© by Gary W. Crisp
Apostles: Chosen, Called and Sent
Ephesians 4:11a: “The gifts He gave were that some would be apostles”
Rom. 11:29 “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.”
Rom. 12: “(6) Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, if our gift is prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; (7) If it is ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teaches, on teaching; (8) Or he that exhorts, on exhortation: he that gives let him do it with simplicity; he that rules, with diligence; he that shows mercy, with cheerfulness. (9) Let love be sincere, without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.”
1st Cor. 14:12 “Even so you, forasmuch as you are zealous of spiritual gifts, see that your one goal is to the edify the church.”
1st Timothy 4:14 (Paul, encouraging Timothy): “Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given you by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.”
Hebrews 2:4 “God also bearing them (the apostles) witness, both with signs and wonders, and with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?”
Looking at the Greek word, apostolos (ap-os’-tol-os), we see that it simply means: “one who is a delegate; specifically, an ambassador of the Gospel”. Officially, it is one who is a commissioner of Jesus Christ, which means they have “official permission” to carry out a task. This is someone who is called and “commissioned” by Him to the office of an apostle. An apostle usually is believed to have God-given miraculous powers, but I’m not so sure that this is how we should attempt to identify the apostle. Supernatural giftings and miraculous signs may be present, but even so, we should not judge a man or woman as an “apostle” just because supernatural giftings seem to be apparent. There are other prerequisites and signs of apostleship, but we will get more into this below.
Apostles are therefore God’s messengers, or to put it another way: Those who are “chosen”, “called” and “sent” by the very Hand of God -- those who have been sent forth to speak or act on behalf of another (in this case: Christ), having the authority and the permission of the One Who sent them. All for the express purpose of carrying out the Designed (and assigned) Task He has set forth.
As mentioned in part 2 of this teaching, apostles must possess great leadership abilities; they must be able to deal with extremely critical problems in the churches in which they may find themselves; they must have a heart to lead, and they must “know the Way” to lead the people of God. Where do they lead them? To a higher plane; to a safer place; to a deeper walk in God. And they know in their hearts: While they are a “gift” of the Lord to the church, they are not “God’s Great Gift to the Church”. In other words, they are humble of heart; they are servants to the Lord’s people, to be used and spent by God in the manner He chooses. They are not boastful, nor will they be “full of themselves or their own wills”. Their will is God’s Will, plain and simple. You can see this continually in Paul’s letters, where he is always reminding those to whom he is writing: I am just a servant (see Romans 1:1 : “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ...”).
Paul’s Confrontation With the Lord
Acts, chapter 9 : Paul’s conversion occurred while on his way to Damascus; on a mission of persecution against the new church of the Lord. He was carrying letters authorizing the arrest of any Christians found there, but he was stopped by a bright light from heaven, from which the Lord Jesus spoke to him, and he was miraculously converted. Continuing to Damascus he stayed with a disciple named Ananias who had been told of Paul’s coming in a vision. Paul stayed in Damascus for three years, though some of that time was spent in Arabia, presumably being taught by the resurrected Christ and being prepared for his mission of spreading the gospel (Galatians 1:17). Even though Paul won many converts in Damascus, he also made many enemies. He finally had to escape from the town under cover of darkness by being lowered in a basket through an opening in the city wall.
After Paul met Jesus, his life would never again be the same. The Lord had placed His Hand upon Paul, and he would never walk like the “old Paul” again. His entire life was turned upside down, inside out and finally his feet were placed upon the right path; the Narrow Path. Paul had persecuted the church; even been present at the death of Stephen, the church’s first martyr. Now walking this narrow path, Paul was finally upon the road the Lord had chosen. And Paul would walk that road all the way to imprisonment and death, but not before setting forth nearly all of the New Testament Doctrines and travelling and founding churches in the Middle East, Asia, Macedonia and Italy, to name a few. This is the High Calling of a New Testament Apostle. God’s Ways, God’s Will and God’s People are more important than anything...even an apostle’s very own life.
Looking more closely, we see the apostle is one who is “called and set aside” by Jesus Christ. We see this in Acts 1:2 : “Until the day in which He was taken up, after that He through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen.” Paul writes, in Romans 1:1:
“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God...”, and in 1Cor.1:1 : “Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God...”. Other epistles include similar greetings “from an apostle”, but Paul specifically says that he (as well as the other apostles) was “called by Jesus Christ” and “separated unto the gospel”. This is a specific calling; a high calling; and a most serious calling. And the first century apostles took their callings very seriously...all of them took it all the way to death, with the rare exception of John, who died (according to church history) at a ripe old age.
