In a sermon delivered yesterday, I referenced my understanding that the role of apostle as seen in the New Testament (NT) does not exist in the church today. Because I have heard from a few people about this teaching already, I want to provide a fuller explanation.

I asserted…

“Paul and a few other men were specifically commissioned by Jesus to fulfill a special office in the 1^st century church and men are no longer called to fill this office.”

The Greek word for apostle is used a few ways in the NT. As a verb it means “to send” and as a noun it means “a sent-one” or messenger. So using everyday Greek, I might ‘apostle’ someone to go to the store and buy milk for me. Or I might ‘apostle’ my ministry assistant to deliver a message on my behalf to someone in the church. In many places the NT writers employ the word in this common way.

For example, in Mark 6:27 Herod ‘apostles’ an executioner to cut off John’s head. In Luke 7:3 a centurion ‘apostles’ some Jewish elders to get Jesus. In Luke 14:32 Jesus uses the term to speak of kings ‘apostling’ a delegation to ask for peace from another king. Again, this term is not specifically ‘Christian’ or special.

In other places, however, the NT uses the word to refer specific men who were specially-commissioned by Jesus to take the gospel to a particular place or to a particular people (i.e. Jesus ‘apostled’ the 12 disciples in Mark 6:7).

Therefore, I contend that the NT teaches that certain men were called by God and sent by Jesus to fulfill an office of authority in the church and referred to as Apostles. My understanding of the office of apostle comes in part from Acts 1:21-26. In this text the (now 11) apostles are selecting a replacement for Judas. Note (through my italics added below) how they describe themselves and their calling.

²¹So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ²² beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us-one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” ²³And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. ²⁴And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen ²⁵to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” ²⁶And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Their calling was based on seeing the risen Lord in bodily form and carried with it a special authority in the church. This authority in the church was evidenced (as we see in 2 Corinthians 12:12) by the power to perform miraculous signs.

With an understanding of the office of apostle in place, why do I apply designation to Paul? Two texts that help me interpret Paul’s apostolic calling as similar to the 12: 1 Corinthians 15:8-9 and 1 Timothy 2:7. In these texts Paul affirms that a special delegation of men who had seen the risen Christ had been specifically commissioned to spread the gospel. And he includes himself in that group.

With Paul having affirmed both the reality of an office of apostle in the church and his own apostleship, I read his self-designation as an apostle in Romans 1 in this light. I understand him to be referring to himself as a specially-commissioned “sent one” by the risen Jesus to the Gentiles.

Therefore, because Jesus no longer appears in bodily form to commission men for this type of service, I understand this role to have ceased with the death of these men in the 1^st century.

I recently had the privilege of preaching from Acts 9, which contains one of the most well-known and significant stories in the Bible related to world missions. During the sermon I presented 7 marks of genuine, biblical conversion. The list is representative and by no means exhaustive as many other marks of conversion are known from the Bible and seen in the world.

However, from this story at least seven emerged as significant in the text. A few days ago I shared the first three and today I share the last four. [Again, you might re-read Acts 9 before you continue.]

Conversion brings the Holy Spirit. (see 9:17). Luke, the author of Acts, does not narrate Saul’s receiving the Holy Spirit, but he certainly assumes it. At some point while or just after Ananias laid his hands on Saul, he received the Holy Spirit. And the Spirit changed Saul. Every genuine conversion involves the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Is there evidence of the Holy Spirit in you?

Conversion opens our eyes to the truth (see 9:20). So one day Saul is persecuting men and women for what he thought was blasphemous worship of Jesus, and a few days later he recognizes Jesus as the Son of God. The truth about Jesus became plain to him. Every genuine conversion opens a person’s eyes to the truth.

What do you believe about Jesus? Does it match what the Bible says about Him?

Conversion produces an immediate testimony about Jesus (see 9:20). Saul began testifying about Jesus at once. We must consider the validity of our conversion if we have never shared with another person about Jesus. Every genuine conversion produces a testimony about Jesus.

