Spiritual Gifts part 364: Mission Accomplished!

Pastor-Teacher
John Farley
Thursday,
January 31, 2013

Spiritual Gifts Part 364:
Mission Accomplished!

Congratulations!
We are now the owners of the building formerly known as St. John the Theologian church.

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The Doctrine of Spiritual Gifts

Point 7.
Temporary spiritual gifts

Foundational gifts

The temporary spiritual gifts of apostle and prophet were foundational; EPH 2:20.

a. The gift of apostle.

An apostle is one chosen and sent with a special mission as the fully authorized representative of the sender.

What are the qualifications of an apostle in the Church Age?

What characteristics have to be there?

1. Saw the resurrected Christ.
The apostles had to personally see the resurrected Lord, ACT 1:22, 1CO 9:1, 1CO 15:8-9.

2. Selected, called, and appointed by the Lord Jesus Christ.

The apostles had to be appointed by the LORD, not elected by men, 1CO 12:4-11,28; ACT 1:15-26.

Paul is the one who replaced Judas Iscariot - not Matthias. 1CO 15:7-8; REV 21:14, 1TI 1:12.

The word apostle is apostolos which means a delegate; an ambassador of the Gospel; a commissioner of Christ, or sent forth with orders.

Barnabas in ACT 14:14, GAL 2:9.

James, the Lord's half-brother, in GAL 1:9; 1CO 15:7.

Apollos in 1CO 6:9.

Silvanus and Timothy in 1TH 1:1, 1TH 2:6.

GAL 1:1

Paul, an apostle ( not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead),

3. Authenticating signs: the temporary (and no longer functioning) spiritual gifts of miracles, tongues, & healing.

The apostles had to have at least one of the miraculous gifts, 2CO 12:12; ACT 5:15; ACT 16:16-18.

The temporary sign gifts included miracles, tongues, and healing.

1CO 16:8-9

But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost; 9 for a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

He did so in order that you might believe the message the apostle brought - the good news of salvation by faith in Christ, and the mystery doctrine of the Church Age.

Early on, Paul had the gift of healing - but he couldn't heal Epaphroditus in PHI 2:27.

The same thing is true of Trophimus in 2TI 4:20.

1TI 5:23

No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

4. The apostles authenticated (vouched for) one another.

The authority behind Paul’s epistles is equal to the authority behind the Old Testament Scriptures, namely the authority of God.

5. Each apostle is given authority and a commission to do certain foundational things for the young Church.

The spiritual gift of apostleship carried the highest authority God has ever delegated in the Church Age.

a. The formation of the canon of Scripture, the New Testament.

The spiritual gift of apostle was temporary and discontinued after the completion of the Canon of Scripture in 96 AD.

Unless a document purported to be a Gospel or an Epistle and could be traced back to an apostle, either directly or indirectly with apostolic authority, it should not be included.

b. Leadership in the pre-canon period of the Church Age.

the establishment of local churches

the establishment of local church policy

They were given the power to recognize spiritual gifts in others.

They were given the authority to set the order of the churches: they ordained elders.

the training of pastors

The gift also functioned in sending out colonial apostles (super missionaries, the forerunners of the evangelists).

They were given the authority to teach and provide doctrine and establish people in the truth.

the clarification of the mystery doctrine of the Church Age until the Canon was completed

They decided questions when disputes arose.