1Co.12:28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

Ep.2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

Ep.4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

In the previous chapter we spoke of the four "D's" attacking God's people: spirits of Division, Deception, Disobedience, and Desire for this world. These have held the Church in a virtual Babylonian Captivity, away from becoming worshipers in Spirit and Truth, as the Father desires. But God is raising up, as He did in Zechariah's day, four craftsmen to undo the nefarious work of the four demonic 'D's", who are terrified of the coming four craftsmen, knowing that their reappearance is the end of their mesmerizing reign over the Church. These four Craftsmen, then, are the very same Four-fold ministry that the Lord Jesus ordained at the inception of the Church Age to safeguard His Church. For centuries the two highest offices of the Four-fold ministry, apostles and prophets, have been mostly incognito and underground, working quietly, patiently, keeping the Faith alive through their persistent adherence to the truth our Lord had committed to Scripture. Some of these we have learned about through their own writings, or the biographies of others about them, but most of them worked in anonymity, known only to the Lord. Upon occasion the Spirit of God moved so mightily on this one or that one that whole movements were started, such as the Wesleyan revivals, or the Moravian communities, but alas, even these eventually degenerated into denominations. The followers did not have the apostolic call their founders had, nor the insight into God's purposes. The Holy Spirit has thus been moving upon certain men over the generations, reviving lost truth and shaping the Church toward her goal of attaining perfection (Heb. 6:1), but sadly, these movements also eventually settled into something less than perfection (maturity), and the momentum of the movement as well as the intention of the Holy Spirit was lost.

In our present century, two dynamic moves of the Holy Spirit were started, and then lost momentum. The first was the Pentecostal revival in the 1900's. The Holy Spirit was starting to restore an appreciation and understanding of His gifts to the Church for the purpose of restoring the Fourfold ministry to perfect the Body (Eph. 4:13), but those in leadership became entranced by the 'spiritual toys' they had discovered in God's attic, and soon the demon of Division moved in and split apart those who were discovering the precious gifts. The Pentecostals, instead of rising to their calling of re-establishing the Body of Christ on Scriptural ground, settled down into 'Churchianity', and became staid denominations.

The other movement was the Charismatic revival that swept through the denominations in the Sixties. Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians and just about every other flavor of believer had those in their assemblies that experienced not only the new birth, but also the infilling of the Holy Spirit. They exercised various gifts-- predominantly tongues. Again this supernatural awakening became derailed by excessive stress on experience without grasping the purpose the Holy Spirit had in disseminating those gifts. As a consequence of this ignorance, many unscriptural manifestations crept in, being, in reality, demonic (demon of Deception) in origin. The Charismatic revival became fractured and irrelevant, falling away from God's purposes into fleshly expressions such as the 'Name it and Claim it' groups.

What was the real purpose of those brief awakenings? Surely not to make us seekers after spiritual experiences and pleasures. Rather, the Lord was giving His Bride some precious gems to ready her heart to receive Him. Twice in this century, about a Jubilee apart, the Holy Spirit revealed untapped power available to the Church. But when those who began to tap into that power began to use it for their own ends-- i.e. universities, mega-ministires , wealthy bank accounts all bearing their own names-- the gifts themselves fell under the same suspicion as those individuals hawking them for profit, and many believers wrote them off as no longer valid. Yet the purpose of the Lord was not stymied, for He drew unto Himself out of those movements those rare individuals who saw through the clap-trap foolishness of the glory-seeking and immaturity, and perceived that the gifts were not spiritual toys, but powerful tools and mighty weapons. These insightful ones were called of God to learn and grow in the proper usage of the supernatural gifts so that the Church might be built upon spiritual foundations, not intellectual; and our warfare would not be theoretical, but dynamic-- to the pulling down of strongholds. These certain ones God has taken aside and instructed, revealing the real purpose of His gifts, as well as how they fit into His blueprints for the Church. These were to help mature and instruct others and thus the work of the ministry could begin again as it was intended-- by the whole Body of Christ, not just the 'ministry' (Eph. 4:12). Those who obediently undertook to be trained of Him are being called forth to re-establish the Church upon her proper foundation, especially the nearly vacant offices of apostle and prophet. Valid and needed as they ever were, these offices are being restored. But since they cannot be attained by mere education, those with prestigious positions in the Church, attained not by supernatural calling and giftings, but by education and politics, are threatened, and declare such anointed ministries no longer valid.

