Apostolic Order

We have seen where Ephesians 4:11-12 identifies the government of God as the five-fold ministry gifts. However, the Lord takes this governmental body a little further in the book of I Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 12:28

And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly (and fourth), teachers (pastors & teachers) after that), (fifth) miracles, then gifts of healings, (evangelists) helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

In this passage the Lord reveals the order in which the gifts are placed in the Church. First the apostle, which means that the apostle’s anointing is the foundational gift and head of the body government. Now let us go back to Ephesians the 3rd chapter:

Ephesians 3:1-5

1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to youward:

3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,

4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;

Here Paul confirms the order in which the revelation of the mystery of God was given to the Church. God revealed it first to His apostles and then, secondarily, to His prophets. It is the apostle who wears the foundational mantle for the ministry. It is the apostle who installs, establishes and maintains the order in the Church. This can be seen in all the writings of the New Testament epistles.

Below is a brief summary of the purpose of the gifts to the Body. Note the following breakdown of each gift:

Apostle: Establishes and maintains the order.

Prophet: Confirms the Word given to the church.

Pastor: Feeds the Word to the congregation.

Evangelist: Compels men to come to Christ.

Teacher: Further piece-meals the Word to the Body.

Of course, there is more to these gifts than the points stated above, but these are the most essential distinctions. It is vitally important that the principle of apostolic order be understood.

I want you to visualize the human body. God has created the government in the Body of Christ in similar fashion to that of the human body.

CHRIST the head

the APOSTLE as the backbone

the PROPHET - one arm

the PASTOR - the other arm

the TEACHER - one leg

the EVANGELIST - the other leg

Please note that the backbone is attached to the head first and that the rest of the limbs are attached to the backbone. This illustration symbolizes the fact that the revelation of Christ is given to the apostle first, confirmed by the prophet and fed to the rest of the Body by the pastors, teachers and evangelists.

Beloved, this is the order of God. It is His government. He will not exclude, overlook, nor disregard His order. The manna from heaven is going to come to His true apostles first and will be confirmed by His prophets. This is the method by which God chose to structure His government.

I. A FRAGMENTED GOSPEL

Apostolic order is God’s method of governing His Body. However, this method is not being followed by the Church today, which explains why there are so many different belief systems in the Body of Christ. When there is no apostolic order, pastors, teachers, evangelists and others can only rehash the same word over and over again. They do not receive new and deeper revelation of the scriptures. Therefore, men are simply defining Hebrew and Greek words and are calling that revelation.

The prophet is hearing his God and his own mind, because he has nothing to confirm or bear witness to. The apostles are running from church to church preaching but never establishing any order or government. They are never able to see an end result of the message in the people, to whom they minister. Thus, some have become frustrated with their own ministry.

When there is no established apostolic order another misfortune seems to overtake the apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists and teachers. There seems to be a pattern of spiritualizing that carries whatever they have heard in the Spirit to another dimension which borders on, and in some cases crosses the line of heresy.

It is important for every minister of the gospel to know that this is the order of God and He will not deviate from it. The true revelation of Jesus Christ is ONLY going to come through APOSTOLIC ORDER. Anything else is simply a fragmentation of the gospel.

A fragmented gospel can get sinners saved but will not enable them to endure to the end. The fragmentation of the five-fold ministry has caused the Body of Christ to fail in its purpose to glorify the Father. The world is not sure of the Church being the proof of the manifold wisdom of God. It has seen division, wars, sin and iniquity that equals its own, so it leaves them wondering about the power of the gospel we preach.

II. ALL SPEAKING THE SAME THING

It is the government of God in the Body that is to bring order and unity. Apostolic order guarantees that all will speak the same thing and come into a singleness of heart, mind, and purpose. The early church all spoke the same things. The gospel was not fragmented. The apostles set the order and delivered the revelation of the mystery of God. They produced power in the people to whom they ministered.

Many of the early Christians had power to become martyrs for the sake of the gospel. They denied themselves of the things of this life and submitted to a life of suffering and degradation. They demonstrated the power to live holy.

Pastors, I challenge you to take a good look at what you preach and what it is producing. Are you really receiving fresh manna from heaven or are you teaching the same messages that have been taught for years with an added twist or flare? Have you been able to teach God’s people how to live and walk in His Spirit on a daily basis? Be honest with yourself.

Are you experiencing what seems to be a void in your knowledge and your service to God? Have you noticed that there is something missing, but you cannot seem to point it out? Do you find yourself desiring more, but what “it” actually is seems to evade you? Is there a word inside of you that you cannot seem to articulate? You may even teach bits and pieces of revelations that you have never heard anyone mention. Believe it or not, this is good.

The Holy Ghost has created a hunger and thirst in you for the deeper things of God. If your motive for wanting to know the deeper truths is pure, God will lead you to the fountain that flows continuously with the manna from on high. He will lead you to sit under the mantle of a real apostle. He will lead you to Apostolic Order.