| Newsletter for 5/10/07- Defining Apostles |
I have recently been sharing some thoughts with you on the different kinds of Five-Fold Ministries that are
represented in Ephesians 4:11-16. In fact, last week I began talking about Apostles and I would like to continue that
topic this week.
Some have claimed that Prophets and Apostles were only for the first century church. This however, would be in
conflict with scripture. Ephesians 4:13 states a time frame for the use of the "Five Fold Ministry," including Apostles
and Prophets. They are to be used in bringing the church to maturity.
"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" Ephesians 4:13 NKJ.
I don't believe that there are many people that would consider the church to have come to full unity and full knowledge
of Christ. Nor, have we come to any where near the stature of Christ.
Last week, I shared with you that the original definition of an Apostle was a representative sent out by a government
or body to represent their interests. They were usually accompanied by some kind of military presence. Many times
an Armada of ships was accompanied by an Apostle. As Apostles are working with people, they are constantly
thinking, "How can I help this person to be all that God wants them to be?" Their goal is to build the Kingdom by
building people. They hear personally from God and through the Prophets as to how God wants to build, what it
should look like and how to do it.
For several years there has been a teaching in churches that Apostles are church planters. This is really not very
accurate. They are church builders but not necessarily the church planter. In fact, many of the Apostles in the Bible
never planted churches. Other myths that have been connected to Apostles were that there were only 12 and that the
only true Apostles physically walked with Jesus. These are also not true and are proven in scripture. In fact,
depending on which version of The Bible that you are reading, there are over 30 people referred to as Apostles. The
majority of these never walked with Jesus in the flesh like the original 12. While I agree that the original 12 will have
their special place in Heaven (as per Scripture), this does not make the other Apostles any less. One fact that blows a
few people's minds is that there are even female Apostles named in Scripture. But let's move on!
There are different kinds of Apostles that are represented in Scripture and the most basic way to separate them is
into two categories. In the future, we will look at other segregations.
1. Vertical Apostles- These are the most common apostles and typically head some sort of Apostolic Network. This
can be either a formal relationship or an informal relationship. A superintendent or an overseer would fulfill the formal
version of this, though not everyone that has been given these titles by a denomination or network are actually gifted
this way. Ideally, this would be true, but in reality many times, people are placed in these positions by voting or by
other forms of politics. It is evident to most, whether they are an administrator (these are needed also!) or if they are
someone that has a goal of helping you become more than you are. Many times because of the sheer number of
churches that they work with, it is impossible for them to do all that they would like. This is unfortunate. This does not
provide any form of accountability. (I will comment on this more later.) I have been pleased to see some
denominations realize the weaknesses of this and take actions to compensate. I commend them for doing this!
There are also those that are in an informal relationship with an Apostle. This can be an Apostle within their
denomination that they have decided to ask for a fathering relationship or they might not even have a professional
relationship with them, but they have a respectful relationship with them that allows input.
True Apostolic Relationships are not based on control. They are based on respect, trust and accountability. The
previously mentioned lack of accountability is based on the lack of relationship. If the Apostolic Leader is spread so
thin that it depletes any kind of relationship, then the ability to recognize potential problems on the horizon is nearly
impossible. In this scenario, you move from the Apostolic Father being able to head off the problem to an
administrator cleaning up a mess after the fact. I think that you would agree that the former is preferable.
Apostle Paul writes to Apostle Titus, regarding how to help the Church in Crete. Paul instructs him to "set things in
order" in Titus 1:5. Notice that he also tells him to appoint elders instead of holding a vote for them. These were
based on the house church model and each elder headed up a body of believers. Basically, these were what we
would consider to be Pastors. They were the shepherds over particular flocks.
Notice, that Paul also instructs Titus about setting some people straight-
12 One of them, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." 13 This testimony is
true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not giving heed to Jewish fables and
commandments of men who turn from the truth. Titus 1:12-13 NKJ
Paul doesn't leave much to the imagination. He speaks it very straight and to the point. This is a typical trait of an
Apostle.
2. Horizontal Apostles- The best way to define this gifting is to describe the most famous one. James of Jerusalem, is
famous for convening the famous Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15. This James was the brother of Jesus but not one of
the 12 original Apostles. The two original Apostles named James, were the son of Alphaeus, that we don't know much
about and James the Son of Zebedee that was executed in Acts 12.
Please allow me to remind you of the problem that was creating division. There was an issue brewing between Paul
and Peter over circumcision with new believers from different cultures and they were not about to settle it amongst
themselves. James being the Horizontal Apostle, in other words someone that had the respect of all of the Vertical
Apostles, called a meeting. All of the Vertical Apostles and the Elders were invited. Because of the respect that they
had for James, not only did the all show up, but they also entered into discussion that resulted in everyone coming to
agreement. This likely could not have been done by anyone else.
Peter and Paul both criticize each other in scripture (Gal. 2:11; 2 Peter 3:16). It is likely that had either Paul or Peter
called the meeting that the other one would not have attended. However, because of James gifting, he had mutual
respect from not only these two but also from quite a "dream team" of New Testament leaders. This was an impressive
collection of apostles and pastors. This is almost miraculous when you think about how well some Christian Leaders
get along.
I hope that this has helped shed some light on what Apostles are and are not. We will continue our study of the Five
Fold Ministry next week, please tune in. Also, if you have missed any of the previous letters regarding this topic or any
of the other topics including healing, prophecy and testimonies, please check our newsletter archive on our web site.
www.kingdompowernow.com
Working while it is still day,
Pastor Jeff McCracken and the Kingdom Power Now Ministry Team
P.S. (All of you Mother's have a Blessed Mother's Day this Sunday).
represented in Ephesians 4:11-16. In fact, last week I began talking about Apostles and I would like to continue that
topic this week.