When we relegate the above Scriptures to the archives of past truth, we move the House of the Lord off its God-ordained foundations and onto the shaky foundations of man's fluctuating rationale. God ordained apostles and prophets to steer the Church, directing her course and keeping her in the will of God till Jesus comes to claim her as His chaste bride. Christ, through the impartation of the Holy Spirit and many instructions (Matt. 28:20) invested His authority in the twelve to accomplish this, giving them the heart to nurture and care for His bride as He desires. No one can take it upon himself to be called to these offices, but each must be hand-picked by the Lord even before they were born (Gal 1:15), which is a concept that flies in the face of the Jeroboamism so rampant in the denominational system.

That apostles are appointed from the womb, and that no one can choose to be an apostle by study and effort is not to imply that apostles are ignorant and unlearned. The opposite is the case: they are aware of history, current events (especially as they relate to fulfillment of prophecy) and prevalent philosophies running rampant in the land. The difference is that they are educated by the Lord. It is not the result of a concerted curriculum of formal education necessarily (although in some instances it can be), but rather on 'A need to know' basis., under direct input from the Lord on a daily basis.

Many in our day want to interpret the above passages as merely applying to the inception of the Church Age, saying that with the advent of the New Testament Scriptures toward the close of the first century, such powerful offices were rendered redundant and therefore unnecessary. To think thusly is to erroneously conclude that all that the apostles and prophets contributed to the Church was a canonical base of didactic teaching. Such impartation of mere information could just as easily have been accomplished through the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil without the agency of apostles and prophets-- or even pastors. Indeed, this is what the modern Church is built upon--knowledge of God without the 'power' ministries in living demonstration.

The truth of the matter is that apostles and prophets are to continue their steering and guidance ministry down through the centuries until He returns, providing a living, breathing example for the Church. Since the Denominational Church today has largely rendered such offices obsolete, she has no living examples to look to for role models, hence everything is reduced to mere education, which is of the Tree of knowledge. We have been conditioned to think that such 'super-spiritual' offices were needed only before the canon of the New Testament, and that we can attain maturity and spotless holiness without the living examples of the mature ministries Jesus placed as His authorities over the Church.

But Jesus knew better. He Himself was and is our Apostle (Heb. 3:1) and therefore our lively example, when He was with us during His earthly ministry of teaching and healing. He spent the greater share of His time training His disciples in His ways (new wine) as opposed to religion's ways (old wineskin). He demonstrated to the twelve how to live by the Spirit's leading, even though they did not as yet have the Spirit resident in them. The Church was built by and upon the foundation of the men He personally trained to be led of the Spirit. Jesus' teaching and healing ministry at that time was solely for the benefit of the twelve men He called to be His messengers, not the masses who crowded around Him seeking a miracle or profound words from His lips. Jesus knew the masses would turn on Him when they could no longer sponge some scintillating new experience or revelatory tidbit to excite their bored lives. No, His teaching/healing ministry was all done for the sake of His twelve, not the masses, because he knew that the twelve (excluding Judas, and including Matthias-- Acts 1:25-26) were the seed of the Church. They are given a very special place in earth's history and in heaven-- not merely as apostles, but as the Apostles of the Lamb (Rev. 21:14). These twelve were with Jesus the whole time He ministered and declared the Kingdom of Heaven, observing as they closely followed Him. They did not, however, seem to learn much from this time spent with the Lord. Why? Because the Spirit had not yet quickened them to receiving spiritual things. Also, perhaps, because they did not fully understand that Jesus had two other ministries to perform after His teaching/healing ministry. As Lamb of God, He was to present Himself as a sacrifice for sin. Then, as High Priest, He was to ascend to the Father's right hand and pray for us till the Marriage of the Lamb. The twelve assumed he was going to stay on the earth and keep doing His miracle/teaching ministry, adding warfare against Rome and any other Gentile nations that dared raise their head against the LORD and His Anointed. That was what had been interpreted as prophesied by the rabbinic tradition, so that was their expectation. They didn't feel they needed to pay much particular attention to each of His statements, after all, wasn't He always going to be with them anyway?

