Lessons #447 and 448
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Specific spiritual assignments in the church (1 Cor 12:27-31)
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.
This section of the twelfth chapter of 1 Corinthians is concerned with specific spiritual assignments that God has made to certain individuals in the church of Christ. But before the apostle gets to the assignments, he in a sense both resumes his discourse on spiritual gifts and ends his discourse on the diversity of spiritual gifts in the church of Christ with an emphatic explanation that indicates that what he has been discoursing in 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 using parts of the body is indeed concerned with the church of Christ and individual believers that compose the church.
Why do I contend that the apostle both resumes his discourse on spiritual gifts and ends his discourse on the diversity of spiritual gifts in the church of Christ with an emphatic explanation? It is primarily because of the word now that begins verse 27. The word “now” is translated from a Greek particle (de) used in the verse that may be used to connect one clause to another, either to express contrast or simple continuation but in certain occurrences, the marker may be left untranslated. Although it is often translated “but” in the English when there is a perceived contrast between two clauses, it has other meanings such as “now,” “then,” “and,” “so,” when it is used to link segments of a narrative. When it is used to link segments of a narrative, it could be used to insert an explanation in which case it may be translated “that is.” It could also be used to resume a discourse that has been interrupted so that it may be translated “now” or “so then.” In verse 27, the Greek particle is used to do double duty of providing explanation as well as resuming a discourse. You see, beginning in 1 Corinthians 12:12, the apostle introduced the concept of unity and diversity in the church using body parts. Therefore, there is tendency for a person in Corinth or even a later reader to assume that the apostle is speaking of body parts because he mentioned the functions of body parts such as the ear and eye. But then, the apostle makes statements that are difficult to comprehend if he were speaking of human body parts. For example, in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 12:26 the apostle wrote if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. It is difficult to understand how parts of the body would rejoice because a body part is honored. However, it makes better sense if one takes the body parts as reference to individual believers in Christ who as part of the body of Christ should rejoice with a fellow believer who is blessed in a special way by the Lord. There are those who would interpret this clause in a literal way, supposing the apostle is concerned with body parts. Nonetheless, our interpretation of this clause implies that the literal interpretation is not a correct way to handle it since we interpreted the clause as referring to a believer in Christ and the church of Christ. We did so because we believe the apostle was concerned with believers and the church of Christ, not with body parts and body as such. To assure us that we correctly interpreted what he had in mind in the analogy of body parts he used in 1 Corinthians 12:12-26, the apostle provides an explanation in verse 27 that we will get to at the appropriate time that leaves no doubt that he was concerned with believers and the church of Christ in his analogy of body parts. It is for this reason that we contend that the Greek particle (de) translated “now” is in part used to provide an explanation. We also indicated that the Greek particle is used to indicate a resumption of a discourse that was interrupted. We justify this interpretation as we explain. The apostle introduced and discoursed spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 but he did not continue with any further comments about the various spiritual gifts after he indicated that there is diversity of spiritual gifts. Instead, he proceeded from verse 12 to discourse on the unity in diversity in the body of Christ using analogy of the body and body parts. As he ended his teaching on the unity and diversity in the body of Christ, he returned in verse 28 to the subject of spiritual gifts although he was more concerned with assignments given to those with spiritual gifts. This being the case, we are forced to conclude that the apostle had resumed his discourse on spiritual gifts and so we are correct to indicate that the Greek particle the apostle used in verse 27 that is translated “now” in the NIV serves to indicate that the apostle is resuming a discourse that he had interrupted to deal with the subject of unity and diversity in the church of Christ. Of course, verse 27 ends the discourse on the unity in diversity of believers in the church of Christ using analogy of body parts but not the issue of diversity by itself.
Be that as it may, it is our assertion that the passage before us is concerned with the specific assignments God has given some individuals in the church of Christ. This assertion leads us to the message we believe the Holy Spirit wants us to convey to you from our passage. This message is this: Be aware of the specific spiritual assignments God made to individuals in the church but your focus in your spiritual life should not be on the gifts associated with them instead be focused on living out the spiritual life. We will expound on this message through the use of four propositions derived from the passage.
