APOSTOLIC ELDERSHIP

     Believers everywhere agree that there is only one Church and that all must walk together in unity, but the reality is that in the majority of locations, there is either no unity, it is superficial, or not complete. It doesn’t help when believers regard others as not belonging to Christ, and this is a great resistor to true ‘unity of the heart’. In a typical location there will be a variety of denominational congregations, one or two non-denominational congregations, a few house churches and a bunch of non affiliated believers. In each congregation will be a set of elderships (or group of deacons) and they will generally have little or no relationship with other sets of elders, from other congregations, in the same city. Also these ‘elders’ in these congregations are often ‘lay people’ not called to the ministry, but simple ‘good people’ committed to Christian life.

     The contrast with the above is evident in the Scriptures, for example. “The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you”… Titus 1:5-6. Elderships were appointed in the Bible on a town by town, or city by city basis. In the book of Revelation Christ wrote letters to churches… the Church of Ephesus, the Church of Philadelphia and so on. In the mind of Christ, there is only one Church in each location. Because so many believers today think it’s normal for the church to be fragmented they may have never considered that the elderships and the leadership structures we have may not be Biblical. With only one church in each location (according to the Bible), then there should also only be one eldership (local church leadership) in each location too.

     Once we move from the point of having many sets of elders to only one set in a given location, we then start to reconsider the type of people who are appointed as elders. This is where the list of qualifications for eldership given by Paul to Timothy becomes important. It becomes obvious that we would not just pick ‘good people’ committed to Christian life, but people with a genuine call to Christ, to serve, teach and preach. The Scriptures are full of references to the apostles and the elders. In Acts 15, we see this phrase a number of times. Biblically the elders are the leaders of the Church in a given location. In a city there might be many ministries (local congregations) and many other works of Christ but there will only be a handful of elders, and these will be selected from amongst the five-fold ministers already in the city. Elders are chosen from existing ministers in a city.

     Understanding this concept, reveals much about how we perceive eldership in the New Testament times. We are not talking about a few slightly more spiritual men and women in a local congregation who volunteer their time for leadership, and who may rotate every 3 years, or serve in this role because of a vote. We are talking about men called by Christ to lifelong ministry, selected because of their dedication and qualifications (according to Timothy), appointed by apostles and called to walk in love with the other elders to lead the whole Church in their city. We are talking about something different to anything we have seen or experienced in our lifetimes. The problem we are seeing especially in our region [the Church being vetted by the government] is because the Church has blatantly ignored the Word of God.

     This is something we haven’t witnessed yet, but as apostles are restored, we will see change in the Body of Christ, including the restoration of true biblical eldership. As God changes the Body of Christ from being institutional (denominational/organisational) to being relational, the years ahead are going to prove exciting. There is a call to prayer – prayer for right relationship between leaders, prayer for the restoration of apostles, prayer for the unity of the Body of Christ in your city, and prayer for the restoration of city wide elderships. Will you answer the call to prayer?

Apostles are Spiritual Fathers

     True apostles chosen by the Lord Jesus are the reconciles of the Church as Malachi predicted in his book chapter four verse six, “And he shall turn and reconcile the hearts of the [estranged] fathers to the [ungodly] children, and the hearts of the [rebellious] children to [the piety of] their fathers [a reconciliation produced by repentance of the ungodly], lest I come and smite the land with a curse and a ban of utter destruction”…[Luke 1:17.] God has appointed and continues to appoint ‘fathers’ throughout Scripture and history for varying reasons. Abraham is the ‘Father of many nations’, Adam is the ‘Father of the human race’, Jacob is the ‘Father of Israel’, Paul is the ‘Father to the Gentiles and the Bible says he became a “Father to us all”. God uses certain called and anointed men and individuals for the role of fathering. Apostles are also spiritual fathers in the Body of Christ because they are needed for the role of father, and through this Christ wants to bless and strengthen the Church.

     As it is in today’s Church, she’s full of spiritual bustards. When a child has no parents, there are certain things that child will never receive, even from other adults. A father imparts to a child identity, courage, security, discipline and blessing. When fathers (think apostles) are missing from the Body of Christ the Body is also missing identity, blessing, and many of the things which Christ intends it to have. Even Christ, despite His perfection, received words of encouragement and identity from His Father in Heaven, “And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased”… Matthew 3:17. We need fathers in the Body of Christ to strengthen, give identity, and be a source of blessing and covering that helps the Church become what it needs to become. This is true even for mature believers.

