The Lord is in the process of restoring apostolic authority to the church. Full apostolic authority cannot be entrusted to apostolic ministry until Christ is formed in those vessels in a great enough measure. As the measure of Christ reaches a level of fullness, Christ the apostle will minister through His apostles. Once this occurs, Christ will be formed in believers, and the church will come to maturity. The absence of apostolic authority has prevented the church from entering into fullness and believers from doing the work of the ministry.
Inward Revealing of Christ
”But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles…” (Galatians 1:15-16 WEBUS)
First, an apostle must have Christ revealed in him before he can minister effectively and see Christ formed in others. The Lord has designed a process for each person with this calling. A premature move into apostolic ministry can stunt the growth of Christ in the apostle and lead to a shallow apostolic ministry, which in turn prevents the church from being built and coming to fullness.
The Lord is raising up a generation of leaders who will be concerned about His eternal will instead of the success of their individual ministries. These leaders will work together in apostolic teams in order to build the church and spread the Kingdom of God. Their focus will not be giving prophecies or imparting spiritual gifts (although they will do these things), but seeing Christ’s nature and life come forth in His people.
”My little children, for whom I am again suffering birth pangs until Christ is completely and permanently formed (molded) within you,“ (Galatians 4:19 AMPC)
If a ministry is calling itself apostolic and its primary focus is not centered around Christ being formed in believers and coming to full measure, then the ministry must be questioned as to whether or not it is truly apostolic. Christ the apostle in the minister will lead believers to Himself. Mature apostolic ministry is when the apostle yields to Christ the apostle who is within.
This is where the leadership gifts of Ephesians Chapter 4 are different from the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit are primarily “blessing” gifts for encouragement and strengthening within the body of Christ. The leadership gifts of Ephesians 4 are intended to be a manifestation of Christ to His church. Christ is the head of His body, and His authority will flow through leadership vessels who are purified and yielded to Him.
If a leadership vessel is immature and has not had their self-life crucified, their ministry will be a mixture, and Christ’s authority will not be able to come through that vessel. That person may be anointed and preach or teach good, but the weight and depth of Christ will not manifest in them and through them, which causes Christ to be formed in believers and builds the church. Immature minsters generally focus on crowds, followers, money, blessings, and teaching for the purpose of getting people to come back to them. They have “blessing ministries” instead of building ministries.
The Gift of Christ
”But to each one of us, the grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Therefore he says, “When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to people.”“ (Ephesians 4:7-8 WEBUS)
Christ gave gifts to the church. These gifts are His leaders, but more than leaders. Christ gave Himself to the church, through leaders, in order to build the church. Christ gave and gives apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Grace is released to each member of the body of Christ according to the measure of the gift of Christ. We can only receive this grace if we have an understanding of how it is released. We access this grace from Christ by receiving Christ through His appointed leadership gift in the church. The degree to which we recognize, receive, and accept this truth is the degree of grace we will access.
I have written much in the past on abusive authority and leaders who rule over believers. I have written on the errors of the Shepherding Movement and how the false “Spiritual Covering” doctrine crept into the church because of that movement. That article can be found here: Spiritual Covering and Authority. What I am writing about now is submitting to the Lord Jesus through godly authority and leaders who have Christ ruling in them. In order to move on to the fullness of Christ, we must accept this truth. True leaders who are controlled by Christ are not controlling and damaging to believers. But they do carry Christ’s authority and voice which must be obeyed. Judgment will result from hearing the Lord through His leaders and not obeying (like when King Saul did not listen to the Lord through Samuel the prophet).
Building
The Lord releases authority to His apostles and prophets to build individual believers (living stones) into the temple or church of the living God. The degree to which the temple is built together is directly related to the measure of the Holy Spirit that is dwelling in His temple. If the temple is in ruins or halfway constructed, the Lord doesn’t have a dwelling place to rest. His presence and glory may come in a limited measure or on occasions, but He will not make that temple or church His permanent place of habitation.
The choice is ours. Are we going to submit to Christ through His chosen leaders and be built into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit, or are we going to resist it? If we resist, the Lord will not have His desire fulfilled in us (Psalm 132:7,13-14).
The Lord’s authority is given to leaders for building:
”For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. For we rejoice when we are weak and you are strong. We also pray for this: your becoming perfect. For this cause I write these things while absent, that I may not deal sharply when present, according to the authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not for tearing down.“ (2 Corinthians 13:8-10 WEBUS)
The Greek word used for “perfect” means “complete adjustment, completeness of character, thorough equipment, perfection, a strengthening, perfecting of the soul, training, disciplining, and instructing.”
The Greek word used for “building up” (and is also found in Ephesians 4:12) means “the act of building, a building, structure, and edification.”
The church being built is directly related to believers becoming perfect (Christ being formed in us and coming to a certain level of fullness). Apostolic authority was given to the apostles in order to carry this out. Apostolic authority leads to Christ coming forth in believers in perfection, which leads to disciples of Jesus being built into His church. The Lord is releasing His authority so that our character will be complete and our souls will be changed and perfected. As the body matures together, we will grow up into the Head, Jesus Christ.
Tearing Down Strongholds
Apostles carry authority to correct false ways of thinking and distorted views of the Lord. Apostles and prophets have authority to address false doctrines and damaging teaching from ministers of mixture. If we read the below passage in full context, we can see that Paul is talking about him and the apostolic team, which has authority to throw down strongholds and imaginations.
