Featured Apostolic Uniqueness

You see the gifts and wonders as they do, and prophets for today!

 

The apostles were chosen of Jesus Christ in the context of the gospel of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Later, in Lk 10, Jesus chose 70 other disciples. The gospel that Jesus Christ preached was not the gospel of salvation although all the elements of salvation were clearly defined by our Lord during his earthly ministry. For instance, he told Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jewish nation, that one must be born again to enter into his kingdom. When he was asked to explain the new birth he said it, the new birth, will be predicated upon his being lifted up as the serpent was lifted up in Num 21.This information made two things exceedingly clear. 1) The kingdom that Jesus was preaching had not come, and 2) no one could be born again yet because he had not yet been lifted up as per the type.

Another illustration he gave was in John 6. A marvelous chapter, and one that should cause us to desire to remove our shoes because of the magnificent truths that are revealed there. He teaches that the external Christ cannot save and that salvation is dependent upon him being in the believer. He had set this teaching up by feeding the five thousand with 2 small fishes and 5 loaves and thus by him they were sustained when they had no bread. John 6 is the first of the 7 "I am" statements of John. He is the bread of life in Jn 6:35. He said one must eat his flesh and drink his blood or he has no life in him. This is the take away of Jn 6.

The political kingdom that Jesus preached to Israel only at his first coming required them to accept him as the prophesied OT Messiah of Israel. They had to accept his person as Messiah before they could ever accept him as savior. The Jews killed Jesus because he was claiming to be their King. The outward political kingdom of Christ was officially taken off the table in the encounter of Jesus in Matt chapters 10 thru 12 and the generation of rulers who were tasked to receive him as Messiah were cut off and cursed and Jesus saved individual Jews who would come to him in faith. In Matt 12 he spoke of the end of a growing season when the harvest was ripe but only a few laborers to gather it, and because it was not harvested, he began in chapter 13 to tell of a mystery kingdom when the king would be away and he gave 7 parables, called the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. They began with a new sowing and new season and culminated in a harvest that required a fire to burn up the tares that grew among the crop and the good to be gathered into the barns first. This kingdom is shown historically in the Acts and is explained in the epistles of Paul, who is the apostle to the gentiles.

This in no way voids any of the earthly and political kingdom promises that God has made to Israel in his covenants. The King will return to Israel and he will eliminate every rebel from off the earth before he establishes his world wide rule over the whole earth from Jerusalem. One cannot have a righteous kingdom with rebels in it. The "day of the Lord" judgements will eliminate every one of them.

Isaiah 24:6
Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

The structure of his kingdom will be as it was under Moses.

Moses = Jesus
Twelve heads of Israel = 12 Apostles
The 70 elders of Israel = 70 Prophets of Lk 10

Matt 19:27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

 

False.

The Bible makes a distinction between The Twelve and the rest of the apostles (which includes Paul). You won’t accept that, but you don’t accept the Bible where you disagree with it.

(1) Paul explicitly disagrees with you, but you won’t accept it.
(2) The Bible teaches no such thing.
(3) I find it nearly blasphemous that you would claim that the theology of a disciple of Jesus is greater than the teaching of Jesus Himself. I’m not one of those people who believe Paul taught something different than Jesus, but a student is not greater than His master.
(4) It seems you nearly worship Paul. The focus of all of scripture is Jesus.

The ministry of The Twelve was unique to its time. The ministry of apostles of Christ continues.

(1) I don’t think this is true in a general sense. I have come across many charismatics who believe that one has to speak in tongues to be filled with the Spirit (some even claim tongue speaking is evidence of salvation).
(2) In the charismatic movement, tongues tend to be important. I think they are nearly irrelevant.
(3) There are prophets today, just like pastors and teachers. I am primarily gifted as a prophet.
(4) If charismatics believe like I do, then they probably also got their theology from the Bible.

 

Paul had the very same authority and distinctiveness as the original 12!

 

Yes, like the rest of the apostles that followed The Twelve.

 

NO, as he was the same as one of the Original Apostles!

 

He was not numbered with The Twelve. The Twelve literally walked with Jesus for three years. He is NOT part of that symbolic group.