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