The first proposition that is necessary to expound on the message that is concerned with the spiritual assignments God made to some individuals in the church is this: The spiritual assignments are made to those in the church of Christ that you are a member. This proposition may not be readily apparent, but it is implied in what the Holy Spirit stated through Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
There are two facts the apostle conveyed in emphatic manner in verse 27 that are relevant to understanding the proposition we made. Reading the verse in nearly all of our English versions does not allow the reader to recognize that the apostle is emphatic in what he wrote in the verse we are considering. However, the Greek enables us to recognize that the apostle was being emphatic in what he wrote. The Greek used an independent personal pronoun “you” to begin the verse. It is not necessary to use an independent pronoun in the Greek since the Greek form of a verb tells us the appropriate pronoun that is necessary to translate the word into the English. In effect, the Greek form tells us the subject of the sentence that a Greek verb applies. However, when a Greek author wants to convey emphasis regarding the subject of the sentence then an independent pronoun is used as in the verse we are considering. The apostle used an independent pronoun “you” in the plural in the Greek to indicate the apostle addressed not a single person but all believers in Corinth. If you are a believer, you are included in the word “you” in our verse. Another reason for asserting that the apostle was emphatic in what he stated in verse 27 is the word and in the second clause of 1 Corinthian 12:27 and each one of you is a part of it. The word “and” is translated from a Greek conjunction (kai) that is often translated “and” in our English versions as reflected in this verse we are considering. The meaning “and” may have the sense of being used for additional information that instead of “and” it may be translated “also.” Nonetheless, the Greek conjunction has several other usages. For example, it may be used to introduce a result that comes from what precedes and so may be translated “and then, and so.” It may be used to mark an explanation so that what follows explains what goes before it, leading to the translation “that is, namely, and so.” It may be used to emphasize a fact as surprising or unexpected or noteworthy with the meaning “and yet” or “and in spite of that” or “nevertheless.” Of course, it could be used simply for emphasis with the meaning “even.” In our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:27, the conjunction is used not merely to add another fact but to do so in an emphatic manner that it may be translated “in fact” or we can even translate it more fully as “and in fact” to capture the fact the apostle was not merely adding additional fact but that he does so emphatically.
Be that as it may, the first fact the apostle conveyed is that the body of Christ is the church of Christ and so the Corinthians are a local church. This fact is an explanation of his use of analogy of human body to describe the church of Christ. It is this explanation that is given in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 12:27 you are the body of Christ. The word “body” is translated from a Greek word (sōma) that is used both literally and figuratively. Literally, it is used for the body of a human being or an animal as in the instruction of the Lord Jesus not to be afraid of those who can only kill the body but of God who can destroy both body and soul as stated in Matthew 10:28:
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Figuratively, the apostle uses the word “body” to refer to the Christian community. Hence, Apostle Paul tells the believers in Rome that they form one body in Christ in Romans 12:5:
so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
So, when the word is used in relation to Christ, it refers to the church. Thus, the phrase body of Christ here in 1 Corinthians 12:27 refers to the church of Christ, as Apostle Paul used it in Ephesians 1:22–23:
22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
The body of Jesus Christ is defined as the church in this passage of Ephesians so also in another epistle of the apostle, that is, Colossians 1:24:
Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.
Hence, there is no doubt that the body of Christ refers to the church of Christ. This being the case, the apostle had indeed conveyed to the Corinthians that they are a local church of Christ. Such declaration should, as we have previously referenced, remind the Corinthians that when the apostle used analogy of body parts that he was not concerned with human body but ultimately with the church of Christ. By the way the phrase the body of Christ means the church belongs to Christ and that He continues to give life to the church as the head of the church.
