Apostolic Authority
I realize this is not a popular message, but I also believe it is necessary and relevant to a biblically sound church. This is a follow up to the message, ‘Is Speaking in Tongues Essential?’ In this message, we looked at scripture that testified that not all Christians under Paul had spoken in tongues. Paul also called tongues the least of all of the gifts of the Spirit. The reasonable question we should ask is, if tongues is the least of the gifts, how can it be essential as some claim? As evidence for the need for tongues, the following two passages are often used to back this claim. Look at:
Acts 8:
12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.
13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.
14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them,
15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Acts 19:
1 And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples
2 he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit."
3 And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" So they said, "Into John’s baptism."
4 Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus."
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
In both of these passages, profession of faith is made and the believer has followed up their profession of faith with believer’s baptism. After the fact, the apostles laid hands on them and then the Holy Spirit came on them with power. I would also like to point out that neither of these passages are tied to salvation. Salvation is not even implied to be in the balances. Salvation is a surrender of the heart. The Bible is clear that we must hear the word, believe and repent. We publicly confess Jesus as Lord and are willing to lay down our old life for the new life He has created for us. We must be baptized as our first act of obedience and evidence that we have surrendered to Christ.
The Broad Picture
I believe satan traps us by drawing our attention away from the complete view of scripture and deceive us into focusing on one passage out of context. The Bible is one complete revelation of the heart and will of God. From Genesis to Revelation God does not change. In reality, there is no Old and New Testament. So that we will understand what God is revealing, the Old Testament teaches and carries mankind by the hand to the cross of Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, most people never see the broader picture. For example, we have all heard people use passages like Acts 16:31, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household”. Some use this to argue that all that is needed for salvation is to believe in Jesus. The truth that people miss is that scripture complements scripture and scripture interprets scripture. In the Bible (especially the book of Acts), we are only getting snapshots of certain events. Obviously if one event was recorded word-for-word, that event alone would exceed the book of Acts in size. The book of Acts was written as an account to Theophilus and was never written to be a complete teaching of doctrine. It has a lot of doctrine in it because it is an account of the birth of the church. With this in mind, we would be in dangerous territory if we took one passage and built a doctrine around it without consulting the rest of scripture. Often we see a more complete doctrine just from comparing a passage to the rest of the book of Acts.
If we are to use one passage alone as proof of doctrine, the book of Acts would be self-contradicting. Acts 2:38 says that we must repent and be baptized to be saved. Yet verse 21 says that just calling upon the name of the Lord gives salvation with no mention of baptism. 16:31 says just to believe on Jesus and you will be saved and repentance and baptism are missing from this sermon. These passages are not in disagreement, but are notes from various accounts in the apostle’s ministries. As we examine the rest of scripture, we see that Romans 10:9 tells us to confess Jesus with our mouth out of a belief in our heart that He has been raised from the dead. Romans 4:4-5 teaches that those who trust in works don’t have grace, but those who believe on Jesus’ justification of the ungodly, will be counted as righteous. Jesus said that unless we repent, we will all perish. Finally, I love the descriptive parable of Matthew 13:
44 " Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45 " Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,
46 "who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
The image is clear. When someone sees the value a relationship with God, they are willing to sell out their old life to gain the new life God has created for them in Christ. When we look at the complete revelation, we see that salvation is recognizing that I am ungodly and in need of forgiveness, believing in Jesus as He has been revealed in scripture, laying down my life and my sins and taking on His righteousness and a new life with a citizenship in heaven, confessing Him as Lord and Savior and being publicly identified with Him through baptism. I firmly believe that baptism is essential even though it does not save anyone. Salvation is complete before we hit the water, however, if someone refuses to publicly identify with Christ, this is evidence that they have not made an inward surrender.
Salvation is not dependent on Tongues
If you look at the passages about baptism of the Holy Spirit, salvation is never associated with this baptism. The evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit does often follow salvation, but not always – even in scripture. In one passage, the believers were baptized in identification with John’s baptism and not Jesus. They were shown the truth and they obeyed. Then the apostles laid hands on them and they received special power from the Spirit. In Acts 8, the believers were obedient and standing in the truth. However, it was not until the apostles came and laid hands on them that they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Even before the apostles arrived, if these believers died, they were already sealed for eternity. Because they were obedient to the gospel and their salvation was not in the balances. It wasn’t until after they were saved and the apostles heard the church was thriving that they came to give them the higher power of God. What happened to the small groups of believers that never had a visit from the apostles? Their sins were still covered because of their faith in Christ. Their salvation was not dependent on anyone other than Jesus Christ.
