It is important to avoid error. We need proper teaching to going to excess or to totally ignore them altogether.
We know that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34) but it seems that there are “special ones”. The important thing to understand is that we maintain a correct balance, doctrinally speaking. There may be an element of truth in doctrinal error that occurs when someone pushes biblical truths to the extreme.
God had commanded the people how to live in the Old Testament Laws and many were down-to-earth and practical. The problems emerged when religious men pushed these truths to the extreme and made traditions and ceremonies out of them. Jesus often chided such people. They made a ritual out of washing their hands, but God did not ask that. The tithed to the ‘nth” degree and Jesus rebuked them for that also.
The point I wish to make is to avoid getting into extremes.
If you want to make sure you do not go off onto tangents, stay in the middle of the road.
Some of these errors exist in the area of the ministry gifts by deviating from the truth. One extreme is denying them completely. The other extreme is getting into excess.
Having said that, I will know state that there are different “ranks” or “levels” involved.
Jesus is our role model. He is in a class of His own, as the first apostle in the light of the New Testament.
Therefore, holy brothers and companions in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession;
He was faithful to the One who appointed Him, just as Moses was in all God’s household.
For Jesus is considered worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder has more honor than the house.
Now every house is built by someone, but the One who built everything is God.
Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s household, as a testimony to what would be said in the future. But Christ was faithful as a Son over His household. And we are that household if we hold on to the courage and the confidence of our hope.
Hebrews 3:1-6
Jesus had a degree of anointing on Him that no one else could have. He is in a class by Himself in all of the ministry gifts. He was sent by God and so commissioned by the Father for a specific role. In turn, Jesus chose, called and commissioned others, starting with the disciples and now does likewise today to us.
He was a prophet (Matthew 13:57) an evangelist (Luke 19:10) a pastor (John 10:11-16) and a teacher (Matthew 9:35).
One of the main facets of His ministry was teaching.
A genuine ministry gifted person will teach.
I hasten to add that such teaching has to be Spirit led or inspired. It is not so much a matter as giving some "new revelation" that we should be careful in receiveing, but a revealing or opening up of what God has already given us, but we have not yet grasped its truth.
In the parable of the sower in Mark 4 that Jesus clearly stated thatthe seed was the word, He spoke in parables to everyone. This included the disciples and those who followed Him but were not specifically called to be disciples and others. Many of the latter were religious folk.
When the Lord and those with Him were alone, He explained everything fully! Clearly, there is a "them" and "us" situation.
We need to remind ourselves that although Jesus was Divine and sinless in origin, He came to earth as a human, manifest in the flesh. He never ceased being God, but laid His Divine traits aside. He did not function as one who was omniscient, but grew in wisdom (Luke 2:51). He never operated as one with omnipotence and function alone, but could of Himself do nothing and said so in John 5:19, 30. Neither did He function as an omnipresent God, but confined Himself to being in one place at one time.
He was therefore unique and functioned in each of the ministry gifts without peer.
There does however seem to be a distinct order amongst men, some of a higher ranking, or anointing than others. For example there are Apostles of the Lamb as seen in Revelation 21:14, where it clearly states that there are only 12. I believe that they were the original twelve.
They were unique in that they were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ early ministry. They were truly sent ones, who followed Jesus’ example of teaching, preaching, healing the sick, and more. They were the foundational apostles. See Acts 1:15-22.
We know of course that Judas betrayed Jesus and hung himself and this tells me that all these ministry gifts are not “perfect” but very much human and so can and do make mistakes.
Paul did not qualify to be one of those apostles, because he was not a first hand witness as the others had been. I believe that there is another rank of apostle, like Paul…a third level apostle who laid the foundations of The Church by means of the revelation given him by God.
The mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have briefly written above. By reading this you are able to understand my insight about the mystery of the Messiah. This was not made known to people in other generations as it is now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit Ephesians 3:3-5. See also Ephesians 2:19-20.
It is upon these foundations that The Church is built and Jesus is the Master builder. We must ensure that we are building on such foundations, or risk facing the implications of Galatians 1:8 etc.
Paul explained in depth in 1 Corinthians 3:1-16 as a great example of why we need the ministry gifts today.
Brothers and sisters, when I was with you I found it impossible to speak to you as those who are spiritually mature people, for you are still dominated by the mind-set of the flesh. And because you are immature infants in Christ, I had to nurse you and feed you with “milk,” not with the solid food of more advanced teachings, because you weren’t ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready to be fed solid food, for you are living your lives dominated by the mindset of the flesh. Ask yourselves: Is there jealousy among you? Do you compare yourselves with others? Do you quarrel like children and end up taking sides? If so, this proves that you are living your lives centered on yourselves, dominated by the mind-set of the flesh, and behaving like unbelievers. For when you divide yourselves up in groups—a “Paul group” and an “Apollos group”—you’re acting like people without the Spirit’s influence.
Who is Apollos, really? Or who is Paul? Aren’t we both just servants through whom you believed our message? Aren’t each of us doing the ministry the Lord has assigned to us?
I was the one who planted the church and Apollos came and cared for it, but it was God who caused it to grow. This means the one who plants is not anybody special, nor the one who waters, for God is the one who brings the supernatural growth.
Now, the one who plants and the one who waters are equally important and on the same team, but each will be rewarded for his own work. We are coworkers with God and you are God’s cultivated garden, the house he is building.