But Jesus had a fire to ignite, and how constrained He was to get it combusted(Luke 12:49-51). He had not come in His first advent to bring Messianic peace to the globe, which was what the Jews-- His twelve included-- expected of Messiah. He had come to sow seeds of truth and righteousness in a people's hearts so they would be prepared and able to follow Him when He returned as the King of truth and righteousness. This fire was only going to be started through the twelve He invested authority in, initiating the Church Age. He gave them a new birth by breathing the Holy Spirit into them (John 20:22), then followed it up by sending the Holy Spirit baptism upon them, empowering them with gifts to begin the work of the Church. Being born again was not enough, they needed to be empowered and gifted by the Holy Spirit. It is imperative that the Fourfold Ministry and the Church they serve be Spirit gifted and led, not just educated.

We see Jesus ordaining the twelve to lay the foundations of the Church. But, is that the end of the ministry of apostles and prophets? Certainly not! The Holy Spirit continued to call and ordain apostles and prophets throughout the New Testament era. How else would Paul be called to be an apostle if there were only the Apostles of the Lamb? Some would contend that Paul was really the twelfth apostle. That Peter and those in the upper room forced the issue by presuming upon God and played lots, which fell upon Matthias and he was installed in Judas' empty seat. There are some who believe that theory, but to accept that is to deny that Peter had the Spirit reveal the need for Judas' empty office to be filled, fulfilling the types and shadows of twelve tribes in the twelve Apostles of the Lamb, in order for the work to advance. Peter received a revelation from the Lord, and Matthias was installed according to the light they had as being merely born-again, but not yet Spirit-filled. Choosing Matthias to fill the empty seat was the Lord's will, for Pr.16:33 declares:

The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.

Only after being baptized in the Holy Spirit do the gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as words of wisdom and knowledge influence the decision-making of the Church. Casting lots is an unspiritual method for arriving at a conclusion.Peter and the other ten apostles were born again, but not yet Spirit-filled, and so, unable to discern guidance through spiritual gifts. Though alive in the Spirit by God having breathed on them, they were not directly led by the Spirit until He was sent in fullness, just a short time later (see Acts 2). As Jonah was found by casting the lot (Jonah 1:7),and Jonathan (1Sam.14:42), and the partition of the land of Israel among the tribes ( Joshua 18:10), Matthias was the Lord's choice for the twelfth Apostle of the Lamb.

Does that make Paul a thirteenth apostle? Probably by that time, he was the fortieth, or fiftieth, or possibly higher, chronologically speaking, in being sent as an apostle. To think that the Holy Spirit only invested apostleship in one more man is to ignore scriptures that clearly show others were called and ordained as apostles by the Holy Spirit. These others are not Apostles of the Lamb, but although of a different order, are apostles, and authorities in the Church, nonetheless. Acts 14:14 Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul heard...

Clearly we are shown that Barnabas was an apostle. This means that there were definitely more than just twelve, or even thirteen apostles. There were only twelve Apostles of the Lamb, and these twelve have a very special place, but they are by no means the last of the office of apostle. Nor was Paul. The fact is, that there were many other apostles alluded to in Scripture.

