Apostles and Prophets – on the use of the terms, or, titles,
versus the function
Some people call themselves, e.g. “Apostle
George”, others, “George, an apostle”, and others who may well be apostles
choose to call themselves merely “George”. Then again, others who are apostles
call themselves “Pastor George”, and there are those apostles who call
themselves “Evangelist George”. Already we have identified 5 variations here,
which appear to cause certain debates in the Body of Christ.
There is a school of thought that
sarcastically bombards those who call themselves apostles in whatever context
and manner of expression; there is another school of thought that places strong
emphasis on the need to use the title term by which the Lord called us to
minister in the world and the Body of Christ.
This debate on the use of name
(or, title) of the divine ministry sovereignly imparted upon each one of us by
the Lord’s unilateral choice is not new. There are existing strong arguments
for and against using ministry titles, on which I will not expound much in this
expose; instead, I will examine the mindsets through which such arguments come
about, and propose what I believe is more appropriate than others.
Many of those arguments, whether for, or,
against, are directly linked to cultural mindsets, shaped by the prevailing
ethics of the nation/people group, or, local church/denomination, where our
mind processes have been shaped through the years. Going to two extremes, the
use of the term “apostle”, or, “prophet” is far more provoking and causing
suspicion and reservation in a conservative UK, German, or Dutch environment,
than in an African, or, South-eastern Asian nation. Likewise, traditional and
conservative Evangelicals and old-school Pentecostals are far more reserved and
opposing such terms, than contemporary Charismatics.
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Also, there is the issue of global timing,
which determines the degree to which the world as a whole is more or less
prepared to accept an idea, a term, a concept, etc. As one of many examples,
let us remember that when the term “Evangelist” was first used more than a
century ago, it was considered almost a blasphemy. Public rage against the use
of that term was far more than the present opposition to the term “Prophet”. In
fact, once the world went past that challenge, and then the following challenge
of use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the overall resistance to reference to
divinely instituted names and concepts has considerably been reduced to mere
expression of amazement, or concern. It was not always like that… opposition
was far more severe in the earlier days, to the point of stoning, expelling,
and even burning down churches! (that was apparently according to historical
testimonies a widespread experience of the first Pentecostal churches about a
century ago, when the speaking of tongues was received by the Evangelical
churches as a demonic manifestation).
Interestingly, today the term “Evangelist” is
as acceptable as the term “Pastor”, for which there seems to be no eye browse
lifted in concern or reservation. It is a subject of serious examination, why
would the world choose to isolate one of the 5 ministry names supplied by the
Lord in Ephesians chp. 4, and tag it as an appropriate title by which to call
all the church leaders, whilst tagging some of the other 4 names with a stigma
as bad as that of leprosy… it is of equal worth to examine what have been the
determining factors that supplied the term “Evangelist” with the freedom to be
used with widespread acceptance and no questioning attached, even though it was
initially received with violent opposition…! I will not delve into those
examinations at this time, but I believe it would be fairly safe to conclude
that the results of such examinations would most likely refer us back to
cultural and habitual issues, as well as to personal ideas and concepts shaped
by the frequency and broadness of societal use, or, lack of it, of the elements
in question.
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Why is the title “Pastor” acceptable, and the
title “Apostle”, or, “Prophet” unacceptable? What is our source of opinion on
the matter? Is the Bible a source out of which we are expected to renew our
minds, so that we shall no longer think like the world, but as Christ would
transform us? If indeed the Bible is the source, is it not true that the pastor
is only one of 5 ministries unilaterally imparted upon the Body of Christ by
the Head? Are apostles and prophets NOT equally ministries provided for from
above?
There are 80 verses in the New Testament using
the term apostle (or some derivative of it), with 78 uses referring to
God-ordained ministers of the Gospel, and 2 references made to false,
self-proclaimed ones. There is only one verse using the term pastor, and twice
the verb “shepherd” is used in a context related to Christ’s ministers of the
Gospel (which includes also the apostles shepherding). How is it then, that 78
times more use of a God-ordained name fails to drive home the message that it
is a rather common term available within the Kingdom of God setting? What is it
that elevated a once-only used term, to the place of commonplace applicability
with no strings attached and no questions asked? We shall look into that
question first, and then further down we shall examine: What is it that banned
the use of a 78 times used term from any applicability at all?
