THE 12 APOSTLES

APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION

Apostolic succession in the Church leads us to three conclusions which allow us to strengthen even more our faith in the Son of God, without fluctuating due to the division of the Church into so many denominations. On one side, the Holy Spirit does not leave the Church alone; He organizes, directs, equips, cares for, gives the growth, regenerates and supervises. On the other, the Christian – the one who has been on the Way for a long time as well as the one who starts – can be sure that the Lord will not abandon him and will lead him along the good way with brethren wherever he goes. And on the other, the Lord continues to send apostles all over the world to those areas where the Gospel is not known, whether it may be Africa, China, Arab countries or native areas – without the need of apostolic councils, but under His own and superior Spiritual authority.

When the Lord Jesus Christ instructed the apostles for the Great Commission, to take the Gospel to every nation on earth, first they waited for the promise of the Father to be fulfilled: the anointment of the Holy Spirit. Prior to that, they appointed Matthias to fill the vacancy and receive the Lord becoming, again, a group of 12, amongst the 120 who were in the first Christian Pentecost. From here onwards, the apostle saw the hand of the Lord, after they spent some time at the beginning focused in Israel before reaching out to the nations, and the Holy Spirit intervened, leading the evangelical conquest of the world. Jesus Christ would act calling Paul to become the apostle to the gentiles, and also those who had been spread around after the persecution against the Church, after Stephen’s death, would preach to the gentiles and establish in Antioch the first church where the disciples were called Christians.

The history of the Church during its different eras has shown a continuous deterioration of apostleship after the councils which led to an extreme clericalism, until the protestant reform. Starting with the 21^st Century, we have seen the rise of new apostolic movements of couples who lead groups of Pentecostal churches, with dubious apocalyptical doctrines and forced supernatural manifestations. Just like the Catholic church has kept an Episcopal system of governance and a doctrine which is far away from the Bible, and places tradition first even if it opposes the Word of God, the false Pentecostal movements based on emotions and compulsory supernatural signs are also far from the sound doctrine. Does this mean that the governance of the church should not be apostolic?

To explain apostolic succession and its effect on the Church, first we must approach the traditional concept of apostolic succession in history, which focuses exclusively on Peter’s authority in Rome (cathedra Petri), which has its origin on Peter’s confession to the Lord and its consequence:

…Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” John 21:15

…Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” … And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you (My Church) the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 16

…Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood…1Peter 2.

…The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 1Peter 5.

This was the teaching of Peter to the elders. Totally in line and spiritual agreement with the Teacher’s preaching.

Furthermore, apostolic succession on the authority of Peter the apostle concludes, according to catholic tradition, with Peter being the bishop of Rome during 25 years. This tradition has no Biblical or historical base, since Peter was never in Rome, except at the time of his death, according to all of Paul’s letters in the Bible, where he is never mentioned whenever Paul refers to the brethren in the capital of the Empire.

The supremacy of Peter as head of the Church over the rest of the apostles is not shown in the first council of Jerusalem in Acts 15, presided by James, nor by the way Peter treated his brethren, according to his own letter which is located in Babylon, where there was a large Jewish community honouring his work as apostle to the Jews, just like Paul honoured his work to the Gentiles. Some sources argue that this Babylon is, symbolically, Rome. The reader may discern.

Knowing, at this stage in history and in the interpretation of the Lord’s words in Matthew 16:13-20;  Mark 8:27-30; Luke 9:19-21: … you are Peter (Greek: petros, rock, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it…referring to Peter’s faith on Christ as the Son of God, revealed by the Father, nowadays we cannot dispute – even though catholics do – that Peter himself was the rock, but the faith on Christ. The latter was taught by the vast majority of bishops of the first centuries, specially by those most relevant in the teaching of the sound doctrine of the Church, besides Peter himself in the second chapter of his first letter. If it was Peter himself and his successor was the head of the Church, how can it be that the church of Rome has become so distant from the sound doctrine? It would have not been the case if the roman explanation was the true one.

