Apostles

Apostles

I read in a Danish evangelical paper that England has apostles, and now Denmark also has an apostle. I do not question the fact that there are apostles in the church, but whether it is right to allow yourself to be called an apostle is another matter entirely.

I believe that the right thing to do is to be quiet about what you are and what you are not. When trials come, it is good not to have said too much about ourselves. Jesus would not allow Himself to be called the Messiah. If someone understood that He was the Messiah, He Himself said that flesh and blood had not revealed this to them.

Much is required of an apostle. Paul said, “I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death.” They labored, working with their own hands; and when they were cursed, they blessed. Their task was not only to preach the forgiveness of sins; they were to be the foundation and pillars of the church. The apostles had to be able to resolve every difficult situation that arose in the church in a way that was just and satisfactory for all. They were to cast down every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God. They were to be as Greeks to the Greeks and Jews to the Jews.

I don’t doubt that the apostles of our time—those who allow themselves to be called apostles—are capable of preaching the forgiveness of sins. But I do question whether they all have light concerning a deeper life in God. I don’t believe they are all able to clearly explain the law of sin, the law of death, the laws of the Spirit, the works of the flesh, the deeds of the body and dead works, the old man and the man of sin, and the body of flesh, the body of death and the body of sin.

The apostles of old were able to clearly explain all these laws, but they also knew what it meant to suffer in the flesh. They knew what it was like to preach without recompense and to suffer need. I am not sure that the apostles of our time have experienced this. If they want to be like the apostles of former times in every way, they should also have some “tribulations in the flesh” as they did.

I believe there are apostles in the church today; God has placed them there. It is not only the apostles of old that we need; we need apostles in the church today. As long as the church is alive, there will be apostles, prophets, shepherds, evangelists and teachers. They are placed in the church for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, till we grow up in all things into Him who is the Head, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ and to the unity of the faith.

Just as the church is hidden, so its servants are also hidden. Those who feel a need to be acknowledged or recognized know nothing about the work of an apostle. They don’t understand the responsibilities and duties that this entails. Each of us will be tested according to our boast, and for this reason it is good not to have said too much about ourselves.