The Sent Ones

God does not desire His people to flounder about trying to figure things out on their own. He has given us His Word that reveals His will, nature, character, purpose and plan. The Apostle Peter tells us, "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." (2 Peter 1:2-4) The word "knowledge" is a Greek word defined in English as "precise and correct knowledge."

However, this "precise and correct knowledge" does not arise from human intellect. It comes by way of the Holy Spirit, "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come." (John 16:13) The Apostles and Elders who convened in Jerusalem over the issue of circumcision for Gentiles, was settled by the Holy Spirit (Acts 15:28) and not the opinions, prejudices or intellect of the men of God who were present. Unfortunately, in many sectors of the church is it said that the gift ministries of apostle and prophet are no longer be needed and they have no place or function in the church today. However, in taking a close examination of the scriptures, we will discover what the it says concerning the validity and necessity of these two important gift ministries for church, not only at its beginning, but also for today. We also will discover that there is no scriptural bases for their termination. So, let us look at what the Bible says concerning the function and benefits of the gift ministry of the apostle and the importance of this gift ministry for the Body of Christ until Jesus returns.

"I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars." (Revelation 2:2) First we are to test those who say they are apostles with the Word of God. With that said, there are five characteristics, qualifications or marks revealed in scripture that are the litmus test for those who are apostles. The first thing that will separate the ministry of the apostle from other ministries is, it is marked by signs, wonders and miracles, "Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds." (2 Corinthians 12:12)  The initial sending of Jesus' twelve disciples, which Jesus named apostles, (Luke 6:13), included the commission to "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead and cast out demons." (Matthew 10:8)  There must be this kind of supernatural attestation to the Word of God in the ministry of the apostle.While the apostle is not the only ministry that produces signs, wonder, and miracles, a claim of apostolic ministry is certainly put to the test by this mark.

The second mark of an apostle is, God will reveals this gift ministry to independent witnesses. Every divine fact that the Lord wishes to establish to the Church is validated on the basis of two or three independent witnesses. "Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." (Acts 13:1-2)  It is clear from the language of this passage that Paul and Barnabas already knew their calling as apostles. The Holy Spirit said to the other three men present (independent witnesses) that He had called Paul and Barnabas to the work of the apostle. 

The third qualification is one of the easiest characteristics to identify in the apostolic ministry. God gives apostles other ministers to work with them in team ministry under their authority. One example of this,  "And Sopater of Berea accompanied Paul to Asia, also Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia." (Acts 20:4) Whenever you find the ministry of apostle, you should find individuals like the men mentioned here and others whom God is training in ministry by means of the apostle. The apostle will always have individuals God has given to him to train. He will have young prophets, teachers, evangelists, and pastors to encourage and prepare for greater ministry than his own. God will call some of them into apostolic ministry as well. True apostles will allow this to happen. False or immature apostles will resist others growing in their own callings.

The fourth characteristic of and apostle is the seal of apostleship. "If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 9:2) The seal of apostleship, coupled with the three characteristics and qualifications above, puts the immature apostle and the pretender to apostleship apart from the true manifestation of this gift. While an individual may have the calling of an apostle, the Church at large should not recognize or honor him as an apostle until he has the seal of apostleship. This seal is to have fully functioning churches under his authority. These churches will be ruled by elders appointed by the apostle who continue to
recognize his authority even as he proceeds to plant other churches in other locations. One thought to add to this is, there are many persons who pioneer a church apparently successfully and with God's grace. However, this does not necessarily make them apostles without fulfilling all the biblical criteria of an apostle.  

The fifth characteristic of apostolic ministry is easily overlooked and for many misunderstood by the Church. The Church seems to believe that ministries that are unopposed and accepted must be blessed, and that ministries that are opposed by others must have something wrong with them. Quite the contrary is true. Those ministries that lead the way in power and renewal will also find great opposition from the enemy. Apostolic ministry can be identified by the amount of opposition it receives. Given the fulfillment of the previous four characteristics listed hereon, how can we not expect serious demonic warfare against the apostle? The apostle seeking to fulfill his ministry calling will encounter demonic opposition in different forms. "For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries." (1 Corinthians 16:9) 

The enemy will seek to overwhelm the apostle before he even gets started. Nevertheless, the apostle will be given all he needs to defend himself and those associated with him. He will successfully bring the battle back to the enemy. The apostle must be experienced in personal spiritual warfare because the enemy will try to launch attacks in a variety of ways. "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." (Ephesians 6:10-13)

Serious attacks will come in the form of accusations. "...for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down." (Revelation 12:10) This tactic is used against all of God's servants, and particularly the apostle. If the enemy can get the church to believe his lies about an apostle then he can also prevent the local church from becoming what it should be. 
The enemy has been extremely successful in his attempts to convince many that the gift ministry of apostle is nonexistent today. 

Therefore, the Church must be willing to test apostolic claims. The five identifiable features of the apostolic ministry as we have seen revealed in scripture are the litmus test to prove or disprove the validity of this gift ministry. We must get past the intellectual conclusions of faithless teachers and accept the truth of God's Word concerning the importance of the gift ministry of apostle as being as valid today as it was under the earth ministry of Jesus and the early church. If we carefully study the scriptures we will find that in addition to the original twelve apostles, there are at least twelve more apostles, although some of these are hidden by inconsistent translations in English New Testament versions. I pray that the LORD open our hearts to see His truth so that He can build His church as He sees fit. As Peter said, "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord." 

Gifts For The Church

Christianity is not a mere philosophy, obedience to commandments nor the acceptance of God's promises. It is much more. Christianity is the appearance of God to man in time and space. The significance of Jesus' death, not only His physical death on the cross, but what He accomplished for man in the spiritual realm especially in the regions of death, which is beyond what we could ever comprehend. He took death captive. The reality of His death is this. When death slew Him, death slew itself. "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil." (Hebrews 2:14) "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death." (Revelation 1:18)  

Jesus liberated those, who in death, waited His coming. Jesus took them from the control of Satan and in His triumphant victory over sin, death and Satan, transferred them to glory. David the king prophesied this very thing one thousand years before it came to pass. "You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, even from the rebellious, that the Lord God might dwell there." (Psalm 68:18) The Apostle Paul reiterated the same and then tells us the gifts that Jesus gave to men, "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers." (Ephesians 4:11)

Jesus is not only the founder of the church, "...I will build My church..." (Matthew 16:18) but He is the foundation of the church, "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 3:11). The Bible gives a further revelation that Jesus wanted His followers to understand concerning Himself and the foundation of the church. "...the household of God (the church) having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone." (Ephesians 2:19-20) 

Most in the Protestant Church, from seminary to the pulpit, have been taught that the apostles and prophets were only given to get the church started and after that, they were no longer needed. That once the New Testament was completed and accepted by the church, the foundational role of the apostles and prophets was completed. Therefore, all biblical references to apostles and prophets should be understood as a historical record rather than a continuing reality for the church. Any teaching today contrary to such is to be considered heretical. But, is this kind of teaching consistent with scripture or is it presumption?

