THE ROLE OF THE APOSTLE
"And His Gifts were [varied; He Himself appointed and gave men to us] some to be Apostles (Special Messengers), some Prophets (Inspired preachers and expounders)....... Ephesians 4: 11(AMP)
While writing his letter to the Church in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul describes the type of leaders the Lord God Almighty has provided for His Church, equipped to help Her attain Maturity and Christlikeness, in the Process becoming the Spotless Bride of the Lord Jesus Himself. In this Bible passage, Paul mentions Five Specific Offices that are notably referred to as the Five-fold Ministry: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers. Many Christian leaders have taken this verse out of context and placed these Five Roles above their designated position. They emphasize the importance of these Offices in a Local Church – which is obviously true – but often serve their own selfish interests and need for power and recognition while denying the rest of the Church – the “Laity” – any form of involvement in Church Government. Some others dismiss the verse altogether, erroneously believing that Paul is speaking in the Apostolic Age which, according to them, has long passed, so that his words are not relevant to us at all any more. It is, therefore, absolutely imperative that we get a Biblical Understanding of the Five-fold Ministry so that our Churches would be healthy and function according to the Will and Counsel of God.
While we are focusing on the aforementioned Five, we must remember that Paul is not giving us an exhaustive list. He goes on to clarify thus in 1 Corinthians 12:28(NKJV): "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." Only Three of the initial Five listed in Ephesians are repeated here while Paul adds other categories of people and their functions. Surely it would be derogatory to equate an Apostle with an Administrator, yet both are on the same list and there is no reason to speculate an explicit hierarchy or that one function has a higher value than another. On the contrary, Ministers who speak the Word of God, who preach and teach (which is part and parcel of the Five-fold Ministry) are held to a higher level of accountability. Their goal is not to serve themselves but the Flock of God so that every member of the Body would attain all the Fullness in Christ (Eph. 4:12-13).
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 more often. However, Apostleship is the most misunderstood of all of them primarily because theological concerns about Apostleship result from a lack of distinction between the First Twelve Apostles (or the Apostles of the Lamb) 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 in the Epistles. Those in favour of Apostleship who also abuse the office seem to have overlooked the fact that Paul calls himself a servant and a father, and that he paid a price none of them would be willing to pay. A Genuine Apostle is defined as “One called and sent by Christ Jesus 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.” Simply put, Genuine Apostles govern and have a burden to build something that never existed before (Rom. 15:20). They lay the Foundation of New Local Churches and see to it that Christian believers therein grow into Full Maturity.
Paul himself gave the following admonition to the Church in Corinth: "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" (1Cor. 9:2). In other words, every Apostle has a specific and unique jurisdiction. Apostles have a burden to ground the 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 the Church there. Apostles have an inate 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.
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, we pray that you enable us to understand the Role of the Apostle better within the Local Church and help us fully support them in Jesus' Mighty Name. Amen.