Ephesians 4:11-16 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, (12) to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (13) until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, (14) so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. (15) Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, (16) from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Our last discussion of Ephesians 4:11 dwelled on the biblical precedent & therefore definition of the apostle. We formed a biblical perspective of what an apostle is based on what an apostle was in the first generation church.
In like manner, let us examine the principles & precedents of the true biblical prophet to rightly judge the prophet of today.
The prophet of Scripture was the messenger of God’s revelation to men. In the secular sense, prophecy is often narrowly defined as the foretelling of future events, but that is only a fortune-teller. God’s prophet reveals the heart of man & the will of God. He speaks for God to man. When he prophesies, the prophet speaks not of his own heart nor of his own mind, but only the heart & mind of God. Early on in Scripture, Aaron modeled the role of the prophet (Ex. 4:15-16 & 7:1) as he himself worked signs & wonders but was primarily purposed to be Moses’ mouthpiece.
The prophet Amos describes the role of the prophet:
Amos 3:1-8 Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt: (2) "You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. (3) Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet? (4) Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing? (5) Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth, when there is no trap for it? Does a snare spring up from the ground, when it has taken nothing? (6) Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it? (7) For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. (8) The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken; who can but prophesy?"
When God speaks to the heart of His prophet, that prophet cannot shut his own mouth. His oration is nothing less than a direct pipeline from God
His prophetic utterance is therefore inerrant, as God himself is inerrant
The prophet of God will always present Jesus Christ as God & the events of his 33 year material visitation as the only way for man to be saved from God’s wrath for sin. The right prophet leads the humble towards embracing this truth, & in so doing leads them closer to Christ. The prophet that leads men away from worshipping & following Jesus Christ is the false prophet despite any seeming supernatural abilities:
Deuteronomy 13:1-5 If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, (2) and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, 'Let us go after other gods,' which you have not known, 'and let us serve them,' (3) you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (4) You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. (5) But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
The prophet of God is also one who most often brings men disturbing testimony about themselves. They are always a polarizing lot, dividing wheat from tares, the hard-hearted from the “poor in spirit”. They are wildly unpopular to secularists, but a draw to the humble in heart, for they speak to that humble heart. Theirs is not a glamorous or even desirous vocation, but one that is often sorely despised- even by themselves. They don’t pursue the office of prophet, the office pursues them…
Jeremiah 20:1-18 Now Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who was chief officer in the house of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. (2) Then Pashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the LORD. (3) The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, "The LORD does not call your name Pashhur, but Terror On Every Side. (4) For thus says the LORD: Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall strike them down with the sword. (5) Moreover, I will give all the wealth of the city, all its gains, all its prized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and seize them and carry them to Babylon. (6) And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely.”
(7) O LORD, you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me. (8) For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, "Violence and destruction!" For the word of the LORD has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. (9) If I say, "I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name," there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. (10) For I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! "Denounce him! Let us denounce him!" say all my close friends, watching for my fall. "Perhaps he will be deceived; then we can overcome him and take our revenge on him." (11) But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten.
(12) O LORD of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause. (13) Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers. (14) Cursed be the day on which I was born! The day when my mother bore me, let it not be blessed! (15) Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, "A son is born to you," making him very glad. (16) Let that man be like the cities that the LORD overthrew without pity; let him hear a cry in the morning and an alarm at noon, (17) because he did not kill me in the womb; so my mother would have been my grave, and her womb forever great. (18) Why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?
Allow me to repeat my principal thesis of last time concerning apostles, for I believe it applies to the office of prophet as well:
“Ephesians 2:13-22 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (14) For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility (15) by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, (16) and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. (17) And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. (18) For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. (19) So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, (20) built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, (21) in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. (22) In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Such a momentous structure as this, a building with no less than Christ as the cornerstone & His apostles & prophets being the very substance for the rest of the foundation, is not the kind of building I could imagine being utterly torn down past the foundation & rebuilt with every generation that passes.”
So as Christians gaze upon the modern church, for better or for worse they often search for God’s prophet of today. We should “not believe every spirit, but (we) test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). We firstly apply the litmus of 1 John 4, that they must primordially confess Jesus Christ as “coming into the flesh”. This means they must teach He existed beforehand (that He had been God) & came into a completely corporeal existence (that He became man as well). We examine them for inerrancy in their prophetic utterances. We assess their message as to whether it is convicting of sin. We rightly ask: “Do they rebuke the proud, & give grace to the humble?” As prophets, they lay claim to intimacy with the heart of God; Scripture shows this is central to His nature ( Prov. 3:34, James 4:6, & 1 Peter 5:5).