Perhaps the answer comes easily through the
development process through which the term evangelist became equally
commonplace in the broader Body of Christ. Perhaps the answer is in names, such
as Billy Graham, Reinhart Bonke, etc. In other words, when a term is widely
used and repeatedly applied in commonly acceptable cases and circumstances, it
is almost automatically classified as appropriate. That is understandable, but
hardly justifiable in the context of need of our minds and vocabulary to be
shaped by what we read in the Scriptures, as opposed to habitually forming our
mind-processes after the circumstantial cultural and societal influences.
Let me say it again in a more dramatic expression
to drive the point home; do we permit the mob-ruling processes of the majority
of the sinners, lukewarm and compromising with the world religious mindsets
that prevail in the broader Body of Christ to shape our thinking, or, shall we
permit God (through His Holy Scriptures) to instill in us His own ideas,
concepts, ways and vocabulary?
The case is similar to that of the gifts of
the Holy Spirit. Once upon a time, when the opposition to the speaking in
tongues democratically prevailed in certain denominations, e.g. the Baptists,
it was a totally unacceptable practice. Few decades later, after scores of
Baptist Pastors and members became filled with the Holy Spirit and began
speaking in tongues, in increasingly larger % of the most conservative and
old-school Evangelicals the tongues of the Holy Spirit has become a commonplace
practice; as a result, a large number of congregations had to split up, and new
sub-denominations had to be formed, to accommodate the resulting
differentiation. Shall we not ever learn? … It is so unfortunate that humanity
has to rediscover herself in every generation, having failed to learn from the
mistakes of the past…
It is only a matter of few years, and a matter
of increasing numbers of anointed servants of the Lord embracing the name God
chose to call them by, before even the most provoking term at present, apostle,
finds its commonplace use in the Church, as pastor. We see this process already
in operation with the use of the term prophet. It began to be widely used about
30 years ago, and it naturally has grown in acceptance, along with the number
of highly anointed, greatly appreciated and highly effective people of God who
have ministered in that anointing for many years already. On the other hand,
however, the use of the term apostle has not really entered yet its widespread
use era, even though it has been going around for the last 5 years or so, as a
concept that has been re-introduced in the Body of Christ after many centuries
of lethargy.
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As we observe the gradual return of Biblical
terminology restored to the Body of Christ, I believe we may equally observe
the pattern of restoration of what used to be there, but was stolen away by
humanism and human created religion. There was a time when all ministries were
present in the Body, along with all the gifts and manifestations of the Holy
Spirit. Then, human flesh entered the scene, and the Church fell prey in the
hands of secular power. Soon the Church of Christ became a Church that bore the
name of Christ, but was the religious version of imperial Government, through
which Satan expelled everything that Jesus had died for, out of the Church that
bore His Name. The first thing that Satan expelled out of the Living Church
through the secular powers that rose to the headship of the Church was the
apostles of Jesus, who were also known by that time as “Bishops”, providing the
corporate, hierarchical headship of the Church, chosen and appointed by the
Holy Spirit, so that Christ could rule His Church through them. Once they were
removed, Satan could take complete authority over the Church and deceive
thousands and millions across several hundreds of years.
For centuries the “Church” was a tool in the
hands of Satan to kill and destroy. Then, one man rose up from that “Church”,
and re-discovered some foundational truths, which made him differentiate
himself from the Church that was ruled by Satan. His name was Luther. He made
great advancements, and caused the core of the “Church” to begin shifting into
a new era. He restored fundamental truth back to the Body of Christ, which in
fact began to be reformed after centuries that it had seemingly ceased to
exist. As much as Luther’s contribution was as important as the roots of a
tree, Luther only went so far as the roots can accomplish. After his era, more
restoration was due to rise up in the newly re-born Body of the Lord; a new
tree had to be born out of the fruitless soil of the past.
If Luther restored the concept of salvation by
faith, what would be the immediately more important concept to be restored
after faith for salvation? Baptism in the water it is, and so it was
historically too. The Anabaptists rose up, and through as much opposition as
Luther faced, they caused baptism in water to be gradually restored to the Body
of Christ.
