Apostolic Authority and Apostle / Apostles --Meaning / Applications

TYPES

1. Generic authority of the believer-- All full gospel believers, including apostles, have this power based on the finished work of Christ. Believers have this authority according to their degree of submission to God. "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." "These signs shall follow them that believe; In My Name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues ..." "Behold, I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy ..."

a. In comparison to the basic saint, apostles tend to have a more prevalent ability to impart the Spirit by the laying on of hands. (Example: Philip the evangelist, who did great miracles, apparently did not have this gift in his Samaria ministry [Acts 8].)

b. The above transaction especially stems from the apostle's status as a spiritual parent, who imparts covenant blessings and his apostolic anointing to his relational sons and daughters in the faith.

2. Regional authority to declare the gospel with signs following--God assigns regions to itinerant or trans-local apostles that they may turn the region from darkness to light. We are not talking about a mathematically assigned "sales territory", as it were, but rather, this region is foreordained of God to be penetrated and saturated by the Word. The apostle will be resisted, but through the authority of this appointment, he is ultimately unstoppable. He shall finish his course.

3. Administrative power over the local church when the apostle is pastoring that church. These rights apply to any head elder. He can hire, fire, appoint, discipline, remove appointees from office, excommunicate rebels and heretics. As shepherd, he is the head gatekeeper among other things. He determines local application of doctrine.

4. The apostle has a temporary absentee authority over churches that he founds. When the church comes to maturity, it is released into autonomy. From that point on, his authority is of a different quality based on the respect due his maturity and eldership developed during the foregoing longstanding relationship of love and trust.

5. Authority or respect is due to spiritual fathers from the spiritual sons and daughters whom they have begotten through the Gospel. This authority is based on love and has no expiration date.

6. There is power to delegate authority. The apostle sends forth apostolic agents and second generation apostles whom he has mentored who in turn, according to the situation, may have regional authority, local authority, the power to appoint elders, or potentially the same rights of the delegator, according to the unique workmanship(s) of the sent one(s).

7. Within the categories above the apostle has authority to:

a. Charge, command, reprove, rebuke

b. Excommunicate with the intent to restore if repentance should ensue.

8. The apostle has the right to take a wife, and the right to paid for preaching the gospel. Paul chose not to exercise these rights, and suggested, not commanded, that apostles consider following his example in this area, to more effectively silence the enemy.

9. The apostle submits to Civil Authorities. Peter in the Gospels paid tribute money. Paul said, "For if I be an offender, or have committed anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die ..."

10. Authority through the prophetic word--The apostle and other believers have authority when they speak as the oracles of God. In the long run, the fulfillment of prophecy and the fruit of prophecy confirm valid words. In the short term, signs, wonders, and visions can (but not necessarily) attest to the authority of the word. Other elders should concur with and substantiate the prophetic word of an apostle. The spirit of the individual believer can bear witness with the spoken word. The Written Scriptures should in spirit and intent line up with fresh prophecy. Words of wisdom and words of knowledge cannot always be proven by the Scriptures, because a prophecy can be unique to a specific situation. Ex: "Go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul ..." The words, "Straight," "Judas," and "Saul," are specific to that situation.

Apostolic Authority by Practice and Application

The most distinguishable characteristic of apostolic authority, as evidenced in the life of Paul, is that his authority, though real, was restrained by Paul's own choice.

Apostolic authority is based on God's authority, not on carnal methods. The apostles did not use gestapo techniques or a board of inquisition to physically enforce their mandates. They did, however, have the tool of excommunication at their disposal. In certain cases, God intervened:

1. Paul received a word that the sorcerer, Elymas , who was attempting to impede the spread of the Gospel, would be blind for a season.

2. God struck Ananias and Sapphira dead, during Peter's ministry.

Paul asked one time, "Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love ..."

Another time he said that he would be as bold face to face as he was in his letters. He said he was ready to revenge all disobedience, "when your obedience is fulfilled." In other words, when the church was matured, he would deal with the dissidents.

Paul warns, "... I fear, lest when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not ..." (2 Cor 12:20)

"Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction." (2 Cor 13:10)

"For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed." (2 Cor 10:8)

True apostolic authority, when exercised, may be manifested in the form of a rebuke that is enforced by the Holy Spirit. Those who resist will find themselves to be striving against the Holy Spirit:

In Hebrews chapter thirteen, verse seventeen, the author says, "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you."

This does not mean that every utterance of the apostle is the oracles of God, but it does mean that on occasions when he has truly spoken under the unction--those who willfully disobey are fighting against God's authority, not mere man's authority.

King David in Psalms 105:14,15 writes: "He suffered no man to do them wrong; yea, He reproved kings for their sakes; saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm."

This scripture is not meant to be quoted by leaders as a means of intimidating the saints: the prophecies of the prophets are to be judged, apostles are to be tried, and elders may be rebuked based on the testimony of two or more reliable witnesses. The fivefold ministers must meet the moral and behavioral qualifications of an elder.