*Rom. 16:7 shows that Andronicus and Junias were apostles-- the word 'among' means ' part of''

*Phil.2:25 Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. The word rendered messenger here in the original language is apostolos-- or 'apostle'.

The other times Paul mentions a fellow-worker, soldier, or laborer( Col 1:7; 4:7;4:11; 2Cor. 8:23; 1Th. 3:2) whether it is Titus, Timothy, Epahproditus, Archippus, etc., he is mentioning them as fellows-- peers-- and hence, apostles. So we see there were more than just twelve or thirteen apostles. But what has Epahproditus ever written for us to study? He was called an apostle, as was Barnabas, but we have none of their writings. This was because their function as apostles was not to establish the Canon of Scripture, but to teach and lead the churches in following the traditions and teachings of the Faith. They set the example and endowed those they prayed over to be filled with the Spirit. This is how the Church was established on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, by much more than mere writings and teachings. By living exampleship and impartation of anointing through ordained offices, the Church then, and now knows how to apply the principles and teachings given them in the writings.

Paul charged Titus to travel to the various churches in Crete, ordaining elders to oversee the spiritual growth of the flocks. That is one of the functions of an apostle, to ordain leadership and check on their welfare and orthodoxy from time to time. Therefore, Titus was an apostle, accountable to Paul who had ordained him to that ministry, as led by the Holy Spirit. What writings of Titus guide us today? None! Why? Because, he wasn't ordained to write Scripture, but to demonstrate its power to the churches under his care. Does that make him unqualified as an apostle? No, the word 'apostle' means 'sent one, messenger', and is uniquely applied in the Church to those given the highest rank of authority to equip the Church for service, both International and Local. Paul was instructed by the Holy Spirit to 'send' Titus to assure that the churches on the isle of Crete remained solidly in the Faith, therefore, Titus was an apostle in the truest sense of the word. Apostles have the understanding of the truth the Church is to believe and obey; pastors and teachers are to teach what the apostles taught them, not create their own revelations.

Apostles are: 'sent forth' to preach the gospel (1Cor. 1:17); impart the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14-15); found and establish churches from those evangelized (Acts 16:5); lay down the truths of the Faith as revealed in Scripture (Acts 15:35); correct those in error (Titus 1:13); ordain elders (Acts 14:23); insure the continuance of the truth by discipling faithful men (2Tim. 2:2); decide-- in conjunction with the elders-- any thorny issues which arise (Acts 15:6); explain and encourage adherence to the traditions the Lord revealed (2Thes. 2:15) and provide discipline when necessary (1Cor. 5:3-5; 2Thes. 3:6-12).

The Acts of the Apostles is the blueprint for the entire Church Age, not just a museum of the past, so, it is important for us today to ascertain just how and who the Lord ordains as apostles of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 13:1 NOW there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost...

On the Day of Pentecost when the Church was established, the Apostles of the Lamb were the sole authorities in the Church. This single office continued for some time until the need arose for deacons to relieve the apostles of the daily demands that consumed their time from the more important duties of prayer and study of Scripture. Acts 6:1-7 shows how the Church itself selected the non-Fourfold position of deacon by the qualifications of being filled with the Spirit and wisdom. Pastor/teachers and evangelists do not come on the scene until after the persecution following the stoning of Stephen, when the Church spread out from Jerusalem (Acts 8:1). By the time of Saul's conversion the Church had spread throughout the Roman Empire, and these shepherding offices were raised up and set in by the apostles at the Lord's appointment. When Paul was in Antioch, we see that prophets were a recognized office along with evangelist (Acts 8:5) and pastor/teacher. It becomes apparent that from the lesser offices in the Body, God promotes certain ones to greater accountability and authority (Luke 19:17). From being a deacon, Philip was called to be an evangelist. And from prophet-pastor/teacher, Barnabas and Saul were both called to become apostles, sent out by the Holy Spirit. The agents used to send them were the other prophet/teachers, but it is clear that the Holy Spirit was the Sender. Prior to being apostles, Barnabas and Saul (Paul) were holding two offices simultaneously: prophet and pastor/teacher. From that unique combination of the orderly didactic and the unpredictable prophetic, the office of apostle is called. Apostles are the highest rank in the body of Christ, and therefore need to understand both the common-sense order of the pastor/teacher as well as the supernatural revelations of the prophet so that he can be an able administrator to every other office in the Body of Christ.

