F4F | The Masting of Michael Brown Part 2 - Big "A" or Small "a" Apostles?

Welcome to another installment of Fighting for the Faith here on YouTube. This is gonna be a long episode, buckle up, a lot of biblical teaching that we've got to engage in here. We're gonna continue with the Masting of Michael Brown Part 2 today, and we're gonna need to do a lot of biblical work determining what Scripture teaches regarding what the apostolic ministry is all about biblically.

You know, who is an Apostle, who was an Apostle, what are the biblical qualifications for Apostle, and things of that nature. And we'll bounce these ideas off of things that are said by not only Michael Brown, but Joseph Matera, the convening Apostle for the United States Council of Apostolic Leaders, which, by the way, Michael Brown is a member of that organization.

Michael Brown’s NAR Affiliation and the Claim of Sloppy Terminology

So let me go ahead and pull up our display here, and we're gonna begin by listening to Michael Brown talking about his affiliation with a group that is associated with the NAR. No joke, he talks about that.

Here's Michael Brown to.

Explain. Let me just alert you to a show we have planned for Monday with my Dr. Joe Matera. He has been around with the forming of what was known as the NAR New Apostolic Reformation. He leads today the U .S. Council of Apostolic Leaders.

I'm a member of that, it's hundreds of leaders from around America, and he has...

So he's a member, Michael Brown is a member of the United States Council of.

Apostolic Leaders. Important to note... Clearly made statements distancing himself and the organization from some of the tenets of NAR. Right, the tenets.

That the critics have been pointing out. So he's distancing himself from the so called NAR, the stuff that the critics have been pointing out. He's distancing himself from them. Important to note that Michael Brown, you know, until very recently has pretty much totally dismissed the idea that such an NAR ever existed, and now he's recognizing that, yeah, it did exist, but we're changing it.

And he's a member of the group that's actively working to, you.

Know, to change and do away with the old NAR. But he is NAR. No, no, that's the terminological thing that I keep trying to help people understand. That there's a difference between those of us who believe in five-fold ministry today...

Now, we're gonna talk about that, by the way. Michael Brown is basically saying he's not in the NAR, at least not the way the critics have defined it. Fine, fine. Instead, he's a five-folder, you know, a five-fold guy.

We'll talk about that.

Biblically in a little bit here. Those prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, those of us who believe in that today, and what is often called NAR. It is the sloppy use of the term that has concerned me.

Now, I'm gonna take a.

Real big issue here. See, the issue is not the sloppy use of the term NAR. You know, I point to people like Holly Pivick and others, including myself, who've done their homework, who have extensively quoted from people who have been part of the New Apostolic Reformation, especially going back to C. Peter Wagner and the things that he's written in his books.

You know, you think of Bishop Hammond and others that are part of the New Apostolic Reformation, and we've even noted that, you know, Bill Johnson of Bethel Church in Reading, California. He was introduced as an apostle by C. Peter Wagner at Todd Bentley's Apostolic Commissioning Service.

So, you know, what I find fascinating here is that it is Michael Brown who is accusing critics who've actually done their homework, quoted primary sources, and people associated with the NAR, Cheyenne and others, as somehow sloppily using the term NAR.

I'm going to note that it is Michael Brown and Joseph Matera and others who are engaging in a sloppy use of the word apostolic and apostle, and through their sloppy use of it, are actually creating more problems for the Church as well as themselves.

And we're gonna clean up the term apostle and apostolic with today's episode of Fighting for the Faith. But I just wanted to have you hear him say how it's the critics who are sloppily using the term NAR.

Is the hysteria associated with some of the fringe abuses that have concerned me, and with that, oh hang on, I used a wrong verb there. The hysteria, I should have said has, all right? So the hysteria associated with some of the abuses that has concerned me, just trying to be grammatically correct, I don't want to frustrate any English teachers who are listening.

But because of some of the hysteria, I heard clips from a video, NAR now is controlling the lives of over.

350 million people worldwide. Yeah, that's a mischaracterization of Todd Friel's video, which you can purchase over at Wretched called Drunk in the Spirit. And well worth the watch, is the best way I can put it, and it's clear that what Michael Brown is doing here is reacting to Todd Friel's work.

Big A Apostles and Little A Apostles

Now let me quote, go back a little bit to February of this year, and I want you to listen to how Michael Brown defines the word apostle. And for lack of a better way of putting it, I've heard him use this before, but this is not how he's gonna use it in this video clip, but he makes a distinction between Big A Apostles and Little A Apostles.

