Nathan Busenitz serves on the pastoral staff of Grace Church and teaches theology at The Master’s Seminary in Los Angeles. In he writes:

Are there apostles in the church today?

Just ask your average fan of TBN, many of whom consider popular televangelists like Benny Hinn, Rod Parsley, and Joel Osteen to be apostles. (Here’s one such example [see page 22].)

Or, you could ask folks like Ron, Dennis, Gerald, Arsenio, Oscar, or Joanne. They not only believe in modern-day apostleship, they assert themselves to be apostles.

A quick Google search reveals that self-proclaimed apostles abound online. Armed with a charismatic pneumatology and often an air of spiritual ambition, they put themselves on par with the earliest leaders of the church.

So what are Bible-believing Christians to think about all of this?

Well, that brings us back to the title of our post:

Are there still apostles in the church today?

At the outset, we should note that by “apostles” we do not simply mean “sent ones” in the general sense. Rather, we are speaking of those select individuals directly appointed and authorized by Jesus Christ to be His immediate representatives on earth. In this sense, we are speaking of “capital A” apostles – such as the Twelve and the apostle Paul.

It is these type of “apostles” that Paul speaks of in Ephesians 2:20; 3:5); 4:11 and in 1 Corinthians 12:29–30. This is important because, especially in Ephesians 4 and in 1 Corinthians 12–14, Paul references apostleship within the context of the charismatic gifts. If “apostleship” has ceased, it gives us grounds to consider the possibility that other offices/gifts have ceased as well. If the apostles were unique, and the period in which they ministered was unique, then it follows that the gifts that characterized the apostolic age were also unique.

The question then is an important one, underscoring the basic principle of the cessationist paradigm – namely, the uniqueness of the apostolic age and the subsequent cessation of certain aspects of that age.

There are at least five reasons why we believe there are no longer any apostles in the church today (and in fact have not been since the death of the apostle John).

1. The Qualifications Necessary for Apostleship

First, and perhaps most basically, the qualifications necessary for apostleship preclude contemporary Christians from filling the apostolic office.

In order to be an apostle, one had to meet at least three necessary qualifications: (1) an apostle had to be an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ (Acts 1:22; 10:39–41; 1 Cor. 9:1; 15:7–8); (2) an apostle had to be directly appointed by Jesus Christ (Mark 3:14; Luke 6:13; Acts 1:2, 24; 10:41; Gal. 1:1); and (3) an apostle had to be able to confirm his mission and message with miraculous signs (Matt. 10:1–2; Acts 1:5–8; 2:43; 4:33; 5:12; 8:14; 2 Cor. 12:12; Heb. 2:3–4). We might also note that, in choosing Matthias as a replacement for Judas, the eleven also looked for someone who had accompanied Jesus throughout His entire earthly ministry (Acts 1:21–22; 10:39–41).

Based on these qualifications alone, many continuationists agree that there are no apostles in the church today. Thus, Wayne Grudem (a continuationist) notes in his Systematic Theology, “It seems that no apostles were appointed after Paul, and certainly, since no one today can meet the qualification of having seen the risen Christ with his own eyes, there are no apostles today” (p. 911).

2. The Uniqueness of Paul’s Apostleship

But what about the apostle Paul?

Some have contended that, in the same way that Paul was an apostle, there might still be apostles in the church today. But this ignores the uniqueness with which Paul viewed his own apostleship. Paul’s situation was not the norm, as he himself explains in 1 Corinthians 15:8-9. He saw himself as a one-of-a-kind anomaly, openly calling himself “the last” and “the least” of the apostles. To cite from Grudem again: Continue reading →

Pastor John, “is the Church in which you are a member under an Apostle?” He said that if it was not, it was not a legitimate Church and he would strongly urge me to leave my present Church and instead find one that looks to a present day Apostle as its head. What should I do with all this?

Thanks for your question. It sounds very much as if you are dealing with a teaching that was promoted some decades ago (the 70’s and early 80’s) in the USA by what was called the Shepherding Movement. There were five main men at the helm, Charles Simpson, Bob Mumford, Don Basham, Derek Prince and Ern Baxter. Judging by the question posed to you, this false teaching seems to be re-emerging here. It is also worth noting that this line of thought concerning present day Apostles is also propagated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons) and is central to their faith.

The passage usually quoted to support the concept of each local Church being under an apostle is Ephesians 2:19-21. Here we read, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” (ESV)

Here we see that the household of God (the Church) is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. That much is clear. But what exactly does this mean?

To answer that question we need to engage in sound exegesis, drawing out of the text what is actually taught by the text. Failure to do this results in just the kind of false teaching that your questioner is espousing. It is a doctrine that puts people (and Churches) in religious bondage.

So what does the text actually teach? The first thing we should do is look at the context. We should note that the key phrase “built on the foundation of apostles and prophets” is immediately followed by words that shed light on its meaning. Here’s what I mean.

The church is built on a foundation. The word “built” is a translation of the Greek participle epoikodomethentes, which, properly syntaxed should be translated “having been built.” In koine Greek (the language of the New Testament), this is what is known as an aorist passive participle. It refers to an action in the past; something that has already taken place, or completed. Understanding this is vital if we are to interpret the text correctly. To teach the doctrine that we must continue to build the foundation of apostles and prophets in our day is to misunderstand and misinterpret the text.

I once heard a Bible teacher suggest that God’s primary means of communicating His message were the prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles of the New. He made the application that the text in Ephesians 2 was a reference to this – that the apostles in the New as well as the prophets in the Old, laid the foundation for the people of God (the household of God) pointing to Jesus Christ as the ultimate foundation of all. This interpretation certainly does make a great deal of sense.

Looking further, when we check the greater context (the rest of the New Testament), we see that it is Jesus Christ Himself who is identified as the foundation (1 Corinthians 3:10-11). The Church is built upon this foundation (Jesus Himself) and is continually growing into an “holy temple in the Lord” (v. 21).

This is what is clear. The foundation has already been laid. Think about that and then ask the question, “how many times does a foundation need to be laid?” I think the answer is quite obvious. Just once! In this passage Paul is referring to something other than a continuing office of apostles and prophets.

One more look at the original text. When we examine the phrase “of the apostles and prophets” we find that it is a genitive construction that can easily give the sense that the foundation of the apostles and prophets is Jesus Christ Himself. This idea would certainly be consistent with Paul’s use of the word foundation (the Greek word themelios) in his other writings.

The Ephesians 2:19-21 in no way teaches that each local assembly of Christians needs to have a living Apostle over it in order to be a legitimate Church. That is not something taught by the text in any way at all.

You ask me what I should do with all this? My answer would be, have nothing to do with it. Continue on your Christian life as if this question was never asked of you. Forget it… and continue to be a faithful member of your local gospel preaching Bible Church, pray for your local elders, and get behind the vision with your time, talents and treasure (finances).