Have you ever shared the truth about Jesus with another person?

Conversion gets attention (see 9:21). Word about Saul’s conversion spread quickly among his friends and enemies. It is biblically inconsistent for a person to come to faith in Christ without the people in his life noticing a dramatic change. Every genuine conversion attracts the attention of other people.

Who can testify to the change brought in your life by your conversion?

Acts 9 contains one of the most well-known and significant stories in the Bible related to world missions. A man named Saul, who was also and more famously known as Paul, met Jesus and was converted on a journey from Jerusalem to Damascus. This man would become the greatest missionary and most fruitful author the church has ever known.

I recently had the privilege of preaching from Acts 9 during which I presented 7 marks of genuine, biblical conversion. The list is by no means exhaustive as many other marks of conversion are known from the Bible and seen in the world.

However, from this story at least seven emerged as significant in the text and today I share the first three of them. [You might re-read Acts 9 before you continue.]

Conversion is orchestrated by God (see 9:3-7, 10-16). Saul did nothing to invite or entice God to save him. He did not ask for Jesus’ to appear to him. He was simply ‘minding his own business’ when God met him and changed him. Saul’s conversion was an act of God. Every genuine conversion is an act of God.

Take a moment to remember what God did to orchestrate your conversion.

Conversion involves brokenness (see 9:9, 17). Immediately after seeing the vision of the risen Christ, Saul was blind. The once strong man was now weak. The once leader was now a blind follower. The once sufficient man was now completely dependent. Saul was not just humbled physically; he was humbled spiritually. After 3 days of blindness, he would place his life into the hands of a man he had been committed to arresting. His submission to Ananias demonstrates his brokenness. Every genuine conversion is marked by brokenness and humility.

Is your life marked by brokenness over sin and humility or indifference toward sin and arrogance?

Conversion includes a divine calling (see 9:15-16). God saved Saul for a general purpose and a specific calling. Saul was a chosen instrument for the spread of the gospel (general) to certain people in particular places (specific). While our purpose mirrors Saul’s (to spread the gospel), our specific calling will differ. Our calling, however, is no less real or important. Every genuine conversion includes a calling to share the gospel to specific people.

With whom are you called to share the gospel?

On July 9, I started this series as a call for others to join me in praying for an extraordinary work of God.

In the last three posts on this subject (July 26, August 6, and August 22), I identified three characteristics that were present during the season of revival recorded in Nehemiah 8-10. The public proclamation of God’s Word preceded His work. A sense of overwhelming grief over of their sin prepared the people for life change. And the invitation to worship God by recounting His faithfulness in the past led the people toward the resolve to life differently.

Ultimately, however, this and other great works of God are entirely dependent on the Holy Spirit. So I close this series with a prayer and I plead with you to continue praying with me for God’s extraordinary movement in our lives and churches.

God, in the Name of Your Son Jesus and by the power of Your Holy Spirit, breathe afresh in our hearts…

Send men to Your churches.

• Men who love Your bride, the church…
• Men who want to serve her…
• Men who won’t beat her with words…
• Men who won’t abandon her when she looks ugly…
• Men who embrace her as an instrument for Your glory in the world…
• Men who hold firmly to Your word…
• Men who love Your word…
• Men who feed on Your word…
• Men who know Your word better than they know sports…
• Men who trust Your word more than creativity…
• Men who study Your word more than they watch television…
• Men who will quote Your word more than movies…
• Men who labor at preaching and teaching…
• Men who preach Your word with humility and courage…
• Men who obey Your word with zeal…
• Men who won’t listen to the applause of the crowd…
• Men who hate their lives enough to lose them…
• Men who will lead us to rebirth and renewal…

Show me the depth of my sin.