Think back to the days when you used to watch Sesame Street, and you were learning the difference between capital letters and small case letters. And so the idea here is is that Michael Brown in this clip is going to say he's a five-fold guy, he believes that Apostles have been around since the beginning, we just haven't called them Apostles, and so he's gonna be describing Little A Apostles.

And we'll note how he's defining them, and we're also going to point out the fact that this is not how men like Joseph Matera are defining apostolic leaders. But let's let Michael Brown spin this.

Out for us. I'll tell you exactly what I believe. I believe that since Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven based on Ephesians 4, that there have been Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers in every generation.

I believe that they've been here for the good of the Church, and that my understanding of the Greek in Ephesians 4 is that these have been established in the Church.

Until we reach full maturity. Alright, so the five-fold argument is that Ephesians 4 .11, basically it says that we are going to have Apostles on earth until Jesus' return. We'll take a look at that exegetically in a little bit, but I wanted you to hear it.

So he's saying there have always been Apostles on the earth. Now, important to note here, men like C. Peter Wagner and Bill Hammond and others have been talking about the restoration of Apostles. C. Peter Wagner was a guy who was a restorationist when it comes to Apostles, because he taught that people possessed an apostolic office.

And so, you know, what he's describing here, what Michael Brown is describing here, is different than what.

C. Peter Wagner taught and wrote about. The Twelve Apostles, they are unique. They wrote Scripture, their names are on the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem. No one has the authority of the Twelve Apostles today.

Alright, so Big A.

Apostles is that, that's the, you know, so he's making a distinction between Big A Apostles and then Little A Apostles coming up. There are what we call Small A.

Apostles. The Greek is just emissaries. Barnabas, for example, is called an Apostle. Acts 1414, and that these were people that had certain roles. They were planters, they were founders, they were pioneers, they were spiritual fathers to.

Other... So planters, founders, pioneers. Let's just boil it down to one word. We'll call the way he's describing an Apostle in the little case sense as a missionary. You know, we'll just, we'll use the word missionary.

So that's what we'll use moving forward, and as we listen to Joseph Matera talk about, you know, Apostles, and we'll also do a little bit of historical work here, because one of the major leaders of the US Council of Apostolic Leaders is mentioned by a fellow in Rwanda.

We'll show you this, and we'll just say, as we listen to these different things, we'll ask ourselves a question. Does this make sense if what we're talking about is a missionary? Now, my immediate question comes up, if, you know, if the New Apostolic Reformation is really nothing more than a missionary society, a loose conglomeration and network of missionaries and church planters, then, you know, clearly, you know, there shouldn't be any controversy.

I mean, there have been missionaries for centuries since the, you know, since the Christian Church was established 2 ,000 years ago. So, you know, I mean, I believe in missionaries. I've never said, no, missionaries don't exist.

But see, notice he's defining things here in such a way that, you know, he's making a distinction between big A apostles and little a apostles, and little a apostles are basically missionaries. And things like that, I.

Believe we've had them through history, but we haven't called them apostles. So I always use the same examples, you know, Hudson Taylor, China Inland Mission. I look at him as a modern-day apostle. All right, so Hudson Taylor, Chinese.

Missionary, is an apostle, okay? Now, I'm gonna note that this is a really sloppy use of the word apostle. Could cause all kinds of confusion, but he's basically claiming missionaries are apostles, okay?

Liam Booth, with his social outreach movement and Salvation Army, especially in its early days, clearly preaching the gospel. I look at him as a modern-day apostle or apostle of recent past. My friend Yesuponim in India, he doesn't use any titles.

When he goes overseas and starts other ministries, he goes and helps the homeless and ministers to people. Nobody knows his name when he does it. He's just there to serve. But he's planted over 7 ,000 churches in previously unreached tribal regions, been stolen for preaching the gospel.

All right, so missionary, missionary church planter, apostle, okay. Well, Jesus appeared to him. That's who he was saved. I look at him as a modern-day apostle. I'm not into using titles. I see it as redundant.

I'd rather we didn't even put pastor in front of people's names, but that's okay. It's identifying, but it's recognizing a gift and a calling. I believe we've had prophets through our church history, but haven't always.

All.

