As is typical within the Church today, we find two extremes at either end of a pendulum. Both these extremes disregard the whole of Scripture and only proof-text those verses which suit their agendas. On the one end of this pendulum, we have those within Charismania. On the other end of this pendulum, we have those within Charisphobia. When we let Scripture speak for itself, however, rather than blindly believing what we have been told by our particular denominations, we receive a different picture altogether. It is this picture that we, as believers and followers of Christ Jesus, need to be pursuing. It does no good to be a pew-sitter who just blindly accepts whatever a person in the pulpit says to us. We need to constantly be like the Bereans, searching the Scriptures daily.
Rather than
engage in reactionary theology in an attempt to combat the counterfeits,
we need to be solidly rooted in Scripture and to let it be our final
authority. If we are merely going to react to counterfeits and false
teachings, then we can attempt to make the Bible say anything we want
against such, which is to engage in eisegesis. We have to constantly be
allowing the Bible to speak for itself. So let us begin our examination of what God's Word has to say on the issue of apostles.
"And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?" 1 Corinthians 12:28-29
"And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as shepherds and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ." Ephesians 4:11-13
"I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 1:4-8
List of Apostles
- Jesus — Hebrews 3:1
- Simon Peter — Matthew 10:2
- Andrew — Matthew 10:2
- James the son of Zebedee — Matthew 10:2
- John — Matthew 10:2
- Philip — Matthew 10:3
- Bartholomew — Matthew 10:3
- Thomas — Matthew 10:3
- Matthew — Matthew 10:3
- James the son of Alphaeus — Matthew 10:3
- Thaddaeus, or Judas the son of James — Matthew 10:3; Luke 6:16
- Simon the Zealot — Matthew 10:4
- Judas Iscariot — Matthew 10:4
- Matthias, the replacement for Judas — Acts 1:26
- Paul — Galatians 1:1
- Barnabas — 1 Cor. 9:5-6; Acts 14:4, 14
- James, the Lord's Brother — Galatians 1:19
- Silas (Silvanus) — 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2:6
- Timothy — 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2:6
- Epaphroditus — Philippians 2:25 [the Greek uses the word apostolos, but most English translations translate it as something other than apostle]
- Apollos — 1 Corinthians 4:6-9; 3:22
- Two unnamed apostles — 2 Corinthians 8:23
"Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles." Acts 2:43
"And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people;" Acts 5:12a
"In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks. But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren. Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands." Acts 14:1-3
"Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds." 2 Corinthians 12:12
"Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:8-13
DID APOSTLES NEED TO WITNESS THE RISEN CHRIST?
One
of the arguments against the existence of apostles today is that in
order to be an apostle, one had to be a witness to the resurrection of
Christ. This is derived from the isolation and eisegesis of Acts
1:21-22. We know this argument to be false because later, when Jesus
ascended, He gave gifts to the Church, which included apostles. Several
of these apostles later mentioned in Scripture were from other locations
and had never witnessed the death and resurrection of the Lord.
- Barnabas — 1 Cor. 9:5-6; Acts 14:4, 14
- James, the Lord's Brother — Galatians 1:19
- Silas (Silvanus) — 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2:6
- Timothy — 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2:6
- Epaphroditus — Philippians 2:25 [the Greek uses the word apostolos, but most English translations translate it as something other than apostle]
- Apollos — 1 Corinthians 4:6-9; 3:22
- Two unnamed apostles — 2 Corinthians 8:23
The
original 12, with the replacement of Judas by Matthias, were
foundational to the Church's beginning. They served a particular
purpose. If there were only 13 apostles, including Paul, then how did
James, the Lord's brother, become one and become the head of the
Jerusalem church? First Corinthians 9:1 is the other passage
proof-texted as support for this argument, but one must remember that
Paul did not physically see the death and resurrection of Jesus. He saw
Jesus by way of revelation. He also is not arguing that in order to be
an apostle one must be a witness to the risen Christ.
WERE SIGNS AND WONDERS EVIDENCE OF AN APOSTLE?
Another
argument against the existence of apostles today is that signs and
wonders were the evidence that someone was an apostle sent by Christ.
But this argument is likewise false. Neither Stephen nor the evangelist
Philip were Apostles, and yet they worked signs and wonders.
"And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people." Acts 6:8
"The crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing." Acts 8:6
WHAT IS A FALSE APOSTLE?