     In Ephesians 4:11-13, the role of apostles is to mature the Church, something fathers are able to do. The following Biblical description of the apostolic ministry comes alive for us when we are more informed of the importance of the father’s role. “As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children… For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God…” 1 Thessalonians 2:6-7, 11-12.

     The last words of the Old Testament provided warning, saying that the Prophet Elijah was coming to “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers” or else there would be a curse. Fathering in the Body of Christ removes a curse of some description on the land. As we see apostles restored to the Body of Christ, we are seeing the return of fathering and the nature of relational Christianity. We will find that as the heart comes back into these relationships there will be great victory for the Kingdom. We were always meant to have fathers, and they are apostles.

What is a Spiritual Father?

     From the beginning God has revealed Himself to be a personal God, but more amazing is this; when Christ came in the flesh as the great revelation of God, He revealed God to be God in Father and Son”. God is a Father to a Son, and also a Son to a Father – the nature of God is revealed to us in this dynamic relationship. Why should we be surprised if the Body of Christ were also to have these kinds of fathering and sonship relationships throughout. It does in fact, and the Bible is also full of the examples and language of sonship. Once you notice it, you find it is everywhere as demonstrated here. A search of your own will find even more examples: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does”… John 5:19. “Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us…” John 17:20. “I became your father through the gospel” – Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 4:15. “To bring many sons to glory”… Hebrews 2:10. “This is my beloved Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased.”… Matthew 3:17. “I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I am sending you Timothy, my son whom I love”… 1 Corinthians 4:16. “To Titus, my true son in our common faith”… Titus 1:4. “You are no longer a slave, but a son”… Galatians 4:7. “You received the Spirit of Sonship”… Romans 8:15.

     Many verses that include the word son are not in reference to being a son/s of God, but also to being son/s of other people who are not biologically related. The concept of sonship in scripture is not only toward God our Father, but also toward other ‘fathers’ that God placed in the earth for our benefit. It’s true that we are brothers of Christ and as such are adopted as sons, but the volume of references that mention sons and ‘earthly’ fathers in reference to each other shows its something for here and now, and between people too. So sonship is not only toward God, but toward leaders (fathers) over us in the Lord. A spiritual father is more than just a “godparent”. A spiritual father is someone who cares for us, who imparts to us love, identity, spiritual covering, who prays for us, and is concerned for our well being. In return we love, honour, serve, and care. We also give in return to make our spiritual fathers work easy, receive covering from them, grace, and the blessing of Christ.

     A spiritual father is someone God has placed in our lives for our spiritual well being. We should submit to them, give our hearts and serve and honour them. In return God will bring good to us through them. They are a source of life to us through Christ. Through this the example of the Father and Son becomes alive and real. God our Father in Heaven had a Son, Jesus Christ, who is also God. So God is a son as well as a Father. And the Body of Christ will have the same function and form as God, we are made in His image. We too will have fathers and sons.

Do Apostles Make Mistakes?

     All apostles are human, and all humans make mistakes. This doesn’t give apostles a license to sin. All believers must guard the heart and the mind and strive to walk before Christ and with each other in integrity. All believers must be on the watch against false motives, wrong attitudes, and choose submission, service, and love. This includes apostles more than anyone. Do fathers make mistakes? Yes, even the best dads do. This doesn’t disqualify them from being a father, or even from being a good father. It certainly does not change a family’s need to have such a father, and to continue to receive the love and leadership of such a father. Neither does it remove the love of all the members of the family for the father. Not in a good family. Usually mistakes honestly dealt with will draw a family closer together, and result in increased closeness. In a good family this should happen.

     In the family of God, mistakes can and will happen. In this way we all learn and we maintain our love and dependence on each other. Mistakes are not a bad thing if they are dealt with properly with a right spirit. This will help bring the whole Church to maturity. The Scripture has many examples of times when genuine apostles made mistakes, or pursued things which were a dead end, or spoke their own thoughts rather than the Lord’s, “When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong…” Galatians 2:11. Paul said, “Forgive me this wrong”… 2 Corinthians 12:13.

     The Bible has other examples showing the humanity of apostles, like when Paul in writing Scripture used his own opinions with the words “in my judgement” when talking about marriage. In Acts 15:7-10, Paul tried to cross the border of Mysia and enter Bithynia to preach the gospel, but the Holy Spirit wouldn’t allow them. Later that night he had a vision of a man from Macedonia calling them. Paul felt to do a certain thing, but wasn’t aware of the Lord’s will until it was later revealed. Sometimes apostles (and all believers) will think God wants a certain thing but be mistaken. Genuine apostles do make mistakes and are fallible, but that doesn’t negate the fact that they are called, and have a grace from God for certain tasks. Nobody expects pastors or evangelists or teachers to be infallible, and neither are apostles or prophets. All are called by God, given grace, and anointed and still must walk with Christ in humility to fulfil their call.

