Jesus said in Matthew 28:18-20 "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and disciple all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you every day until the end of the age."'
Most Christians are familiar with the basic definition of the word apostle which is to be "a Sent One". It is taken from the Greek word "apostolos" meaning "a delegate, an ambassador of the gospe1, one commissioned, and a messenger, he that is sent". But we need to ask ourselves a question. Why would Jesus, a Jew, talking to his Jewish followers use a Greek word to describe the twelve?
Before Jesus called his leaders "Apostles" the Greeks and Romans used it to describe the men who were sent out to advance and establish their empires. These Greek and Roman Apostles were Generals or Admirals who had proven themselves in battle. They were given the authority and the power they needed and then sent out to advance and establish the Greek or Roman culture everywhere.
Jesus commissioned and sent our His first Apostles into all the earth to advance His Kingdom. They went out to conquer and subdue cities, regions or nations. After accomplishing that they too were responsible for governing the people that they had brought into the kingdom. They also had to instruct, educate and train their new subjects in the laws and culture of their kingdom so they would become good citizens of the Kingdom of God!
After the early apostles died, the commission remained. It has yet to be totally fulfilled and will remain in force until the day it is fulfilled.
The Apostolic Mission is Threefold:
First, we are called to "Advance the Kingdom of God":
We do this as we conquer and subdue cities, regions and nations territories placing them under the feet of Jesus. The 1st Century Apostles were successful because they had a militant mentality... They believed that they had a Mandate for Global Dominion.
The way we do this is through 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ".
The early Church was "Kingdom Minded". The Apostles were not concerned with building their own Church or Ministry but they worked tighter for Kingdom Growth. Again Paul shows us how. In Philippians 2:3-5 he says: "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others as better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus..."
Secondly we set up a Governmental System for the Churches:
In order to do this they raised up Elders who would then instruct and train the new converts in the "culture" of the Kingdom of God. They build "Equipping Churches" where they first developed other Fivefold Ministers and then they raised up the Deaconate and finally equipped the Saints for the work of the ministry in their daily life.
Thirdly we work to "Establish the Kingdom of God":
We see this is Titus 1:5 where Paul says: "For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee...". As the Apostles led the way in this area the continuation of the Kingdom of God through the Local Church was sure.
For us to be truly apostolic today we must pick up the same Mandate the early Apostles had.
Therefore we can see that the "shift" towards Apostolic Leadership in the Church today is not about a new style of preaching or a new hierarchy but it is about fulfilling the will of God in the Great Commission.