• Show me how much I love myself…
• Show me when I mistake the freedom of Your boundaries for captivity…
• Show me when I trust my intuition more than Your word…
• Show me how I crave earthly pleasure…
• Show me when my pursuit of You is marked by laziness…
• Show me how I fear the future…
• Show me when I measure security in terms of money in the bank…
• Show me how badly I yearn for worldly recognition…
• Show me the depth of my rebellion…

Remind us of Your faithfulness…

• Remind us of how You rescued us from sin…
• Remind us of how You healed our wounded hearts…
• Remind us of how You pursued us while we fled from You…
• Remind us of how You died for us before we loved You…
• Remind us of how You freed us from the bondage of sin…
• Remind us of how You delivered us from our slavery to sin…
• Remind us of how You protected us from ourselves…
• Remind us of how You have sustained us from day-to-day…
• Remind us that without You we have no hope…

God, change our lives for the sake of Your Name, Amen.

On July 9, I presented part one of this series in which I wrote…

“The Bible and church history bear witness to the fact that particular people in particular places have experienced extraordinary movements of God.”

and

“Because I long to see this type of abnormal movement, I want to draw attention to one such season from the Old Testament and invite you to join me in pleading with God to bless us in this way.”

I return to this subject today to highlight a final characteristic present during the season of extraordinary revival recorded in Nehemiah 8-10.

God’s movement included an invitation to worship God by recounting His faithfulness in the past.

Again, you might recall that the Israelites gathered to hear God’s Word read and they responded by confessing their sin. A group of men stood and led the people to worship God.

They called the people to worship Him by recounting His faithfulness to the Israelite nation throughout previous generations. In fact, Nehemiah 9:5-37 records their act of remembering God’s work from creation to their present day.

One reason so many individuals and churches fail to see God’s power manifested in His extraordinary movement stems from our terrible memory. Many people are too ignorant biblically to know what God did in the past. Others are so preoccupied with what God can do for them today to care about what He did in the past. Still others are too busy to remember God’s faithfulness in even their own lives last week.

Our short memories hinder our worship God. And our dispassionate worship hinders our ability to experience the extraordinary work of God. We will value God supremely (or worship Him) when we consider more fully the breadth and depth of His work in our lives and throughout history.

Until we understand and embrace God’s extraordinary work in the past to the degree that it elicits worship, we are not likely to see His extraordinary work in the present.

God, we ask you to lead us to worship you by reminding us of your faithfulness in the past. We pray that you would draw us to read your Word and to glean a greater understanding of your faithfulness. We ask you to give us the discipline to record even the smallest incidents of your faithfulness in our lives so that we can praise you for each of them in the future.

On July 9, I presented part one of this series in which I wrote…

“The Bible and church history bear witness to the fact that particular people in particular places have experienced extraordinary movements of God.”

and

“Because I long to see this type of abnormal movement, I want to draw attention to one such season from the Old Testament and invite you to join me in pleading with God to bless us in this way.”

I return to this subject today to highlight another characteristic present during the season of extraordinary revival recorded in Nehemiah 8-10.

The people were moved by overwhelming grief over of their sin.

Twice in a little more than 3 weeks, the crowd gathered, listened to the reading of the Law, and responded with weeping and mourning because of their sin. On the first day of this extraordinary movement, Nehemiah interrupts their weeping to call them to celebrate a great festival. Yet the contrast of their disobedience and God’s holiness had immediately moved them to extreme sorrow and repentance.

On the 24^th day of the month, the people gathered again, heard from God’s Word, and once again began to weep, mourn, and confess their sin. Again, the contrast of their sin and God’s perfection overwhelmed them.

In an age when sin is commonly referred to as a “shortcoming” or a “mistake,” their reaction seems strangely foreign. Perhaps the reason we fail to see an extraordinary movement of God is our ordinary view of sin.

God, we ask You to penetrate our hearts with the gravity and severity of our sin. And we plead for You to give us an accurate view of our sin that will usher in an extraordinary renewal and rebirth.

On July 9, I presented part one of this series in which I wrote…

“The Bible and church history bear witness to the fact that particular people in particular places have experienced extraordinary movements of God.”

and

“Because I long to see this type of abnormal movement, I want to draw attention to one such season from the Old Testament and invite you to join me in pleading with God to bless us in this way.”