Alongside this process, one could identify
that the teaching gift was the first one to rise up (Luther), which coincides
with the last mentioned by Paul in Ephesians 4. After the teachers rose up to
restore the true essence of the Body of Christ, the next from the last ministry
gift needed to be restored, so that the Body could be formed into a living
organism: the pastors found their place in the Body of Christ, gradually
replacing the concept of the (Catholic) priest running the show by true pastors
who would shepherd the people of God.
Now, observing the Biblical sequence of
significance of God given ordinances for the Body, what would be the next most
important element due for restoration in sequence? First we had faith for
salvation, then baptism in water… what comes next? The Baptism of the Holy
Spirit, and so it was! The Pentecostals rose up, and restored the gifts of the
Holy Spirit in the Body of Christ, presently amounting to some 600 million
people in the world, the forefront of the developing church around the world,
the largest part of the born-again Christian world, and leading all the further
advancements and victories of the global Body of Christ. What next? Well, the
power from on high (i.e. baptism in the Spirit) was given for the purpose of
evangelism, and indeed the next great move of God was the spread of the
evangelistic anointing, which also resulted in a return to the need for
missions. The ministry gift of the evangelist was restored back to the Body at
that time.
That took most of the 20th century,
and was followed by what naturally is shown in the Bible to come along with
evangelism: healing, signs and wonders, and miracles. The healing movement of
the USA of the 50’s and 60’s restored to the Body of Christ one of the most
foundational aspects of Christian faith: the supernatural, divine power of God
to manifest in real, physical terms in our mortal bodies.
The 70’s found the global Church beginning to discover the intercessory
aspect of Christianity, and as the prayer movement removed the doctrinal and
theological mindset from the center of the faith, gradually restoring the
spiritual relationship with the Lord, other non-intellectual elements of the
Christian life began to be discovered… surely enough, prophecy rose up as the
centerpiece of what God was doing in the 70’s through the 90’s. The prophets
rose up to find their place in the Body of Christ, just like the evangelists,
the pastors and the teachers had done earlier on, each group in its own global
timing of the Lord’s process of gradual restoration of His Church. What then
remains to be restored in our era, after the previous 4 ministries have become
to some degree or other commonplace? Naturally, it is the ministry of the
apostles. Paul said:
1Cor 12:28 (NKJV) And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.
Apostles were the first to be appointed
in the Church, the first that were removed by the secular Government of the
imperially imposed Church leadership, by replacing them with secular leaders
wearing special clothes and the Emperor’s favor and authority; now, they are the
last to be restored back to their God ordained position, possibly because it
has been the most fought ministry by Satan. Why? Perhaps the answer is again in
Paul’s words:
Eph
2:20 (NKJV) having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner[stone],…
If the Church is built on the
foundation of the apostles and the prophets, and if the Church is not a
faceless organization of secular corporation style, but a living organism that needs
to be re-established as many times as a new Christian is born again, as a new
leader comes in a place of ministry, and a new local church is founded, then,
the living apostles and prophets are given by God to lay the appropriate
foundations, which is the root foundation of Christian work and service.
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Now, some view the terms apostles and prophets as titles, but if we are
to be conformed to the spirit of the Bible, rather than the imperialistic, ambitious,
self-centered and power seeking spirit of the world, we will view the ministry
term more as a description of service and specialized work, than a title
depicting domination, authority and calling for respect, submission, or, what
have you. God has given many gifts to the Body, to serve one another, and to
depend on one another. The issue is not one of titles of differentiation with a
view to imposing upon others, but one of respecting, accepting, and releasing
that which God has chosen to work in its fullness, with simplicity of heart and
mind. Paul gives us a good example to follow after; he identifies apostleship
as a gift that man cannot give on to another, because it is God ordained:
Gal
1:1 (NKJV) Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus
Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead), … then, he also states
that he is not a boss over others, but he is merely a servant of Christ:
Rom
1:1 (NKJV) Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called [to] [be] an apostle,
separated to the gospel of God.
