God's Ministry - Apostles (continued)
There are many titles used in churches today, but Scripture teaches believers to look beyond a title and examine what the Word of God actually says.
That is especially important when someone claims to hold a spiritual office.
The question should not simply be, “What does this person call himself?”
The better question is: Does the life, work and calling line up with Scripture?
Acts 17 describes the Bereans as “more noble” because they received the Word with readiness of mind and then “searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”
That is a healthy pattern for every believer.
Hear what is being taught.
Receive it with an open heart.
Then go back to the Word and examine it.
The goal is not to become suspicious of everyone. It is to become spiritually intelligent enough to recognize what agrees with Scripture and what does not.
One of the offices discussed in Ephesians 4 is the apostle.
The word apostle simply means one who is sent.
Jesus had many disciples, but after praying through the night, He chose twelve and specifically called them apostles. They were not simply volunteers who decided to take on a title. They were chosen and sent for a particular work.
Paul gave the same testimony about his own calling.
He wrote:
“Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father...)”
Paul understood that his calling did not originate with another person.
The Lord had dealt with him directly.
That is one of the first things Scripture shows about an apostle: he is called and sent by God.
But being sent is only the beginning.
An apostle is also able to lay a foundation of Jesus Christ in people’s lives.
Paul described himself in 1 Corinthians 3 as “a wise masterbuilder” who had laid a foundation.
Then he explained what that foundation was:
“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
A foundation determines what can safely be built above it.
In the same way, when Christ becomes the foundation of someone’s life, everything else begins to be evaluated against Him.
Will Jesus be pleased with this decision?
Does this response reflect Christ?
What does His Word say about this situation?
An apostolic ministry does not make the apostle the foundation.
It lays Christ as the foundation.
Ephesians 2 describes Jesus as the “chief corner stone.”
A cornerstone establishes the standard for the rest of the structure. Everything must line up with it.
Jesus is that standard.
That means a true servant of God will continually point people back to Christ rather than making himself the center.
Paul understood that clearly.
When believers in Corinth began identifying themselves with different ministers, Paul asked:
“Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed?”
Paul planted.
Apollos watered.
But God gave the increase.
The minister may labor, preach and teach, but the power does not originate with the individual.
God gives the increase.
Paul also spoke about the evidence of his apostleship.
He told the Corinthian church:
“The seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.”
Their lives had been affected by the work.
Christ had been planted in them.
They had become part of the evidence that God had truly sent him.
That same principle connects with Jesus’ warning about false prophets:
“Ye shall know them by their fruits.”
What is the ministry producing?
Are people growing closer to Christ?
Are they learning the Word?
Are they becoming spiritually mature?
Are they being strengthened, corrected and encouraged in a way that leads them toward God?
Fruit matters.
Scripture also speaks about signs, wonders and mighty works.
Paul wrote:
“Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.”
But even here, the focus should remain on God.
Mark 16 says the disciples went forth preaching, “the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.”
The signs did not originate with the men.
The Lord confirmed the work.
And signs and wonders should not always be reduced to the most dramatic possibilities.
Yes, Scripture shows God healing the sick and doing things beyond human ability.
But a changed life is also remarkable.
A person who once wanted nothing to do with God suddenly desiring to follow Christ is something worth noticing.
A door that seemed impossible opening after years of prayer can cause someone to say, “How did that happen?”
God is still able to work in ways that make people wonder.
At the same time, Scripture shows that the absence of a dramatic miracle does not automatically mean God is absent.
Jesus Himself performed few mighty works in His own country because of their unbelief.
The work of God must be evaluated carefully, not superficially.
Another characteristic of an apostolic calling is the ability to receive and reveal understanding from the Word of God.
Paul wrote in Ephesians that a mystery had been made known to him by revelation.
That mystery was that the Gentiles would become “fellowheirs” and partakers of the promise in Christ through the gospel.
That truth had not previously been understood in the same way, but God revealed it so His people could grow.
This does not mean someone invents new Scripture.
It means God can illuminate what is already written and help His people understand something that was previously unclear.
Deuteronomy says:
“The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever.”
And why are things revealed?
“That we may do all the words of this law.”
Revelation should lead to obedience.
Understanding should lead to maturity.
Knowledge should help someone walk more faithfully with God.
That responsibility also extends to doctrine.
Paul warned the Galatians against receiving “another gospel.”
He wrote that even if someone claimed to bring a different message, the church was not to abandon the gospel they had already received.
Paul understood that guarding doctrine was not about winning arguments.
It was about protecting the souls of God’s people.
Acts 2 says the early believers “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine.”
There was stability.
There was consistency.
There was a body of teaching that kept believers grounded.
That is one reason Scripture warns against being “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine.”
The purpose of ministry is not to leave people confused.
It is to help them mature in Christ.
Another important characteristic is patience.
James pointed to the prophets as examples of suffering and patience.
Paul described the apostles as enduring hunger, thirst, persecution, rejection and hardship.
Yet they continued.
That kind of patience is not passivity.
It is the ability to remain faithful to the last instruction God gave until He gives another.
A true calling carries weight.
It is not something to boast about.
It is not something to use for status.
It is a responsibility.
That is why Scripture gives believers a standard by which to examine spiritual leadership.
Was the person sent by God?
Does the ministry lay Christ as the foundation?
Does the fruit point people toward Jesus?
Is God confirming the work?
Does the teaching bring greater understanding of Scripture?
Is doctrine being guarded carefully?
Is there patience and faithfulness under pressure?
Those questions matter.
Because believers should never be asked to follow a title blindly.
They should be able to search the Scriptures and see whether the life and work line up with the Word of God.
The goal is not to exalt an apostle.
The goal is to recognize the order of God and remain safe within the truth.
And no matter what office or gift someone may carry, the standard never changes.
Jesus Christ is still the cornerstone.
Everything must line up with Him.
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