Quote:
Originally Posted by alwayslearning
I am not addressing the issue of receiving brothers but rather Indiana's statement that Witness Lee was an apostle to John Ingalls, etc. To receive a brother is one thing to receive a brother as an apostle with apostolic authority is another matter altogether.
|
Amen!
Scripture surely indicates the culpability of those who would embrace so quickly a self-styled 'apostle'. Consider the letter written to the Ephesians, and what Christ said to them in Revelation 2:2 "
I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false."
Here, Christ clearly praises the church in Ephesus for testing apostles, and rejecting those who do not pass the test. Naturally, we understand from this that we MUST test apostles - and what are we to test those who claim to be apostles by? We must test them against Scripture, for only the Word of God is rock-solid. If we reject the authority of the Word of God, we are surely easily duped into following false apostles.
....and in saying this, I acknowledge my own guilt in this matter. For all my talk of "testing the spirits" when I first joined the LC, I seriously failed to either heed His leading, or to diligently check the Word and "see if these things were so." I allowed personal friendships and brotherly love to blind me to the Truth, and in so doing I am no less guilty than Lee's earlier followers, and neither are any of the rest of you here. What Christ is implying in His letter to the Ephesians is that we are ALL supposed to test apostles; and not just leave it to a select few 'leaders' to do so. Everything I write here also needs to be tested; I too am a fallen man, and certainly capable of error. Lord have mercy.