Neither those who continued with the work of the apostles who appear in the Bible such as Luke, Timothy, Titus, Barnabas, etc, nor the first fathers of the Church have ever taught the primacy of the bishop of Rome, some of them are:

St. Augustine, bishop of Hippo, in his comment about the first epistle of John, explains Peter’s confession: And I say to you, that you are Peter" He himself, you see, had just said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Christ said to him, "And I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church."  Upon this rock I will build the faith you have just confessed. Upon your words, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," I will build my Church; on Myself, the Son of God, I will build; and not on you.

With this affirmation of St Augustine we can start explaining what was the common faith amongst the Church of the first fathers, like St Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, 98 b.C., St. Saint Jerome, Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Saint Cyril, Saint Ambrose of Milan, Saint John Chrysostom and the others showed in the Council of Chalcedon one and only faith on Peter’s confession and the bishop of Rome did not have any supremacy over the rest.

Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, 155 a.C. Church of Smyrna, knew somebody called John (possibly the apostle) disciple of Jesus Christ. In his writings, he defended the incarnation of Jesus. He met the bishop of Rome, Anicetus, several times regarding the date of passover. There was no supremacy of the bishop of Rome.

The most relevant churches were the one in Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Rome and Constantinople and their bishops were the most influencing ones in the councils. Finally two of them considered themselves to be above the rest: the one from Rome and the one from Constantinople, who would excommunicate one another, causing the division into the two churches: the Roman Catholic and the Greek Orthodox. This would mean the beginning of papacy and a distorted vision of apostleship and Church governance, which continues in this institution until nowadays; and so does the rivalry between churches.

THE CATHEDRA APOSTOLICA OF THE 12 APOSTLES

Should there be a cathedra for each and every one of the 12 apostles because of the appointment of Matthias to continue with the 12, in line with the 12 tribes of Israel, or was it only until Pentecost in order to establish the foundation of the history of the Church after the coming of the Holy Spirit? A relevant fact is that there were 12 of them in the Holy Supper, and there were 120 in Pentecost. This is how the multiplication of the Church sealed with the Holy Spirit started.

If there has been a succession in the position of each and every one of the twelve apostles, history has certainly made it very clear that it was not the Lord’s purpose, but of the work of evangelization for the salvation of souls amongst those called by the Lord, as per the Holy Spirit’s intervention.

The twelve of the old covenant are renewed in the twelve of the new covenant to finalize the work in a countless crowd. The base, the foundation, was already laid on the faith of the 12 in Christ as Son of God, not the supremacy. Only Rome continues to proclaim its supremacy, but the Lord does not need Rome to take Christianity to every nation, as it has been obvious for centuries. If John Mark was the first bishop of Alexandria, as tradition says, we could probably see this as one of the cathedras of the twelve, as greek orthodox would also claim, with their patriarch as successor of the apostle Andrew, and the same with other churches. But there are more than twelve nations and cities and, as we have already seen, the Lord does not limit Himself to cities but He goes as far as He needs to for one of His sheep, going wherever two or three are gathered together in His name.

Since the Gospel teaches us, with Jesus Christ’s words, that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life and that no man comes to the Father but through Him, all those who have sincerely repented in their hearts of leading a life separated from God and have received the faith on the Son of God and His redeeming work and in resurrection for eternal life in His Kingdom, leaving aside the invention of papacy and Episcopal priesthood because they are useless and unprofitable and they stand between man and God, and having direct access to the Father through Christ, let us go to the true essence of apostleship in history until now. See Hebrews 7.

What is an apostle, which is his role and which are the inherent signs? Are there any apostles today? If Christ’s Church is apostolic, what that does mean exactly?

The Bible text in Matthew 10, Mark 6:7-13 and Luke 9:1-6 shows us that:

⁵ These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. ⁶ But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. ⁹ Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, ¹⁰ nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. ¹¹ “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. ¹² And when you go into a household, greet it. ¹³ If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴ And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. ¹⁵ Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!

The Lord told the twelve that there were 12 thrones where the 12 apostles would sit to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. The two groups of twelve are also mentioned in Revelation 21. These two groups are the doctrinal and historical base of the two testaments and with regards to Jews and Gentiles, who become one people in the faith of Yahshua the Messiah. Once the Church builds on the rock of faith in the Son of God, the twelve apostolic foundations remind us of the twelve characters we saw in The 12 Apostles, but they do not establish twelve cathedras, but one, the one of the Lord Jesus Christ. The evidence is that the Lord sent another seventy with the same capacities as the twelve to open the Way of His Salvation, Luke 10.

