So I'm going to ask you please to turn to Ephesians chapter 4. We're going to read beginning at verse 7. We'll read down to verse 11. Ephesians 4. Currently in our study of Ephesians, we're at verse 11, but I want us to read again the context of these verses. Ephesians 4 verse 7, But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. Now this expression, he ascended, what does it mean except that he also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is himself also he who ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers. for the equipping of the saints, for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. And verse 11 says again, And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers. Let's pray together. Lord, we do love you. We do honor you as our king. Father, you are king over all the earth. And the Lord Jesus, he is the king and the head over this church and all of his churches. We ask, Lord, now that you would meet with us in a special way, that you would deal with our hearts in a powerful way. We trust the work of your Spirit. and the sufficiency of your word to do your work this morning. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Last Sunday, as we came again to this 11th verse, we began to deal with an issue that's very important, yet when you first hear about it, it might not seem very interesting. That has to do with a doctrine or a teaching called cessationism. versus one called non-cessationism. To put it very simply, do we believe that all of the offices spoken of in verse 11 are still being given to the church today? Are there still apostles being given today? Are prophets still being given today? Are there any prophets alive and functioning today would be the question. What about evangelists? What about pastors and teachers? I think it's obvious when you look at 1 Timothy 3 that pastors, that group of men, that office is still in existence. God has given ongoing qualifications for that office. But what about the others? What about apostles and prophets and evangelists? Tied in with this issue is another. What about all the spiritual gifts spoken of in the New Testament? Are they all functioning today? Does anyone today really speak with tongues or in tongues as it is spoken of in the Bible? Is that gift still being given? Is anyone given the gift of miracles? Has anyone been given in our generation a gift of healing? What about the ability to instantaneously cast demons out of people? Is that something that ought to still be going on today? Are there deliverance ministries that are valid today? exorcism ministries that are valid today. And this issue doesn't just have to do with those practical things we've just mentioned, but there are other issues as well. There are entire systems of theology built upon the idea of apostolic succession. The whole Roman Catholic system is built on the idea of apostolic succession. All the movements that teach ongoing revelatory gifts, All the systems or the movements that teach that God is still giving messages through dreams and revelations, through visions, it's all tied in with this issue. And if we find that God is no longer giving apostles and prophets, and again, we'll deal with this issue when we get to it, but the office of evangelist as it was originally understood, if we find that God is no longer giving these men as gifts to his church, We will also discover that many of these sign gifts are no longer being given, which calls into question all those systems and all those movements that say that these things are going on. So this is a very practical, very important issue. It's as practical as this. Are you misguided when you put your full confidence in the scriptures? Are you misguided when you say, look, I've got the completed Word of God in my hand, and I'm not looking to dreams and visions for guidance from God. I'm going to look to His Word. Are you misguided? Are you somehow putting God in a box? Do you somehow think God has changed? When you say, I don't believe that He's performing miracles today? And by the way, if you were here last Sunday, you know we dealt with the subject of miracles. If you weren't, you need to get the tape because it really lays the foundation for what I'm going to talk about today. But as you understand miracles in the Word of God, what you find is they were supernatural acts of God in nature, undeniably done by God, worked through human agents for the purpose of pointing to new revelation being given and authenticating the agents or the messengers, the channels through whom He was giving the revelation. And so in that sense of understanding miracles, I would say miracles are no longer being done today. God is not giving any new revelation and God is not authenticating any new messengers of any new revelation. Does God still work supernaturally? All the time. In fact, the greatest supernatural thing you'll ever witness is the changing of a human heart. Every new birth, every person who is saved, their salvation is totally explained by a supernatural working of God. In fact, the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the power that raises people from the dead spiritually. Same power. So we still believe God has not changed in terms of His nature. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. But we say that that Almighty Sovereign God has a right to choose how He works in time, and that what He's doing today is not what He was doing in the first century. It's a different time in church history. Are we wrong? By what authority do we say, and we do say, that God is not giving apostles today, and God is not giving prophets today, and the gift of miracles has ceased, and the gift of tongues has ceased, and the gift of healing has ceased? We do say that. By what authority do we say that? One of the things we must understand is the significance in the Word of God of miracles. We dealt with that last Sunday. Like I said, get the tape if you weren't here. But this morning what I want us to talk about is the uniqueness of the apostles. I want us to understand this office spoken of in verse 11. And He gave some as apostles. Christ not only has given after His ascension spiritual gifts individually to individuals, but He has given gifts to His church as a whole in the form of gifted men. Some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastor-teachers. Christ has given gifted