A second fact the apostle conveyed to the Corinthians is that each of them belongs to the church of Christ as we read in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 12:27 and each one of you is a part of it. This clause of the NIV is a good interpretative translation as there is no verb in the Greek since the Greek literally reads and members by part. This is because “each one” in the NIV is how the translators rendered a Greek word (melos) that literally refers to a part of the human body so may mean “body part, limb” as Apostle Paul used it in instructing believers about ensuring that no physical part of their bodies is an instrument of sin as we read in Romans 6:13:
Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
Figuratively, the word may mean “member,” that is, a part as member of a whole as it is used to describe individual believers as part of the body of Christ or the church to whom another believer should not lie to as we read in Ephesians 4:25:
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:27, it is used figuratively, in the sense of “member” where the individual believer is a part of the body of Christ. The word “part” in the sentence of the NIV each one of you is a part of it is translated from a Greek word (meros) that means “part in contrast to a whole” but because of the Greek preposition used the literal Greek reading of members by part leads to understanding of the literal phrase by part to mean “individually.” So, the apostle wanted to convey in emphatic manner that each believer in Corinth is a member of the body of Christ.
The apostle provided the two facts of the body of Christ being the church and that each believer is a member of the church of Christ for at least two reasons. First, the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul wants believers to recognize that there is no need to feel inferior in the church because of one’s assignment in the church of Christ. You see, there is the possibility that those who have spiritual gifts that make them noticeable would be prone to considering themselves as being more important in the body of Christ than those who have gifts that are not easily noticed. As it is truly the case in Corinth, the apostle wants each believer to be assured of the individual’s position in the church. Each member along with others compose the church of Christ. Second, the Holy Spirit through the apostle wants believer to recognize that the spiritual assignments that are discussed beginning in verse 28 only apply to the church of Christ. In a sense, the Holy Spirit tells the Corinthians and so to us that the assignments that are stated beginning in verse 28 are those that apply only to believers in Christ or in the church of Christ. This second point is supported by what the apostle wrote in verse 28 that we will get to shortly. Anyway, the first proposition we have stated is: The spiritual assignments are made to those in the church of Christ that you are a member. This brings us to the second proposition.
The second proposition that is necessary to expound on the message that is concerned with the spiritual assignments God made to some individuals in the church is this: Spiritual assignments are ranked according to their importance in the church of Christ. Before we consider our reason for this proposition, let me bring your attention to a fact that supported my assertion that what the apostle wrote in verse 27 in part is to inform the Corinthians and so to us that the spiritual assignments he was concerned are only found in the church of Christ. The support for it is the first phrase of 1 Corinthians 12:28 And in the church. By the way, the Greek word (kai) translated “and” in many of our English versions although not translated in others is used not merely to link verse 28 to verse 27 as implied by our English versions that used that meaning in their translation. The apostle probably used it to indicate that what is stated in verse 28 results from the facts stated in verse 27. This being the case, it should be translated “and so.” Of all the English versions that I consulted only the AMP, in my judgment, reflected this interpretation since the translators used the conjunction “so” to begin the verse. Anyhow, the apostle intended to convey that a result of having the church of Christ and believers being members is that of spiritual assignments that can only be found in the church of Christ, not outside it. In effect, the spiritual assignments the apostle listed in verse 28 are only available in the church of Christ and for members of the body of Christ. The use of the phrase in the church enables us to be more certain that the phrase the body of Christ mentioned in verse 27 refers to the church of Christ. The church here, of course, refers to the universal church of Christ not the local church in Corinth which is primarily a Gentile local church.
We used the phrase “spiritual assignments” in stating the second proposition that spiritual assignments are ranked according to their importance in the church of Christ. This is because of what is implied in the word “appointed” used in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 12:28 God has appointed. The word “appointed” is translated from a Greek word (tithēmi) that may mean “to lay, put”, that is, to put or place in a particular location. Thus, it was used for burial in the sense of the laying away or putting away the body of Lazarus in the grave after his death as per the question of the Lord Jesus to his sisters recorded in John 11:34:
“Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
It is in the sense of laying that the word is used in the quotation from the OT Scripture regarding the stumbling stone laid in Zion that Apostle Paul cited in Romans 9:33:
As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
The word is used for Jesus Christ giving up His life for us in 1 John 3:16:
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
The word may mean “to appoint, assign” to some task or function, as Apostle Paul used it to describe his appointment or assignment regarding the gospel message in 2 Timothy 1:11:
And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.
