Called as an Apostle

And I’m not just talking about different talents and giftings. It is that, but I’m also talking about different ethnicities, different genders—two anyway—different age groups, different political perspectives, different social classes, different economic positions, different worldviews. The church is made up of all sorts of unique individuals. No two are alike.

BIG IDEA:

And I’m not just talking about different talents and giftings. It is that, but I’m also talking about different ethnicities, different genders—two anyway—different age groups, different political perspectives, different social classes, different economic positions, different worldviews. The church is made up of all sorts of unique individuals. No two are alike.

Today we are starting a new series going through the book of ’m calling series Corinthians, though, because I’d like to go through both letters that the Apostle Paul wrote the to church in Corinth, 1st and 2nd Corinthians.

The letters to the Corinth church were dealing with a number of issues in the function of the local church. There were things about the church that were praiseworthy, but there were a number of things that needed corrected. The Corinthian church had infighting and disunity. They had disagreements about doctrine. They were divided about what teachings they should follow. Then there were issues of sin that were being tolerated among the members. They were having issues carrying out their weekly service of worship. And all of these things were effecting the mission of the church. In fact, it seems, they didn’t even agree on exactly what the purpose and mission of the church is.

And the author of the letter we call First Corinthians recognizes the uniqueness of his own life when he opens the letter. He identifies himself in such a way that he is unique. He writes,

CATCH:

The letters to the Corinthian church were dealing with a number of issues in the function of the local church, the leaders of the local church, and the people of the local church. There were things about the church that were praiseworthy, and there were a number of issues that needed to be corrected. The Corinthian church had infighting and disunity. They had disagreements about doctrine. They were divided about what teachings they should follow.

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, (, ESV)

BODY

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, (, ESV)

Then there were issues of sin that were being tolerated by the members. And they were divided about how to deal with that. They were having problems carrying out their weekly service of worship. And all of these things were affecting the mission of the church. In fact, it seems they didn’t even agree on exactly what the purpose of the church was and what the mission of the church was.

So, I think this will be a valuable study for us as a church. My prayer is that we are going to be able to celebrate a lot of wins, that, as we look at our local church we will be able to celebrate the areas that we are accomplishing the mission of the church and the purpose of the church. But, I’m also praying that we will be sharpened by the truth of scripture, so that, if there are areas of tension between our thinking and the teaching of scripture, we will be humble enough to accept correction and be able to move in God’s direction. Let’s start with prayer now as we begin.

So, I think this will be a valuable study for us as a church. My prayer is that we are going to be able to celebrate a lot of wins, that, as we look at our local church we will be able to celebrate the areas that we are accomplishing the mission of the church and the purpose of the church.

[PRAY AS ABOVE]

Here we see that this letter was written by the Apostle Paul and another guy named Sosthenes. I’ll get Sosthenes out of the way quickly. Sosthenes was a pretty common name in the Greek world, but most people believe this is Sosthenes the leader of the Jewish Synagogue in Corinth—which makes sense, since the letter is written to the Corinthians.

For this next part, I’m going to need a little involvement from you.

I’m not just talking about different talents and giftings. I’m talking about different ethnicities, different genders—two anyway—different age groups, different political perspectives, different social classes, different economic positions, different worldviews. The church is made up of all sorts of unique individuals. No two are alike.

Sosthenes isn’t a Jew from the sect of the Pharisees like most synagogue leaders. Paul called him a brother. He belongs to the sect called The Way, which today we call Christianity.

But, I’m also praying that we will be sharpened by the truth of scripture, so that, if there are areas of tension between our thinking and the teaching of scripture, we will be humble enough to accept correction and be able to move in God’s direction.

Let’s start with prayer now as we begin.

By a show of hands, how many of you were raised in a church or in some sort of Christian environment?

And the author of the letter we call First Corinthians recognizes the uniqueness of his own life when he opens the letter. He writes,

Now Paul—and most writers of the day—rarely wrote his own letters. Instead he would dictate his letters to a secretary. And the secretary would make sure that every word was carefully written to make the meaning plain. A common practice for secretaries was to write themselves into either the preface of the letter or the prologue. Here it appears Sosthenes was the secretary who wrote the letter down for Paul, so he put his name in there because he probably was a very credible resource to Paul in writing to the Corinthian church.

[PRAY AS ABOVE]

Now Paul—and most writers of the day—rarely wrote his own letters. Instead he would dictate his letters to a secretary. And the secretary would make sure that every word was carefully written to make the meaning plain. A common practice for secretaries was to write themselves into either the preface of the letter or the prologue. Here it appears Sosthenes was the secretary who wrote the letter down for Paul, so he put his name in there because he probably was a very credible resource to Paul in writing to the Corinthian church.

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, (, ESV)

So, who is Paul?

Good. Now, what…

So, who is Paul?

Today, I’m going to need a little involvement from you. We’re going to do an exercise and look at a couple texts to get some context for the first verse of 1 Corinthians.

Paul says, he is “called…to be an apostle.”

By a show of hands, how many of you were raised in a church or in some sort of Christian environment?

Here we see that this letter was written by the Apostle Paul and another guy named Sosthenes. Let’s get Sosthenes out of the way quickly. Sosthenes was a pretty common name, but most people believe this is Sosthenes the leader of the Jewish Synagogue in Corinth—which makes sense, since the letter is written to the Corinthians. And Sosthenes isn’t a Jew from the sect of the Pharisees like most synagogue leaders. He is a brother. He belongs to the sect called The Way, which today we call Christianity.

Paul says, he is “called…to be an apostle.”

Good. Now, what…

…have you heard of in your church experience? In other words, are there some titles that you have heard used for church leadership in the past?

Now Paul—and most writers of the day—rarely wrote his own letters. Instead he would dictate his letters to a secretary. And the secretary would make sure that every word was carefully written to make the meaning plain. And a common practice for secretaries was to write themselves into either the preface of the letter or the prologue. Here it appears Sosthenes was the secretary who wrote the letter down for Paul and he put his name in there because he probably was a very credible support to Paul in writing to the Corinthian church.

Do you have any others? Maybe not from your tradition, but for others?

…is an interesting concept in the New Testament. Another word for call would be invite or even summon.

So, who is Paul?

…is an interesting concept in the New Testament. Another word for call would be invite or even summon.

Paul says, he is called as an apostle. Calling is an interesting concept in the New Testament. Another word for call would be invite or even summon. And a lot of people read this and say, well when you are dealing with the summons of a king, there’s really no difference between an invitation or a summons or a calling. Because, no one would dare refuse an invitation from the king.

[Explain] Ok, let’s look over those really quick and a couple others.

There’s an important theological discussion to be had here. It’s this: when God calls someone, is that an offer, like an invitation, or does it carry more weight, like a summons.

…have you heard of in your church experience? In other words, are there some titles that you have heard used for church leadership in the past?

There’s an important theological discussion to be had here. It’s this: when God calls someone, is that an offer, like an invitation, or does it carry more weight, like a summons.

Some people would say it’s just an invitation. You can take it or leave it. If you invited friends over for dinner and they were busy already or tired from the work week they might decline and that’s OK. It’s their prerogative.

There’s some truth to that, because it will not go well for you if you are summoned by the king and you ignore him. Maybe you’ve gotten a jury summons and wanted to ignore it. Well, in many states you can be fined or even imprisoned for ignoring a jury summons.

· Pastor, shepherd (most common)

Do you have any others? Maybe not from your tradition, but for others?

Some people would say it’s just an invitation. You can take it or leave it. If you invited friends over for dinner and they were busy already or tired from the work week they might decline and that’s OK. It’s their prerogative.

· Preacher, teacher (For specificity in some traditions where preaching is the prominent role of the pastor.)

[Explain]

The reality is, when someone sticks a gun to your head and says, “Give me all your money or I’ll shoot,” you still have a choice to make. It’s just an easy choice.

I like the word invite, because it says something profound about biblical calling.

Ok, let’s look at those really quick and a couple others.

· Elder, overseer, presbyter, bishop (broadly classified—often bishop is pastor to pastors or overseer of overseers)

Pastor, shepherd (most common)

What if someone says to you, “Hey, I want to invite you to get burgers with us after church?”

So, when Paul was called as an Apostle, he had to consider the consequences of the calling and for Paul, his calling had everything to do with the one who called him, the one who invited him or summoned him to be an Apostle.

It would be very awkward for you to respond, “No, let’s go get steak and lobster instead,” especially if they are buying. The Apostle Paul was called as an Apostle, not an administrator, not a groundskeeper, not a deacon, not even a pastor in the traditional sense. His calling was to apostleship.

So, what are the consequences? To answer that question, we need to ask, ‘Who called Paul?’

Preacher, teacher (For specificity in some traditions where preaching is the prominent role of the pastor.)

· Parson, rector, vicar (antiquated terms still in use in some Christian traditions)

I like the idea of invite because it says that God determines what he wants you to do. But, invitations are turned down far more easily than I think God ought to be turned down.

Elder, overseer, presbyter, bishop (broadly classified—often bishop is pastor to pastors or overseer of overseers)

· Reverend (denotes reverence or honor)

I like the idea of invite because it says that God determines what he wants you to do. But, invitations are turned down far more easily than I think God ought to be turned down.

And Paul tells us he was, ‘called by the will of God.’ This idea of ‘God’s will’ is mindboggling. People want to know what God’s will is for them as if God had prewritten a plan for their lives and they live in fear that they might miss it.