King David was a man who in his own life practiced Ps 105:15---he did not kill Saul when he had the opportunity, but instead let God deal with Saul. Later on, when Shimei cursed David, the King commanded his soldiers to let Shimei be, until it was determined whether or not the cursing was justifiable. (Solomon executed Shimei years later.)

Jesus "when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously."

So it is God, not man, who warns, "Touch not My anointed." This is not a scripture to be bantered about by insecure or self-appointed leaders in defense of their incompetency or arrogancy.

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When an apostle sharply admonishes an individual or group, the reproof is always rooted in love:

1. Love of the Truth and purity of God's Word--Paul rebuked Peter in Gal 2:14 for momentarily bowing to legalism.

2. Love of the brethren--Leviticus 19:17 says, "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him."

More often than not, the apostle does not rebuke, but rather, beseeches or strongly urges his audience, on the basis of his position as a spiritual father in the Lord. We see this not only in Paul's ministry, but in the writings of John, who repeatedly referred to his congregation as "my little children."

Just as the husband ought to love his wife into submission, so the apostle, as a father in the faith, loves his spiritual offspring into obedience. They desire to obey him. He has the paternal option of chastening them if necessary. In obedience to the civil law, the apostle does not have the physical rights that a biological parent employs in disciplining minors.

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What About Vertical Power Structures?

Some envision a pyramid with Jesus the Alpha & Omega serving as the foundation and head capstone. This might apply in the New Jerusalem, but in the present apostolic equation the thought of a pyramidal chain of command makes us cringe, as we are reminded of exploitive secular marketing tactics. Yet we have to consider the fact that the Church is an army: Moses, Joshua, and the kings had captains over 10,000's, over 1,000's, over 100's, and 50's, and 10's. The Bible says the Old Testament Scriptures are not written for angels nor for the sake of oxen; Even the prophets of old did not fully understand what they were writing about, because these things were recorded as ensamples unto us the Church in these last days. So the vertical hierarchy of 10000, 1000, 100, 50, and 10 has some relevancy when kept in perspective relative to the local church. The church should meet en masse as a general assembly and also in various ancillary ministry sub-divisions, and in small home groups.

How about when we are talking about network structures between one or more churches, each with their own locale. The Bible illustrates an informal hierarchy structure which endures for four or five generations. Healthy churches beget young apostles-in-training. As the younger mature into commissioned apostles, the older apostles pass on to be with the Lord.

The Church started in Jerusalem. Although Peter was initially a chief spokesperson, James eventually proved to be the head apostle at Jerusalem. The church, except the apostles, was scattered by persecution to various lands. Philip the evangelist preached in Samaria, and afterward apostles were sent from Jerusalem to Samaria to strengthen Philip's work. So Samaria was a partaker of the Jerusalem anointing.

Some people who had been under the teaching of the Jerusalem apostles went as far as Antioch preaching the Word. Antioch also became a partaker of the Jerusalem anointing. We see prophet Agabus from Jerusalem giving advice to Antioch. Antioch, partaker of Jerusalem's spiritual blessings sent physical blessings in the form of financial aid to Jerusalem. In Acts 15, Judaeizers from Jerusalem without the authorization of the Jerusalem apostles came to Antioch to attempt to negatively influence Antioch. Antioch at that point did not question whether or not they should heed the suggestions of Jerusalem, but rather they wanted to know if that particular legalistic doctrine truly originated from the apostles. Notice that the apostles' new decrees (Acts 15:28,29; 16:4) brought joy, not oppression, to the apostolic people; the spiritual fathers were looking after their children's best interests.

Although Paul was called as an apostle in Acts chapter nine, he was not commissioned until Acts thirteen. He and Barnabus were ordained at Antioch to go forth as sent ones. Barnabus and Paul became partakers of the Antioch anointing, just as Antioch had been partaker of the Jerusalem anointing. Paul established churches and appointed elders. Timothy was an apostle-in-training under Paul's tutelage. Paul referred to Timothy as his son in the faith. Timothy eventually matured to the point where he also was appointing and overseeing elders, Timothy's own sons in the faith. The apostolic anointing is spiritually procreative in that it begets sons and daughters in the gospel who, when matured, produce third generation apostolic people.

Paul reported the successes of his missionary journeys to Antioch. After reporting to Antioch, Paul thought it good, as a "spiritual father" to revisit his infant churches. Paul had been originally sent out as the Spirit led him to do apostolic work. He was not ordained for the purpose of building an Antioch-based empire. Note that this second time the journey was Paul's anointed decision, not a decree from Antioch:

The Word says, "And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do." After Paul's death there is no record that Antioch tried to keep a grip on the apostolic churches founded by Paul. There is also no evidence that Jerusalem reigned as network or denominational headquarters for the Christian faith after the original apostles were martyred. When churches reach mature age, they are loosed into autonomy.

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God is causing a new thing to spring forth in the earth. He is going to birth innumerable churches so suddenly during the end times that only He can keep track of them all. The Lord will mature leaders and saints in such rapid fashion that churches will quickly reach an autonomous state of being, where they are sending out their own homegrown apostles.

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