The apostolic history would continue with two men who were to be called relevant apostles together with the 12: Matthias, who would take the place of Judas, and Paul. Another 7 men of faith, called deacons, were appointed by the apostles; such relevant Christians as Stephen, who dies after being persecuted by Paul before he converted to Christ, and Barnabas, Paul’s companion, the apostle called directly by the Lord and not amongst the 12.

These are the beginnings of the Church and the growth of apostolic work, but there is an extremely relevant fact that proves, without a doubt, that the Holy Spirit was opening the way in other areas amongst gentile people, and that He would not wait for the first apostles to organize the work, rather it is Him who organizes and directs it, and those who are faithful and appointed by the Lord as apostles taking the Gospel to the world. This is the Commandment given by Jesus Christ in the Great Commission. And the Bible tells us in Acts 11:26 that the church of Antioch would be the first place where the disciples were called Christians. This church, as verse 20 says, would be built on the Word carried by men coming from Cyprus who left after the persecution of Stephen and they spoke the Word to the Greeks, and verse 21 says that …And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord…After this event, the news were heard in the church in Jerusalem and they sent Barnabas to be informed, who later rejoiced by seeing the work of the Lord and later took Paul so that, as apostle and teacher “elder or bishop” and supervisor, they would both serve the Lord confirming and teaching the believers in the growth and knowledge of the Lord in this new church. This is how the church of Antioch was born, through unknown apostles, Acts 11:19 to 30, but who worked together in a brotherly manner with others who were already known.

From this historical account about the Church’s beginnings, we can clearly see that it is the Lord, and not the disciples’ hierarchy, who organizes, directs and accomplishes the expansion of the Gospel’s message, and that to do so He calls all those who are willing to serve for love for Him and the neighbour and He gets them to work in the Great Commission we see in Matthew 28. The confirmation of the approval of an apostolic or evangelistic ministry by an apostle to a willing and anointed brother we can see it through Paul to Timothy and Titus. And as the Spirit says in Peter: …Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility…1Peter 5:5.

The apostolic battle for the faith has provided us with a history o brave apostolic disciples, missionaries, evangelists and church establishers who later supervised, with a friendly and brotherly attitude, within a humble spiritual attitude, where the fruits of apostleship rise from: Peter’s first speech, Acts 2:13-41, where 3.000 people converted to Christ. Peter and John heal a lame man. Peter’s second speech, with John, Acts 4, 5.000 people believed.The judgment for condemnation and supernatural death of Ananias and Saphira, Acts 5. Peter and John are persecuted. Pauls’ conversion, preaching, healing, presentation to the apostles. Peter and Cornelius. Peter informing the church in Jerusalem. Death of James, John’s brother and Peter’s imprisonment. We know about Barnabas and Saul in their first missionary trip, Acts 13. The church of Antioch I mentioned and which already had prophets, teachers and elders. Paul when he was stoned. The first council in Jerusalem, Acts 15. Paul, when he went to the governors to submit his defense of the faith, before Caesar. Paul’s ministry, apostle to the Gentiles. A motivating story for today’s disciple, that is still alive in Acts of the Apostles.

The Apostles, as part of their apostolic legacy of the sound doctrine for the future of the Church would be the authors of the four gospels: Matthew or Levi; Mark, Peter`s disciple, his two letters; Luke, Paul’s disciple, his 13 letters and Acts; John, the gospel, the three letters and Revelation; James, Jude.

The authorship of the Gospels by the Apostles. As far as the authors of the 4 gospels are concerned, as we all know, two of them are written by apostles of the 12 and two are their disciples. Mark was the surname of John, used to avoid confusion with John the evangelist, author of the gospel with his name and of the three letters plus Revelation. John Mark was disciple of Peter and his mother owned a house in Jerusalem where Christians used to meet and where Peter arrived to when the Holy Spirit freed him from jail.