God has given me unique gifts as a skilled master builder who lays a good foundation. Afterward another craftsman comes and builds on it. So builders beware! Let every builder do his work carefully, according to God’s standards.
For no one is empowered to lay an alternative foundation other than the good foundation that exists, which is Jesus Christ!
The quality of materials used by anyone building on this foundation will soon be made apparent, whether it has been built with gold, silver, and costly stones, or wood, hay, and straw. Their work will soon become evident, for the Day will make it clear, because it will be revealed by blazing fire! And the fire will test and prove the workmanship of each builder. If his work stands the test of fire, he will be rewarded. If his work is consumed by the fire, he will suffer great loss. Yet he himself will barely escape destruction, like one being rescued out of a burning house.
Because the church is still not at the stage of perfection and maturity seen in scripture, these ministry gifts are still valid and overmuch required.
This brings us now to the final level of these gifts.
There are no foundational apostles today. Nevertheless apostles and all the other gifts are with us.
Their role differs somewhat from the original roles because the foundations are already laid. Modern-day apostles and prophets are not laying down New Testament Doctrine and foundation because this has already been provided.
A common misconception is about governance. Apostles did not govern Churches, including those that had helped to establish.
Paul for example had spiritual oversight only, as if in an advisory and mentoring capacity. As we see in Acts 20:28, once he had created a Church and moved on, oversight of that Church was given to others.
Such local Churches were autonomous. There was no “central” governing body. Instead there was a general consensus of opinion on things that arose in the lives of the Churches.
We need to consider The Church as a whole, rather than a denominational structure and then the local Churches that exist everywhere.
We are the Body of Christ.
Sometimes certain groups insist that these ministries much exist in their church. That is not necessarily so. As long as the exist in the area itself, or a region as we see (the Church at Berea, or the Church at Philippi and so on) the criteria is met.
Genuine Apostles, prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers should in all reality be “non-denominational”.
All of The Church needs them.
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A big problem that exists today is the segregation of clergy from laity and in the creation of a hierarchical structure that Jesus never implemented. The denominational and church attitude that prevails is totally different.
Man has created a structure that is top heavy, with a “leader” of some kind, with subordinates below all based in a central office or headquarters. We have created national headquarters, state or regional headquarters, a local “central or main church and smaller regional churches, with one or more in a town city or local suburb.
We have the Papal system, the system that the Anglicans have adopted, a denomination that appoints a president or senior elder and the like.
The church board, or the annual general meeting of the organisation does the appointing, but the appointment is supposed to be made by Jesus.
The church Jesus has in mind is supposed to be structured differently. He is the head of course and we are all parts of His Body. We are all priests and kings, saints and co-workers with God in this thing.
Jesus came here as an apostle. He is the Chief Apostle. An apostle is someone who has been sent on assignment by God. Jesus chose the twelve who He called apostles (Luke 6:13). He chose them, called them by name, taught them and sent them out on various ministry assignments. This is an apostle. They merely did what He asked them and those men were the foundational apostles. No organisation gave them such a title, but we often try to do this today, putting someone into a position that they may never have been called by God to occupy.
Paul did not take it upon himself to become an apostle. Rather, he often downplayed the title mentioning that he was called by the Lord and made to be an apostle.
We are all the Temples of the Holy Spirit. Peter says-
You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests.
Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 1 Peter 2:4-5
Paul said-
…You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.
Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.
We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22
Jesus’ Church may be then likened to a building of which He and He alone is the chief cornerstone. It is on this foundation alone that the early apostles started building.
We simply cannot start laying another cornerstone and lay new foundations.
The foundational apostles did their job and as Paul said here-
Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.
Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw.
But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.
If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?
God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. 1 Corinthians 3:10-17
He further explained that one person can sow a seed, another can water it, another can fertilize it and yet another can reap, but it is God who gives the increase.
Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life.
I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?
When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?
After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us.
I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.
It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.
The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work.
For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building. 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
The early apostles’ roles was to lay the foundation upon which others like Paul built. One was not better than another and each individual played his part.
As we have determined, these gifts are still present, because The Church is still a work in progress. We have not yet reached the state of maturity and perfection spoken of in the core text of these messages.
For such reasons, apostles are still being called, anointed and despatched on their various assignments…by the Lord! Man cannot do that!
In the New Testament description, apostles are listed first, not because they are more important that the other gifts, but because this is where Jesus started. There cannot be “two beginnings” or “two foundations” laid.
Any hierarchal level is based on the calling and dependent on that task, the enabling or anointing is provided. In plain terms, the bigger or more important the Job, the more “anointing” is bestowed. Accompanying this, more accountability and responsibility exists.
Now we all have the same Holy Spirit. We have all been given the same measure of faith (Romans 12:3) and the standard by which this is measured is Jesus. It depends on how much of the measure is required and actually used.
A newborn babe in Christ does not necessarily need to exercise the same degree of anointing a mature person has. Their task is to grown and mature in Christ, but when someone has been a believer for 20, 30 or 40 years, some measure of maturity is expected.
One person can thus be a relatively “new apostle” whereas another can be “more mature” and this is really the only distinction we need to be concerned about today.