Consider Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. God sent Philip to share Jesus with a searching man. He believed, was baptized and then disappeared from scripture. The Bible doesn’t say that he spoke in tongues or had the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but he was just as saved as those who were baptized with this power. I have a more in-depth study on the baptism of the Holy Spirit on my website at http://www.exchangedlife.com/Sermons/topical/holyspirit/baptism_spirit1.shtml
What is Apostolic Authority?
This brings up the question of apostolic authority. Why were the apostles required to lay hands before this baptism of the Spirit was received? I believe that it is clear that the birth of the church was a special time in history. Power was given to them that was not intended for the entire church age. For example, Ananias and Sapphira were struck down for lying to the Holy Spirit as an example to the church. People frequently lie in the church today just as these two did in the beginning, yet we don’t see them being struck down. Why? When the church was young and vulnerable, allowing this deception to go unchecked was a danger to the work of God. It still is a danger today, but when the church was in infancy, there is a need for special nurturing. After the word was established in a pagan world, the need for protection and miracles were not as critical as in the beginning. Miracles and wonders were critical in a culture like Rome where hundreds of gods were worshipped. What is the Christian God in a culture with countless gods? When a pagan world saw unexplainable miracles and a church unified in Christian love, they were drawn to find out more. In Acts 8, Simon the sorcerer was drawn out of the occult and into the church because of the power of God he witnessed.
I don’t believe apostolic authority exists today. In scripture, there are clearly only twelve apostles. The book of acts and all the epistles only acknowledge the 12 and the book of Revelation only acknowledges the twelve. Look at Revelation 21:
14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Notice – the twelve apostles. They are the foundation of the church and are represented in Revelation as the twelve pillars the city of God is founded upon.
Matthias is pointed out as a thirteenth apostle as evidence that apostleship goes beyond the twelve. Matthias was picked by casting lots, but I believe the church was ahead of God. The Bible never points to Matthias as the 12th apostle. He is never mentioned again after he was picked by the eleven remaining apostles in Acts 1. However, Paul was clearly appointed as an apostle. One of the conditions for apostleship Paul pointed out is that the disciple must have been a witness to the resurrected Christ and be appointed by God for that role. Apostleship was the first gift to the church (1 Corinthians 12:28). They are the pillars of the church. That foundation has been laid and can only be laid once. There is no need to keep laying the foundation. In 1 Corinthians 15:8-9, Paul gives his credentials as an apostle and testifies that he witnessed the resurrected Jesus and was anointed an apostle ‘as one born out of due time’. Why would he say that he was born out of due time? One obvious fact is that Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus after He ascended. The key point, however, is that Paul acknowledges that the time of the apostles had passed. Because of this, he was the least of the apostles. If Paul caught the tail end of this appointment, it tells us that this was never intended to be an ongoing gift in the church. If apostleship was a continuous process, then Paul could not claim that he was born out of the proper time.
Look again at Revelation 21:14, “Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” ‘The twelve apostles’ tells us that the foundation was only laid on the twelve that God appointed. Even the early church only acknowledged 12 apostles. Polycarp, Ignatius, Iranius and all the early leaders who were handed the torch directly from the apostles did not call themselves apostles. They were identified as bishops who were overseers of the priests and teachers of the churches in the areas of their ministries.
Holy Spirit and the Baptism of the Spirit
When we look at the Bible as the complete revelation that God inspired it to be, we can see that the apostles had special power for the purpose of laying the foundation of the church by God’s divine plan. The Holy Spirit was given to believers, but the baptism of the Holy Spirit was is not the seal of redemption. We are sealed for redemption once we surrender our hearts and lives to Jesus Christ and confess Him as Lord.
In John 20:22, Jesus gave the disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit. Yet He also commanded them to wait in Jerusalem for the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8, 2:2). They were sealed for redemption and born into the Kingdom of God at the moment the God’s Spirit came to dwell within them. 1 John 3:9 confirms this by saying that God’s seed or the Holy Spirit remains within us. It is common for people to confuse these two as one event. In Acts 8 and 19, we see the power of the Holy Spirit poured out upon believers, but the believers were already sealed with the ‘seed of God’ when they received Jesus Christ as their savior. I believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is still poured out on believers today, but the Bible also makes it clear that certain gifts were for laying the foundation of the church and are not to be expected by everyone in the church.
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