First, there is not one verse of scripture that can support the the departure of either the apostle or prophet from the church because they were only needed to start the church. Think about this from this perspective. When a builder builds a house, the foundation is the first and most important part for the structural integrity of the entire house. Is there any builder that would build the foundation, complete the rest of the construction on the house, and once it has been accepted by the building inspector and the owner as completed, remove parts of the foundation? Absolutely not! If the foundation loses structural integrity then whatever is placed on top is in jeopardy of failure and even collapse. It is the same with everything that is build, even the church. Jesus warns, "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." (Matthew 7:24-27)

The Apostle Paul tells us, "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." (Romans 11:29) In other words, the Lord is not going to revoke, change, undo or alter the gifts that He has given to the church.  Paul also tells us, "And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues." (1 Corinthians 12:28) Notice, "God has appointed these in the church" not man. If God appointed, then how can man un-appoint without any scriptural foundation to do so? Also, notice in this verse, the absence of evangelist and pastor and yet today the church has placed a higher premium upon them than the Lord. Also, and equally unfortunate, a greater portion of the church has also un-appointed "...miracles, gifts of healings, and varieties of tongues."

Now, let us look at the following passage of scripture to see the reason why these gifts were given to the church. "And He (the Lord) Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." (Ephesians 4:11-16)

Notice, "till we all (the entire church) come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect (mature, complete) man." Very few, if any Christian leaders would dare claim that the Body of Christ has reached the stage of perfection described in this passage. This being true, not only would it be right, but it would also be logical that there is still a need for apostles and prophets in the church until Jesus returns. Could the rejection of the apostle and prophet in most sectors of the church be one of the main reasons why the church is so fragmented with its numerous denominations and doctrinal differences? Could this be why the church is not knitted and working together? Could this be why there is a lack of growth of the Body of Christ? Could this be why the church lacks in loving one another as brethren?  Maybe it is time for those who reject the gift of the apostle and prophet to reconsider their position and let the Lord do what He said He would do, "...I will build my church..." The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you...

Gifts To The Church

Last time, we looked at the real reason as to why 20% of church members actively function in the work of ministry while 80% sit idle. We saw that it is due to the erroneous philosophy accepted in the church that once the last of the apostles, like Peter and Paul died, that the gift/office of apostle and prophet as well as miracles faded away. That we have no need of them because we have the Bible and yet there is not one verse of scripture (unless taken out of context to agree with certain man made philosophies) that says the gift/office of apostle and prophet has faded away and with them the miraculous. So, how do we know that apostles  and prophets (although maybe not recognized) along with miracles are still alive, well and needed in the church today?

The Hebrew usage of the word apostle is to "send away; one who was commissioned and authorized by God." The ancient Greek usage refers to "a personal envoy, emissary or ambassador; a delegate." The Koine Greek usage (Greek language commonly spoken during the time of Jesus' earthly ministry) refers to, "a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders." In other words, the word apostle simply means "a sent one, an ambassador, a delegate, one who is sent forth, one commissioned and authorized by another to represent another and carry out his will and purposes.

To say that Matthias and Paul were the last apostles chosen by the Lord a part from the original twelve and that there is no apostolic secession is not a valid statement. (For the sake of space, I will list others that were apostles after these two men, based on the definition shown above.)

• James, the Lords brother (Acts 1:14, 1 Corinthians 15:7, Galatians 1:9, 2:9)
• Barnabas (Acts 4:36, 11:22-30, 14:1, 4, 14, 1 Corinthians 9:6)
• Apollos (1 Corinthians 4:6-9) 
• Andronicus (Romans 16:7)
• Junia (Romans 16:7)
• Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25)
• Titus (2 Corinthians 8:23)
• Two unnamed brethren (2 Corinthians 8:23)
• Timothy Acts 19:22, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2:6)
• Judas (Acts 15:23, 1 Thessalonians 2:6)
• silas/Silvanus (Acts 15:23, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2:6)
• Erastus (Acts 19:22)
• Tychicus (2 Timothy 4:12)

God has appointed in His church , first apostles (1 Corinthians 12:28) They are gifts from Christ to His body and they have not ceased in God's eyes even though a portion of the church refuses to recognize and receive them.

Along with the gift of apostle, the gift of prophet has also been rejected by many sectors of the church today. Keeping in mind that the church has been in the last days since Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, the prophetic ministry of the prophet is still a much needed gift to the church  today. One of the signs of the last days is the prophetic word coming as a result of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all flesh. (Joel 2:28-32, Acts 2:14-21) Notice that neither the prophet Joel nor the apostle Peter quoting the prophet Joel say anything about the prophetic fading away or ceasing in operation, on the contrary. The word says, that these things would come to pass in the last days. The last days are those which continue until the return of Jesus.

The misunderstanding of the prophets (prophetic) role in the church is one of the main reasons why it is rejected as a viable ministry to the church. The word prophet is defined as, "to foretell events, to speak under inspiration, to proclaim a divine revelation, and to break forth under sudden impulse into inspired discourse." The nature of prophecy is two fold; forth-telling, which comes in the form of preaching. It is to speak for God to the people, communicating the mind of God. Often the past (prophecy) will be used to deal with the present. This comes in the form of exhortation, reproof, warning, edification and comfort. This is seen in the New Testament prophets. New testament prophets are also considered non-writing prophets because they confirm the Word of God through guidance, words of wisdom and words of knowledge.

The other is fore-telling, which comes in the form of prediction. The prophet speaks for God, communicating His mind for the future. Often both the past and the present will be used to deal with the future.  This is seen in the ministry of the Old Testament prophets. The Old Testament prophets were chosen, inspired by God and their words became scripture. There were Old Testament prophets that wrote historical books, poetical books and prophetical books. It can then be said, that the major difference between the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament prophets is writing scripture (Old Testament prophets) and confirming scripture (New Testament prophets) Unfortunately, many in the church have misunderstood the difference between the two and have rejected prophets/prophecy today believing that it is extra-biblical because it adds to scripture when in fact it is very biblical because it only confirms scripture.

Another aspect of the gift/office/ministry of the apostle and prophet is that they generally work closely together in the Body of Christ. For instance, Gods divine order in the church states, "First apostles, second prophets..." (1 Corinthians 12:28) We also see that the church is "built on the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone." (Ephesians 2:20) We see an example of this as the apostle Paul and the prophet Silas worker together (Acts 15:22-40, 16:6-7) Although there is opposition to these gifts/offices/ministries functioning in the church today, we will see the Lord bring all of the ascension gift/office/ministries together. We the will once again work in unity of heart, mind, spirit and faith for His glory. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen...  