Another analogy I could use if to answer the often asked question about which gift is best. Folk who do not believe that the Gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians chapters 12 to 14 are still needed today often ask that, incorrectly adding that the best gift is love, but love is not a gift. It is the fruit of the Spirit.
The best gift in that context would be the gift that is most appraise in a given situation and time. If for example someone is seriously ill, a gift of healing would be more appropriate that a kind word of prophecy.
Likening this now to the best or more important ministry gifts, the best one is the one that Jesus needs in that Church for that task on that occasion.
It does not matter who it is really, If the Lord initiates it all. What should be of importance is that all of the gifts are available in a given location. It could be in a local church, or in a suburb or in a hole city or region. That’s how we see it in operation in its and the Epistles.
My prayer is that we will see a return to the original pattern
Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men...
And he gave some, apostles...Ephesians 4:8-11
When Jesus started His ministry, the Gospel accounts say that He chose twelve men.
It is assumed that there were only twelve disciples, but this is incorrect.
Luke 10:1 states that He appointed an additional 70 disciples.
Acts 1:15 describes the prayer meeting in that upper room stating that there were 120 disciples present, including His mother, Mary.
In John 6:60, we see that many of His disciples left him. We do not know the number.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:6 that there were at least 500 brethren who all say Jesus after His resurrection.
Clearly, Jesus had more than 12 followers and we could call them all disciples, but not all were apostles. Luke 6:13 states that He called His disciples, some of whom He appointed to be apostles.
This opens up a whole new perspective to the traditional viewpoint of apostleship.
In Luke 6:13, we see that Jesus called His disciples and of them, He chose 12 and named them apostles. It certainly seems that He had a much larger gathering of disciples, to people who followed Him and it is from this (unnumbered) group of people, twelve were chosen and were called to be apostles.
It is logical therefore that there were many more followers of Jesus who we call call disciples, but not validly call them apostles. Of the scriptural accounts, Jesus had at least 582 followers, not including others like Paul, Timothy, Barnabus, Ananias and more. Then there were the 3000 souls added on the Day of Pentecost and those that according to Acts 2:47 were added daily.
This is an indication that apostles, as are all the ministry gifts, are what I shall describe as a calling. No man can take it upon himself to call himself a prophet or an apostle or any other ministry gift, because by its very name “gift” it is just that.
Jesus was and is still the chief apostle and our great high priest. He was called and ordained as a man, born of man through Mary and ordained by God the Father to be the first of the New Testament apostles. In other words, God chose Him, called Him, ordained Him and anointed Him by the Holy Spirit to sit in that office. This is why no man or organisation can do so. What we are to do is to recognize God’s appointment and acknowledge it.
A genuinely called and appointed Apostle (or any of the ministry gifts) need not and should not therefore boast about it or demand people call him with any such title.
All credit should go to the Lord.
What then is an apostle?
By the very nature and purpose, an Apostle is someone who has been called and chosen and ordained by the Lord and assigned specific tasks. They are "sent ones" in much the same way that someone may be appointed to be the ambassador of their country in another country. They are chosen by their country and sent to their destination to achieve the aims and objectives of their government.
We all represent our government, or the Kingdom in one way or another, but we are not all specifically called to be an apostle.
Such a person has a unique anointing on them for that task. Their ministries are often accompanied with signs, wonders and miracles, just as we see in scripture and they often "pay the price" in various ways, especially in persecution and opposition (mostly by religious people) as the execute their office.
Apostles often have a loosely arranged "oversight" over parts of The Church, not in a governing role but more in an advisory capacity. They can often function in all of the ministry gifts and of course, I would expect to see them operating in the gifts of the Spirit.
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It is important to avoid error. We need proper teaching to going to excess or to totally ignore them altogether.
We know that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34) but it seems that there are “special ones”. The important thing to understand is that we maintain a correct balance, doctrinally speaking. There may be an element of truth in doctrinal error that occurs when someone pushes biblical truths to the extreme.
God had commanded the people how to live in the Old Testament Laws and many were down-to-earth and practical. The problems emerged when religious men pushed these truths to the extreme and made traditions and ceremonies out of them. Jesus often chided such people. They made a ritual out of washing their hands, but God did not ask that. The tithed to the ‘nth” degree and Jesus rebuked them for that also.
The point I wish to make is to avoid getting into extremes.
If you want to make sure you do not go off onto tangents, stay in the middle of the road.
Some of these errors exist in the area of the ministry gifts by deviating from the truth. One extreme is denying them completely. The other extreme is getting into excess.
Having said that, I will know state that there are different “ranks” or “levels” involved.
Jesus is our role model. He is in a class of His own, as the first apostle in the light of the New Testament.
Therefore, holy brothers and companions in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession;
He was faithful to the One who appointed Him, just as Moses was in all God’s household.
For Jesus is considered worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder has more honor than the house.
Now every house is built by someone, but the One who built everything is God.
Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s household, as a testimony to what would be said in the future. But Christ was faithful as a Son over His household. And we are that household if we hold on to the courage and the confidence of our hope.
Hebrews 3:1-6
Jesus had a degree of anointing on Him that no one else could have. He is in a class by Himself in all of the ministry gifts. He was sent by God and so commissioned by the Father for a specific role. In turn, Jesus chose, called and commissioned others, starting with the disciples and now does likewise today to us.
He was a prophet (Matthew 13:57) an evangelist (Luke 19:10) a pastor (John 10:11-16) and a teacher (Matthew 9:35).