men to his church. Is he still giving apostles? Is he still giving apostles? And as we think about this this morning, as we think about the uniqueness of the apostles, there are two parts to the sermons. If you want to sort of map out where we're going, let me tell you where we're going. We're going to look at this together. First of all, we're going to talk about what the office of apostle was. We're going to talk about this word apostle. We're going to see that the word was used in basically three ways in the New Testament. We're going to talk about the three different ways the word was used. And then after we define the word apostle and see how it applies theologically to this group of men that Christ gave to his church in an official capacity, then we're going to talk about six reasons why we can know that apostles are no longer for today, why there are no apostles, why the original apostles had no successors, six reasons why we can be confident of that. Let's begin with the word itself. The Greek word is apostolos. It's used 79 times in the New Testament. 79 times. It's a unique word in that most of the important theological words in your New Testament you can find used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint. But this particular word apostolos is only found one time in the Septuagint. And when you look at how it was used in extra biblical literature, you don't get a lot of guidance as to its meaning in the New Testament because most of the time it wasn't used of individuals. It was used, for instance, of armies or groups of people that were sent out as messengers. So if you want to understand this Greek word, you have to look at the New Testament as the standard. How is it used here in the New Testament? What was its use if you're going to understand it theologically? Basically, the word spoke. of someone who was sent on behalf of another, a messenger. In each of the cases where you find it used in the New Testament, the person who was sent had full authority. They had the full power to transact business for someone else. And so the word speaks of an authorized messenger, someone who carried the authority of the person who sent them. If you received them, you received the person who sent them. If you rejected them, you rejected the person who sent them. That's what an apostle was, a messenger. Someone sent by another. Well, of the 79 times it's used in the New Testament, it's used in three different ways. First of all, sometimes the word was used to speak of messengers of the church. Official messengers of the church. For example, in 2 Corinthians chapter 8, verse 23, it says, As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you. As for our brethren, they are messengers of the churches, a glory to Christ." And the word translated messengers there is the Greek word apostolos. They were apostles of the churches, as it were, messengers of the churches. Not apostles of Christ, not apostles in the specific and official sense that we read about in Ephesians 4.11, not given as office holders in the church, Now, these were just messengers of the church, and the word is used in that general sense. In Philippians 2.25, you find the same thing. He says, But I thought it necessary, Paul writing, But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need. And so the church at Philippi had sent a man by the name of Epaphroditus, and he was an apostle. The word there is apostolos. He was an apostle from the church of Philippi to meet the needs of the apostle Paul. He wasn't an apostle of Christ in the official sense as it's used in Ephesians 4.11. He was a messenger from the church at Philippi. Another way that the word is used coincides with this, ties very closely in with this. Sometimes the word is just used in a very broad general sense. to speak of someone who served the Lord, to speak of someone who was a messenger of Christ, to speak of someone who represented the church of Jesus Christ. For example, I want you to look at Acts chapter 14. We'll see an example of this general use of the word. Acts chapter 14, look what was going on with Paul and Barnabas here. Acts chapter 14, look at verse 12. This happened in Lystra. Notice what took place. Verse 12. And they began calling Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes, because he was the chief speaker, and the priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city. And this was, by the way, this is all happening because a miracle has been performed at the hands of the apostle Paul. It says in the priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. Now notice, but when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out and saying, men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you and preach the gospel to you in order that you should turn from these vain things to a living God who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that's in them. You'll notice here, not only is Paul referred to as an apostle, so is Barnabas, the apostles Barnabas and Paul. And in what sense was Barnabas an apostle? In the sense of the twelve? Is Barnabas an apostle in the sense of Ephesians 4.11? Apostles given to the church by Jesus Christ? Not at all. I would suggest that the word is used of Barnabas in a general sense. He was a representative of Christ. He was a messenger. In fact, one of the things that ties in with our earlier understanding is I want you to notice that the Holy Spirit reminds us that these two men were sent out by the church at Antioch. Look back at chapter 13 of Acts. Look at verse 1. Acts chapter 13 verse 1. Now there were at Antioch in the church that was there prophets and teachers, Barnabas and Simeon, who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, Mannion, who had been brought up with Herod the patriarch, and Saul. And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, The Holy Spirit said, set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. And so the church at Antioch sent these two men out on mission. Now, at the end of chapter 14, after they're called apostles or messengers, notice what we're reminded of in Acts 14. Look at verse 26. And from there they sailed to Antioch, notice, from which they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had accomplished. And when they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. So they go back, and what do they do? They're