Is Your Ministry Apostolic?
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone. (Ephesians 2:19-20)
Just what is an “apostolic ministry?” “Apostolic” is a word used with great frequency but with minimal accuracy in the church today. Our Roman Catholic friends claim “apostolic succession” for their ministers, meaning their ministers are legitimate because they supposedly can trace their ordination all the way back to St. Peter. But this view strikes one as dependent on tradition, not on Holy Scripture. Then there are those churches along Highway 98 as you head toward Mobile that claim to be “apostolic” on their signs – and even claim to have pastors who are apostles! As we’ll see, though, this is being libertine in one’s use and understanding of the term “apostolic.” There might be widespread unbiblical use of the term “apostolic,” but from our text today – St. Mark 3:13-19 – you and I see the importance Jesus placed on his apostles and on their ministry, and therefore our need to understand apostolicity. Jesus, as you’ll note in the passage, first took the prerogative in calling his 12 apostles; and second, he had a vital purpose in calling them: to make him and his work known to mankind. These 12 personalities, third, instruct you and me in the faithfulness of God to save His entire church – in His power. Apostolic ministry, you and I will see, is ministry that proclaims Christ the Savior from his revelation of himself in his Word. This is the true apostolic ministry that needs to characterize you and me.
First, Jesus demonstrates the importance of apostolic ministry by taking the prerogative to select the 12. In the previous verses, St. Mark relates that Jesus was thronged by crowds who were hoping he would heal them. Even demon-possessed people called out to him as the Son of God, but he commanded them to be silent. Now you might expect that Jesus would want “supporters” – but he didn’t want these types. Many simply desired him to work a miracle, to make their physical lives easier. And the demons? They were trying to gain power over Jesus by calling his name, not confessing him from a heart of belief. So serious was the selection of his apostles that the Lord retreated to a mountain and, the other evangelists inform us, spent time in prayer with his Father. (Isn’t Jesus’ dedication to prayer, especially at such a key moment, instructive as to how you and I must be people of prayer?) Our passage is emphatic in the original Greek: Jesus chose whom he wanted; he called them (as he also says in St. John 15:18); and they came to him because his inward call is effectual. These apostles were to be his “sent ones” – that is the definition of the Greek word apostolos – and he selected them. We no longer have apostles, because as we’ll observe in a moment, their ministry was foundational for the church. Our ministry today is built on theirs, and particularly on the Scriptures the Holy Spirit wrote using them. But the important thing to note is that Jesus chose them as his witness-bearers and channels of revelation, because throughout Scripture we see God choosing to reveal Himself when and where and how He so desired. The Lord reveals Himself; you and I do not “reveal” Him or have the right to fashion Him after our whims. This is His message, and it must be proclaimed in His way by His chosen messengers (who today, in an official capacity, are pastor-teachers). These days our seminaries are packed with students. We have access to more theological education than ever before. Honestly, it seems as if you can acquire a seminary education simply with the click of your mouse. We’ve never had such the possibility for a highly educated lay population in the church, which is a blessing. But if your pastor-teacher is not chosen of Christ, and faithful in proclaiming the message of Christ as recorded by his apostles in Scripture, then yours is not an apostolic church. Thus it is no church at all.
The importance Jesus placed on apostolic ministry is seen, secondly, in the purpose for which he chose the 12: to proclaim his person and work. In order to be able to proclaim him, however, they first had to know him – hence Jesus chose them so that “they should be with him.” This was the same requirement placed on the man who would be Judas’ replacement (ultimately, Matthias). Those who would bear witness to Jesus and be used to lay the foundation for the New Testament church needed to know him as Savior, and to know him intimately in terms of his teaching and ministry. Again, while we don’t have apostles today in the church, we do carry on the apostles’ teaching from Scripture (true “apostolic succession”); and if our ministers are to teach Christ’s Word, they must know Christ intimately. Has your pastor known Christ as Savior for a substantial period of time? Does he spend time with Jesus every day, making great use of the means of grace? Do you expect, and give the space, for him to spend time with the Lord? Unless he knows Jesus and dwells with him, your minister cannot effectively proclaim the redeeming message of Jesus. During and after this time of preparation, Jesus commissioned the 12 apostles to proclaim his person and work, primarily in the preached Word but also through the actions of healing and of the casting out of demons. Preaching is first in order (in verse 14), and so it must be in the church today. The Word of the Lord is living and active, and He has chosen the “foolishness of preaching” to save sinners and to accomplish His redemptive purposes. We see throughout the book of the Acts the apostles proclaiming man’s sinfulness before the thrice-holy God and the remedy that is found only in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. This is the heart of the Gospel, and your minister must make the proclamation about Jesus central to his work. In the earliest days of the church, the miracles of healing and the expulsion of demons combined to testify to the truth and power of Jesus Christ, who gave his apostles authority to do such things in his Name. As Bishop John Charles Ryle well observes, pastors today no longer heal the sick or cast out demons. Yet it is important that he bring comfort to the afflicted and pray for and serve the sick, pointing ever to the compassion and healing mercies of the Great Physician. The pastor likewise must stand against every manifestation of evil, avoiding it in his life and laboring for holiness in the church and in society. Word and works both are part of the church’s commission to carry on the apostolic ministry. Does your pastor proclaim Christ and his unique atoning work at Calvary every week from the pulpit? Do you place the ministry of the Word above all else? And do you engage in works of mercy and of holiness, grounding them only in the message of salvation in Jesus? This is what Jesus expects of Leakesville Presbyterian Church.