One of the main facets of His ministry was teaching.
A genuine ministry gifted person will teach.
I hasten to add that such teaching has to be Spirit led or inspired. It is not so much a matter as giving some "new revelation" that we should be careful in receiveing, but a revealing or opening up of what God has already given us, but we have not yet grasped its truth.
In the parable of the sower in Mark 4 that Jesus clearly stated thatthe seed was the word, He spoke in parables to everyone. This included the disciples and those who followed Him but were not specifically called to be disciples and others. Many of the latter were religious folk.
When the Lord and those with Him were alone, He explained everything fully! Clearly, there is a "them" and "us" situation.
We need to remind ourselves that although Jesus was Divine and sinless in origin, He came to earth as a human, manifest in the flesh. He never ceased being God, but laid His Divine traits aside. He did not function as one who was omniscient, but grew in wisdom (Luke 2:51). He never operated as one with omnipotence and function alone, but could of Himself do nothing and said so in John 5:19, 30. Neither did He function as an omnipresent God, but confined Himself to being in one place at one time.
He was therefore unique and functioned in each of the ministry gifts without peer.
There does however seem to be a distinct order amongst men, some of a higher ranking, or anointing than others. For example there are Apostles of the Lamb as seen in Revelation 21:14, where it clearly states that there are only 12. I believe that they were the original twelve.
They were unique in that they were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ early ministry. They were truly sent ones, who followed Jesus’ example of teaching, preaching, healing the sick, and more. They were the foundational apostles. See Acts 1:15-22.
We know of course that Judas betrayed Jesus and hung himself and this tells me that all these ministry gifts are not “perfect” but very much human and so can and do make mistakes.
Paul did not qualify to be one of those apostles, because he was not a first hand witness as the others had been. I believe that there is another rank of apostle, like Paul…a third level apostle who laid the foundations of The Church by means of the revelation given him by God.
The mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have briefly written above. By reading this you are able to understand my insight about the mystery of the Messiah. This was not made known to people in other generations as it is now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit Ephesians 3:3-5. See also Ephesians 2:19-20.
It is upon these foundations that The Church is built and Jesus is the Master builder. We must ensure that we are building on such foundations, or risk facing the implications of Galatians 1:8 etc.
Paul explained in depth in 1 Corinthians 3:1-16 as a great example of why we need the ministry gifts today.
Brothers and sisters, when I was with you I found it impossible to speak to you as those who are spiritually mature people, for you are still dominated by the mind-set of the flesh. And because you are immature infants in Christ, I had to nurse you and feed you with “milk,” not with the solid food of more advanced teachings, because you weren’t ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready to be fed solid food, for you are living your lives dominated by the mindset of the flesh. Ask yourselves: Is there jealousy among you? Do you compare yourselves with others? Do you quarrel like children and end up taking sides? If so, this proves that you are living your lives centered on yourselves, dominated by the mind-set of the flesh, and behaving like unbelievers. For when you divide yourselves up in groups—a “Paul group” and an “Apollos group”—you’re acting like people without the Spirit’s influence.
Who is Apollos, really? Or who is Paul? Aren’t we both just servants through whom you believed our message? Aren’t each of us doing the ministry the Lord has assigned to us?
I was the one who planted the church and Apollos came and cared for it, but it was God who caused it to grow. This means the one who plants is not anybody special, nor the one who waters, for God is the one who brings the supernatural growth.
Now, the one who plants and the one who waters are equally important and on the same team, but each will be rewarded for his own work. We are coworkers with God and you are God’s cultivated garden, the house he is building.
God has given me unique gifts as a skilled master builder who lays a good foundation. Afterward another craftsman comes and builds on it. So builders beware! Let every builder do his work carefully, according to God’s standards.
For no one is empowered to lay an alternative foundation other than the good foundation that exists, which is Jesus Christ!
The quality of materials used by anyone building on this foundation will soon be made apparent, whether it has been built with gold, silver, and costly stones, or wood, hay, and straw. Their work will soon become evident, for the Day will make it clear, because it will be revealed by blazing fire! And the fire will test and prove the workmanship of each builder. If his work stands the test of fire, he will be rewarded. If his work is consumed by the fire, he will suffer great loss. Yet he himself will barely escape destruction, like one being rescued out of a burning house.
Because the church is still not at the stage of perfection and maturity seen in scripture, these ministry gifts are still valid and overmuch required.
This brings us now to the final level of these gifts.
There are no foundational apostles today. Nevertheless apostles and all the other gifts are with us.
Their role differs somewhat from the original roles because the foundations are already laid. Modern-day apostles and prophets are not laying down New Testament Doctrine and foundation because this has already been provided.
A common misconception is about governance. Apostles did not govern Churches, including those that had helped to establish.
Paul for example had spiritual oversight only, as if in an advisory and mentoring capacity. As we see in Acts 20:28, once he had created a Church and moved on, oversight of that Church was given to others.
Such local Churches were autonomous. There was no “central” governing body. Instead there was a general consensus of opinion on things that arose in the lives of the Churches.
We need to consider The Church as a whole, rather than a denominational structure and then the local Churches that exist everywhere.
We are the Body of Christ.
