Church government begins with apostles. God’s direction is plain, “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers,” (1 Corinthians 12:28). This is God’s divine order for spiritual government. 

There’s no sense trying to get the prophetic ministry right and to get right teaching if you don’t place apostles first, to get that right and to do it first. 

Why apostles first? Apostles are first because God wants us to come into one understanding of truth to function with his knowledge. God’s plan is that the church receive the knowledge of Jesus Christ through the apostles he chooses.

The apostles teach the other callings of church government listed in (Ephesians 4:11), the prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. The church grows by the grace God gives to each calling.

Apostles are master builders of faith: The Lord points out to us, “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon,” (1 Corinthians 3:10).

So then, when God’s prophets and teachers, evangelists and pastors build His house, they are doing so AFTER they were taught and instructed by God’s apostles. Again, the instruction of truth comes before any of the callings can function. The foundation must be first laid in the heart.

When we are converted to the faith we do not have the foundation laid, we have one brick, which is grace. We are demonstrating faith by our choice to come into covenant with God. God seals our faith by giving us the first token of our sanctification – the Holy Spirit – and we begin to pray in tongues.

We are righteous. We are holy. The elements of the gospel are already at work in us, we are living it, we just haven’t put the language to it yet. Discipleship defines these experiences for us and sets our faith upon God’s path of fruitful increase.

This is why you need to have the foundation of truth set in your heart. It defines these experiences for you and enables you to share these common experiences with others.

The apostles teach the doctrine of Christ, the how-to’s of Christianity. That is simply what they are called of God to do. Apostles set order to the knowledge of Christ so that a person can have the full knowledge of God to walk in. This is why God calls them stewards of the mystery of Christ: “Let a man so account of us [apostles], as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God,” (1 Corinthians 4:1).

Apostolic stewardship of the church simply means that apostles are teaching the mysteries of Christ. The simple truth is that a person cannot know God, nor walk in any of these things that are made possible in Christ, unless living apostles are teaching the church. We see this in the book of Acts and the epistles.

Acts 2:42
“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

1 Timothy 4:6
“If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.”

One of the things you can do to get a perspective on the importance of the apostle’s office is to sit down and make a list of all things you believe the Bible says are yours to walk in because of faith in Jesus Christ. Your list may look something like this:

Now ask yourself if you are walking in these things perfectly every day, or if you are waiting for God to show you how to do this. I ask that because today’s Christian journalists reporting on the state of the church continue to bring to our attention that all is not well in the church, that believers are not living the life of Christ. 

In this new apostolic season God is shaking pulpits and breaking up old foundations, as He goes to the root of the problems in the church.

So, what is the root of the problem? The problem is that when apostles are not active, the church builds faith upon knowledge that God did not sanctify (enter into) and that is the reason why believers today cannot walk in the things that are in Christ. The normal Christian life that God wants you to have is always just out of reach.

Meaning, you will not be established in the faith, you will not have a firm faith, you will not have a powerful faith, you will not be led of the Spirit, you will not overcome the devil, you will not have the fruit of Christ growing in the inner man, you will not experience an intimate relationship with God, you will not rule over sin, you will not know with confidence that God hears and answers prayers, you will not have an abundance of joy and peace, you will not walk in newness of life, you will not be used of God to minister to others.

It’s not that ministers failed to promise you these things. The problem is with the carrot (or promise) being used to lead you in circles, and this confusion being qualified as a journey that God has you on. 

By now you have probably noticed that because you believe in God and you know that God wants you to have all the things He placed in Jesus, that despite feeling like you’re going in circles, you do expect to get there someday. What you might not see is that God placed His promises in the new covenant and planned for you to experience a living connection to Him that way. You’ll never reach the full measure of Christ without being equipped. That’s God’s reason for sending apostles into the church.  

Knowing the importance God places upon apostles teaching the church, why do we see such resistance to God’s divine order? It is safe to say that people fear what they do not understand and in many cases the fear of the new gets inflamed by Satan. Satan is fighting so hard against apostles today because he knows that hooking believers to the promises of God without the covenant of Jesus is the only way he can continue to keep them ignorant of their true hope in Christ, and yoked to the flesh.