If
the counterfeit exists, it is logical to conclude that the genuine must
also exist. Otherwise, it would be pointless and senseless to
counterfeit it. Nobody would counterfeit a $25 bill because everybody
would know that it does not exist. Likewise, nobody would counterfeit
old currency no longer in circulation because everyone would know that
it is no longer of value. The early church knew they were to test the
claims of apostles in order to guard against false ministry. Jesus
commended the Ephesian church for testing and rejecting false apostles (Rev. 2:2) while Paul condemned the Corinthian church for failing to do so (2 Cor. 11:13). Apostleship is not something you
feel called to. The word "apostle" means "a delegate, an ambassador, a
messenger, one sent." In other words, you are an ambassador of Christ,
and you are sent out by the Church with the Church's blessing and
recognition of your calling by God in order to plant churches. In other words, you are a missionary. Again, not something you feel called to, but that which the Church recognizes in and about you.
There
are people today, especially within the Charismatic movement, who think
themselves to be apostles, calling themselves apostles, and yet not
exemplifying what it means to be an apostle. Most people recognize that
they are false apostles. A false apostle could be a genuine brother in
the faith, or they could be sent by the devil. In order to recognize the
false, we need to be acquainted with the genuine.
HOW CAN YOU RECOGNIZE A FALSE APOSTLE?
There
are plenty of passages in Scripture warning against false teachers,
false prophets, false brethren, and false Christs, but only two that
warn against false teachers (mentioned in the previous section). Paul
describes what a false apostle looks like in 2 Corinthians 11:
- They commend themselves and boast beyond proper limits.
- They lead believers astray from pure and sincere devotion to Christ.
- They preach another Jesus and a different Gospel.
- They create the impression that they are “super” apostles.
- They look for opportunity to be considered equal with true apostles.
- They are deceitful.
- They are servants of Satan and will be judged.
- They push themselves forward, even to the point of abuse and control.
We
might also use Jude 3-16 and 2 Peter 2 to identify such individuals.
Individuals who think they are apostles but only care about their own
ministries have failed the test and demonstrated themselves to be false
apostles.
CAN A WOMAN BE AN APOSTLE?
No.
This would be placing a woman in spiritual authority over men, which
Scripture forbids. The husband is head of the wife, Christ is head of
the man, and God is head of Christ. Some people try to argue that
Andronicus and Junia were apostles. However, the Bible does not name a female apostle. Most English translations say Junia was "of
note among," "noted among," "notable among," "prominent among," "well
known among," "outstanding among," etc. A few per-versions (paraphrases and not translations), such as The Message, NCV, and NIrV, actually try to claim that she was an apostle. Wuest's literal Expanded Translation renders the Greek in this way: "who are of excellent reputation among the apostles."
All the text means, and is saying, is that the apostles recognized her
reputation and deeds. She was esteemed (held in great respect; admired)
among them. The word episemos (ἐπίσημος)
properly means "having a mark on it, as spoken of money, meaning
marked, stamped, coined." In the New Testament, it figuratively
signifies (in a good sense) being well-thought-of, distinguished, or
illustrious (Rom. 16:7), and (in a bad sense) being notorious, or
infamous (Matt. 27:16). If I were "of note among," "prominent among,"
"well known among," "outstanding among" the kings of the Earth, it in no way implies or infers that I myself am a king; it simply means that, for
good or ill, my reputation and deeds are known among them.
QUALIFICATIONS OF AN APOSTLE
According to Mark 3:14-15, three basic qualifications of an apostle are that they
- must be people who have a close relationship with Christ,
- must be completely obedient and willing to be “sent ones,” and
- will have authority to do Christ’s work.
While these are not exclusive to just apostles, it is a good basis with which to start. Other qualifications would include:
- Submission to Christ – not a law unto themselves. (Phil. 2:5-8)
- Willingness to suffer for Christ. (Col. 1:24-29)
- Holiness. (2 Cor. 1:12)
- Sincerity. (2 Cor. 1:12)
- Grace on their lives. (2 Cor. 1:12)
Apostles
should be people who love wholeheartedly, who care for the whole Body
of Christ (not just their own interests), who have a heart for the widows,
the orphans, the poor, the imprisoned, and who have a sacrificial life.
An apostle is a servant to all God's people. As with any gift given by
God, it requires you possess that gifting, but it also requires the
Church to recognize that gift and for it to be nurtured and grown, which
takes time. If you study the New Testament carefully, Paul and Barnabas
were not sent out immediately. Paul did not appoint elders in churches
he planted immediately. These individuals had to be taught, and they had
to embrace the teachings and exemplify them in their lives.