”Now I Paul, myself, entreat you by the humility and gentleness of Christ, I who in your presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you. Yes, I beg you that I may not, when present, show courage with the confidence with which I intend to be bold against some, who consider us to be walking according to the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we don’t wage war according to the flesh; for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds, throwing down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,“ (2 Corinthians 10:1-5 WEBUS)
We are currently in a time where many fleshly strongholds are being exalted in the church, and false imaginations from the minds of men are being taught as God’s truth. Fantasies and false beliefs regarding the Lordship of the eternal Godhead are permeating the church. We are in a time in which we desperately need to see true apostolic authority restored to the Lord’s chosen vessels so light will break forth in the midst of the invading darkness. We must pray for this.
Protecting Christ’s Temple
Apostles and prophets who oversee the Lord’s house must use their authority to protect God’s dwelling place in the Spirit. He does not want His church destroyed by sin and a false grace doctrine. Apostles and prophets will properly judge the Lord’s church according to His righteousness judgment (just as Paul did) in order to protect the church. Any leader who is entrusted with Christ’s authority in the church must protect the sheep from evil, destruction, and sin. Some circumstances may call for leaders to excommunicate certain unrepentant believers from the church in order to keep the body from defilement.
”For I most certainly, as being absent in body but present in spirit, have already, as though I were present, judged him who has done this thing. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together with my spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, you are to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
But as it is, I wrote to you not to associate with anyone who is called a brother who is a sexual sinner, or covetous, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or an extortionist. Don’t even eat with such a person. For what do I have to do with also judging those who are outside? Don’t you judge those who are within? But those who are outside, God judges. “Put away the wicked man from among yourselves.”“ (1 Corinthians 5:3-5, 11-13 WEBUS)
Fullness
”And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;“ (Ephesians 4:11-13 NKJV)
The Greek word used for “perfect man” means “brought to completion, fully accomplished, fully developed, fully realized, thorough, complete, entire; as opposed to what is partial and limited, full grown of ripe age, fully accomplished in Christian enlightenment, perfect in some point of character, without shortcoming in respect of a certain standard, perfect, of higher excellence and efficiency, brought to its end, finished, wanting nothing necessary to completeness, consummate human integrity and virtue, of full age, and mature.”
Believers and leaders who submit to this process will go on with the Lord into becoming the church that the Lord desires. They will partner with the Lord in seeing His will and purpose accomplished in this age.
Leaders who are focused on the Lord’s purpose will not have any “show” to them or their ministry. They will be genuine and do everything they can to see believers walking in intimate communion with the Lord. False leaders will put themselves at the center of the show. They will speak about Jesus, but the attention will be on them or their ministry.
Recently, I watched a video of a minister putting on a public spectacle while ministering deliverance. He mocked the demon manifesting in the person and spoke to it while the crowd laughed in entertainment. This went on for five minutes or so. The minister is now calling himself an apostle, but the “show” was a mockery of the Lord and the true apostolic ministry. The devil will help the flashy and fleshly false apostolic ministry to be exalted so that the real is rejected and blasphemed by the church. The Lord is testing our hearts to see what kind of ministry we will follow.
Revealing Christ’s Will and Intent
Just as the first century apostles and prophets received a revelation of the mystery of Christ (Ephesians 3:1-11), so will it be in the final generation before Jesus returns. The last century apostles and prophets will be given a revelation of Jesus Christ in order to prepare the church for His return. Scriptures that have not been previously misunderstood will be made known to the Lord’s messengers.
As Christ increases in His messengers, a greater understanding of His will, purpose, plans, intent, and nature will be revealed in them and through them to the church. This manifold wisdom of God will be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places according to the eternal purpose that our Father accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We are in a time where apostolic and prophetic ministers must receive a deeper revelation of Jesus Christ and reveal Him to the church. This is essential for the church to move on to fullness so the Lord’s purposes will be fulfilled. To receive a deeper revelation of Jesus Christ, leaders must humble themselves and admit that they have come as far as they can go. We need the grace of God and the ministry of Jesus Christ to come forth in us. We acknowledge the understanding that previous generations of leaders brought to the church, and we honor them. Yet we have not yet come to fullness, and we must confess our inability to bring the church to fullness. Humility is the key to releasing a deeper and more complete understanding of the eternal Son of God.
Government
The government of the Kingdom of Heaven rests on Christ’s shoulders, and there is no end to the increase of that government (Isaiah 9:6-7). That governmental authority will once again manifest through the Lord’s approved leaders, as it did with Moses and Elijah. The time is at hand for the keys of the kingdom to be entrusted to apostolic and prophetic vessels again (Matthew 16:19, John 20:21-23). So that believers would come to the mature man, the church would be built, and Jesus would get what He desires.
Prayer
“Father, let Your Son increase in me to fullness. Empower me to yield to Christ and allow Him to come to the mature man in me. Reveal Christ inwardly so that I may come to know Him in a greater way and that His life and nature will flow in me and from me. Father, transform and transfigure me into the image of your Son. Please give me the mind of Christ. Unveil Christ in me so that I am filled with understanding and knowledge of Him. Let Christ come forth in me more rapidly than ever before. In Jesus name.”
