Apostle Ministry

Are the apostles of the NAC truly the apostles of Jesus Christ?

Introduction

The New Apostolic Church is characterized by the Apostle ministry, what is it all about, are the apostles of the New Apostolic Church apostles of Jesus Christ, as they claim of themselves? In this article, we want to investigate the question of whether the Apostle ministry of the New Apostolic Church can be justified biblically and we provide information about facts that are of particular importance with regard to the New Apostolic Apostles.

Apostles - Witnesses of the Resurrection!

Jesus says: “You shall now be my witnesses to the end of the earth!”Are the Apostles of the New Apostolic Church witnesses to Jesus Christ?

Anyone who has ever attended a court hearing will not have failed to notice when the presiding judge calls one or more witnesses into the courtroom who can have a decisive influence on the outcome of the hearing.After telling the called witness to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, and that untrue statements will result in punishment, he asks him the question: Witness, what did you see, what can you report?So only the witness can be somebody who has seen something.

Only those who are eyewitnesses of a particular event can report.If you haven’t seen anything, you can’t report anything, so you can’t be a witness.The case is clear.Witnesses can only be those who have seen something.Only seeing and experiencing an event makes someone a witness.Now Jesus says to his apostles in Luke 1: “You are now to be my witnesses, starting from Jerusalem, Samaria and to the end of the earth.”

Historical Apostles are real Witnesses

After what we have said above, the apostles living at that time could indeed be real witnesses.They could because they saw the life of Jesus, his crucifixion and resurrection, and even his ascension with their own eyes!According to Jesus’ own words, this eyewitness testimony was to reach Jerusalem, then Samaria, and finally to the end of the earth.What is Jesus talking about here?Clearly about the testimony of his work on this earth.Who could testify to this ministry of Jesus?Definitely, only those who have seen the work of Jesus with their own eyes.The Apostle John later wrote to the churches in Asia Minor: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.“ (1 John 1:1-3)

So Jesus was concerned with the testimony of his work on earth by people who could testify to this work because they had seen it themselves with their own eyes.This happened through Jesus’ apostles first in Jerusalem, then in Samaria through their oral testimony, and later through their written testimony, which finally spread to the end of the earth.The eyewitnesses wrote down what they had experienced with Jesus, what they had seen and heard for themselves.They knew that after their death there would be no more eyewitnesses who could claim to be true witnesses of the events of salvation.So they felt compelled to write down their testimony so that it could be shared forever.As church history shows, their testimony of the ministry of Jesus was actually spread to the end of the earth.Jesus’ words literally came true.

Eye Witnesses Plays a Crucial Role

The eyewitness testimony of the New Testament apostles thus plays a crucial role.It is often claimed that there were other apostles besides the first twelve.That is correct, for example, the apostle Paul or Barnabas.Now it is said that these other apostles need not necessarily have seen the Lord.The New Testament would not prove that all apostles were eyewitnesses to Jesus.This is wrong!Perhaps the Lord had Paul write down the following sentence in view of such false claims.“Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” (1 Cor. 15:6-8)

Further Bible passages, which further support the eye-witness as a characteristic for a genuine apostle of Jesus Christ, will now follow.For his own identification as the apostle Paul, Paul especially points out that he had seen the Lord:“Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord?“ – 1 Cor. 9:1 “Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” – 1 Cor. 15:8 “So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.“ (Acts 1:21-22)

When it came to filling the gap that Judas had left in the circle of the twelve disciples, the others discussed who would now be eligible.It had to be someone who knew the Lord personally and was a witness to his resurrection.Incidentally, the decision was made here by lot and not by election or by the instruction of a person, as is the case in the New Apostolic Church, contrary to biblical practice.According to the statutes of the ‘New Apostolic Church International’, the so-called Chief Apostle is elected or appointed by his predecessor!The Apostles are appointed to their office by the Chief Apostle!

Were True Apostles Only Jews?

There is one other point that is easily overlooked.All of the New Testament apostles were of Jewish descent!This is a historical fact, but not yet proof that only Jews or those belonging to the people of Israel can be apostles.But the apostle Paul uses precisely this fact to legitimize himself as an apostle.The false apostles who existed in the early history of Christian communities also used this argument to justify themselves as true apostles.Why, if it didn’t matter?We can read about this in the Scriptures in the following text:“Are they Hebrews (the false apostles)? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I.” – 2nd Cor. 11:22

In Corinth there were false apostles who, in order to legitimize themselves as apostles, specifically pointed out that they were Jews or Israelites.From this, it is clear that Jewish descent was a special characteristic of an apostle at that time.Paul defends himself here and also cites this characteristic for himself.In this context, however, we must also pay attention to the verse in Rom.2:29.However, this is about circumcision and externals, which are not enough to make a person a Jew.Rather, the inner attitude and the essence must be right.