Note, thirdly, the personalities Jesus employed in building his church, because they teach us of God’s faithfulness to His eternal plan of redeeming His church and of how he uses men in this plan. Interestingly, he chose 12 of these “personalities;” you’ll recall that there were 12 tribes of Israel in Old Testament days. And St. John in Revelation 5 describes a scene of Heavenly worship in which he witnesses 24 elders, representing the 12 tribes and the 12 apostles. Clearly, there is a continuity between the Old and New Covenant church, because both the tribes and the New Testament church found hope only in Jesus Christ (the tribes by means of the shadows of the law, the church by means of the One who fulfilled the law). The people of God in both covenants were to bear witness to the one, true God (although admittedly the apostles were commissioned to go actively among the nations, making disciples of the Lord). And while many of the tribes’ descendants had fallen away from the Lord – as would Judas Iscariot – the Lord preserved His faithful remnant. The significance of the number 12 is that the Lord is faithful to bring in all the number of His elect, despite apostasy in the covenant community and despite the abundance of sin in this fallen world. Jesus chose 12 men – not because men are somehow superior to women, for we know we are created equally in God’s image and have equally important, though different and complementary, roles in the church and in the home – but to reflect the principle of male spiritual headship in the church and home. While we don’t have time to explore this issue with much earnestness today, suffice it to say we must limit the ordained ministry in the church to men, because this is the example and teaching of our Lord. We trust His perfect wisdom. The names of these 12 persons are intriguing: Simon, whom Jesus surnamed “Peter” – likely for the confession Simon would make of Jesus being the Christ. Jesus said he would build his church on the rock-like confession of the truth about him, hence Simon’s surname. But could there also be a hint here of Peter’s denials of Jesus, which weren’t so rock-like? Simon’s surname reminds you and me that Jesus is the Builder of his church, and he is building her on the truth – not on feeble man. Jesus named James and John, the sons of Zebedee, “Boanerges” – or the “sons of thunder.” In light of a couple of outbursts from these two recorded in the Gospels, Jesus probably was making reference to their eagerness and boldness in speech. Yet couldn’t he also be teaching us that he uses men as he pleases, and that he sanctifies our personalities more and more as he uses your natural gifts and mine in daily service to him? The very act of giving names implies that Jesus has, and exercises, authority over you and me. And of course we read the name “Judas Iscariot,” which underscores the truth that our God is sovereign over man’s evil and even uses it for our good (in Judas’ case, his betrayal of Jesus led to Christ’s work of redemption for you and me who believe on him). Judas’ presence among the 12 also serves as a sobering reminder of the reality of apostasy. One of Jesus’ intimates looked the part of an apostle – yet he was not. He fell away. You and I must take heed lest we fall as well. From their number to their names, Jesus is teaching you and me of his sovereign grace in building his apostolic church.
Apostolic ministry has nothing to do with tracing your pastor’s ordinal pedigree back to St. Peter, nor does it have to do with proclaiming oneself an apostle in an “apostolic church.” As our Lord demonstrates in his selection of the 12, apostolic ministry is much more serious and Christ-centered than that. He chose, commissioned and named these men. He used them for his purposes: supremely, in the proclamation of his saving work at Calvary. They were to labor in his power, preaching his message of salvation from Hell by his work, not in their own strength. Apostolic ministry, which is what Jesus prescribed for his church, rests in Jesus and bears witness to Jesus in word and deed. True, there aren’t any more apostles today. But is your church apostolic? |