JUNE 16
NO APOSTOLIC DESIGN, NO APOSTOLIC SIGNS
APOSTOLIC DESIGN
The apostolic is central to God’s design for history, which is His Story.
There is difference of opinion in areas of the Church as to the who, what, when, where, why and how of Apostles, however our Megamorphic belief is that while there is a definitive leadership office in what is often called, but not specifically named in the Bible, the “Five Fold Ministry” (Eph 4:11), functioning in the apostolic is for ALL Christians and in fact we ALL have an apostolic mandate!
Note: It is interesting that in every list, Apostles are first, in fact 1 Corinthians 12:28 specifically says “First Apostles”. Also, after Christ, they are 2nd of the 9 Biblical foundations (Eph 2:20 & Heb 6:1-2)
Apostle: a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders
Handy BLB links for Apostle and Apostleship
Kris Vallotton from Bethel is one person who has shared several great words on Apostles and what the role even means. One of the more memorable points I remember from these is that he noted the word ‘Apostle’ was used pre-Christ for the soldiers who were sent to go and enforce the culture of Rome wherever they were taking ground.
Jon Tyson of Church of the city shared on discipleship at Bethel recently and asserted that as Christians we are all called to create/cultivate/design culture: HANDY LINK
GEN 1:26-28 “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.””
This excited me, as it shows us that God has always intended for us to be rulers and apostles - His delegates, His messengers, to outwork His orders. Being fruitful, increasing in number, filling the earth, subduing it, ruling over creation are still all integral to our purpose.
Interesting to note, having to work was not a product of the curse, we see here that we were always meant to be productive!
When Jesus came, He was an Apostle Himself
Heb 3:1 “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;”
Jesus expanded on the culture defining Apostolic mandate we have when He gave us the Great Commission
Matthew 28:18-20 “ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””
We see in Luke 10 that when Jesus sent people out, he gave them a plan, a design -
Luke 10:1-23 “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.” The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.”
Summary: We ALL have an apostolic purpose that functions best in obedience to the God given design
Apostolic Signs
Matt 16:14-20 “Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
MORE OF THE APOSTLES DOING EPIC THINGS :
Acts 4:33 “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all”
Acts 5:12 “The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade.”
Acts 6:1-7 “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.”
Acts 8:14-17 “When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 12:12 “I persevered in demonstrating among you the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and miracles.”
NO APOSTOLIC DESIGN, NO APOSTOLIC SIGNS
How does this all relate to “Red Gospelled“?
World Culture:
The very thing that mainstream culture, entertainment, media, education, politics shun, is the very thing that God designed to provide the solutions and the richness of culture, relationship and life that the world is searching for.
In a sense the red Gospel to the classic “the problem is”: if you rejected the Gospel and it’s design, the very thing that is the answer to the problem you’re perceiving.
Us:
Design: purpose, planning, or intention that exists or is thought to exist behind an action, fact, or material object: the appearance of design in the universe.
Our Red Gos-pel today is “to what extent are we taking hold of apostolic design?”
“to what extent are we seeing apostolic signs?”
Additional Resources
Check out our “Create to Relate Bible Foundations” Program, which gives a great overview to enable us to apply the foundation of Apostleship in our lives. Contact Esther (e.smith@megamorphic.church ) to get plugged in with the course!