SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/20/2019
9:48 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 “Apostles
and Prophets”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Ephesians
4:11
Message of the verses: “11 And He gave
some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as
evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
We
are learning more about the apostles and also the prophets in this section as
seen in the very first part of Ephesians 4:11.
We ended out writing yesterday talking about two classes of apostles,
those who were with the Lord Jesus Christ, including Matthias who replaced
Judas and then the addition of Paul, as these are in the first section of
apostles, and then we learned that people like Titus and Timothy were also
called apostles using a different Greek word.
Now
we want to go on and state that the apostles in both groups were authenticated “by
signs and wonders and miracles.” Let us
look at 2 Corinthian 12:12 “The signs of a true apostle were performed among
you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.” “Neither group of apostles was
self-perpetuating” (MacArthur). Definition
of Self-perpetuating: “having a system that prevents change and produces new things that are very similar to the old ones.” MacArthur goes on to write “In neither sense is the term apostle used in the book of Acts after
16:4. Nor is there any New Testament
record of an apostle in either group being replaced when he died.”
Now
we want to move onto prophets and similar to the apostles they were also
appointed by God as specially gifted men, and differ from those believers who
have the gift of prophecy as seen in 1 Corinthians 12:10 “and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy,
and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds
of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.” John MacArthur writes “Not all such believers
could be called prophets. It seems that
the office of prophet was exclusively for work within a local congregation,
whereas that of apostleship was a much broader ministry, not confined to any
area, as implied in the word apostolos
(‘one who is sent on a mission’). Paul
for example, is referred to as a prophet when he ministered locally in the Antioch
church (Acts 13:1), but elsewhere is always called an apostle.”
Let
us look at a couple of examples from Scripture that show us that the prophets
sometimes spoke revelation from God as seen in Acts 11:21-28 “21 And the hand
of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22
The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent
Barnabas off to Antioch. 23 Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of
God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to
remain true to the Lord; 24 for he was a good man, and full of the Holy
Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. 25 And
he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch.
And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable
numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. 27 Now at this time some prophets came down
from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them named Agabus stood up and began
to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over
the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius.” Sometimes the prophets simply expounded
revelation that was already given which is implied in Acts 13:1, where they are
connected with teachers. “Now there were
at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who
was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with
Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.” MacArthur
writes that “They always spoke for God but did not always give a newly revealed
message from God. The prophets were
second to the apostles, and their message was to be judged by that of the
apostles (1 Cor. 14:37). Another
distinction between the two offices may have been that the apostolic message
was more general and doctrinal, whereas that of the prophets was more personal
and practical.”
Just
like the apostles, however the office of prophets ceased with the completion of
the New Testaments, like the OT prophets disappeared when the OT was completed,
and this happened 400 years before the Lord Jesus came to planet earth. Once again let us read in Ephesians 2:20
showing that the church “having been built on the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,” So once the foundation was laid, the work
of the apostles and the prophets was finished.
After these two offices, the
apostles, and the prophets were done they were not replaced as stated earlier,
however the evangelists and also the pastors and teachers did pick up the baton
from the first generation of apostles and prophets.
The church owes much to the apostles
and the prophets, for without the apostles we would not have much of a New
Testament. Luke and Mark were not apostles,
but their writings were certainly inspired by not only the Holy Spirit, but
also the apostles. As for Hebrews we don’t
really know who wrote that letter, but we can be sure that whoever did they
were inspired by the apostles.
MacArthur concludes this section by
writing “The prophets, though they did not usually receive direct revelation
from God, nevertheless were greatly instrumental in building up and
strengthening the early church. Both
apostles and prophets have passed from the scene (Eph. 2:20), but the
foundation they laid is that on which all of Christ’s church has been built.”
Spiritual meaning for my life
today: I can praise the Lord for how
He inspired the apostles and prophets so that I can read and study and know
more about my Lord Jesus Christ.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Continue
looking and studying Ephesians 4:7 along with Romans 12:3 to teach me more
about being humble.
Verse that
goes along with yesterday’s quotation: “The
kings heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of waters; He turns it wherever
He wishes” (Proverbs 21:1).
3/20/2019
10:31 AM
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