[UntoHim]

Originally Posted by UntoHim

Where things get murky is if true apostles (who function at least partly as the original apostles) continue on through today. I think the key is to never lose sight of what the original apostles taught and how they conducted themselves. So if somebody who claims to be, or is called by others, an apostle we are not without a way to compare and contrast

Originally Posted by Ohio

I do believe that some gifts to the body, considered by some to be an apostle in operation, may later be disqualified due to personal failure.

Maybe the truth is that nobody can actually live up to the standard of an apostle. Maybe the truth is that the Body of Christ is so much larger than in the first century, that to have such universal “overseers” is not practical. I am not making dogmatic statements, more like just talking to myself out loud.

“considered by some to be an apostle in operation” - this may be a key in our considerations. Is it possible that someone could be functioning as an apostle to a group of churches (or an affiliation of churches), and recognized by this group as an apostle of sorts, but not recognized by any other group? Does this make this person any less of an apostle if he is only recognized by the group he ministers among? Under this interpretation maybe Witness Lee was an apostle, at least within the sphere of the Local Church.

“may later be disqualified due to personal failure” – Does this bring us back to the “nobody can actually live up to the standard of an apostle?” When it comes to the case of Witness Lee, maybe his personal failures should have disqualified him from reaching “apostle status” in the first place. There were older brothers around (in the US and Taiwan) at the beginning of the Movement in the US that could have sounded the warning but chose not to do so. This is a serious mistake that the Local Church has suffered the repercussions of since the beginning. In all fairness though, nobody can see into the future, and besides is it fair to “try those who call themselves apostles” before they even call themselves apostles?