And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.
And God has appointed these in the church:
Paul listed some kinds of gifts in verse 28 that are different than he listed in verses eight through 10. This is a selective, not an exhaustive, list.
God “appointed” these gifts in the church. The idea is that He placed or set these gifts officially in the church.
first apostles,
Notice the ranking of these gifts with the words “first,” “second,” “third,” and “after that.” The point is not that some gifts have more vital functions to execute than others but that some gifts are more important in leadership. The first three gifts are ranked, and “after that” are gifts without rank.
The word “apostle” means to send out. This is by far the most important gift to the church and carries the most authority of any gift. The apostle had the authority to found the church and write Scripture (the New Testament). Apostles demonstrated their authority by “signs and wonders” (2 Co 12:12).
2 Co 12:12, Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.
PRINCIPLE:
There is no gift of apostleship today because it was a gift for the writing of Scripture and the founding of the church.
APPLICATION:
The gift of apostleship passed with the writing of the New Testament, for apostles must witness the resurrected person of Christ (Mark 3:13; Acts 1:22-24). Paul witnessed the resurrected Christ (Ro 1:1; Ga 1:15-17; chapter 2). We have missionaries who break frontiers for the gospel, but they are not technically apostles.
There is no record of the term “apostle” after Acts 16:4. Nor is there any New Testament record of an apostle replaced by another apostle when he died. The New Testament uses “apostle” in a less technical sense for Barnabas (Ac 14:4), Silas and Timothy (1 Th 2:6), and others (Ro 16:7; 2 Co 8:23; Ph 2:25).
I believe that God still has prophets. I said that he gave these gifts to the church. It never said that it was temporaliy. God use this office to still speak his oracles to the church. This is why our churches are ineffective, because have negelected the gifts that God has given.
Richard, actually God did say that prophecies would be rendered inoperative in 1 Co 13:8. Go to my study there.
Thanks for your contribution to this blog.
We have a worship center and an apostle from Africa wants to rule us because our head pastor is currently in another country.We have elders who preach every Sunday. This apostle claims that we are not qualified to run our ministry. What should we do?
Ana, it is highly unethical for someone to do this while your pastor is away. I would suggest that your elders ask that person to leave your church immediately. He has usurped the authority of your pastor.
I think apostleship is still functioning today. If Ephisians4:11 says he gave gifts to all men. Means in this generation there are apostles. Paul says we are also the epistle written in the hearts of men so that all can read. We might not have written in a testament in of bible but the writings continue in the hearts through preaching.
Dlight, thank you for your post.
It is important to understand the biblical standards to recognize an apostle. An apostle had the right to write Scripture. One of the standards for the right to write Scripture is that a person had to be an apostle and an apostle had to see Jesus personally. No one in our day can be an apostle in that sense today.
The Bible does use the word in the sense of a missionary today. The word “apostle” comes from two Greek words: to send and from. A missionary is sent from the local church with authority to represent the teaching of that church.
In order to understand the qualifications of an apostle who has the right to lay the foundation of the church and write Scripture we need to see those biblical standards. It is critical that we do not use our personal experience to do so.
In Acts 1:12-26 Peter set forth the standards for choosing a new apostle and setting the qualifications. Not everyone could be considered for an apostleship. Candidates needed to have been with Jesus during his life among them. That is, he needed to be an eyewitness of Jesus.
Jesus personally appeared to Paul personally. This undeniable encounter with the resurrected Lord revolutionized Saul’s life. In a vision to another believer in Damascus, Jesus said that He had chosen Saul “as My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel” (Acts 9:15; cf. 22:14–15). Following his conversion, Paul spent some time in Arabia, where he was taught by Christ (Galatians 1:12–17). The other apostles recognized that Jesus Himself had appointed their former enemy to be one of them. As Saul went into Gentile territories, he changed his name to the Greek “Paul,” and Jesus, who gave Paul his apostleship, sent many messages through him to His churches and to unbelievers. It was this apostle, Paul, who wrote over half of the books of the New Testament.
In two of his Epistles, Paul identifies the office of apostle as the first that Jesus appointed to serve His churches (1 Corinthians 12:27–30; Ephesians 4:11). Clearly, the work of apostleship was to lay the foundation of the Church in a sense secondary only to that of Christ Himself (Ephesians 2:19–20), thus requiring eyewitness authority behind their preaching. After the apostles laid the foundation, the Church could be built.
The New Testament recognized that Jesus appointed Paul as His special apostle to the Gentiles (Galatians 1:1; 1 Corinthians 9:1; Acts 26:16–18). There are others in the early church referred to as “apostles” (Acts 14:4, 14; Romans 16:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:6), but only in the sense that they were appointed, authorized, and sent by churches on special errands. These individuals bore the title “apostle” in a limited sense and did not possess all the qualifications of apostleship that the original twelve and Paul did.
No biblical evidence exists to indicate that the apostles were replaced when they died (Acts 12:1–2). Jesus appointed the apostles to do the founding work of the Church, and foundations only need to be laid once. After the apostles’ deaths, other offices besides apostleship, not requiring an eyewitness relationship with Jesus, would carry on the work.
Was Luke an Apostle; what about Mark? They wrote scripture. I’ve always understood that the ones who wrote the New Testament had to be either an apostle or a close associate of an apostle. The close associate term would apply to Luke and Mark.
John, Note this article from General Biblical Introduction by Geisler and Nix: https://versebyversecommentary.com/articles/dr-norman-geisler-apologist/authoritative-writers-of-scripture/
Where do we find the biblical standards for apostleship as you mentioned above? The personally seeing the resurrected Christ is difficult since Paul saw a “light from heaven” and upon hearing, he recognized the light as the Christ.
Is it possible that this view of apostleship limits what God has intended for his church?
Mike, did you read the article from Geisler and Nix in one of my responses above? https://versebyversecommentary.com/articles/dr-norman-geisler-apologist/authoritative-writers-of-scripture/
Grant, I read that. It seems like an argument to support a previously held position. I would like to see a “biblical” standard for apostleship rather than an opinion on how these verses work to prove something that it seems they don’t actually say. I know and understand the arguments for the end of the “apostolic” gifting
I’m just not sure that this is the “clear” teaching of scripture. We are at best making inferences that happen to be true and at worst, making inferences that support our biases without authentically considering other possibilities.
I do appreciate the insight though and look forward to reading/learning more.
Grant are you saying that people do not have visions of Jesus today which is one of the requirements you gave as qualifying to be an Apostle?
The gifts of God are irevokable, why would God remove any one of the offices that he said were given by Jesus to build the church (in escence, prepare the bride for the return of Jesus, her husband)?
I appreciate the write up but I’m concerned it may be harmful to the body of Christ. Please pray into this more asking the Holy Spirit for enlightenment and seek some counsel from counsel from a seasoned leader etc.
Sarah, one of the main issues of the authority of an apostle is canonicity, that is, who did the Holy Spirit grant the right to write Scripture. That is how we know that the canon was closed at the end of the first century. This doctrine renders the Book of Mormon and other false writing non-biblical. I am making a distinction between revelation and vision. God does not give biblical revelation today, it is possible to receive a vision, but not in the sense biblical writers received one.
You are using the words “gifts and calling of God are irrevocable” in the wrong way. Note this study: https://versebyversecommentary.com/2013/09/22/romans-1128f/ The Bible does affirm that tongues will cease (1 Co 13:8).
Sarah, note this study: https://versebyversecommentary.com/articles/doctrine/closing-of-the-canon/