Tuesday 15th September 2020 Devotion
Scripture:- Ephesians 4:1-14
Topic:- Five Ministerial Calling [2]
Text:- 1 Corinthians 12:28
And yet, Apostleship is the most misunderstood of all of them. How can that be? Over the centuries, the term “Apostle” disappeared from usage, until a recent new awakening of interest over the past two decades.
That does not mean that Apostles did not exist; they were often called “Missionaries” or “Pastors.” Yet, the dispensational belief that the Holy Spirit had stopped moving with the end of the Apostolic Age taught that all Apostles had to have disappeared.
Today, many are trying to gain a biblical understanding of what an Apostle is supposed to look like in our day, in their pursuit of restoring the Church to the normative of the first century.
Unfortunately, the result has often been an unhealthy elevation of the office of an “Apostle” feeding into people’s need for power and recognition.
On the other hand, this abuse seems to justify dispensational concerns (e.g. certain “things” have passed) of Apostleship being unscriptural today.
However, Theological concerns about Apostleship result from a lack of distinction between the first twelve Apostles and the office of an Apostle.
Those who seek to teach that Apostles have disappeared overlook the many other Apostles listed in the book of Acts as well as the Epistles.
Those in favor of Apostleship who also abuse the office seem to have overlooked that Paul calls himself a Servant and a father, and that he paid a price none of them would be willing to pay. See 2 Corinthians 11:23-28.
Jim Goll defines an Apostle as “one called and sent by Christ to have the spiritual authority, character, gifts and abilities to reach and establish people in Kingdom truth and order, especially through founding and overseeing local Churches.”
An Apostle has “a burden to build something that didn’t exist before. They lay the foundation of new local Churches and see to it that they come into full maturity.
That is the Church that person will be the Apostle to which means he/she will not have any authority as an Apostle in other Churches, which is what many today claim.
Paul himself wrote to the Corinthians, “Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my Apostleship in the Lord.” See 1 Corinthians 9:2.
Apostles have a burden to ground their Church in solid biblical teaching, an example of which we can see in Acts 11, when Paul and Barnabas spent two years at Antioch, teaching and equipping them.
Apostles have the desire to train and raise up Church leaders who will come into full maturity in the Church, to release them, and then move on to plant another Church. Making themselves “redundant” is their greatest reward, as they father their spiritual children into adulthood.
Prayer Point:- Oh Lord God, help me to function well in the area You have called me to serve You henceforth by fire, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Have A Wonderful Tuesday!
