Grace Fellowship Church Pastor/Teacher Jim Rickard Thursday, February 12, 2009

Memory Verse John 13:34, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

The Upper Room Discourse John John 13:36 Meet the Apostles

The Twelve Apostles A. Doctrine of Apostles

1. Definition and Etymology: a) APOSTOLOS - high-ranking admiral or general officer chosen by a counsel to command either an army or an Athenian fleet on a military expedition.

a) APOSTOLOS (continued) one in command of a band of Greek colonists.

b) APOSTOLOS from the verb APOSTELLOO - "to send or send away".

APOSTOLOS - “A messenger, he that is sent or one sent on a mission”. Biblically, a delegate; an ambassador of the Gospel; a commissioner of Christ.

2. Apostleship was a spiritual gift. 1 Cor 12:28.

3. The qualifications for being an Apostle included: a) Seeing the Lord and being an eyewitness to His resurrection. Acts 1:2, 22; 1 Cor 9:1

3. The qualifications for being an Apostle included: b) Being invested with miraculous sign-gifts. Acts 5:15-16; Heb 2:3-4

3. The qualifications for being an Apostle included: c) Being chosen by the Lord and the Holy Spirit. Mat 10:1-2; Acts 1:2

4. The 12 Apostles exercised absolute authority (spiritual dictatorship) over the churches until the Canon of Scripture was completed.

5. Apostles were appointed by:

5. Apostles were appointed by: a) God the Father, Rom 1:1.

5. Apostles were appointed by: a) God the Father, Rom 1:1 b) Jesus Christ provided the spiritual gifts, Eph 4:11

5. Apostles were appointed by: a) God the Father, Rom 1:1. b) Jesus Christ provided the spiritual gifts, Eph 4:11. c) The Holy Spirit matches the gift to the individual, 1 Cor 12:11

6. No apostle was appointed to the Church until after the Ascension of Christ. Eph 4:8-11

7. To qualify, as one of the twelve Apostles, one must be an eyewitness to the resurrected Christ. 1 Cor 9:1; 15:8-9

1 Cor 9:1, “Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?”

8. An apostle also had the gift of miracles, which ceased prior to the completed Canon. 2 Cor 12:6-10; Phil 2:27; 2 Tim 4:20

9. This use of miracles was necessary to sustain their absolute apostolic authority. Acts 5:15; 16:16-18; 28:8-9

10. There is no perpetuation of apostleship.

11. Apostles exercised absolute authority (spiritual dictatorship) over the churches until the completion of the Canon. The Bible is our authority today.

12. Apostles received direct revelation from God. All revelation today is through the Word.

13. No one today has or will reach apostolic stature, 2 Cor 12:12. No human being can perform miracles at will today.

14. Once the Canon was complete the gift was withdrawn. The Canon of the New Testament became the basis of modus operandi and the absolute criterion.

15. The list of the original 12 disciples is found in Matthew 10:2-4 and Luke 6:13-16.

B. The Roster of the 12 Apostles 1. Simon-Peter, one of the three most active apostles.

2. Andrew his brother, had a very short life.

3. John, one of the most active and who lived the longest. One of the two sons of Zebedee. He wrote 1, 2 and 3 John, Revelation, and the gospel of John.

4. James the brother of John, son of Zebedee.

4. James the brother of John, son of Zebedee. 5. Philip, who also had the gift of evangelism, which he used extensively.

4. James the brother of John, son of Zebedee. 5. Philip, who also had the gift of evangelism, which he used extensively. 6. Bartholomew, also called Nathaniel.

7. Doubting Thomas, also called Didymus.

7. Doubting Thomas, also called Didymus. 8. Matthew, alias Levi, the writer of the Gospel.

7. Doubting Thomas, also called Didymus. 8. Matthew, alias Levi, the writer of the Gospel. 9. Simon the Canaanite, the name of a Jewish sect. He is also called “Zealot”.

10. James, the son of Alphaeus, mistakenly called "James the lesser".

11. Thaddaeus, called Lebbaeus - KJV, Mat 10:3; In Luke 6:16, “Judas the brother of James”; In John 14:22, referred to him as “Judas, not Iscariot.”

These eleven are mentioned first in Mat 10:2-4 as apostles to Israel. They were the eleven disciples of our Lord, along with Judas Iscariot.

12. The twelfth apostle was not Judas Iscariot, nor Matthias of Acts 1: It was actually Paul (Saul of Tarsus).

Grace Fellowship Church Thursday, February 12, 2009 Meet the Apostles Upper Room Discourse, Part 243 Tape # Meet the Apostles Upper Room Discourse, Part 243 John 13:36; Mat 10:1-2; Acts 1:2, 22; ; 1 Cor 9:1 James H. Rickard Bible Ministries 2009