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Stop Profaning the Holy Things of God!

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"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: "The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.  I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.  - Revelation 2: 1-2 (ESV)

Even in the early church there were those claiming the mantle that did not belong to them. The Bible makes clear that an Apostle was someone who walked with Christ. The Gospels clearly indicate that Jesus chose the 12 and Matthias eventually would be chosen by lot (meaning God chose him as well) to replace the office Judas held. The only other apostle was Paul, whom Jesus visited Himself personally to make him the apostle to the gentiles. 

Paul, an apostle--sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead  - Galatians 1: 1 (NIV)

Those that walk today under the title of apostle are merely sent by men. They are like the false teachers in the New Apostolic Reformation or the Kansas City Prophets or Bill Johnson's heresy in California. They are so dangerous because their claim is always that they have received some special revelation from God and that they hold some special authority over the church. They constantly push for deeper "spiritual" experiences or deeper revelation. When did the Holy Spirit inside of us and the holy Word of God cease being sufficient? They draw upon a few Scriptures they do not understand to prop up their make believe office. They are Uzzah walking alongside the holy while treating it profanely. There are two sets of Scriptures they routinely abuse to defend themselves. Let us set the record straight:

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds   and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,  - Ephesians 4: 11-12 (ESV)

Yes, God did give the apostles and prophets for equipping the saints for the work of ministry but this is only two lines in a letter that has six chapters. The first rule of hermeneutics is context. When Ephesians was written there were no chapters. It was one whole letter written to the Church at Ephesus, not so coincidentally the same church Jesus was writing to in Revelation when He commended them for determining false apostles among them. Let us go back to chapter two to understand the full context:

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,   but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.  - Ephesians 2: 19-22 (ESV)

The apostles and the prophets are the foundation of the church with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone. This language would not be lost on the original hearers of this letter. You do not lay a foundation twice. This is why Paul specifically mentions only the apostles and prophets here as foundational and then in chapter four he lists all of the positions God has provided to help the church. Now there is another set of Scriptures that are misused:

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Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to (more...)
 
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