PART 5 APOSTLES - ARE THEY STILL AMONG US?

A summary of the leadership functions of the church.

CHAPTER 6

The Compiled List of the Functions and in Some Cases the Qualifications of the Office Gifts of: Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, and Pastor

I am going to present the compiled lists of the functions and in some cases the qualifications of the office gifts in this order: evangelist, pastor, prophet, and apostle. Let’s familiarize ourselves once again with the functions and qualifications of each office so that we will be better prepared to look at another approach in regard to answering the question, are there apostles in the church today?

A.   Evangelist

~ Is someone whose calling is to proclaim the good news.

~ Will at times hear words spoken to them in their mind by divine conveyance to go to a certain geographical location. If they follow through in obedience then when they arrive at the geographical location they will receive further instruction which will if they are obedient to what was said bring about an encounter between them and whoever it is that is to hear the gospel.

B.   Pastor (elder, teacher)

~ Utilizes the gift of teaching with assistance by the Holy Spirit in conveying to the Christian converts the beliefs and duties of the faith. Acts 13:1

~ Inspects not only their own spiritual state, but also the spiritual state of each member of the assembly. Acts 20:3-21:4

~ Is  aware (observant) of anyone that might come in from the outside and try to indoctrinate the assembly with false teaching along with being attentive (be on guard) in detecting anyone from within the church, who might be distorting the truth by speaking crooked, perverted, and distracting doctrines.  Acts 20:3-21:4

~ Preaches the gospel to unbelievers. Romans10:13-14

~ Loves to study; thoroughly researches a biblical topic; employs grammatical correctness when emphasizing a word. 1 Corinthians 12:1-13:1                            

~ Exhorts the believers to exercise their gifts; provides council for those who have gone astray. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13                                                                                                                                                                                      

~ Gives attention to: “reading” (the public reading of scripture); “exhortation” makes the meaning and relevance of the scriptures clear to the assembly; “doctrine” (the act of teaching a systematized body of teaching). 1 Timothy 4:12-13; 2 Timothy 1:6

~ Labors with wearisome effort whether in relation to: the preaching of the word; instructing by categories (topics); explanatory teaching (verse by verse). 1 Timothy 5:17

~ Presents teachings which should not: agree with their carnal desires; conceal the gravity of their evil propensities; deal gently with their vices (immoral practices such as adultery; formication; incest; rape; homosexuality; lesbianism; pedophilia; etc.). 2 Timothy 4:3-4     

~ Prays with hands extended over a believer, who is sick, anointing them with virgin oil on their forehead in the sign of the Cross so that they might be restored physically and spiritually. It could be inferred that before hands are laid on this person they would be asked if they were aware of any known sin in their life. If they were to say yes, they would be asked to confess it silently in their mind to God the Father. James 5:14-20

C.    Prophet

~ They received new truths by means of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the absence of full written revelation. These truths were that the Gentiles are: fellow heirs (of the same spiritual riches with the Jews); of the same body (fellow members with the Jews in the body of Christ); partakers of the same promise (of the Holy Spirit) in Christ by means of the Gospel. Ephesians 2:1-22; 3:4-6

~ They would predict future events (e.g. famine). Acts 11:27-30

~ They would predict albeit in the accompaniment of a warning for a fellow believer that they should not continue on in their journey toward a particular geographical location because dire consequences will befall them. Acts 20:17; 21:8-15

~ They would, when gathered together with other prophets, who were available to proclaim a prophetic word to the assembly, allow someone else to speak ahead of them if they themselves hadn’t received something from the Spirit. Along with this those who were not conveying the prophetic word would  judge as to whether what was said by the prophet who was speaking as to whether what they were saying was from the Holy Spirit. Some commentators say that the testing of the prophetic word involved discussion and comparison of what was said with known scripture. If something was said which appeared contrary to known truth the one speaking would be interrupted and not be allowed to continue speaking by the other prophets. 1 Corinthians 14:1-40 

   Based on the varied functions of a prophet, which we have uncovered, along with the consensus by many who believe that some of these functions are either no longer operative or could be implemented by another one of the office gifts that being the office of pastor, let’s take a brief look at what the remaining functions of a prophet might be that benefit the kingdom of God, if this office still exists.

~ They would predict future events (e.g. famine). Acts 11:27-30

~ They would predict albeit in the accompaniment of a warning for a fellow believer that they should not continue on in their journey toward a particular geographical location because dire consequences will befall them. Acts 20:17; 21:8-15

D.    Apostle

~ They (the original 12 apostles) were called and ordained (appointed) by Christ.

