How Spiritual Gifts Build Up the Church

This Week On the In Hope podcast, hosts Brandon and Nathaniel discuss unity in the body of Christ by examining Ephesians 4:7–13 and Paul’s list of gifts—apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors/shepherds, and teachers (APEST)—given to equip believers for service, build up the church, and grow maturity and unity in faith.

They explain each gifting in accessible terms (apostles as pioneers, prophets as those who hear from God and call people back to Scripture, evangelists as connectors focused on reaching non-Christians, shepherds as caregivers, and teachers as guardians of biblical truth), emphasizing that no gift is superior, each has strengths and weaknesses, and God intends dependence on one another.

They warn against misusing gifts, stress humility, testing prophetic words by Scripture and fruit, encourage teamwork and balanced leadership, and close with prayer and an invitation to share feedback and join their support team.

00:00 Welcome To The InHope Podcast

00:25 Spiritual Gifts Overview

01:48 Ephesians 4 

04:17 Why Gifts Matter

07:42 Apostle Explained

10:44 Unity Needs Everyone

13:39 Prophet Explained

18:05 Testing Prophecy Wisely

30:33 Evangelist Explained

33:31 Shepherd Preview

34:18 Called Into New Seasons

34:55 Pioneering New Ministries

36:01 Shepherd Gift Explained

37:51 Teacher Gift And Guardians

41:44 Read Scripture For Yourself

44:32 Build Balanced Teams

47:38 APEs Versus Shepherd Teachers

51:22 Jesus The Perfect Balance

56:15 Modern Language For APEST

57:33 Prayer And Closing Invite