Doug Beacham - Rediscovering the role of apostles prophets

You would probably never think a person who grew up in a Spirit-filled, Full Gospel, Pentecostal church could be a functional cessationist. But that’s exactly what happened to me.

I believed in speaking in tongues. I believed in miracles. And I believed in the other nine gifts of the Spirit catalogued in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. I even accepted Christ’s ascension gifts of evangelists, pastors and teachers, but when it came to apostles and prophets, well, yes, but… that’s where my cessationism began. I believed Jesus chose 12 apostles, plus Paul, and that prophecy had to be about end time events. The possibility of contemporary apostles and prophets was simply not on my radar screen at that time. While no one was flat-out attacking the notion of contemporary apostles and prophets in the local church, most assumed that apostles were little more than missionaries and prophets were merely excited encouragers and exhorters. That’s what I believed until the late 1990s.

It was then I was confronted with the reality and necessity of contemporary apostles and prophets. Since then, the Holy Spirit has opened new doors to help me better understand and appreciate what He is doing in the world today through the ministry of apostles and prophets. That has included a personal re-connect with some contemporary apostles.

When you meet strong apostolic leaders you sense the divine fire that has burned for 2,000 years as the Lord has called forth and anointed people in every generation. You sense a passion for the lost, a vision for the local church that is greater than a local community, a spiritual authority over geographical areas, a profound sense of the Word and faith, and a life radically transformed and conformed to the person of Jesus Christ by the power of the Spirit.

As I’ve reflected on apostolic ministry in the 21st century, there are four broad areas – shunning personal extremes, a recognition of apostles and prophets as foundational gifts, a revelation of jurisdictional impact of ascension gift ministry, and the keeping of Ephesians chapter four in the proper context – that I sense are critical for us to understand in order to avoid the kinds of errors that have hindered this movement in the past.

First, we must navigate apostolic ministry through the maze of extremes. There are at least three extremes that tempt believers to abuse apostolic and prophetic ministry: cessationism, terminology and personal attitudes.

Cessationism is one of the biggest hindrances to the apostolic. The early Azusa Street Pentecostal inheritors did not have the revelation of ascension gift ministries that we enjoy today. Sixty years ago the Latter Rain Movement attempted to restore these gifts to the Body but was met with theological and organizational resistance for a variety of reasons. The solution? Those of us open to this restoration of what the Bible proclaims need to live with such grace and wisdom that those within and without Pentecostalism will find God’s glory irresistible.

Terminology is another obstacle to believers embracing the apostolic. There are many today who conceptually allow for contemporary apostles and prophets but who struggle with publicly identifying them. Part of the reason for that struggle could be because those titles seem to convey a greater level of authority than do evangelists, pastors and teachers. Yet, to fail to properly recognize those who are called to the offices of apostle and prophet is to ultimately do a disservice to Christ Who has given these gifted servants to the Church.
Personal attitudes can also get in the way of a true apostolic reformation. The opposite of the reluctance to recognize apostles and prophets is the tendency out of spiritual pride among some leaders to insist that they be called by such titles. If the Body can find a way to recognize and affirm such gifts, particularly among our respective spheres of God-given authority, then our personal attitudes are molded by the humility that comes when we realize others have affirmed something in us that God has given rather than us having to toot our own horns.

The second principal we need to understand to safeguard against error is that apostles and prophets are foundational in establishing the sphere of Christ’s Kingdom rule in the earth (Ephesians 2:20; 3:5). Ephesians 2:20 ties apostles and prophets to the formation of a new household and community in the world that stands in stark contrast to the world. This new community of Kingdom people is clearly established on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Ephesians 3:5 then connects divine revelation to these foundational gifts. So we learn that revelation is not left to our every whim or opinion but is certified because it stems from the foundation.

Believers today can glean two primary implications from these Scriptures. The original 12 apostles (plus Paul) are a non-repeatable foundation both in terms of the initial formation of the Church and of establishing the limits of revelation in Scripture. Still, there are dimensions of establishing foundations that will remain active until the Lord returns, including taking the Gospel into new territories (geography, cultural, ethnic groups) and foundationally establishing the presence of Christ through the Church. Apostles and prophets also exhibit foundation-laying ministry through their vision and spiritual authority in a given area. This authority is in the spirit realm, relationships are expressed through covenant, and spheres of authority are affirmed and respected.

The third point we need to understand in order to keep the apostolic reformation free from error is the impact of ascension gift ministry in a region. When the Gospel penetrates a new area or group of people, it does so through the initial impact of visionary apostles and prophets who speak to the spiritual landscape, teachers who declare and establish Biblical truth in the power of the Spirit, evangelists who reap the harvest, and pastors who shepherd and disciple the growing flocks of God.

“Does every congregation need to have all five of these gifts resident?” is a common question from today’s local church leaders. In order for the believers to become fully equipped for the work of service, the answer is “yes.” In large congregations it is likely that all five gifts are present. The challenge for those leaders is to work together in a common vision and in genuine accountability.
The average-sized congregation, however, may not have each of the five gifts resident. When that is true the pastoral leader, or set-man, should identify his/her gift-mix and determine what is lacking. The set-man may invite respected and accountable ministry gifts to impart the missing graces to believers in the local church through sermons, seminars and the laying on of hands. These outside ministry gifts are often leaders that the Lord has spiritually bonded to the local church. Such persons have a spiritual right vested in the leader’s ministry and the spiritual authority to speak with wisdom and grace into the life of that congregation.

Finally, if we are to avoid error as we boldly walk in the apostolic anointing, we must always remember the context of Ephesians chapter four. Other than some references in the Apostle Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, Ephesians is the primary New Testament source for discussion of ascension gift ministry. That demonstrates that the early Church had a much better understanding of how these gifts operated than we do today, so there was little need for Paul to write more.

Much of the confusion in our day comes from not placing apostolic and prophetic ministry in the total context of the Bible. But we can make progress in our understanding and our relationships with one another by returning to the context of the ascension gifts described in Ephesians chapter four. Three fundamental contextual issues surround Ephesians 4:11: the heart of the matter, the grace of the matter and the purpose of the matter.

Verses one through six reveal the heart of the matter, and this may be the most important practical aspect of the contextual issues. It is here that Paul discusses the character and heart of each of the ascension gift ministries. He does not even begin the discussion with reference to himself as an apostle. He identifies himself as a “prisoner of the Lord.” It’s not about titles. It’s about Jesus! When our lives reflect all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace that Paul taught, then there is common heart-ground for the Spirit of God to work in our midst.

In verses seven through 10 Paul discusses the grace of the matter. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are Christ’s gifts to His Body and they have been purchased by His death, resurrection and ascension. This victory broke through the stranglehold that Satan had upon the full release of the power of God in the world. Captivity has been taken captive and ascension gifts are evidences of the victory of the passion of the Christ.

In verses 12 through 16, Paul addresses the purpose of the matter. Rick Warren is right about the purpose-driven Church. But it’s even more purposeful than he writes! It is the divine purpose of the Body of Christ being so fully equipped and released in grace-filled power and faith that the world looks with wonder at what God is doing in this new community of people who really do love one another, really do worship their God, and really do sacrificially care for a lost and hurting world.

The purpose of the matter is really what apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are supposed to be. We are meant to live in the fullness that Paul prophesied in Romans 9-11. It is there that he envisions a Church so filled with the blessings of God that the Jews become jealous and turn to Jesus as their Messiah. I believe that ascension gifts have been given to the Church so that God’s people can be equipped and released in such faith-filled blessings that the whole world becomes jealous and longs to know the power of our risen Lord!

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