Category: Church

The Foundation of the Apostles & Prophets & Their Cessation

The Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets [my emphasis added]

[Proof Text?]  Eph 4:11-13 And he gave [past tense] the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds (pastors) and teachers (Sun School, Child.Church) to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Notice that there are qualifications for pastors, deacons and elders (Titus 1 & 1 Tim 3) but none are given for apostles and prophets. That’s because thier time has come and gone. We have the whole Word of God, therefore no more revelation is needed.

Bible Verses Showing the Cessation of the Apostles and Prophets

Heb 1:1-3  Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke [past tense] to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken [past tense] to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

Jude 1:3-4 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.  For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

John Baptist was last of Prophets (O. T. Prophet) – John the last Apostle –  And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Rev 21:14  Only 12 Pillars in the Temple in the Kingdom (for Apostles).

Building on the Foundation

Eph 2:19-22 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God built [past tense] on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. {Another Foundation after 2,000 years?!]

1 Corinthians 3:9 “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.“

Deut 18:20-22 “But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name, a word which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How will we recognize the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ When the prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, and the thing does not happen or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you are not to be afraid of him.”

Ezk 14:10 “And they shall bear their punishment–the punishment of the prophet and the punishment of the inquirer shall be alike.”

Another Word from God?

Self-proclaimed “prophets” who have “a word from God” or “new revelation” are essentially saying, “I Love Your Word, God, the Bible, but it’s not enough…we need more revelation!”

2 Pet 1:18-21 “We ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven {God-transfig.}, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have [past tense] the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Adding to His Word

Prov 30:6  Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

“You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, so that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I am commanding you” (Deut 4:2).

Rev 22:18-19 “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”

 1 Cor 15:15 “Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.”

Peter warned that there are “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep” (2 Pet 2:1-3).

Paul wrote, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds” (2 Cor 11:13-15).

Jesus warned END TIMES “false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect” (Matt 24:24).

How Churches Are Falling Away From Biblical Truth

More and more churches are falling away from biblical truth and teaching and compromising with the world and there may be churches near you who are abandoning the truth once delivered.  

Abandoning the Faith

The growth of churches which are falling away from biblical truth and teaching and compromising with the world is growing exponentially and in fact, there may be churches near you who are abandoning the truth once delivered.   Churches that are abandoning biblical doctrine to compromise with the world is nothing new for even in Jude’s day he “found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3).  Why did it necessary for Jude to write about contending for the faith once originally delivered?  It’s because “certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4).  They were changing the gospel into cheap grace and denying that Jesus is God and Lord.  Some cults teach that Jesus was created which is heresy.  Churches want to make Jesus more human and thus, more acceptable.  If they teach about a Jesus Who is compromised and compromise with sin, then they can increase church attendance.  That means more “offerings.”    

 Falling Away

Just as it was prophesied that a great falling away would come, the Apostle Paul also foresaw that many would depart from the faith delivered by Jesus Christ and passed on through the Apostles.  We expect the world to get worse before Jesus’ return but we must expect that “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions” (Jude 1:18).  What we don’t expect, but should, is churches that teach and preach or allow sexual immorality, so even in churches now, they are “following their own ungodly passions” (Jude 1:18) and not following the teaching about God’s judgment on the sexually immoral (Rev 21:8). Any pastor that marries same-sex couples is not in the church Jesus’ built. Satan has his own sinister ministers, and thus, Satan has his own churches too so beware!

The Altar of Pragmatism

Pragmatism has crept into the church today, even if the church is unaware of it, so what is pragmatism?  It is essentially this; if it works most of the time for most of the people it must be right.  If some program brings more people into the church, it must be right, but that’s not actually a good thing.  If people come into the church for the wrong reasons and not for the desire of repentance and faith in Christ, but instead, they come to have their needs, comforts and wants met, they will never truly be saved.  If they are simply pampered and catered to, then their faith will not be genuine.  Pragmatism has produced more tares or false converts in the church than perhaps anything else. 

Gifts over Fruits

Jesus said that we will know them by their fruits, not by their gifts.  Spiritual gifts are given by God at His discretion and not everyone has the same gift. That would not make up a balanced Body of Christ.  Those who covet gifts of the Spirit are more likely worshiping and glorifying the Holy Spirit and not Jesus.  Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would testify of Him and not bring attention to Himself (John 15:26).  The Holy Spirit points to Jesus and to make know the things Jesus wants revealed to us.  Anything that overshadows the fruits (like the gifts can and often do) does not give others a means to identify who Jesus’ disciples truly are. The greatest gift is love and that his how people will not who Jesus disciples really are (John 13:34-35).  It is not by their gifts but by their fruits they will be known, chief among the fruits will be love (1 John 2).  Even so, some churches teach that unless you speak in tongues, you are not saved.  They elevate the gifts over the Gift Giver and worship the Holy Spirit and not Jesus Christ.  That’s sin!

Biblical Model

I get a lot of junk mail, much of it telling me how to grow the church.  These types of programs almost always try to grow the church by means not seen in the Bible.  They want you to buy their supplements and training materials to help “you build the church.”  This totally ignores what Jesus said that He would build His church (Matt 16:18).  He never told Peter, “Peter, you and I are going to build My church together.”  He never told that to anyone.  It is His church and He will build it, so it is not Peter’s church nor is it my church.  It is His church and He is the Head and He says “He” will build it or grow it, not me or anyone else or any program.  God alone gives the increase (Acts 2:47), but He is pleased to use us as a means to do so.  He could build it without us, but we can’t build it without Him.  

Women Pastors, Apostles & Prophets

Even though the Bible forbids women to be ordained as pastors (Titus 1; 1 Tim 3), there are twice as many women pastors being ordained today than men.  Even though it’s contrary to biblical truth and doctrine, it wins many people to the church and they build the church upon an unbiblical pastorate and spurn the teachings of Scripture.  That’s a serious fall from Scripture. And it is compromising God’s requirements for elders, deacons and pastors.

Conclusion

One church I know requires members to tithe to have the right to vote on church boards.  Legalism is deadly poison to the church too because no works could ever save us (Eph 2:8-9).  Where pastors preach expository preaching from Scripture you will find the best churches and most sound doctrine. I am thankful that my wife, Martha and I, are in a rock-solid church here in Kansas.

I pray you’ve already trusted in Christ and discover what God’s will is for your life; what He has called you to do (Matt 25:35-36; 28:18-20).  If you have still not trusted in Christ, God will say no to you regarding your entering into the Kingdom.  Repent today and trust in Christ or face God’s judgment after death (Heb 9:27) or at Christ’s appearance (Rev 20:12-15), whichever comes first.