The Apostle John’s Observation The apostle John writes very revealingly of a church leader called Diotrephes, in his third epistle (3 John 9-10). John said Diotrephes “loves to be first”. This is a telling piece of information. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:28 that in the church...
Fallen Apostles We come to possibly the saddest aspect of all. It is possible, and it has occurred, that a genuine apostle might fall from grace, into backsliding and sin, and become a false apostle. the principle also applies to prophets, teachers, elders and to every...
False Shepherds at the End of the Age Jesus said many false prophets will appear (Matthew 24:11) and deceive many people (but not necessarily believers). He added that false Christs and false prophets would perform great (false) signs and miracles in order to try and deceive...
Summarising the Characteristics of the False Leader In summarising the characteristics of the false shepherd that have been given, we note certain common details that seem to be consistently part of the picture. Firstly, at the root there is always a problem in the heart, from which...
Paul’s Observations About False Apostles “And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. For such men are false apostles,...
Humanity and Grace Combined In earlier chapters, we spoke at some length of the grace and sovereign power of God at work in apostles. We must now recognise that our humanity remains, and is ‘mixed in’ with the grace of God at every point of the...
Can Other People Take an Apostle ‘Off Course’? Is it possible for others to adversely affect an apostle’s time and ministry, or cause events to turn out contrary to the apostle’s knowledge of the will of God? Yes again! At least one of the shipwrecks Paul...
This is a continuation from Part 1. Do Apostles Ever Speak Their Own Thoughts, Rather Than Purely the Mind of the Lord? Paul gives advice in areas where angels might fear to tread — that of whether to marry or not. These are examples of those passages...
The biblical picture of the true apostle would not be complete without including reference to the natural and obvious fact that apostles are human, and must live and work with the faults and weaknesses of their own humanity. This is not an excuse for sin,...
The Need to Restore Fatherhood The danger of the earth being struck with a curse if the hearts of the fathers and their children were not turned back to each other was prophesied in Malachi 4. In many ways, fatherlessness is the curse, and fatherhood cancels...