Apostles in the Church are the equivalent of generals in the military, and are to be accorded the same amount of respect and attentiveness. All apostles are under the leadership of the Commander in Chief and directly accountable to those apostles who ordained them. So we see Timothy and Titus accountable to Paul, but Paul was directly accountable to the Lord Who called him. All other offices in the body of Christ are accountable to apostles. However, their authority does not exceed the authority the Lord Himself employs over an individual, so the power of apostles in the Church over the lives and affairs of believers is limited to guidance and suggestion. The Lord Himself never supersedes another's will, but seeks the active co-operation of the individual. So too, with every office in the body of Christ-- apostles included. The Lord never forces or over-rules anyone's will, but implores and draws them to obedience. Elder ministries dare only lead, never push. In the spiritual realm it is quite another matter, for unto apostles are given strong weapons for tearing down strongholds (2Cor.10:4), but as far as throwing their 'weight' around in the natural--2Cor. 10:10 For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.

The need for apostolic guidance, wisdom and impartation of anointing is as imperative now as ever. Apostles do not, since the advent of Scripture, have the authority to alter the doctrines of the Faith. They dare not add nor subtract one iota to the Faith, lest the Church lose her moorings and drift into banality. Without recognizing those the Lord has appointed as 'father ministries' (Phil 2:22; 1 Thes. 2:11) the Church lapses into doing whatever is right in its own eyes. Change water baptism of confessing believers into mere sprinkling of infants-- sure, why not? Eliminate the gifts of the Spirit-- sure, why not? Replace discipleship with four years of intensive education-- sure, why not?

Apostles were given to the Church to keep her in the truth received by the original Apostles of the Lamb, so she may be a pure, chaste bride, betrothed to Him. By ridding herself of the Lord's ordained fatherly authority, and replacing it with synods or presbyteries and denominational 'think tanks', the Church unknowingly handicaps herself from being ready for Him when He comes. Jesus ordained apostles to oversee the work of the Church International and local, and no other contrivance of man will fill the need. Without the leadership of apostles, the Church does not know the battle plan, nor even, it appears, that a war is on. Certainly there is no cohesive unity of the Faith, and therefore no co-operation in launching assaults upon the gates of Hell. There are scattered, but relatively ineffective skirmishes by various churches and parachurches, but no overall offensive to free Satan's prisoners. Instead, we tend to incriminate those who are apostles and prophets, mistrusting them as cult leaders, or at least trouble-makers because what they teach is so divergent from denominationalism. Without its generals, the army of the Lord remains undefined and fractured, and at war with itself.

That apostles were considered more or less a regular part of Church life at the close of the first century is evidenced by the approval the Lord Jesus gives to the Church of Epehsus for testing those who claimed to be apostles and were not (Rev. 2:2). Why bother testing them at all if there were only to be the Twelve? Just as there are false pastors, so there are false apostles. We see that the Church of Ephesus carefully screened those claiming to be apostles of Jesus Christ, accepting those who could prove they were of the Lord, denying access to those who could not prove their validity. For this caution, the Lord commended them. So, how do we recognize true apostles from false? Nearly two-thousand years of Church history has proven that she suffers great plunder with no apostles at the helm, so we better learn to recognize and seek their ministry. But, we need to be careful and discerning, only trusting those who are approved of the Lord.

