No where does it
say that Barnabas saw Jesus as Paul speaks of, yet he is called an apostle.
Hmmm...14 apostles.
Then how about Andronicus
and Junia? Paul writes in Romans 16:7:
7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my countrymen and my fellow prisoners,
who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.
Please notice the
phrase "note among the apostles". The word note is episemos which means: having
a mark on it, marked, stamped, coined, note, illustrious.
The word among is en
which means: in, by, with etc.
One version renders
the verse in Romans as:
7Greetings to Andronicus
and Junia, my relatives, who were in prison with me. They are very important
apostles. They were believers in Christ before I was
Yet another renders
it:
7Greet
Andronicus and Junia, who are Jewish by birth like me. They are prisoners
like me and are prominent among the apostles. They also were Christians
before I was.
16 apostles...hmm.
So, the traditional idea of what
apostles are is shown to be just that "tradition" and we know that the traditions
of man make the word of God ineffective. Tradition has blinded us to what
apostles are and to their tenure.
If you take a
look at the book of Ephesians where it speaks of apostles, prophets, evangelist,
pastors and teachers, it says that they are gifts given to the church...hmm.
Has the church
expired? No.
Has the church all
come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ?
No.
Has the church
become fully equipped? No.
Well until that
happens there will be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers...
Eph 4:11-13
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists,
and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for
the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge
of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of
the fullness of Christ;
I don't see it
having happened yet...so TILL it does those gifts are still given to men
for the church.
Now Paul wrote
the letter to the Ephesians during the end of his ministry, yet Paul by
the Holy Spirit specifically says that apostles are among those given
to help equip the church. Was the Holy Spirit "mistaken"?
Seeing it was
written towards the end of his ministry thus taking place after the end
of the book of Acts where supposedly the end of the apostles ministry
takes place, why then does Paul speak of it in Ephesians? Simply because
the church still needs the apostle.
Can the hand say
to the eye I have no need of you? No.
Also Paul write
in the book of 1 Corinthians 12:28:
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.
Again God has
appointed in the church...where does it say these things ended? It doesn't.
So, we have to take the clear verses that say that the apostle has been
set in the church with not so clear verses in order to understand the
not so clear ones. True?
Yet, how many
times does God have to say something for it to be true? It is a fact that
there are more verses saying that there are apostles in God's church then
there are verses that say one must be born again. Does that make the one
more true than the other?
Ps 62:11
11 God has spoken once, twice I have heard this: that power belongs
to God.
The misunderstanding
of the ministry of the apostle in the evangelical community and the charismatic
community has led to the demise those who have such a calling on their
lives to be vilified and at best ignored.
This is
not pleasing to the Father and it is not scriptural. Thus the church is
not as effective, because it is not as equipped as it could be seeing
it ignores one of the gifts given to men to help equip the body...till all come into the unity of the faith.
A gift from God
is a terrible thing to waste...or ignore...or vilify.
John Johnson