Apostles Four

I 








Cor1:1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

The apostolic office is not a ministry, which one chooses for himelf or is conferred upon by men.  It is a divine summons from the Lord.  He or she are divinely picked and divinely sent out.

 Hence the apostle can have a traveling ministry, and belongs to the body of Christ at large. He or she might not be called to be a member of one particular church but belongs to and embraces the whole body of Christ.

  Because he or she are divinely summoned, and a divinely appointed ambassadors belonging to Christ Jesus by God’s will, he or she operate with the full credentials of God’s power.

These credentials of power however are only manifested in relationship and proportion to how much the apostle operates in the will of God.  The fullness of God’s power belongs to the one who operates strictly by the voice of the Holy Ghost in the rhema Word of God.

 The rhema word of God contains the fullness of God’s faith as well as the fullness of His power.

 The apostle is of no consequence or importance.  The apostle Paul in Acts 20: 24 tells us that he did not hold his life in honor, dear, or precious to himself so that he may finish the course of the Lord.

 The one giving the apostle the commission, the Lord, is the one who is of consequence or of importance. The apostle is nothing more than an ambassador of the one who sent him. He or she are forevermore under orders to execute what the Lord wants. That is their lives.

  No one can be sent except the one who is under orders.  The apostle must be in constant submission to the Lord.

Gal 1:1 ¶ Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)

An apostle does not get their ministry, calling or ordination from men.

    He or she are not raised up by men but by Jesus Christ.

Thusly the apostle cannot please men outside of God’s will, but must always please God who chose and raised him or her up.  Not pleasing man, but a bond or love slave of God.

Eph 1:1 ¶ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints, which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

Col 1:1 ¶ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,

The apostle can proclaim the will of God, because he or she live strictly out of the will of God.

1Tim 1:1 ¶ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;

He or she can proclaim God’s commandments, because the apostle lives strictly out of the commandments of God.

2Tim:1 ¶ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,

With the promise of resurrection life goes the provision for its proclamation.

Hence the apostle in proclaiming Christ’s power and life must be an ambassador of the life of Jesus.  In other word he or she must live in the resurrection life of God, which comes forth from the death of Christ’s cross, which has touched everything in their lives.

Titus 1:1¶ Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;

The apostle lives in accordance with God’s level of faith for His saints.  God’s level of faith is His rhema word. Therefore the apostle lives out of God’s rhema word.

He or she must also live in conformity to the full scope of the Word of God.

These two things together promote r godliness or being “God like”, which is one mission of the apostle.

Through this, the apostle stimulates and promotes the faith of God towards His chosen ones.  The stimulation of this faith is to make others thirsty for the Son of God and not just simply for the blessings, prosperity and other things that come from God.

   True promotion of faith by the apostle is to reveal the Son of God, and give the saints the knowledge of what is their participation, ministries, and callings into the riches found in the Son of God whom the apostle has just revealed to them.

   Secondly, the apostle reveals to the church an accurate witness of the Word of God found both in the logos and rhema word.  This allows the saints of God to participate in the truth of the Word, which will produce godliness in their lives.

 The apostles thus must live themselves in that accurate recognition and participation of the truth so that they may be able to testify to it and bring others into its participation or fellowship.

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship( Participation) of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

  

Romans1:5  By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

The apostolic ministry promotes obedience to the gospel, and through it makes disciples amongst all the nations.  The gospel must be testified to in such an accurate way by the apostle that it will have the power to promote obedience to others.

True apostleship can only begin with the revelation of the Son of God.  This is because for every individual, the revelation of the Lord automatically carries with it the callings, ministries, and giftings for each individual person.  All resides in the Son of God.

The apostle can only promote obedience to the gospel to the extent that they are themselves living in accordance to it.

Mat 10:40  He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

Greek:To welcome with open arms i.e. receive with hospitality.

The reception that the apostle receives is in fact the reception given to the Lord Himself. This is because the apostle always lives and acts in accordance to the voice of the Spirit through the rhema word of God. A hospitable welcome given to the apostle is a hospitable welcome given to the Lord whose rhema word the apostle is executing.

The called apostles must realize that the Lord must whittle down everything in their lives to the point that nothing else is left but their living their lives out of God’s rhema word.

  This is what gives the apostle his or her experiential oneness with the Lord and makes them fit to be ambassadors of the Lord with the backing of His full credentials.

