Ephesians

1. Apostles. The apostolic ministry lays the foundation of this building called the body of Christ. In Ephesians 2:20 Paul writes that the body of Christ, the church, is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” This is an image of the church as a building, with Christ as the cornerstone, with the apostles and prophets as the foundation, and you and I as members being stones that are built up on that foundation.

I believe this imagery refers not only to the original apostles in the Bible, but to contemporary apostles. The apostolic gift is still being given to the church today, but it functions in a somewhat secondary sense compared with that of the original apostles.

In 1 Corinthians 12:28, Paul shows us a sequence by which the gifts have been given: “And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers,” and so forth. Paul is not ranking these gifts in order of importance, he is ordering them in historical sequence. The gift of the apostles came first, followed by the prophets, teachers, and so on. That is the order in which these gifts were introduced into the church. This is extremely important.

Any builder knows that the foundation of a building is of the utmost importance. You do not take chances with the foundation, because the entire building is going to rest on that foundation and derive its strength from the solidarity of that foundation. The same thing is true in the church.

The Lord Jesus made it clear that if a man builds on the wrong foundation, his structure is in trouble (see Matthew 7:24-27). It was the task of the apostles and prophets to lay the foundation of the church. As we see in the four gospels, our Lord called twelve men to be with Him, to learn from Him, and to be sent out in ministry. Jesus named them apostles, a word that means “one sent forth.” The twelve apostles were sent out by the Lord Jesus with a special commission and special authority. Wherever they went they spoke with authority—they themselves were astonished by the authority they had. They came back to the Lord and told how they rejoiced when they discovered that even the demons were subject to them. That God-given authority is the special mark of an apostle.

Later, other apostles were added. Paul came after the twelve and never belonged to the original twelve. He did not take part in their particular ministry, though he was truly an apostle. This “thirteenth apostle” was sent by God to the Gentiles. So were Barnabas, Silas and Timothy, who also shared in the apostolic ministry (see Acts 14:14; and 1 Thessalonians 1:1 with 2:6).

The work of an apostle is to declare the whole body of truth concerning Jesus Christ. That is the foundation of the church and the foundation of your faith—the truth that you believe about Jesus Christ. That foundation was laid by the apostles. “For no one can lay any foundation,” said Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:11, “other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” What the apostles say about Jesus Christ is the foundation of the church, and what they say about Jesus Christ is recorded for us in our New Testament. This is from the hands of the apostles, and the whole church rests squarely upon that foundation. If it does not rest there, it is a rickety, dangerous structure—a house of cards.

The apostolic gift is still being given today, and it is needed wherever new churches are beginning. It is not that any new truth is being added to the Scriptures, but the whole body of truth that has already been given is imparted by contemporary apostles to new churches wherever they begin. That is always the task of an apostle—to lay foundations and start new churches. We call them “pioneer missionaries” today. Through the course of church history there have been great apostles, great pioneer missionaries, laying foundations for churches again and again—apostles such as Adoniram Judson in Burma, William Carey in India, and Hudson Taylor in China.