The Ministry of an Apostle

.... An apostle holds, in one person, the basic elements of all of the lesser 5-fold ministries at once: he serves as a pastor, a prophet, an evangelist, and a teacher, interchangeably as the situa- tion may demand (see Ephesians 4:11).

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.... He is also a gifted and energetic organizer. He is responsible both for training younger Christians and for helping to organize older ones who are involved in the same ministries. Therefore, it is quite fitting that he came up through the lesser ministries first by proving himself faithful in each of them. We might say that this training prepared him for his ultimate calling, in a manner that would allow him to lead by experience and example.

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.... Apostles have a calling, or duty, to establish new churches, and can not properly claim this office in a church that they did not establish (2 Corinthians 10:13-16). Certain signs will follow them in this ministry, but especially the good fruit of leading others to Christ:

.... "If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord."

(1 Corinthians 9:2)

.... "Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds."

(2 Corinthians 12:12)

.... The entire aim of an apostle’s ministry, gained through long-proven faithfulness in many trials, is to represent a mature, living Christ-like example for us all (Philippians 3:17; 1 Thessalonians 1:6). And let us remember in this, that Jesus Himself was made perfect through sufferings (Hebrews 2:10); so in many practical ways, it shall be even so for them: facing hardship and challenges in life, that they know how to comfort others who will later be facing the same things (2 Corinthians 1:4-6).

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.... In an apostle, therefore, we see Christ-like character traits at the very practical level in which they are manifested among men, and they become a pattern in this way (Philippians 3:17; Titus 2:7). In many ways, like Jesus Himself, they will spend and be spent on our behalf (2 Corinthians 12:15). Nevertheless, even the most sincere human is still a filter if we are looking at a person in order to see Jesus; so in order to learn from their example properly we must also keep their own focus in view; we must always learn from their example in light of Jesus' own life, from whence their godly character has come:

.... "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ."

(1 Corinthians 11:1)

.... Apostleship is not simply a mark of honor, nor a title for impressing other men; it is a calling to an immense task with sacrificial toil (1 Corinthians 4:9). In the Greek, the word ‘apostle’ means ‘sent one’. In modern times, based on the Latin, we use the equivalent term of ‘missionary’, if this helps us understand the apostolic ministry through their example. Some missionaries, if they meet the rest of the criteria above, are true modern day examples of apostles.
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.... Once an apostle has established a church, he may move on to establish another, leaving new leaders in the first church in his place. But if problems arise in that church at a later time, he still has the authority to return and make needed changes, to send a trusted emissary to do so, or to call the new leaders to come to him and consult with him (3 John 10,14; 1 Corinthians 11:34; 4:17; Acts 20:17). In doing this, he is God's man in charge and may even decide to remove those leaders and replace them:

.... "For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you."

(Titus 1:5)

.... Only a person who is well acquainted with Jesus in many proven ways, who is specifically chosen and trained by Him for such tasks, and is closely led by Him in every way, is truly able to function at this highest level of earthly ministry.

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Daily Bible Reading: Ephesians 4