     Sometimes there are people who claim to be apostles, but have serious error in their lives. For these situations the Bible has clear directions for how to deal with people who are “false apostles” or people who have fallen into serious sin.

What is a False Apostle?

     There are never false or counterfeits without there being the genuine. Nobody produces a Ksh. 99 note because it would immediately be recognised as a fake. Because there are genuine apostles, the evil one produces the false in an attempt to thwart the work of God. The church must accept, honour, and follow true apostles, yet at the same time be discerning, and guard against, and reject the false apostle. It seems the early church, knew they were supposed to test, or assess, the claims of apostles so as to guard against false ministry. It was common in the early church to receive travelling ministers, and communication was not what it is today. Jesus commended the Ephesian church for testing and rejecting false apostles… Revelation 2:2, and Paul remonstrated with the Corinthian church for failing to do so, after having been deceived by boastful men with false motives… 2 Corinthians 11:13.

     At the same time, it would be a grave mistake to assume that false apostles are as prevalent as true and genuine apostles of Christ. This is simply not so, and the New Testament gives us a right and healthy perspective. Biblical references that honour apostles abound, whereas false apostles are referred to in just the two places which we have already quoted in the previous paragraph. There is far more mention of false prophets, false teachers, false brothers and even false christs than there are of false apostles. Perhaps this is to do with the nature of the ministry of apostles. The fact remains that the enemy will attempt to counterfeit every aspect of the life of the church, each ministry anointing, and the teaching of the truth itself.

     A false apostle is someone who claims to have apostolic ministry, claims to be called of God as an apostle and claims leadership and government over God’s people, but they are not genuinely called. They may be misled and sincerely believe they are called when they aren’t, but they are still believers. Other false apostles are false brethren sown into the church by the evil one.

     Today we have people now thinking that they are apostles, and claiming that position for themselves. As time progresses and we come into a greater understanding of what it means to be an apostle, according to God’s definition, some of these people will realise, or others will realise, that they are not apostles. This would not make them false brethren but just misinformed about what an apostle is. As understanding comes, God will order the Body of Christ, and His people will take their places. We will become better at knowing what apostles are, and what they do, and it will become easier to test and know the true from the false. The best way to know the false is to be well acquainted with the genuine.

How to Recognize a False Apostle?

     There are only two references to false apostles in the entire bible and given so, it would be a mistake to assume that there are more false apostles than genuine. Given the many references to apostles in scripture, and just the few to false apostles, it seems fair to conclude that it is only occasionally we encounter the false apostle. We must become well acquainted with the genuine so that the fake will be easy to notice. What signs should we look for in discerning the false from the true. Paul describes false apostles in 2 Corinthians 11 by saying that:-

• They commend themselves and boast beyond proper limits.

• They lead believers astray from pure and sincere devotion to Christ.

• They preach another Jesus and a different gospel

• They create the impression that they are ‘super’ apostles.

• They look for opportunity to be considered equal with true apostles.

• They are deceitful

• They are servants of satan and will be judged.

• They push themselves forward, even to the point of abuse and control.

     There are two passages in the New Testament with serious warnings about false leadership in the church. From these passages we can glean information about what to consider and watch for in testing for false apostolic ministry. We consider Jude 3-16 and 2 Peter 2 and the characteristics there are listed below:-

• Corruption in the heart – false motives such as envy, rivalry, greed, and other selfish motives.

• Quick to claim leadership for themselves and equally quick to find fault and exclude others. They are defined by Jude as grumblers and fault-finders, and Peter said they were bold and arrogant.

• Motivated by self interest rather than love of Christ and the brethren, and this is the ‘way of Balaam’. They use boasting and flattery to establish themselves and achieve their ends.

• They despise authority, so they will oppose apostles who they seek to undermine. They will themselves be unsubmitted to true spiritual leadership that God has appointed.

• They are under serious judgement and will be repaid with harm for what they have done. “Their end will be what their actions deserve”, “their destruction has not been sleeping”, and “for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever”.

     Christ said that “By their fruit you will recognize them”… Matthew 7:16. God has given genuine apostles to the Body, and grace flows from their lives to us as a result of their calling and anointing. The false apostle however does not produce this fruit, and the Body of Christ as it becomes familiar with the real, will learn to recognise the false.

