~ The Spiritual Gift of Apostleship ~
Opening Comment ~ “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (James 1:16-18).
Category ~ The Sign Gift of an Apostle of Christ.
Biblical Examples ~ “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead:) ... For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:1,12).
Qualifications (to be an Apostle) ~ Biblical statements indicate that the Apostles of Christ were temporary. Read how the Scriptures clearly describes the qualifications of an Apostle of Christ:
(1) To have been with Christ during His earthly ministry (Acts 1:21-22; Philippians 2:25; 2 Corinthians 8:23). There was one exception, the Apostle Paul (see 1 Corinthians 15:8; 2 Corinthians 12:11). People of later generation could not meet this requirement.
(2) To have seen the resurrected Christ with their own eyes (1 Corinthians 9:1). This was important since one of the key responsibilities of an Apostle was to give eye-witness testimony to the risen Christ. See Luke 24:46-48; Acts 1:8, 2:32, 3:15, 5:29-32, 10:39-42, and 13:30-31. Note that the Apostle Paul stated: "And last of all He was seen of me also” (1 Corinthians 15:8).
(3) Church history and the Scriptures have no indication of additional Apostles being added later.
(4) In Ephesians 2:20, Paul uses a comparison between the construction of a building and the construction of the Church, he declared that the apostles and New Testament prophets are the foundation of the Church. You do not lay a foundation after the walls and roof have been added. Foundations are the early part of the construction.
Time Period ~ Based on the above the only reasonable conclusion is that Apostles of Christ were during the early Church period and then ended. The office of an Apostle of Christ was for a very limited time and is no longer a position in the Christian Church.
Scripture ~ An apostle was a man who had not only seen the resurrected Christ but had also been directly and personally commissioned by Him to be an Apostle. Paul could state: “Paul, an Apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead: ... For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:1,12).
“Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. 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” (1 Corinthians 12:27-28).
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-13).
Closing Comments ~ “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:12-16).
“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:6-7).
“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10).
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.
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