The Twelve Plus One

“Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The 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 publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him,” (Matthew 10: 2-4)

There were 12 Apostles; we know the names of the Apostles; Paul was also appointed as an Apostle by Jesus. To be an Apostle, you must have met the Criteria, which included being: (1) a disciple of Jesus during His earthly ministry, (2) an eyewitness of the Resurrection, and (3) called and commissioned directly by Christ. Hence the past tense met.

The apostle arises in today’s world of false teachers, heretical gospel, and false prophets. People can name themselves whatever they want; scripture and church doctrine define a true Apostle. It is frightening when I hear someone who talks about being a Christian say they heard of a wonderful apostle who preaches there and who was called an apostle by a prophet. There are two major problems with this statement. First, we have a closed canon, there are no prophets, and since Jesus died 2000 years ago, it is scripturally impossible to be an Apostle. It is similar to when someone says they had a conversation with God, a verbal dialogue. Sorry again; we have a closed canon.

Listen, God moves us, no doubt; the Spirit leads and teaches, guides, and changes us, and Jesus is our mediator, our only mediator with God. If you don’t want to believe me, listen to Billy Graham, who wrote, “God does speak to us today, not in an audible voice, but in written words — the words of the Bible. The Bible is God’s Word, given to us so we can know Him and discover how He wants us to live. He also gave it to us so we can have hope — hope of God’s forgiveness, and hope for His presence with us, both now and forever. The Bible’s words are true: “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him” (Proverbs 30:5).”

Want to hear God? Read His written word. It is just as accurate, straight, and effective as when God spoke them.

Peace and Grace!