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There are those who believe that after the
first apostles the gift of apostleship ceased. I will not spend too much time
on this unbiblical heresy, as time and the work of Christ through other gifts
that fell prey to this heretical teaching have proven it to be a false teaching
that bears no relevance to reality. I will say however, that the ministry of
the early apostles was unique, and not repeated ever since. The entire era of
the Church of the 1st century was and remains unique. I don’t
believe God has any interest in replicating Himself, by trying to re-do what He
already did through the 1st century Church; He does not need to! He
is a Creator, that always creates new things, albeit, only within the sphere of
existing guidelines within which He chose to create us, and the world.
The uniqueness of the early apostles and
prophets does not nullify the need for the present-day ministry of apostles and
prophets, any more than the uniqueness of the Spirit-transported Philip does
not nullify the need for present-day evangelists leading people to Christ;
could Phillip ever preach to the Americans of the 1950’s to whom Billy Graham
spoke? If there are evangelists needed today to lead people to salvation,
pastors to shepherd them, and teachers to systematically educate them in the
knowledge of the Lord and the Scriptures; if there is a need of the ministry of
government in the church, and of the ministry of helps, and that of exhortation
and other important contributions without which the Body cannot function in its
fullness, then there is also an ever present need for apostles and prophets to
lay the foundations of the Church in new territories, new areas of society, new
aspects of ministry, etc. There are always new things happening where the
Spirit of the Lord is in operation, and some of them fail to be properly rooted
because they fail to see the need for cooperation with the other gifts, which
the Lord has sent for their sakes.
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Why doesn’t anyone get offended if an elderly
lady says about herself: “the Lord has anointed me to minister with helps, and
generous giving”…! Is that not a God ordained gift to the Body of Christ? If
so, why would the same people get offended to hear another person say of
himself: “The Lord has anointed me to minister as an apostle”? Is it not clear
that the heart of the issue lies in the very nature of the calling of God, and
in the subtle comparison on the basis of power? Could it be that the real issue
is the same as that of the early disciples?
Mark
9:33 (NKJV) Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked
them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?" 34 But
they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who
[would] [be] [the] greatest. 35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and
said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and
servant of all."
The covered up issue, even though the offended
ones may not even recognize it in themselves, is really a matter of comparison,
and the resulting potential envy to some degree or another. No ones compares
himself unfavorably to an elderly lady who helps others and gives away of her
belongings; they do not even care to make the comparison! But when it comes to
ministries that the Bible associates with powers, and divine manifestations
following, then one begins to feel inferior if they do not enjoy the same
perceived benefits. However, one point that is seemingly missing from those who
are offended at the calling and anointing of another person that is perceived
to be higher, is the words of Jesus in the same scripture above; He said, If
anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.
Therefore, if anyone desires to call himself an apostle, in full appreciation
of the power and resulting responsibility that the office is carrying with it, then
he must first be proven in his calling, through his desire to be the servant of
all!
What
I am therefore saying is that the titles of apostles and prophets do not go
without challenge and testing. Very much like a pastor needs to be approved in
his abilities to shepherd and lead the flock of God to the great Shepherd, in
like manner apostles cannot merely call themselves titles, and expect to get
away with it, unless their service and God’s power affirm the mandate. Paul
wrote of himself:
2Cor 12:11 (NKJV) I have become a fool in boasting; you have compelled me. For I ought to have been commended by you; for in nothing was I behind the most eminent apostles, though I am nothing. 12 Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.
Paul was not ashamed to declare his calling,
and when he had to, he also boasted in it, even though it was a political
maneuver needed to stand up to his authority, when challenged. But he was not
afraid to speak of himself, because God was on his side to affirm his calling
with the signs of an apostle, as he called the supernatural affirmations of his
anointing. Can anyone falsify those sings and wonders and mighty deeds through
which God bears additional witness to the deeds of His servants?
If anyone is a true apostle of Jesus Christ,
his calling and anointing will be proven through the fire of trial, the
manifest service, the nature of Christ revealed through the fruit of the
Spirit, and the presence of the signs of an apostle which are being
accomplished by the Lord’s power.
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There are indeed those who call themselves
apostles, and they are not. In fact, a sad phenomenon in the Body of Christ is
that an alarming % of professing Christians are entirely out of mental balance,
and go about spreading all kinds of rumors, teachings, and titles that bear no
relevance to reality. Some of them are practically demon possessed, agents of
Satan sent to destroy the Body of Christ, and some others are merely in need of
professional help. Among them, many are those who need practical shepherding by
loving pastors.