Building Together in Love

When we observe how the local church functions and how many people are functioning in some capacity what do you see? Do we see all the members actively working with other members building up the church? Do we see 75% of the members actively working with other members building up the church? Do we see 50% of the members actively working with other members building up the church? How about 25%? No, statistics reveal that regardless of the size of a local church, less than 20% of the members actively get involved with its function and many of them are heading towards burnout. Why is this happening? Why does it seem to be almost impossible to mobilize the members of the local church? I am sure that there are numerous reason such as, a lack of leadership, a lack of vision, a lack of discipleship, people are to busy, and so on. But I believe the primary reason behind the limited mobilization of the members of a local church comes down to one thing. Swapping the Lords ingenious plan for man's faulty plan(s). Let's look at what the Holy Spirit spoke through the apostle Paul.

"Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men." (Ephesians 4:8) "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." (Ephesians 4:11-16)

Many church leaders for centuries have rejected the idea that the ministry gifts of the apostle and prophet have continued beyond those of the early church. Their thinking is that the gift or office of apostle and prophet have faded from the scene when the apostles and prophets of the early church died. This thinking goes even farther by saying that along with the passing of the apostles and prophets miracles, signs and wonders have also passed away. They site 1 Corinthians 15:8 which says, "Then last of all He (Jesus) was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time" to mean that Paul was the last of the apostles appointed by the Lord. They also use Ephesians 4:13-14 (shown above) along with 1 Corinthians 3:10; 13:11 to say that these gifts along with the miraculous only functioned as scaffolding while the church was under initial construction, and were removed or faded away once the structure had been completed because the book we call the Bible is the totality of God’s written revelation to the human race. Consequently, people now have access to everything they need (2 Peter 1:3) to enter into a right relationship with God via Christianity and the church of Christ. Without doubt, the Bible is the totality of God’s written revelation to the human race. However, if we look at Ephesians 4:8 again, some light will shine upon us revealing the truth, "Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men."

First, notice that it does not say that Jesus gave temporary gifts to men or that He gave gifts to men only for a season or a certain period of time. Paul tells us, "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." (Romans 11:29) James tells us, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." (James 1:17)  The Lord does revoke the gifts and calling that He gives to His church, because His gifts are good and perfect. Also, notice that James reveals to us something about God that Malachi also reveals, "For I am the LORD, I do not change..." (Malachi 3:6) The writer of Hebrews puts it this way, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8) In other words, from eternity past to eternity future there is no change in Gods character, nature, purposes, plan or his mode of being. What He says is what He means, period. "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19)

If we say that the gift/office of apostle and prophet have faded away and have no need for them because we have the Bible, then we also have to conclude that the gift/office of evangelist, pastor and teacher have also faded away for the same reason. If we also say, "But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away" meaning that the gifts of the Spirit, especially miracles have also faded away, because we have the Bible, then we also have to conclude that knowledge has also vanished. (see 1 Corinthians 13:8-10) The context of what Paul is conveying in 1 Corinthians 13 has nothing whatsoever to do with the fading away of gifts and the miraculous that Christ gave to His church. Paul is telling the church to grow up or come into maturity, especially to mature in love because without love the gifts will not function properly. He is telling the church that when Christ returns, "that which is perfect" there will be no further need for any of the gifts that He gave to the church. So, how do we grow up and mature especially in love until Christ returns? Let's reread Ephesians 4:11-16

Another thing that we must consider is found in Paul's description of the church, "And He (Jesus) put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:22-23, also see 1 Corinthians 12:12-27) The church is describe as a body filled with the fullness of Christ the Head. So with this in mind, how would a person operate if two of their fingers, say their thumb and index finger, were missing from both hands? They could function, but they certainly would be limited. What about if a person was missing any two of their five senses? Again, they could function but they would be limited. With that said, how can we logically believe that the Lord would limit His body by removing two important gifts/offices along with the miraculous?
How can we honestly think this especially when he gave all five of these gifts/offices for maturing the church? His would not do such a thing! Do we honestly believe that for the last seventeen hundred years the church has reach or surpassed the maturity that Ephesian 4:1-16 is talking about? Do we suppose that the last seventeen hundred years of the church is more mature than the first three hundred years?

Many proponents of the extinction of the apostle, prophet and miracles will say to those who know that the Lord has not removed from His church apostle, prophet and miracles , beware "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works"  (2 Corinthians 11:13-15) not even considering that it is they that Satan has deceived. Certainly the church must beware that false apostles and prophets can appear, but the context in which this passage appears is Paul defending his apostleship. He is not insinuating or alluding too at all that when he leaves this life there will be no more apostles.

Next, we also see another fact that sheds light on the existence of apostles (maybe not recognized) today. Paul, tells us the all of the ascension gifts were given "till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." How can any church leader look at church history for the past 1700 years and honestly believe that the church. has arrived any time, "to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Do we honest believe that what we call the church is unified? That the church operates in the full knowledge of the Son of God? That the church completely functions in the fullness of Christ? Let's be honest. What we call the church today is not even close to just being united, let alone these other important issue that makes the church one in Christ.

So, why do statistics reveal that less than 20% of the members of most local churches do all the work while 80% remain idle? I truly believe it is due to eliminating the gift/office of the apostle and prophet by church Pharisees who have embraced the philosophies of men over the word of God. They have been blinded by the god of the world, Satan, who is still at work against the church to do what he did in the beginning, that is, discredit God and His Word. (Genesis 3:1-5) Jesus gave to the church "some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, to work together,  "for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry." Their is not one verse of scripture (other than ones taken out of context) that says that the gift/office of the apostle and prophet have faded away and are of no long any use once the early church apostles and prophets died  We do not seem to understand the harm that we have done to ourselves by eliminating these key gifts/offices for our "better ideas." Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen 

Denied - Part 3

God does not desire His people to flounder about trying to figure things out on their own. He has given us His Word that reveals His will, nature, character, purpose and plan. The Apostle Peter tells us, "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." (2 Peter 1:2-4) The word "knowledge" is a Greek word defined in English as "precise and correct knowledge."

However, this "precise and correct knowledge" does not arise from human intellect. It comes by way of the Holy Spirit, "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come." (John 16:13) As we saw in part one of this series, the Apostles and Elders who convened in Jerusalem over the issue of circumcision for Gentiles, was settled by the Holy Spirit (Acts 15:28) and not the opinions, prejudices or intellect of the men of God who were present. Also in part two of this series we looked at the three main reason why many sectors of the church teach that the gift ministries of apostle and prophet are no longer needed or functioning in the church today. We also discovered what the Bible says concerning the validity and necessity of these two important gift ministries for church, not only at its beginning, but also for today. We also discovered no scriptural bases for their termination. So, let us look at what the Bible says concerning the function and benefits of these two important gift ministries for the Body of Christ until Jesus returns. First we will look at the gift ministry of the apostle.