As we had studied last time, the rhema word of the Lord is the FAITH OF GOD.  To live out of the faith OF GOD, the Lord must take the apostle through a season of material want and lack that will take number of years. This will get the apostle to a place where she or he learn to live strictly out of the rhema word of God and not out of the appearance brought by circumstances. Herein lies a signs and wonders ministry.

   The rhema word of God gives to the apostle the Lord’s credentials in that the rhema word of God represents the desires, the faith, the power, and the timing OF GOD HIMSELF.

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.

Greek ; He that is making light of, or is despising you, despises me.  He that is paying attention to what you are saying pays attention to me.

The apostle must live in a continual state of obedience to the Lord.  He or she must live in strict obedience to the rhema word of God so that when they are rejected it is in fact the Lord who is being rejected.

The opposite is true; when the apostle is being listened to, it is in fact God’s rhema word, which is being listened to.  Hence the Lord Himself. The apostle is no consequence or of importance. The rhema word of God is the revelation of the Son of God.

John 6:57  As the living Father hath sent me ( Greek: apostolic sending), and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

Greek:  The apostle or the one sent on an apostolic mission lives moment to moment through the Father who does the works.

 As I have taught, the works of the Father are translated into rhema words. The apostle must continuously discern and carry out the rhema word.  That is the apostle’s whole objective in life.

 Any time that the apostle acts in the flesh, he or she will experience a loss of the full credentials of the Lord’s power, which is found only in the voice of the Spirit.

John 8:42  Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

Greek: The apostle, or the one on an apostolic mission, is birthed from God and lives continuously out of God just as a tree must live out of its roots. Not only is their ministry birthed from God, but also their constant presence in this world must be accomplished out of this same dependency.

The apostle has no agenda.  His or her agenda is the Lord.

The apostle therefore lives in utter dependency upon the Lord.  The apostle has been broken by the Lord and lives out of the strength and the power of God. There has been a death to his or her ability to overcome, so that their overcoming now comes through the revelation of the Son of God.

His or her whole existence is sustained and originates through his or her relationship with the Father.

John 5:36  But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.

The apostle’s work originates in God.  It is consequently done with the full authority of God and in signs and wonders of the rhema word.

Acts 5:29  Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

Greek: It is the priority in this case, or it is always necessary that we obey God rather than men.

The apostle is called to obey God rather than men. He or she cannot be men pleasers.  One reason for this is that the rhema word of God most times goes contrary to reason, logic, and the flesh of men.

Acts 6:2  Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.

Greek: It is not pleasant or agreeable that we would leave, abandon, or forsake the word of God.  This is part of the apostolic commission.

Acts 6:4  But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

Greek: But we will steadfastly without pause adhere ourselves to prayer, and to the office of the Word of God.   The apostolic commission.

Acts 9:22  But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.

Saul, later Paul, was more and more filled with God’s power and was continuously strengthened. (This is the ongoing responsibility of the apostle.)

He therefore threw into disorder and the perplexing of mind the enemies of God through the display of God’s power.

Acts 6:10  And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.

The opponents of God had absolutely no inward strength of spirit to take a stand against Steven.  This is the resurrection power abiding in the apostle.

Please remember, the rhema word is the only thing that the apostle has left when he or she has lost everything else for the sake of the Lord.  The voice of the Lord is all that is needed.

Acts4:33  And with great power gave (discharged their responsibility, debt or duty)  the apostleswitness(martyrdom) of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

One of the calls of the apostle is to give witness of the resurrection of the risen Christ.

The Greek word for witness is martyrdom.  True resurrection witness of the Lord can only come through the death of ourselves which brings the resurrection of the Son of God.

The apostle gives back the witness of the resurrection as something that is simply his or her obligation or duty. The Greek word “gave” tells us that it is in fact the apostle’s responsibility or debt to give witness of the revealed Son of God.   In other words this is the “normal realm of function” for the apostle.

Apostles Three

Gal 6:14  But God forbid (May it never happen to me) that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, 

§   The effect of the world on Paul is nothing; it is dead to Him.  It stands crucified to him, and its effects on Paul will never change, they are permanent.  It is a past action with permanent results.  This is the meaning of the perfect tense in which this verb is found.)and I unto the world.

Gal6:15  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth(inward strength and force, to have strength to overcome health, ability, capacity) any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

§     Only Christ being formed and birthed in us is of any capacity or ability for us to overcome and get the victory.