The word may mean “to put aside, store up, deposit” as it is used in the instruction of Apostle Paul to the Corinthians regarding how to get ready for the contribution of money or gift that is to be delivered to believers in Judea by weekly putting aside an amount a person has determined, as we read in 1 Corinthians 16:2:
On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
The word may mean “to make” in the sense of making someone something, as in the instruction of Apostle Paul in his farewell address to the elders of the church of Ephesus who have been put to their position of overseers of believers in Ephesus by the Holy Spirit, as recorded in Acts 20:28:
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
The word may mean “to fix, set, establish” as it is used in the response of the Lord Jesus to His disciples after His resurrection regarding the time God has set to restore the kingdom to Israel, as stated in Acts 1:7:
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:28, the word is used in the sense of “to appoint,” that is, to assign a duty, responsibility, or obligation to someone or to make someone become something. It is because the meaning “to appoint” involves assigning duty or responsibility to a person that we chose the word “assignment” to present the second proposition.
All the same, the apostle wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:28 God has appointed. The apostle used the word “God” to convey that the spiritual assignments he listed are not of human origin. In effect, no one is given any assignment in the church of Christ without it ultimately being from God. There is the tendency for some to think that a human being or a group of believers ultimately appoints an individual to a spiritual assignment but that is not the case. The situation is that God guides or directs those responsible for assigning offices to other believers to correctly assign those He has already chosen for such assignments. You see, there are those who think that the early church actually appointed the twelfth apostle because of what is stated in Acts 1:24–26:
24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
On a surface reading of this passage, it will appear that the disciples chose Matthias by casting lots. By the way, whatever the method that was involved in casting lots, one thing that is for certain is that it was not an election where people cast their ballots. No! This is a procedure that Israel used to determine God’s will. Without going into the details of casting lots, our concern is to show that Matthias was not chosen by the disciples but by God Himself. This is because the Scripture is clear that the outcome of casting of lot is determined by God as we read in Proverbs 16:33:
The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.
This being the case, it was the Lord who chose Matthias and not the early church. That aside, it is important to emphasize that it is God who appoints a believer to a specific assignment although a human agent is used. You see, when the apostle stated God has appointed, it is probably so we do not think that even pastors who appoint deacons are really the source of the appointment. We say this because we know Apostle Paul charged Titus with that responsibility as we read in Titus 1:5:
The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.
The word “appoint” in this verse is translated from a Greek word (kathistēmi) that means “to assign someone a position of authority,” that is, “to appoint, put in charge.” It is a word that is overwhelmingly used for human activities. Thus, the word is used to describe the responsibility Titus would carry out guided by the Holy Spirit. That aside, the apostle indicated that God is the One who assigned different tasks to believer in the church of Christ. Of course, he was not specific regarding the member of the Godhead who assigned the task or functions to those he later described. We know that God the Holy Spirit assigned overseers in the church of Ephesus as stated in the passage we cited previously, that is, Acts 20:28:
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
Likewise, we know that the Lord Jesus appointed the communicators of God’s word described in Ephesians 4:11–12:
11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
But the apostle did not mention the Holy Spirit or the Lord Jesus in 1 Corinthians 12:28; instead, he wrote God has appointed because his concern was simply to convey that the unique God who is the creator and sovereign ruler is the One that carried out the spiritual assignments the apostle eventually described in the passage we are studying.
Anyway, we state that the second proposition is that spiritual assignments are ranked according to their importance in the church of Christ. So why did we use the word “ranked” to state our proposition? It is because of the phrase first of all the apostle used in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 12:28 God has appointed first of all apostles.
The phrase “first of all” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (prōton) with two general meanings. The first pertains to being first in a sequence, inclusive of time, set (number), or space. When used of time it may mean “first” as an adjective, as Apostle Paul used it in his acknowledgment of the participation of the Philippians in his ministry of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in Philippians 1:5:
because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
As an adverb, the word in this first general usage may mean “after” as Apostle Paul used it to inform the believers in Rome of his intention to visit them on his proposed journey to Spain as we read in Romans 15:24:
I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.