Evidence and Duties of an Apostle
Before we look at the evidence and duties, let’s consider the matter concerning the choosing of an apostle: The church does not choose or appoint someone for apostleship; we do not choose ourselves as apostles; Jesus “chooses”, then gives this Gift, by His own Hand, to the church.
Evidence
An apostle has a great responsibility to the church, as seen by some of the duties he must perform. The evidence of an Apostle of the Lord begins with his understanding as to how he must “care for the church”. This could mean everything involving the settling of disputes, laying on of hands to “impart gifts” (1st Timothy 4:14; 2nd Timothy 1:6), ordaining others for the ministry, clearing up doctrinal matters, aiding in the structure and the formation of new churches, and even bringing churches together as “sister churches”. When an apostle clearly considers these duties as his in order to serve the Lord, the primary evidence will be that he will “care for the church”. He will live, breathe and die tending to the Lord’s Church and the Lord’s people.
For the record: I have known for certain (to my own heart, anyway), of only one apostle that I have met. After being around this man for just a short period of time, I very clearly saw his care and concern for the welfare of the Church, and I know I will “recognize” and realize when I meet another. As we read some passages from Paul’s writings, we can catch a glimpse of the heart of an apostle of the Lord.
Romans 1:11 “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established.”
2nd Tim. 1:6 “Therefore I put you in remembrance that you stir up the gift of God, which is in you by the laying on of my hands.”
From these verses we can see that Paul was very concerned and involved with instructing the church in the ways of the Gifts of the Spirit. He encouraged his readers every chance that he got, urging them to not “neglect the gift” God had imparted to them. He also taught of the different types of gifts, and how to use them. He did not discourage the “seeking of gifts”, but rather encouraged the edification of the church when such gifts were acquired and used. Finally, in the Hebrews passage, we see that signs, wonders and miracles followed the ministry of the apostles.
Duties
In the first century church, as we look at Paul, Barnabas, Silas, as well as the original twelve apostles, we see a pretty clear picture of what an apostle’s calling and duties were. Specifically, we will look at Paul. The letters to the churches by Paul’s hand dealt mostly with settling doctrinal issues or moral matters. This included marriage (Romans 7; 1Cor.7; 1Timothy, chapters 4 & 5); servants (Eph.6; Colossians 3 & 4; Titus 2); resurrection (1Cor.15; 2Timothy 2:18); communion (1Cor.10); Christ’s return (1Thessalonians 1:10 & 4:16; 2Thess. 1:10; and there are many more principles and doctrines that the Lord gave Paul, who then faithfully taught the church. His writings are only matched by his care and concern for the Lord’s Body. Paul learned from the Lord all the necessary Principles and Truths that he would later place in letters and writings to the still young church. The apostle of today must have the same heart; he must have the same concern for Christ’s Church.
Apostles Among Us?
How can we recognize an apostle “among us”? I believe the Lord still “gives” apostles to His Church. I believe He is and has been preparing the hearts of His People to take on the calling and the office of the apostle. And I believe, mostly, that the church needs the apostle type of leadership today. Because of the need for direction, correction and instruction, I think the Gift of the Apostle is not only necessary, but it is essential in the church of today. We need strong, Godly people who are unafraid to confront
“errant issues” in the church. We need, as I mentioned in the “Zadok” teaching, those who will teach the differences between the clean and the unclean; the holy and the profane; and will stand in righteous judgment when dealing with any and all controversies in the church. Righteous judgment must return to our churches, and I feel only the true, Christ-given Apostle can bring that to us.
So, you think you want to be an apostle? Here’s one final word; an observation by Paul:
1st Corinthians 4:9-13 “For I think that God has set forth us apostles last, as though appointed to death, because we are made a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are given honor, but we are despised. Even to this present hour we hunger and thirst; we are naked, and are beaten, and we have no certain dwelling place. We are weary, from working with our own hands. When we are reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when defamed, we speak kindly. We have been made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.”
To go to the teaching on the “Gift of the Prophet”,
the next in this series of teachings, click here.
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