Right, so I'll leave off the prophet discussion for another time, but clearly you kind of get the idea. So what he's saying, and notice that Michael Brown is a member of the U .S. Coalition of Apostolic Leaders, which, if we understand what he's saying here, well, all they really are is a missionary society.

They are recognizing men who are called to be missionaries, see? And they're using the word apostle and apostolic in ways that are confusing, but the nefarious evil critics of the NAR are just too obtuse to recognize that the only thing we've been discussing this entire time is missionaries.

Is that really what's going on here? And again, I'm gonna point out, the problem here is not that critics of the NAR have been misusing the word or the phrase NAR. The problem is is that men like Michael Brown and others have been really vaguely misusing the word apostle.

Joseph Matera’s Apostolic Leadership Language

Now, let's note something here. So we're gonna play a little game, you know, and we're gonna work through a few different resources here. We're gonna ask the question, Big A Apostle or Little A Apostle, aka Missionaries?

So from Joseph Matera's appearance on Michael Brown's line of fire, listen to this statement made by Joseph Matera, and we'll just ask ourselves, does this make sense if what.

They're discussing are missionaries? I think that these are people driven by.

Fear. The people driven by fear are critics, like, you know, like myself. They've created.

Their own bogeyman, and I don't think anybody should be afraid of true apostolic, prophetic leaders that God has ordained according to Ephesians 4 to continue until there's unity in the faith and complete knowledge and fullness of the Son of God, which hasn't happened yet.

So if they're against apostolic leadership, they're fighting against God himself. All right, so if.

You're fighting against missionaries, you're fighting against God himself, which kind of begs the question, why would anybody fight against missionaries? Why would they be opposed to missionaries? And if I'm opposed to missionaries and I'm fighting God himself, you know, strange, heavy-handed terminology there.

So if you're opposing the apostolic, you're opposing God himself. But see, when you start talking about it in terms like that, you know, it no longer sounds like you're talking about a missionary. Now let's go back in time to the year 2014, and the Norwegian Apostle Jean-Ange Torpé, and he was in Rwanda, and the name of the message is God Anoints Apostles Today.

You can find it on YouTube. And Jean-Ange Torpé here is going to describe the importance of apostles today and say this is part of God's order, and see if what he's describing to you sounds like he's describing, you know, small a apostles, you know, missionaries.

See if this makes any sense in that context. Listen in.

Third teachers, and then others. So you see there's an order in the kingdom of God. For the kingdom of God to expand, we need to understand this order. Otherwise there will be much mess. But when we out of respect and love honor the work of God, we will be able to move swiftly around the world.

You know, I have a spiritual father in America by the name of John Kelly.

Now John Kelly, by the way, is associated with Joseph Matera and the U .S. Council of Apostolic Leaders. So, you know, I just recently watched a YouTube video where John Kelly and Joseph Matera and another apostolic leader were talking about current trends and, you know, the apostolic churches and stuff.

So, Apostle John Kelly. Let's listen to this historical account of his apostleship and see if this makes sense if we were to just change his title from apostle to missionary, you know, because small a apostles, you know.

He's a great man. I love him very much. I hope that Apostle Gitwaza will bring him sometime here. He's a big man too. And he used to be an American football player. He played professionally for the New York Jets.

And he was the heavyweight champion in boxing of the state of New Jersey.

John Kelly was a man, a big man. All right, we got it. He can knock down anyone. Maybe, maybe not. And he had a blue ox named Babe too. I kind of get the idea. All right.

But he's strong. And, you know, he has built many churches. He's a great man. And then many years ago, 10 years ago, God said to him, start a coalition of apostles in the world. You know, John Kelly is like a father.

A spiritual father. He will cry with you. He will laugh with you. He picked me up sometimes when I was finished. Sometimes he would just love me. Other times he would kick me. And it was good. But God told him to start a coalition of apostles in the world.

And I was there with him. We are the first year in 2000. It was exciting. We're maybe about 100 apostles. And everyone felt the excitement.

So a hundred, you know, missionaries got together. A hundred missionaries. Yeah, okay.

God is doing something great. Bringing together apostles from all continents. But then God spoke to Apostle John Kelly. I told you to start it. But I want you to now submit to another apostle. Peter Wagner.

So Kelly went to Wagner. God tells me that you should lead me. You need this. And now I will serve you. So he knelt down. No, you must not. Come on. You're Peter Wagner.

