Download An Apostolic Church, Nov. 22 2009

The Church in Action
Lesson 12
Lesson Text—Matthew 16:19
Matthew 16:19
And I will give unto thee the keys
of the kingdom of heaven: and
whatsoever thou shalt bind on
earth shall be bound in heaven:
and whatsoever thou shalt loose
on earth shall be loosed in
heaven.
Lesson Text—Luke 10:1-3
Luke 10:1-3
1 After these things the Lord
appointed other seventy also, and
sent them two and two before his
face into every city and place,
whither he himself would come.
Lesson Text—Luke 10:1-3
2 Therefore
said he unto them,
The harvest truly is great, but the
labourers are few: pray ye
therefore the Lord of the harvest,
that he would send forth
labourers into his harvest.
3 Go your ways: behold, I send
you forth as lambs among
wolves.
Lesson Text—Luke 10:16
Luke 10:16
He that heareth you heareth me;
and he that despiseth you
despiseth me; and he that
despiseth me despiseth him that
sent me.
Lesson Text—Luke 19:12-14
Luke 19:12-14
12 He said therefore, A certain
nobleman went into a far country
to receive for himself a kingdom,
and to return.
13 And he called his ten servants,
and delivered them ten pounds,
and said unto them, Occupy till I
come.
Lesson Text—Luke 19:12-14
14 But
his citizens hated him, and
sent a message after him, saying,
We will not have this man to reign
over us.
Lesson Text—Luke 19:15
Luke 19:15
And it came to pass, that when he
was returned, having received the
kingdom, then he commanded
these servants to be called unto
him, to whom he had given the
money, that he might know how
much every man had gained by
trading.
Focus Verse—John 20:21-23
John 20:21-23
21 Then said Jesus to them again,
Peace be unto you: as my Father
hath sent me, even so send I you.
22 And when he had said this, he
breathed on them, and saith unto
them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
Focus Verse—John 20:21-23
23 Whose
soever sins ye remit, they
are remitted unto them; and whose
soever sins ye retain, they
are retained.
Focus Thought
The word apostle means “one
sent,” and the apostolic
church emerged as a body of
believers sent out to the world
as personal extensions of
Christ.
Introduction
Ephesians 2:19-20
Many people try to fit the church
into various molds and paradigms
they think are best suited to its
establishment. In other words, they
attempt to force the church to
function within the frameworks they
devise. For example, over the past
generation we have witnessed
various individuals advocating the
Lighthouse Movement, the purposedriven church model, and numerous
applications of church cell ministry.
However, no single human idea of
organizational structure can be a
Ephesians
2:19-20
one-size-fits-all pattern for the
church.
A person cannot reduce the New
Testament church—the apostolic
church—to one simple organizational
form. While this thriving church met
in homes (Acts 5:42) and in the
Temple (Acts 5:12), its work and
worship were not confined to
structured worship services. The
sick were set beside the streets
where Peter walked so that they
might be healed as his shadow
passed over them (Acts 5:15).
One of the deacons, selected to
Ephesians
2:19-20
ensure the fair disbursement of all
resources, preached a convicting
sermon in a courtroom (Acts 6:12;
7). Philip preached to the Ethiopian
in the desert (Acts 8), and in Athens,
Paul preached both in the Jewish
synagogue and to everyone he met
in the marketplace (Acts 17:17).
Ephesians
2:19-20
Neither intimidation
nor
persecution was able to destroy
the church. The church wielded no
political power, yet no king or
governor was able to stifle its
growth or influence. Jesus
assured believers that He would
build His church and no force—
not even hell’s most intense
efforts—could stop it (Matthew
16:18). Leading this brand new
collection of believers was a small
group of men called the apostles.
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines
apostle
as “1. a2:19-20
delegate,
Ephesians
messenger, one sent forth with
orders, John 13:16 . . . 2. Specially
applied to the twelve disciples
whom Christ selected, Matthew
10:1-4 . . . 3. In a broader sense the
name is transferred to other
eminent Christian teachers; as
Barnabas, Acts 14:14.”