Luke was the doctor and disciple of Paul, apostle to the Gentiles. Luke, in addition to the gospel with his name, would complete his work with the outstanding book of Acts of the Apostles, both dedicated to Teophilus.

We can conclude that although only two of the apostles who were called directly wrote their gospels, the other two are written by direct disciples of two apostles called by the Lord: Peter and Paul. We cannot ask for more.

The conclusion on the cathedra apostolica of the twelve apostles is that such cathedra was not the Church’s intention, but a foundation of faith on Christ and a behaviour and example that the twelve have shown as sound and solid, which the Church in the world must imitate.

TRUE APOSTLESHIP TODAY

Acts tells us how the apostles taught to appoint elders in each city, not many congregations in each city as we have today, but one per city: …appoint elders in every city…This Biblical doctrine was also recovered and taught by Watchman Nee, who leaving the USA became apostle in China, and he used to teach that every city should have one church only, not many of them, far from what happens today; although it would be the correct thing, once again the Holy Spirit does not limit Himself due to the organization.

The prince of the apostles is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is sent from the Father… Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world…John 17:17-18. Every Christian is an apostle (messenger) to whoever receives him, and he that receives a messenger from Jesus Christ receives the Son of God, and whoever receives the Son also receives the Father in his heart through the Holy Spirit.

However, the history of apostleship is the apostolic deterioration as far as the government and dictatorial imposition of rules and traditions in line with those scribes and Pharisees, and their consequences until today. Apostolic succession, historically speaking, has been a real battle for power inside churches and the growing apart from the sound doctrine and a division of the Church in many denominations, which at the end has of the pastors from the Christians, they have worried more about organization than for souls, as Jesus Christ denounced to the hypocrite scribes and Pharisees, apart from moving away from the sound doctrine and a division of the Church in many branches, which at the end has caused a loss of effectiveness in the spiritual growth of Christians and in a lack of brotherly unity that the Lord has always had to make up for in order to fulfill the Great Commission. History has provided us the following scenario of the deterioration of the doctrine that has been undergoing different reform looking for a Gospel like in the early years, and a spiritual way of life, similar to the ones of the primitive church, as the Christians have grown closer to the sound doctrine in the Bible and they have moved away from the apostolic and Episcopal governing methods.

In a very brief summary of the history of the Church we can see what has happened: Starting with the primitive church, the one of the apostles, they had the sound doctrine, since they received it directly from the Teacher and His twelve apostles; and their brotherly attitude towards the church was remarkable. In four centuries, the church went from its beginnings to the councils of bishops of relevant cities, who discussed about doctrines and they would end up arguing between them about their authority. This would slowly reduce the leaders to two groups, which would end up with the great schism of the east and west, church of Rome and Orthodox church. These churches, as we all know, have moved away so much from doctrine that they have ended up giving priority to their tradition, papacy and patriarchy, their rules, origins and other arguments that are not recognizable before the Bible. This theological darkness was enlightened by Luther’s protestant reform when he translated the Bible in the vernacular for the Church in a movement that others like him had already started, as it was the case in Spain with the polyglot Bible. At last, the non-clerical Christian could have a direct encounter with the Lord’s mind.

The protestant reform would be the end of papacy and the head of the Church would be again Christ Himself, for those searching for the truth of God. But some of the catholic traditions would still remain, and Calvinism, in a second reform of the doctrine, would reduce them even though they were not totally purged and would end up with a presbyterian or elders system. Today Baptist and protestant evangelical churches only recognize two roles in the governance of the Church: the pastor (bishop, elder or presbyter) and the deacon. The doctrine of the Bible would become, from here onwards, a point of no return for every Christian who truly wanted to look for the Word of God and was willing to exchange the pomp and tradition for the truth of Christ. But there were still some doctrines and governing methods to reform.