I'm John Kelly. So John Kelly, down on his knees. In front of C. Peter Wagner. Have any of you ever gotten down on your knees in order to pledge your allegiance and servitude to a missionary? You know, small a apostle.

That's all we're talking about here. You know, like missionaries to China and stuff. Have any of you ever done this? I haven't. I will serve you. And I will help you. And Peter Wagner said, okay. And then Peter Wagner has led it.

That's the order of God. So the order of God requires me to submit and bend the knee to a missionary. You know, because I call me crazy. But what he just described there sounded more to me like a big a apostle rather than a small a apostle.

Joseph Matera’s Restoration of Apostolic Ministry

So let's head over to the website for Joseph Matera, josephmatera .org. And Michael Brown has recommended that his listeners go to Joseph Matera's website. And we're going to look at, you know, a couple of things that he's written.

I'm going to make the print bigger so that it's a little easier to read. The necessity of restoring apostolic ministry today. Which kind of begs the question. I mean, if we're talking about small a apostles, you know, missionaries.

Haven't we had those all from the beginning? Why would we restore missionaries to the church? Unless, of course, he's not talking about missionaries. Well, let's take a look. So Joseph Matera writes, since the late 1940s, there has been a resurgence of attempts to activate the five-fold ministry gifts as found in Ephesians 4 .11.

Like I said, we'll get into this. You'll need your Bible. We're going to do some Bible study here in a minute. And starting with the latter rain movement, which, by the way, I came out of. It's a heretical movement.

In Canada, various groups have arisen proclaiming the restoration of the apostolic. Restoration. Somehow I don't think they're talking about the restoration of missionaries. Just thinking, you know. And prophetic gifts to go along with the evangelist, pastor, and teacher gifts.

The result has been the emergence of great movements of independent networks led by apostolic visionaries. So Joseph Matera, the leader of the United States Coalition of Apostolic Leaders, on his own website is saying that there's a great movement of independent networks led by apostolic visionaries.

And yet what he's describing doesn't sound at all like, you know, missionaries. And which they have been exploding in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Which, by the way, the critics have been noting that.

And Joseph Matera here has just confirmed it. So this apostolic movement represents the fastest growing segment of global Christianity. That's exactly what C. Peter Wagner said when he was alive. Furthermore, now even evangelical leaders and movements are embracing five-fold ministry language to describe church leadership.

The primary reason for this is because the church is being taught by the Holy Spirit that the church has to go from a pastoral model of church to an apostolic model in leadership if we're going to replicate the amazing Jesus movement of the first few centuries of church history.

Which is kind of bizarre here. Because my question is, what does it mean to go from a pastoral model to a missionary model? If we're talking about church leadership here, I thought missionaries plant churches.

And then it's the pastors who come in once the church is established and continue the ministry of preaching the word, baptizing people, administering the Lord's Supper, caring for those who are ill, praying, and things like that.

So it's weird because it sounds to me like Joseph Matera is talking about, you know, big A apostles rather than small A apostles. It's weird because he keeps talking in terms of restoration. So truly the Protestant Reformation, which began in the 16th century, is still taking place as the Reformed Church is continually reforming itself.

Evangelical leaders like Dr. Peter Wagner, who crossed over to embrace the charismatic gifts in the third wave of the 1980s, became the catalyst for the wider body of Christ, embracing this restoration.

It's weird because, you know, Michael Brown says we've always had apostles, you know, because they're missionaries. And Joseph Matera is talking about the restoration of apostles. Huh. Although some of the earmarks of what Peter Wagner called the New Apostolic Reaffirmation have made many of us in the present restoration movement uncomfortable, such as top-down leadership, which doesn't make sense if apostles are missionaries, hyper-dominion rhetoric, which, again, doesn't make sense if apostles are missionaries, the use of apostle as title rather than a description, and the practice of laying hands on leaders proclaiming them to be apostles over regions and nations, which is exactly what C. Peter Wagner did.

It is still advancing because Jesus is the one building his church through the magisterium of the Holy Spirit, who is pulling the whole body into the vortex of the New Testament pattern of church. Now, this is weird because, you know, he's saying New Testament pattern of church, and you know, in the New Testament, the apostles were predominantly, you know, of the Big A variety.

So, we'll talk about that in a little bit. But in another article, part two of this one, you know, of the NAR and the restoration of apostolic ministry today, part two, let me make the print bigger, we'll pay attention to what he's describing here, and again, ask the question, is he describing Big A apostles or, you know, little a missionary apostles?