reporting to the church that had sent them out. And so I would suggest that the word apostles is used here not in the official sense of the word but to speak of Barnabas and Paul having been sent out as messengers of the church of Antioch on this particular mission trip. You find another example of the word used in a general sense in Romans chapter 16 if you want to look over there. Romans chapter 16. Now I'm sharing these verses with you because no doubt Those who want to teach that apostles are still for today will take verses like these to say, well notice there were apostles beyond the twelve. So we need to have some understanding of how this word was used. Romans chapter 16, look at verse 7. Greet Andronicus and Junius my kinsmen, and my fellow prisoners, who are outstanding among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. Is he here referring to Andronicus and Junius as apostles? Well, it's possible again that he's using that word in a very general sense, messengers of Christ, servants of Christ, servants of the church, messengers of the church. He may be using it that way, but it's also possible that all he's talking about in Romans 16, 7 is that Andronicus and Junius had rendered outstanding service in the midst of the apostles, in the context of their ministries, in association with their work, that they had a reputation, an outstanding reputation among the apostles. And so, whether it's used in a general sense, or whether it's saying that Andronicus and Junius were outstanding in the estimation of the apostles among the apostles, either way, this is not referring to the official office that Ephesians 4.11 speaks of. One other example we might cite is in Galatians chapter 1, if you'll look there. In Galatians chapter 1, the apostle Paul is talking about The course that he took after his conversion, after his call by the resurrected Christ. Notice what he says beginning in verse 15, Galatians 1 verse 15, But when he who had set me apart, even from my mother's womb, and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me. But I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus, Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. Notice, but I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord's brother." Now this particular James is not James the son of Zebedee, the brother of John, who was one of the twelve. This is not James the son of Alphaeus, who was one of the twelve. This is James, the Lord's brother. And yet he is referred to here as an apostle. How are we to understand that? Well, again, you know James was the teaching pastor in the church at Jerusalem. He was very influential in the early church. And so I would suggest again that this word is being used here in a general sense to refer to one who is a messenger of Christ, one who represents the Lord Jesus Christ in the context of the church's ministry. But James was not an apostle in the official sense of the word and as it's referred to in Ephesians 4.11. We have the word used to speak in very general terms of messengers sent by churches. And then we have the word used in a little bit different way, in some cases to just speak of representatives of the church, as a teacher in the church, as a servant of Jesus Christ, someone sent on mission by Christ Jesus, sent by the church. Now, there's a third way the word is used. This is by far the most common way in the New Testament. It's used to refer to those men specifically chosen by Jesus Christ to serve in the office of apostle and to be used by Him to lay the foundation of His church. They constituted the foundation of His church, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. These are the men spoken of in Ephesians 4.11. I want you to notice a few things with me about the choosing of these men. First of all, if you go to Luke chapter 6, I want you to see that these apostles were constantly by the Lord Jesus Christ and even by the Holy Spirit as we're given the Scriptures. These men are set apart from disciples in general. They're set apart from the servants of Christ in general. They are noted by Jesus Himself. They are noted by the Holy Spirit in Scripture for their unique place, for their unique purpose. Christ originally chose them from a wide company of disciples. Look at Luke chapter 6 and look at verse 12. And it was at this time that he went off to the mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples to him, and chose twelve of them whom he also named as apostles. Simon, whom he also named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who is called the Zealot, Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor." Now notice what the Lord Jesus does, Luke tells us, He calls His disciples to Him in a wide company of these disciples, from that wider company He chooses twelve. And the Spirit of God is very careful to tell us that not only did he draw these 12 out from that company of disciples, but he named them as his apostles. He named them as his messengers in a very unique way. And so they were originally chosen from a wider group of disciples and set apart and recognized as unique because he had a unique purpose for them. That brings us to another thought as we think about how the Lord chose these men. Not only did he choose them in a way that made them distinct and separate and unique, but he had a purpose for choosing them. Why did Jesus, early on in his earthly ministry, set these men apart as apostles? Let me give you three reasons. Look in Mark chapter 3 and notice the first reason. Why did Jesus not only choose twelve out of a wide company of disciples, why did he name them as apostles? Early on in the ministry, his earthly ministry, why did he do that? Three reasons. Notice the first one. Mark chapter 3, look at verse 13. And he went up to the mountain, and summoned those whom he himself wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, that they might be with him, and that he might send them out to preach, and to have authority to cast out the demons. And he appointed the twelve, Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter, and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James. To them he gave the name Boanerges, which means sons of thunder, and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him." So here it tells us, Mark tells us, that Christ called out the twelve. Why? That they might be with Him. He