The prophet's dictionary guide to the supernatural

632. Hermes—Also known as Mercury, this celestial deity was the god of commerce, science, and craft. He was also a messenger herald of the Greek pantheon. Acts 14:12. 633. Heroism—A modernized form of ancestral worship. 634. Hierarchy—A power structure. Among its many synonyms, this word also includes ministry. In relation to its ministry application, hierarchy speaks to the infrastructure of government that undergirds the New Testament church. It defines the regime of the organization, its lines of authority and responsibility, and the bureaucracy that administrates its rules. Hierarchy includes jurisdictional lines and the governing plan. 635. Hierarchy, Ecclesiastical—In the New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ, its hierarchy is mainly delineated in two passages of Scripture. They are Ephesians 4:11, which concentrates primarily on the regime that governs, and 1 Corinthians 12:28–29. In the latter passage, a meticulous structure as ordained by the Lord through the apostle Paul defines for His church the hierarchy it is to supervene. The legitimacy of this order is seen in the opening phrase of the passage: “The Lord has set these in the church.” The word for set is a cardinal term supported by distinct ordinal sequences. Meanings for the term denote the ideas of establishment, ordination, appointment, fixed, and placed. The model described not only declares what the Lord decreed as His church’s hierarchy, but ranks its positions and dispensations in the order in which He wants them to appear and govern: •First, apostles •Second, prophets •Third, teachers •Next, miracles •Then, gifts of healings •Helps •Governments •Diversities of tongues Paul’s model is ordered in accordance with the way the church comes into