But it grieves God’s heart as Christians search for a prophet for today, for in doing so, we dismiss surely the greatest & most sure prophecy that has already been given & established. This prophetic word proclaims throughout the “testimony of Jesus”, validating its “spirit of prophecy”(Rev. 19:10). It has stood the test & been proven time & again; never having been shown to be false. It has ministered to billions. It most often speaks not to itching ears (2 Tim 4:3), but hardened hearts. If Moses & the OT prophets were deemed ample as instruction for the rich man’s family (Luke16:31), then how rich are we in prophetic instruction, as their teaching is expounded upon by the teachings of NT apostles, prophets, & even Christ Himself? (e.g. 1Cor 9:9-10)
Revelation 22:7 And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.
The office of Prophet is indeed alive & quite active as well today. It is alive & active in the form of the Scriptures. We are profitably prophetic every time God’s Spirit uses us to speak its concomitantly admonishing & edifying words to teach, reprove, correct, or train in righteousness (1Tim 3:16).
Revelation 19:9-10 And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God." (10) Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, "You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God." For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
The Origins of Sin, Mercy, & Grace
Luke 17:3-10 "Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, (4) and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' you must forgive him." (5) The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" (6) And the Lord said, "If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. (7) Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and recline at table'? (8) Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink'? (9) Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? (10) So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'"
Forgiveness is fundamental to the Christian walk. We have nothing of a lasting consequence in God’s kingdom if He retains our sin against us (Psalms 130:3). Therefore the act of forgiveness is, by necessity, a primary point underlying our relationship with God. For His desire for loving rapport to take effect, He must first forgive.
Christians read verses 3-4 above & think that, by obeying such teachings, they are following Christ. They are, but only minimally. There is definite distinction between mere obedience & true discipleship; between mere conformity to rules & conformity to Christ. Christ continues to forgive our multitude of egregious trespasses against His perfect righteousness & holiness as we entreat His bountiful mercy & grace; then we are called to do likewise in verses 3-4, but in order to obey Christ’s subsequent call to press beyond doing only “what (is) our duty”, we must understand & retain within our soul when He forgave our sins originally.
Romans 5:1-11 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (2) Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (3) More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, (4) and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, (5) and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (6) For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. (7) For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die- (8) but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (9) Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. (10) For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. (11) More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Luke 17:3-4 commands forgiveness only when repentance is proffered. Many a Christian has validated his withholding of love to someone based on that person’s impenitence. Then, when they do repent, we think highly of ourselves as we so graciously accept our offender’s apologies & embrace him once more into our company. O how far removed from Christ-like love is this?! Where would we be if Christ demanded that our hearts soften towards Him before He would do anything for us? Then the cross of Christ could only come at the end of time, only after all were afforded the opportunity to beg of its saving mercy & grace. But no, the Father gave His Son, the Son gave His cross & the Spirit afforded us repentance & acceptance of that cross- all this “while we were still sinners”. Such mercy & grace bestowed to such unworthy individuals!
1 John 4:9-12 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. (10) In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (11) Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (12) No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
There is much more to following Christ than simply following His commands; in maturity, we must press on to follow His example as well.
Forgiveness is fundamental to the Christian walk. We have nothing of a lasting consequence in God’s kingdom if He retains our sin against us (Psalms 130:3). Therefore the act of forgiveness is, by necessity, a primary point underlying our relationship with God. For His desire for loving rapport to take effect, He must first forgive.
Christians read verses 3-4 above & think that, by obeying such teachings, they are following Christ. They are, but only minimally. There is definite distinction between mere obedience & true discipleship; between mere conformity to rules & conformity to Christ. Christ continues to forgive our multitude of egregious trespasses against His perfect righteousness & holiness as we entreat His bountiful mercy & grace; then we are called to do likewise in verses 3-4, but in order to obey Christ’s subsequent call to press beyond doing only “what (is) our duty”, we must understand & retain within our soul when He forgave our sins originally.
