I believe that the bible is clear that there are no longer apostles or the need for them.
What was the purpose, qualifications and peculiarities which made someone an apostle?
Here is my take on this topic. It is based on scripture not on my opinion.
1. The apostles laid the foundation of the church.
Ephesians 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
The church is a building. The foundation has been laid. No one that understands construction would lay another foundation on the roof of a building.
Acts 2:42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
2. The apostles were eye witnesses
Luke 24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48 And ye are witnesses of these things.
Peter prayed and asked God which one of the men who had been with them from the beginning should replace Judas.
Acts 1:21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection…
26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
Jesus made sure that the apostles understood their role.
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
What did the apostles do? They did as they were told.
Acts 4:33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
Paul was an apostle born out of due time. Unlike the other apostles he was not with Jesus from the baptism of John to the present.
Paul states that he was qualified to be an apostle because he had seen the Lord.
1 Corinthians 9:1 Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are not ye my work in the Lord?
Paul was the last eyewitness of the resurrected Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
Those who claim to have seen the Lord after the apostle Paul are either deceived, or lying.
It is true that the apostle John saw the Lord on the isle of Patmos. He had already witnessed the Lord after His resurrection. Paul was the last individual to see the resurrected Christ for the first time. No one else has been with Christ besides Paul and John.
Sorry, the people on TBN who claim to have seen Christ are lying or deceived.
3. Jesus hand picked all the apostles.
Luke 6:13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;
Jesus hand picked Paul and personally taught him. That is why Paul could clearly state what Jesus had said at the last supper.
Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)
Galatians 1:15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,
Galatians 1:16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood
4. The apostles did signs and wonders to confirm the word and prove their apostleship. They were with the Lord and everyone living at that time knew it.
Mark 16:14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
Mark 16:20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Acts 2:43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
Acts 5:12-13 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.13 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.
Peter healed a man born lame from birth who was over 40 years old. The miracle was so astonishing that no one could deny it. The scribes and Pharisees called Peter before them.
1. They made note that he had been with Jesus and that a notable miracle had been performed and they could not deny it.
Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
Acts 4:14 And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.
There are no apostles today because no one today is doing the miracles and signs of an apostle.
There are no apostles today because no one today has seen the resurrected Christ.
There are no apostles today because Jesus did not choose them.
There are no apostles today because all the apostles were Jews.
There are false apostles today!
Revelation 2:2 I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
2 Corinthians 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2 Corinthians 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
God may place it upon our hearts to do certain things but it is simply not the same as it was during the Acts of the Apostles.
The apostles laid hands on people and gave them power. We now have the apostle’s doctrine. All of it.
I believe in being “Spirit filled” and “Spirit led”. Why is it so difficult to see and admit that the things that took place during the foundationnal period of the church are not taking place today?
What was the purpose of the apostles and prophets?
To lay the foundation of the church. Either the foundation is laid or the bible is not complete. Which is it?
Ephesians 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
We do not need special revelation. We have the word of God.
Also the purpose of all the sign gifts were to confirm the word. Mark 16
I must test the “enlightenment” I may or may not receive by the light of scripture. The Holy Spirit will not contradict His word or lead the believer to confusion.
The apostles had special revelation so that when we read we understand.
There is no longer a need for new revelation, We have the complete word of God.
1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Great read! thx
12.03.09 at 7:31 am
Psalms 25 : 19 Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred. 20 O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee. 21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.
02.20.10 at 9:08 am
my girlfriend is a luz del mundo believer and she believes in an apostle. i don’t but i’m trying to get her out of that beliefs bcus i know she’s wrong..thats it..
05.29.11 at 6:49 pm
I was asked a ?…Do I believe there is Apostle in the world today, and I did not know how to answer that ? so I started to sreach for the answer and I came across this website Thank You so much it helped me out and I got a good understanding about it, this person that asked me is calling himself a Apsotle so I can tell him that “NO” there is “NO” apsotles in the world today!
10.07.11 at 4:13 pm
Matt 10:2-4 names the apostles of the Lamb. Rev 21:14 affirms this. What do we do with Ephesians 4:11 which was written after the ascension and the 12 were named before the ascension of Christ?
Paul is not referenced as part of the apostles (12) in Acts 14:14.
What about Andronicus and Junias in Romans 16:7?
What about Silvanus and Timothy 1Thes 1:1, 1Thes 2:6?
What about James, the Lord’s brother in Gal 1:19?
Acts 3 & 4 – Apostles all have a focus on the gospel having the ingredient of repentance, and the
ingredient of the resurrection.