What is God’s will for my life?

So, others who realize that weakness would go to the polar-opposite end of the spectrum. They would say that God’s calling leaves you without a choice at all. When you are called by God, you have no choice, but to do what God has called you to do. God’s calling is fully deterministic. If God has called you, then you have no will or desire to respond otherwise.

· Priest (Catholicism and some other traditions—confusion with the Old Covenant)

Parson, rector, vicar (antiquated terms still in use in some Christian traditions)

So, others who realize that weakness would go to the polar-opposite end of the spectrum. They would say that God’s calling leaves you without a choice at all. When you are called by God, you have no choice, but to do what God has called you to do. God’s calling is fully deterministic. If God has called you, then you have no will or desire to respond otherwise.

Reverend (meaning one to be revered)

But, I don’t think either of those are quite right. I believe calling is like a summons, because it’s an invitation from the King. When you are dealing with the summons of a king, there’s really no difference between an invitation or a summons or a calling. Because, no one would dare refuse an invitation from the king. If the president of the United States invited you to the White House for dinner, you probably wouldn’t decline because you were tired. And if you already had plans, you would probably reorganize your calendar. When it’s a summons, you are expected to comply.

I want you to imagine for a moment—sorry about another food analogy—that we had ribs smoking out behind the building. And the sweet smell of pork ribs and barbeque sauce is wafting, down the halls, and into the auditorium. And I told you—again, just an analogy—that right after service everyone was invited to have ribs for lunch.

But, I don’t think either of those are quite right. I believe calling is like a summons, because it’s an invitation from the King. When you are dealing with the summons of a king, there’s really no difference between an invitation or a summons or a calling. Because, no one would dare refuse an invitation from the king. If the president of the United States invited you to the White House for dinner, you probably wouldn’t decline because you were tired. And if you already had plans, you would probably reorganize your calendar. When it’s a summons, you are expected to comply.

· Minister (I have a problem with this one that I’ll address in a moment.)

So, I went over those to show you that there have been lots of different jobs or offices in the church historically. But, the Bible mentions only six offices. And they’re not what you think. They come from .

But, notice, a summons doesn’t take away your choice. Maybe you have gotten a jury summons and wanted to ignore it. Well, in many states you can be fined or even imprisoned for ignoring a jury summons. This is more along the lines of the way calling works in God’s Kingdom. If God calls, there is an expectation you will comply. And there is a definite penalty if you choose to ignore God’s calling. But, you still have a choice.

So, I preach for about 30 minutes and you look at the clock. And you’re getting hungry. And then another 15 minutes goes by and I’m still talking. And then we’re pushing an hour. And then it’s an hour 15.

Priest (Catholicism and some other traditions—confusion with the Old Covenant)

But, notice, a summons doesn’t take away your choice. Maybe you have gotten a jury summons and wanted to ignore it. Well, in many states you can be fined or even imprisoned for ignoring a jury summons. This is more along the lines of the way calling works in God’s Kingdom. If God calls, there is an expectation you will comply. And there is a definite penalty if you choose to ignore God’s calling. But, you still have a choice.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. (, ESV)

Minister (I have a problem with this one that I’ll address in a moment.)

The reality is, when someone sticks a gun to your head and says, “Give me all your money or I’ll shoot,” you still have a choice to make. It’s just an easy choice.

At what point are you going to run out of will power and leave the auditorium in search for ribs?

The reality is, when someone sticks a gun to your head and says, “Give me all your money or I’ll shoot,” you still have a choice to make. It’s just an easy choice.

So, when God calls you to do something—whether that’s something huge like being an Apostle or something more day-to-day, like helping a neighbor—when God calls, there is an expectation you will comply.

So, just to review. The first 5 offices are clear: apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd and teacher. And the 6th is a little tricky, but its workers of ministry or to say that more simply ministers.

So, when God calls you to do something—whether that’s something huge like being an Apostle or something more day-to-day, like helping a neighbor—when God calls, there is an expectation you will comply.

That’s how the will works. The will is the center of your desires. When your desire for lunch becomes greater than your desire for biblical teaching, then you act.

I went over those terms to show you that there have been lots of different jobs or offices in the church, historically. Each of those terms speaks to the tradition of the church that used them. But, the Bible mentions only six offices. And they’re not what you think. They come from .

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. (, ESV)

And that can seem kind of harsh. It can seem like God strong-arms people into their calling. Like, since He’s God, He can do whatever He calls and we just follow so that we don’t get in trouble, or something like that.

I want you to notice the grammar here. God gave the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherd and teachers. He gave those people to the church to do something specific and intentional among the people. God wanted those people to equip or train the saints for the work of ministry. The 5 offices exist in the church to train the saints as ministers.

And that’s how God’s will works. God is motivated by his desires. Praise God, that His desires are always holy, just, and righteous! So, when you ask, ‘What is God’s will for my life?’ all you really need to ask is ‘What is God’s desire for me?’

And that can seem kind of harsh. It can seem like God strong-arms people into their calling. Like, since He’s God, He can do whatever He wants and we just follow so that we don’t get in trouble, or something like that.

As a good and righteous Father, ‘What is His desire for me?’ And the answer is fairly simple. It’s love God and love your neighbors. You don’t need to be caught up with anxiety over whether God is calling you to be a preacher or a missionary or start some sort of non-profit. If God’s calling you to that, you’ll know. Otherwise, God is calling you to love. To love Him and to love others.

But, I don’t think that’s exactly how it works. I think God calls us to what is best for us. We will look at the Apostle Paul’s experience in calling in a moment, but Paul would wholeheartedly agree that it was better that He was called than left alone. Paul didn’t come willingly, but after the fact, Paul celebrated His calling. Look what he says in his first letter to the Thessalonians,

The first 5 offices are clear in the text: apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd and teacher. And the 6th is a little tricky, but its workers of ministry or to say that more directly, ministers.

OK, so what are saints? — this Bible study stuff is hard, I know.

But, I don’t think that’s exactly how it works. I think God calls us to what is best for us. We will look at the Apostle Paul’s experience in calling in a moment, but Paul would wholeheartedly agree that it was better that He was called than left alone. Paul didn’t come willingly, but after responding to God’s call, Paul celebrated His calling. Look what he says in his first letter to the Thessalonians,

[BLANK]

The word ‘saint’ comes from the Latin Bible where the Greek word hagios, meaning ‘holy one’ is translated into Latin as sanctus, which eventually became seint, s-e-i-n-t, in French and saint, s-a-i-n-t in English.

What is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy. (, ESV)

I want you to notice the grammar here. God gave the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherd, and teachers. He gave those people to the church to do something specific and intentional among the people. God wanted those people to equip or train the saints for the work of ministry. The 5 offices exist in the church to prepare the saints as ministers.

But, I like another word for calling too. I like the word invite, because it says something profound about biblical calling.

OK, so what are saints? — This is how you do Bible study, btw, when you don’t understand something fully, you explore it and figure out what it means so you can get the whole sense of the scripture.

Paul was called by God and here he says that his joy and glory come in the carrying out of God’s mission. So, when God calls you, it’s not to strong-arm you into doing you something you don’t want to do.

Some of you have a Catholic upbringing, so I want to clarify something to make sure there is no confusion. In the Catholic tradition you have to be sainted—that is, you have to be recognized as a saint, usually after death, in order to be a saint, a holy one.

These are the words of a grateful man. Paul was called by God and here he says that his joy and glory come in the carrying out of God’s mission. When God called Paul, it wasn’t to strong-arm him into doing you something he didn’t want to do.

What if someone says to you, “Hey, I want to invite you to get burgers with us after church?”

It would be very awkward for you to respond, “No, let’s go get steak and lobster instead,” especially if they are buying. The Apostle Paul was called as an Apostle, not an administrator, not a groundskeeper, not a deacon, not even a pastor in the traditional sense. His calling was to apostleship.

But, the Bible teaches that everyone who knows Jesus as Lord and Savior is already ‘made holy.’ The author of the letter to the Hebrews writes,

The word ‘saint’ comes from the Latin Bible where the Greek word hagios, meaning ‘holy one’ is translated into Latin as sanctus, which eventually became seint, s-e-i-n-t, in French and saint, s-a-i-n-t in English.

Instead, God’s calling leads us to be the people we really want to be.

…we have been made holy [sanctified] through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (, NIV)

So, let’s go there now. There’s a lot of stigma surrounding the idea of apostleship in the church today. I’d like to look at the three primary stances on Apostleship. The first is called…

This is how God’s calling always works. When God calls you to faith in the first place, it’s because he is leading you to be the person you really want to be. When God calls you to repent of sins, He is leading you to be the person you really want to be. When God calls you to serve Him, He is leading you to be the person you really want to be.

This is how God’s calling always works. When God called you to faith in the first place, it’s because he is leading you to be the person you really want to be. When God calls you to repent of sins, He is leading you to be the person you really want to be. When God calls you to serve Him, He is leading you to be the person you really want to be.

Some of you have a Catholic upbringing, so I want to clarify something to make sure there is no confusion. In the Catholic tradition you have to be sainted—that is, you have to be recognized as a saint, usually after death, in order to be a saint, a holy one.

Paul would have never asked to be an Apostle and yet, he received unspeakable joy because of his calling, because God was leading him to be the person he really wanted to be.

