God's Will, Part 12
Notes
Transcript
Handout
In this session we are going to take a look at Paul, an apostle of Christ by the will of God. We see him claim this in some of the introductions to his letters. He uses the Greek word “thélēma” in 1 Corinthians 1:1 ; 2 Corinthians 1:1 ; Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; 2 Timothy 1:1.
1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia:
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,
What are the implications of these verses, and how do they apply to us?
First, at the very least, Paul thought that he was an apostles of Jesus by God’s will.
Second, we see that it was important to identify one’s position and gifting to validate what was written. Paul, in his letters to the Corinthians and Galatians, defends his call by God as an apostle of Jesus.
Third, Scripture says that he is an apostle of Jesus, by God’s will. Therefore, he is an apostle by God’s will.
These are interesting facts about Paul, but they seem distant from us. We do not think of the calling and gifting of an apostle as applicable to us, because we think of an apostle as “an envoy of Jesus Christ commissioned directly by Him or by other apostles; normally someone who has been taught directly by Jesus and who is invested with the authority to speak on His behalf.” This definition is supported by Paul’s defense for his calling to preach the gospel as an apostle in Galatians 1:15-17; 1 Corinthians 9:1-2; 15:8.
15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace,
16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;
17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.
1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord?
2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
This definition of apostle is a good one, yet it does not fit every use of apostle in the New Testament. I think this definition addresses those who hold the office of apostle like the 11, Matthias and Paul. The challenge with this is that it is only labeled as an office in the calling of Matthias in Acts 1:20 ““For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “ ‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “ ‘Let another take his office.’” The other two offices that seem to form in the early church are the offices of elder/overseer and deacon (1 Timothy 3; Titus 1).
Lewis, in The Lexham Bible Dictionary, writes: “The noun “apostle” (ἀπόστολος, apostolos) in the New Testament is applied widely: to the Twelve (including Matthias) (Matt 10:2; 28:16–20; Mark 16:14–18; Luke 24:47–49; John 20:19–23); to Paul appealing to his office of apostleship (1 Corinthians 1:1 ; 2 Corinthians 1:1 ; Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; 2 Timothy 1:1); to Jesus (Heb 3:1–6); and to missionaries who bear the message of the gospel (Romans 16:7; 1 Cor 9:5; 2 Cor 8:23; Eph 2:20; Phil 2:25). (John M. Lewis, “Apostle, Critical Issues,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).)
So when we are thinking of how “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God” applies to us, it is helpful to separate the office from the gifting. In my understanding, the office of apostle will only be held by the 11, Mathias and Paul.
The gifting, however, is freely given to individuals by God for the building up and equipping of the church, as stated in 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4:11-16.
28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
God, in his will, has given all of us gifts, and called some of us to hold offices in the church.
What are your gifts?
Has the Lord placed a desire in your heart to hold a church office?
God’s will is that we exercise the gifts he has given us for the edification and the building up of the body of Christ. Therefore, let us, like Paul, recognize our giftings from Jesus, showing us his unique will for us in the application of those gifts.