Library 3.0

Apostles Govern
“When it comes to a study of the five-fold ministry in the New Testament, prophets are mentioned a few times, the evangelist is specifically mentioned a couple of times, pastors and teachers are referred to occasionally, but apostles are mentioned often.”
(Scheidler 2001:97)

And yet, apostleship is the most misunderstood of all of them. How can that be? Over the centuries, the term “apostle” disappeared from word 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, also meant that all apostles had to have disappeared. Today, many are trying to get a biblical understanding of what an apostle is supposed to look like in our day, in the course of their pursuit to restore the church to the normative of the first century. Unfortunately, the result has often been an unhealthy elevation of the office of an “apostle” which is feeding into people’s need for power and recognition, and an abuse that seems to justify dispensational concerns of apostleship being unscriptural today. However, their theological concern results from a lack of distinction between the first twelve apostles and the office of an apostle. They overlook the many other apostles listed in the book of Acts as well as the Epistles. And those in favor of apostleship yet abusing it seems 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:

Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26. I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. (2. Cor 11:23-28)

Jim Goll (2001:290) 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” (Kim Terrell 2002:17). 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 (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.

Let us remove the mysticism from the term “apostle”, seeing it for what it really is. Dick Iverson (Scheidler 2001:205) states in an interview, “But no, you don't find “Apostle” written in large letters on my door. I would rather say that I do apostolic work. It isn't just a title, it’s work, W-O-R-K.”

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Prophets Guide
“A man or woman who represents the interests of God to the people. Having stood in the council of God, the prophet releases a clarion call to the people of what is in God's heart at the moment.” (Goll 2001:294)

Prophets reveal God's heart to His people, giving guidance to individuals and the body, giving revelation, as well as often interpretation, application and timing. We see several examples in the book of Acts, e.g. Philip’s daughters and Agabus. In Acts 21, Agabus is a good example of where prophecy can be rightly interpreted, yet applied wrongly, as Paul was urged not to go to Jerusalem, escaping the predictive prophecy of his fate. In this case, we see prophecy as fore-telling, yet it is also forth-telling which is often neglected by those who run after prophetic words. With the new acceptance and recognition of the office of a prophet over the past twenty years, believers turning them to them as fortune-tellers has become a real problem that has driven many to the total rejection of prophets. God has established prophets in His church, and we will not be complete if we reject their ministry out of fear. Many pastors live in fear of prophets, feeling threatened by what they might say to the church or to himself, and at times rightly so since too many prophetic people exalt themselves and the words they speak instead of being humble servants to the body, allowing leadership to weigh their words and judge them as commanded by Scripture.

Prophets are also known as "Spiritual Cowboys". They are to drive the body in a certain direction. They do this by adhering to the voice of God, and then by protecting, warning, challenging, and directing the body of Christ to go a certain way! Prophets/Prophetesses are called by God, and God alone. Prophets expound under the immediate influence of the Holy Ghost, and thus extinguished from Teachers. Prophets are somewhat in a category all their own. They are peculiar, somewhat weird to church and society, and are oftentimes abandoned by man because of their being misunderstood by mainstream religious groups. True Prophets of God are dealt with by God and God alone. They have oftentimes trained in ministry alone, with some guidance by other true Prophets appointed over them, as in a 'school of Prophets' as Elisha attended, but not every true Prophet of God is called in this way (As Elijah and Jeremiah). False "Prophets" are mainly 'soothsayers", often known as a 'slithering tongued serpent', tickling the ears to gain your trust. This world is full of them! True Prophets of God can operate as an Evangelist, Pastor or Teacher. Prophets are also followed by signs and miracles when directed by God to do so. They only speak the oracles of God and are assisted by God to carry out the Prophet's assignment. Apostles and Prophets oftentimes walk together. They are both over the Evangelist, Pastor, and Teacher.