# 2 Intro. #2 APOSTLES STUDY 2-23-14
We begin talking last time talking about the Apostles, and pointed out what the qualifications to be an apostle were, we can't go over all that was said last time again today; however we did point out that the Lord Jesus hand picked His 12 Apostles Himself. -- These 12 the Lord would use in laying the FOUNDATION of His True church, Jesus Himself being the Chief Cornerstone.
There is not going to be any more Apostles, 12 would be the total number, one reason we know this is because the New Jerusalem, the home of the Bride, will have 12 foundations, and in each of the 12 foundations there will be the name of one of the 12 Apostles.
>Rev. 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
~Also we're told that the 12 foundations would each be the color of a precious stone or jewel.
> Rev. 21:19-20 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; 20The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
~Notice, 12 no more & no less. --- There'll be no more apostles.
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~ Paul was also personal chosen by the Lord Jesus as well, Paul was to the Apostle too the gentiles.
>Rom.11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:
>Rom.15:16 That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God,
* We'll have more to say about Paul in a few minutes.
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~ Let me say once again that before Jesus chose His 12, He prayed all night.
> Luke 6:12 -16 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; 14Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, 15Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, 16And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
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-- He had many disciples, meaning, followers, and from the many disciples He chose 12, --- the one's He had already call to follow Him were among these 12. -- The first 4 disciples Jesus called? (Andrew, Peter, James, and John in Matt.4:18-22, -- the next 2 was Philip and Nathaniel in John 1:43-50. ~
~ And so these 6 were among the disciples that Jesus made His choose of 12 Apostles from.
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* PAUL:
The Apostle Paul, he was also personally chosen by the Lord Jesus.
~Saul; at that time was on his way with papers from the Jewish leaders to hunt out and bring believers in the Lord back to Jerusalem for persecution.
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@@@ Acts 9: 1-2 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
~Let me say, that as SAUL he had a great zeal to persecute Christians, but after he was saved he still had the same great zeal but is was for lifting up Christ.
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@@@ Acts 9:3-6 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
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~NOTICE, Saul had not personally persecuted the Lord Jesus but those that believed in Him, but to persecute His believers was the same as persecuting Him. --- Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
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>5-6 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
~ Saul is pictured as a rebellious beast that fights against the goad, the prod of its master. -- {Pricks] ------
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6And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
~This man Saul who did not believe in the Lord Jesus, who did everything he could against Him, now calls Him "Lord."
>1st. Corinthians 12:3 -- and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
~ The Holy Spirit leads believers in obedience and allegiance to the Lord Jesus.
~ One day every person that's ever lived will confess that Jesus is Lord, Satan and his demons as well. -- Men may flaunt Christ's lordship here, but they will be forced to acknowledge it hereafter.
~Those in heaven ** -- and believers on the earth, ** and those in the heart of the earth, "hell" as they stand at the white Throne Judgment of the lost.
>Philippians 2:9-11 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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~ Back to Paul; I want us to notice that the Lord Jesus was personally dealing with soon to be the Apostle Paul. -- As he was still Saul.
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@@@ Acts9: 7And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
8And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
9And he was three days (when we see a 3 involved in the scriptures most of the time the Lord is in it] without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.
10And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
11And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
12And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
13Then Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
14And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name."
15But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
16For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.
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~ NOTICE, the Lord was going to SEND Paul. -- The hand picked Apostles of the Lord would be SENT by Him. --- Others in the bible that are often referred to as "apostles" would be SENT by a local assembly, their much the same as our missionaries today.
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>2 Corinthians 8:23 Whether any do enquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellowhelper concerning you: or our brethren be enquired of, they are the messengers of the churches, and the glory of Christ.
~NOTICE, church sent, not sent by CHRIST HIMSELF.
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>Philippians 2:25 Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants.
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* ~Paul refers to himself as an Apostle;
> Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)
~Paul had been hand-picked by Jesus Christ. -- Since Jesus is not appearing to anyone today, no one can be hand-picked.
~ There will not be any more apostles or prophets.
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~The so called miracle workers of today can not do the miracles and signs of an apostle.
~ None of the so called apostles of today has seen the resurrected Christ.
~ There can be no called apostles today because Jesus did not choose them.
~All of the Lords chosen apostles were Jews.
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~LISTEN; Paul could not be numbered among the Twelve; he could not be the one to take Judas Iscariots office, because he had not companied with the disciples all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among them, which was an requirement.
acts1:22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, ~~
~ In choosing Judas replacement, the choice was between two men.
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~But let me point out that "Barsabas & Matthias" were chosen by these men to pick from, would God have done things differently? -- We may never know for certain. -- But going by these requirements, Paul could not have been the replacement. --- Peter being the chief spokesman for the others said --
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NOTICE-- >Acts 1: 21-22 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
~~ Paul did not accompany with these men when Jesus walked among them, when that was going on, Paul, who then was Saul was the great enemy of the believers.
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* But Paul was a witness of the Resurrection.
> 1st. Cor. 9:1 Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?
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@@@ 1st.Cor. 15:4-9 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
8And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 9For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
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~ LISTEN; Paul says that Jesus was seen last of all by him. -- Paul say's here that he was the last one to see Jesus after his resurrection.
~ Since no one since Paul has seen the risen Jesus, no one since Paul can be an apostle. Therefore, there can be no apostles today.
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* Paul claimed authority direct from Christ.
1st. Cor. 11: 23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, --
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* The Apostle Peter agreed that Paul had this authority.
2nd. Pet. 3:2 That ye 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 Saviour: ----
-- 15-And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; --
* ~Listen, I want to point something out too you that I believe you'll find interesting. --
~The epistles of JUDE, PETER, JAMES, and HEBREWS are written primarily to the Jews.
~LISTEN- Peters epistles are written to the Jews primarily, -- notice, Peter said of PAUL in the latter part of verses 15 of 1st. Pet.3: -- him hath written unto you;. --talking about Paul.
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~ We don't know of any epistles that Paul wrote primarily unto the Jews, but here we find that Peter said Paul did.
Could this be a reference to the HEBREW epistle? - This is one reason that I believe Paul was most likely the writer of HEBREWS, -- that's just my opinion, I certainly can't say for sure as there's no author pinned to the book of HEBREWS.
Paul was the Apostle too the gentiles, but it is possible that he could have also written to the Jews as well. --- FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
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* Jesus told the apostles in:
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
* And that is exactly what they did.
Acts 4:33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
~Another exclusive characteristic of the apostles, they worked signs, wonders, and miracles.
> 2nd. Cor. 12:12 Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.
~ This is not to say that God doesn't work miracles today, but it was clear that God's power was resting upon a select group of men in this select time in order to give them credibility as truly sent by Him.
~The Bible indicates that this was a special office that has now passed, because the foundation of the Church has been laid and established, also the Word of God is written and complete, so God is not giving new revelation.
> Rev. 22:18-19 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. -- LISTEN - the time of the apostles was temporary and for a specific task and purpose as delegates and messengers of the giving of the Word of God and for the establishment of the church. ~ These that call them selves apostles today have not seen the risen Christ, therefore they are false apostles.
