S. SEKOU ABODUNRIN
I have met many Christians who insist that there are no more apostles and prophets, and that all that we have today are pastors and evangelists and nothing more. According to Ephesians 4 though, the intention of God is to have the 5 offices of Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers for the perfection of the saints … till we all come unto the stature of the fullness of Christ. There is a lofty ideal expressed there and you have to realise that God is not in the habit of using five to do what two are able to do.
According to Jesus the full operation and working together of the five offices mentioned above is required to bring about the expressed purpose of perfecting the saints. Any casual observer can tell you that we have not attained to any of those ideals as yet, and it is obvious that if those five offices working together are required in the economy of God, then it cannot be a job that only two of the five can accomplish. Clearly then we still have all of those offices in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ today.
I expect that you are scripturally smart enough to realise that not all that go by the catchphrases apostolic, prophetic or apostolic-prophetic are of any genuine spiritual significance. Some of it is just unbiblical reasoning garbed in beautiful phraseology. It seems that there is a concerted effort to misuse and abuse the prophet’s and apostle’s ministry today and so there is a dire need to be scripturally sound in the things of the Spirit.
Let us receive of the ministry of true apostles and prophets. We have to be open to all that is available in God. That’s the key - “all that is available in God”. There are things we are seeing in our day that are definitely not from God. We’d cover that some other day.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 cor 3.11
According to Paul if any man succeeds at laying any other foundation, he has not really succeeded but failed in the grand scheme of things. He narrows it down to just one foundation and rules out the possibility of any other where the church is concerned.
According to the testimony of the Apostle Paul, there are certain absolutes where the church is concerned. One such absolute is that there is only one foundation that can be laid. The foundation is Jesus Christ. It stands to reason then that any other foundation is purely delusional.
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone. Eph 2.20
So, what does he mean when he says “the foundation of apostles and prophets” in the verse above?
In Eph 2.19 Paul borrows a metaphor to show that the saints are the household of God. Therefore he brings in the idea of a cornerstone and foundation.
When trouble broke out in Acts 6, Peter gives us a clue about what he gave the greatest priority to as an Apostle. He said - we would give ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. Prayer was a reference to intimacy with God, while the ministry of the word was the revelation that they communicated as a result of that fellowship.
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. Act 2.42
The idea is that the disciples continued in the Apostles' doctrine. This confirms that they continued in the Apostle’s ministry of the word. This is likely not a written document as this was the early stage, but nevertheless the Apostles' ministry of the word was the key.
The idea is that the Apostles supplied the doctrine that became written down as scripture of the New Testament. This then forms the basis for testing any other revelation that floats around. The Apostles were communicating the revelation of the resurrection of Christ. The Apostle Paul communicated the largest portion of this.
But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 1 cor 1:23
We can pinpoint what the Apostle Paul preached. He said, "we preach Christ and him crucified". This wasn’t only him for if that was the case he would have said " I preach Christ", rather he said 'we' – "we preach Christ". In other words they spoke about Christ from the basis of the redemption that he has provided.
We can see then, that the 'foundation of the apostles' is not a reference to the apostle as a person or as a ministry gift, but to the object of their testimony, which is Christ. The foundation that the apostle provides is a revelation of who Christ is.
Apostolic testimony then is an amplification of the person of Christ with tangible proof. The core of apostolic testimony is not religious weirdness or some unscriptural idea formulated out of thin air, which is not rooted in the revelation of Christ. We have some insight into what is meant by "the foundation of the Apostles".
Sometimes you will hear the expression – 'the law and the prophets' used together and at other times just the law or the prophets.
King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Acts 26:27
This is a reference to Paul’s mighty defence before the noble king Agrippa. There is that phrase “the prophets”. When he asked if the king believed the prophets he was in effect asking if Agrippa believed the records of the Old Testament.
Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
Lk 24:25,27
I want you to watch that term “the prophets”. Here we see that from the way that Jesus used it, it was a reference to the document we know as the Old Testament. He was in effect saying that the guys have refused to believe the word of the Old Testament.
In effect they were sad, not because of the events surrounding the death of Jesus, but their refusal to believe what the word had already said about it.
You notice that this is the first incidence on record that Jesus taught his disciples from scripture about his death and resurrection. From the way that Jesus used the prophets then we see that they are the first records of the death and resurrection of Christ. The key thought in all that the prophets said is really Christ.
In referring to Moses and the Prophets we are told that he expounded from all the scriptures things concerning himself. Therefore “the prophets” refer to all the scriptures of the Old Testament starting from the writings of Moses who himself was a prophet.
