17 Feb Apostles Back Among Us
There was a time not so long ago when to say that there were still apostles was almost heretical, but if you got away with saying it, people would certainly disagree.
There were of course apostles in Bible times, they wrote a lot of the New Testament and in that sense were definitely the foundation of the Church, with Christ as the cornerstone. But it seemed that at some point they went away.
But lately there is no doubt that they are back. Or, at least there are a lot of people saying they are an apostle, and so it seems they have returned.
But have they?
Here at Peace, it is our sense that the Lord has always had apostolic saints, that is people who served God in an apostolic way. He has always had his apostles, but them being known as such went away. So we feel that there never was a time the church didn’t have the ministry gift of the apostle, but rather that because of many factors, they were simply not known.
But counter to what is happening now, just because many people now claim to be apostles doesn’t mean that they are. In the same way that people love titles and position, they also love the idea that they might be significant. The striving for importance has always been a weakness for people, and that includes those in churches.
So on one hand, there are certainly people around now, somewhat plentifully, who claim to be apostles. We take the claim with a grain of salt aware that it is a popular claim at this point. Some will be, but many are probably not. We know that authentic apostles exist, but do not necessarily fit the common image of what they are as either spiritual super heroes, or as just another name for a ministry role. But on the other hand, we know the Lord has always had his key people, and used them as he needed to, even if they never received any recognition for it.
And as it turns out, not needing to have recognition is a part of dying to self, and a pre-requisite for being an apostle. Some, like those in the Bible, may be recognised, but it may be that a great deal many of God’s servants are never known for what they do, except by the Lord himself.
Keep an open mind to what God wants to do, both with you, and with others, but without needing to be recognised for it.
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