By Jennifer McPherson

“The way you have known the fivefold to function is about to change.”

A few years ago, I was at a conference and received a word from the Lord that He told me to sit with. So I did.

At first, I reasoned with myself—“This can’t be God. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever.” And yes, that’s true. But when we look through Scripture, we can clearly see that God has shifted how He partners with men and women on the earth throughout time.

If you’re reading this and already feeling uneasy, bear with me a moment—I promise it’ll come together.

From Abraham to the Prophets: A Progressive Revelation

For the sake of this discussion, I’ll focus on the Prophetic, because that’s how God showed it to me most vividly.

If we look at Abraham, he was a prophet of God—yet he did not preach or prophesy as we understand it today. Instead, he is called a prophet because he saw the revelation of Christ (see Hebrews) and lived from vision, not from what he could assess in the natural realm.

Then there was Moses, a prophet with a specific call—to deliver the children of Israel out of captivity.

Eventually, the Judges were established. They became the governing voice of God to humanity because Moses chose elders, laying the foundation for that order.

Following them came Samuel, who still carried a governing voice, but within the new structure of a kingship.

Then came Elijah and Elisha, prophets who operated in signs and wonders—ushering in a season of reformation and power. Later, the Major and Minor Prophets arose, declaring the coming Messiah.

The Shifting Voice of God

After this, we enter the time we often call the “silent years.” But as the Lord showed me, this was not silence—it was transition. The prophetic voice was shifting in preparation for something greater.

Then came John the Baptist, the breaker prophet, sent in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way for Yeshua. His voice thundered in the darkness, announcing that God’s voice had not ceased—it was transforming.

The Mount of Transfiguration: A Turning Point

I’ve often believed that the emphasis of the governing voices of the Law and the Prophets gave way to the power of the revealed Son of God, Yeshua, on the Mount of Transfiguration.

We saw Him transfigured—but in Him, all of creation began to be transfigured as well.

With this transfiguration, creation will no longer respond to one lone voice, but to the Ekklesia releasing the voice of Christ collectively. We are the governing voice of God in the earth—a body united in purpose and power. This authority no longer belongs to one spiritual gift or the other; it belongs to the corporate Body of Christ operating as one.

What we must understand is that, as the Body of Christ, this moment was laying a foundation for us. We now walk in that same authority collectively as His Ekklesia. This is why the unity of the faith is so vital—our authority as a collective Body transcends titles, positions, and even spiritual gifts.

It’s not about one office standing above another, but about the fullness of Christ being expressed through His unified Body in the earth.

Moving From Foundation to Fulfillment

This transformation has been unfolding ever since—the foundation of the Ekklesia has shifted. We are now walking in what has already been established in Christ Jesus.

When I first received that word, I didn’t fully understand it. I had to sit with the Lord and let Him unpack what He was showing me.

We have yet to reach the age of maturity as the Body.

As Ephesians 4 reveals, we are called to function as one new man with all the dimensions of Christ—and we haven’t fully arrived there yet.

Like Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration, many have tried to dwell in the Law and the Prophets and make Jesus our consolation prize. But that is not the Ekklesia.

The foundation was already laid by the Prophets and Apostles, built upon the revelation of Christ Himself.

Entering the Age of the Kingdom

So what now?

We must, as prophetic voices, be willing to lay down our need to return to the function of the Old Testament prophet.

Why? Because we are entering the Age of the Kingdom—the Age of the Sons of God.

The diversities of the gifts will be all around us, and we must remain open to what God is doing in this new era.

Reflection

The fivefold was never meant to be a hierarchy—it was meant to reveal the maturity of Christ through a unified Body. The shift we are sensing is not the end of the fivefold, but its evolution into fullness—rooted in sonship, unity, and kingdom authority.