Moses was the living steward to whom God gave the blueprint for the first covenant and apostles are the living stewards to whom God gives the blueprint for the new covenant.

Apostles are God’s called and sanctified stewards of grace. They hold the key of knowledge to open the door for believers to function in the fulness of Christ. 

Have you ever found yourself sitting with a group of Christians, arguing the scriptures? Everyone is using the same scripture to argue a different point of view and everyone is claiming the authority of the scriptures—what they believe the scriptures to say and claiming to be guided the Holy Spirit. This confusing situation is very common.

People want to know what they are to believe about Jesus and how they are to defend the faith. What does the scriptures say about Christian living, how we are to pray and worship God, what it means to have faith, what it means to believe? Does God expect anything of us? What does He expect? What about tongues? 

What about the gifts of the Spirit? How are they to operate? How can we know that we are pleasing God? Why does Paul write about covenants, works, justification, and faith? Why does Peter write about a royal priesthood and the divine nature? What does the Bible say about authority? Who has the authority to teach doctrine? Who runs the church?

God  says that his authority is in his grace. Always remember that it is grace that carries the authority of the calling and the calling that carries the authority of Jesus Christ because Jesus is the head of his church. What this means is that the government sits upon his shoulders, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder,” (Isaiah 9:6).

The apostles are Christ’s ambassadors. When the apostles teach the doctrine of Christ, they stand in the authority of Jesus to represent Him on earth. “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God,” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

When Jesus was on earth he said it this way, “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak,” (John 12:49). Grace was upon Jesus Christ without measure (John 3:34).

Jesus gave his apostles a measure of grace to teach the church so we would share the mind of his Father concerning his plan of redemption. The Spirit of God brings this to our attention in Ephesians 4:7, “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” As also Paul understood by his own experience as an apostle:

Ephesians 3:2,7-8
²  If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:

⁷ Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

⁸ Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

Again, we can see what the Bible says about authority, that the authority is grace and that grace is in the calling and, therefore, the calling carries the authority of Jesus Christ. So then, God is not saying that He gave authority to apostles apart from Jesus, but that He gifted the apostles with a measure of grace to teach the mystery of Christ in the effectual working of His power. 

Apostle Paul again points to the measure of grace given to him by Jesus and that believers were partakers of it: “Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.” (Phil. 1:7)

We can see again how the calling and the grace go hand-in-hand. You will see how God presents His restored government by the grace, not the title. In that the authority is in Jesus, they do not come in their own name, but represent Jesus by the grace of their calling. Therefore, you will notice that the called and confirmed apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers place their calling before their name. 

Jesus teaches us to follow His grace, which first manifests in the calling of apostles and then in body ministry. The flow of God’s grace through the callings and from the body reflects the design of Christ in and through each member.

Grace is the voice of the Spirit through his apostles to make known the unsearchable riches of Christ, that all believers may build the one foundation of truth. Grace is also in measure upon the prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to build upon that one foundation of truth to minister Christ to the Body and to the world. 

And as each believer serves God in their priesthood, God issues an abundance of grace through each person. Body ministry is about knowing how to share the grace of God as good stewards.

There is no other authority than that which sits at the right hand of God—Jesus Christ. That is the true place of our authority. And this is why apostolic government is the first thread in the 3-fold cord of our faith: Government, Truth, and Spirit. These are the founding threads of the cord of your faith. If any one of these threads is missing, your faith will not reflect Jesus Christ.

For many years it was believed that a person could be taught truth by studying under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The authority was thought to be in scripture. Specifically, what Jesus said to his apostles, that “the Spirit of truth, [when he is come], will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come,” John 16:13.

Many claim Jesus’ words for themselves, but in reality, Jesus was not speaking universally to all Christians everywhere. Jesus was speaking to his apostles about their calling and how his grace would assist them. Believers, not knowing God’s design for spiritual government, apply what Jesus said to themselves, and believe the Holy Spirit will guide them into truth apart from the apostle’s calling.  

Can you see how this action removes the authority from Jesus Christ and places it in a person? And why this is dangerous, because the person carries the inclination of man, the boast of man, and the wisdom of this world, while the calling carries the grace and authority of Jesus Christ.

God has again visited His church to re-gift the church with the apostolic calling and anointing. If you thought that God’s plan is to re-gift the church with His power and that’s why we’re seeing a return of the apostles, you’d be wrong. 