Church was in a situation of utmost scriptural purity, the closest to the primitive Christianity in the whole of its history. Since Luther until the beginning of the United States of America, Christianity had made so much progress that Christians who read the Bible with a sincere heart before God, received the revelation of the heart of God. Later, after the Baptist conferences where evangelical churches got together to organize events, Christianity enjoyed a healthy time of sound doctrine and relationships, although it was missing the organizational part like other traditional churches; its fruits would be the most abundant and its effect, which had not been so effective in the rest of the world, would become effective through associations providing the missionaries required, apostles who would conquer territories where Gospel was yet unknown and where charity work was and still is a matter of urgency, apart from having to reform the catholic faith wherever it had reached. Worldwide evangelistic associations have made churches come together to organize evangelistic events to reach out to the whole world, but not as far as governance is concerned.  U.S. churches have sent missionaries, apostles all over the world and founded churches in every country. And without a pope or an Episcopalian system. And this organizational chart, that flows upwards, where churches have independent governing bodies, but share a same doctrine because they preach the same gospel based on the Bible with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, have produced the most abundant fruits in the history of the Church.

At the beginning of the 20th Century, many Christians were missing a charismatic manifestation of the Lord’s gifts in some Baptist churches, that had become a far too formal way of worship, and too much Bible study, although this was not the case in some churches with gospel choirs. These are, until nowadays, Pentecostal churches, that make a stronger emphasis on supernatural manifestations, worship, pouring of the Holy Spirit but that on many occasions they overlook teaching the sound doctrine. This relaxation on the doctrine would end up pulling apart from the Way and allowing for end-of-the-world doctrines and forced manifestations of the Spirit. The unitary branch of the Pentecostal church does not believe in Trinity of people inside Deity, they teach that God reveals Himself in three manifestations, this doctrine is known as oneness.

After this summarized history we find a resurgence of the apostolic system in protestant churches, precisely through Pentecostal churches. An again we see that the effect is that they move away from the sound doctrine of the Bible and they have an imposed authority system over the pastors of the churches. The doctrine in this case is changed for emotions of manifestations of, presumably, Pentecostal nature: “if you do not speak in tongues, you have not been born again from the Holy Spirit”. The first apostolic church that imposed authority was and is the catholic one, and its deviation from the Bible doctrine is obvious, surely due to an attempt to make God’s immensity rational, or for wanting to feel and receive from God ignoring the Bible.

What does this reaction to the apostolic system in the Church mean? Is Christ’s Church not apostolic? The answer is: yes, it is, certainly, but man and man’s enemy make greed for imposing authority and ideas a powerful self-destructive weapon in the Church. If we see the treatment in Acts of the Apostles, and in all the letters, apart from the faultless and exquisite treatment of the Lord in the Gospels, we will understand what apostleship means and also true apostolic succession. Although all of us Christians are apostles to the souls of those who receive Christ if we preach the Gospel to them, because their souls are the Lord’s promised land, that is conquered for Him, apostleship of the elders must be a reference of solid doctrine and brotherly relationship for the churches of the world, a reference in the cities and a guarantee of coordination amongst the Body of Christ.

As I write this, the churches of the sound doctrine have decided to be congregational, i.e. independent and, yes, doctrine may be holy, treatment may be friendly and brotherly, worship services may be held for the Lord’s glory, but the work is still not fluent, the evangelization work on a worldwide and national level is not giving fruits to its full potential due to lack of coordination, absence of evangelistic events, of media that reach out to fellow citizens who are not disciples, lack of tv channels broadcasting for free and reaching every household. This does not happen everywhere, but in some countries, many of them, as the Lord says: …the nations of those who are saved…Revelation 21.24. The Church is not conquering the heavenly powers that govern every city – first, there must be unity in the Church. Meanwhile, let us pray so that the Internet continues to be the fastest growing media for evangelization, for its transformation into a free television and, especially, for the work of so many brethren who are apostles in countries in the third world, with limited resources, with lack of support from churches of sound doctrine, because they do not have the capacity to reach out, and because the battle for survival in each congregation is already a big enough burden, or pastors who cannot support a global evangelization due to the big differences on doctrine, ideas and government, man’s blight.…I am of Paul, or I am of Apollos, or I am of Cephas, or I am of Christ. Is Christ divided? 1Corinthians 1:12. We have seen how the US has had many years of blessing, which we now see through its leaders and people that they are coming to an end, influenced by the spiritual power if this world, the same as in Europe, Islamic or communist countries or socialist dictatorships, the new nuclear proliferation, the governments in the world that keep wanting to divide the Promised Land in two states, using Jerusalem as trading currency, and the lack of holiness of Israel as a nation, all the scenario of the threshold to the end of the world.

