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Topic

Evangelist

10 passages cited, from 3 classic reference works.

These works date from 1884–1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.

The verses

The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.

Acts 21:8Easton · Smith · ISBE
And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Cæsarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.
Ephesians 4:11Easton · Smith · ISBE
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Luke 20:1ISBE
And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders,
Acts 8:4ISBE
Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.
Acts 8:25Smith
And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.
Acts 14:7Smith
And there they preached the gospel.
Romans 1:15ISBE
So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
1 Corinthians 1:17Smith
For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
Galatians 3:8ISBE
And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
2 Timothy 4:5ISBE
But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

In the reference works

Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · 4 references

A “publisher of glad tidings;” a missionary preacher of the gospel (Eph. 4:11). This title is applied to Philip (Acts 21:8), who appears to have gone from city to city preaching the word (8:4, 40). Judging from the case of Philip, evangelists had neither the authority of an apostle, nor the gift of prophecy, nor the responsibility of pastoral supervision over a portion of the flock. They were itinerant preachers, having it as their special function to carry the gospel to places where it was previously unknown. The writers of the four Gospels are known as the Evangelists.

Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884) · 5 references

(publisher of glad tidings). In the New Testament the "evangelists" appear on the one hand after the "apostles" and "prophets;" on the other before the "pastors" and "teachers." They probably stood between the two. (Acts 21:8; Ephesians 4:11) The work of the evangelist is the proclamation of the glad tidings to those who have not known them, rather than the instruction and pastoral care of those who have believed and been baptized. It follows also that the name denotes a work rather than an order . Its use is nearly like our word missionary. The evangelist might or might not be a bishop-elder or a deacon. The apostles, so far as they evangelized, (Acts 8:25; 14:7; 1 Corinthians 1:17) might claim the title, though there were many evangelists who were not apostles. If the gospel were a written book, and the office of the evangelists was to read or distribute it, then the writers of such books were pre-eminently THE evangelists. In later liturgical language the word was applied to the reader of the gospel for the day.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 7 references

e-van'-jel-ist:

This is a form of the word ordinarily translated "gospel" (euaggelion), except that here it designates one who announces that gospel to others (euaggelistes, "a bringer of good tidings"), literally, God Himself is an evangelist, for He "preached the gospel beforehand unto Abraham" (Ga 3:8); Jesus Christ was an evangelist, for He also "preached the gospel" (Lu 20:1); Paul was an evangelist as well as an apostle (Ro 1:15); Philip the deacon was an evangelist (Ac 21:8); and Timothy, the pastor (2Ti 4:5); and indeed all the early disciples who, on being driven out of Jerusalem, "went everywhere preaching the word" (Ac 8:4 the King James Version).

But Eph 4:11 teaches that one particular order of the ministry, distinguished from every other, is singled out by the Head of the church for this work in a distinctive sense. All may possess the gift of an evangelist in a measure, and be obligated to exercise its privilege and duty, but some are specially endued with it. "He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers." It will be seen that as an order in the ministry, the evangelist precedes that of the pastor and teacher, a fact which harmonizes with the character of the work each is still recognized as doing. The evangelist has no fixed place of residence, but moves about in different localities, preaching the gospel to those ignorant of it before. As these are converted and united to Jesus Christ by faith, the work of the pastor and teacher begins, to instruct them further in the things of Christ and build them up in the faith.

At a later time, the name of "evangelist" was given the writers of the four Gospels because they tell the story of the gospel and because the effect of their promulgation at the beginning was very much like the work of the preaching evangelist. In character, the Gospels bear something of the same relation to the Epistles as evangelists bear to pastors and teachers.

James M. Gray

Texts: Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897); Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884); International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.

Evangelist

The verses

In the reference works

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