Some of your Bibles translate that as sanctified, which is the Greek word, hagiozo—notice the similarity to hagios, which means holy one. To be sanctified is to be made holy or, if you will, to be sainted. In other words, every Christian is a saint. Jesus died for your sins and by faith in Him you are no longer unholy, characterized by your sins, but you have been made holy, characterized by Jesus’s righteousness, a saint.

Paul would have never asked to be an Apostle in a million years and yet, he received unspeakable joy because of his calling. Because God was leading him to be the person he really wanted to be.

But, the Bible teaches that everyone who knows Jesus as Lord and Savior are already ‘made holy.’ The author of the letter to the Hebrews wrote,

Let’s look at Paul’s story. Many of you are familiar with Paul’s conversion experience. Paul was a Jew who did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah of Israel. So Paul—who also went by Saul—was persecuting and imprisoning those who followed Jesus, those who identified with the group called ‘The Way.’ We usually look at Paul’s conversion as recorded in , but if we want to hear about Paul’s calling as an Apostle, that shows up later in , when Paul tells the whole story. Here’s the story:

…we have been made holy [sanctified or sainted] through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (, NIV)

Let’s look at Paul’s story. Many of you are familiar with Paul’s conversion experience. Paul was a Jew who did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah of Israel. So Paul—who also went by Saul—was persecuting and imprisoning those who followed Jesus, those who identified with the group called ‘The Way.’ We usually look at Paul’s conversion as recorded in , but if we want to hear about Paul’s calling as an Apostle, that shows up later in , when Paul tells the whole story. Here’s the story:

So, why do I say all that?

Cessationism is the most common perspective on Apostleship. Cessationists believe that certain giftings and callings have ceased. In other words, they believe that God no longer uses Apostles. Most cessationists would say that there were 14 Apostles. That’s the original 12 called by Jesus, Matthias who was called to replace Judas as recorded in , and the Apostle Paul who was called by God later to be an Apostle to the Gentiles. The cessationist would say that there are no longer Apostles since the death of the final Apostle.

Some of your Bibles translate that as sanctified, which is the Greek word, hagiozo—notice the similarity to hagios, which means holy one. To be sanctified is to be made holy or, if you will, to be sainted. In other words, every Christian is a saint, a holy one.

“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.

Because,

But, there are problems with this view. First, there are many uses of apostle. In , Jesus is called an apostle. In , Epaphrodiditis, one of the brothers, is called an apostle. Most of your translations call him a messenger, but the Greek word is apostolon, which is the same word used everywhere else for apostle. And in , many other brothers are said to be apostles.

“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.

“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. (, ESV)

“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.

Cessationists are right that there is something unique about ‘The 12’ but it’s difficult to say there are not others called as apostles, which brings me to the next view, which is called…

[BLANK]

Jesus died for your sins, your brokenness and unfaithfulness. By faith in Him, you are no longer unholy, characterized by your sins, but you have been made holy, marked by Jesus’s righteousness, a saint.

[OFFICES SLIDE—6 OFFICES]

“And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’

So, why do I say all that?

“And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’

“When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ” (, ESV)

The 5 offices exist to equip people for the 6th office of minister. Every single Christian is called to at least one of these 6 offices.

Because,

The apostolic view tries to maintain the tradition, not of biblical apostleship but of the 12 Apostles. According to , apostles are those who prove their apostleship by performing signs and miracles. For this reason, many people who claim to be apostles according to this tradition claim gifts of faith healing, foretelling prophesy, and other miraculous gifts. But, the biggest part of Apostolic Apostleship is the authority of the Apostle.

“When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ” (, ESV)

When someone takes the title of Apostle in an Apostolic church, they receive the authority to mandate ministry function in the church, often without accountability.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. (, ESV)

So, that’s Paul’s story and at the end, we see the Lord commission him to go to the Gentiles nations. Gentile is a word that is used to describe people groups who aren’t Jewish. He was supposed to go out from his people to the other people groups.

It’s at this point, some of you are wondering, ‘Aren’t we studying 1st Corinthians?’

So, that’s Paul’s story and at the end, we see the Lord commission him to go to the Gentiles. But, what is interesting is there is nowhere that the Bible says Paul is called as an Apostle. In , Paul says he was ‘called by the will of God to be an Apostle.’ In , Paul says he was, ‘for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher.’ But the story of Paul’s appointing as an Apostle seems to be missing.

But, what is interesting is there is nowhere that clearly describes Paul’s calling as an Apostle. In , Paul says he was ‘called by the will of God to be an Apostle.’ In , Paul says he was, ‘appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher.’ But the story of Paul’s appointing as an Apostle seems to be missing.

[OFFICES SLIDE—6 OFFICES]

And finally, the last of the three views is called…

And the answer is ‘context.’ I needed to give you a context for this first verse so that we can see what’s happening. Paul begins the letter this way:

And I think it’s because we are not thinking about what it really means to be an Apostle. The word Apostle means ‘sent one.’ And Apostle is someone who is sent out on a mission. It’s more like what we call a missionary, today. We send people overseas to take the message about Jesus to people who have never heard it before.

The 5 leadership offices exist to equip rest of the people in the church for the 6th office of minister. So, every single Christian is called to at least one of these 6 offices.

So, look back at that last verse. Knowing that Paul was sent to the Gentiles, we can see his calling pretty clearly now:

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes. (, ESV)

Continuationism respects the uniqueness of the original 12 Apostles, but recognizes that there is an apostolic gifting that continues today and will continue forever. Continuationism respects the linguistic boundaries of the term ‘Apostle’ by maintaining it’s original meaning, which is ‘to be sent’ or ‘sent one.’ It’s like what we might today call a missionary or a church planter.

That’s actually as far as we will get today. What I want you to see from this verse is that, first, Paul has the authority of Apostle. And that, second, we all fall under that authority, either as other leaders: evangelists, prophets, shepherds (aka pastors), teachers or even apostles (small-a apostles, which I’ll address in a moment).

So, look back at that last verse. Knowing that Paul was sent to the Gentiles, we can see his calling pretty clearly now:

And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ” (, ESV)

A this point, some of you are wondering, ‘Aren’t we studying 1st Corinthians?’

And if that’s not convincing enough, the Greek word used for send in this verse is ‘exapostello.’ Notice the similarities.

Yes, but in ‘context.’ I needed to give you a context for the first verse so that we can see what’s happening in the text. Paul began his letter this way:

And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ” (, ESV)

[OFFICES SLIDE—6 OFFICES]

Alan Hirsh provides this definition of Apostle:

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes. (, ESV)

Jesus told Paul he would send him, that he would make him a ‘sent one.’ In other words, an Apostle. And if that’s not convincing enough, the Greek word used for send in this verse is actually ‘exapostello.’ Notice the similarities.

Apostles extend the gospel. As the “sent ones,” they ensure that the faith is transmitted from one context to another and from one generation to the next. They are always thinking about the future, bridging barriers, establishing the church in new contexts, developing leaders, networking trans-locally.

SLIDE: exapostello -> to send away

So, let’s look quickly at each of the six offices. I’m going to rely heavily on the biblical analysis of a Christian thinker named Alan Hirsh for these.

The apostle is not the evangelist who is responsible for the day-to-day work of sharing the Gospel. The apostolic gifting is for strategically implanting the Gospel into new contexts, whether that is in a new city or a new people group or simply translating the Gospel for future generations.

That’s actually as far as we will get today in 1 Corinthians because a lot is going on in this verse. What I want you to see from this verse is that, first, Paul claims the authority of Apostle. And that, second, we all fall under that authority, either as other leaders: evangelists, prophets, shepherds (aka pastors), teachers or even apostles (small-a apostles, which I’ll talk about in a moment).

SLIDE: exapostello -> to send away

apostolos -> Apostle; one sent forth

So, what’s a…

[OFFICES SLIDE—6 OFFICES]

So, it’s easy to see here what Paul tells us, that he was, ‘called by the will of God.’ This idea of ‘God’s will’ is perplexing. People want to know what God’s will is for them as if God had prewritten a plan for their lives and they live in fear that they might miss it.

apostolos -> Apostle; one sent forth

And that’s what the Apostle Paul was. He called himself the ‘Apostle to the Gentiles’ (). Paul is a Jewish Christian who communicated the message about Jesus to people who were not Jewish and didn’t know anything about the One True God. He was very much a missionary to foreign nations.

Apostleship is not a dead gifting. It has not ceased, because we are very much in need of missionaries, Church planters, strategic thinkers. In , Paul tells us of 5 offices that need to exist in the church. He writes:

Prophets know God's will. They are particularly attuned to God and his truth for today. They bring correction and challenge the assumptions we inherit from the culture. They insist that the local church obey what God has commanded. They question the status quo. (Alan Hirsh, The Forgotten Ways)

What is God’s will for my life?

So, it’s easy to see here what Paul tells us, that he was, ‘called by the will of God to be an apostle.’

So, let’s glance at each of the six offices. I’m going to rely heavily on the biblical analysis of a Christian thinker named Alan Hirsh for these.

I want you to imagine for a moment that we had ribs smoking out behind the building. Sorry for another food analogy. And the sweet smell of pork ribs and barbeque sauce is wafting in the back doors, down the halls, and into the auditorium. And I told you—again, just an analogy—that right after service everyone was invited to have ribs for lunch.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds [pastors] and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (, ESV)

So, what’s a…

The idea of…

You might say, no that’s what a preacher does and pastors are preachers. And you would be right. We have rolled a lot of these offices into one office that we call Pastor, but the Bible differentiates them.

