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The Apostolic and Prophetic Foundation
Too often, the pastors, teachers and leaders of worship all stand out in our assemblies while Jesus is not always so evident. It is easy for the saints to focus on ministries rather than the Lord when our meetings are “professionally run.” God is dealing with us to give His Son the preeminence in all that we do. How few speak in this manner:
...neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
All too frequently, men imply how much they are needed, not how insignificant they are. It is so easy to create an impression in others of how indispensable we are even as we minister in His name. This weakness in our humanity speaks loudly of insecurity and pride.
For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men? What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.
(1 Cor. 3:4 - 5 NASB)
If the Lord had not given opportunity, none of these men (or any of us) would have been saved. The Church is the result of God giving men the opportunity to believe the gospel. And the gospel is preached because God gives men the opportunity to share what He has done in their lives. The Church is the result of a divine “set-up”; we are in Christ by His design. If God had not created the situations where truth was proclaimed and received, there would be no churches. This perspective of God is key to ministering wisely in His house. Without it, we are prone to elevate men in an ungodly way.
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
Notice Paul’s emphasis on God’s operative grace among His people. Men can plant and water, but without the miracle of life within the seed, there would be no growth. If one plants rocks in the soil, what can one hope to harvest? The best programs to evangelize and train men in the Church are useless apart from His life. The maturation process is miraculous, both individually and corporately. The life of God can never be reduced to a method. While principles may apply in training others, in the end God will be glorified for what He has done in their lives.
Some point to “church planting” as the most important element of church growth. “There would not be a local church here if it were not for that man’s ministry,” they say. “Why, he broke the ground! He rooted out the weeds and planted seed when there was no local church at all. Obviously he is the most important one. He is ‘the father’ of the work.”
Others point to the one who waters. “If he had not come along when he did, the church would have withered long ago. When he brought the water of life, there was a great blossoming! Fruitfulness and fragrance abounded after his input. Obviously, he is the most important.”
What do the Scriptures say?
So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
If we read this in a slightly different way without changing the meaning, it could say, “both he who plants and he who waters are nothing.”
We have allowed man to occupy too important a place in our thinking. As a result, the preeminence of Jesus has been undermined. Two significant problems we face in the Church today are both the insecurity of prominent men and the prominence of insecure men.
The apostolic foundation of local churches facilitates the headship of Christ, because it involves a collegial group of elders who oversee the work.
So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Notice, Paul did not remain and function as an “arch-elder”; he commended them to the Lord. Jesus is the head of each local church. Apostles do not hold a hierarchical position of authority over the churches as a mediator between them and God. Their desire is to see local churches founded on Jesus Christ and overseen by a group of elders. Then they can move into new territory in order to see new fellowships of believers established. If they decide to settle down for a season in a local church, they must become a functioning accountable member of the eldership there. The only place in Scripture where we see apostles recognized as a distinct group among the elders is the church at Jerusalem.
So the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.
Of course, Jerusalem was a unique church. This was the only place on earth where you had the twelve apostles of the Lamb as part of the leadership! It is probable that the presence of such well-known men brought its own unique problems. I am sure the tendency to elevate them in an inordinate way was quite strong. Consider the following quote.
One result of fearing man is to develop an unhealthy elevation of leaders. The teachers of mixture who came among the Galatians probably had this attitude toward the apostles in Jerusalem. In his letter, Paul takes time to underscore the humanity of those apostles. Why did he do this? Obviously, he was endeavoring to undo something that had been imparted to the Galatians. Paul was not maliciously exposing sin but underscoring their humanity as he “brought them down a few notches” in the eyes of the Galatians.
But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality) - well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me.
(Gal. 2:6 NASB)
The men of reputation here included Peter, James and John (Gal. 2:7-9).
Paul also recounts an incident where Peter stumbled much like the Galatians were now doing (Gal. 2:11 - 14).
When men are elevated in an unhealthy way, God will see to it that they are brought down a few notches in our eyes. This is a fearful thing. However, it is a safeguard both for the church and for those in leadership.[13]
True apostles in our day will not see themselves as greater than others; they will consider others more important than themselves (Phil. 2:3; Rom. 12:10).
When a group of men stand together as elders under the headship of Jesus, the inherent diversity in leadership provides for a more complete servanthood oversight. The elders have the protection of peer-level relationships; good shepherding care can be more consistent and effective when there is a team of men sharing responsibility.
The apostolic man who laid the foundation for the local church must not interfere with the headship of Jesus by functioning as a “second head” to the work. There is only one head of any expression of Christ’s body: Jesus.
