The Apostle And His Ministry
The Apostle And His Ministry
REFERENCE SCRIPTURES: Ephesians 4:11-13.
- Who is an Apostle?
The word Apostle comes from the Greek word Apostolos meaning: one sent forth, a messenger, an ambassador, and a missionary.
Simply put an Apostle is a messenger, an ambassador or a missionary sent by God on a special mission of rescuing souls from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light.
The apostle is sent by God for the expansion of the kingdom of God by reaching out to those who have not known Jesus.
- THE WORK OF AN APOSTLE
The aim of the apostle is to ensure that apart from people knowing Jesus, they should come to a place of growing believers through the word of God to mature, gain stature and knowledge in God.
So perfecting the saints is vital to the apostle’s assignment. The apostle ensures that the body of Christ is equipped and furnished with the needed or vital information for her growth and stability in Christ, Ephesians 4:13.
The reason for the equipping of the saints is that there are so many things thrown into the world today by Satan and his cohorts that can hinder or distract the saints hence, the need for the Apostle to teach sound doctrine.
- AN APOSTLE IS CHOSEN BY GOD Luke 6:13
I would say apostles are the pillars of the church of Christ. As you have said, they are expected to ensure doctrine, correction and guide against falsity of the gospel. They are just restricted to denominations, but they practice these acts on the scale of the entire body of Christ.
“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.” 1Corinthians 12:28 [NKJV]
Jesus chose his disciples and named them Apostles, so anyone Jesus did not call to be his Apostle and is answering the name is not going to get the backing from God, that is why Jesus told his disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until they are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit Acts 1:8. Without the Holy Spirit, the Apostleship office is completely empty.
After the upper room experience the disciples began to do what is expected of an apostle and what they are appointed to do by God.
- CHARACTERISTICS OF AN APOSTLE
✓Apostle are expected to have a burden for the church to be perfected- Ephesians 4:11-16.
The burden is not tied to a particular denomination but the entire body of Christ. Wherever people are getting it wrong, the apostle through the word of God should correct every error in love but must not keep silent and allow wrong teachings to continue.
✓The Apostle as a messenger and representative of God on earth must be humble- 1Thes 2:6, 1Cor 4:9, John 3:30.
✓Having no desire to be announced, heard or noticed in a gathering. Paul is a good example of an Apostle.
✓Jesus Christ is the Apostle of all Apostles, He was sent on a mission on earth by God to deliver men from the bondage of sin, He had the power to save himself but He did not forget His purpose of coming to earth. An Apostle is a messenger of God and must deliver the message to the latter.
✓ Apostles are wired for service unto God Matt 20:25-28.
✓They don’t seek men’s honour or approval- John 5:44.
✓They are helped by the Holy Spirit-Acts 4:33.
✓Apostles are witnesses to the death and resurrection of Christ; they are sent by God to make disciples of all nations.
✓They are messengers with God’s message not theirs or man’s message – Matthew 24:14, Colossians 1:23.
✓They preach the gospel and get followers for Christ everywhere they minister.
✓They are to reveal Christ Jesus- Acts 1:21-22, 1Cor 9:1.
✓ They give sound teaching of the word of God- 1Tim 2:7, Acts 2:42.
✓Prayer and the word are their survival tools in their journey as messengers Acts 6:4.
✓They are expected to spread the word of God as messengers and missionaries- Acts 13:5, Rom 15:20.
✓They plant churches for the nurturing of believers.
✓They are against false doctrines- Acts 15:1-3.
✓They promote unity in the body of Christ- Romans 15:25-27.
✓They are against wrong doctrine, they teach and ensure that sound doctrines are taught Acts 2:42
✓Their impart on the body of Christ by the help of the Holy Spirit 2Cor 12:12
With all these and so many, it therefore means that the Apostle is not a title in the real sense of it but it is something that comes with a lot of sacrifice and even death in the process of delivering the message. The joy is that there is a reward for every act of love for the kingdom of God and His assignment e.g. Jesus was lifted by virtue of completing his assignment on earth Phil 2:9-11.
- ARE THERE FAKE APOSTLES?
2Corinthians:11-13-15, 3John 1:9-11.
From the above scriptures, we have false prophets whose job is to deceive people. They disguise themselves as being real or original.
To identify them, we need the spirit of God. The gifts of the spirit are not enough to identify them; rather the fruit of the spirit is the key factor in identifying the false apostles. Gifts are given, but fruits are grown.
From the seed to the fruits, there are processes that the Holy Spirit will work on us to get to where He wants us to be; which is in line with His will for us.
We must take heed to be able to identify false Apostles and their doctrines.
In conclusion, false apostles are littered in the Christendom. Hence as believers, we must ensure that we have the Holy Spirit as our guide in this present time.
Prayer: Father we thank you for today’s open Mic, we ask that you expand your word in our hearts and let it transform us in Jesus name, Amen.