The twelve disciples of Jesus
Christ certainly fit the definition of
apostle as they carried the
message of Jesus Christ to the
world.
The churches that formed as a
result
of the preaching
of the
Ephesians
2:19-20
apostles so embraced the message
and lifestyle of the apostles that the
assemblies became a reflection of
their words and actions. Birthed by
the passionate care of the apostles,
the early church embodied the
values and spirit of its builder,
Jesus Christ, and became the most
powerful force on earth.
As we study the apostolic
church, we will examine closely the
definition of an apostle—
historically, literally, and practically.
Historically, there were twelve
original
disciples,
the apostles, who
Ephesians
2:19-20
had a unique calling by Jesus
Christ, which was never again to be
repeated or replicated within the
church. The purpose of their
specific calling was fulfilled and
completed within their lifetimes—
the establishment of the New
Testament church of Jesus Christ.
However, the general work of an
apostle continues in its most literal
and practical definitions; Jesus is
still calling believers to carry His
message into all the world.
Our look at the church’s
Ephesians
2:19-20
continuing
efforts
to perform
apostolic ministry is in no way
intended to diminish or blur the
very specific one-time work
performed by the original apostles.
We endeavor only to examine and
encourage the continuance of the
essential idea of ongoing apostolic
ministry. Having also received our
special calling and orders from
Jesus Christ, we continue to carry
the message of Jesus Christ to
every hamlet and village and region
throughout the earth.
The
Office
of
Apostle
I. The Office of Apostle
Matthew 10 records the
commissioning of the twelve
apostles. As Jesus prepared to
send them out, He gave clear
instructions regarding both the
message the apostles would
deliver and the audience to whom
they would minister. “But go rather
to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel. And as ye go, preach,
saying, The kingdom of heaven is
at hand” (Matthew 10:6-7). These
disciples were true apostles.
I. The Office of Apostle
They were called out and sent to
deliver a specific message to a
specific audience.
Not only did Jesus commission
these men to deliver a message of
hope to the nation of Israel, but He
used them to establish the
foundation upon which He would
build His church.
Ephesians
2:19-20
“Now therefore ye are no
more strangers and
foreigners, but fellowcitizens
with the saints, and of the
household of God; and are
built upon the foundation of
the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being
the chief corner stone”
(Ephesians 2:19-20).
Ephesians 2:19-20
Between the commissioning of
Matthew 10 and the birth of the
church (Acts 2), Judas forfeited his
position with the Twelve when he
sinned and chose suicide rather
than repentance. Acts 2 describes
how Matthias was selected to take
his place. Later, Saul of Tarsus was
converted and became known as
the “apostle of the Gentiles”
(Romans 11:13).
The message collectively
constructed
by these
New Testament
Ephesians
2:19-20
apostles provides the foundation
upon which the apostolic church is
built. While God continues to send
men and women forth with a
message to declare, that message
always springs from the words first
delivered to us by the apostles. Paul
expressed the completeness of their
work when he wrote, “But though
we, or an angel from heaven, preach
any other gospel unto you than that
which we have preached unto you,
let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8).
The Function of an Apostle
II. The Function
of anestablished
Apostle and
With the church
God’s Word delivered, the work of
the apostles as mentioned in
Ephesians 2:19-20 was completed.
However, God’s plan for His church
requires that men and women
continue to hear and obey His
command to carry the gospel to
every person. Consequently, the
essential function of an apostle
goes beyond the work of the
original Twelve and will remain a
vital role in the church as long as
the church remains on the earth.
A. Go with a Mission
A. Go with a Mission
Jesus made it clear that He
was sending forth all His
disciples with a message. Before
He ascended into heaven,
following His resurrection, Jesus’
final words to His disciples were
instructions to prepare
themselves to deliver His
message to the world.
shall a
receive
power, after
A.“But
Goyewith
Mission
that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you: and ye shall be witnesses
unto me both in Jerusalem, and in
all Judaea, and in Samaria, and
unto the uttermost part of the
earth” (Acts 1:8).