Sometimes certain groups insist that these ministries much exist in their church. That is not necessarily so. As long as the exist in the area itself, or a region as we see (the Church at Berea, or the Church at Philippi and so on) the criteria is met.
Genuine Apostles, prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers should in all reality be “non-denominational”.
All of The Church needs them.
|
A big problem that exists today is the segregation of clergy from laity and in the creation of a hierarchical structure that Jesus never implemented. The denominational and church attitude that prevails is totally different.
Man has created a structure that is top heavy, with a “leader” of some kind, with subordinates below all based in a central office or headquarters. We have created national headquarters, state or regional headquarters, a local “central or main church and smaller regional churches, with one or more in a town city or local suburb.
We have the Papal system, the system that the Anglicans have adopted, a denomination that appoints a president or senior elder and the like.
The church board, or the annual general meeting of the organisation does the appointing, but the appointment is supposed to be made by Jesus.
The church Jesus has in mind is supposed to be structured differently. He is the head of course and we are all parts of His Body. We are all priests and kings, saints and co-workers with God in this thing.
Jesus came here as an apostle. He is the Chief Apostle. An apostle is someone who has been sent on assignment by God. Jesus chose the twelve who He called apostles (Luke 6:13). He chose them, called them by name, taught them and sent them out on various ministry assignments. This is an apostle. They merely did what He asked them and those men were the foundational apostles. No organisation gave them such a title, but we often try to do this today, putting someone into a position that they may never have been called by God to occupy.
Paul did not take it upon himself to become an apostle. Rather, he often downplayed the title mentioning that he was called by the Lord and made to be an apostle.
We are all the Temples of the Holy Spirit. Peter says-
You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests.
Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 1 Peter 2:4-5
Paul said-
…You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.
Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.
We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22
Jesus’ Church may be then likened to a building of which He and He alone is the chief cornerstone. It is on this foundation alone that the early apostles started building.
We simply cannot start laying another cornerstone and lay new foundations.
The foundational apostles did their job and as Paul said here-
Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.
Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw.
But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.
If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?
God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. 1 Corinthians 3:10-17
He further explained that one person can sow a seed, another can water it, another can fertilize it and yet another can reap, but it is God who gives the increase.
Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life.
I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?
When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?
After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us.
I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.
It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.
The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work.
For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building. 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
The early apostles’ roles was to lay the foundation upon which others like Paul built. One was not better than another and each individual played his part.
As we have determined, these gifts are still present, because The Church is still a work in progress. We have not yet reached the state of maturity and perfection spoken of in the core text of these messages.
For such reasons, apostles are still being called, anointed and despatched on their various assignments…by the Lord! Man cannot do that!
In the New Testament description, apostles are listed first, not because they are more important that the other gifts, but because this is where Jesus started. There cannot be “two beginnings” or “two foundations” laid.
Any hierarchal level is based on the calling and dependent on that task, the enabling or anointing is provided. In plain terms, the bigger or more important the Job, the more “anointing” is bestowed. Accompanying this, more accountability and responsibility exists.
Now we all have the same Holy Spirit. We have all been given the same measure of faith (Romans 12:3) and the standard by which this is measured is Jesus. It depends on how much of the measure is required and actually used.
A newborn babe in Christ does not necessarily need to exercise the same degree of anointing a mature person has. Their task is to grown and mature in Christ, but when someone has been a believer for 20, 30 or 40 years, some measure of maturity is expected.
One person can thus be a relatively “new apostle” whereas another can be “more mature” and this is really the only distinction we need to be concerned about today.
Another analogy I could use if to answer the often asked question about which gift is best. Folk who do not believe that the Gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians chapters 12 to 14 are still needed today often ask that, incorrectly adding that the best gift is love, but love is not a gift. It is the fruit of the Spirit.
The best gift in that context would be the gift that is most appraise in a given situation and time. If for example someone is seriously ill, a gift of healing would be more appropriate that a kind word of prophecy.
Likening this now to the best or more important ministry gifts, the best one is the one that Jesus needs in that Church for that task on that occasion.
It does not matter who it is really, If the Lord initiates it all. What should be of importance is that all of the gifts are available in a given location. It could be in a local church, or in a suburb or in a hole city or region. That’s how we see it in operation in its and the Epistles.
My prayer is that we will see a return to the original pattern
Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men...
And he gave some, apostles...Ephesians 4:8-11
When Jesus started His ministry, the Gospel accounts say that He chose twelve men.
It is assumed that there were only twelve disciples, but this is incorrect.
Luke 10:1 states that He appointed an additional 70 disciples.
Acts 1:15 describes the prayer meeting in that upper room stating that there were 120 disciples present, including His mother, Mary.
In John 6:60, we see that many of His disciples left him. We do not know the number.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:6 that there were at least 500 brethren who all say Jesus after His resurrection.
Clearly, Jesus had more than 12 followers and we could call them all disciples, but not all were apostles. Luke 6:13 states that He called His disciples, some of whom He appointed to be apostles.
This opens up a whole new perspective to the traditional viewpoint of apostleship.
In Luke 6:13, we see that Jesus called His disciples and of them, He chose 12 and named them apostles. It certainly seems that He had a much larger gathering of disciples, to people who followed Him and it is from this (unnumbered) group of people, twelve were chosen and were called to be apostles.