The Apostles of the New Testament

A compilation of the following Bible texts: ”And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. (Mt. 10:1-4)

• Simon Peter
• Andrew
• James
• John
• Philip
• Bartholomew/Nathanael
• Thomas
• Matthew/Levi
• James
• Jude/Thaddeus
• Simon the Zealot
• Judas Iscariot

Additional Apostles

The Holy Scriptures tell us about other apostles who do not belong to the circle of the first twelve. For example of Matthias (Acts 1:26f), of Barnabas (Acts 14:14) and of Paul. Of course Paul also saw the Lord (Rom. 1. 1f)! James, the brother of the Lord, is also called an apostle (Gal. 1:19).

With Andronicus and Junias the matter is unfortunately not as clear as with the others. The wording of the Bible text can be read differently. In the letter to the Romans Andronicus and Junias are mentioned (Rom. 16:7). In the case of Junias, one is not sure whether it is a female or a male name.

The Greek text does not allow us to decide whether the name is Junias (male) or Junia (female). In the ancient church and as late as the 13th century, it was understood to be a woman’s name (cf. the couple Aquila and Priska in verse 3). Because of the different readings, depending on the translation, there are different opinions concerning the status of Junias and Andronicus in Rom. 16:7. There are two possibilities. First, they are very respected among the apostles, but not apostles themselves. Second, they are distinguished as apostles and popular among the apostles. Compare the individual Bible translations: Revised Elberfelder 1985, Schlachter 1951, Luther 1984, Elberfelder 1905, Interlinear translation.

The twelve Apostles of the Lamb

„And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.“ – Rev. 21:14

Some are of the opinion that the Lord Himself here limited the number of apostles to twelve. We cannot agree with this, because the Bible itself names other apostles (Paul, Barnabas, etc.). But if the first twelve apostles are meant here, more precisely the apostles of Jesus Christ (Mt.10.2-3), they have a special meaning, because they are called apostles of the Lamb here. So there is a distinction to other apostles! What then is the position of the other apostles among the apostles, if special reference is made here to the twelve apostles of the Lamb? The New Apostolic Church has far more than three hundred apostles! How many foundation stones would the heavenly Jerusalem have if the apostles of the New Apostolic Church were true apostles of Jesus Christ? A foundation stone can only live once, at the beginning of the construction of a building. If we stick to this image, it means that in the New Apostolic Church new foundation stones are always being added.

Churches Are Satisfied with False Apostle

The Bible tells us about people who are involved with false apostles in the churches. The following is noticeable: they do not notice the error and live excellently with these false apostles. We also encounter both of these things again and again in our conversations with New Apostolic people. They are content with their apostles and do not want anything to change. Let us take a look at what the Holy Scripture says about this:“For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles.” (2. Cor. 11:4-5) “For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face.” – 2. Cor. 11:20

The apostle Paul took a position here on the false apostles who were up to mischief in Corinth.

False Apostles also in Ephesus and Corinth

“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.” – 2. Cor. 11:13 “I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.” – Rev. 2:2

It seems to be that everywhere where true apostles are and were, that there are also false apostles! But does this allow without further ado the reverse conclusion that wherever there are false apostles, there are also found true apostles?

Some members of the New Apostolic Church admit that a few of their apostles could possibly be false apostles. This is how they try to explain how extreme injustices or inhumanities and misconduct can occur. Doctrines that are not in accordance with New Apostolic doctrine, but are proclaimed by apostles of the New Apostolic Church, also allegedly point to such false apostles. However, such apostles usually do not remain in office for very long. Especially in the past, when apostles were prematurely retired or even excommunicated for reasons mentioned above, such apostles were called false apostles!

But does this mean that there are also true, genuine apostles of Jesus Christ in the New Apostolic Church? We think we have already shown above that the apostles of the New Apostolic Church cannot be apostles of Jesus Christ. However, in order to be able to judge this even more clearly, we can apply another standard. We can place their teaching in the light of Holy Scripture and examine whether they teach what is to be taught from a biblical point of view! Or does the teaching of the New Apostolic Apostleship even contradict biblical teaching? Please read the other texts on this website.