Jesus had given believers the
message (Acts 1:3) and He
expected them to use the power He
would supply to carry the gospel to
the whole world.
B. Complete the Task
God’s naturethe
and Task
power do not
B. Complete
permit His work to languish
unfulfilled. From the example of His
creation of the world to the specific
prophecies fulfilled by Jesus’ birth,
it is obvious that He deals in
completeness.
The resident Spirit of God within
provided the power that made the
apostles effective witnesses. (See I
Corinthians 6:19.) God does not
expect men and women to establish
His church solely by the use of their
own intelligence and resources.
are mere conduits
to facilitate
B.WeComplete
the Task
the building of the church through
the resources of Jesus Christ, for
He said He would build the church.
It is built by the power of God. The
apostles knew their role in laying
the foundation of the church, and
they completed it faithfully. Now, it
is incumbent upon believers today
to continue the work of constructing
His church.
Building the the
church
is a spiritual
B. Complete
Task
work whose progress cannot be
measured by natural observation,
but we are to be faithful to whatever
work He has assigned us. Only God
can calculate the real significance of
our faithfulness to perform His work
on earth. He has placed the great
commission in our hands and is
depending on us to do our part.
C. Give an Account
C. Jesus
Giveoften
an Account
told stories to
illustrate truth. In Luke 19, He told
of ten servants who were called to
account for how they had managed
their lord’s goods. While God does
not measure the success of His
church or of His disciples by how
much money they generate, He has
clear expectations for His
stewards. God bases His
judgments on faithfulness and
obedience.
C.
Give
an
Account
He does not expect every person to
produce the same quantity, but He
expects every person to produce.
God knows each person’s
strengths and weaknesses and
commissions and judges each one
accordingly.
Examples of
A. Abraham’s
Servant
Apostolic
Function
A. Abraham’s Servant
Abraham sent his servant on a
mission that parallels the task that
Christ has given His disciples.
Recognizing that it was time for his
son Isaac to marry, Abraham
directed his most trusted servant to
find a suitable bride.
A.Not
Abraham’s
Servant
wanting his son to marry into
the heathen families living nearby,
Abraham had his servant travel
back to his homeland to select a
wife from among Abraham’s own
people. The servant became, in a
sense, an apostle sent to perform a
function vital to Abraham’s
covenant with God.
A. Abraham’s
Servant
The work of the
apostolic church
is centered on the bride that Christ
will claim as His own—His church.
(See Revelation 21:9.) Just as
Abraham sent his servant to find a
wife for Isaac, so the Lord has sent
the apostolic church to acquire a
bride for Him. (See Revelation
19:7.)
B. Jesus
B. Jesus
We clearly witness an apostolic
function in the life of Jesus Christ.
His message was not His own, as He
explained to the Jews: “When ye
have lifted up the Son of man, then
shall ye know that I am he, and that I
do nothing of myself; but as my
Father hath taught me, I speak these
things” (John 8:28).
Neither did Jesus come to pursue
B.pleasure,
Jesus but as He told the
His own
crowd, “I can of mine own self do
nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my
judgment is just; because I seek not
mine own will, but the will of the
Father which hath sent me” (John
5:30). His prayer in Gethsemane
revealed that He was fully committed
to seeing the Father’s will done.
“Father, if thou be willing, remove
this cup from me: nevertheless not
my will, but thine, be done” (Luke
22:42).
Jesus Jesus’ purpose
PaulB.
summarized
when he wrote, “Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners” (I
Timothy 1:15).
C. Paul and Barnabas
C. Paul and Barnabas
“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” (Acts 13:2).
GodActs
demonstrated
13:2 His
sovereign will when the Holy Spirit
called Paul and Barnabas to do a
special work. The church is a
spiritual body (I Corinthians 12)
and God assigns each person his
place within it (I Corinthians
12:18). Responding to the Spirit’s
call is one characteristic of an
apostolic church. The church is
not the product of its own plans
and programs but is the result of
the divine intervention of God who
is guiding it.