called them to Himself that He might personally train them, that they might be with Him, that they might view His life, hear His teaching, see how He carried out ministry, that they might be trained personally by the Lord Jesus Christ. And a part of that training was sending them out to preach. And a part of that training was He gave them the ability to work signs and wonders and miracles. They were able to cast out demons in an instant, in a moment. And so Christ brought them to Himself in order to train them. And the entire time that He's training them, you need to realize, He has His church in view. He knows where this thing is headed. He knows what He's about to do. He knows that He's going to build His church. And the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And so He's training these men personally to be the foundation for that church. That's why He calls them to Himself. In fact, the Great Commission points out their responsibility Church's ministry. Look at Matthew chapter 28 with me. And notice that even in the giving of the Great Commission, the Holy Spirit of God sets these men apart as distinct. Matthew chapter 28, look at verse 16. But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. And when they saw him, they worshipped him, but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth, Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. And, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." You notice the Spirit of God is careful to tell us in verse 16 that the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee where this commission was given. Now we know that this work is still continuing to our own day, right? So in that sense, the commission is for the church and it continues on. But even as the commission was given, these apostles were to play a strategic role early on. They were going to be the foundation for this new church. And so Christ was going to lead through them and He was going to establish His church through them. And the missionary endeavors were going to be established through their efforts. In Ephesians chapter 2, You ought to know it well, having studied the book of Ephesians together. But in Ephesians chapter 2, Paul talks to the Gentiles, tells them what God has done on their behalf. And he says in the second chapter, in the 17th verse, and he came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have our access in one spirit to the Father. So then you're no longer strangers and aliens, but you're fellow citizens with the saints and are of God's household. Notice, having been built upon, what does he say? the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone. And so the apostles in a unique way and the prophets, we'll talk about prophets next Sunday, but the prophets coming alongside the apostles and serving a specific role as well, this was the foundation of the church. So Christ called them apart to train them for that work. In fact, if you wonder whether this foundation continues to be laid, We'll talk more about that in a moment, but just remember that at the end of the age, John in the book of Revelation sees the New Jerusalem, sees the heavenly city, and he sees the wall of the city. And in the 21st chapter of the 14th verse it says, And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Now we know that Judas Iscariot, his name won't be on the twelfth stone, right? He was a betrayer. And so what that tells us is even after Judas defected and even after the 12th was put forth by the Lord, there was an end to that office. The office had its limitation. And so when we get to the end of the age, we're going to find recognition given to the apostles of the Lamb. And there's a limited number. There's a limited number. In Ephesians 3 we see the same thing in the fourth verse. It says, and by referring to this, when you read, you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit. To be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, this wonderful thing called the Church, this wonderful body in which Jews and Gentiles are on equal footing, that the Old Testament You didn't see the church in the Old Testament. It's now been revealed, new revelation. How was God giving it? Through His holy apostles and prophets. Through them He was laying the foundation for what we enjoy today, what continues to this day. So He trained them, called them to Himself to train them, trained them to be the foundation of the church. There's another reason early in His ministry He did this, and that is that they would announce Him as King and announce the kingdom. Look at Matthew chapter 10. Matthew chapter 10 and look at verse 1. And having summoned his 12 disciples, he gave them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Now, the names of the 12 apostles, notice how the Spirit of God through Matthew changes the terms here. Now, the names of the 12 apostles are these. Again, marking them out, giving them the recognition for the unique office they were to hold. The first, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, Philip, and Bartholomew, Thomas, and Matthew the tax gatherer, James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans, but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons freely you receive, freely give. Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two tunics, or sandals, or a staff, for the worker is worthy of his support. And into whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and abide there until you go away. And as you enter the house, give it your greeting. And if the house is worthy, let your greeting of peace come upon it. But if it's not worthy, let your greeting of peace return to you. And whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words as you go out of that house or that city, shake off the dust of your feet." It was a mark of judgment. But why were they qualified to do that? Because whoever received his apostles, received the Lord Jesus and whoever rejected his apostles rejected the Lord Jesus. They were his official emissaries. They were his official messengers. They carried his authority as they went. And he called out these twelve, not only that they might be with him and might be trained by him, but that they might be used by him to announce him as king and to announce his kingdom. In fact, Luke chapter 9 puts it this way, verse 1, And he called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and to heal diseases. And he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God, and to perform healing. Which leads to a third reason why he called these twelve men out, to be with him, to be trained, to announce to him as king, and to announce his kingdom. But also, he knew these would be the agents through whom he gave the New Testament revelation, and so he chose to allow them to work with miraculous powers for the purpose of certifying them, for the purpose of saying, these are the men whom I've chosen. They are authentic. They are genuine representatives of mine to do the work that I've called them to do. And so he called them, as you saw in each of those examples we just read, and he gave them these miraculous powers to authenticate them as his choices, as his apostles. That's why the apostle Paul spoke of signs and wonders and miracles as a great evidence that he was an apostle. 