True apostles have no other allegiance than to the Lord Jesus, and therefore have no ulterior motives in their teachings and decisions, nor are they under the political sway of some governing board who would make the gospel message more palatable or convenient for the sake of statistics. They are bond-slaves to Jesus only. Dead to themselves, and immune to the pressures of the masses, they are free to obey the Lord, for they know they shall give an account only to Him. They stick strictly to the Word of God as their authority and will not change one jot or tittle, knowing that it is required of them to build the Church according to the pattern.

1Cor.14:37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. 38 But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.

Paul is not writing this only in regards to the issues raised in Corinth, but as pertaining to all his canon of writing, for he knew he was being used of the Lord to lay down the guidelines for the Church (Rom 1:5). Anyone who disagreed with what the Lord had revealed to him and his contemporaries was out of the will of the Lord! And if they did not recognize the commands of the Lord, the Lord would not recognize them or their supposed calling. In effect, vs 38 is saying "if any man ignores the commands of the Lord, he himself will be ignored."

The same is true of the office of prophet. Agabus was a traveling prophet of the New Testament era, who wrote nothing for us to study and learn from, but rather, his ministry was to the churches he encountered on his journeys, giving them the current word of the Lord. What was his message?

Acts 11:28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.

The ministry of Agabus was to warn the Church in the Mediterranean area of a famine, preparing them to meet the needs of the Jerusalem Church where the dearth would be most critical. This warning could not have been discovered by any amount of study of the Old Testament canon. It needed an inspired, genuine, living prophet of God to announce what God was doing. The living office of prophet was invaluable then, and it is still so. Does God change? We quote the creed that God is immutable, and believe we adhere to its wisdom, but yet we persuade ourselves He has changed His methods and eliminated apostles and prophets. Did He not promise He will do nothing except He first inform His servants, the prophets?

Amos.3:7 Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

There are events that are localized, such as the famine in Palestine which Agabas addressed, that have no relevance to the whole body of Christ, but only to a certain part at a certain time. Such revelations are not contained in Scripture, but God is faithful to warn His churches through the office of prophet during times of duress, only if they will recognize the voice of such ones. A prophet is one who speaks forth for God, sometimes warning of future events, but mostly revealing the hidden intents of men's hearts, exposing them to the light and bringing to individuals or whole churches words of correction or encouragement, often revealing details that only the Lord could know.

With such powerful intimacy and insight available to the Church, we could and should be on the cutting edge of upsetting Satan's reign, for nothing is hidden from the eyes of the Lord. Yet we are resigned to being reactionary instead of provocative, because we do not accept that there are prophets today. Instead advancing, we retreat, if we are even still in the fray, that is. Why? Because we have out-lawed our generals and colonels. How can our army advance without the higher officers who receive up-to-the-minute instructions from the King? Again, these instructions will not replace any Scripture, but will perfectly harmonize with it. Now, I challenge you to honestly ask yourself, who is that has changed the Faith: denominations, or apostles and prophets calling us back to the purity of Scripture?

Another case in point are the daughters of Philip who were prophetesses (Acts 21:9). In this case their gift was recognized, although they were given no authority over the affairs of the Church. How were they recognized as prophetesses unless they had uttered oracles that had proved dependable which are not recorded in Scripture for our benefit?

As apostles are needed to return us to the foundations the Lord laid down for the Church, so too, prophets are necessary to provide up to the minute orders for setting the battle. Without these highest ranks in our midst, we are left with recruiters (evangelists) who only know how to enlist soldiers, and drill sergeants (pastors) who only know certain drills and training techniques, but do not have a sufficient concept of the enemy, tactics, or the battle plan. Just like "Divide and conquer", "Remove the ranking officers, and the rank and file will be left in confusion, and easily defeated" is a dependable axiom that Satan exploits to the fullest. The Church of Jesus Christ must rediscover these lost offices if Jesus is to find Faith on the earth when He returns (Luke 18:8).

© John MacLeod 1997