The second general meaning of the Greek word pertains to prominence. So, it may mean “most important” as in the question of one of the teachers of the law directed to Jesus Christ regarding the most important of all the commandments as we read in Mark 12:28:
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
The word may be used as adverb of degree with the meaning “in the first place, above all” as Apostle Peter used it as he described how we got our Scripture in 2 Peter 1:20:
Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:28, the word is used in the sense of “firstly,” that is, “before anything else” so that the apostle is concerned with sequence in numeration. However, the sequence the apostle used is to describe the degree of importance to the church that warranted ranking of the spiritual assignments given.
A person could argue that because the apostle enumerated the assignments sequentially does not mean that he ranked them or as some contend that he was concerned with order in time in the sense that he presented the spiritual assignments according to the order they appeared in time in the church. This objection could have been sustained had it not been that the apostle consistently listed the spiritual assignments in the order we find in 1 Corinthians 12:28. When he listed three of these assignments as comprising the communication assignments necessary for the spiritual growth of believers, he followed the same order in the passage we cited previously, specifically, in Ephesians 4:11:
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
Another reason for our interpretation is that when the apostle referenced the teaching of God’s word, specifically the gospel, that is necessary to bring a person to become a member of the household of God in Christ, the apostle listed only two of the persons with spiritual assignments in the same order. I am referring to Ephesians 2:20:
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
The first time a reference was made to the spiritual assignments in a Gentile church, only two of the spiritual assignments were mentioned following the same order the apostle gave in the passage of 1 Corinthians 12 that we are considering. The two spiritual assignments are prophets and teachers as we read in Acts 13:1:
In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.
The reason we do not have any reference to apostles here is that this was a Gentile church and so there was no member that was among the twelve apostles of Christ as in the church in Jerusalem. Still another reason for our assertion that the apostle ranked the spiritual assignments has to do with their nature as we will note as we consider the first three spiritual assignments listed. Our point is that the spiritual assignments are numerated based on the order of their importance in the church of Christ as it pertains to building up believers spiritually.
Be that as it may, before we begin to consider the spiritual assignments listed in 1 Corinthians 12:28, there are three observations we should make. First, the first three spiritual assignments clearly describe the persons with specific assignments and not their spiritual gifts although in two of the first three assignments gifts are implied. Second, the first three spiritual assignments involve the communication of God’s word to the church of Christ. We assert this because the individuals with the specific spiritual assignments are the same persons the apostle conveyed as necessary for communication of God’s word for spiritual advancement of believers in the passage we cited previously, that is, Ephesians 4:11–12:
11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
Third, the ranking of the importance of spiritual assignments is probably limited to those that are concerned with communication of the word of God since only persons are associated with the first three spiritual assignments and the use of numeration words ends with the word “third” that is used in the verse we are considering. Of course, it is also possible that the other assignments associated with specific gifts are also ranked according to their importance to the church.
In any event, the first listed spiritual assignment is given with the word “apostles” since we read in 1 Corinthians 12:28 God has appointed first of all apostles. The word “apostles” is translated from a Greek word (apostolos) that generally pertains to messengers. Thus, it is used of messengers without extraordinary status hence means “delegate, envoy, messenger” as it is used in the Lord Jesus’ teaching recorded in John 13:16:
I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
The word may be used of messengers with extraordinary status, especially of God’s messenger or envoy so may mean “apostle.” Thus, in the NT, the word “apostle” is indeed used both in restricted and general senses. In a restricted sense, the word is used to refer to the twelve disciples of the Lord Jesus whom He chose from among His disciples and designated them with that title, as we read in Luke 6:13:
When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles:
The apostles are often described as “the Twelve apostles.” Originally, the Twelve included Judas Iscariot but after his death and after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven, Matthias was then included among the Twelve. That he was included among the Twelve is first indicated during Peter’s sermon where he was included among the eleven with Peter being excluded as he was the speaker as we read in Acts 2:14:
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.
That Matthias was included in the Twelve is implied during the leadership role of the apostles regarded as the Twelve as it pertains to appointment of their helpers in Acts 6:2:
So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.