The Bible shows us a clear organization chart of the Church according to Ephesians 4:11, dividing it into the following ministries: Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, for the edifying of the Church, and the help of deacons. Is the role of the apostle a need in today’s Church? Does the Lord say that there must be apostles? The message of a true apostle according to the message of the teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, is to announce that the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 10:7. As opposed to this, many of those who call themselves apostles today do not carry that message but one of submission to their authority and of financial prosperity. The last apostles will be the Messianic Jews to the Jews, so that they receive the Messiah and will announce it to the world. Romans 11:25-36.

Finally, it must be pointed out that in the congregations, besides pastors and teachers, there are prophets. And apostles, who are outsiders, who establish churches; and evangelists who call the souls through their preaching of the Gospel to send them to the local churches.  Each reader should clearly see whether he can see the sound doctrine in his church, the apostolic base, the brotherly love and the true signs and look at your own self and your fruits and works, not only the ones of your church, because the Church is made up of Christians, and if they do not reform themselves, the Church will not bear fruits.

The gifts that the Lord gave to the 12 apostles were supernatural for the beginning and the establishment of the Church and certainly, today, there are no apostles like the 12, but this does not mean that the gifts are not there, and that the Lord in His sovereignty does not do miracles and gives His gifts in the Church, neither that there are no messengers sent by God to establish churches wherever Christ has not been preached before.

MESSAGE TO THE BRETHREN WHO WRITE LOOKING FOR A GOOD CHURCH

There are so many Christians who write to us asking for guidance to find a good church, disappointed by those where they attend and who ask us which type of church we belong to in this ministry, Yahshua.net. I would like to invite them all to come and meet us in the weekend, but distances are a barrier. It is not really such a serious problem globally, but it is for many Christians in their personal lives. I have to say that the most frequent complaint I hear from people is how badly they are treated - or that they are not treated at all – followed by partiality for certain people, contempt, lack of spiritual help, and lack of teaching of the sound doctrine – which is not taught at all. A Christian needs that his elders or bishops or pastors listen to him and attend him in a friendly manner, that his brethren are friends, that they listen to him, that they consider him part of the congregation and that he can participate in those areas where he may be useful or has the gift for. If we do not forgive our brethren, of we do not listen to their problems, if we expect them to be super-heroes who never fail – as if we the elder did not fail either, as it happened to Peter, but the Spirit restores us if we are humble – if we do not make an effort to form the family of the Lord…what is the point of attending a church? Wouldn’t they all end up reading the Bible on their own? Let’s not fool ourselves. On the other hand, there are many Christians who do not make a commitment to lead a Christian life, they do not adapt to any congregation or denomination because they want a custom-made church, when they do not make any effort on their side. Also, many of them do not fully agree with the Bible because they have created a wrong image of God in their minds. Many of these are experts in criticizing, they do not pray, they don’t study the Bible, they do not form part of the team, they are vague in their arguments, do not help the needed, don’t listen to the elders. Good Pastors know many of these. Pray for your pastors and help them.

The perfect church does not exist, because we are not perfect, but Christ, who really is perfect and perfects us, makes the Church perfect through His work. As the famous Creed of the Apostles says, the church is one, holy, catholic (meaning “universal”) and apostolic. To the catholic brethren: read the Bible, because that is where you will find the truth, do not accept false doctrines and false intermediaries other than Jesus Christ: your only priest before the Father, and whilst taking part in the good works – this church is the promoter of them- do not justify yourselves in them, but in the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. The Church should have an apostolic organizational system but not imposing their government, as the church of Rome does, but like the evangelistic associations in the world; a doctrine like the Baptist church or the last reformed church, but not being limited by the letter… Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:5-6. That is to say, that interpreting the Bible also in a spiritual manner should be recognized as a gift of God, as the Lord and Paul teach us, for example, for the spiritual edification of the believer as temple of the living God, and also having true Pentecostal manifestations – whenever they do occur - not by imposition, but dependant on the Holy Spirit, without disqualifying the brethren who do not show visible gifts, as many Pentecostal churches do, wrongly, denying many Christians who have been born again (which happens through faith) but who do not show external signs of visible gifts. I would like denominations and false doctrines of all churches to fall, but I am afraid that we will not see this happening, although this does not stop us from living it in Christ.

