A new dynamic has arisen in the Church. That dynamic places the apostle at the pinnacle of the Church rather than at its foundation. And from that pinnacle, the apostle rules, governs, and demands. The problem: That isn’t genuine apostolic ministry, according to scripture. Those called as apostles aren’t rulers; rather, they are servants. That’s what Jesus taught His Apostles: “The greatest among you will be your servant.” Matthew 23:11, Christian Standard Bible. Because our understanding of apostolic ministry is predicated on a misunderstanding of the ministry of the apostle, we’ve idolized apostolic ministry, and we haven’t recognized it. That’s what I’d like to talk about in this blog post.
Yes, apostles and apostolic ministry have been idolized by the Church and not recognized. Further, each of the fivefold ministry gifts or offices have become idols in the house of God. Men and women pursuing ministry, promoting their gifts (which may be amazing), and using their “ministry gifts” as the faulty foundation upon which to build their ministry dreams: speaking engagements, honorariums, and world travel. While I believe in all those things, can those goods things have gone to our heads and hardened our hearts? I believe so. Ultimately, all ministry must be rooted in service: service to Christ, service to His Church, and service to “the least of these brothers and sisters of mine”. Matthew 25:40, NIV.
It seems many have lost sight of that truth. God isn’t interested in building any kingdom but His own. And we shouldn’t be interested in building any kingdom but His kingdom. When we build our own kingdom, and we do it for our own glory, we have created an enemy kingdom to God’s kingdom. And as is clearly revealed in scripture, every other kingdom (even the ministry kingdoms being built today) will be brought to ruin; they shall not remain. I have a question: Are you building His kingdom or your kingdom? Your answer to that question reveals your heart.
John the Baptist had the opportunity to build his own ministry. Unlike Jesus, he was recognized and received as a prophet by the people: All Israel recognized and respected John the Baptist’s prophetic ministry. Yet, when he met Jesus, he said, “I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal.” John 1:27, NLT. This Biblically foretold prophet recognized his place when he was standing face to face with Christ. That moment was at the height of John the Baptist’s ministry and the beginning of Jesus’s ministry. That must be in the heart of everyone called into ministry. We must understand our place before Jesus: Who He is and who we are compared to Him.
John the Baptist recognized his time had come to an end when seeing the beginning of Jesus’s ministry. John the Baptist willingly laid down his ministry, all of it, when Jesus came on the scene. He said, “He must increase; I must decrease.” John 3:30, Berean Standard Bible. That’s the heart of a man or woman of God. It’s not in building a platform or stage; rather, it’s in the building of an altar of sacrifice before God. Yet today, I see many trying to build a stage, platform, church, or ministry that glorifies self and not God. How does God view what we’re building? As an idol in His house.
When ministry, any ministry, becomes an idol, it ceases to be of use to God; it becomes an obstacle to God’s will, God’s work, and God’s kingdom. And I fear that’s what happening to the fivefold ministry: it has become an idol in God’s house. That seems to be especially true of emerging apostles and apostolic ministry. Again, I believe in apostles and apostolic ministry. But I believe we must go back to original apostolic purpose to walk in real apostolic power. As Leonard Ravenhill said, “If we would return to apostolic practices — waiting upon the Lord for apostolic power [prayer] — we could then go forth to apostolic possibilities.”
Ravenhill understood that the apostolic was deeply rooted in prayer. As the Apostle Paul said, “I thank God that I speak in [unknown] tongues more than all of you”. 1 Corinthians 14:18, Amplified Bible. He understood that by praying in tongues that he was allowing his spirit to pray. The Apostle Paul wasn’t boasting. No! He was stating a fact. That’s how he was able to stay rooted in apostolic authority. At the same time, he also had to walk in humility knowing his humanity; he was a fallen, sinful human being who could stumble, fall into sin, and become captive to Satan’s will, as he once was — being a persecutor of the Church (which he did zealously).
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| The man clothed different approved of the killing (akin to Paul) Acts 7:57-58. |
Apostolic prayer undergirded the Apostle Paul in his apostolic mission and commission. And it kept him from Satan’s wiles, including the enemies who so fiercely fought to frustrate his apostolic ministry by bringing in a false model — idolizing ministers, as false ministers did in Corinth. Listen to his words to the Church: “You put up with it when someone enslaves you, takes everything you have, takes advantage of you, takes control of everything, and slaps you in the face.” 2 Corinthians 11:20, NLT. Who would do something like that? “These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:13, NLT.
Yes, false apostles still exist. How do they operate? By enslaving people. By causing others to idolize them. Through ungodly behavior gained through supposed spiritual revelations. That’s what we are facing today — “Beware of the dogs! Beware of the evil workers! Beware of the false circumcision! For we are the circumcision, those worshiping in the Spirit of God, and glorying in Christ Jesus, and not trusting in the flesh”. Philippians 3:2. The Apostle Paul didn’t pull any punches when it came to confronting false ministers, including apostles, and neither should we.
Yes, we must tear down this idolizing of apostles, apostolic ministry, and ministers in general. As the Apostle Paul said, we are “merely servants who helped you to have faith”. 1 Corinthians 3:5, CEV. Apostles are “nothing more than a servant in Christ, anointed by Him for a specific purpose that requires an extraordinary degree of discipline and fortitude to complete.” Apostolic Team Ministry, pg. 23. “Apostles have a mission that they themselves cannot complete, an adversary they cannot avoid, and are sent to a people who may reject, persecute, or kill them.” Ibid. That’s what real apostolic ministry looks like.
Apostles will say what the Apostle Paul said, “We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.” Acts 14:15, NIV. He did that after the people started worshipping him and he rent his clothes to show that he was only a man. Apostles are men — human, flawed, imperfect men. They are not gods, shouldn’t be idols, and should take great care that those under their care don’t idolize them.
Let us pray!
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