So, I preach for about 30 minutes and you look at the clock. And you’re getting hungry. And then another 15 minutes goes by and I’m still talking. And then we’re pushing an hour. And then it’s an hour 15.

The church needs teachers who understand the scriptures and can clearly explain it to other people. The church needs pastors to nurture and care for the spiritual needs of the congregation. The church needs evangelists who call people to respond to the message of redemption through Jesus’s blood. The church needs prophets who are so in tune with God’s desires that they can relate the truth of God’s word to the lives of people today. And the church needs apostles, sent ones, to organizationally carry out the mission of God in the world.

So, the next is…

At what point are you going to run out of will power and leave the auditorium in search for ribs?

Prophets know God's will. They are particularly attuned to God and his truth for today. They bring correction and challenge the assumptions we inherit from the culture. They insist that the local church obeys what God has commanded. They question the status quo. (Alan Hirsh, The Forgotten Ways)

…is perplexing. People want to know what God’s will is for them as if God had prewritten a plan for their lives and they live in fear that they might miss it. It’s like we’re a mouse in a maze and if we don’t find the cheese we might starve to death.

Evangelists recruit. These compelling communicators of the gospel message recruit others to the cause. They call for a personal response to God's redemption in Christ, and also draw believers to engage the wider mission, growing the church. (Alan Hirsh, The Forgotten Ways)

You might say, no that’s what a preacher does, and pastors are preachers. And you would be right. We have rolled a lot of these offices into one office that we call Pastor or Elder. The biblical authors do the same thing at times. They roll them into the office of elder or overseer. But here and in a couple other places the Bible’s authors differentiate the terms.

You see, the will is a desire based mechanism. The will functions on desire. When your desire for lunch becomes greater than your desire for biblical teaching, then you act.

What is God’s will for my life?

I want you to imagine for a moment that we had ribs smoking out behind the building. Sorry for another food analogy. And the sweet smell of pork ribs and barbeque sauce is wafting in the back doors, down the halls, and into the auditorium. And I told you—again, just an analogy—that right after service everyone was invited to have ribs for lunch.

[OFFICES SLIDE—6 OFFICES]

So, the Evangelist is not just someone who shares the news that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead so that we can one day be raised up with Him. The Evangelist trains others to do the same and organizes them to carry out that task in the greater community. Again, you might say, that’s what a pastor does. Well, the biblical authors didn’t lump all the offices into one like we do.

And that’s how God’s will works. God is motivated by his desires. Praise God, that His desires are always holy, just, and righteous! So, when you ask, ‘What is God’s will for my life?’ all you really need to ask is ‘What is God’s desire for me?’

So, the next is…

As a good and righteous Father, ‘What is His desire for me?’ And the answer is simple. It’s love God and love your neighbors. You don’t need to be caught up with anxiety over whether God is calling you to be a preacher or a missionary or start some sort of non-profit. If God’s calling you to that, you’ll know. God caught Paul on the road to Damascus to tell him he had a unique calling for him.

So, I preach for about 30 minutes and you look at the clock. And you’re getting hungry. And then another 15 minutes goes by and I’m still talking. And then we’re pushing an hour. And then it’s an hour 15.

The next is…

Evangelists recruit. These compelling communicators of the gospel message recruit others to the cause. They call for a personal response to God's redemption in Christ, and also draw believers to engage the wider mission, growing the church. (Alan Hirsh, The Forgotten Ways)

At what point are you going to run out of will power and leave the auditorium in search for ribs?

So, God is calling you to love. To love Him and to love others. And if he has another calling for you, he’ll let you know.

You see, the will is a desire based mechanism. The will functions on desire. When your desire for lunch becomes greater than your desire for biblical teaching, then you act.

And this is where the actual word ‘pastor’ comes into play. Pastor is just the Latin word that is translated in the New Testament as Shepherd—they’re the same thing.

Evangelists recruit. These compelling communicators of the gospel message recruit others to the cause. They call for a personal response to God's redemption in Christ, and also draw believers to engage the wider mission, growing the church. (Alan Hirsh, The Forgotten Ways)

So, let’s talk about what apostleship means for us today. There’s a lot of stigma surrounding the idea of apostleship in the church today. I’d like to look at the three primary stances. The first is called…

Shepherds nurture and protect. Caregivers of the community, they focus on the protection and spiritual maturity of God's flock, cultivating a loving and spiritually mature network of relationships, making and developing disciples. (Alan Hirsh, The Forgotten Ways)

So, the Evangelist is not just someone who shares the news that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead so that we can one day be raised up with Him. The Evangelist trains others to do the same and organizes them to carry out that task in the greater community.

And that’s how God’s will works. God is motivated by his desires. Praise God, that His desires are always holy, just, and righteous! So, when you ask, ‘What is God’s will for my life?’ all you really need to ask is ‘What is God’s desire for me?’

[OFFICES SLIDE—6 OFFICES]

As a good and righteous Father, ‘What is His desire for me?’ And the answer is simple. It’s love God and love your neighbors. You don’t need to be caught up with anxiety over whether God is calling you to be a preacher or a missionary or start some sort of non-profit. If God’s calling you to that, you’ll know. God caught Paul on the road to Damascus to tell him he had a unique calling for him.

Cessationism is the most common perspective on Apostleship. Cessationists believe that certain giftings and callings have ceased. In other words, they believe that God no longer uses Apostles. Most cessationists would say that there were 14 Apostles. That’s the original 12 called by Jesus, Matthias who was called to replace Judas as recorded in , and the Apostle Paul who was called by God later to be an Apostle to the Gentiles. The cessationist would say that there are no longer Apostles since the death of the final Apostle.

Again, you might say, that’s what a pastor does. Well, in this text, Paul differentiates them.

But, there are problems with this view. First, there are many uses of apostle. In , Jesus is called an apostle. In , Epaphrodiditis, one of the brothers, is called an apostle. Most of our Bible translations call him a messenger, but the Greek word is apostolon, which is the same word used everywhere else for apostle. In , many other brothers are said to be apostles. In , Paul tells us that Andronicus and Junia were well known among the apostles. Christian tradition holds that they were themselves apostles, although in the wider sense of the word, not in the same way as the 12.

So, God is calling you to love. To love Him and to love others. And if he has another calling for you, he’ll let you know.

…is the next one.

The next is…

Cessationists are right that there is something unique about ‘The 12’ but it’s difficult to say there are not others called as apostles when scripture uses the term to describe so many others. That brings me to the next view, which is called…

So, let’s talk about what…

Teachers understand and explain. Communicators of God's truth and wisdom, they help others remain biblically grounded to better discern God's will, guiding others toward wisdom, helping the community remain faithful to Christ's word, and constructing a transferable doctrine. (Alan Hirsh, The Forgotten Ways)

Again, that’s an office that the contemporary church has rolled into the office of ‘pastor.’

And this is where the actual word ‘pastor’ comes into play. ‘Pastor’ is just the Latin word that is translated in the New Testament as Shepherd—they’re the same thing.

The apostolic view tries to maintain the tradition, not of biblical apostleship but of the 12 Apostles. According to , apostles are those who prove their apostleship by performing signs and miracles. For this reason, many people who claim to be apostles according to this tradition claim gifts of faith healing, foretelling prophesy, and other miraculous gifts. But, the biggest part of Apostolic Apostleship is the authority of the Apostle.

And finally, I want to look at the office Paul had, which is…

…means for us today. There’s a lot of stigma surrounding the idea of apostleship in the church today. I’d like to look at the three primary stances. The first is called…

Shepherds nurture and protect. Caregivers of the community, they focus on the protection and spiritual maturity of God's flock, cultivating a loving and spiritually mature network of relationships, making and developing disciples. (Alan Hirsh, The Forgotten Ways)

When someone takes the title of Apostle in an Apostolic church, they receive the authority to mandate ministry function in the church, often without accountability.

Pastoring has to do with the inner-workings and internal care of the church.

[OFFICES SLIDE—6 OFFICES]

Apostles extend the gospel. As the “sent ones,” they ensure that the faith is transmitted from one context to another and from one generation to the next. They are always thinking about the future, bridging barriers, establishing the church in new contexts, developing leaders, networking trans-locally. (Alan Hirsh, The Forgotten Ways)

Cessationism is the most common perspective on Apostleship. Cessationists believe that certain giftings and callings have ceased. In other words, they believe that God no longer uses Apostles. Most cessationists would say that there were 14 Apostles. That’s the original 12 called by Jesus, Matthias who was called to replace Judas as recorded in , and the Apostle Paul who was called by God later to be an Apostle to the Gentiles. The cessationist would say that there are no longer Apostles since the death of the final Apostle.

Apostolic authority, however, has no biblical root. Paul provides the 5 offices of the church as follows:

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. (, ESV)

I want to focus more time on this one. The Bible uses the word apostolos in two different ways. The way we are used to talking about it, it is used to describe the 12 Disciples. These are the 12 men who were called by Jesus to be His disciples. More often then not, they are called the 12 disciples, but they became known as the 12 Apostles after Jesus sent them out among the towns of Judea. You see, they became apostles because they were sent. Apostle means, ‘sent one.’

…is the next one.

But, there are problems with this view. First, there are many uses of apostle. In , Jesus is called an apostle. In , Epaphrodiditis, one of the brothers, is called an apostle. Most of our Bible translations call him a messenger, but the Greek word is apostolon, which is the same word used everywhere else for apostle. In , many other brothers are said to be apostles. In , Paul tells us that Andronicus and Junia were well known among the apostles. Christian tradition holds that they were themselves apostles, although in the wider sense of the word, not in the same way as the 12.

