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NASB | 1 Corinthians 12:27 ¶ Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Corinthians 12:27 ¶ Now you [collectively] are Christ's body, and individually [you are] members of it [each with his own special purpose and function]. |
Subject: Prerequisite-infallibility? |
Bible Note: Dear Nolan, and saints, Peace upon you, my friend. If there is nowhere in the Bible that says "There will be no more apostles after Paul," and the Bible warns in two places to beware of false apostles, this seems to indicate that there are apostles and false apostles. You are starting your argument with the supposition that there is the 'office' of apostle, and the 'mere' gift of apostle (which is so inferior that it doesn't deserve bona fide status). This 'office' of apostle is only for a few 'super-saints,' the requirements of which are not clearly stated in the Bible. I have never read anything in the Word of God which would lead me to believe that any of these men considered themselves to be special, only humble thankgiving for having the opportunity to serve their Lord. John 10:35, Revelation 22:18-19 - As far as I can fathom, these two Scriptures harken back to the 'beware of false apostles-prophets' theme, and are not requirements that every apostle must bring forth *new* revelation. I thank you for your good advice and opinion. Indeed, 'apostolos' means 'messenger' (to the church). Is this where you suppose that it must mean 'messenger of new (never-before-heard) revelation?' Cannot this same word mean 'one who brings the (timely) message from God?' Martin Luther brought forth a message from God that was lost, and his words were considerd new and fresh. We all know that he simply spoke that which was already written in the Bible. This message, you may recall, had a great affect on the church of God. In my humble opinion, Martin Luther was a messenger of Christ, a minister of the Gospel who not only preached to his own congregation, but to other ministers, and even to me, centuries later. I do not bestow any 'office' on this man, but a ministry, a gift from the Lord through the Holy Spirit. Throughout the history of the church there have been myriads of such men, some lauded, some not. Would you prefer we call them bishops, cardinals, popes, founder-of-a-movement, or president-of-an-organized-religious-institution? I have read and re-read your last statement, and think you are saying, "There are some of the opinion that there are no longer any apostles, and some of the opinion that there still are. But all the gifts of the Holy Spirit are still available today" Well, I can't disagree with you there :-) Please note: "Therefore it says, "When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men...And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers," Ephesians 4:8,11 NASB These are gifts, not 'offices.' Those receiving these gifts are servants, not 'supermen.' It is rather obvious that the church is not yet 'done.' So these gifts are still necessary. Insisting that apostles must be some kind of 'super-saint' only strips us of a gift that God gave us. Even if one has an apostolic ministry, I don't think that they should have a name card announcing themselves as 'Apostle So-and-so.' I am certain that the early church apostles would be embarrassed by the beatification and 'office' entrapment, and would deny it. Blessings to you, my friend. In Christ Jesus, charis |