Are There Modern Day Apostles?

 

Jesus Commands the Apostles to Rest
Mark 6:30-31
Photo Source: Logos Media

So, on more than one occasion, I've heard someone claim to be a “modern-day apostle…” But can that person be true a biblical apostle? No! They can’t be. Not by biblical standards, anyway.  To answer this more fully, I want to briefly take a moment and explain some of the biblical criteria for an apostle and then give you an example of a problematic 'apostolic' movement that has gained popularity today. 

The Greek word for Apostle, “Apostolos,” means “one who is sent” or “messenger,” so what is meant biblically is "a sent one of Christ" or a "Messenger of Christ."  That sounds good for the Christian, but in the New Testament, this designation carries with it a unique authority and mission. Biblically speaking, Scripture contains the criteria for someone to be considered an apostle of Christ. 

First, in the Bible, we see that an Apostle of Jesus Christ is called and commissioned by Jesus Christ Himself. And that was the case for all of the original twelve apostles according to Luke 6:13-16. Paul, though not one of the twelve, was personally chosen by the risen Christ according to Acts 9.  

Second, an Apostle had to be an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ. When choosing a replacement for Judas in Acts 1:21-22, Peter says that one must have seen the resurrected Jesus. Later in this letter, Paul defends himself concerning this specific point by asking, “Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?” (1 Corinthians 9:1). By contrast, no one alive and walking on this earth today has seen the resurrected Christ. Scripture clarifies that the original apostles had firsthand encounters with the risen Jesus. Nobody today has, or can, meet this condition because Jesus has ascended into heaven.

Third, a genuine apostleship of the Lord should be confirmed by miraculous signs and wonders. In 2 Corinthians 12:12, Paul says, “The signs of an apostle were performed with great endurance—signs and wonders and miracles.” That is, apostles had special, God-given authority to perform miracles as a confirmation of their calling.

Fourth, the genuine apostles had divine authority to lay the church's foundation. I mention this because the apostles laid the doctrinal foundation of the church, meaning their role was foundational and not repeatable.  2 Peter 3:15-16 tells us the apostles had the authority to write Scripture. Verses like Revelation 22:18 remind us that nobody alive today has the authority to add to the Bible. And that’s a big problem today where false teachers claim new revelation from God apart from the Bible. If it is indeed a true revelation from God, then what is said is equal to Scripture. Ephesians 2:20 says the church is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.” And since the foundation has already been laid, and the biblical canon is closed, there is no need for new apostles or private revelations that compete with Scripture. In other words, the role of the apostle was temporary and not ongoing.  Jude 3 says explicitly, “The faith was once for all delivered to the saints.”  We should heed Proverbs 30:5-6, "Every word of God is pure; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Don’t add to his words; he will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar."

But Pastor, Why Do Christians Believe the Bible Canon is Closed?  Here's a brief answer:

1. Revelation is complete – Jesus is God’s final revelation (Hebrews 1:1-2).  his passage emphasizes that Jesus is God’s final and ultimate revelation. Since Scripture is the written record of God's revelation, and since Jesus fulfilled God’s plan, no further divine revelation is needed. 
2. Faith has been delivered "once for all" (Jude 3). The phrase "once for all" suggests that the body of Christian doctrine is complete—meaning no new revelations or additions to Scripture are necessary. 
3. Warnings against adding or taking away from God’s Word (Revelation 22:18-19, Proverbs 30:5-6).  God’s Word is not to be tampered with. Since Revelation is the final book in the biblical canon, many believe the warning there serves as a divine closing statement. God’s revelation is perfect and complete; humans should not attempt to add to it. 
4. Scripture is sufficient – It equips believers fully (2 Timothy 3:16-17). If Scripture is sufficient to make believers "complete and equipped for every good work," then no further revelation is necessary. 

 
So, in summary, an apostle’s role was to establish the church and deliver God’s final revelation in Christ as His sent messengers. Once the foundation was laid, the biblical role of the apostle ended. There are no modern-day living apostles who can meet these criteria—those claiming to be apostles today fail the biblical tests to be truly apostolic. 
 
Let me give you one brief example of this type of false teaching that is concerning today (and so you do not get yourself entangled with it)—and that is the New Apostolic Reformation or NAR movement.  Certain of their leaders claim direct, new, revelation from God, putting their words on the same level as Scripture. And in NAR’s case, their seeking of signs and wonders is always accompanied by false doctrine.

The false teachings of NAR are a perfect reason why you will hear me remind you from time to time that not everything that happens in the book of Acts is normative for us today. Now, don’t hear me wrong. Acts is the Word of God, inerrant and inspired— but what I’m saying is that we can’t always take Acts and make it a direct blueprint for modern Christian practice in every single way because it primarily describes the early church in a unique historical context rather than always explicitly prescribing rules for all Christians at all times.

Are there timeless principles in Acts? Absolutely! But not everything is normative for us today. For example, we don’t handle poisonous snakes in this church and test to see if our faith will save us. But some churches do indeed entertain this sort of thing.  We can say that Acts provides valuable insights, patterns of living, models, and examples that inform our Christian living today and are true for us today. It definitely gives us valuable patterns of Christian behavior. For example,  we certainly should model the early church's dedication to prayer, fellowship, and evangelism. But we shouldn’t normatively expect handkerchiefs and aprons to heal someone. You must understand that the book of Acts records many non-normative events—unique, miraculous, or transitional moments in the early church that were specific to that time as they established the early church with signs and miracles. Many of those things are not generally repeatable patterns for daily Christian living today. Is God still in the business of miracles? Absolutely, yes!  But Acts is not our normative pattern.
 
So instead of chasing those non-normative experiences, believers today should focus on the clear biblical patterns for Christian living, such as faith in Christ, devotion to Scripture, fellowship, prayer, evangelism, discipleship, and living by the power of the Holy Spirit. God is still at work in the lives of His people, and miracles are still very much alive today.  It is not correct, however, to expect Christians always to do what was done in the early church; the apostles were uniquely on a God-given mission to establish the early church. So, let's recall that Hebrews 12:2 reminds us to “Keep our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, and perfecter of our faith.”  And if we do that, we will be guarded against these errors and false teachings.

"Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”   -- John 3:3

Have you been born again?  The Bible says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and that the wages of sin is death.  However, there is Good News!  The Bible also says that the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 3:23 and 6:23).  Is Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior?  If not, why not?