There’s no doubt that special authority was given to the original 12. But, there are two other apostles who also had special authority. In , Matthias was made an Apostle by the will of God to replace Judas who betrayed Jesus. And then the Apostle Paul became an Apostle later, so he calls himself the ‘apostle, unnaturally born.’

Here we see that there are apostles in the church. When Paul wrote this there were already too many churches for the Apostles to directly oversee and Paul himself would have had to take responsibility for all of the Gentile churches, which were many. So, it’s better—and more common—to take apostle in the looser sense that is common in the New Testament, not in the sense of the 12 Apostles.

Cessationists are right that there is something unique about ‘The 12’ but it’s difficult to say there are not others called as apostles when scripture uses the term to describe so many others. That brings me to the next view, which is called…

Teachers understand and explain. Communicators of God's truth and wisdom, they help others remain biblically grounded to better discern God's will, guiding others toward wisdom, helping the community remain faithful to Christ's word, and constructing a transferable doctrine. (Alan Hirsh, The Forgotten Ways)

And that’s the key to being an apostle. Apostles—actually all the offices—are called according to…

Teachers understand and explain. Communicators of God's truth and wisdom, they help others remain biblically grounded to better discern God's will, guiding others toward wisdom, helping the community remain faithful to Christ's word, and constructing a transferable doctrine. (Alan Hirsh, The Forgotten Ways)

The problem with this view is that apostolic churches confuse the 12 original Apostles with the looser sense of apostles which are sent ones or missionaries. So, when they appoint Apostles in their churches they appoint people who claim supernatural gifting—healing, prophesying, and so forth—and they give them authority over everyone and everything in the church.

And finally, the last of the three views is called…

Again, that’s an office that the contemporary church has rolled into the office of ‘pastor/elder.’

The apostolic view tries to maintain the tradition, not of biblical apostleship but of the 12 Apostles. According to , apostles are those who prove their apostleship by performing signs and miracles. For this reason, many people who claim to be apostles according to this tradition claim gifts of faith healing, foretelling prophesy, and other miraculous gifts. But, the biggest part of Apostolic Apostleship is the authority of the Apostle.

[OFFICES SLIDE—6 OFFICES]

When someone takes the title of Apostle in an Apostolic church, they receive the authority to mandate ministry function in the church, often without accountability.

That’s why in our text, first Corinthians 1:1, Paul begins,

And finally, I want to look at the office Paul claims in our text, which is…

Apostolic authority, however, has no biblical root. Paul provides the 5 offices of the church as follows:

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus… (, ESV)

Continuationism respects the uniqueness of the original 12 Apostles, but recognizes that there is an apostolic gifting that continues today and will continue forever. I like to say there are big A Apostles and small a apostles. Big A Apostles are the 12. Small a apostles are those who gifted and called to strategically carry out God’s mission in the world.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. (, ESV)

Continuationism respects the linguistic boundaries of the term ‘Apostle’ by maintaining it’s original meaning, which is ‘to be sent’ or ‘sent one,’ like what we call a missionary or a church planter.

Apostles extend the gospel. As the “sent ones,” they ensure that the faith is transmitted from one context to another and from one generation to the next. They are always thinking about the future, bridging barriers, establishing the church in new contexts, developing leaders, networking trans-locally. (Alan Hirsh, The Forgotten Ways)

Dan read to you the story of Paul—also known as Saul. You saw that he was a Jew who was persecuting the Christians, but then, Jesus confronted him on the road and personally called Him to be a disciple.

Apostles extend the gospel. As the “sent ones,” they ensure that the faith is transmitted from one context to another and from one generation to the next. They are always thinking about the future, bridging barriers, establishing the church in new contexts, developing leaders, networking trans-locally. (Alan Hirsh, The Forgotten Ways)

Jesus is so funny here. Paul is the most unlikely person to come to faith in the first place, but to call Paul to be an Apostle is ridiculous by human thinking.

Alan Hirsh provides this definition of Apostle:

Here we see that there are apostles in the church. When Paul wrote this there were already too many churches for the Apostles to directly oversee and Paul himself would have had to take responsibility for all of the Gentile churches, which were many. So, it’s better—and more common—to take apostle in the looser sense that is common in the New Testament, not in the sense of the 12 Apostles.

What company hires the least qualified person for the job?

I want to focus more time on this one. The Bible uses the word apostolos, translated Apostle, in two different ways. The way we are used to talking about it is to describe the 12 Disciples. These are the 12 men who were called by Jesus to be His disciples. Usually, they are called the 12 disciples, but they became known as the 12 Apostles after Jesus sent them out among the towns of Judea. You see, they became apostles because they were sent. Apostle means ‘sent one.’

Apostles extend the gospel. As the “sent ones,” they ensure that the faith is transmitted from one context to another and from one generation to the next. They are always thinking about the future, bridging barriers, establishing the church in new contexts, developing leaders, networking trans-locally.

The problem with this view is that apostolic churches confuse the 12 original Apostles with the looser sense of apostles which are sent ones or missionaries. So, when they appoint Apostles in their churches they appoint people who claim supernatural gifting—healing, prophesying, and so forth—and they give them authority over everyone and everything in the church.

[BLANK]

The apostle is not the evangelist who is responsible for the day-to-day work of sharing the Gospel. The apostolic gifting is for strategically implanting the Gospel into new contexts, whether that is in a new city or a new people group or simply translating the Gospel for future generations.

Paul didn’t even want the job. Certainly, the guy who’s leading the persecution against the Christians is not the guy you want to call to spread Christianity.

And finally, the last of the three views is called…

There’s no doubt that special authority was given to the original 12, but that had more to do with them being the first 12 Disciples and less to do with them being apostles. But, two other apostles also had special authority. In , Matthias was made an Apostle by the will of God to replace Judas who betrayed Jesus. And then the Apostle Paul became an Apostle later, also by the will of God, so he calls himself the ‘apostle, unnaturally born.’

And that’s what the Apostle Paul was. He called himself the ‘Apostle to the Gentiles’ (). Paul was a Jewish Christian who communicated the message about Jesus to people who were not Jewish and didn’t know anything about the One True God. He was very much a missionary to foreign nations.

And that’s the key to being an apostle. Apostles—actually all the offices—are called according to…

But, Jesus calls Paul, not just as a disciple but as an Apostle. Notice the last verse of the story:

And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ” (, ESV)

Continuationism respects the uniqueness of the original 12 Apostles, but recognizes that there is an apostolic gifting that continues today and will continue forever. I like to say there are big A Apostles and small a apostles. Big A Apostles are the 12. Small a apostles are those who gifted and called to strategically carry out God’s mission in the world.

Apostleship in the small-a sense is not a dead office. It has not ceased, because we are very much in need of missionaries, Church planters, strategic thinkers.

Continuationism respects the linguistic boundaries of the term ‘Apostle’ by maintaining it’s original meaning, which is ‘to be sent’ or ‘sent one,’ like what we call a missionary or a church planter.

Jesus told Paul he would send him, that he would make him a ‘sent one.’ In other words, an Apostle. And if that’s not convincing enough, the Greek word used for send in this verse is actually ‘exapostello.’ It’s the verb form of the noun, apostolos. Notice the similarities.

No one get’s to decide to be an apostle. It’s not a job you can apply for. That’s why in our text, first Corinthians 1:1, Paul begins,

The church needs teachers who understand the scriptures and can clearly explain it to other people. The church needs shepherds or pastors to nurture and care for the spiritual needs of the congregation. The church needs evangelists who call people to respond to the message of redemption through Jesus’s blood. The church needs prophets who are so in tune with God’s desires that they can relate the truth of God’s word to the lives of people today. And the church needs apostles, sent ones, to organizationally carry out the mission of God in the world.

So, I want to close by talking a bit about apostolic authority. But, I’m not so much worried about the authority of apostles today. I want to encourage you to listen to the voice of the original apostles. The book of 1 Corinthians is an apostolic letter. Paul established the church at Corinth as an apostle, a missionary. But, the church did not function as it should. There was disunity in the church. There was infighting in the church. There was sin in the church. There was a lot of selfishness in the church. And the church was failing in its mission to the world around them. So, Paul wrote this letter to correct them. And we want to fall on that authority everywhere Paul presents challenges to us personally. And we want to fall on that authority everywhere that Paul challenges the local church as well.

Alan Hirsh provides this definition of Apostle:

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus… (, ESV)

SLIDE: exapostello -> to send away

apostolos -> Apostle; one sent forth

Matt read to you the story of Paul—also known as Saul. You saw that he was a Jew who was persecuting the Christians, but then, Jesus confronted him on the road and personally called Him to be a disciple.

Apostles extend the gospel. As the “sent ones,” they ensure that the faith is transmitted from one context to another and from one generation to the next. They are always thinking about the future, bridging barriers, establishing the church in new contexts, developing leaders, networking trans-locally.

So, it’s easy to see here what Paul tells us, that he was, ‘called by the will of God to be an apostle.’

The apostle is not the evangelist who is responsible for the day-to-day work of sharing the Gospel. The apostolic gifting is for strategically implanting the Gospel into new contexts, whether that is in a new city or a new people group or simply translating the Gospel for future generations.

[BLANK]

Jesus is so funny here. Paul is the most unlikely person to come to faith in the first place, but to call Paul to be an Apostle is ridiculous by human thinking.