Everyone is Apostolic

     The Body of Christ has numerous parts, and although the majority are not apostles, all should be apostolic, it is God’s intent. Apostolic qualities should be common to all believers, and working through them, creating apostolic life and character. In Psalm 32:8-9 it says “Do not be like the horse or mule, which have no understanding, but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you”. The word of significance here is understanding because this is what Scripture says we must have. God is looking for a group of people, it could be 50, or it could be 200 that He can place understanding on, which is the River of Life by the Holy Spirit… Isaiah 11:2 and then they will have one heart and one mind to do the will of God. A group such as this would be an example of an apostolic people.

     We have two examples of this type of thing in Scripture. The first is the early church who were ‘of one heart and mind’… Acts 4:32 and the result of this apostolic nature was staggering. The known world was turned upside down. The second example was in Israel during the days of King David when “the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord”… 2 Chronicles 30:12. A majority of believers have little understanding of the Lord’s ways, and the result of this is a lack of unity, love and power. The majority of sermons while they have great educational value, do little to influence actual outcomes in a significant way. But when God gives the spirit of understanding to a group of people, they become one in heart and mind. This is the anointing that was poured out on the day of Pentecost on the early church. This anointing of understanding is supposed to be on all believers and should make us to be an apostolic people. It is grace which changes an individual person, and in a similar way, the grace or understanding will corporately change a group of people who are willing.

What is an Apostolic People

     An apostolic people or group is not just a group that has apostles, rather it is a group that has certain qualities, such as:-

• Understanding of God’s will and a desire to do it

• Unity between believers – absence of competition and striving

• Community – willingness to work together and honour each other

• Admiration of each other – believers like each other.

• One heart and mind

• Clothed with Christ’s authority

• Submission to authority

• Faith and the fear of the Lord

• Willingness to accept responsibility

• Prayer and the willingness to pray

And there are also some particular apostolic qualities such as:-

• Willingness to go – to be sent at any time

• God shows them things – the direction to go

• Willingness to suffer, to be patient in hardship

• Undivided loyalty to Christ

• Surrender to Christ

     Apostolic Christianity is an experience of walking with Christ, where for each believer these qualities are real, tangible, and personal to their faith. Each believer experiences the dealings of God, as intimately and as personally as Abraham and Paul did. Anything less, or anything else, is not the apostolic faith, but only religion. Believers who are apostolic in nature will walk in humility, are teachable, and submitted. They will honour leaders and walk in faithfulness in relationships rather than just for convenience or to get ahead. They will be accountable, transparent, open and honest, and will love from the heart. They will lay down their lives for each other. They will operate as a community. They will be a people who although they have rights, will not cling to them. The Church is not there yet.

     The Church has not yet become apostolic, but will. As Christ restores apostles, the church will begin to get back its apostolic nature and we will become mature, not lacking anything. The future is going to be different.

Beliefs about Apostles

     Listed below are a number of significant things we believe the Bible says about apostles. This is not a creed, and neither is it necessarily comprehensive. This is not to be confused with any list of apostolic doctrines as listed by any number of apostolic denominational churches. When we speak here of apostolic doctrine we are not talking denominationally, but simply rather in terms of New Testament life and what the Bible has to say:-

1. Jesus initially appointed 12 apostles – Apostles of the Lamb

2. Later Jesus appointed additional apostles and continues to appoint them – Ascension Apostles

3. Apostles are 5 fold ministers called by Christ with certain tasks to perform

4. Apostles and prophets are the foundations of the Church and Christ is the cornerstone

5. Apostles are foundation layers – they teach the Church how to love

6. Apostles are needed until the Church is completely mature

7. To be an apostle you must be called by Christ, and go through times of testing and maturing

8. An apostle does have to see Christ physically or by revelation to witness to His resurrection

9. Typically, apostles are men and women - God is free to do what He wants

10. Apostles provide spiritual covering to God’s people – which is a covering of grace, an anointing

11. Apostles are fathers to God’s people

12. Apostles are Sent Ones – and the people of God are apostolic in nature as well

13. Apostles are human and can make mistakes

14. Sometimes false apostles arise and we must learn how to recognise them

15. To recognise a false apostle, we must be familiar with the genuine

16. The hallmark of a genuine apostle is gentleness

17. Apostles are not necessarily church planters

18. Fame, fortune or charisma are not necessarily apostolic qualities or to be desired for such

19. Apostles seek to be servants

20. Apostles are acquainted with suffering