Some have said that the gifts of the Holy Spirit operative in the Church are to express the Body of Christ, while the leaders (the five-fold ministry, the apostles, etc.) are to reveal the headship of Christ. Such thinking is dangerous. Instead of leaders seeing themselves as simply part of Christ’s body with distinct giftings and responsibilities, they begin to see themselves as uniquely joined to the Head. The basis for clergy - laity distinction is established.
The truth is, leaders are part of the Body of Christ like everybody else. Their role is to oversee the people as each individual member hears His voice. Of course it is clear that God will speak through the elders to the church. But it is also true that He will speak through the church to them. We must honor the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our midst. God has sent Him to reveal the headship of Christ among His people.
When the Lord speaks, even if it is through the youngest member of the fellowship, all must submit to Him. We do not simply submit to a man who holds a certain “position” in our midst (even if he is an apostle). However, when the Lord anoints him to address us, which will occur frequently because of the nature of his calling, then the headship of Christ is being revealed. When there is a proper understanding of the Holy Spirit’s central role in revealing Jesus to His people, a spirit of control has no ground from which to operate in our midst. Elders will then move in an authority that reflects servanthood.
After laying the foundation at Corinth, Paul did not commend the church there to the “ministry team of elders” as those representing the Head; he entrusted them to Christ.
Some have said that the overseers of the local church are the head of that group as a husband is head of his wife. Thus, as the wife is to submit to her husband, so the church is to submit to the local eldership. However, for any overseer(s) to take such a position is to usurp the place that belongs only to the Lord Jesus, the One who gave His life for His bride.
Scripture teaches that the husband - wife relationship reveals the union between Christ and His Church, not the relationship between the elders and the church. The elders are part of that church and must be as submissive to the headship of Christ as any other member of the body.
For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
In light of this, it is also important to remember that God’s will is for the flock to give proper honor and recognition to those who walk before them as examples.
And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.
Obey (lit. “be persuaded by”) your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.
(Heb. 13:17 NASB)
God requires elders in His Church to be faithful men. They are called to stand before His people as examples of holiness, faithfulness and commitment to Christ. When believers slack off in their passion for the Lord, those in oversight will be stirred to intercede for them. They will speak out of their own times of intimacy with the Lord as they seek to inspire the saints toward greater love and obedience to Him. When they see and hear believers in their care misrepresenting Christ, they will seek Him concerning whether or not to admonish them and, if so, how to go about it.
In all such ministry, they must accurately represent God’s heart and not their own frustration, impatience or anger. Ultimately, God will hold them responsible as those who must give account. Their accountability primarily will have to do with how obediently they responded to the grace of God in their lives to express His heart to His people. Believers should honor those called to this task and make it easy for them to come with instruction and admonition from the Lord. Such a heart in the people makes an elder’s task joyful and not grievous.
On the other hand, if an elder is not open to a corrective word from even the youngest saint in the gathering, how is he an example for the very type of behavior he expects from the people? All of us must be open to the Lord’s word no matter who it comes through. However, elders will have grace in their lives to care for the flock from a perspective of oversight. In other words, they will carry something of God’s heart for the whole group and not for just a few of the members.
The overseers of the church in every locality should consist of a collegial band of men called as elders from that area. These men cannot be independent; they must see their need for one another, come together in friendship and commit themselves to serve in oversight of God’s house under His presiding Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ.
...and when the Chief Shepherd (Gr. archipoimen) appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
If apostolic men retain an “official governmental” status to the churches they father, they will undermine the collegial overseers of the assemblies. Local elders in a fellowship should seek to stand together with the leader(s) of other local churches in the area, thus forming the body of men responsible for God’s house there. An apostolic man who has fathered a local church will always have a special relationship with the believers. But the authority he has in their midst will not be official in nature; rather, it will reflect family relationship. His words will carry weight because of his proven love for those saints. They will know he has not gathered them unto himself to become part of his group of churches; he has built them upon Christ.
Apostolic men from different geographic locations who relate to various fellowships in a particular area should encourage and promote unity between those local churches. When apostolic men do not do this, there will be a continuation of the same divisions that existed before they first arrived. How then have they contributed to building the house of God?
Men who build something other than God’s house (a sect, a movement, a “stream”) are not functioning as master builders. A master builder is concerned with God’s one house, and he knows that the correct pattern to build by will only be fully revealed in each locale as each member is built upon Jesus Christ as the foundation. He will completely give himself to the task of keeping the Lord Jesus central both in his own ministry and in the churches he serves. Finally, he will ensure that nothing in his own heart or building methods undermines God’s work of uniting His people in the Spirit.
Lord, move in our day to cause all the “streams” and movements of Your people to begin to see beyond the river banks of our particular brand of Christianity. Center us in Your Son, gather us into Your presence and reveal Your glory both in and through us for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
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