According to Jesus the testimony of 'the prophets' was about himself. They bore testimony to the Lord Jesus. That in itself is another lesson. Some go to the Old Testaments hoping to find laws, statues and ordinances – and they will. The undergirding message though is not about any of those things but about Jesus the True Man.
We can safely say that the phrase “foundation of the apostles and prophets” is a concise way of speaking. It summarizes the testimony that the Old Testament prophets prophesied about Jesus from afar and the testimony that the Lord, by his Spirit, gave to his Apostles after his resurrection. This two-fold testimony presents to us Christ as the promise and as the fulfilment. In other words the completeness that Christ represents.
You realise that the foundation holds the structure above it. If the foundation is based on delusions so is the whole structure on top of it. It is very important then that we understand the testimony of Paul – Christ is the foundation and he is already laid. Phrased a little differently the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, the foundation that they provide, centres on the revelation of who Christ is.
The heart of the testimony is that the foundation is already laid by the revelation contained within God’s word.
There are a growing number of people, Christians, spirit-filled Christians, who subscribe to the thought that the apostles and prophets in our midst today form the foundation of the church!
According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 1 cor 3:10
Apostles do lay foundations, even as we see to be true in the verse above. However the apostles or prophets are not the foundation or the base on which everything or anything rests in the church – Christ is. When true Apostles function, they lay a foundation – Christ is that foundation. You realise that according to scripture, Apostles and Prophets are not the foundation of any church – well, at least not the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We need to be apostolic and prophetic again. I hope you understand that that means a return to the ministry of the word as a revelation of Christ with power and great glory!
I have met many Christians who insist that there are no more apostles and prophets, and that all that we have today are pastors and evangelists and nothing more. According to Ephesians 4 though, the intention of God is to have the 5 offices of Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers for the perfection of the saints … till we all come unto the stature of the fullness of Christ. There is a lofty ideal expressed there and you have to realise that God is not in the habit of using five to do what two are able to do.
According to Jesus the full operation and working together of the five offices mentioned above is required to bring about the expressed purpose of perfecting the saints. Any casual observer can tell you that we have not attained to any of those ideals as yet, and it is obvious that if those five offices working together are required in the economy of God, then it cannot be a job that only two of the five can accomplish. Clearly then we still have all of those offices in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ today.
I expect that you are scripturally smart enough to realise that not all that go by the catchphrases apostolic, prophetic or apostolic-prophetic are of any genuine spiritual significance. Some of it is just unbiblical reasoning garbed in beautiful phraseology. It seems that there is a concerted effort to misuse and abuse the prophet’s and apostle’s ministry today and so there is a dire need to be scripturally sound in the things of the Spirit.
Let us receive of the ministry of true apostles and prophets. We have to be open to all that is available in God. That’s the key - “all that is available in God”. There are things we are seeing in our day that are definitely not from God. We’d cover that some other day.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 cor 3.11
According to Paul if any man succeeds at laying any other foundation, he has not really succeeded but failed in the grand scheme of things. He narrows it down to just one foundation and rules out the possibility of any other where the church is concerned.
According to the testimony of the Apostle Paul, there are certain absolutes where the church is concerned. One such absolute is that there is only one foundation that can be laid. The foundation is Jesus Christ. It stands to reason then that any other foundation is purely delusional.
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone. Eph 2.20
So, what does he mean when he says “the foundation of apostles and prophets” in the verse above?
In Eph 2.19 Paul borrows a metaphor to show that the saints are the household of God. Therefore he brings in the idea of a cornerstone and foundation.
When trouble broke out in Acts 6, Peter gives us a clue about what he gave the greatest priority to as an Apostle. He said - we would give ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. Prayer was a reference to intimacy with God, while the ministry of the word was the revelation that they communicated as a result of that fellowship.
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. Act 2.42
The idea is that the disciples continued in the Apostles' doctrine. This confirms that they continued in the Apostle’s ministry of the word. This is likely not a written document as this was the early stage, but nevertheless the Apostles' ministry of the word was the key.
The idea is that the Apostles supplied the doctrine that became written down as scripture of the New Testament. This then forms the basis for testing any other revelation that floats around. The Apostles were communicating the revelation of the resurrection of Christ. The Apostle Paul communicated the largest portion of this.
But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 1 cor 1:23
We can pinpoint what the Apostle Paul preached. He said, "we preach Christ and him crucified". This wasn’t only him for if that was the case he would have said " I preach Christ", rather he said 'we' – "we preach Christ". In other words they spoke about Christ from the basis of the redemption that he has provided.
We can see then, that the 'foundation of the apostles' is not a reference to the apostle as a person or as a ministry gift, but to the object of their testimony, which is Christ. The foundation that the apostle provides is a revelation of who Christ is.