"I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars." (Revelation 2:2) First we are to test those who say they are apostles with the Word of God. With that said, there are five characteristics, qualifications or marks revealed in scripture that are the litmus test for those who are apostles. The first thing that will separate the ministry of the apostle from other ministries is, it is marked by signs, wonders and miracles, "Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds." (2 Corinthians 12:12)  The initial sending of Jesus' twelve disciples, which Jesus named apostles, (Luke 6:13), included the commission to "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead and cast out demons." (Matthew 10:8)  There must be this kind of supernatural attestation to the Word of God in the ministry of the apostle.While the apostle is not the only ministry that produces signs, wonder, and miracles, a claim of apostolic ministry is certainly put to the test by this mark.

The second mark of an apostle is, God will reveals this gift ministry to independent witnesses. Every divine fact that the Lord wishes to establish to the Church is validated on the basis of two or three independent witnesses. "Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." (Acts 13:1-2)  It is clear from the language of this passage that Paul and Barnabas already knew their calling as apostles. The Holy Spirit said to the other three men present (independent witnesses) that He had called Paul and Barnabas to the work of the apostle. 

The third qualification is one of the easiest characteristics to identify in the apostolic ministry. God gives apostles other ministers to work with them in team ministry under their authority. One example of this,  "And Sopater of Berea accompanied Paul to Asia, also Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia." (Acts 20:4) Whenever you find the ministry of apostle, you should find individuals like the men mentioned here and others whom God is training in ministry by means of the apostle. The apostle will always have individuals God has given to him to train. He will have young prophets, teachers, evangelists, and pastors to encourage and prepare for greater ministry than his own. God will call some of them into apostolic ministry as well. True apostles will allow this to happen. False or immature apostles will resist others growing in their own callings.

The fourth characteristic of and apostle is the seal of apostleship. "If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 9:2) The seal of apostleship, coupled with the three characteristics and qualifications above, puts the immature apostle and the pretender to apostleship apart from the true manifestation of this gift. While an individual may have the calling of an apostle, the Church at large should not recognize or honor him as an apostle until he has the seal of apostleship. This seal is to have fully functioning churches under his authority. These churches will be ruled by elders appointed by the apostle who continue to
recognize his authority even as he proceeds to plant other churches in other locations. One thought to add to this is, there are many persons who pioneer a church apparently successfully and with God's grace. However, this does not necessarily make them apostles without fulfilling all the biblical criteria of an apostle.  

The fifth characteristic of apostolic ministry is easily overlooked and for many misunderstood by the Church. The Church seems to believe that ministries that are unopposed and accepted must be blessed, and that ministries that are opposed by others must have something wrong with them. Quite the contrary is true. Those ministries that lead the way in power and renewal will also find great opposition from the enemy. Apostolic ministry can be identified by the amount of opposition it receives. Given the fulfillment of the previous four characteristics listed hereon, how can we not expect serious demonic warfare against the apostle? The apostle seeking to fulfill his ministry calling will encounter demonic opposition in different forms. "For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries." (1 Corinthians 16:9) 

The enemy will seek to overwhelm the apostle before he even gets started. Nevertheless, the apostle will be given all he needs to defend himself and those associated with him. He will successfully bring the battle back to the enemy. The apostle must be experienced in personal spiritual warfare because the enemy will try to launch attacks in a variety of ways. "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." (Ephesians 6:10-13)

Serious attacks will come in the form of accusations. "...for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down." (Revelation 12:10) This tactic is used against all of God's servants, and particularly the apostle. If the enemy can get the church to believe his lies about an apostle then he can also prevent the local church from becoming what it should be. 
The enemy has been extremely successful in his attempts to convince many that the gift ministry of apostle is nonexistent today. 

In summary, the Church must be willing to test apostolic claims. The five identifiable features of the apostolic ministry as we have seen revealed in scripture are the litmus test to prove or disprove the validity of this gift ministry. We must get past the intellectual conclusions of faithless teachers and accept the truth of God's Word concerning the importance of the gift ministry of apostle as being as valid today as it was under the earth ministry of Jesus and the early church. If we carefully study the scriptures we will find that in addition to the original twelve apostles, there are at least twelve more apostles, although some of these are hidden by inconsistent translations in English New Testament versions. 

In our next part, we will look at the gift ministry of prophet  in greater detail. I pray that the Lord open your heart to see His truth so that He can build His church as He sees fit. As Peter said, "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord." 

Denied - Part 2

As I said in part one through the example of ice hockey when a shot on goal is blocked by the goalie the scoreboard flashes "DENIED." I now want to look at two, gifts, offices, functions that have been "denied" in the Body of Christ by most sector of the church which has prevented the church for centuries from maturing. The Apostle Paul tells us, "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says: When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men. (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." (Ephesians 4:7-16) 

Honestly, volumes have been written on this passage of scripture so I am not going to attempt to discuss the entirety of this passage, only that which will challenge what we believe and why we believe it. The first thing Paul tells us is that upon Christ's ascension He "gave gifts to men." There is no record in the Epistles that tells us that once the Lord gives something to His church that He takes it away for any reason. In fact, Paul is quoting Psalm 68:18 concerning these gifts, but let's look at the next verse in Psalm 68. "Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation!" Selah (Psalm 68:19) No doubt, David knew the Lord as one "Who daily loads us with benefits." 

The gifts of "apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers" are benefits to and for the church. So why would the Lord remove gifts from the church that are for its benefit? Actually, He wouldn't! So what are the benefits of these five wonderful gifts? "...for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."

Understand, it takes all five of these gifts to accomplish these things. However, most sectors of the church whether Catholic or Protestant have rejected the gifts of the apostle and prophet. There are many reasons for this but we will only look at what seems to be the main three reasons...

Reason one; The gospels reveal that Jesus personally chose the twelve apostles, one of which was chosen for perdition and that the position of the apostles became a permanently fixed number after the resurrection meaning the number twelve then became an eternally established number. Let's think about this. Although the Apostle Judas Iscariot killed himself, the remaining eleven apostles chose Matthias to replace him. Well, maybe the other eleven were acting outside of the Lords will, but if they were, how then did these uneducated and untrained men (Acts 4:13) know Psalm 109:8 "Let another take his office." (Acts 1:20) Also, if twelve apostles was a fixed number after the resurrection and Matthias was not appointed by the Lord through the remaining eleven apostles, but Paul was, (which puts the number back to twelve) then why is Barnabas called an apostle? "But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this..." (Acts 14:14) This would make the number of apostles after the resurrection fourteen with Matthias or at least thirteen with Barnabas if we eliminate Matthias. Of course we see that the Lord appointed more than Twelve apostles after His resurrection. In fact. if we look at Ephesians 4 again, it was after the resurrection that the Lord gave some to be "apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers", all plural and without a specific number or an expiration date.