Some have claimed that Prophets and Apostles were only for the first century church. This however, would be in
conflict with scripture. Ephesians 4:13 states a time frame for the use of the "Five Fold Ministry," including Apostles
and Prophets. They are to be used in bringing the church to maturity.
"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" Ephesians 4:13 NKJ.
I don't believe that there are many people that would consider the church to have come to full unity and full knowledge
of Christ. Nor, have we come to any where near the stature of Christ.
Last week, I shared with you that the original definition of an Apostle was a representative sent out by a government
or body to represent their interests. They were usually accompanied by some kind of military presence. Many times
an Armada of ships was accompanied by an Apostle. As Apostles are working with people, they are constantly
thinking, "How can I help this person to be all that God wants them to be?" Their goal is to build the Kingdom by
building people. They hear personally from God and through the Prophets as to how God wants to build, what it
should look like and how to do it.
For several years there has been a teaching in churches that Apostles are church planters. This is really not very
accurate. They are church builders but not necessarily the church planter. In fact, many of the Apostles in the Bible
never planted churches. Other myths that have been connected to Apostles were that there were only 12 and that the
only true Apostles physically walked with Jesus. These are also not true and are proven in scripture. In fact,
depending on which version of The Bible that you are reading, there are over 30 people referred to as Apostles. The
majority of these never walked with Jesus in the flesh like the original 12. While I agree that the original 12 will have
their special place in Heaven (as per Scripture), this does not make the other Apostles any less. One fact that blows a
few people's minds is that there are even female Apostles named in Scripture. But let's move on!
There are different kinds of Apostles that are represented in Scripture and the most basic way to separate them is
into two categories. In the future, we will look at other segregations.
1. Vertical Apostles- These are the most common apostles and typically head some sort of Apostolic Network. This
can be either a formal relationship or an informal relationship. A superintendent or an overseer would fulfill the formal
version of this, though not everyone that has been given these titles by a denomination or network are actually gifted
this way. Ideally, this would be true, but in reality many times, people are placed in these positions by voting or by
other forms of politics. It is evident to most, whether they are an administrator (these are needed also!) or if they are
someone that has a goal of helping you become more than you are. Many times because of the sheer number of
churches that they work with, it is impossible for them to do all that they would like. This is unfortunate. This does not
provide any form of accountability. (I will comment on this more later.) I have been pleased to see some
denominations realize the weaknesses of this and take actions to compensate. I commend them for doing this!
There are also those that are in an informal relationship with an Apostle. This can be an Apostle within their
denomination that they have decided to ask for a fathering relationship or they might not even have a professional
relationship with them, but they have a respectful relationship with them that allows input.
True Apostolic Relationships are not based on control. They are based on respect, trust and accountability. The
previously mentioned lack of accountability is based on the lack of relationship. If the Apostolic Leader is spread so
thin that it depletes any kind of relationship, then the ability to recognize potential problems on the horizon is nearly
impossible. In this scenario, you move from the Apostolic Father being able to head off the problem to an
administrator cleaning up a mess after the fact. I think that you would agree that the former is preferable.
Apostle Paul writes to Apostle Titus, regarding how to help the Church in Crete. Paul instructs him to "set things in
order" in Titus 1:5. Notice that he also tells him to appoint elders instead of holding a vote for them. These were
based on the house church model and each elder headed up a body of believers. Basically, these were what we
would consider to be Pastors. They were the shepherds over particular flocks.
Notice, that Paul also instructs Titus about setting some people straight-
12 One of them, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." 13 This testimony is
true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not giving heed to Jewish fables and
commandments of men who turn from the truth. Titus 1:12-13 NKJ
Paul doesn't leave much to the imagination. He speaks it very straight and to the point. This is a typical trait of an
Apostle.
2. Horizontal Apostles- The best way to define this gifting is to describe the most famous one. James of Jerusalem, is
famous for convening the famous Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15. This James was the brother of Jesus but not one of
the 12 original Apostles. The two original Apostles named James, were the son of Alphaeus, that we don't know much
about and James the Son of Zebedee that was executed in Acts 12.
Please allow me to remind you of the problem that was creating division. There was an issue brewing between Paul
and Peter over circumcision with new believers from different cultures and they were not about to settle it amongst
themselves. James being the Horizontal Apostle, in other words someone that had the respect of all of the Vertical
Apostles, called a meeting. All of the Vertical Apostles and the Elders were invited. Because of the respect that they
had for James, not only did the all show up, but they also entered into discussion that resulted in everyone coming to
agreement. This likely could not have been done by anyone else.
Peter and Paul both criticize each other in scripture (Gal. 2:11; 2 Peter 3:16). It is likely that had either Paul or Peter
called the meeting that the other one would not have attended. However, because of James gifting, he had mutual
respect from not only these two but also from quite a "dream team" of New Testament leaders. This was an impressive
collection of apostles and pastors. This is almost miraculous when you think about how well some Christian Leaders
get along.
I hope that this has helped shed some light on what Apostles are and are not. We will continue our study of the Five
Fold Ministry next week, please tune in. Also, if you have missed any of the previous letters regarding this topic or any
of the other topics including healing, prophecy and testimonies, please check our newsletter archive on our web site.
www.kingdompowernow.com
Working while it is still day,
Pastor Jeff McCracken and the Kingdom Power Now Ministry Team
P.S. (All of you Mother's have a Blessed Mother's Day this Sunday).