In any event, the point is that the word “apostles” in the NT is used in an exclusive sense to refer to the Twelve. In a general sense, the word apostle is used to describe a group of highly honored believers with a special function as God’s envoys. It is in this sense that Paul and Barnabas were described as apostles, as recorded in Acts 14:14:
But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting:
Paul and Barnabas were called apostles here certainly because the Holy Spirit sent them to their mission, as recorded in Acts 13:4:
The two of them [Barnabas and Saul i.e. Paul], sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:28: the word “apostle” is used in the sense of an envoy of Jesus Christ commissioned directly by Him or by other apostles; normally someone who has been taught directly by Jesus and who is invested with the authority to speak on His behalf. Thus, the use of the word “apostles” in the first spiritual assignment refers to the Twelve, Apostle Paul, and perhaps James the Lord’s brother although there are others regarded as Apostles, but they were not probably included here because of the nature of the spiritual assignment described as “apostles.” By the way, if you want to learn more about what we studied about the word “apostle,” you should listen to Lessons 3 and 4 of the study in 1 Corinthians available on the website of Berean Bible church for more details.
In any case, the nature of the spiritual assignment described with the word “apostles” in the passage of 1 Corinthians 12:28 that we are considering is such that it merits being ranked as the first among the spiritual assignments or as the most important for the function of the church. This will become evident as we consider facts associated with the apostles that are not associated with either prophets or teachers mentioned in our passage of study. A first fact is that the apostles had divine authority that is not like that of prophets or teachers of the church of Christ. During the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus, He gave the Twelve authority over the evil spirits as we read in Mark 6:7:
Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.
After His resurrection, Jesus Christ commissioned the disciples to preach the gospel to the nations that implied He gave them authority over those in the universal church of Christ as we may gather from Matthew 28:18–20:
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Consequently, the apostles were regarded as the authority figures in the early church as evident in their decision for the church to appoint what is often taken by some to be the first deacons of the church as we read in Acts 6:2–6:
2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
If the apostles were not the authority figures of the early church, the members would not have obeyed their instruction, and the apostles would not have confirmed those appointed through laying of their hands and prayer. The authority of the apostles is demonstrated in their exercise of church discipline. Apostle Peter was the first to display his apostolic authority in the pronouncement of punishment on Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, as we may gather from Acts 5:3–4, 7–9:
3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.”
7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” 9 Peter said to her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
Apostle Paul demonstrated his apostolic authority in discipline through his instruction to the Corinthians to remove from their local church the believer involved in sexual deviance as we read in 1 Corinthians 5:3–5:
3 Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. 4 When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5 hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
The authority of the apostles is for the building up of the church as Apostle Paul referenced in his second epistle to the Corinthians as we read in 2 Corinthians 13:10:
This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.
A second fact is that apostles were given the special privilege of involvement in believers receiving of the Holy Spirit so that it can be said they had the ability of bestowing the Holy Spirit. When those in Samaria responded to the gospel of Jesus Christ, the church in Jerusalem sent Peter and John to them since they had not received the Holy Spirit. However, it is through them God bestowed the Holy Spirit on the converts or those saved as we read in Acts 8:14–18:
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money.
Philip although an evangelist could not do the same thing as the two apostles hence the bestowment of the Holy Spirit is uniquely associated with the apostles. The same bestowment of the Holy Spirit was repeated through Apostle Paul to certain individuals in Ephesus that were saved through his preaching of the gospel to them as we read in Acts 19:6:
When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
Again, only the apostles were given this special privilege by the Lord and so they stood above every other believer with regard to spiritual assignments.
A third fact is that apostles were uniquely the guardians and teachers of God’s word in the early church. Their teaching activity is described in Acts 2:42:
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Their teaching of God’s word with proclaiming the gospel is referenced in Acts 5:41–42:
41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42 Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.
Apostle Paul specifically referenced being appointed a teacher of God’s word in 2 Timothy 1:11:
And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.
Hence, the assignment of apostles included those of the teaching so that it makes sense for the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul to rank the apostles first in the spiritual assignments.
A fourth fact is that apostles founded local churches as we may learn from the founding of the local church in Corinth by Apostle Paul as implied in 1 Corinthians 9:1–2:
1Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? 2 Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
A fifth fact is that the other spiritual assignments mentioned in the rest of 1 Corinthians 12:28 are also part of the spiritual assignments of apostles. We need to expound on this fifth fact in our next study.
09/02//22