Romans 5:1-11 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (2) Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (3) More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, (4) and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, (5) and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (6) For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. (7) For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die- (8) but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (9) Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. (10) For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. (11) More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Luke 17:3-4 commands forgiveness only when repentance is proffered. Many a Christian has validated his withholding of love to someone based on that person’s impenitence. Then, when they do repent, we think highly of ourselves as we so graciously accept our offender’s apologies & embrace him once more into our company. O how far removed from Christ-like love is this?! Where would we be if Christ demanded that our hearts soften towards Him before He would do anything for us? Then the cross of Christ could only come at the end of time, only after all were afforded the opportunity to beg of its saving mercy & grace. But no, the Father gave His Son, the Son gave His cross & the Spirit afforded us repentance & acceptance of that cross- all this “while we were still sinners”. Such mercy & grace bestowed to such unworthy individuals!
1 John 4:9-12 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. (10) In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (11) Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (12) No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
There is much more to following Christ than simply following His commands; in maturity, we must press on to follow His example as well.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
The Apostle
Ephesians 4:11-16 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, (12) to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (13) until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, (14) so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. (15) Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, (16) from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Much ado has been paid to titles & gifts in the church; some claim titles based on fanciful notions of innate abilities, as well as outright self-centered avarice. But titles come as abilities are given, nurtured, then proven by experience. Like salvation itself, they are not borne from the heart & ability of man, but the purposed will & authority of God. (1 Cor. 1:1, 2 Cor 1:1, Gal. 1:1, et. al.)
The apostle is the highest calling man can have. He is a man “set apart for the gospel of God” (Rom. 1:1) & has entire churches as a testament to his “workmanship in the Lord” (1Cor. 9:1-2). Paul spells out more of the traits of the apostle in 2 Cor 12:12- “The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works.”
Jesus selected only twelve of His disciples to be apostles & gifted them:
Mark 3:14-15 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach (15) and have authority to cast out demons.
Luke 9:1-2 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, (2) and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.
Acts 2:42-43 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (43) And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
Quite simply an apostle is nothing less than one who possesses, by the appointment (1Tim. 2:7) of God, all the titles & gifts of God in his person. He shepherds, preaches, teaches, prophesies, evangelizes, works miracles, & has complete authority over comparatively large portions of Christ’s church body. All gifts of God are potentially actionable through the office of apostle.
Yet even at this level of stewardship to Christ, such are not perfect. Their faith was sometimes weak (Luke 17:5), & despite their anointing, their authority was sometimes suppressed by this faithlessness (Luke. 9:40-41). The apostle Peter had to be dressed down by the apostle Paul for conduct “not in step with the truth of the gospel” (Gal. 2:14). Paul himself confesses that the intransigent old man is still at war against his soul (Rom. 7) & he is powerless (but still joyful) against Satan’s thorn in his flesh as a result (2 Cor 12:7). So perseverant humility & transparency are shown to be more marks of the apostle.
It would seem to have been a requirement to have actually witnessed Jesus Christ for one to be accorded the office, given the statements of Acts1:22-23 & 1 Cor. 9:1. Yet another standard the guy on TV or the strip mall storefront probably doesn’t meet.
Then, further denying the concept of the modern apostle, is the fact that his “workmanship” is taught to be foundational not simply to a church, but the church; that “household of God” that been has passed down for nearly 2000 years…
Ephesians 2:13-22 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (14) For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility (15) by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, (16) and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. (17) And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. (18) For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. (19) So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, (20) built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, (21) in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. (22) In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Such a momentous structure as this, a building with no less than Christ as the cornerstone & His apostles & prophets being the very substance for the rest of the foundation, is not the kind of building I could imagine being torn down past the foundation & rebuilt with new apostles & prophets with every generation that passes. As Moses & the prophets were deemed sufficient for the rich man's family (Luke 16:29), God has apparently determined the original apostles & prophets to be sufficient for us.
The Greek “apostolos” means “a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders” (Thayer) & clearly- according to Acts 1:2- God is their only “commander”. Pretty large person; indeed, so large that Heb. 3:1 even attributes the title to Christ Himself:
Hebrews 3:1-3 Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, (2) who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house. (3) For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses- as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.
It is the natural man’s typical impetus to crave such power over other men. But I see no man since the days of the early church exhibiting such Godly power, & it may well be until Christ returns that earthly eyes would gaze upon one in possession of such authority again.