And that’s what the Apostle Paul was. He called himself the ‘Apostle to the Gentiles’ (). Paul was a Jewish Christian who communicated the message about Jesus to people who were not Jewish and didn’t know anything about the One True God. He was very much a missionary to foreign nations.

We see throughout the New Testament that the men who were apostles were treated with special authority in the early church. But, one by one they all died. And church history is clear that they were not replaced with new apostles. New apostles were not appointed in the church, because the early church saw the special calling of the first apostles as unique, a calling and a gifting for that time.

What company hires the least qualified person for the job?

But, the office or calling of apostleship did continue, but without the apostolic authority of the original Apostles. Notice a second way the scriptures speak of Apostles. I like to call the original apostles Big-A Apostles and the other apostles, small-a apostles. I’ll give you a few examples of small-a apostles.

Apostleship in the small-a sense is not a dead office. It has not ceased, because we are very much in need of missionaries, Church planters, strategic thinkers.

Paul didn’t even want the job. Certainly, the guy who’s leading the persecution of the Christians is not the guy you want to call to spread Christianity.

The church needs teachers who understand the scriptures and can clearly explain it to other people. The church needs shepherds or pastors to nurture and care for the spiritual needs of the congregation. The church needs evangelists who call people to respond to the message of redemption through Jesus’s blood. The church needs prophets who are so in tune with God’s desires that they can relate the truth of God’s word to the lives of people today. And the church needs apostles, sent ones, to organizationally carry out the mission of God in the world.

But, Jesus called Paul, not just as a disciple but as an Apostle to show the incredible transformation that he brings about in people. I want you to notice the last verse of Paul’s story:

· In , Jesus is called an apostle because he is the one sent by God to rescue humanity.

· In , Epaphrodiditis, one of the brothers, is called an apostle. Most of our Bible translations call him a messenger, but the Greek word is apostolon, which is the same word used everywhere else for apostle.

So, I want to close by talking a bit about apostolic authority. But, I’m not so much worried about the authority of apostles today. I want to encourage you to listen to the voice of the original apostles. The book of 1 Corinthians is an apostolic letter. Paul established the church at Corinth as an apostle, a missionary. But, the church did not function as it should. There was disunity in the church. There was infighting in the church. There was sin in the church. There was a lot of selfishness in the church. And the church was failing in its mission to the world around them. So, Paul wrote this letter to correct them. And we want to fall on that authority everywhere Paul presents challenges to us personally. And we want to fall on that authority everywhere that Paul challenges the local church as well.

And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ” (, ESV)

· In , many other brothers are said to be apostles.

MORE EXHORTATION/APPLICATION/IMPLICATION

Jesus told Paul he would send him, that he would make him a ‘sent one.’ In other words, an Apostle. In the Bible, this is about as clear a calling as we see for Paul. The Greek word used for send in this verse is actually ‘exapostello.’ It’s the verb form of the noun, apostolos. Notice the similarities.

[SLIDE]

· In , Paul tells us that Andronicus and Junia were well known among the apostles. Christian tradition holds that they were themselves considered apostles, although in the wider sense of the word—small-a apostles—not in the same way as the 12.

exapostello -> to send away

apostolos -> Apostle; one sent forth

So, to recap, the best way to see this is that the Big-A Apostles were unique to the first century church. But, small-a apostles continued and still exist today, although they do not carry the apostolic authority that the Big-A Apostles did. Instead, we should see them as Alan Hirsh suggests, as missionaries, church planters, or those who equip and train missionaries and church planters.

So, it’s easy to see here what Paul tells us, that he was, ‘called by the will of God to be an apostle.’

So, the real question about Paul is this:

Is Paul a Big-A Apostle or a small-a apostle?

[BLANK]

We see throughout the New Testament that the men who were apostles were treated with a particular authority in the early church. But, one by one they all died. And church history is clear that although they still called people ‘apostle,’ the new apostles did not have the authority as the original ones. The early church saw the special calling of the first disciples as unique, a calling and a gifting for that time.

If you remember the story, God called a man named Ananias to go heal Paul from his blindness. In the account Dan read, we don’t get this part of the story, but in , we see an argument that Ananias had with the Lord. Ananias was fearful because Paul was persecuting Christians.

But, the office or calling of apostleship did continue, just without the apostolic authority of the original 12. Notice a second way the scriptures speak of apostles. I like to call the original apostles Big-A Apostles and the other apostles, small-a apostles. I’ll give you a few examples of small-a apostles in the Bible.

In , Jesus is called an apostle because he is the one sent by God to rescue humanity.

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” (, ESV)

The Lord called Paul His chosen instrument to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. And even that, you might say, ‘Well Paul was just another missionary.’ But, Paul several times compares himself to the other 12. And he speaks with equal authority. Peter in apparently sees Paul’s words as authoritative. And finally, ever since the earliest records of the church, the church considered Paul’s words to be as authoritative as the rest of scripture.

In , Epaphrodiditis, one of the brothers, is called an apostle. Most of our Bible translations call him a messenger, but the Greek word is apostolon, which is the same word used everywhere else for apostle.

In , many other brothers are said to be apostles.

We don’t give that kind of authority to any small-a apostles, so if we do give it to Paul, then Paul was most certainly a Big-A Apostle. It was God’s will.

In , Paul tells us that Andronicus and Junia were well known among the apostles. Christian tradition holds that they were themselves considered apostles, although in the wider sense of the word—small-a apostles—not in the same way as the 12.

And God’s will is perplexing. People want to know what God’s will is for them as if God had prewritten a plan for their lives—which he sort of has. But we often live in fear that we might miss God’s will.

It’s like we’re a mouse in a maze and if we don’t find the cheese we might starve to death.

So, to recap, the best way to see this is that the Big-A Apostles were unique to the first-century church. But, small-a apostles continued and still exist today, although they do not carry the apostolic authority that the Big-A Apostles did. Instead, we should see them as Alan Hirsh suggests, as missionaries, church planters, or those who equip and train missionaries and church planters.

So, an important question to ask about Paul is this:

We ask: What is God’s will for my life?

I want you to imagine for a moment that we had ribs smoking out behind the building. Sorry for the food analogy. And the sweet smell of pork ribs and barbeque sauce is wafting in the back doors, down the halls, and into the auditorium. And I told you—again, just an analogy—that right after service everyone was invited to have ribs for lunch.

Is Paul a Big-A Apostle or a small-a apostle?

You probably have never asked that question, but we should ask it. If you remember the story, God called a man named Ananias to go heal Paul from his blindness. In the account Matt read, we don’t get this part of the story, but in , we see an argument that Ananias had with the Lord. Ananias was fearful because Paul was persecuting Christians.

So, I preach for about 30 minutes and you look at the clock. And you’re getting hungry. And then another 15 minutes goes by and I’m still talking. And then we’re pushing an hour. And then it’s an hour 15.

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” (, ESV)

At what point are you going to run out of will power and leave the auditorium in search for ribs?

The Lord called Paul His chosen instrument to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. And even that, you might say, ‘Well Paul was just another missionary.’ But, Paul several times compared himself to the other 12. And he spoke with equal authority. The Apostle Peter, one of the 12, in apparently saw Paul’s words as authoritative. And finally, ever since the earliest records of the church, the church always considered Paul’s words to be as trustworthy as the rest of scripture.

You see, the will is a desire based mechanism. The will functions on desire. When your desire for lunch becomes greater than your desire for biblical teaching, then you act.

As humans, we do all sorts of things that are malicious and hurtful, because we have unnatural desires, stemming from sin. Even though you know what is right, you willfully do what is wrong, because your will is motivated by your desires. When someone eats a third of fourth slice of pie and says, ‘I just didn’t have the willpower!’ it’s because their desire for pie was stronger than their desire, to stay fit and slim or whatever.

[BLANK]

We don’t give that kind of authority to any small-a apostles, so if we do give it to Paul, then Paul was most certainly a Big-A Apostle. It was God’s will.

PAUSE

Our wills are controlled by our greatest desires and unless our greatest desire becomes for righteousness, we will never be able to have self-control and we will never be free from sin. We’ll never be truly repentant.

And God’s will is perplexing. People want to know what God’s will is for them as if God had pre-written a plan for their lives—which he sort of has. But we often live in fear that we might miss God’s will.

And that’s how God’s will works too. God is motivated by his desires. Praise God, that His desires are always holy, just, and righteous! So, when you ask, ‘What is God’s will for my life?’ what you are really asking is ‘What is God’s desire for me?’

It’s like we’re a mouse in a maze and if we don’t find the cheese, we might starve to death.

When Paul was called by the will of God to be an Apostle, God’s desire for Paul was not to do away with the church, but to expand the church—to grow it bigger and further.

We ask: What is God’s will for my life? What does he want from me?

God had a desire for Paul and He has a desire for each of us. As a good and righteous Father, ‘What is His desire for you?’ God’s will is hard to discern, but God’s desire for you is simple. It’s love God and love your neighbors. You don’t need to be caught up with anxiety over whether God’s will is for you to be a preacher or a missionary or start some sort of non-profit. If God’s will is for you to do that, you’ll know. You won’t be able to avoid it. God caught Paul on the road to Damascus to tell him his will.

I want you to imagine for a moment that we had ribs smoking out behind the building. Sorry for the food analogy. And the sweet smell of pork ribs and barbecue sauce is wafting in the back doors, down the halls, and into the auditorium. And I told you—again, just an analogy—that right after service everyone was invited to have ribs for lunch.