(Mark 3:13-14; Matthew 4:21-22; Matthew 10:1-2a)

~ They can be privy to the motives of one’s heart by means of the ministry of the Holy Spirit as in this case in regard to the selling of one’s property and the making of a declaration (commitment) to give all of the proceeds to help one’s fellow believers who needed financial assistance because of persecution, and then after which to decide to keep back part of it for themselves. Acts 5:1-11

~ They are commissioned by Christ to go into all of the world and preach the gospel (good news) to every creature, and to place or appoint others when they left a city as their substitutes in order to complete the work that had begun. Mark 16:15

~They are to go into all the world and teach (make disciples) of Christ, who will then be baptized (brought into union or communion) unto God. Matthew 28:19-20 

~ They are to be witnesses of Christ, even in the midst of persecution and death, throughout the world. Acts 1:8

~ They would appoint (by the laying of hands on each person’s forehead) in accompaniment with prayer, signifying the giving of responsibility or the granting of authority, a believer to a particular leadership office, in this case the office of apostle. The method used in regard to how someone was selected varied. Some believe that the apostles chose out from the assembly those who exhibited: the spiritual qualities of the Spirit, the functions of the office, the qualifications of the office, and its divine skill. Others believe that the assembly would vote by the showing of hands those who exhibited: the spiritual qualities of the Spirit, the functions of the office, the qualifications of the office, and its divine skill. Acts 1:12-26

~ They would receive during times of intense persecution the proceeds from Christians, who had chosen to sell land or houses, and distribute such in order to help their fellow brethren who had lost their jobs and businesses. Acts 3:1-4:31                      

~ They would convey the new truths about the new kingdom to the newly converted under the leading of the Holy Spirit, which eventually would be written down and compiled to form the New Testament canon. Acts 2:42-47

~ They have seen the risen Christ either by means of a vision or theophanythe confirmation of such would be by another believer along with exhibiting evidence: in patience (remaining loyal to the faith in trials and sufferings); in signs (miracles with emphasis on their ability to increase spiritual understanding by pointing to a spiritual reality); in wonders (in the sense of awe, which the miracle creates); mighty deeds (miracles resulting from divine power). Acts 9:8-19; 2 Corinthians 12:12; 10:2, 10

~ They would establish churches and at various times return to visit them in order to see how the saints were continuing on in their faith. Acts 15:22-23, 35-36 

~ They could delegate authority to a fellow worker (representative; delegate; an apostolic agent) to go to various churches and teach the assembly sound doctrine making sure that they themselves are an example of such to them, and to ordain (appoint) elders. Titus 1:5-9

~ They (some) could be sent by their fellow apostles, who have received divine awareness of certain people, who after hearing the gospel repented, believed in Christ, were baptized in water, but had not received the indwelling Spirit, to lay hands on

their foreheads with the accompaniment of prayer so that they might receive the indwelling Spirit. Acts 8:5-24

~ They (some) might be called and appointed to this office by divine origin. The calling and appointment to this office by divine origin should be realized by the leadership and assembly of the churches by their recognition of: the manifested spiritual qualities of the Holy Spirit; the functions of the office; the qualifications of this office. Galatians 1:1

     Based on the varied functions of an apostle, which we have uncovered, along with the consensus by many who believe that some of these functions are either no longer operative or could be implemented by another one of the office gifts that being the office of pastor, let’s take a brief look at what the remaining functions of an apostle might be that benefit the kingdom of God, if this office still exists.

~ They have seen the risen Christ either by means of a vision (an altered state of consciousness in which extrasensory audiovisual experiences, usually revelatory in character, are perceived in private by individuals³⁷)or theophany (a visible appearance of the risen Christ) the confirmation of such would be by another believer along with exhibiting evidence: in patience (remaining loyal to the faith in trials and sufferings); in signs (miracles with emphasis on their ability to increase spiritual understanding by pointing to a spiritual reality); in wonders (in the sense of awe, which the miracle creates); mighty deeds (miracles resulting from divine power). Acts 9:8-19; 2 Corinthians 12:12; 10:2, 10 

~ They are commissioned by Christ to go into all of the world and preach the gospel (good news) to every creature, and to place or appoint others when they left a city as their substitutes in order to complete the work that had begun. Mark 16:15

~ They would establish churches and at various times return to visit them in order to see how the saints were continuing on in their faith. Acts 15:22-23, 35-36

     After looking at these lists do you think that the functions and qualifications of an apostle and prophet would be beneficial for the Christian churches of today?

     As I said earlier there is another way to try to answer the question, are there apostles in the church today? This approach takes a look at scriptures which are used by some churches to support their view that there are apostles in the church today while others use the same scriptures to say that there are no longer apostles in the church today. So we will take a look at these scriptures in the next chapter and find out how each of these perspectives would answer the same question, are there apostles in the church today

Endnotes

³⁷International Standard.

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