So one would be wise to beware of anyone claiming such a title, for pride & deception must surely rule his soul. Possibly, ignorance of the scope of the biblical precedent for apostleship might be the cause for a modern "apostle's" misguided appropriation of such a title, but that biblical ignorance proves as well his improper appropriation.
There is one more way the true earthly apostle imitates Christ- the ultimate Apostle (for He was also "sent"- John 3:16)- the apostle often suffers death for the sake of the Gospel:
Luke 11:49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute.
Church history records that every established apostle but John died for his witness of Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:27-28 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
(28) And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
Much ado has been paid to titles & gifts in the church; some claim titles based on fanciful notions of innate abilities, as well as outright self-centered avarice. But titles come as abilities are given, nurtured, then proven by experience. Like salvation itself, they are not borne from the heart & ability of man, but the purposed will & authority of God. (1 Cor. 1:1, 2 Cor 1:1, Gal. 1:1, et. al.)
The apostle is the highest calling man can have. He is a man “set apart for the gospel of God” (Rom. 1:1) & has entire churches as a testament to his “workmanship in the Lord” (1Cor. 9:1-2). Paul spells out more of the traits of the apostle in 2 Cor 12:12- “The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works.”
Jesus selected only twelve of His disciples to be apostles & gifted them:
Mark 3:14-15 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach (15) and have authority to cast out demons.
Luke 9:1-2 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, (2) and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.
Acts 2:42-43 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (43) And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
Quite simply an apostle is nothing less than one who possesses, by the appointment (1Tim. 2:7) of God, all the titles & gifts of God in his person. He shepherds, preaches, teaches, prophesies, evangelizes, works miracles, & has complete authority over comparatively large portions of Christ’s church body. All gifts of God are potentially actionable through the office of apostle.
Yet even at this level of stewardship to Christ, such are not perfect. Their faith was sometimes weak (Luke 17:5), & despite their anointing, their authority was sometimes suppressed by this faithlessness (Luke. 9:40-41). The apostle Peter had to be dressed down by the apostle Paul for conduct “not in step with the truth of the gospel” (Gal. 2:14). Paul himself confesses that the intransigent old man is still at war against his soul (Rom. 7) & he is powerless (but still joyful) against Satan’s thorn in his flesh as a result (2 Cor 12:7). So perseverant humility & transparency are shown to be more marks of the apostle.
It would seem to have been a requirement to have actually witnessed Jesus Christ for one to be accorded the office, given the statements of Acts1:22-23 & 1 Cor. 9:1. Yet another standard the guy on TV or the strip mall storefront probably doesn’t meet.
Then, further denying the concept of the modern apostle, is the fact that his “workmanship” is taught to be foundational not simply to a church, but the church; that “household of God” that been has passed down for nearly 2000 years…
Ephesians 2:13-22 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (14) For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility (15) by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, (16) and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. (17) And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. (18) For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. (19) So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, (20) built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, (21) in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. (22) In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Such a momentous structure as this, a building with no less than Christ as the cornerstone & His apostles & prophets being the very substance for the rest of the foundation, is not the kind of building I could imagine being torn down past the foundation & rebuilt with new apostles & prophets with every generation that passes. As Moses & the prophets were deemed sufficient for the rich man's family (Luke 16:29), God has apparently determined the original apostles & prophets to be sufficient for us.
The Greek “apostolos” means “a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders” (Thayer) & clearly- according to Acts 1:2- God is their only “commander”. Pretty large person; indeed, so large that Heb. 3:1 even attributes the title to Christ Himself:
Hebrews 3:1-3 Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, (2) who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house. (3) For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses- as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.
It is the natural man’s typical impetus to crave such power over other men. But I see no man since the days of the early church exhibiting such Godly power, & it may well be until Christ returns that earthly eyes would gaze upon one in possession of such authority again.
So one would be wise to beware of anyone claiming such a title, for pride & deception must surely rule his soul. Possibly, ignorance of the scope of the biblical precedent for apostleship might be the cause for a modern "apostle's" misguided appropriation of such a title, but that biblical ignorance proves as well his improper appropriation.
There is one more way the true earthly apostle imitates Christ- the ultimate Apostle (for He was also "sent"- John 3:16)- the apostle often suffers death for the sake of the Gospel:
Luke 11:49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute.
Church history records that every established apostle but John died for his witness of Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:27-28 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
(28) And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
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