You will find that most will pray for God’s visitation to experience a release of His power. The reason this has gone unchallenged is because it seems to be a genuine quest. So, let’s look at what is traditionally thought to be a manifestation of God’s power:

What is the end game for these scenarios? It is expected that when the unconverted see this display that they would want to know more about the Almighty God and want to start a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.

But the fact is that without the knowledge of the covenant of Jesus Christ, their relationship with God never starts and their conversion hits a wall. They believe in Jesus, but don’t have the knowledge for their conversion to take root.

If we go back to take a closer look at these common expectations about God’s power being manifested, it isn’t really the power of God’s grace that being talked about, but rather the manifestations people have grown accustomed to expect because of years of conditioning while being caught in the middle of God’s two great covenant (old/Moses and the new/Jesus).

The real power of God is in His grace, which He gives to His apostles to teach the knowledge of Jesus Christ according to His new covenant terms. Because God places a premium on His knowledge, He places a premium on His apostolic stewards.

We’re going to look at a few scriptures in Acts, where the Apostle James points to the purpose of God’s visitation.

Acts 15:14-17
14 Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.

15 And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,

16 After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:

17 That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.

We underlined a few things in the above verses, starting with the word “visit” and “return” and “build again”. The purpose of God’s visitation is to build again that which is fallen down, to repair that which was neglected and fell into ruins. Apostle James is drawing from the book of Amos.

Amos 9:11
“In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:”

The same is true for this season. God planned to revisit His church to rebuild it, to build again the house and covenant of Jesus Christ, which is fallen down. God’s promise is that He will set it up again as a beacon of light that the residue of men (the remnant) might seek after the Lord.

For nearly 2 thousand years the church accepted the tradition of man in place of the doctrine of Christ, and believers suffered because of it. Countless minister have published articles and books to attest to this fact. It is undisputed.

God promised to visit His church after 2 day (2 thousand years) to revive it with knowledge, to re-gift the church with apostolic stewards. Hosea prophesied of this Godly renewal of the church to the covenant of Jesus. This visitation is known as the latter day rain.

Hosea 6:1-3
1 Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.

2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.

In verse one we see God’s invitation is to return to Him; to return to the knowledge of His covenant faith in Jesus Christ. It must be clear that in the mind of God, to return means to rebuild His house.

But in the absence of true apostolic governance, the knowledge of Christ is not being returned to the church, so repentance is substituted in place of knowledge. Repentance, in this scenario, means to be sorry for the bad things you’re doing, it doesn’t mean that you are sorry for misrepresenting the gospel of Jesus Christ, or that you have now prepared your heart to accept the restoration of His knowledge.

In truth, repentance to most, is an opportunity to clear their conscience of wrong doing, while giving themselves permission to keep on the same path. That’s why this is false repentance. False repentance is easy.

The rebuilding and repairing part is where the actual shift takes place. As God calls believers out of the false religious system, He is calling them into His restored church where their faith functions in a new way, as God lays the bricks of His understanding in your heart as a new foundation.

The counterfeit apostolic movement places God’s latter day shift into cycles of repentance, whereas they talk about the need to do things differently (God’s way), but they don’t say what that way is—the way of covenant.

So, you can understand that repentance is not renewal; it’s faked renewal, and it is used as a start over button (while continuing to do the same thing).

There’s a difference between being sorry to have done things your own way, and turning to do things God’s way, which requires an acceptance of God’s transition from the old to the new. God confirms that a washing is needed to separate your faith from the philosophies and traditions of man.

When the Lord says that He will build “again”, He is referring to a former state of the church, which at one time reflected His will and good pleasure according to the covenant He established through Jesus Christ.

All the prophets spoke of Jesus and the new covenant God would establish with us through His death and resurrection, and the passage of the church from the First 8^th Week, to the renewal of the church of the Second 8^th Week. 

God’s 8^th Week was prophesied by Enoch to represent Jesus Christ. The number 8 symbolizes the divine and also the perpetual, eternal work of God. God used the Prophet Enoch to tell us of His plan that He manifested through selected, chosen, sanctified vessels. Each week of God’s plan centered on His elect steward on earth through whom He worked.