Ephesians: Prescript (1:1-2) – Qualifications of an apostle and how they apply to all believers.

Sunday August 26, 2018

 

Qualifications of an apostle:

 

1. They must have seen and heard the Lord.

 

1CO 9:1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?

 

Last time we noted that the apostles had to be champions of faith in a very short period of time. Christ rose from the dead and fifty days later the church would begin. Attacks and opposition to the church would begin immediately and the pillars of the church, the apostles, could not afford years for the hardening of their foundation.

 

MAT 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent out [appostello] after instructing them, saying, "Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans;

 

MAT 10:6 but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

 

The twelve are sent out to the towns and villages of Judea. They are given specific instructions.

 

MAT 10:7 "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

 

MAT 10:8 "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons; freely you received, freely give.

 

MAT 10:9 "Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts,

 

MAT 10:10 or a bag for your journey, or even two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support.

 

Jesus is the kingdom of heaven and Israel is poised to take possession of the covenants. But, as we know and the twelve will discover, most will be antagonistic, threatening, abusive, and cold towards them. Israel will reject their Messiah and so reject the kingdom.

 

The twelve are being trained for when they will be sent out [appostello] to the world that surrounds Judea, which will come after they have witnessed the resurrected Christ.

 

One wonders if the power to heal, raise the dead, and cast out demons was given to bolster their own faith as much as it was to authenticate their preaching.  

 

He tells them not to be overly concerned with rejection and give to those who accept it.

 

He then makes it clear to them that they will be severely persecuted. He does not hide this fact from them.

 

MAT 10:16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves.

 

MAT 10:17 "But beware of men; for they will deliver you up to the courts, and scourge you in their synagogues;

 

MAT 10:18 and you shall even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.

 

They would then make this same thing clear to us, that all of us would be persecuted by the world for our faith. This is written by them dozens of times.

 

MAT 10:19 "But when they deliver you up, do not become anxious about how or what you will speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what you are to speak.

 

MAT 10:20 "For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

 

Is He instructing them to never mind knowing any truth for themselves and to just open their mouths and the Spirit will use them like a radio? No. He is telling them not to be afraid.

 

Fear chokes the flow of truth. The Spirit is of truth. Satan is of fear. Trust the Spirit more than you fear men and truth you know and love will flow from you.

 

Yet, where is my trust going to come from? They have the power of miracles and I do not. They have seen the Lord and will see the resurrected Lord for when things really get bad and Jesus isn’t around as a crutch.

 

A head full of correct knowledge will freeze when it is enwrapped by fear. We can only speak what we know, and Jesus is saying that the Spirit within us will empower that knowledge through us, but we must trust Him and not fear.

 

We must see Jesus alive, crucified, and resurrected as they did. For us, this seeing, so clear it is as if we are touching Him, develops over our journey of faith appropriation.

 

1JO 1:1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life — 

 

1JO 1:2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us — 

 

1JO 1:3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.

 

1JO 1:4 And these things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.

 

Faith appropriates truth over time and so the capacity for faith and truth both grow. Jesus, His life/light, becomes more defined and real. For the apostles, this had to happen quickly.

 

GAL 4:19 My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you — 

 

“Formed” - morphoo = change within like an embryo developing into a child.

 

Christ indwelt them and they were clothed with Christ. “Formed” is morphoo, only used here in the NT, and refers to the inward change.

 

Robertson's Word Pictures says, “This figure is the embryo developing into the child. Paul boldly represents himself as again the mother with birth pangs over them.”

 

Paul uses metamorphoo on two occasions:

 

ROM 12:2

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

 

2CO 3:18

But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

 

Though the apostles’ gestation period needed to be very short, we must not be satisfied with ours being overly long. Yet, for us, it does take years, but we are not to be lazy about it. We keep the formation of Christ in us at the proper pace when we continually learn His word and by faith in the power of the Spirit within, we continually strive to live in that word, or put otherwise, to walk in a manner worthy of our calling.

 

The apostles are going to meet great obstacles of faith, as we all do, but they must hurdle them immediately.

 

MAT 10:19 "But when they deliver you up, do not become anxious about how or what you will speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what you are to speak.

 

MAT 10:20 "For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

 

MAT 10:21 "And brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death.

 

MAT 10:22 "And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

 

MAT 10:23 "But whenever they persecute you in this city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you shall not finish going through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man comes.

 

Notice that there is no opening left for a purposeful martyr. In the second and third century, some of the leaders in the church deemed martyrdom as the greatest spiritual achievement, and so many Christians actually sought it. Christ says, “flee to the next city.”

 

You’re not much of a witness as a dead man. If God wills martyrdom, then you will continue to witness beyond the grave, but it you will it yourself, you are not a witness on either side of the grave.

 

And now for the real reason of the persecution: they are not persecuting you, they are persecuting Me.

 

MAT 10:24 "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.

 

MAT 10:25 "It is enough for the disciple that he become as his teacher, and the slave as his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul [Satan], how much more the members of his household!

 

MAT 10:26 "Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

 

MAT 10:27 "What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.

 

MAT 10:28 "And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

 

MAT 10:29 "Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.

 

MAT 10:30 "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

 

MAT 10:31 "Therefore do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows.

 

MAT 10:32 "Everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.

 

MAT 10:33 "But whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

 

Remember, this is being said to the apostles being sent out. The greatest caution is against fear.

 

They will be under the threat of death and all of them but John will die as martyrs, and John’s brother James will go first.

 

In this context, when He says:

 

MAT 10:28 "And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

 

It’s not that they could be thrown into hell so they should fear God, but that others can be destroyed in hell, and so they should fear God, specifically His judgment.

 

Should we not fear for the souls of others? 

 

Also:

MAT 10:27 "What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.

 

Christ whispered it to them and now they must go and proclaim it through a bullhorn.

 

He could do this Himself, but what is He showing us and the world by using us in this way?

 

What can men really be? What life and light can they really become? How powerful, how wise, how full of love and life can a man really amount to?

 

If in Christ the answer to these questions is - to the heavens, then the One who made such men must Himself be not only like this, but the Originator of such a life. He doesn’t have to do all these things in order to show Himself for who He truly is.

 

When out of old men who are full of evil and sin He makes new men full of life and virtue, He demonstrates His power even more so.

 

Christ has put His power in His church that they may reveal Him as weak men transformed. Hence we see how vital it is that our faith in revealed in our actions, conduct, and walk in this life.