You don’t need to worry so much about that. God’s will is for you to love. To love Him and to love others. And if he has something else for you, he’ll let you know.

So, I preach for about 30 minutes, and you look at the clock. And you’re getting hungry. And then another 15 minutes goes by, and I’m still talking. And then we’re pushing an hour. And then it’s an hour 15.

So, we’ve said this word a few times.

At what point are you going to run out of willpower and leave the auditorium in search for ribs?

You see, the will is a desire based mechanism. The will is fueled by desire. When your desire for lunch becomes greater than your desire for biblical teaching, then you will act.

Paul wrote,

As humans, we do all sorts of things that are malicious and hurtful, because we have unnatural desires, stemming from our brokenness and sin. Even though you know what is right, you willfully do what is wrong, because your will is motivated by your desires.

When someone eats a third or fourth slice of pie and says, ‘I just didn’t have the willpower!’ it’s because their desire for pie was stronger than their desire, to stay fit and slim or whatever. Your desires always win. The only way our behavior ever changes is when God changes our desires. Our wills are controlled by our greatest desires, and unless our greatest desire becomes the righteousness of Christ, we will never be able to have self-control, and we will never be free from sin. We’ll never be truly repentant.

Our wills are controlled by our greatest desires, and unless our greatest desire becomes for righteousness, we will never be able to have self-control, and we will never be free from sin. We’ll never be truly repentant.

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes. (, ESV)

And that’s how God’s will works too. God is always motivated by his desires. God’s desires always win. Praise God, that His desires are always holy, just, and righteous! So, when you ask, ‘What is God’s will for my life?’ you aren’t asking what God wants you to do. What you are really asking is ‘What is God’s desire for me?’

Paul was called by the will or desire of God. Calling is an interesting concept in the New Testament. Another word for call would be invite or even summon.

That’s a little easier question to answer from scripture because it says ‘Who am I to God?’ not ‘What does God want me to do?’

There’s an important theological discussion to be had here. It’s this: when God calls someone, is that an offer, like an invitation, or does it carry more weight, like a summons? Or is it a demand or mandate that you can’t avoid?

Some people would say it’s just an invitation. You can take it or leave it. If you invited friends over for dinner and they were busy already or tired from the work week they might decline and that’s OK. It’s their prerogative.

Do you see the difference?

I like the word invite, because it says something profound about biblical calling.

When Paul was called by the will of God to be an Apostle, God’s desire for Paul was not to do away with the church but to expand the church—to grow it bigger and further.

God had a desire for Paul, and He has a desire for each of us. As a good and righteous Father, ‘What is His desire for you?’

What if someone says to you, “Hey, I want to invite you to get burgers with us after church?”

God’s will is hard to discern, but God’s desire for you is simple. It’s the greatest commandment: ‘love God’ and ‘love your neighbors.’ You don’t need to be caught up with anxiety over whether God’s will is for you to be a preacher or a missionary or start some sort of non-profit.

It would be very awkward for you to respond, “No, let’s go get steak and lobster instead,” especially if they are buying. The Apostle Paul was called as an Apostle, not an administrator, not a groundskeeper, not a deacon, not even a pastor in the traditional sense. His calling was to apostleship.

If God’s will is for you to do that, you’ll know. You won’t be able to avoid it. God caught Paul on the road to Damascus to tell him his will.

Notice the last part of our text.

You don’t need to worry so much about that. God’s desire for you is love. To love Him and to love others. And if he has something else for you, he’ll let you know.

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes. (, ESV)

So, we’ve said this word a few times.

Who on earth is Sosthenes?

Sosthenes was the leader of the synagogue in Corinth and an educated man. Paul’s practice was to hire a scribe or a secretary to write down his letters for him. Writing in Greek was far more challenging than speaking Greek and so it took someone with a special skillset. So God invited Sosthenes to be the scribe and Paul to be the Apostle. They didn’t get to switch roles, because you can change the plan when someone else sends out the invite.

PAUSE

I like the idea of invite because it says that God determines what he wants you to do, not you. It’s God’s desire, not your desire. But, there’s a weakness to thinking of calling as invitations, because invitations are turned down far more easily than I think God ought to be turned down.

Paul wrote,

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes. (, ESV)

So, others who realize that weakness would go to the polar-opposite end of the spectrum. They would say that God’s calling leaves you without a choice at all. When you are called by God, you have no choice, but to do what God has called you to do. God’s calling is fully deterministic. If God has called you, then according to His sovereign will or desire, you have no will or desire to respond otherwise. In other words, if God calls you, you have no ability to decline, no matter what you want to do.

I don’t think either of those are quite right. I believe calling is like a summons, because it’s an invitation from the King. When you are dealing with the summons of a king, there’s really no difference between an invitation or a summons or a calling. Because, no one would dare refuse an invitation from the king.

Paul was called by the will or desire of God. Calling is an interesting concept in the New Testament. Another word for ‘call’ would be ‘invite’ or ‘summon.’

If the president of the United States invited you to the White House for dinner, you probably wouldn’t decline because you were tired. And if you already had plans, you would probably reorganize your calendar. When it’s a summons, you are expected to comply.

[BLANK]

There’s an important theological discussion to be had here. It’s this:

But, notice, a summons doesn’t take away your choice. Maybe you have gotten a jury summons and wanted to ignore it. Well, in many states you can be fined or even imprisoned for ignoring a jury summons. This is more along the lines of the way calling works in God’s Kingdom. If God calls, there is an expectation you will comply. And there is a definite penalty if you choose to ignore God’s calling. But, you still have a choice.

When God calls someone, is that an offer, as an invitation, or does it carry more weight, like a summons? Or is it a demand or mandate that you can’t avoid?

Some people would say it’s just an invitation. You can take it or leave it. If you invited friends over for dinner and they were busy already or tired from the work week, they might decline, and that’s OK. It’s their prerogative.

The reality is, when someone sticks a gun to your head and says, “Give me all your money or I’ll shoot,” you still have a choice to make. It’s just an easy choice.

I like some things about the word invite because it says something profound about biblical calling.

So, when God calls you to do something—whether that’s something huge like being an Apostle or something more day-to-day, like helping a neighbor, or if that’s a ministry duty like being a secretary—when God calls, there is an expectation you will comply.

What if someone says to you, “Hey, I want to invite you to get burgers with us after church?”

And that can seem kind of harsh. It can seem like God strong-arms people into their calling. Like, since He’s God, He can do whatever. He calls and we just follow so that we don’t get in trouble, or something like that.

It would be socially awkward for you to respond, “No, let’s go get steak and lobster instead,” especially if they’re buying. The Apostle Paul was called as an Apostle, not an administrator, not a groundskeeper, not a deacon, not even a pastor in the traditional sense. His calling was to apostleship. As the one calling, God determined that, not Paul, because the one sending the invite determines the calling.

But, I don’t think that’s how it works. I think God calls us to what is best for us. Paul would wholeheartedly agree that it was better that He was called than left alone. Paul didn’t come willingly, but after responding to God’s call, Paul celebrated His calling.

Do you think Paul would have rather had his life the other way, persecuting Christians and headed for eternal damnation?

Notice the last part of our text.

I know that I’m grateful for my calling to be a pastor. I’ve had lots of options, but answering God’s call is one of the most fulfilling decisions I’ve ever made.

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes. (, ESV)

When God calls us, it isn’t to strong-arm us into doing you something we don’t want to do. Instead, God’s calling leads us to be the people we really want to be.

It’s tempting to skip this, but who on earth is Sosthenes?

Sosthenes was the leader of the synagogue in Corinth and an educated man. Paul’s practice was to hire a scribe or a secretary to write down his letters for him. Writing in Greek was far more challenging than speaking Greek, and so it took someone with a special skillset. So, God invited Sosthenes to be a minister to Paul, to help him write stuff down. They didn’t get to switch roles because you can change the plan when someone else sends out the invite.

God’s calling leads us to be the people we really want to be.

[BLANK]

This is how God’s calling always works. When God calls you to faith in the first place, it’s because he is leading you to be the person you really want to be. When God calls you to repent of sins, He is leading you to be the person you really want to be. When God calls you to serve Him, He is leading you to be the person you really want to be.

I like the idea of invite because it says that God determines what He wants you to do, not you. It’s God’s desire, not your desire. And I like that because there’s freedom in it. God will never call you to something He doesn’t intend to equip you to finish.

But, there’s a weakness to thinking of calling as invitations, because invitations are turned down far more easily than I think God ought to be turned down.

Paul would have never asked to be an Apostle in a million years and yet, he received unspeakable joy because of his calling, because God was leading him to be the person he really wanted to be.

So, others who realize that weakness would go to the polar-opposite end of the spectrum. They would say that God’s calling leaves you without a choice at all. When you are called by God, you have no choice, but to do what God has called you to do. God’s calling is fully deterministic. It’s so effectual that you cannot escape it. If God has called you, then according to His sovereign will or desire, you have no will or desire to respond otherwise. This view says that you will answer God’s calling, because God determined your response ahead of time. And that just sounds like puppetry to me.

[OFFICES SLIDE—6 OFFICES]

So, I don’t think either of those are quite right. I believe biblical calling is more like a summons because it’s an invitation from the King. When you are dealing with the summons of a king, there’s really no difference between an invitation or a summons or a calling. Because no one would dare refuse an invitation from the king.

