Re: Turning Point Church World Outreach Center-Tell Your Story
Posted by:
LearningPoint
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Date: March 06, 2009 06:45AM
THERE IS SO MUCH CONFUSION ABOUT THE APOSTLE THING. PLEASE TAKE TIME TO READ WHAT'S HERE AS PART OF YOUR RESEARCH...
Yes, the original apostles were FOUNDATIONAL, laying the foundation of the church, as Jesus said they would. They walked with Jesus, heard his teachings directly, and faithfully laid that foundation, writing what we have in our hands as the NT, establishing churches, and teaching them walk faithfully. There were two main apostles, of course. Jesus said to Peter that he would build his church on the foundation of this apostle; Peter was the apostle to the Jews. Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles; Jesus appeared to Him on the road to Damascus and also gave his supernatural revelations for his work. God's purpose for them was accomplished by the grace of God. Today, by virtue of the fact that Jesus in bodily form is not walking among us as He did with the apostles, there are NO APOSTLES AMONG US IN THAT SENSE. (I do believe that God sends men and women to do His work; in that functional sense, we can say that people are doing the work of an apostle; we usually refer to them as missionaries and church planters today.) BUT THE OFFICE OF AN APOSTLE, as Mike and Tony are seeking to fill, is not valid for them to attibute to themselves or to have anyone else attribute to them. They are not qualified.
I posted the following earlier in the forum. Please take time to read this information. It will clarify the ambiguities about the word "apostle" and the role of an apostle.
Here are some excerpts from an article entitled "Are There Modern-Day Apostles?" found at this link [www.apologeticspress.org]:
THE QUALIFICATIONS OF AN APOSTLE
When one assembles all the relevant New Testament data, at least three qualifications emerge as prerequisite to one becoming an apostle in the official sense (Hayden, 1894, p. 33, expands these credentials to seven in number). First, an apostle had to have seen the Lord and been an eyewitness of Christ’s resurrection (Acts 1:22; 22:14; 1 Corinthians 9:1). Second, an apostle had to be specifically selected by the Lord or the Holy Spirit (Matthew 10:5; Mark 3:13-14; Luke 6:13; Acts 1:26; 9:15; 22:14-15,21; 26:16). Third, an apostle was invested with miraculous power to the extent that he could perform miracles. The power to perform miracles included the capability to confer the ability to work miracles to other individuals through the laying on of his hands (Mark 3:15; 16:17-20; Luke 9:1-2; John 14:12,26; 15:24-27; 16:13; Acts 2:43; 4:29-31,33; 5:12,15-16; 6:6; 8:14-18; 19:6; 2 Timothy 1:6; Romans 1:11; Hebrews 2:3-4). Jesus referred to His bestowal of miraculous capability upon the apostles when He promised they would be “endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).
NO APOSTLES TODAY
Unfortunately, several groups that claim affiliation with the Christian religion allege to have apostles among them, including Catholicism, Mormonism, and some pentecostal groups. This claim is unbiblical. No person living today can meet the qualifications given in Scripture for being an apostle. No one living today has been an eyewitness of Christ’s resurrection. Christ has selected no one living today for the apostolic role. No one living today possesses the miraculous capabilities of an apostle. We should not be surprised that people would falsely claim to be apostles. Jesus warned that false prophets would come in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they would be ravening wolves (Matthew 7:15). Paul described some of his opponents in these words:
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).
Further warning was issued to the Galatian churches: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8). Anyone claiming to be an apostle today who teaches anything in addition to the New Testament is clearly not an apostle of Christ!
Peter added his voice on the same subject: “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction” (2 Peter 2:1). No wonder John admonished: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1; cf. Matthew 24:11,24). In the Revelation, the church at Ephesus was commended because they “tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars” (Revelation 2:2).
Another excerpt (the conclusion) from a paper/book about apostles found at this link [www.thefaithfulword.org]:
Apostles: Conclusion
History tells of no mighty army of apostles trained and sent out by the first century church. The apostles died, John last of all, leaving no apostles in their place. The only people who would be surprised by this are those that mistakenly believe in a Roman Catholic system of "apostolic succession." But those who read the Scriptures will readily recall that there is no teaching whatsoever in Scripture for a believer to put into practice today on "How to Become an Apostle." Paul never wrote to tell Timothy how to spot the next apostle after he died. No Scripture ever details the qualifications of an apostle except to say that they had to be with Christ, be appointed by Him, witness His resurrection, be trained by Him for three years, and perform miraculous signs, wonders, and healings.
As the apostles died, there were fewer and fewer men who had been appointed by Christ as apostles. As they died and became fewer, the number of churches was growing and growing. The last apostle on Earth completed the Scriptures closing the door on prophetic Scripture and all the authenticating apostolic sign gifts. But the number of Christian churches was even larger.
Who will do the apostles’ work of teaching and preaching and planting churches today? The church planters today are the same men that planted churches side-by-side with apostles--the evangelists. The apostles’ teachings and equipping works are still with us--the Scriptures. Just as the church carried on the tasks of church planting, teaching, and evangelism in those days without benefit of any new apostles, so too can we carry on today in the same strength of the Spirit and with the same zeal, if we are willing.
What are we to think of men today who demand to be respected as apostles? Only God knows a man’s heart, desires, and motives. We cannot judge the inner thoughts of such a one. But, written in Scripture, an apostle’s own words, is a warning about men who used to call themselves Paul’s equals: "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their deeds." (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)
To be certain, they may appear to have good character, even a righteous character; but, they may be disguised as a servant of righteousness, or disguised as an apostle. Even servants of Satan can appear to have "good characters." Good character is no substitute for good theology. Good character is no requisite for apostleship. Paul condemns the attempt of these men to be apostles; Paul did not applaud their desire. He found these apostolic imposters of himself to be false.
May we not be guilty of teaching men how to become false apostles.
"…you put to the test those who call themselves apostles..and you found them to be false;" (Revelation 2:2)