2 Corinthians 12, 12 he writes, the signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance by signs and wonders and miracles. And we said it last Sunday, but let me say it again. If signs and wonders and miracles were commonplace, If signs and wonders and miracles were being worked by everybody, by all kinds of preachers, how could you ever use signs and wonders and miracles as a proof that you're an apostle? The reason why he was able to say the signs of a true apostle were done among you, signs and wonders and miracles, is because God was doing the wonders through the apostles and those directly commissioned by them. As we said last Sunday, you can go from the day of Pentecost forward to the book of Revelation and you will not find one miracle recorded in Scripture except the apostles were present or someone directly commissioned by them. No other miracles are recorded. And so Christ called these men aside to train them, called them aside that they might announce His his kingdom and announced him as king, called the Messiah that he might give them these powers and work through them in this way, give them this authority so that it would be proven that they were his selected ones. Romans 15, 18. Paul wrote, For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit, so that from Jerusalem and round about, as far as Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. Wherever Paul went preaching the gospel of Christ, he preached with signs and wonders and power. Mark him as an apostle. One other thing we might mention is Christ calling these men aside, training them, He was already giving them promises about their unique position in the age to come. In Luke chapter 22, verse 28, he said this to them, and you are those who have stood by me in my trials, and just as my father has granted me a kingdom, I grant you that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom." Now listen, "...and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." He says to his apostles, in the age to come, there are going to be twelve thrones, and there you're going to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. Revelation 21 and 14, again, twelve foundation stones as well, and on them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And so the way the word is used in the New Testament speaks of a very unique office. Then when we see how Christ chose and selected them, what he did through them and how the Spirit of God consistently makes a distinction between the disciples at large and these men speaks of their unique place in a unique position. But even after the resurrection of Christ. Prior to the ascension of Christ, He dealt with these eleven, now that Judas had departed, He dealt with them in a way that marked them out as unique and distinct. Look at Luke chapter 24. Luke chapter 24 and look at verse 33. The disciples on the road to Emmaus, remember they walked with Christ, conversed with Christ. It wasn't until the end of the walk that they realized who they were talking to. As the Lord opened their eyes to realize it was Him. And they're talking about this in the 32nd verse. It says, And they said to one another, Were not our hearts burning within us while he was speaking to us on the road, while he was explaining the scriptures to us? And they arose that very hour and returned to Jerusalem and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them. Do you notice again, the Spirit of God marks the eleven out as distinct from the other disciples. Verse 34 saying, The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon. And they began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread. And while they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst. But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. And He said to them, Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Touch Me and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have." Now mark this down. This is very important. This was no vision of Jesus. This was no dream. The resurrected Christ is standing in their presence bodily. They can see Him. They can touch Him. In fact, notice something else. Verse 40, And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. And while they still could not believe it for joy and were marveling, He said to them, Have you anything here to eat? And they gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate it before them. And I said to them, These are my words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all the nations beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of my Father upon you, but you're to stay in the city until you're clothed with power from on high. I said this to a group of disciples, but notice, the Spirit of God makes clear. There's a unique relationship here between Christ and the eleven. They were to be witnesses of His resurrection. And so what He does right here is He renews their commission. He says, this is what I'm sending you out to do. To be an eyewitness of the resurrection is an important thing when you talk about an apostle. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 15. The Apostle Paul makes clear that he understands how important this is, that you would be an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ. 