It is logical therefore that there were many more followers of Jesus who we call call disciples, but not validly call them apostles. Of the scriptural accounts, Jesus had at least 582 followers, not including others like Paul, Timothy, Barnabus, Ananias and more. Then there were the 3000 souls added on the Day of Pentecost and those that according to Acts 2:47 were added daily.
This is an indication that apostles, as are all the ministry gifts, are what I shall describe as a calling. No man can take it upon himself to call himself a prophet or an apostle or any other ministry gift, because by its very name “gift” it is just that.
Jesus was and is still the chief apostle and our great high priest. He was called and ordained as a man, born of man through Mary and ordained by God the Father to be the first of the New Testament apostles. In other words, God chose Him, called Him, ordained Him and anointed Him by the Holy Spirit to sit in that office. This is why no man or organisation can do so. What we are to do is to recognize God’s appointment and acknowledge it.
A genuinely called and appointed Apostle (or any of the ministry gifts) need not and should not therefore boast about it or demand people call him with any such title.
All credit should go to the Lord.
What then is an apostle?
By the very nature and purpose, an Apostle is someone who has been called and chosen and ordained by the Lord and assigned specific tasks. They are "sent ones" in much the same way that someone may be appointed to be the ambassador of their country in another country. They are chosen by their country and sent to their destination to achieve the aims and objectives of their government.
We all represent our government, or the Kingdom in one way or another, but we are not all specifically called to be an apostle.
Such a person has a unique anointing on them for that task. Their ministries are often accompanied with signs, wonders and miracles, just as we see in scripture and they often "pay the price" in various ways, especially in persecution and opposition (mostly by religious people) as the execute their office.
Apostles often have a loosely arranged "oversight" over parts of The Church, not in a governing role but more in an advisory capacity. They can often function in all of the ministry gifts and of course, I would expect to see them operating in the gifts of the Spirit.
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It is important to avoid error. We need proper teaching to going to excess or to totally ignore them altogether.
We know that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34) but it seems that there are “special ones”. The important thing to understand is that we maintain a correct balance, doctrinally speaking. There may be an element of truth in doctrinal error that occurs when someone pushes biblical truths to the extreme.
God had commanded the people how to live in the Old Testament Laws and many were down-to-earth and practical. The problems emerged when religious men pushed these truths to the extreme and made traditions and ceremonies out of them. Jesus often chided such people. They made a ritual out of washing their hands, but God did not ask that. The tithed to the ‘nth” degree and Jesus rebuked them for that also.
The point I wish to make is to avoid getting into extremes.
If you want to make sure you do not go off onto tangents, stay in the middle of the road.
Some of these errors exist in the area of the ministry gifts by deviating from the truth. One extreme is denying them completely. The other extreme is getting into excess.
Having said that, I will know state that there are different “ranks” or “levels” involved.
Jesus is our role model. He is in a class of His own, as the first apostle in the light of the New Testament.
Therefore, holy brothers and companions in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession;
He was faithful to the One who appointed Him, just as Moses was in all God’s household.
For Jesus is considered worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder has more honor than the house.
Now every house is built by someone, but the One who built everything is God.
Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s household, as a testimony to what would be said in the future. But Christ was faithful as a Son over His household. And we are that household if we hold on to the courage and the confidence of our hope.
Hebrews 3:1-6
Jesus had a degree of anointing on Him that no one else could have. He is in a class by Himself in all of the ministry gifts. He was sent by God and so commissioned by the Father for a specific role. In turn, Jesus chose, called and commissioned others, starting with the disciples and now does likewise today to us.
He was a prophet (Matthew 13:57) an evangelist (Luke 19:10) a pastor (John 10:11-16) and a teacher (Matthew 9:35).
One of the main facets of His ministry was teaching.
A genuine ministry gifted person will teach.
I hasten to add that such teaching has to be Spirit led or inspired. It is not so much a matter as giving some "new revelation" that we should be careful in receiveing, but a revealing or opening up of what God has already given us, but we have not yet grasped its truth.
In the parable of the sower in Mark 4 that Jesus clearly stated thatthe seed was the word, He spoke in parables to everyone. This included the disciples and those who followed Him but were not specifically called to be disciples and others. Many of the latter were religious folk.
When the Lord and those with Him were alone, He explained everything fully! Clearly, there is a "them" and "us" situation.
We need to remind ourselves that although Jesus was Divine and sinless in origin, He came to earth as a human, manifest in the flesh. He never ceased being God, but laid His Divine traits aside. He did not function as one who was omniscient, but grew in wisdom (Luke 2:51). He never operated as one with omnipotence and function alone, but could of Himself do nothing and said so in John 5:19, 30. Neither did He function as an omnipresent God, but confined Himself to being in one place at one time.
He was therefore unique and functioned in each of the ministry gifts without peer.
There does however seem to be a distinct order amongst men, some of a higher ranking, or anointing than others. For example there are Apostles of the Lamb as seen in Revelation 21:14, where it clearly states that there are only 12. I believe that they were the original twelve.
They were unique in that they were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ early ministry. They were truly sent ones, who followed Jesus’ example of teaching, preaching, healing the sick, and more. They were the foundational apostles. See Acts 1:15-22.
We know of course that Judas betrayed Jesus and hung himself and this tells me that all these ministry gifts are not “perfect” but very much human and so can and do make mistakes.