The Livelihood of the Apostles

We would like to mention this point only briefly and not go into it more intensively, because we are not primarily concerned with human misconduct, which can occur anywhere where people are active. We are more concerned with the spiritual teachings and influences. But we can read and recognize some things from the fruits. It is not the natural fruits - to stay with this image - that are the proof of the falseness of the teaching. But false teaching does not produce good fruit. Rotten fruits are rather a symptom. They are not the cause!

Please judge for yourself on the basis of the Holy Scriptures and compare the apostles of the New Apostolic Church with those of the New Testament. It is no secret that the so-called Chief Apostle receives several hundred thousand EUR per year as salary and the Apostles also earn several ten thousand EUR per year. Meanwhile, many thousands of members of the New Apostolic Church clean the church buildings free of charge, provide flower arrangements, and do the gardening on the church properties. Not to mention the many evenings and weekends during which the same members work voluntarily as lay preachers and deacons, sacrificing themselves physically and in terms of time for their community.

What the Scriptures Say

“Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached God’s gospel to you free of charge? 8 I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. 9 And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way.” (2. Cor 11:7-9)

“And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only.” – Phil. 4:15

“Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.” – Phil. 4:17

Paul preached the gospel to the Corinthians free of charge and was not a burden to anyone there. He received his means of subsistence from the brethren of Macedonia. We further learn that Paul earned his living at least temporarily from his work as a tentmaker: “and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.” – Acts 18:3

Let Jesus send out his twelve apostles and command them: “Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.” (Matt. 10:9-10)

Are There Still Apostles Today?

After everything we have explained so far, the impression might have been created that there are no “messengers of God” today. Because this is what the Greek word “apostle” means messenger. This impression would be wrong. We know very well that the Bible speaks of other apostles who were not among the first twelve apostles. God has at all times called messengers to an apostolic ministry for the guidance and edification of His church.

When we stated on this page that there are no more “apostles of Jesus Christ” today, our assertion refers solely to this unique apostleship. For this office was linked to indispensable prerequisites, such as the eyewitnesseship of the resurrection of Jesus, and consequently expired with the death of the eyewitnesses. In the following, the different groups of apostles, as they are shown to us in the Holy Scriptures, are listed.

The Different Apostles

1. The apostle of the Father (Hebrews 3:1): This is the Lord Jesus. The Father always has only One (one shepherd, high priest, way…).
2. Apostles of Jesus Christ: these are the twelve. They are the foundation for the church (Eph 2:20). Paul as an apostle did not belong to the first twelve apostles, the apostles of the Lamb (Rev. 21:23), but he was still an apostle of Jesus Christ because he fulfilled the requirements for this apostleship, as we have seen from the Scriptures.
3. Apostles of the Holy Spirit: These are sent out by the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:4). One of these apostles was Barnabas (Acts 14:4), another one Silvanus (1. Thes. 2:6).
4. Apostle of the church: (2. Cor. 8:23, Phil. 2:25).
5. False apostles: those who say they are apostles and are not (Rev 2:2; 2 Cor 11:13).

Apostle of Jesus Christ

This page was about the apostles of Jesus Christ (group 2). The New Apostolic Church claims that its “apostles” belong exclusively to this special group. Yes, that God has re-established the “apostleship of Jesus Christ” in their midst in order to complete the supposedly not yet finished “redemptive work of Jesus Christ”. Nowhere can the New Apostolic Church base this on God’s Word, because according to the testimony of Holy Scripture, the redemptive work of Jesus Christ was completed through Jesus’ atoning death on the cross. His resurrection and ascension and the subsequent outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost are God’s confirmation of this completed work of redemption. The main task of the apostles of Jesus Christ was now to testify to this completed work of salvation of Jesus, which they themselves saw with their eyes (1 John 1:1-4).

We must see that God used the apostles of Jesus Christ for this very special and unique mission. Their testimony of the completed redemptive work of Jesus had to be recorded in word and writing for all times according to the counsel of God (Col. 1, 25). This written word of God is and remains the basis and foundation of the testimony of the completed redemptive work of Jesus Christ for now and for all eternity (1 Cor. 3, 10; Eph. 2, 20). A foundation can only be laid at the beginning of a building. Who would want to lay the foundation again shortly before it was completed? After the ministry of the eyewitnesses was completed, God called further apostles who built on the foundation that had already been laid (see group 3 and 4).

Apostle of the Holy Spirit

These apostles, sent out by the Holy Spirit, had no other message than the first twelve. Nor did they think they had new revelations beyond the written word of the twelve apostles. Paul: “not to go beyond what is written.” (1 Cor. 4:6) (ESV). Nor did they think that they were sent to preach God’s “timely word” because the word of the first twelve was no longer “timely.” Such a presumptuous thought would not have even have occurred to them in their wildest imagination. No, the opposite is the case: they only passed on what they had heard and received from the twelve apostles (Hebrews 2:3), namely that one is saved through faith in Jesus Christ.

