The role of the Apostle
“Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas -- Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren, and they sent this letter by them, ‘The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to the brethren in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings.’” (Acts 15:22-23)
I believe that in this verse, Paul outlines the governmental structure for the church: the Apostles, the Elders, and the Brethren. In this post (and those to come) we will look at some of the roles of the Apostles. This list is not exhaustive, but contains some of the role I believe to be important.
Master Builder
“According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:10-11)
As a “master builder,” Paul describes himself as one who oversees the building of the church. While Paul did not oversee every little aspect in the church, his role was as an architect. He was concerned with what the church was to become, and as such, his chief focus was upon the foundation. The foundation determines the extent of what can be build upon it. If you have a small foundation or if it is build with inferior material, then only a small building may be build upon it, but if the foundation is laid upon a rock and built with superior material, then there is no limit to the structure that may be built. Jesus put it this way, “Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.” (Luke 6:47-48 NKJV)
One of the roles of an apostle is as a master builder. In this role, an apostle is responsible for laying a solid foundation in the church. Paul makes clear that the foundation they are to lay is Jesus Christ. They are not concerned with establishing a denomination or with teaching sectarian aspects of one or another sect of Christianity. Their main concern is seeing Jesus Christ established at the center of every believer’s heart and at the center of every local expression of the Body of Christ. Apostles understand that, unless Jesus is the foundation of everything we do, then all our works will be like those built upon the sand and whose end will be, “the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.” (Luke 6:49)
In laying a foundation, an apostle also understands that a foundation is not what you know, but what you do. Jesus said that the man who laid a solid foundation was one who “comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them.” (Luke 6:47) An apostle is not as concerned with changing someone’s doctrine as they are with changing someone’s way of life. They want to see people’s life changed and they want to see all believers come into conformance to the image of Christ. Paul put it this way, “My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you.” (Galatians 4:19) As a master builder, they are concerned with the heart, not the mind. They are concerned with transformation not education. They are concerned with the foundation not the outward appearance of the building.
More to come… David Robison
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