Quote:
Originally Posted by Igzy
And my view is these questions themselves are flawed. Because to answer them we must be able to know and agree upon without question who these special apostles are, and I don't think we can.
We can, however, know the speaking of the Spirit. I think that someone could make the case that, for example, Rick Warren is an apostle with a word for the entire Body of Christ. But making that an "official" (read "required") position opens big cans of worms.
I think we do well enough to hear the speaking of the Spirit through brother Warren. If you hear Him, heed his voice. If you don't, move on. But it seems to me that outward cheerleading let alone pressure to follow a particular man is not only dangerous, it is unnecessary. If you hear the Lord speaking in a brother's teaching, by all means, cheerlead his teaching. But don't cheerlead him.
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Good points. I agree.
The calling and commissioning of the genuine apostles by the Head relates more to the anointing upon these brothers, and the spiritual power they have over the forces of darkness, than any kind of assumed or presumed authority over other brothers.
WL gave endless messages concerning the "authority was by the growth in life." He used Aaron's rod that budded as an example of this authority based on
life, assuming his own was the highest of all. When push came to shove, however, he would use his self-assumed authority to crush the internal critics, and the legal system to crush his external opposers. Quite different from the authority we see with the earliest Apostles.
Concerning your opening statement -- "
we must be able to know and agree upon without question who these special apostles are, and I don't think we can," -- this demand sets the bar too high. The early church was never in agreement concerning Paul. Also, it was not too long before Jerusalem placed James above the other apostles.