Such genuine, loving pastors who have God’s
calling and anointing to help those in need seem to be far less than the number
of people who call themselves “Pastors”. In our broader world Church
environment it has become easier to call yourself a pastor, than to truly be
one. To carry the title “Pastor” all you have to do is to choose theological
training in College, rather than some other Art, or, Science. Upon graduation
you can be appointed to the man-appointed position of the leader of a local
congregation, and given the much sought after title of “Pastor”, and the respective salary that
goes along with it. Then all you have to do is use human training of
Psychology, or, some other trained discipline to “pastor” your members, without
even any regard or reference to divine anointing. We have created an
educational and church hierarchical environment even in the Evangelical Church,
where pastors are produced out of school, like the Catholic priests used to be
produced even at the times when Satan was ruling the Church that bore the name
of Christ.
This human-created and human centered ministry
environment has replaced the calling and anointing of God by mere education and
training. Naturally, the concept of God’s calling has been eliminated, because
it cannot be tested through multiple choice questions, and it cannot be
replicated as a subject of systematic teaching. This environment has also
eliminated the option of God appointing His own apostles and prophets, whom He
sends to build up and restore His Body, which suffers in the hands of humans
who have no fear of God.
All that evil does not mean that all Biblical
education is wrong, or, that we should refrain from formal Bible training. I
have personally gone to Bible College, even though my main and initial
education was in Economics. The issue is not that education is wrong – I
believe in formal education, and I also teach occasionally in formal education
settings. The issue is in humans producing “servants of God” who have not been
called for the task, nor, anointed to carry it out.
By observation, I propose that far more are
the false pastors and teachers around than the false apostles. If anyone feels
the calling of God to sort out the mistakes in the Body of Christ, let me
suggest that you start where the greatest need is; I reckon that for every
20-30 false pastors and teachers there is 1 false apostle. So, go and sort out
first the alarmingly great number of false pastors and teachers who rule the
Body of Christ as a blind man leads another, folks whom God neither called for
the task, nor anointed with His divine authority, and then concern yourself
with the false apostles.
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Modern day apostles can only be taught of the
Bible how to live out their ministry in the Body of Christ; where/how else
could they be taught about it? In public school? … The only source of their
learning is the scriptures the Holy Spirit surrendered to us down the
generations, and each apostle must examine themselves: “Is my life, ministry
and even terminology in line with the Holy Scriptures”? Likewise, the other
members of the Body of Christ who have the interest to examine the case should
weigh how genuine an apostle is, on the same only basis that the Lord has
supplied us with: the Scriptures, and even more specifically, Apostle Paul’s
writings, which the Lord is also using for a number of other unique teachings
concerning the New Testament economy.
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There are truly genuine concerns that the use
of the title “Apostle” is out of order for a number of good and obvious
reasons. I propose that such concerns be taken seriously into account, within
the context of the culture and environment of a local church. The point is not
to force a title in the face of the others, but to communicate a message. If I
am an apostle of Christ, and I want to communicate it for good reasons, I will
have to use the language and means of communication through which the recipient
will receive the message I am sending.
In a conservative UK church, if I use the
title “Apostle”, the chances are that people will become so suspicious of me
that I will fail to minister the love of Christ to them. But if I use the title
“Apostle” in a Nigerian church that is full of the fire of God, chances are
that the Holy Spirit will fall upon the congregation upon the mere proclamation
of the anointing which I carry. Wisdom in such cases and sensitivity to the
environment is more important than the stubborn persistence on the use of a
title. We need to be able to discern the times and the seasons in which we live,
and equally sensitive to address the people we are sent to minister to, in
language and context that can be received and produce good fruit.