1 Corinthians 15, look at verse 1, Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, and which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as a first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." Now notice, "...and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James..." And we're not told which James this was. I lean toward the idea it's James the Lord's brother. "...but then he appeared to James, then to all of the apostles..." Now notice, "...and last of all, as it were, to one untimely born, he appeared to me also." For I am the least of the apostles, who am not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain. But I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach, and so you believed." So Paul numbers himself with the apostles of Jesus Christ. And one of the things that he makes very clear is just as they were eyewitnesses of the resurrected Lord, so He too was appeared to by Jesus Christ. And by the way, the appearance of Christ to the Apostle Paul was not a vision. It was not a dream. In the same way He appeared to them, so He appeared to Paul. And by the way, where did Jesus appear to Paul? Everybody knows, right? The road to Damascus. And so Christ appeared to him. Now notice something very interesting. Paul considered himself the last in a list. He says he made this appearance, this appearance, this appearance, this appearance, and last of all to me. He considered himself the last in a list. All those today who claim to have witnessed the resurrected Christ are deceived and liars. He has not made another appearance since he appeared to the Apostle Paul. And last of all, and even Paul noted the rarity of it, he says, I'm like someone who was born out of the right time. Because you notice something? Every other appearance Christ made, He made prior to His ascension. But last of all, as if for one born out of the right time or era, He then appeared post-ascension to the Apostle Paul. This is not something common. This is something that set the apostles apart as unique. In fact, look at Acts chapter one. You remember, prior to the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter thought it important to replace Judas Iscariot. Now, I don't know where you come down on Matthias. And to be honest with you, we're not going to settle that this side of heaven. All right. And we don't need to. It's not that important. Some believe that Matthias was indeed chosen by the Lord through lots, that the Lord was at work in the casting of lots, that the Lord was at work in the suggestion of Peter here, and that Matthias was indeed a legitimate apostle. And yet they would also say that Paul was a legitimate apostle. Paul's apostleship was to the Gentiles. Matthias, along with the other eleven, their ministry began with Israel. Whether that's the case or not, let me show you one thing that is important. Notice how they understood the office of Apostle. Look at Acts chapter 1. Look at verse 12. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem. A Sabbath day journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room where they were staying, that is Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. Now, once again, the Spirit of God sets these 11 apart. A unique group of men, uniquely set apart by Christ for a unique office. Verse 14, These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, and along with the women, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. And at this time, Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren, a gathering of about 120 persons, was there together, and said, Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled. which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was counted among us and received his portion in this ministry. And he goes on to talk about the word of prophecy given concerning it in Psalm 69. Look down at verse 21. It is therefore necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning with the baptism of John until the day he was taken up from us, one of these should become a witness with us of his resurrection. And they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justice, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show which one of these two Thou hast chosen to occupy this ministry, an apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place. And they drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles." Now, notice something. Notice two things that had to be true in terms of the men they put forward for this office. One, they had to have been with Jesus throughout His earthly ministry. They had to be with Jesus from the time of John the Baptist until the time of His ascension. That was one thing. The second thing is, they knew he had to be a witness of his resurrection. So he must have been a man who saw the resurrected Christ. Now, that tells me something, that in order to be an apostle, you had to have been an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ. So, we see the uniqueness of these men as Christ chose them, brought them to Himself, train them, send them out to announce His kingdom and Him as King. After His resurrection, He renewed their commission because He means for them to be the foundation of this church that He's going to build. And all along, He's been training them with this purpose in mind. They're to be eyewitnesses of His resurrection. The Spirit of God is going to supernaturally bring to their remembrance all the things they saw during His earthly ministry that they might record the Scriptures. He has worked miracles through their hands because he's setting his mark of authenticity on them, because through these men, he's going to give the New Testament revelation. This is what we see about this third way that the word is used. Now, let me wrap it up this morning very quickly, give you six reasons why we can know for certain there are no apostles today. And really we've dealt with all these things as we've dealt with the Word, but let me sort of tie the loose ends together and present it to you in a finished package. Six reasons why we can know there are no apostles today. No one being called as an apostle. First of all, the church, as we've seen, was founded upon the apostles. I don't know how many construction people we have here, but you know this. When do you lay a foundation? At the beginning of a building, right? The foundation goes first. You don't lay a foundation and then build and then lay a foundation. You lay the foundation, and you lay it once and you lay it forever, for the lifetime of that building. Ephesians 2.20 says very