Paul did not qualify to be one of those apostles, because he was not a first hand witness as the others had been. I believe that there is another rank of apostle, like Paul…a third level apostle who laid the foundations of The Church by means of the revelation given him by God.
The mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have briefly written above. By reading this you are able to understand my insight about the mystery of the Messiah. This was not made known to people in other generations as it is now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit Ephesians 3:3-5. See also Ephesians 2:19-20.
It is upon these foundations that The Church is built and Jesus is the Master builder. We must ensure that we are building on such foundations, or risk facing the implications of Galatians 1:8 etc.
Paul explained in depth in 1 Corinthians 3:1-16 as a great example of why we need the ministry gifts today.
Brothers and sisters, when I was with you I found it impossible to speak to you as those who are spiritually mature people, for you are still dominated by the mind-set of the flesh. And because you are immature infants in Christ, I had to nurse you and feed you with “milk,” not with the solid food of more advanced teachings, because you weren’t ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready to be fed solid food, for you are living your lives dominated by the mindset of the flesh. Ask yourselves: Is there jealousy among you? Do you compare yourselves with others? Do you quarrel like children and end up taking sides? If so, this proves that you are living your lives centered on yourselves, dominated by the mind-set of the flesh, and behaving like unbelievers. For when you divide yourselves up in groups—a “Paul group” and an “Apollos group”—you’re acting like people without the Spirit’s influence.
Who is Apollos, really? Or who is Paul? Aren’t we both just servants through whom you believed our message? Aren’t each of us doing the ministry the Lord has assigned to us?
I was the one who planted the church and Apollos came and cared for it, but it was God who caused it to grow. This means the one who plants is not anybody special, nor the one who waters, for God is the one who brings the supernatural growth.
Now, the one who plants and the one who waters are equally important and on the same team, but each will be rewarded for his own work. We are coworkers with God and you are God’s cultivated garden, the house he is building.
God has given me unique gifts as a skilled master builder who lays a good foundation. Afterward another craftsman comes and builds on it. So builders beware! Let every builder do his work carefully, according to God’s standards.
For no one is empowered to lay an alternative foundation other than the good foundation that exists, which is Jesus Christ!
The quality of materials used by anyone building on this foundation will soon be made apparent, whether it has been built with gold, silver, and costly stones, or wood, hay, and straw. Their work will soon become evident, for the Day will make it clear, because it will be revealed by blazing fire! And the fire will test and prove the workmanship of each builder. If his work stands the test of fire, he will be rewarded. If his work is consumed by the fire, he will suffer great loss. Yet he himself will barely escape destruction, like one being rescued out of a burning house.
Because the church is still not at the stage of perfection and maturity seen in scripture, these ministry gifts are still valid and overmuch required.
This brings us now to the final level of these gifts.
There are no foundational apostles today. Nevertheless apostles and all the other gifts are with us.
Their role differs somewhat from the original roles because the foundations are already laid. Modern-day apostles and prophets are not laying down New Testament Doctrine and foundation because this has already been provided.
A common misconception is about governance. Apostles did not govern Churches, including those that had helped to establish.
Paul for example had spiritual oversight only, as if in an advisory and mentoring capacity. As we see in Acts 20:28, once he had created a Church and moved on, oversight of that Church was given to others.
Such local Churches were autonomous. There was no “central” governing body. Instead there was a general consensus of opinion on things that arose in the lives of the Churches.
We need to consider The Church as a whole, rather than a denominational structure and then the local Churches that exist everywhere.
We are the Body of Christ.
Sometimes certain groups insist that these ministries much exist in their church. That is not necessarily so. As long as the exist in the area itself, or a region as we see (the Church at Berea, or the Church at Philippi and so on) the criteria is met.
Genuine Apostles, prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers should in all reality be “non-denominational”.
All of The Church needs them.
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A big problem that exists today is the segregation of clergy from laity and in the creation of a hierarchical structure that Jesus never implemented. The denominational and church attitude that prevails is totally different.
Man has created a structure that is top heavy, with a “leader” of some kind, with subordinates below all based in a central office or headquarters. We have created national headquarters, state or regional headquarters, a local “central or main church and smaller regional churches, with one or more in a town city or local suburb.
We have the Papal system, the system that the Anglicans have adopted, a denomination that appoints a president or senior elder and the like.
The church board, or the annual general meeting of the organisation does the appointing, but the appointment is supposed to be made by Jesus.
The church Jesus has in mind is supposed to be structured differently. He is the head of course and we are all parts of His Body. We are all priests and kings, saints and co-workers with God in this thing.
Jesus came here as an apostle. He is the Chief Apostle. An apostle is someone who has been sent on assignment by God. Jesus chose the twelve who He called apostles (Luke 6:13). He chose them, called them by name, taught them and sent them out on various ministry assignments. This is an apostle. They merely did what He asked them and those men were the foundational apostles. No organisation gave them such a title, but we often try to do this today, putting someone into a position that they may never have been called by God to occupy.
Paul did not take it upon himself to become an apostle. Rather, he often downplayed the title mentioning that he was called by the Lord and made to be an apostle.
We are all the Temples of the Holy Spirit. Peter says-
You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests.
Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 1 Peter 2:4-5
Paul said-
…You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.
Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.
We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22
Jesus’ Church may be then likened to a building of which He and He alone is the chief cornerstone. It is on this foundation alone that the early apostles started building.
