Which biblical passage is described as a paradigm of ordination?

• A. Romans 12:4-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-12, 28-30; Eph. 4:11,12
• B. Acts 13:1-4
• C. John 3:16
• D. Acts 2:38

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is how ordination is modeled in Scripture: a church recognizes a Spirit-directed calling and formally commissions a person to a specific mission. Acts 13:1-4 shows this clearly. In the church at Antioch, there were prophets and teachers, and the Holy Spirit publicly marks out Barnabas and Saul for the work He has for them. The community responds by fasting and praying, and then they lay hands on them and send them off. This sequence—the Spirit revealing the calling, the church affirming and setting apart, and the formal sending through the laying on of hands—serves as a classic example of ordination in biblical practice.

This passage is the best fit because it explicitly combines a divine commissioning with a communal act of setting apart and sending, which is the essence of ordination in this tradition. Other passages speak to gifts, roles, or the Spirit’s work in believers, but they do not provide the same clear pattern of a formal ordination ceremony and sending. Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 discuss diverse gifts and ministries within the body; Ephesians 4:11-12 speaks about offices given to equip the saints; Acts 2:38 relates to repentance, baptism, and reception of the Spirit. None of these establish the same practice of a church recognizing a call and commissioning someone for mission through a public laying on of hands.