Rom 12:2  And be not conformed( don’t take on the outward form or fashion of the world by a disobedient walk with the Lord) to this world: but be ye transformed( metamorphosis; or attain to a complete and radical inward change and becoming a totally different individual)  by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove( only when we are radically changed can we then test, approve and possess for ourselves the mature, well pleasing, and good will of God) what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

§        Remember the example of the lowly caterpillar being transformed into the beautiful butterfly.  Metamorphosis?  What about the tadpole being transformed into a frog?  Total and radical change!  Guess what?  That is exactly what the Lord wants out of our lives.  The death of ourselves on the cross and the resurrection life of our Lord within us should be so extraordinary, that indeed we all become lovely and free butterflies for His glory. Unrecognizable as a tadpole is from a frog because Jesus lives so big in us, should find us with no former remembrance of our “tadpolish” existence.  At least that should be our goal!)

Col 4:12  Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring (always agonizing in an athletic struggle, fervently) for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. 

 1) Brought to a place of spiritual maturity in ever aspect of our lives; and having a full assurance and understanding of everything that God has willed for our lives.

2) Knowing and understanding every aspect of what God has called us to do and willed for us, and perform it with all spiritual maturity)

3)To the limit of the very maturity of Christ’s character so that we can fulfill every aspect of Christ will through 

                        

James 5:16  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

§    Much inward strength and capacity has the prayers of a righteous man to show itself efficient, active, capable and full of energy possessing everything that the Father has willed.

Philippians 1:20  According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness,( As Christ is magnified and made great in his life, the power of God within Paul brings much freedom to him.  Paul can live out the gospel in confidence, candor, fearlessness and honesty, unhindered in every way.) as always, so  now also Christ shall be magnified in my body), whether it be by life, or by death.

§        The apostle Paul’s desire was to take his life and use it as a magnifying glass that would make Jesus Christ great.  His expectation is one of stretching out his head to be able to anxiously observe this process becoming a reality in his life.

Phillip 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out(Utterly accomplish, finish and achieve to completion everything that has to do with your salvation.  Utterly finish it!  Do not leave anything lacking! Therefore growing up into Christ in all things.)

    your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Matt 10:37  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

§       To have real weight or clout with Jesus.  The word for love in this scripture is affection for Jesus above that of anything else.  Having a greater affection for anything in this life makes a believer unfit and unprepared to follow Jesus.  He is unable to adequately respond to the life and the call of Jesus.  There will be a lack of balance between the believer and Jesus himself.  He will not deserve Jesus.)

Luke 5:10  And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

11  And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

These disciples literally sent off, gave up, left behind all.  It is an attitude of the heart.  To follow Jesus is to follow Him and live the same life, which He lives.  It means to travel with Him on the same path that He travels on.  It is symbolic of an exterior call, but with an absolute commitment to one exclusive Master, Jesus, whether by life and even by death, if necessary.  The believer participates not only not only in salvation but in suffering as well.

 2Cor 12:15  And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.

  I will very gladly incur personal expense for your Christian well-being.  I will pour my very soul out for your progress in the faith.  I will exhaust myself by spending and using myself up for your spiritual maturing in Christ.

Philippians 3:12  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

§     I persecute, pursue, and overtake, in hope that I can grasp, seize, and make my own, all of what is contained in what Christ originally grasped and seized me for.

Philippians  3:13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

§     Therefore I neglect and no longer care for what is behind me. I stretch myself out and towards, and run swiftly after what is before me. The direction being, the mark of the goal of the high price of unbroken fellowship of Christ’s resurrection life, and the hope of His calling for me.

1Cor 9:24  Know ye not that they which run (to run and spend my strength in attaining to something) in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.(to posses and make my own.  Jesus said that He glorified the Father by completing all that the Father had placed before Him to do. 

  25  And every man that striveth for the mastery (the agony of athletic competition) is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

26    I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:  

       Our faith must contain a clear perception of God’s vision for our lives.  “Without a vision the people perish.” We must not walk obscurely, as those who do not know the voice of God.  We must not trash the air aimlessly with those things that Christ has not called us to, no matter how noble or praiseworthy they might be.  Our time must not be wasted by the missed discernment of God’s will; too much is at stake!  Our punch must be sure; we must strike straight and not spare.

27 But I keep under my body (To beat the body black and blue, or get a black eye), and bring it into subjection (make my body a slave to the Spirit of God)  lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway .

Acts 20:24  But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.  

§        Of no account do I make my life or hold my life in honor, so that I may complete my course on the horse track on which I am racing upon with joy, and the ministry that I received from the Lord to testify fully and thoroughly of the glad tidings of the grace of God.

Apostles Two

An apostle is one who is sent out on a commission by another.  The apostle himself is of no importance.  

John 5:30  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.

The mission of the master, who sent him, and his precise representation of his master’s character and wishes, is the only thing that counts. 

John 14:9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the  Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

He is an ambassador, being that he comes as sent to represent another.  Therefore, apostles are messengers with the full credentials, and authority, of their master.  

 Luke 9: 1  Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.

Briefly, the church depends on the apostles’ and prophets’ revelatory gifts to manifest Christ Jesus in His glory.  A church can only build as effectively as the manifestation or revelation of Christ is within it! (Please remember that)

1 Corinthians 3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God.Ephesians   2:20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

Programs and agendas alone will never ever create a healthy church.  A church has little to do with programs and outreaches that are not based on the strict direction of Christ Jesus.  A church has much to do in making the invisible Christ visible, through the effective operation of His Body.  The great man of God Watchman Nee said, that the function of our assembling together for church is to meet with the living God. We must understand that only the very person of Jesus Christ filling, fulfilling, directing, governing, and speaking to a local congregation will ever produce something of lasting value.

Revelation 2:1  Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh  in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; 

Ephesians 2:22  And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

23  Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.  

We need to see my beloved brethren, what is the true purpose of our churches.  A local congregation is no more and no less than the body of Christ.  That is to say, that Christ the head, is needy of a body that will complete Him, and give Him his fullness.  As we need Jesus Christ to complete us, so Christ is incomplete without His church.  If we go to church to listen to a sermon, we have missed the meaning of church.  If we have a pastor who wants to operate a one-man show, we have missed the meaning of what church is all about.  If we desire to be a bunch of pew sitters, we have missed the true meaning of church.  Let me clarify once again this point because it is essential.  The true purpose of a local congregation is to give completion to Christ Jesus on earth within itself.  This is the meaning of glorifying Christ.  The church does this by being His body, through the fulfillment of the ministries, which every member has been called to perform.  There are no pew sitters!!!!  The awesome job of a pastor is to be the great conductor of this whole show.  Then will we see the fulfillment of the following scripture 

John 12:32  And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw (OR TUG) all men unto me.

The pastor has been called by God to locally oversee and care for this local body.  The apostle can be more itinerant, as he visits different congregations, and assists them in understanding the purposes of Christ by revealing Him to them. 

Ephesians 3:8  Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;  

Ephesians 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

Do you think that you may be an apostle?  Briefly here is one telltale sign. 

There must be a love and a passion to die with Christ on the cross so that the resurrection life of Christ can be visibly manifested in you.   This is the secret of effectively and accurately being used in revelatory gifts that will manifest the Christ.  There is no other way.  If you have a great desire to manifest the living Christ to others you may be an apostle.

Philippians 1:20  According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so  now also Christ shall be magnified in my body), whether it be by life, or by death.  The apostle Paul’s desire was to take his life and use it as a magnifying glass that would make Jesus Christ great.

2Cor 4:12  So then death worketh in us, but life in you.  The death of Christ is as an “energy dynamo” within us that never ceases but always works.  We are always being handed over to death, so that the very life of Christ can be like wised energized for the sakes of others.  Most of us put limits on how far “God can take us”. Yet God wants to take each and every one of so very far.  Do you want to go all the way?

Acts 4:33  And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

2Cor 13:4  For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.   Is your great desire to live solely by the power of the risen Christ within you?

Gal 6:15  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.  This is one of my favorite apostolic scriptures.  It states that only the Christ formed in you, through death and resurrection has strength and power to accomplish anything on this earth.  Is this your desire, to be so filled with Christ after failing countless times to accomplish anything by your own power?  Have you discovered that only Christ manifested will give you the victory?

2Cor 3:5  Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;  Have you gotten to the point where  your only success in obtaining victories from the Lord is through serious times of consistent prayer?

1Cor 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

2 Cor1:9  But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: (Literally Paul asks, “Am I  going to save myself by earthly efforts? My answer is NO!! I MUST DIE!!  ONLY IN CHRIST AND THROUGH CHRIST)