1 CORINTHIANS: MOVING FROM THE CARNAL TO THE SPIRITUAL STATE

Part XIX: Evaluating All Claims Of New Apostles And Prophets

(1 Corinthians 9:1; Jude 3; 2 Timothy 3:15-4:2; Romans 12:6)

 

I.                 Introduction

A.    Members of the New Apostolic Reformation "claim that Christians must yield to their leadership because God has appointed them to be apostles and prophets to lead the Church in establishing the Kingdom of God here on earth," Brannon Howse, Religious Trojan Horse, 2012, p. 153.  The NAR "seeks to bring the Church, the government, and corporations into an equal partnership in solving world problems," Ibid., p. 123.

B.     Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 9:1-2 with Jude 3, 2 Timothy 3:15-4:2 and Romans 12:6 clarify this NAR error, and guide us in evaluating all claims of new apostles and prophets that may arise (as follows):

II.              Evaluating All Claims Of New Apostles And Prophets, 1 Cor. 9:1; Jude 3; 2 Tim. 3:15-4:2; Rom. 12:6.

A.    Paul established that there can be no "new" apostles after the era of the Early Church, 1 Corinthians 9:1:

1.      After claiming he would no longer eat meat if it caused a weaker believer to sin (1 Corinthians 8:13), Paul began a section in 1 Corinthians 9:1-27 to illustrate how he applied this principle in many areas of his life.

2.      He first established that he was a true apostle so as to assert his liberties as an apostle, and in doing so, Paul revealed that one of the qualities of true apostleship was that one had seen Jesus Christ, 1 Cor. 9:1.

3.      From the records of Church History, and implied in Paul's statement of his qualification as an apostle, Christ ceased appearing to the Church after the days of the Early Church.  Thus, there are no "new" apostles after the Early Church apostles!

B.     Jude 3 with 2 Timothy 3:15-4:2 and Romans 12:6 reveal there are no "new" prophets after the Early Church:

1.      First, Jude 3 claims the Christian faith that was initially delivered to the saints is unchanging, permanent:

                             a.         Jude, brother of James (Jude 1) and half brother of Jesus (Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, p. 1782), wrote to exhort believers to contend earnestly "for the faith which was once delivered to the saints," Jude 3 KJV. 

                            b.         The words "the faith" refer to "the body of truth" believed by the Early Church (Ibid., ftn. to Jude 3).

                             c.         Also, the word "once" translates the Greek term, hapax, which in this context means "once for all" (Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 80).

                            d.         Accordingly, the body of truth held by the Early Church was delivered to the saints in the Church once for all, not meant to be changed, abridged or modified in any way!

2.      Second, 2 Timothy 3:15-4:2 claims that written Scripture is sufficient information for all Church History:

                             a.         In the context of countering deceivers who would go from bad to worse (2 Timothy 3:13), Paul claimed that Scripture is divinely inspired and profitable for the believer to where he is "throughly furnished unto all good works," 2 Timothy 3:15-17 KJV.

                            b.         Additionally, that equipping is to last at least until the rapture and the establishment of Christ's Messianic Kingdom, for in 2 Timothy 4:1-2, Paul charged Timothy thus to preach the word in view of the fact that all men will give an accounting to God and Christ for what that Word says at Christ's appearing and His Kingdom.  In other words, until Christ' return, written Scripture is our changeless rule of faith!

3.      Third, Romans 12:6 then directs that all prophecies even made by those in the Early Church era must be evaluated in terms of this changeless rule of faith, the Scriptures, to be accepted as true (as follows):

                             a.         In commanding those who had the true gift of prophecy in the Early Church era on how to minister their spiritual gift, Paul ordered prophets to prophesy "according to the proportion of faith," Romans 12:6 KJV.

                            b.         A better translation of this phrase is "in agreement to the (not 'his') faith," (Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 488), for the KJV word "proportion" renders the Greek term analogia, "right relationship to, in agreement with" (Ibid., Arndt & Gingrich, p. 56), and the word "faith" (pistis) has the definite article modifying it as "the faith," U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 564 (emphasis ours).

                             c.         This means that the prophets of even the Early Church where believers were truly prophets still had to have their predictions align with established written Scripture of the Christian faith to be accepted as true!

                            d.         Since Scripture is sufficient now that the canon of Scripture has been completed (2 Tim. 3:17), there are to be no "new" prophets giving "new," or "updated" revelations at least until Christ's return! (2 Tim. 4:1-2)

 

Lesson: All claims by alleged new apostles or prophets with new or modified directives from God before Christ's return are false, for until His return, Scripture teaches that its closed canon provides all the information we need.

 

Application: May we cleave to written Scripture and not heed alleged new apostles or prophets until Christ returns.