... To Preach the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ

A young apostle in training in Florida wrote me and asked me to describe in just one sentence what the office of apostle entails . I replied to him using several paragraphs talking about AUTHORITY, SPIRITUAL FATHERING, SIGNS AND WONDERS, APOSTOLIC DOCTRINE, AND CHURCH PIONEERING. Although what was stated was all well and good, I really didn't answer the request accurately, nor within the desired parameters of "one sentence." I felt uneasy as I replied to the young man, and later the revelation hit me as to why:

Apostles do many things well, but they have failed in their calling if they do not uphold the preaching of the gospel of the good news of the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ as their highest goal and purpose in life.

To talk about apostolic authority without stressing the humility of the "foolishness" of preaching the gospel of Christ crucified and resurrected could instill a novice spirit in a fledgling apostle-in-training.

I know I am not saying anything new to the reader, but let my mistake serve as a reminder to us all that we can get bogged down in the abundant glut of apostolic literature that is springing up all over Christiandom telling us that an apostle is this or that and does this or that, all the while forgetting his primary calling.

The items listed in uppercase in the top paragraph all surround and emanate from the preaching of the Gospel. Without preaching and the ensuing salvations, there are no churches planted. Without the resurrection of Christ, there are no apostolic signs and wonders---the signs follow the preaching of the gospel. The preaching of the good news of the Kingdom of God is necessary for the accompanying manifestation of Kingdom authority. And there has to be a church, before the apostle can function as a local governmental head in a locality. The gospel seed of the Living Word has to go forth before the apostle can father legitimate spiritual sons and daughters.

Are all preachers apostles? Are all "sent ones" apostles? Of course not---but all apostles are preachers.

We sometimes think of the evangelist as being more of a gospel preacher than the apostle. In fact, the evangelist may present the gospel more dramatically and even more effectively at times in terms of the number of souls saved. However, we see in Acts 8 that the apostles brought a different dimension of the gospel to Samaria, even after the evangelist Philip had already preached. The people had received the Word of the gospel through Philip, but they received the power of the gospel through the apostles. The apostles laid hands on the people and the people received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

In John 3:16, perhaps the most famous gospel verse in the Bible, we see the crux of apostleship: the Father SENT the Son as the Gospel Messenger, i.e., Apostle. Jesus is the First Apostle (and the High Priest of our profession [Heb.3:1]). Signs and wonders followed the preaching of Jesus, not just because He is God, but because He was sent forth with the anointing to declare the Gospel with acts of power!

In John 3:16, we see the spiritual Father and Son relationship that is crucial to the apostolic function. The Father gives and gives and gives. The apostle lays up for his children, not the children for the parent.

An apostolic father begets sons whom he must lay upon the altar as he releases the sons into fruit-bearing ministries. The apostle must die to himself to produce fruit, and in turn he painfully yet joyfully watches his apostolic sons follow suite in dying to themselves that they might bring forth fruit, just as our Heavenly Father watched Jesus die on the cross, to the end that He should rise again. Praise God!

God the Father so loved that He gave. The apostle manifests the heart of the Father to the people. The difference between the Christian gospel and the false religions is that we have a loving God, Who is our Father, and we are His sons and daughters. God the Father loves us just as much as He loves His own Son, Jesus. The life of the apostle must demonstrate the good news of a loving God. The heathen believe in a harsh, cruel impersonal god. Not so with the true good news of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. God loves us! "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." [John 15:13] "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us ..." [1 John 3:16]

The signs and wonders that follow the preaching of the gospel validate its superiority over the pagan gods of stone, wood, and metal. The Bible interchanges the phrases, "the gospel of the Kingdom," "the gospel of the grace of God," "the gospel of God," ,"the gospel of Jesus Christ," "the gospel of His Son," "the gospel of Christ," and "the everlasting gospel."

In other verses we see the "Kingdom of God" equated with the "Kingdom of Heaven."

The word, KING, speaks of a theocratic government, with power and authority emanating from the Head in Heaven. The authority of the Kingdom of Light over the worldly kingdom of darkness is demonstrated by apostolic signs and wonders which accompany God's governmental ambassadors as they deliver the gospel of Christ's Kingdom---a Kingdom to which entrance is available NOW through the torn veil of His flesh. Kingdom citizenship is available now through His shed blood and His resurrection.

Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our profession went forth preaching the good news of the Kingdom. He called the apostles to follow him. Therefore, all apostles must likewise preach the good news of the Kingdom. Apostle Paul exhorted the churches he founded to follow his example. Therefore we must preach the gospel too.

I have heard fivefold ministers say that they only train the sheep to do the ministry, but that it is not their calling to bring in the sheep, because "shepherds do not beget sheep, but sheep beget sheep."

I strongly differ:

Jesus is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. How much more is the local shepherd also a sheep in the Lord's flock. The shepherd is to be a model sheep who brings more sheep into a flock as an example to the younger sheep, and as a follower of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, Who begat us, that is to say, evangelized us through the spoken Word. If Jesus, our prime example and the "Shepherd and Bishop of our souls" was a preacher of the gospel, then it follows that the under-shepherds, pastors, apostles, etcetera, are also to go out and bring in the new sheep.

There are "covering organizations" out there looking for churches to "cover," yet these organizations haven't sown seed into that pasture. They haven't begotten the church that they are seeking to cover. Paul warned that this would happen. I know we are in transition, and there are needy churches founded without an apostle--churches that would appreciate some mature oversight. Let this simply be an exhortation for para-church organizations to examine their mode of operation. A true apostolic entity does not just send, but it also gathers. It teaches and demonstrates evangelism. A "sending organization" with egress and no ingress is anemic. It needs a spiritual transfusion. Such an entity will produce anemic children, fellowships that are not healthy church bodies. It is easier to look for a church to "cover" than to birth a church in enemy territory. Paul said, "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Preaching the gospel comes with a price. Hence, I say that it is easier to cover than to convert.

As the apostle preaches the gospel of the good news of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the other aspects of the apostle's office and calling will manifest themselves progressively in obedience to His highest calling to preach the gospel.

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