If you do not find a church along the lines I have described, and I admit I have not made it easy, look amongst evangelical churches, Baptists or reformed churches, or even some Pentecostal churches where you are not forced to have manifestations of gifts that are not true, and where they do not move away from the reformed or Baptist faith, or even better: the faith of the primitive church, in the spiritual interpretation of the Scriptures, which I emphasize from this ministry, and where you can participate and be welcome, where you find the love of the Lord amongst the brethren and the sound doctrine. If you cannot find any in your town or city, go out in the weekends wherever you find one, if you can. If you do not find it, look for other brethren and gather in your houses to pray, study the Bible, worship the Lord, take Holy Supper and organize help and preaching, and keep looking until you find a pastor and teacher of the sound doctrine and who gives you true brotherly treatment, if you do not have an elder amongst the brethren, and in the meantime study the Bible and live in holiness. The Lord sees your heart and will provide…not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching…Hebrews 10:25.

BIBLE TEXTS

LUKE 11

⁴⁹ Therefore the wisdom of God also said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’ ⁵⁰ that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation. ⁵² “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.”

ACTS 8

 ¹And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

ACTS 8

⁴ Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. ⁵ Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. ⁶ And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. ⁷ For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. ⁸ And there was great joy in that city.

1CORINTHIANS 12

²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. ²⁸ And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? ³⁰ Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹ But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way. (Love).

2CORINTHIANS 11

⁴ For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it! ⁵ For I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles.

GALATIANS 1

¹⁵ But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, ¹⁶ to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, ¹⁷ nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

GALATIANS 2

⁶ But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me. ⁷ But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter ⁸ (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles), ⁹ and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ¹⁰ They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do.

EPHESIANS 2

¹⁸ For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹ Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

HEBREWS 3

 ¹ Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, ² who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house

2PETER 3

 ¹ Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), ² that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior,

REVELATION 2

¹ “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write,‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: ² “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; ³ and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. ⁴ Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

REVELATION 21

¹² Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: ¹³ three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. ¹⁴ Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

CONCLUSION

Since Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit equipped the Apostles and multiplied them until “the number of names was about a hundred and twenty” to Antioch, the primitive church focused at the beginning in the people of Israel, when they had to fulfill the “Great Commission” to all nations, until the Holy Spirit intervened in two ways: first, calling Paul as apostle to the gentiles and sending unknown disciples in the beginning of the church which would give name to the Christians for the first time: Antioch, Acts 11:19.

The paradox: the more apostolic organization, worldwide, national, regional and local of the churches, as far as their governance is concerned, the farther they are from the true doctrine of the Bible. The less hierarchical authority in the organization of the Church, the more abundant their true doctrine is, and their brotherly treatment, in the Church. Churches with apostles who are there to serve have blessing, but those who have them to dominate through authority imposed to the Christians and elders, they have separation from the Word of God.

The church is apostolic in its doctrinal foundation, on the faith on the Son of God, as we can see at the beginning in the church of Antioch, and the Holy Spirit will continue to broaden horizons so that wherever two or three receive the Lord as their savior, a Church may arise, and the Lord will be amongst them, as He is amongst us until His kingdom comes. The apostleship of the true church has not failed, and the Spirit of God has provided for us with His great mercy, His love, His manifestations and miracles, His teaching and His fulfilled prophecies and those that are being fulfilled at present, and in order to almost finalize the Great Commission in those parts of the world which oppose the most to the Gospel, a new commitment of the Church, worldwide, is required. Will the Church be able to demolish its denominations and take advantage of the power of God to unite without ecumenism, but with sound doctrine, to achieve it before the end of the times of the Gentiles? The Lord had given us the best gift: the Bible, His Word, the Verb of God, where His Holy Spirit flows from, which is our guide, supervisor and governor of our congregations, apostle and head of His Church. I leave you with the farewell of the two universal letters of the apostle Peter giving glory to Jesus Christ: …To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.