D. Andronicus and Junia
D. Andronicus and Junia
In the closing lines of his letter
to the church at Rome, Paul
greeted Andronicus and Junia,
thought by some scholars,
including Matthew Henry, to be a
married Jewish couple and cousins
to Paul. He saluted them for being
distinguished among the apostles
and for having been converted
longer than he (Romans 16:7).
D.
It is possible this couple was
Andronicus
and
Junia
among the seventy believers Luke
wrote about in chapter 10 of his
Gospel (Luke 10:1, 17). Jesus
organized this group of disciples
into pairs and sent them to minister
throughout the region. Jesus not
only placed the burden of ministry
upon them, but He empowered
them to act on His behalf: “He that
heareth you heareth me; and he
that despiseth you despiseth me;
and he that despiseth me despiseth
him that sent me” (Luke 10:16).
D. Andronicus and Junia
What occurred after the
disciples ministered was not their
issue to handle. Their task was to
minister. None of them possessed
the power to heal diseases or
forgive sins on their own. Their
only responsibility was to obey
Jesus Christ by preaching the
gospel to the lost. The results were
totally dependent upon God. (See
Mark 16:17-20.)
Jesus’ Object Lesson
A. Jewish Passover Meal
A. Jewish Passover Meal
As the Jews celebrated their
deliverance from Egypt during the
Passover meal, they set an extra,
but empty, place at the table for the
Messiah. They set bread and wine
before this seat to remind them of
the deliverance they had received
and the Redeemer who was yet to
come.
B.
B. Jesus’ Last Passover
Meal Meal
Jesus’ Last Passover
As Jesus shared the Passover
with His disciples, He took the
bread and wine reserved for the
Messiah. Passing the bread and
wine to His disciples, He referred
to them as His body and His
blood.
1. Jesus
theMeal
role of
B. Jesus’
Last assumed
Passover
Messiah. Jesus was not timid
when it was time to answer the
call of God. He knew for what
purpose He had been born, and He
was determined to fulfill it. Outside
pressures and the expectations of
others did not stop Him. Although
the message He had to deliver was
going to shatter the religious
traditions many people held dear,
He was faithful to His calling.
B. Jesus’ Last Passover Meal
2. Jesus fulfilled the disciples’
expectations. By assuming His
role, Jesus confirmed to His
followers that He was indeed sent
from God. Although His methods
often confused them, there was no
denying the power of God that
was resident in Him.
B.
3. After Jesus referred to the
Jesus’
bread Last
as His Passover
body and theMeal
wine as
His blood, He distributed them to His
disciples and invited them to partake.
By inviting the disciples to partake of
His body and blood, Jesus was
uniting them, making them one with
and in Him. They would not only be
witnesses to a moment of great
historical significance, but
propagating the message of Jesus
Christ would become their very
lives—the whole purpose of their
existence.
B.
No longer did they live to build their
Jesus’
Last
Passover
Meal
own lives and fortunes, but their lives
became lost in His, and His purpose
became the force that motivated their
lives.
4. Jesus performed the messianic
ministry (Luke 4:18-19). His purpose
in coming to earth was to provide the
only true sacrifice for sin and to
proclaim the hope of the living
gospel. In sharing communion with
His disciples, He also passed to them
the responsibility of carrying the
gospel message to the world.
Sent as Individual
A. We HaveApostles
Been Sent
A. We Have Been Sent
Before Jesus ascended, He
commanded His disciples to
continue His work upon the earth
(Acts 1:8). His work was not to
build His own kingdom, but to
speak and do those things the
Father taught Him.
A. We
Have
Been
Just
as Jesus
was Sent
careful to
surrender His own will to the will of
the One who sent Him, each bornagain disciple must lose himself in
Christ’s message and mission
(Colossians 3:3).