The apostle Paul also had no other message. When the jailer in Philippi asked him what he should do to be saved, Paul answered: “Believe in the apostles? No! “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31). This message was the message of the Twelve, which they had received from Jesus Himself. It has not changed until today. The apostle John warns: “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God.”; (2 John 9-10). God sent men at all times and to all continents, whom He commissioned with this joy-giving message of the Gospel, to lead people to saving faith in Jesus. He sent men to plant, lead and strengthen churches and to build them up into a spiritual temple in the Lord.

Apostles of the Church

If we remember that the Greek word “apostle” has the same literal meaning as the Latin word “missionary” - both terms mean “messenger” - we have no difficulty in assuming that even today there are among us men sent by God whom we could also call “apostles” in the sense of God’s messenger. However, these usually call themselves by the Latin word “missionary” because they do not want to and cannot put themselves on the same level with the apostles of Jesus Christ, the eyewitnesses of the resurrection of Jesus.

Undoubtedly, throughout the history of the church, there have been and still are people sent by the Lord for special tasks and ministries and who work for the Lord. Just think of men like Martin Luther, Hudson Taylor, Watchman Nee, Karl Studd or C.H. Spurgeon, just to name a few. So, in this sense, there has never really been a time without apostles. Consequently, the calling of “new apostles” as well as a “New Apostolic Church” in this sense was superfluous and not possible at all in the sense of Apostles of Jesus Christ.

Ministry Understanding of the NAC Apostles

At the international District Apostles’ Meeting in Canada (2013), the NAC Apostles dealt with their own understanding of ministry, according to www.nak.org, first and foremost of course Chief Apostle Schneider: “The District Apostles’ Meeting dealt in detail with the New Apostolic Church’s understanding of ministry. Chief Apostle Schneider commented: ‘At present, we are also very intensively occupied in the circle of District Apostles with our understanding of ministry. We want to further develop the statements that have been published in the Catechism. This requires a thorough examination of all the questions surrounding the ministry. Only then can further assignments to the responsible working group on faith issues be derived from this.’”

It is somehow strange, supposedly there are real apostles of Jesus Christ on this earth again since about 1833 and in the year 2013 one sees oneself compelled to ponder about one’s own understanding of ministry. Where is the Holy Spirit, which should fill them, the NAC apostles, and give them clear information about who and what they actually are. O.k. it is already a progress, if the apostles of the NAC, who unlike the real apostles of the New Testament, are neither of Jewish descent, nor have seen the Lord himself, let alone were appointed by him personally, finally think a little about their mission.

Small hint: “Dear New Age Apostles, think about whether there can still be Apostles of JESUS Christ today, and whether they are necessary?” Didn’t the real apostles of Jesus Christ leave us everything we need to know in the Holy Scriptures? Or do the NAC apostles still want to explain to us that the “contemporary Word of God”, proclaimed by the NAK apostles, declassifies the Bible as yesterday’s book? Yes, this is still to be found today in the new catechism of the NAK.

Was Everything Better in the Past or Not?

The NAC apostles of the past apparently had fewer problems with their self-understanding: “The messengers commissioned by Christ to lead the work of redemption on earth, the chief apostle and the apostles, have received for their task the ministerial endowment that comes from the Holy Spirit. With these gifts they are enabled to understand God’s intentions, to communicate them to the faithful, and to lead those who follow them to the goal of faith in accordance with the divine will.” (New Apostolic Church International, Questions and Answers about the New Apostolic Faith - Question 5, Zurich, 1990, p. 11.)

“Just imagine if the Lord had not given His children a chief apostle and an apostle! Then there would not be a single child of God on the whole earth. No one could know the will of God. No one could be forgiven of sins.” (Primary source: Our Children, August 1990, Secondary source: Sylvia Kranefeld: Sekten - Aufklärung statt Therapie, The World of Books, 1994, p. 8)

Conclusion

The New Apostolic Church has a completely wrong and unbiblical view, not only about the redemptive work of Jesus Christ Himself, but also in particular about the apostleship. We must reject this errant view as false doctrine on the basis of the Scriptures. The “apostles” of the New Apostolic Church therefore belong to the apostles of group 5, the false apostles, of whom God’s Word says that they say they are apostles and are not (Rev. 2:2; and 2 Cor. 11:13).

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