So, this one begins with what God is doing today. I believe that the present embrace of the five-fold ministry of the evangelical pastors in the USA is going to bring a convergence between the charismatic, independent apostolic networks, evangelical networks, and ultimately even evangelical Bible-confessing denominations.

The implications of this will be extraordinary. The church will go from being pastorally led to apostolically led and prophetically inspired. Now, again, you know, for instance, I'm a pastor. I'm a Lutheran pastor of a tiny conservative congregation out in the sugar beets fields of Oslo, Minnesota.

And the fellow who planted the church, the missionary who worked to plant this church and others, he's long been dead. In fact, the congregation that I serve was established over 135 years ago. And it hasn't been led by a missionary since the guy who planted the church 135 plus years ago planted it at that time in the 19th century.

So, the question I have is, why should my church go from being pastorally led to being led by a missionary? Because, I mean, we're talking about little a apostles, you know, right? You see, it doesn't make sense because if you're talking about a church being apostolically led, now we're talking about big A apostles, not little a.

You see what I'm saying here? So, this emerging apostolic paradigm, he continues, will shift the missionary focus from planting local churches to planting movements of churches and Christ followers that will permeate every facet of society.

The apostolic paradigm will shift the focus from gathering crowds on Sunday, which is weird because, you know, the book of Hebrews talks about not forsaking the gathering together of the saints. What do we do on a Sunday?

You know, we're there to hear the word of God, to worship, to pray, to baptize people, to receive the Lord's Supper, you know, stuff like that. And so we're going to shift the focus from that to what?

To developing disciples who will manifest the reign of Christ from Monday to Saturday. I don't even know what that phrase means, but, you know, I'm pretty sure if we're supposed to be doing that, that equipping and developing disciples for doing such things would actually primarily be done on Sundays.

Anyway, the present apostolic paradigm will restore the church back to the way of Christ and his apostles. Well, that's weird because Jesus' apostles were not apostles in the small A sense. His apostles were apostles in the big A sense, you know.

So, and then he says the present apostolic paradigm will bring a course correction to the new apostolic reformation and the view of the apostolic ministry function, not an office, an adjective, not a title.

So, all right, so you kind of get the idea here. And my question is, how is he defining apostle here? And why are we saying that missionaries needed to be restored? Because Michael Brown, you know, said that, you know, we've always had apostles and they're missionaries, you know, missionaries to China, missionaries who start the Salvation Army and stuff like that.

Biblical Qualifications for the Apostles

So in order to kind of wrap our heads around this, we're going to have to do some Bible study. Grab your Bibles if you want to just watch along on my screen. You are welcome to. I will be working from the English Standard Version, ESV, but you could do this with any good modern translation.

But we're going to begin by noting the biblical requirements for an apostle. And this is important because when we look at the biblical text, we will note that this is the definition for a big A apostle, big A apostle.

And these were the guys who launched and led the church in the opening century of this, you know, of this era, if you would. And so we read in Acts chapter 1, verse 1, in the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day that he was taken up after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.

Apostolos, by the way, the Greek word. Oh, boy, is that tiny. Let me make that a little bit bigger. Okay, apostolos. It means, one, a messenger without extraordinary status, a delegate, an envoy, or a messenger.

That would be your little A apostle. And so if somebody is sent, they are sent by somebody else. They are an emissary, a delegate, an envoy, a messenger. So if you were in the ancient world to show up to somebody's house and say, I am an apostle, they would say, who sent you?

Because you're representing somebody else. And we're going to note that this use is used in Scripture. And then messengers with extraordinary status, especially if God's messengers are envoys, which would be like, you know, the apostles.

And so we're going to note here that Jesus had chosen men that he sent. They were sent ones. They were apostles he had chosen and sent them. So note that here. So big A apostles are sent by Jesus. And so he presented himself alive to them, his apostles, after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

Now, fast forwarding to verse 15 in Acts chapter 1, we read, In those days Peter stood up among the brothers, the company of persons was in all about 120 and said, Brothers, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

He was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry. Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness. That would be the 30 pieces of silver that he acquired for betraying Christ.

And falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all of his bowels gushed out and everyone said, Ooh. And so it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem so that the field was called in their own language.

For it is written in the book of Psalms, May his camp become desolate and let there be no one to dwell in it and let another take his office. Big A apostles have an office. So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day that he was taken up, one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.