We simply cannot start laying another cornerstone and lay new foundations.
The foundational apostles did their job and as Paul said here-
Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.
Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw.
But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.
If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?
God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. 1 Corinthians 3:10-17
He further explained that one person can sow a seed, another can water it, another can fertilize it and yet another can reap, but it is God who gives the increase.
Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life.
I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?
When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?
After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us.
I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.
It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.
The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work.
For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building. 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
The early apostles’ roles was to lay the foundation upon which others like Paul built. One was not better than another and each individual played his part.
As we have determined, these gifts are still present, because The Church is still a work in progress. We have not yet reached the state of maturity and perfection spoken of in the core text of these messages.
For such reasons, apostles are still being called, anointed and despatched on their various assignments…by the Lord! Man cannot do that!
In the New Testament description, apostles are listed first, not because they are more important that the other gifts, but because this is where Jesus started. There cannot be “two beginnings” or “two foundations” laid.
Any hierarchal level is based on the calling and dependent on that task, the enabling or anointing is provided. In plain terms, the bigger or more important the Job, the more “anointing” is bestowed. Accompanying this, more accountability and responsibility exists.
Now we all have the same Holy Spirit. We have all been given the same measure of faith (Romans 12:3) and the standard by which this is measured is Jesus. It depends on how much of the measure is required and actually used.
A newborn babe in Christ does not necessarily need to exercise the same degree of anointing a mature person has. Their task is to grown and mature in Christ, but when someone has been a believer for 20, 30 or 40 years, some measure of maturity is expected.
One person can thus be a relatively “new apostle” whereas another can be “more mature” and this is really the only distinction we need to be concerned about today.
Another analogy I could use if to answer the often asked question about which gift is best. Folk who do not believe that the Gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians chapters 12 to 14 are still needed today often ask that, incorrectly adding that the best gift is love, but love is not a gift. It is the fruit of the Spirit.
The best gift in that context would be the gift that is most appraise in a given situation and time. If for example someone is seriously ill, a gift of healing would be more appropriate that a kind word of prophecy.
Likening this now to the best or more important ministry gifts, the best one is the one that Jesus needs in that Church for that task on that occasion.
It does not matter who it is really, If the Lord initiates it all. What should be of importance is that all of the gifts are available in a given location. It could be in a local church, or in a suburb or in a hole city or region. That’s how we see it in operation in its and the Epistles.
My prayer is that we will see a return to the original pattern
Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men...
And he gave some, apostles...Ephesians 4:8-11
When Jesus started His ministry, the Gospel accounts say that He chose twelve men.
It is assumed that there were only twelve disciples, but this is incorrect.
Luke 10:1 states that He appointed an additional 70 disciples.
Acts 1:15 describes the prayer meeting in that upper room stating that there were 120 disciples present, including His mother, Mary.
In John 6:60, we see that many of His disciples left him. We do not know the number.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:6 that there were at least 500 brethren who all say Jesus after His resurrection.
Clearly, Jesus had more than 12 followers and we could call them all disciples, but not all were apostles. Luke 6:13 states that He called His disciples, some of whom He appointed to be apostles.
This opens up a whole new perspective to the traditional viewpoint of apostleship.
In Luke 6:13, we see that Jesus called His disciples and of them, He chose 12 and named them apostles. It certainly seems that He had a much larger gathering of disciples, to people who followed Him and it is from this (unnumbered) group of people, twelve were chosen and were called to be apostles.
It is logical therefore that there were many more followers of Jesus who we call call disciples, but not validly call them apostles. Of the scriptural accounts, Jesus had at least 582 followers, not including others like Paul, Timothy, Barnabus, Ananias and more. Then there were the 3000 souls added on the Day of Pentecost and those that according to Acts 2:47 were added daily.
This is an indication that apostles, as are all the ministry gifts, are what I shall describe as a calling. No man can take it upon himself to call himself a prophet or an apostle or any other ministry gift, because by its very name “gift” it is just that.
Jesus was and is still the chief apostle and our great high priest. He was called and ordained as a man, born of man through Mary and ordained by God the Father to be the first of the New Testament apostles. In other words, God chose Him, called Him, ordained Him and anointed Him by the Holy Spirit to sit in that office. This is why no man or organisation can do so. What we are to do is to recognize God’s appointment and acknowledge it.
A genuinely called and appointed Apostle (or any of the ministry gifts) need not and should not therefore boast about it or demand people call him with any such title.
All credit should go to the Lord.
What then is an apostle?
By the very nature and purpose, an Apostle is someone who has been called and chosen and ordained by the Lord and assigned specific tasks. They are "sent ones" in much the same way that someone may be appointed to be the ambassador of their country in another country. They are chosen by their country and sent to their destination to achieve the aims and objectives of their government.
We all represent our government, or the Kingdom in one way or another, but we are not all specifically called to be an apostle.
Such a person has a unique anointing on them for that task. Their ministries are often accompanied with signs, wonders and miracles, just as we see in scripture and they often "pay the price" in various ways, especially in persecution and opposition (mostly by religious people) as the execute their office.
Apostles often have a loosely arranged "oversight" over parts of The Church, not in a governing role but more in an advisory capacity. They can often function in all of the ministry gifts and of course, I would expect to see them operating in the gifts of the Spirit.
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