clearly that the church is being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the cornerstone. And so God laid the foundation with the apostles. When that foundation ministry was finished, when the New Testament record was completed, the Bible canon was closed, Their office was no longer needed. They passed off the scene and God has not laid that foundation again. And he's not laying that foundation now. It's finished. They're the foundation of the church. As a second reason, we know they're no longer being given. They had to be eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ. We saw that a moment ago, you had to be an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ and not a dream, not a vision. But as Christ appeared in that upper room, or appeared rather with that gathering of disciples and said, look, here's my body. See my hands. See the wounds. Where's a piece of fish? Let me eat it in your presence. I'm not a spirit. I'm standing bodily before you. In that same way, you had to be an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ. Paul thought this very important. In 1 Corinthians 9, he says, Am I not free? Listen, am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? He says, have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Am I not an apostle? He tied those two things together. And so if you haven't seen the resurrected Lord bodily, you're not an apostle. Not an apostle. And so they were eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ. There's a third thing about them. Apostles were personally chosen by Jesus Christ. in a way that was verifiable to others, in a way that was validated by others. All of the eleven knew that Christ had personally chosen them for that office. They were there when Christ called them out from the group of disciples. They were there when He named them as His apostles. They were there when He gave them authority to cast out demons and do the various things they did. They were all very aware that these eleven were personally chosen by Christ to fill that office. Now, I will say this, and I don't want to get bogged down in it, it's just an interesting little thing. It is interesting to me that Matthias was not chosen at the hand of Jesus. Now, you can argue that the Lord was at work in the lots, and that's well and good, and perhaps he was. It is interesting to me, though, that the Apostle Paul was chosen personally by the Lord Jesus Christ. And it was in a way that was verifiable to others. They couldn't distinguish what the voice was saying, but they heard the noise of it. And they knew he was blinded there on that road. And they led him by hand. There was another man the Lord was already at work in that was going to be involved in this whole deal as well. You can read about it in the book of Acts. So that Christ did not call Paul in a private way. He did it in a way that was public. He did it in a way that was verifiable. The apostles were personally chosen by him. Again, Paul makes a big point of this in Galatians 1. When he says this, Paul, an apostle, now listen, not sent from men, key statement here, nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead. He says, I'm an apostle, not only have I not been sent by men, get this, I wasn't sent through the agency of men. There was no intermediate agent. Christ chose me directly. Christ chose me personally. and sent me out for this work. That's something Matthias never could say. On the other hand, you could say in Acts chapter one, one of the qualifications was you had to be with the Lord Jesus from the time of his ministry beginning until the time of his ascension. You could say, well, Paul was never with him for that training. That's true. But remember something, there was a three year gap between the time when he was called by Christ and the time that he actually began his work. And I know this was a whole lot of training going on in those three years. Wouldn't you agree? And so personally chosen, personally trained, personally trained. An apostle had to be an eyewitness of the resurrection. An apostle had to be personally chosen by Christ in a way verifiable to others. There's a fourth thing about them. They were authenticated by miraculous signs. We've already seen numerous times that during the apostolic age, no miracles were ever performed except in the presence of an apostle or those directly commissioned by them. Now some will say, now wait a second. In fact, someone brought it up to me last week. It was a good question. They said, now wait, there are definitely false apostles and there are those who claim to be doing signs and wonders and miracles. How can we distinguish between their claims and what we see in the New Testament? Well, the answer is, at least part of the answer is, go back for a moment in your mind to the signs that God did through Moses. There were counterfeiters there, right? And they did things that were impressive to people. But the nature and the quality of what they were able to do could not match what God was doing through Moses. There are all kinds of claims being made today, but remember this, Peter raised Dorcas from the dead. When Paul was preaching that long sermon in Acts chapter 20, he really encourages me, preaching those long sermons. When he was preaching that long sermon, what happened to Eutychus? He fell out of the window and he was dead. And Paul went and embraced that young man in his arms and the Bible says he was revived. Raised him from the dead. With all the modern apostles and all the modern miracles and all the modern claims, you know what? We don't have one validated instance where someone was raised from the dead. And so the nature and the character of what's going on today in the name of the miraculous does not match what you see in the New Testament record when indeed people were trying to get into the shadow of the apostle Peter so they could be healed. Doesn't match. Doesn't match. And so they were authenticated by signs and wonders. Something else, a fifth thing. The apostles possessed authority in communicating divine revelation. Whatever the apostle wrote under divine inspiration was perfect. It was indeed the voice of God, it was scripture. And that's why in the first century and indeed to this day, the measure of all teaching is the Apostles' doctrine. What came to us through the Apostles? Acts 2.42 says, "...and they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." 