So they're going to choose from those who were around for all of Jesus's teaching. When, you know, from the time of his baptism until the time of his ascension, really. And this is somebody who has to be an eyewitness, have with their own eyes witnessed the resurrection of Christ.

And so they put forward two fellows, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was called Justice and Matthias. And they prayed and said, you, Lord, you who know the hearts of all, show us which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.

And they cast lots for them and the lot fell on Matthias and he was numbered with the 11 apostles. So the Lord chose Matthias. So if you want to boil it down to two of the most basic requirements for an apostle, you have to have visibly seen the Lord Jesus with your own eyes.

You are an eyewitness to the resurrection. Oh, and Jesus has to have chosen you to be one of his apostles because an apostle is an emissary, a sent one, sent by somebody else. Again, the question is, you know, if you say you're an apostle, the question is who sent you?

Paul’s Apostleship and the Difference Between Sent Ones and Messengers

Now, regarding the Apostle Paul, we're going to note, let me close BDAG here, close that, there we go. Noting the Apostle Paul, the Apostle Paul talks about his apostleship explicitly in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, starting at verse 3.

Paul, writing about the gospel, says, I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas.

Then to the 12, and then he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. And then he appeared to James and then to all the apostles. Last of all, to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

Okay? So you're going to note, last of all. Yeah, that little last of all phrase, you know, and the last, it kind of actually implies that after the Apostle Paul, Jesus ain't picking any more apostles, that's the point.

Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace towards me was not in vain.

On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. So the Apostle Paul, eyewitness to the resurrection, Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus, and Jesus particularly, specifically, chose him to be an apostle.

So when we look at the openings of Paul's different epistles, Romans 1, Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God. Galatians 1 .1, Paul, an apostle, not from men, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead.

The Apostle Paul is an apostle sent by Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 1 .1, Paul called by the will of God to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ. And our brother Sosthenes, Paul, 1 Corinthians 1, 2 Corinthians 1 .1, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and Timothy, our brother.

Ephesians 1 .1, Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. Colossians 1 .1, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and Timothy, our brother. So you get the idea. So, you know, in order to be an Apostle, in that truest sense of Apostle, you have to be chosen by Jesus to be an Apostle, and along with it, you will actually, with your own physical eyes, be an eyewitness to the resurrection of Jesus, and the Apostle Paul clearly fits that category.

Now, the word Apostle, in its smaller sense, as a messenger, an envoy, or a delegate, one who is sent by another to be a messenger, also appears in Scripture, and let me give you three instances where that happens.

In Philippians 2 .25, it says,. So you're going to note that in this occurrence, Epaphroditus was a messenger sent by the Church at Philippi. That doesn't make him an Apostle, nor does it even make him a missionary, it just makes him, you know, one who is sent to deliver a message, which is why the ESV translates Apostolos there as messenger.

Second Corinthians 8 .23, Titus, by the way, is not an Apostle, and as for our brothers, they are messengers of the Church's, the glory of Christ. So you're going to note that the Church's, different individual congregations, would send Apostles, messengers, out, and they weren't considered at all like the the Twelve at all, and, you know, a messenger in this sense is an envoy and a delegate.

And then you're gonna note, they're not even talking about them being missionaries, but, you know, they're just an official messenger from the Church to deliver a message. John 13 .16, Jesus says, "'Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger," Apostle, "'greater than the one who sent him.'".

So you're gonna note, in order for somebody to be an Apostle, in even the smallest sense, they're sent by somebody else to deliver a message. Which, by the way, is one of the reasons why a sloppy use of the term Apostle through the ages has been referred to missionaries.

Missionaries, though, are those who have the gift of evangelism. They are not really Apostles in that sense, and I think it's, you actually torture the word Apostle if you're using it in that way, and that's not how, you know, that's not how the first century understood an Apostle to be.

An Apostle is one who is sent by another. The THE Apostles, big A Apostles, were sent by Jesus and were eyewitnesses of the Resurrection. Small A Apostles were all over the place, they were messengers sent by another to deliver a message.

And so again, they always, if you showed up, somebody says, and you say, I'm an Apostle, somebody, the immediate question is, who sent you? And the Apostle Paul makes it clear, he was sent by Jesus. Now, two passages, then, in question, then, when we look at Ephesians chapters 2 and 4, vital that we take a look at them in context, Ephesians chapter 2, 19, says this, "...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 on the foundation of the Apostles and the prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.".