Reason two: Today there are certain denominations that believe that the phrase “when that which is perfect is come” (1 Corinthians 13:10) is referring to the canonized scripture. As a result of this interpretation many believers have also been taught that not only ministries of the apostle and prophet but also the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12, 14) have been done away with by Christ and are no longer necessary for the Church. Is this true? Well, if it were, then we need to ask ourselves why there is so much division, lack of love and lack of spiritual maturity in the church. The Apostle Paul dealt with this very issue with the church at Corinth and says, "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?" (1 Corinthians 3:1-4)

Again, looking back to Ephesians 4 we see the purpose of these five gifts working together is for the benefit of the church (see above). So, we must conclude, that 1 Corinthians 13:10 does not mean the elimination of the apostle and prophet or spiritual gifts due to the canonization of the scripture, but that it refers to when Christ comes again. It should be obvious that when Christ returns there will be no need for these gifts to function, the gift giver Himself will be on the earth again. To eliminate the gifts of apostle and prophet from the church would be like having an automobile with two cylinders not functioning. No matter if you have a four, six or eight cylinder automobile with two cylinders not functioning the auto will not run properly, if it runs at all, and you will damage the engine.

Reason three: Another reason for the elimination of the gifts of apostle and prophet from many sectors of the church is, Christ only used apostles and prophets in the first century to lay the foundation of the Church, therefore, these two ministries are no longer needed today. Is this true? According to the Apostle Paul,  ^"having been built (the church) on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone." (Ephesians 2:20) Paul does not specify only certain apostles and prophets or only for a certain dispensation of time, but simply the church is built "on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone." In fact, even today the foundation of the church continues to be strong because true apostles and prophets are building on Christ the Chief Cornerstone.

I say true apostles and prophets because there are those who say they are apostles and or prophets who do not fulfill the biblical function of the office but only use the title. I am not trying to be critical toward those in the Body of Christ who believe that apostles and prophets are no longer needed in the church today, but only that we need to question ourselves to see if our doctrine is in line with the entirety of God's Word. We need to be cautious of creating doctrine by picking and choosing scripture that "aligns with my thinking" while looking away from scriptures that contradict "my way of thinking." We also cannot read into God's Word things that are not mentioned verbatim with intellectual assumptions. We need to let the Word of God and the Holy Spirit have the final say in all matters of the church.

As we continue in this series we will look at what the Bible reveals as the credential to fulfill these two gifts, offices, functions, that are crucial to the Body of Christ today. In the next part of this series we will look specifically at the five biblical characteristics of the gift of the apostle. So for now, let us think on these thing and remember that Jesus said, "...I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18) 

Great Gifts From God

Christianity is not a mere philosophy, obedience to commandments nor the acceptance of God's promises. It is much more. Christianity is the appearance of God to man in time and space. The significance of Jesus' death, not only His physical death on the cross, but what He accomplished for man in the spiritual realm especially in the regions of death is beyond what we could ever comprehend. He took death captive. The reality of His death is this. When death slew Him, death slew itself. "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil." (Hebrews 2:14) "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death." (Revelation 1:18)  

Jesus liberated those, who in death, waited His coming. Jesus took them from the control of Satan and in His triumphant victory over sin, death and Satan, transferred them to glory. David the king prophesied this very thing one thousand years before it came to pass. "You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, even from the rebellious, that the Lord God might dwell there." (Psalm 68:18) The Apostle Paul reiterated the same and then tells us the gifts that Jesus gave to men, "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers." (Ephesians 4:11)

Jesus is not only the founder of the church, "...I will build My church..." (Matthew 16:18) but He is the foundation of the church, "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 3:11). The Bible gives a further revelation that Jesus wanted His followers to understand concerning Himself and the foundation of the church. "...the household of God (the church) having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone." (Ephesians 2:19-20) 

Most in the Protestant Church, from seminary to the pulpit, have been taught that the apostles and prophets were only given to get the church started and after that, they were no longer needed. That once the New Testament was completed and accepted by the church, the foundational role of the apostles and prophets was completed. Therefore, all biblical references to apostles and prophets should be understood as a historical record rather than a continuing reality for the church. Any teaching today contrary to such is to be considered heretical. But, is this kind of teaching consistent with scripture or is it presumption?

First, there is not one verse of scripture that can support the the departure of either the apostle or prophet from the church because they were only needed to start the church. Think about this from this perspective. When a builder builds a house, the foundation is the first and most important part for the structural integrity of the entire house. Is there any builder that would build the foundation, complete the rest of the construction on the house, and once it has been accepted by the building inspector and the owner as completed, remove parts of the foundation? Absolutely not! If the foundation loses structural integrity then whatever is placed on top is in jeopardy of failure and even collapse. It is the same with everything that is build, even the church. Jesus warns, "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." (Matthew 7:24-27)

The Apostle Paul tells us, "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." (Romans 11:29) In other words, the Lord is not going to revoke, change, undo or alter the gifts that He has given to the church.  Paul also tells us, "And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues." (1 Corinthians 12:28) Notice, "God has appointed these in the church" not man. If God appointed, then how can man un-appoint without any scriptural foundation to do so? Also, notice in this verse, the absence of evangelist and pastor and yet today the church has placed a higher premium upon them than the Lord. Also, and equally unfortunate, a greater portion of the church has also un-appointed "...miracles, gifts of healings, and varieties of tongues."

Now, let us look at the following passage of scripture to see the reason why these gifts were given to the church. "And He (the Lord) Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." (Ephesians 4:11-16)

Notice, "till we all (the entire church) come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect (mature, complete) man." Very few, if any Christian leaders would dare claim that the Body of Christ has reached the stage of perfection described in this passage. This being true, not only would it be right, but it would also be logical that there is still a need for apostles and prophets in the church until Jesus returns. Could the rejection of the apostle and prophet in most sectors of the church be one of the main reasons why the church is so fragmented with its numerous denominations and doctrinal differences? Could this be why the church is not knitted and working together? Could this be why there is a lack of growth of the Body of Christ? Could this be why the church lacks in loving one another as brethren?  Maybe it is time for those who reject the gift of the apostle and prophet to reconsider their position and let the Lord do what He said He would do, "...I will build my church..." The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you...

Where Have They Gone? Part 4

We have been looking at and answering the question, "Are miracles to be a part of the church today or have they faded away once the early church apostles passed from this life to the next?" This time let's begin in Marks gospel.

In the gospel of Mark we see Jesus giving instructions to His disciples before His departure from earth to return to the Father. Mark records, "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;  they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (Mark 16:17-18) Although Jesus is instructing His disciples, He is not saying, "And these signs will only follow you eleven only or those who believe while you apostles remain alive." No, He is saying "And these signs will follow those who (whoever, anyone, whosoever) believes. Again, the fact remains that miracles are still a part of the church today but a condition must be met to see them manifest, one must believe, that is, one must release faith.

