Featured Researching apostles...

There was no person who in writing the NT was either an apostle or a close associate of an apostle. If, for example, they weren't an apostle, their information was gained from an apostle. Luke traveled with Paul. Mark was with Peter. Both James and Jude were brothers of our Lord, and well accepted by all the Apostles. James was the pastor of the church in Jerusalem where the council of chapter 15 was held.

 

The authors of the NT were not simple mechanical robots of God.
This is demonstrated well in the OT. Isaiah was a well educated man who could write in a poetical fashion and use many literary devices. And all of that comes out in his writing, in the Book of Isaiah.
The personality of Amos comes out in his book. Amos was a farmer, a sheep-herder. His style is completely different as one would expect.
In the NT the writing of John, a fisherman, is completely different than Paul, a highly educated man. God allowed their personalities to shine through their writings. They were not simply mechanical robots.

Where do you think Paul got all his information from? It is true much of it was direct revelation. He describes in detail his voyage to Rome and how he was shipwrecked. Did that come from the Holy Spirit, or did the Holy Spirit inspire what he wrote?

 

That is not what the text says. You read into the text what you want to read.
He gave to the church OT prophets also. He gave to the church the OT prophets in the form of the OT itself. Do you use the OT, or have you thrown it in the garbage? If you use it, then Christ has given you the OT prophets. The verse does not mean that all the positions listed continue today or were appointed after the ascension. There is no such meaning in that verse.

He is speaking to a first century church, the church at Ephesus, of whom Timothy was the pastor. Timothy, no doubt had mentioned many of the Apostles. He traveled with Paul, had met with Peter and James; traveled also with Luke, and no doubt had met many of the others. He was Paul's disciple and went with Paul wherever he went until Paul had sent him to Ephesus. The verses you reference are written in context to the local church at Ephesus, not to a universal church that doesn't exist.

The we, probably referred to Paul, Timothy and the members of the Ephesian church. They were to come into the unity of faith, which they probably did.

The lessons of the church of Ephesus every Bible believing local church should apply to themselves today, with the exception that we don't have apostles and prophets today.

 

God gave the Apostolic Church the Apostles/prophets, for the Apsotle paul said that the church was laid upon the foundation of christ, and on the teachings of Apostles/prophets, but that their "job" was completed, for we now have the more sure word of the lod via Scriptures, and we have the HS indwelling us today, so the Apsotles/prophets not needed, as we all have the bible and the Spirit working in and thru the scriptures to mature us, gude us, etc!

 

Jesus said that John was the last of the OT prophets and gave him great praise.
There were some NT prophets like Agabus, but not many.
There was the gift of prophesy, strictly a revelatory gift, used only when the canon of Scripture was incomplete. When the canon was completed (made perfect) it was no longer needed. It ceased, as the Bible said it would. The "office" of the prophet disappeared with it.

 

That was addressing the Apsotolic church only though!Time when the local church had God speak forth to them to confirm doctrines and practices through Apostles/prophets, and those who had a message from god in prophesy or tongues! god wrote that in order to have guidelines to know what was from and of him, and to know false from fake!

NOT for today, as we now have the completed word of God to us!

Interesting that there appeared to be 'charasmatic chaos" even in the early churches, eh?

 

Where "opinion" comes into play is how you choose to personally interpret the proof texts you cherry pick.

Since no one alive today, as I have shown biblically, qualifies to be an Apostle then your personal application of Ephesians 4 is in error.

 

Good point! For since the office of Apostle has ceased, why not prophet also?

That would answer Awaken on the 5 fold ministry for today question!

 

Nothing I said was opinion. Or don't you recognize the words of Jesus?
Jesus said: "John was the last of the OT prophets." Was he lying or so great is your unbelief in the Scriptures that you don't believe His words.
Believe me; that is not my opinion. Neither were the other things that I said to you.
Be careful what you say, lest it come back to bite you.

And that is precisely what it was--an early church in Corinth. It was not an early church of the 21st century where apostles and prophets are no more. They ceased at the end of the first century. There is no more prophetic office.
If you knew what this verse meant:

1 Corinthians 13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

Then you would know that prophecy is not for today. They have failed, come to an end, ceased. They are no longer needed. They have served their purpose.

This is a church which you are not a member of; am I correct in saying that? Or are you older than 2,000 years? The Book of Acts is a troubling book for you. It is a book of transition, a book of history, a book of change, a book of the acts of the apostles, their works and history. It is not a book of doctrine. But you don't accept that.
Just because there were prophets in that first century church does not mean there should be prophets today. They did not have a finished or completed canon of Scripture either.

And your point is??

That is not all that he said:
Mat 10:42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
--Have you lost the context somewhere? I will quote it for you:

Mat 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
--He was speaking to his disciples or shall I say The Twelve Apostles.
The sometimes acted in the capacity of prophets. That was the context.

Even Jesus identified his own disciples as prophets. That is what the passage shows. You sort of missed that in your wild interpretation of Scripture.

He said to his own "apostles" that they were prophets. The apostolic age came to an end when they died! We cannot return to the first century. Your car will not drive backwards in time.

 

The qualifications are different. And it depends on how one defines "prophet". If one is a prophet in the same way Paul was as received new revelations from God then one does not hold to the closed canon. Of course that means new doctrines are on the table. And I reject that. But I do not believe that if the office of Apostle is closed then the office of Prophet must also be closed. That would be a begging the question fallacy.

 

You refuted nothing. His qualification was the same as everyone else.