i.e. a person may be servant motivated in the area of Affection, relationship motivated in the area of Inclusion, and task motivated in the area of Control. A person's temperament profile may be measured by test and plotted on a graph. No matter which theory of temperament you use (and there are many Christian counselors who use Temperament Theory), there is a grid that temperament scores are plotted on that looks something like this:

Matrix 1

A person's temperament profile might "chart" like this:

Matrix 2

This person is charted as

Melancholy in Inclusion which means he has but a few close relationships,

Choleric in Control which means he is a strong motivator of people, and

Supine in Affection which means he can be servant-minded.

As it turns out, these temperaments (with the exception of the phlegmatic) correlate directly with the four-fold apostolic gifts.

Matrix 3

For a person to qualify for the chart of Four-fold Apostles, he/she must be called as an apostle by Jesus in the first place; he/she must be a missionary for Jesus first of all. When sent into a situation by Jesus, my research indicates that the apostolic gift most likely to be anointed and utilized for organizing the saints is

the gift which correlates with
the Temperament in Inclusion, followed by
the gift which correlates with
the Temperament in Control, followed by
the gift which correlates with
the Temperament Affection.

In the example above (Matrix 2), the Apostle is a Melancholy in Inclusion, and may well be most comfortable working as an Anointed Teacher. Since he is Choleric in Control, he will also be comfortable with the Prophetic Anointing. Shepherd is third, the Apostle being Supine in Affection. The Evangelist gift is the least comfortable fit, but may also be utilized, for this individual's temperament "mask" is that of Sanguine (Evangelist). (The mask can be evaluated by a different test).

Actually, this example is my temperament chart, and it correlates precisely with my giftings. Although I am called a "pastor" (I do this for a living), I am really an Apostle gifted primarily in Teaching, but also strongly in Prophesy and somewhat in "Shepherding." I move often to fulfill the Apostles' call to itinerancy. And I am least comfortable in Evangelism, although, through the "mask" and God's anointing, I can serve as an Evangelist also.

To touch on the Phlegmatic temperament: Apostles who test here, especially in Control, often are not highly motivated in any direction. But when anointed, they are hard and steady workers who will get the job done under the direction of the Prophet. I call Phlegmatics "Axle Apostles" because they chart on the "axle" of the matrix and are responsible for much of the forward progress the Kingdom is making.

SO WHAT

Understanding the Four-fold Apostolic Ministry and the tools for measuring Temperament (or Temperament Masks) can be very helpful in building "an apostolic training center" for the "equipping of saints" in this critical hour. I have used this method to identify potential Apostles for several years. Many of these are now in positions of professional ministry because they started out in working with the anointed gift most comfortable and suitable for them.

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