1 John 4.5, "...they are from the world, speaking of false teachers. Therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them." We, the apostles. John speaks as an apostle. We are from God. He who knows God listens to us. He who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Does it match the doctrine of the apostles? Why? Because God, through them, was giving the new truth for His new church. Their teaching was the standard. And what they wrote under inspiration was the Word of God. And you know what's amazing? It was being recognized by them even in their own time. They recognized the uniqueness of those writings even in their own time. Look at the end of 2 Peter with me, very quickly. Just about done. Look at 2 Peter 3. Look at verse 14. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, Be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless. And regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation, just as also..." Now notice, "...our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also..." What does he say? the rest of the Scriptures to their own destruction. The Apostle Peter in his own mind had recognized and understood, and the Holy Spirit is telling us here through the Apostle Peter, that what Paul had already written under divine inspiration was on par with the rest of the Scriptures. They recognized it in their own time. And so the Apostles were the God-chosen, Christ-chosen, Christ-authenticated messengers of the new revelation. Which leads to a sixth thing, the last thing this morning that made them unique and unrepeatable, is an apostle possessed authority among all the churches. And in this he differed from elders. Pastors exercise a God-given authority in the local congregation they serve. But that's it. It's limited to a local congregation. The apostles exercise a Christ-given authority among all the churches. That's why when Paul spoke of his responsibility as an apostle and pastor in that regard, in 2 Corinthians 11, 28, he says, apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure upon me of concern for all the churches. He had concern for all the churches. And that's why when he was in Philippi, he could exercise church discipline in Corinth. 1 Corinthians 5, 3, he says, for I on my part, Though absent in body, but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan, for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." He's not even in Corinth. And he says, I'm there with you in spirit, and the power of the Lord Jesus is there with you. I want you to exercise discipline. I want that man out of the fellowship, someone might have asked. By what authority do you do that here? You know what his answer would have been? By apostolic authority. As an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, who has authority in all the churches. So let me ask you in closing, how many people can meet these qualifications today? What's the answer? None. How many can say that they are the foundation for the church, beginning their ministry at the church's very outset? None. How many can truthfully say that they have witnessed, not in a vision, not in a dream, but personally, bodily, the resurrected Christ? None. How many can truthfully say that they were personally chosen by Christ to be an apostle in a way verifiable to others? None. How many can truly say that they are working the miracles such as those done at the hands of the apostles? None. How many can truthfully say that they are writing books of scripture and what they write is inerrant? None. How many today can truthfully say that they possess authority in all the churches? None. And because the apostles have ceased, those gifts which worked in connection with that office have also ceased. Are you wrong to put your faith in the Word of God? Are you wrong to say the Bible is a finished book? We're to teach and understand and live and obey and defend the once for all delivered unto the saints faith? Are you wrong? Are you an anti-supernaturalist? Are you putting God in a box? No. You're recognizing the will of your sovereign God. You submit to Him and His purpose for the ages. You recognize what He's doing in our time and generation, which is we're to go on in the once for all delivered unto the saints faith. And now he's given pastors and teachers that we might know the truth, grow in the truth, walk in the truth. Let's bow our heads together, please. With our heads bowed, I ask you to think in your heart with me about the fact that these men were to be eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ. Through them and by the supernatural work of the Spirit of God, a witness was to come to us the fact that Jesus, who is God in human flesh, stepped out of heaven and came to His own creation, that which He had made Himself the world, and walked on this earth for 33 years and never sinned. He was the perfect, fully qualified Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. He died on a cross in the place of and instead of all those who were given to Him by His Father, all those who will come to believe on Him as Lord and Savior. He died paying the full debt of their sin penalty. He was raised from the dead. He descended to the right hand of the Father. And now He's able to save to the uttermost all those who put their faith in Him. I want to ask you, my friend, have you ever repented of your sins? Have you ever admitted that you're lost? Have you ever called out to the resurrected Christ that you can't see Him, you know Him by faith and love Him? Have you ever called out to Him to save you? And if not, would you call out right now? Would you realize that He will not cast away from Himself anyone who looks to Him in faith? Would you call out to Him right now? And then to every child of God, God having, if I could say it this way, having gone through so much planning and trouble, not to Him, but from a purely human point of view, having gone through all of that to make sure that we have this witness. How should we regard the Word of God? How should we respond to the Word of God? May we examine our hearts and ask, are we responding, Lord, to You and Your Word in the way that we should? Father, thank You for the time we've had in Your Word this morning. May You bless this time of invitation and decision. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.