Apostolic testimony then is an amplification of the person of Christ with tangible proof. The core of apostolic testimony is not religious weirdness or some unscriptural idea formulated out of thin air, which is not rooted in the revelation of Christ. We have some insight into what is meant by "the foundation of the Apostles".
Sometimes you will hear the expression – 'the law and the prophets' used together and at other times just the law or the prophets.
King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Acts 26:27
This is a reference to Paul’s mighty defence before the noble king Agrippa. There is that phrase “the prophets”. When he asked if the king believed the prophets he was in effect asking if Agrippa believed the records of the Old Testament.
Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
Lk 24:25,27
I want you to watch that term “the prophets”. Here we see that from the way that Jesus used it, it was a reference to the document we know as the Old Testament. He was in effect saying that the guys have refused to believe the word of the Old Testament.
In effect they were sad, not because of the events surrounding the death of Jesus, but their refusal to believe what the word had already said about it.
You notice that this is the first incidence on record that Jesus taught his disciples from scripture about his death and resurrection. From the way that Jesus used the prophets then we see that they are the first records of the death and resurrection of Christ. The key thought in all that the prophets said is really Christ.
In referring to Moses and the Prophets we are told that he expounded from all the scriptures things concerning himself. Therefore “the prophets” refer to all the scriptures of the Old Testament starting from the writings of Moses who himself was a prophet.
According to Jesus the testimony of 'the prophets' was about himself. They bore testimony to the Lord Jesus. That in itself is another lesson. Some go to the Old Testaments hoping to find laws, statues and ordinances – and they will. The undergirding message though is not about any of those things but about Jesus the True Man.
We can safely say that the phrase “foundation of the apostles and prophets” is a concise way of speaking. It summarizes the testimony that the Old Testament prophets prophesied about Jesus from afar and the testimony that the Lord, by his Spirit, gave to his Apostles after his resurrection. This two-fold testimony presents to us Christ as the promise and as the fulfilment. In other words the completeness that Christ represents.
You realise that the foundation holds the structure above it. If the foundation is based on delusions so is the whole structure on top of it. It is very important then that we understand the testimony of Paul – Christ is the foundation and he is already laid. Phrased a little differently the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, the foundation that they provide, centres on the revelation of who Christ is.
The heart of the testimony is that the foundation is already laid by the revelation contained within God’s word.
There are a growing number of people, Christians, spirit-filled Christians, who subscribe to the thought that the apostles and prophets in our midst today form the foundation of the church!
According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 1 cor 3:10
Apostles do lay foundations, even as we see to be true in the verse above. However the apostles or prophets are not the foundation or the base on which everything or anything rests in the church – Christ is. When true Apostles function, they lay a foundation – Christ is that foundation. You realise that according to scripture, Apostles and Prophets are not the foundation of any church – well, at least not the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We need to be apostolic and prophetic again. I hope you understand that that means a return to the ministry of the word as a revelation of Christ with power and great glory!
3 comments:
Many thanks indeed. Keen insights simply presented. A scriptural clarification of a most liberating truth, which for so long has been misconstrued and held many in bondage.
Of particular note is the fact that Christ Himself is the foundation. The apostles and prophets lay the foundation which has been ALREADY been laid. This is a real task for apostles and prophets today, because they have to present the revelation of the Word of who Christ is. Truth be told, the Church does not rise beyond the revelation presented to it. Therefore, contrary to misguided conceptions, we can see that these ministries are in real demand in our midst these days, and they ARE with us today, even as the Master calls His own to the revelation of His very person.
The giftings of apostle and prophet are necessary for the maturation of the believers into their places of ministry. (Ephesians 4)
In regards to foundations, the key is the cornerstone, which all other teaching should tie into. It is the corner stone that unites and keeps the joining walls straight and true. Obviously, Jesus is our cornerstone.
Martin Schmaltz
martinschmaltz.blogspot.com
www.apostolicmissions.org
Great Insight.
I guess this should also put a check on "new' revelations.All revelation was given to this Apostles and Prophets concerning Christ Jesus...so any false teaching on a money doubling,wife supplying,millionaire producing,worldy pleasure &acclaim seeking "jesus" should be rejected.
Jude 3,speaks of a faith ONCE AND FOR ALL delivered to the saints.
There should be a total return to scriptures as LAID down by these foundation laying Apostle and prophets....thus all prophets and apostles of today MUST FOLLOW..ONLY FOLLOW what these apostles have laid down AS REVEALED ONLY TO THEM..EMPHASIS (THEM) by The Lord.
Post a Comment