I return to this subject today to highlight one characteristic present during the season of extraordinary revival recorded in Nehemiah 8-10.

The public proclamation of God’s Word preceded the season of renewal among the Israelites. As the 50,000 or so people gathered in the city square, a team of men preached from the Book of the Law.

Ezra the priest, with the help of thirteen men from Israel, read from the scrolls containing the first five books of our Old Testament from “daybreak to noon,” and the people stood to listen. Helping them as they read, thirteen other men were scattered throughout the crowd translating these words and explaining them to the people.

This act of reading the Scripture and explaining it to the people is the definition of preaching. More specifically, the twenty-seven member team read God’s Word, made it clear, and gave the meaning so the people could understand and obey it (Nehemiah 8:8). Little wonder God moved. He was exalted as His Word was proclaimed.

To their own detriment, however, many churches have jettisoned biblical preaching in favor of talks on contemporary issues. We should not be surprised that so many churches fail to see God’s extraordinary work. When man’s ingenuity is exalted, we cannot expect to see God’s power.

God, we ask You to lead men all over the world today to take up Your Word, read it, explain it, and apply it to the lives of their listeners. And we plead for to bring a season of extraordinary renewal and rebirth through the faithful preaching of Your Word.

The Bible and church history bear witness to the fact that particular people in particular places have experienced extraordinary movements of God. During these exceptional times of ‘revival’ (as they have been commonly called), God’s people were moved to radical, life-changing faith.

Because I long to see this type of abnormal movement, I want to draw attention to one such season from the Old Testament and invite you to join me in pleading with God to bless us in this way.

The details of this ‘revival’ are recorded in Nehemiah chapters 8-10. Approximately 140 years after Jerusalem was destroyed and nearly every Israelite had been exiled, tens of thousands had returned.

The temple and the walls of the city had been rebuilt, but this generation of Israelites had never experienced fellowship with God the way theirs ancestors had. They had not read from the Scripture or sacrificed in the temple or celebrated a commemorative feast. In returning to this once great city, God was calling them to return to Him.

The people - most likely 50,000 or so - gathered in the city to hear God’s Word read and explained in early October 445 BC. Upon hearing the Law read for hours, the people respond with repentance and worship. They weep and mourn because of their sin, but Nehemiah encourages them to celebrate.

During the next 3-plus weeks, the people celebrate a long-ignored feast, assemble regularly to hear God’s Word, fast, mourn, and confess their sin. Finally, led by a group of men, they renew their commitment to God and His Word.

This season of revival is important for understanding the history of the Hebrew nation and God’s relationship with them. Moreover, studying these events can also be valuable for understanding God’s extraordinary blessings of revival.

Please take time to follow these posts during the next several weeks and join me in praying for an extraordinary work of God.

Almost 130 years after Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonian army and most Israelites were exiled, a man named Ezra returned to the city with a clear objective. His life and ministry provide a powerful example for all who follow Christ, but especially for pastors.

“For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.” Ezra 7:10

This single verse is a powerful summary and challenge as three characteristics emerge.

First, he “set his heart to study” God’s word. His life was devoted to knowing and understanding the scriptures.

Second, he set his heart “to do it” or to obey God’s Law. His life was given to living in holiness.

Third, he set his heart on teaching God’s word. His life was committed to communicating the Law and leading people to obey it.

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah recount parts of his tumultuous ministry including his role in leading a great revival in Jerusalem (recorded in Neh 8:1-10:39). This highlight does not erase the years of ministry spent studying and teaching a mostly rebellious and obstinate people. Yet he was not deterred from his objective.

God, grant us a generation of Ezras. Men devoted to knowing God’s word. Men given to personal holiness. Men committed to communicating God’s word. Grant us men who set their hearts on lives and ministries that will lead us into times of great awakening.

If you’re a pastor, follow Ezra. If you’re not, pray for your pastor to follow Ezra.