Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
Matt 28:16-20 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee . . . . Then Jesus came to them and said, “. . . . go and make disciples . . . baptizing . . . and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Acts 6:2-4 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
Acts 13:2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
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So then, if these are the verses that demonstrate an Apostle's function was to confirm the faith, you have to ask do these verses only apply to the 1st century apostles, or are they still applicable today?
Today, do we need some to "teach new converts to obey everything the Lord has commanded"? I would say yes.
Today our version of the Apostle's teaching is the NT. However, there were only 3 of the 12 apostles who wrote the NT. Therefore I think it is safe to assume that the other 9 apostle's taught the same thing as the NT. Is it really that different if someone today teaches the NT? Once again, I would say that this verse is still applicable today.
In Acts 6 we see the apostles devoted themselves to the ministry of the word. Do we really think that this function is no longer applicable. I would say that today we still have those that devote themselves to the ministry of the word.
In Acts 13 it describes Barnabas and Paul being set aside for the work that Jesus called him to. Neither of these two was an eyewitness to the Lord's earthly ministry as one of the disciples. Therefore, the idea that Apostles are limited to those that were with the Lord from the beginning is certainly not applicable. Once again, based on this verse I would say we still have the Lord calling believer and setting believers aside to the work.