If the president of the United States invited you to the White House for dinner, you probably wouldn’t decline because you were tired. And if you already had plans, you would probably reorganize your calendar. When it’s a summons, you are expected to comply.

So, it’s not lost on me that I told you about 5 offices and we looked really closely at the Apostle Paul’s calling, but we never got to look at the 6th office. Let’s look at the sixth now as we wrap up. The sixth office is…

But, notice, a summons doesn’t take away your choice. Maybe you have gotten a jury summons and wanted to ignore it. Well, in many states you can be fined or even imprisoned for ignoring a jury summons. And people do ignore them.

Ministers, according to Paul, do the work of the church. Ministers fall under the authority of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers. Or if it’s easier to relate to our context, we would tend to roll all of the leadership offices into the office of pastor. So we could say that everyone in the church are ministers and the job of the pastors is to equip the ministers to carry out their role.

This is more along the lines of the way calling works in God’s Kingdom. If God calls, there is an expectation you will comply. And there is a definite penalty if you choose to ignore God’s calling. Paul would have remained blind if he ignored God’s call. But, he still made a choice.

This is the way if must be if the church is going to be successful in carrying out the mission. My friend Mike said it this way. He said,

The reality is when someone sticks a gun to your head and says, “Give me all your money, or I’ll shoot,” you still have a choice to make. It’s just an obvious choice.

In a small church the pastor does the ministry and the people make all the decisions. In a large church the people do the ministry and the pastors make all the decisions. (Mike McGuffy, CSBC Healthy Church Group)

So, when God calls you to do something—whether that’s something huge like being an Apostle or something more day-to-day, like helping a neighbor, or if that’s a ministry duty like being a secretary or scribe or whatever it is—when God calls, there is an expectation you will comply.

And that can seem kind of harsh. It can seem like God strong-arms people into their calling. Like, since He’s God, He can do whatever. He calls, and we just follow so that we don’t get in trouble or something like that.

His point was that no one is called to join the church to be ministered to, but actually to do the work of ministry.

But, I don’t think that’s how God’s heart works. I think God calls us to what is best for us. Paul would wholeheartedly agree that it was better that He was called than left alone. Paul didn’t come to Jesus willingly, but after responding to God’s call, Paul celebrated His calling.

And there’s a disconnect here, because we are used to looking at pastors as ministers. It’s easy to look up at the preacher and see him as a minister. And then when I say that all Christians are called to be ministers, you think that means you need to be a preacher or a missionary or something like that.

But, we have lots of faithful ministers in this church and they aren’t all the people you see up on stage on a Sunday morning.

Do you think Paul would have rather had his life the other way, persecuting Christians and headed for eternal damnation?

· Wanda is our church administrator. She faithfully ministers in the church, mostly behind the scenes.

I know that I’m grateful for my calling to be a pastor. I’ve had lots of opportunities in life, but answering God’s call is one of the most fulfilling decisions I’ve ever made.

When God calls us, it isn’t to strong-arm us into doing something we don’t want to do. Instead, God’s calling leads us to be the people we really want to be.

· Rod is our church treasurer. He ministers to us all by taking care of our bank account and writing checks when need be.

God’s calling leads us to be the people we really want to be.

· Linda is our book keeper. She takes care of all the individual transactions and makes sure we comply with all the legal stuff.

This is how God’s calling always works.

There are dozens of other people who do service in the church. And then there are people who do service outside the church in the community. They are ministers to the lost and the needy.

When God calls you to repent of sins, He is leading you to a life of fulfillment.

When God calls you to serve Him, He is leading you to a better vocation.

When God calls you to faith in the first place, it’s because he is leading you to be the person you really want to be.

Paul would have never asked to be an Apostle in a million years, and yet, he received unspeakable joy because of his calling, because God was leading him to be the person he really wanted to be.

· Bill and Bill minister to the hungry.

· Tina and Pedro minister to addicts through our Celebrate Your Recovery group.

And there are countless more who minister outside the church as well. If you are a Christian, that’s what you are called to, to minister truth and love to those around you; both in the church and outside the church.

[OFFICES SLIDE—6 OFFICES]

What’s the will of God for my life?

So, it’s not lost on me that I told you about 5 offices and we looked really closely at Paul’s calling as Apostle, but we never got to look at the 6th office. Let’s look at the sixth now as we wrap up. The sixth office is…

To be a minister of love.

Ministers, according to Paul, do the work of the church. Ministers fall under the authority of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers. Or if it’s easier to relate to our context, we would tend to roll all of the leadership offices into the office of pastor. So we could say that everyone in the church are ministers and the job of the pastors is to equip the ministers to carry out their role.

And it’s the job of your pastors to make sure you are equipped to carry out that work.

So, I want to end with this. The Apostle Paul knew his place. He was called by the will of God as an Apostle—Big A.

This is the way it must be if the church is going to be successful in carrying out the mission. My friend Mike said it this way. He said,

In a small church, the pastor does the ministry, and the people make all the decisions. In a large church, the people do the ministry, and the pastors make all the decisions. (Mike McGuffy, CSBC Healthy Church Group)

What’s your calling?

He said this as an observation of the way that churches grow. The biblical model has pastors as equippers and the people as ministers. And when a church isn’t set up that way, it won’t function properly. A couple of pastors can’t minister to the people of the church and to the entire community around them.

Has God called you to be a pastor? An evangelist? A missionary? A teacher? A preacher?

If you don’t know, you can be certain you are called to be a minister. So start to minister, start to serve, start to get involved anywhere you can and let God bring you along the way.

[BLANK]

No one is called to join the church to be ministered to, but actually to do the work of ministry.

I want to encourage you, as you fill out your next step card today, it’s a little different. You’ve been given a lot to chew on and I hope that you have a good idea what your Next Step is this week. Go ahead and write it in for us so we can be praying for you.

And there’s a disconnect here because we are used to looking at pastors as ministers. But, remember where we started. The saints—the people of the church—are the ministers. When someone is called to be a pastor we say things like, ‘He accepted a call to the ministry.’ But, becoming a pastor is not joining the ministry. Coming to Jesus is joining the ministry. You are all ministers if you are in Christ.

But, it’s easy to look up at the preacher and see him as a minister. And then when I say that all Christians are called to be ministers, you think that means you need to be a preacher or a missionary or something like that.

But, I want to point you to a couple specific boxes. If you are a follower of Jesus, but you don’t feel you are a minister, you don’t serve in the church or in your community, then you might want to mark the box that says begin serving at Sonrise, so we can get you plugged in.

And maybe right now you aren’t serving, you aren’t ministering, because you’ve never made a commitment to Jesus. I’d encourage you to do that today, that as you’ve heard the Word of God, that you would choose today to commit your life to Jesus. If you’re ready to do that, mark the box that says COMMIT to Jesus for the first time and we would love to connect with you to tell you more about what that looks like.

But, that’s not it at all. We have lots of faithful ministers in this church and they aren’t all the people you see up on stage on a Sunday morning.

Wanda is our church administrator. She faithfully ministers in the church, mostly behind the scenes.

Let me pray for you as we close.

[PRAY]

Rod is our church treasurer. He ministers to us all by taking care of our bank account and writing checks when need be.

Linda is our bookkeeper. She takes care of all the individual transactions and makes sure we comply with all the legal stuff.

There are dozens of other people who do service in the church. And then some people do service outside the church in the community. They are ministers to the lost and the needy.

Bill and Bill minister to the hungry.

Tina and Pedro minister to addicts through our Celebrate Your Recovery group.

And there are countless more who minister outside the church as well. If you are a Christian, that’s what you are called to, to minister truth and love to those around you; both in the church and outside the church.

What’s the will of God for your life?

To be a minister, to serve as a minister of love to those in the church and those in your communities.

And it’s the job of your pastors to make sure you are equipped to carry out that work.

PAUSE

So, I want to end with this. The Apostle Paul knew his place. He was called by the will of God as an Apostle—Big A.

What’s your calling?

Has God called you to be a pastor? An evangelist? A missionary? A teacher? A preacher?

If you don’t know, you can be confident you are called to be a minister. So start to minister, start to serve, start to get involved anywhere you can and let God bring you along the way.

I want to encourage you, as you fill out your next step card today, it’s a little different. You’ve been given a lot to chew on, and I hope that you have a good idea what your Next Step is this week. Go ahead and write it in for us so we can be praying for you.

But, I still want to point you to a couple specific boxes. If you are a follower of Jesus, but you don’t feel you are a minister, you don’t serve in the church or in your community; then you might want to mark the box that says begin serving at Sonrise, so we can get you plugged in, help you get started.

And maybe right now you aren’t serving, you aren’t ministering because you’ve never made a commitment to Jesus. I’d encourage you to do that today, that as you’ve heard the Word of God, that you would choose today to commit your life to Jesus. If you’re ready to do that, mark the box that says COMMIT to Jesus for the first time, and we would love to connect with you to tell you more about what that looks like.

Let me pray for you as we close.

[PRAY]

---

Called as an Apostle

Intro

Unique Individuals

Offices

Calling

Calling

Offices

Cessationism

Apostolic

Continuationism

Prophet?

God’s Will (ADD 900 WORDS!)

Prophet?

Evangelist

Evangelist

Shepherd

Cessationism

Teacher

Shepherd

Apostleship

Apostolic

Cessationism

Apostle

Teacher

Apostolic

God’s Will

Continuationism

Apostle

Continuationism

God’s Will

Calling

Calling

Conclusion

Minister

Conclusion

Minister