Jesus taught His disciples that
A. they
Wecould
HavenotBeen
SentHis
accomplish
work without the Spirit He would
send (Acts 1:8). From His
instructions, it is apparent that the
Holy Ghost is not just an added
blessing. Jesus told them to expect
power when they received the
Spirit and not to attempt to do His
work without it. Apostolic ministry
is possible only when the believer
is empowered by the Holy Ghost.
B. We
B. We Have Our Job
Description
Have Our Job
Description
The job of proclaiming the
gospel to the world has been
placed upon the shoulders of God’s
church. The foundational message
has been clearly established by the
prophets and apostles (Ephesians
2:19-20), and now the church has
orders to go, preach, teach, and
baptize.
B. We Have Our Job Description
No one who has received the
Holy Ghost can claim an
exemption. The primary purpose of
that gift is to empower believers for
their life in Christ, including their
call to share the gospel. By
supplying the power Himself, God
has made it possible for every
believer to be an apostle.
B. We
The standard is not to measure
Have
Our
Job Description
up to the
knowledge
of the apostle
Paul or to the boldness of the
apostle Peter before one can be a
witness, but God establishes a
standard for each believer based
on his or her talents and abilities
(Matthew 25:15). Not only does the
Holy Ghost set a person free from
his past, but it also frees him from
unreasonable expectations
regarding the future. God will judge
believers by what they do with the
gifts He gave them, not by how well
they do compared to someone else.
C. We
C.
We
Have
the
Have the Apostolic
Apostolic Message
Message
On the Day of Pentecost, the
power Jesus had promised was
delivered to His disciples. They
had tarried in Jerusalem as He
had commanded, “And suddenly
there came a sound from heaven
as of a rushing mighty wind, and
it filled all the house where they
were sitting. And there appeared
unto them cloven tongues like as
of fire, and it sat upon each of
them.
C.
And they were all filled with the Holy
We
Have
the Apostolic
Ghost,
and began
to speak with other
tongues,
as the Spirit gave them
Message
utterance” (Acts 2:2-4). Now that they
had the power, they were ready to
deliver the message.
When the people asked what they
needed to do to be saved, the brandnew church was ready. Standing
united with the other apostles (Acts
2:14), Peter said, “Repent, and be
baptized every one of you in the
name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins, and ye shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost”
(Acts 2:38).
ThisHave
message,
first one
C. We
thethe
Apostolic
preached after the formation of the
Message
church,
was repeated throughout
the Book of Acts as the disciples
took the gospel throughout their
world.
Hermeneutics is the art and
science of interpretation. Dr. J.
Edwin Hartill wrote in his book
Principles of Biblical Hermeneutics,
“Unless consistent principles of
interpreting its passages are
followed the truth of God becomes
blurred and confused.”
C. We
Have
Apostolic
Later
in thethe
same
book Dr. Hartill
listed “The First Mention Principle,”
Message
which is “that principle by which
God indicates in the first mention of
a subject, the truth with which that
subject stands connected in the
mind of God.” In other words, Dr.
Hartill continued, “The first time a
thing is mentioned in Scripture it
carries with it a meaning that will be
carried all through the Word of
God.”
C. We Have the Apostolic
Message
Using this principle of
interpretation, the first message
preached to those not in the
church instructing them on how
to enter must be considered
whenever a similar circumstance
arises. The message of salvation
preached by the apostles is the
same one delivered by today’s
apostolic church.
C. We Have the Apostolic
Message
An apostle is not free to choose
the message he will deliver.
Without a message there is no
need for an apostle. And if the
message is distorted, changed, or
confused, delivering it is pointless.
The message, then, is more
important than the messenger—
something that the apostolic
church must always keep in mind.
D.
We
Have
Our
Scheduled
Have Our Scheduled Day
Day of Accountability
D. We
of Accountability
In Matthew 25, Jesus told of a
man who took a long journey,
leaving the management of his
affairs in the hands of trusted
servants. Upon his return, he
assembled his stewards to account
for what they had done in his
absence. The lord was pleased with
those who had increased his
wealth, but he was angry with the
man who had taken no action to
improve the portion of the business
he had been assigned.