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Before I close it is good to identify myself and
my personal choice on the use of terms/titles; by personal calling of the Lord Jesus Christ I am an apostle. The apostolic gifting manifests through the power of transformation, followed by signs, wonders, healings, distributions of the Holy Spirit,
and the fruit that is the mark of the divine presence in certain projects where I am involved. My apostolic authority has been affirmed by the International Coalition of Apostles, who have invited me to be
a full member (since 2002) and the Prayer Chain Network of Hellas, of which I am the visionary and a co-founder. In fact, P.C.N. was the primary environment where my apostolic gift and authority became
manifest and produced the corporate body that developed out of a small prayer group. The pastors and churches that have asked me to be their spiritual father, and have positioned themselves as my spiritual
sons, are further testimony to the Lord's calling, gifting, position and authority.
I do not choose to call myself “Apostle
George”, even though I support the use of the title; I choose to call myself
only by name, George, because I want to pass the message that I am a simple
person, and I do not want people to shy away from me. However, I make sure to
honor the gifts and ministry responsibilities which the Lord has entrusted me
with, following the example of Apostle Paul. He did not quite call himself
“Apostle Paul”, but when he identified his name, Paul, he also explained his
ministry identity: an apostle, a servant of Christ. Nine times he starts an
epistle as by describing his identity: “Paul,
an apostle of Jesus Christ”.
Following the scriptural example, I call
myself George, and when I am asked I respond that I am an apostle of Jesus
Christ. When I write or publish something, where I cannot be asked, I make sure
I let the readers know that I operate in the ministry gifts of the apostle and
prophet, without however placing undue emphasis on the title. In fact, I do
not use the TITLE, but I employ the TERM for purposes of
MINISTRY IDENTITY.
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I will close with the following concept: a
servant of the Lord may be used in different environments under different
anointings. I find myself operating as apostle in certain environments, as a
prophet in others, as a pastor in regard to my personal disciples, as a teacher
when the Lord uses teaching to edify His Body, and as other forms of a servant
when the circumstances call for it. E.g. I am often a prayer warrior and an
intercessor, and I often operate as a prayer watchman. I have also been used on
occasions as an evangelist, and have seen dozens of people giving their lives
to the Lord Jesus Christ, and receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
If I were to employ a TITLE depicting a
different anointing than the one operating through me under a certain
environment, I would be doing a foolish and presumptuous use of the ministry
terminology. Even though I am an apostle by calling, I am NOT an apostle to
certain people, just like any pastor is not the pastor of all the Christians –
he is only the pastor of certain Christians. When I operate in an environment
that despises the prophetic gifting, I am not a prophet in that environment;
likewise for the apostolic. I am an apostle within the P.C.N. group of churches
and people. I am also an apostle to the churches and pastors that voluntarily and happily position themselves as my spiritual sons and daughters. But I am not under an apostolic mandate outside of the sphere of authority that the Lord has granted me.
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Therefore, I propose that the use of the
ministry terms is appropriate for identification of the anointing, and office,
where that is applicable. However, the indiscriminant use of the title under
all circumstances runs along a risky line of presumption that the Lord’s
anointing may operate beyond the given spheres of authority granted us by the
Lord.
On the other hand, it would be totally
inappropriate to completely hide the mantel in which we operate, especially n
the sphere of responsibility that the Lord has entrusted us with. If to some
churches and people I am indeed an apostle, sent to them for the purpose of
ministry, then it is appropriate for them to know who I am in the Lord, and
appropriate for me to stand in the divine authority granted by the Head for the
purpose of edification of the Body.
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In conclusion, I would say that the use of
ministry terms and titles is a rather complicated and multifaceted issue, that
is best left up to each individual to handle as they deem appropriate; it is
best for the rest of us to refrain of a critical spirit that seeks to impose
upon the others our own perspective on the matter.
Romans
14:4 (NKJV) Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands
or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
5 One person esteems [one] day above another; another esteems every day
[alike]. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.
6 He who observes the day, observes [it] to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe [it]. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
10
But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your
brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. ...
13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not
to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in [our] brother's way. 14 I know
and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that [there] [is] nothing unclean of itself;
but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him [it] [is] unclean.
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George E. Markakis (ordained “Reverend”)
Christian Development & Revival Ministries,
P.O.Box 66519, 15610, Papagou, Greece
Shalom Christian Center, floors 3 & 4, 8 Akominatou street, Athens, Greece
Tel/Fax + (30) 210.520.1952 Email markakis.g@cdrm.org
Website www.cdrm.org
Reproduction or copy for professional use is not
permitted without permission of the author