Another very important fact that we must consider is found in 1 Corinthians, "Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues." (1 Corinthians 12:27-28) Notice that the Holy Spirit speaking through Paul does not say, "Now you, the early church are the Body of Christ." He is referring to all believers being members of the Body of Christ not just those in the early church. Next, he say GOD has appointed these in the church. There is absolutely no evidence that God has appointed these in the church for a certain period of time or the God has revoked their appointment. Let's recall, "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." (Romans 11:29) Notice, the first, second, fourth and fifth (not to mention the eighth) things that God Himself has appointed in the church. Many church leaders today teach that these very things that God has appointed in the church have faded away . There is not one verse of scripture that substantiates such a claim. These things have not been removed from the church by God, but by church leaders who do not operate in faith. Their belief system hinges on what their five senses can understand. This is the limited level of faith that all people have which is based on the five senses. This is the type of faith that the apostle Thomas operated in, "Unless I SEE in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side (TOUCH), I will not believe." (John 20:25).

We see another interesting situation this time in the Book of Acts in the lives of Peter and John. They are used by God to heal a man with infantile paralysis. The crowd of people who witnessed this miraculous event begin to think that it was Peter and John who had the power to perform this miracle. However, we clearly see how the man received this miraculous healing, "And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all." (Acts 3:16) The principle for miracles to happen today has not changed in the eyes of God and it will never change even if His children do not want to believe. It comes down to faith in Jesus Christ. Faith that He is not only the Lord who paid man's sin debt but also the Lord who heals, delivers, rescues, provides and makes whole, which is all part of redemption then and now.

We must remember that, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8) and that all believers make up the church which is His Body. (Ephesians 1:22-23). If He does not change, then it is only logical to say that His Body also does not change. Think about it from a natural perspective. When a child is born although they are small and dependent upon another, no matter how old they become are they not still the same person? The only real change that takes place is physical and mental growth. They are still the same person from the time they are born until the time they die. If this is true in the natural, then why is it so difficult to believe it in the spiritual? Actually it's not. It only requires the kind of faith that pleases God which is revelation faith. Revelation faith is the kind of faith that stands on the Word of God as the only evidence required to believe. The kind of faith that transcends the senses and believes without any physical or tangible evidence. Jesus said it this way, "Then Jesus said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing. And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him,  "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:27) In other words, believe although your senses do not have any evidence whatsoever, but because God says these things are so.

I want to close with one more passage of scripture and ask a final question because it will hopefully shed a great light to dispel the philosophy that the miraculous is not a part of the church today. "Then Jesus went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?" So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house." Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. (Mark 6:1-6) Why could Jesus do no mighty work in Nazareth, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them? "He marveled because of their unbelief."

Unbelief is the great neutralizer of faith. It is the very tactic that Satan has been using from the beginning of man's history. If he can get God's children to rely on their senses and not on what God said, then unbelief will ensue and man will only have a mental assent to God's Word. Jesus tells His disciples several times of His death and resurrection and yet Mark records, "Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe." (Mark 16:9-11) It was not only Thomas who did not believe, but none of the disciples believed His Word. It is so very unfortunate that unbelief has filled the hearts of so many of God's children. Yet unlike the disciples before The Day of Pentecost, today believers have the Holy Spirit, of whom Jesus said, "Is the Spirit of Truth who would guide us into all truth." (John 16:13) So, is Satan once again deceiving us to believe him more that God? Do we believe that some how we know more than God? Do we think that we know what is best for the church more the Jesus the Head of the church? Could our problem be the same as what Stephen faced and exposed when he was about to killed, "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit..." (Acts 7:51) Either way it can all be dispelled through true Bible faith in Jesus Christ, the Word of God.

My prayer is that everyone who has read this four part series who may have questioned whether apostles, prophets and miracles are for today, have reconciled within themselves that, yes, God does not change. That God does not take away the gifts and callings that He has given and still gives to the church. I also pray that you have a desire to see the ascension gift ministry, the miraculous and all the gifts that the Lord has given to His church once again fill the entire church. As we see these things manifest once again we will also see the Name of Jesus magnified and the Word of God prevail mightily once again. Grace be with you.

Where Have They Gone? Part 3

The philosophy that says that once the original apostles, Matthias and the last apostle, Paul, past away, apostles, prophets and miracles also have passed away. We have seen in the other two parts of this series that the gift/office/ministry of the apostle and prophet have not past way. They may not be recognized or received by many sectors of the church, but in the eyes of God they are very much alive and functioning. What about miracles? Do they exist or have they faded away in the same way that many believe the gift/office/ministry of the apostle and prophet have? The Bible is filled with scripture that reveals God as a miracle God who wrought miracles through various people, they are to numerous to list, so let's look at a few from the Old Testament.... 

• So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children. (Genesis 20:17)
• God used Elijah in a miracle of food (1 Kings 17:2-16)
• God used Elijah in the miracle of the resurrection of the Gentile son (1 Kings 17:17-24)
• God used Elijah on Mount Carmel in a contest against the prophets of Baal and of Asherah through a mighty miracle (1 Kings 18:20-40)
• Elisha was used by God in the miracle of the increase of the widows oil (2 Kings 4:1-7)
• Elisha was used by God in the miracle of the increase of the Shunammite's son (2 Kings 4:8-37)
• God brought Israel out of the bondage of Egypt with the spoils of Egypt. Not one person was feeble among His tribes. God went before them in a cloud and a pillar of fire. He brought quail, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven. He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it ran in the dry places like a river." (Psalms 105:37-41) 

Again, these are just a few examples from the Old testament where God used people to perform miracles. Next, let's consider Jesus earthly ministry. Again, the miracles that He performed are to numerous to list, so let's look at only a few...

• Jesus went about all Galilee healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of diseases among the people (Matthew 4:23)
• Jesus feeds the 5,000 with only five loaves and two fish (Matthew 14:13-21)
• Jesus walks on walk on water (Mark 6:45-52)
• Jesus raises a widows dead son (Luke 7:11-16
• Jesus turns water into wine (John 2:1-10)
• God raises Jesus from the dead (Acts 2:32)

Now we see the ministry of Jesus which God wrought miracles through. Finally, let's look at the early church. Again, there are numerous scriptures revealing miracles being wrought by God through people, so we again will only list a few...

• Peter and John heal a man with infantile paralysis (Acts 3:1-8) 
• Mighty signs and wonders were done through the apostles (Acts 5:12)
• Stephen, who was not an apostle did great wonders and signs (Acts 6:8)
• Philip, who was not an apostle did miracles in the City of Samaria (Acts 8:5-7)
• Paul healed a lame man in Lystra (Acts 14:6-10)

So, throughout the Bible we see God performing miracles through various people for thousands of years. Why is it that many think that God should stop miracles after the decease of the apostles of the early church? Why do many conclude that the miraculous gifts functioned as scaffolding while the church was under initial construction, and were removed once the structure had been completed? Why do many believe and teach that the book we call the Bible is the totality of God’s written revelation to the human race, which it is, as a reason for God to stop the supernatural? Simply put, it is due to a lack of faith in the integrity of the Word of God that they claim to believe as truth. Jesus brought this same problem to the Pharisees when dealing with their hypocrisy, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone." (Matthew 23:23) They were under the law yet Jesus tells them that they lacked faith.