D.
He
still
retained
all
he
had
been
We Have
Our
Scheduled
Day
given, but had no contribution of
ofhisAccountability
own to add to it. In the end, the
man who preserved only what he
had been given lost even that and
was discarded as an unprofitable
servant.
Expanding the boundaries of the
church is every disciple’s
assignment. While some may be
more gifted or have more available
resources, every believer
possesses the ability to bless and
strengthen the church.
D.
The
command
to
“go”
lists
no
We Have
Our
Scheduled
Day
exceptions and bears no excuses.
ofSpreading
Accountability
the gospel is the
responsibility of every Christian.
The servant’s lord was not
unreasonable. He did not expect
his servants to produce identical
results, but he did demand that
they all show some gain on what
they had been given. In the same
fashion, our Lord has reasonable
expectations of us.
E. We
E.
We
Have
Been
Charged
Have Been Charged with
with a Mission
a Mission
As members of the body of
Christ, we are called to complete
the work Jesus began on this earth.
Paul stated our job description
when he wrote, “Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners” (I
Timothy 1:15).
E. We Have Been Charged with
Jude
a reiterated
Missionthe apostolic
responsibility and accompanying
influence: “And of some have
compassion, making a difference:
and others save with fear, pulling
them out of the fire; hating even the
garment spotted by the flesh” (Jude
22-23).
E. We
Just
as
Jesus
brought
the
early
Have
Been
Charged
with
church apostles into ministry with
HimabyMission
having them partake of His
flesh and blood, so we are made
partakers of His ministry. The same
Holy Ghost that empowered them to
serve their generation has been
given to us for the same purpose.
We are sent with a mission. Our
lives are not ours to spend as we
choose. The burden of the great
commission rests with us.
Reflections
Choosing a certain name or
denominational affiliation does not
make a religious body an apostolic
church. The actions and behavior of
the believers within that body are the
only factors that determine whether
or not a church is apostolic. Being
apostolic is about the values and
core beliefs a person’s actions reflect
rather than the words that person
may choose to describe himself.
E. We
A
person
cannot
purchase,
claim,
Have
Been
Charged
with
or inherit the apostolic life. He can
Missionit.
onlyaexperience
Paul described the new birth as
an inside-out transformation, not
an external makeover. “Therefore if
any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature: old things are passed
away; behold, all things are
become new” (II Corinthians 5:17).
When the Holy Ghost fell on the
Day of Pentecost, the disciples,
who had been fearful and faithless,
became bold and passionate
champions of the gospel.
E. We Have
Been
Charged
with
Their prayers shook houses, their
shadows
healed diseases, and their
a Mission
message changed the world. (See
Acts 17:6.) Threats did not sway
them and prisons could not confine
them.
Attempts to snuff out this
powerful new force only fanned the
flames and pushed the apostolic
revival into other cities and onto
other continents. This was, indeed,
a new thing.
E. We
God was no longer relegated to
Have
Charged
specificBeen
locations
dedicatedwith
to
worship,
but His Spirit was set free
a Mission
to work wherever people gathered
as the born-again believers shared
their joy without reservation.
That power has not subsided and
its effect has not diminished.
Apostolic churches flourish even in
nations closed to Christian
missionaries. God has used
ordinary people without religious
training or organized assistance to
introduce the Holy Ghost in places
where governments have fought to
keep it out.
God is still
calling
and empowering
E. We Have
Been
Charged
with
His disciples.
a Mission
The
effect of the new birth is so
great in the lives of those who
experience it that they no longer
belong to this world and its culture.
As Paul helped the Corinthians to
understand their new role and
identity, he identified the new
position that every Spirit-filled
believer attains: ambassador for
Christ (II Corinthians 5:20).
E. We Have Been Charged with
The completed new birth supplies
a Mission
the disciples
with the power
necessary to fulfill the commission
that Jesus gave the church. May the
power of the Spirit of God impact
every land and every culture as the
church faithfully executes its
apostolic mission.