Acts 4 – A responsibility to distribute finances to the Church at large is started here.
Acts 6 – Prayer and ministry of the Word.
Acts 14 – The first mention of apostles responsibility to set in elders.
Acts 15 – Settled doctrinal issues (worked with elders to do so)
Acts 15 – Strengthen the churches.
Acts 18 – Travel to churches to strengthen them. (An apostle must be a traveling man)
** In several places apostles are referenced as making public proclamation of Christ and His Kingdom
Rom 1 – Call the Gentiles to the obedience of the faith.
1 Cor 3 – Address division in the churches, as well as a variety of other issues.
Lay foundation of Christ, build on it.
Minimal self focus, maximum God focus.
1 Cor 4 – Might have fathering approach and care for applicable churches.
1 Cor 5 – Will issue governmental directives if the local leadership does not handle issues
appropriately.
1 Cor 5 – Offers subjective instruction, often presents bigger picture at stake.
1 Cor 7 – Matters you wrote about (available to the churches for Q&A’s)
1 Cor 9 – No problem talking about support.
Slave of the Church, the reason for freedom.
** Strong emphasis on the destiny of the Church, and the progress of the Kingdom.
** Sends fellow workers (Apollos, Timothy, others)
5
1 Cor last chapter – Gives churches a sense of connectivity, of belonging to something bigger than
themselves by mentioning workers, other churches, commendations, reports, etc.
2 Cor 1 – Helper of the churches joy.
2 Cor 4 – Preach self as servants for the sake of the church. To love the Church of our Lord Jesus and
lay down his life for Her.
** Ongoing proclamation of the glorious Church
2 Cor 8 – Commended churches for giving. Also took local brethren for the work.
2 Cor 11 – Given authority for building up. Helps church see false workers. Daily concern for the
churches.
2 Cor 12 – Signs, wonders, miracles, patience, perseverance.
2 Cor 13 – Perseveres in confronting church about specific sins, and specific people in sin.
Gal – Keeps church on course in the Spirit, challenges walk in the flesh.
Gal 4 – Agonizes over church to see Christ formed in them.
Gal 6 – Conflict resolution directives.
Eph 2 – Foundation to be built upon, in conjunction with prophets.
Eph 3 – Put forth the revelation of the mystery of the gospel, of Christ, of God and His purpose.
Eph 4 – Strong focus on and call to unity.
Equipping, maturing, etc along with other Eph 4:11 ministries.
Ongoing focus on truth
Eph 6 – Keeps church informed as to his activities.
Phil 2 – Ongoing call to Church to love one another.
Col 1 – Willing to be afflicted for the sake of and service to the Church.
** Ongoing call to righteousness.
1Thess 1 – Ongoing focus on the pure gospel.
Does not want to burden church with his needs
2 Thess 1 – Freely warned church about brothers to avoid, to stay away from.
1 Tim 1 – Hands people over to Satan.
1 Tim 3 – Qualifies elders and deacons, sets and upholds standards.
1 Tim 4 – End time cautions, preparations, and warnings.
** Raises up sons in the faith
** Ongoing instructions about how things should run in God’s house.
** Instructions on governmental order.
** Hears accusations against elders.
2 Tim – raises up young apostles/leaders
Titus – Instructs leaders, challenges leaders, fellow workers. Instructs on how to deal with divisive men.
Phil – Can give orders, (prefers not to), instructs others in the faith.
Hebrews – relates with peoples struggles (like Christ the apostle), their temptations, infirmities, etc.
James – Call to do the Word.
2 Peter – Reminders of the Lord’s return, warning of false teachers, prophets, lawlessness, wickedness,
proper response to worlds trials.
1 John – Call to truth, walk above sin, walk in obedience, walk in love.
2 John – Instructions on how to separate real believers from false ones. Paul addresses this as well.
3 John – Most apostles have a focus on the second coming of Christ.
What about the number of history books that name apostles up until the formation of the Roman Catholic Church?
Could it be that the 12 while still apostles are set apart among the apostles for specific works? Could it be that we still need apostles today? Could it be that church planters and church denominational leaders are in fact doing this work and perhaps even called into apostleship and not even know it?
If you take the criteria you listed and place it on the 12 you will view Scripture much differently.
In addition we have 2 Cor. 8:16-24 where in v.24 we see the word messengers where the Greek word is apostoloi. In Phil 2:25 in regards to Epaphroditus messanger there is GR apostolos. Could it be more that the translators could not bring themselves to naming some unnamed people apostles? They are in fact the same.
12.11.11 at 10:29 pm