Even Gideon knew God as a miracle God, though he question Him as to "where are all the miracles which our fathers told us about." (Judges 6:13 So, how can we honestly say that the supernatural ministries of Smith Wigglesworth, John G. Lake, Maria Woodworth-Etter, John Alexander Dowie, William Branham, Oral Roberts, A. A. Allen, Jack Coe, (to name a few) are not from God or for today? How can we honestly and logically say that God does not use the miraculous any more? Honestly, we would say or think these things if we are willing to throw away these faithless philosophies that have been accepted in the church. Philosophies developed by men and women who continue to approach the Word of God with their limited intellect rather than through the spirit. Jesus said, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63)

Look at the state of the lives of the majority of the people in the church today. The number of Christians that are sick, diseased and oppressed is not much different than those who are without Christ. The sad thing is, God said that He would provide healing through the redemptive work of Messiah, "In fact, it was our diseases he bore, our pains from which he suffered; yet we regarded him as punished, stricken and afflicted by God.  But he was wounded because of our crimes, crushed because of our sins; the disciplining that makes us whole fell on him, and by his bruises we are healed." (Isaiah 53:4-6) The apostle Peter reaffirms this very thing but speak in past tense, "who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness, by whose stripes you were healed." (1 Peter 2:24)

The apostle Paul reminds and at the same time warns the church as to why many in the church were weak, sickly and dying. They were not discerning the Lord's Body both physically and or spiritually. This was the cause for much weakness, sickness and death in the church. Problem such as this in the church should cause much concern to church leaders. However, too often we try to get rid of what causing the problem (the curse) without getting rid of the cause. "The curse shall not come without a cause." (Proverbs 26:2) This is why we are called to discern the Lord's Body. James says it this way, "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed..." (James 5:16) Healing in the church is the work of the risen Lord through the His Body, that is through one another not only yesterday but also for today. James continues, "...the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." James 5:16) This is the only condition for healing to take place. It has nothing to do with a dispensation.

The sad reality is, most Christians have been trained to call a physician and believe his or her prognosis rather than have faith in Jesus Christ the Healer. I am not saying that physicians do not help sick people or that they do not save lives. But we must keep in mind that they are still practicing medicine. Mark reveals this very thing, "Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse." (Mark 5:25-27) You may be thinking that modern medicine has advanced far beyond what it was then and you are correct. However, I still meet Christians who have seen many physicians and have had several surgeries and are not any better. Again, I am not condemning modern medicine one bit. My desire is to see the church believe the Word of God beyond a mental assent, "For God's Words are life to those who find them, and health (Medicine) to all their flesh." (Proverbs 4:22) and be the wonderful vehicle once again that is filled with the presence, power and glory of the Lord.

In our fourth and final part we will continue to explore that fact that miracles are as much a part of the church today as they were in the early church. Remember, God is a miracle God.

Where Have They Gone? Part 2

Last time, we looked at the real reason as to why 20% of church members actively function in the work of ministry while 80% sit idle. We saw that it is due to the erroneous philosophy accepted in the church that once the last apostle, Paul, died that the gift/office of apostle and prophet as well as miracles faded away. That we have no need of them because we have the Bible and yet there is not one verse of scripture (unless taken out of context to agree with certain man made philosophies) that says the gift/office of apostle and prophet has faded away and with them the miraculous. So, how do we know that apostles  and prophets (although maybe not recognized) along with miracles are still alive, well and needed in the church today?

The Hebrew usage of the word apostle is to "send away; one who was commissioned and authorized by God." The ancient Greek usage refers to "a personal envoy, emissary or ambassador; a delegate." The Koine Greek usage (Greek language commonly spoken during the time of Jesus' earthly ministry) refers to, "a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders." In other words, the word apostle simply means "a sent one, an ambassador, a delegate, one who is sent forth, one commissioned and authorized by another to represent another and carry out his will and purposes.

To say that the apostle Paul was the last apostle chosen by the Lord a part from the original twelve and Matthias and that there is no apostolic secession is not a valid statement. (For the sake of space, I will list others that were apostles after the apostle Paul, based on the definition shown above.)

• James, the Lords brother (Acts 1:14, 1 Corinthians 15:7, Galatians 1:9, 2:9)
• Barnabas (Acts 4:36, 11:22-30, 14:1, 4, 14, 1 Corinthians 9:6)
• Apollos (1 Corinthians 4:6-9) 
• Andronicus (Romans 16:7)
• Junia (Romans 16:7)
• Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25)
• Titus (2 Corinthians 8:23)
• Two unnamed brethren (2 Corinthians 8:23)
• Timothy Acts 19:22, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2:6)
• Judas (Acts 15:23, 1 Thessalonians 2:6)
• silas/Silvanus (Acts 15:23, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2:6)
• Erastus (Acts 19:22)
• Tychicus (2 Timothy 4:12)

God has appointed in His church , first apostles (1 Corinthians 12:28) They are gifts from Christ to His body and they have not ceased in God's eyes even though a portion of the church refuses to recognize and receive them.

Along with the gift of apostle, the gift of prophet has also been rejected by many sectors of the church today. Keeping in mind that the church has been in the last days since Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, the prophetic ministry of the prophet is still a much needed gift to the church  today. One of the signs of the last days is the prophetic word coming as a result of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all flesh. (Joel 2:28-32, Acts 2:14-21) Notice that neither the prophet Joel nor the apostle Peter quoting the prophet Joel say anything about the prophetic fading away or ceasing in operation, on the contrary. The word says, that these things would come to pass in the last days. The last days are those which continue until the return of Jesus.

The misunderstanding of the prophets (prophetic) role in the church is one of the main reasons why it is rejected as a viable ministry to the church. The word prophet is defined as, "to foretell events, to speak under inspiration, to proclaim a divine revelation, and to break forth under sudden impulse into inspired discourse." The nature of prophecy is two fold; forth-telling, which comes in the form of preaching. It is to speak for God to the people, communicating the mind of God. Often the past (prophecy) will be used to deal with the present. This comes in the form of exhortation, reproof, warning, edification and comfort. This is seen in the New Testament prophets. New testament prophets are also considered non-writing prophets because they confirm the Word of God through guidance, words of wisdom and words of knowledge.

The other is fore-telling, which comes in the form of prediction. The prophet speaks for God, communicating His mind for the future. Often both the past and the present will be used to deal with the future.  This is seen in the ministry of the Old Testament prophets. The Old Testament prophets were chosen, inspired by God and their words became scripture. There were Old Testament prophets that wrote historical books, poetical books and prophetical books. It can then be said, that the major difference between the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament prophets is writing scripture (Old Testament prophets) and confirming scripture (New Testament prophets) Unfortunately, many in the church have misunderstood the difference between the two and have rejected prophets/prophecy today believing that it is extra-biblical because it adds to scripture when in fact it is very biblical because it only confirms scripture.

