Jeremiah Ogedegbe
Apostle is the chiefest of the ministerial gifts or the anointing that Jesus gave when He ascended to Heaven in Ephesians 4:10-11 . This gift of Apostle is only seen in the new testament which was used to represent the Twelve disciples of Jesus. These Twelve were ordained Apostles. They were meant to carry out the works of Jesus on earth especially after His resurrection to confirm the resurrection with signs and wonders.
Many especially of the orthodox faith have settled that Apostle was only given to the Twelve and to Paul, as no other is quality to obtain that gift. They assumed from Mathias replacement of Judas the traitor that the criteria as stated in Acts 1: must be certified before one can be ordained an Apostle. Paul case or order of apostleship was different while also genuine, as even Peter, James and John gave him (Paul) the right hand of fellowship after they perceived the gift of God in him. Galatians 2:9 "And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship..." Apostles is a gift that will continue till the end of the earthly church.
From my point of view an Apostle is one sent by Jesus or God to guide the church to the way of peace. Apostles are the Prophets to the churches. The New Testament is a book of Apostles. In Revelation chapter 2 and 3 Jesus gave John the Apostle a prophecy to the Seven churches of Asia.
Apostles are different from Prophets. Prophets are sent by God to guide the nations to the way of peace: "To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."(Luke 1:79). Also, Jeremiah 1:5 says
"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."
So Prophets are to see the future of the nations, while Apostles are to see the future of the churches. Apostle are senior in the church, Prophets are second to the Apostle.We are still in the generation of Apostles, and other ministerial gift will still function till the end.
In all,
"But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry." (2 Timothy 4:5).
The work of an Evangelist must be included in every ministry in order to keep the lamp of your ministry burning. This is the extra oil every other ministry must carry in order to arrive at the goal of ministry 'Salvation of souls'. I define an Evangelist as angel sent to announce the coming of the kingdom of God (doing it with clear understanding of the prophecies concerning the end).
Have a great time!
This article was written by Jeremiah Ogedegbe, tweets.
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