Another aspect of the gift/office/ministry of the apostle and prophet is that they generally work closely together in the Body of Christ. For instance, Gods divine order in the church states, "First apostles, second prophets..." (1 Corinthians 12:28) We also see that the church is "built on the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone." (Ephesians 2:20) We see an example of this as the apostle Paul and the prophet Silas worker together (Acts 15:22-40, 16:6-7) Although there is opposition to these gifts/offices/ministries functioning in the church today, we will see the Lord bring all of the ascension gift/office/ministries together. We the will once again work in unity of heart, mind, spirit and faith for His glory.

In part 3 we will look at what scripture says about the miraculous flowing in the church today as it did in the early church. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen...   

Where Have They Gone? Part 1

When we observe how the local church functions and how many people are functioning in some capacity what do you see? Do we see all the members actively working with other members building up the church? Do we see 75% of the members actively working with other members building up the church? Do we see 50% of the members actively working with other members building up the church? How about 25%? No, statistics reveal that regardless of the size of a local church, less than 20% of the members actively get involved with its function and many of them are heading towards burnout. Why is this happening? Why does it seem to be almost impossible to mobilize the members of the local church? I am sure that there are numerous reason such as, a lack of leadership, a lack of vision, a lack of discipleship, people are to busy, and so on. But I believe the primary reason behind the limited mobilization of the members of a local church comes down to one thing. Swapping the Lords ingenious plan for man's faulty plan(s). Let's look at what the Holy Spirit spoke through the apostle Paul.

"Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men." (Ephesians 4:8) "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." (Ephesians 4:11-16)

Many church leaders for centuries have rejected the idea that the ministry gifts of the apostle and prophet have continued beyond those of the early church. Their thinking is that the gift or office of apostle and prophet have faded from the scene when the apostles and prophets of the early church died. This thinking goes even farther by saying that along with the passing of the apostles and prophets miracles, signs and wonders have also passed away. They site 1 Corinthians 15:8 which says, "Then last of all He (Jesus) was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time" to mean that Paul was the last of the apostles appointed by the Lord. They also use Ephesians 4:13-14 (shown above) along with 1 Corinthians 3:10; 13:11 to say that these gifts along with the miraculous only functioned as scaffolding while the church was under initial construction, and were removed or faded away once the structure had been completed because the book we call the Bible is the totality of God’s written revelation to the human race. Consequently, people now have access to everything they need (2 Peter 1:3) to enter into a right relationship with God via Christianity and the church of Christ. Without doubt, the Bible is the totality of God’s written revelation to the human race. However, if we look at Ephesians 4:8 again, some light will shine upon us revealing the truth, "Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men."

First, notice that it does not say that Jesus gave temporary gifts to men or that He gave gifts to men only for a season or a certain period of time. Paul tells us, "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." (Romans 11:29) James tells us, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." (James 1:17)  The Lord does revoke the gifts and calling that He gives to His church, because His gifts are good and perfect. Also, notice that James reveals to us something about God that Malachi also reveals, "For I am the LORD, I do not change..." (Malachi 3:6) The writer of Hebrews puts it this way, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8) In other words, from eternity past to eternity future there is no change in Gods character, nature, purposes, plan or his mode of being. What He says is what He means, period. "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19)

If we say that the gift/office of apostle and prophet have faded away and have no need for them because we have the Bible, then we also have to conclude that the gift/office of evangelist, pastor and teacher have also faded away for the same reason. If we also say, "But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away" meaning that the gifts of the Spirit, especially miracles have also faded away, because we have the Bible, then we also have to conclude that knowledge has also vanished. (see 1 Corinthians 13:8-10) The context of what Paul is conveying in 1 Corinthians 13 has nothing whatsoever to do with the fading away of gifts and the miraculous that Christ gave to His church. Paul is telling the church to grow up or come into maturity, especially to mature in love because without love the gifts will not function properly. He is telling the church that when Christ returns, "that which is perfect" there will be no further need for any of the gifts that He gave to the church. So, how do we grow up and mature especially in love until Christ returns? Let's reread Ephesians 4:11-16

Another thing that we must consider is found in Paul's description of the church, "And He (Jesus) put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:22-23, also see 1 Corinthians 12:12-27) The church is describe as a body filled with the fullness of Christ the Head. So with this in mind, how would a person operate if two of their fingers, say their thumb and index finger, were missing from both hands? They could function, but they certainly would be limited. What about if a person was missing any two of their five senses? Again, they could function but they would be limited. With that said, how can we logically believe that the Lord would limit His body by removing two important gifts/offices along with the miraculous?
How can we honestly think this especially when he gave all five of these gifts/offices for maturing the church? His would not do such a thing! Do we honestly believe that for the last seventeen hundred years the church has reach or surpassed the maturity that Ephesian 4:1-16 is talking about? Do we suppose that the last seventeen hundred years of the church is more mature than the first three hundred years?

Many proponents of the extinction of the apostle, prophet and miracles will say to those who know that the Lord has not removed from His church apostle, prophet and miracles , beware "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works"  (2 Corinthians 11:13-15) not even considering that it is they that Satan has deceived. Certainly the church must beware that false apostles and prophets can appear, but the context in which this passage appears is Paul defending his apostleship. He is not insinuating or alluding too at all that when he leaves this life there will be no more apostles.

Next, we also see another fact that sheds light on the existence of apostles (maybe not recognized) today. Paul, tells us the all of the ascension gifts were given "till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." How can any church leader look at church history for the past 1700 years and honestly believe that the church. has arrived any time, "to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Do we honest believe that what we call the church is unified? That the church operates in the full knowledge of the Son of God? That the church completely functions in the fullness of Christ? Let's be honest. What we call the church today is not even close to just being united, let alone these other important issue that makes the church one in Christ.

So, why do statistics reveal that less than 20% of the members of most local churches do all the work while 80% remain idle? It is due to eliminating the gift/office of the apostle and prophet by church Pharisees who have embraced the philosophies of men over the word of God. They have been blinded by the god of the world, Satan, who is still at work against the church to do what he did in the beginning, that is, discredit God and His Word. (Genesis 3:1-5) Jesus gave to the church "some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, to work together,  "for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry." Their is not one verse of scripture (other than ones taken out of context) that says that the gift/office of the apostle and prophet have faded away and are of no long any use once the early church apostles and prophets died  We do not seem to understand the harm that we have done to ourselves by eliminating these key gifts/offices for our "better ideas."

In part 2, we will continue to look at this unfortunate controversial philosophy. We will also see scripture revealing that their were more than the original twelve apostles, Matthias, and Paul that functioned as apostles in the early church. This will reveal apostolic succession not the fading away of these gifts/offices. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen