The Church and Mission Pt IV: The Apostolic Church (1)

Part 1 (The Great Commission)

In previously considering the ministry of reconciliation (2Co.5:14-6:2), which is the administration of the new covenant (3:2-4:12), we briefly observed that this commission was originally and specifically apostolic in nature (cf. Mt.28:16-20; Ac.1:2-8). Many have rightly observed that the “we”/”us” pronouns scattered throughout Paul’s explication of the new covenant ministry in 2nd Corinthians (2:14-7:4) are specifically in reference to the apostle himself, or the so-called apostolic band (and hence categorized as “the apostolic plural”). At points Paul adds the inclusive “all” to the pronoun (2Co.3:18; 5:10), while at others, the predicates of the first person plural undoubtedly apply equally to the Corinthians themselves as fellow believers (e.g., 2Co.5:1-5, 21). But the typical contrast of the apostolic “we”/”us” to the Corinthian “you” is sustained throughout (see 3:1-3, 4:5, 12, 14; 5:12-13, 20; 6:2, 11-13; 7:2-4).

This is particularly clear in 5:20, where Paul speaks of his commission as an “ambassador of Christ,” as though God himself were “making an appeal” through the apostle’s preaching and ministry of ‘persuasion’ (cf. 5:11); and on that basis pleads with the Corinthians to “be reconciled to God!” How? Through their reconciliation to Paul, the ambassador of the divine king (cf. 6:11-7:3)! In particular, they are reconciled to God in their repentance regarding their insolence toward Paul (7:8-13; 2:1-11), as minister of the new covenant (3:6) and spokesman of Christ (13:3), and their (re)reception of his gospel over and against “another gospel” (11:2-4) taught by “false apostles” (11:13-15).

Hence, when Paul speaks in 5:18 of the ministry of reconciliation being “committed” to “us,” he speaks uniquely and specifically as an apostle appointed by the resurrected Lord (cf., Ac.26:16-20; Ro.15:15-16). His commission to be a minister of reconciliation to the Gentiles, then, parallels the Lord’s mission enjoined on the original eleven (Mt.28:18-20; Ac.1:8). Therefore, the ministry of reconciliation is first and foremost an apostolic commission.

Interestingly, though we modern evangelicals often appeal to Matthew 28:18-20 and its parallels as the primary ground and impetus for world mission and evangelism, the early church, though zealously evangelistic, never did. Why? Because, as Michael Green explains in his book, “Evangelism in the Early Church,” they understood Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, etc., to have been essentially fulfilled by the end of the first century through the ministries of the apostles.

Of course, there is an important sense in which this is true. The gospel did penetrate to the ends of the (known) world (e.g., Col.1:6, 23). And certainly the apostles faithfully carried out the task assigned them, such that Paul, for example, could say, “So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ,” (Ro.15:19). And again, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith,” (2Ti.4:7). Surely this means more than that Paul merely maintained faith throughout the course of his life. Does it not also imply that he fully discharged his commission as an apostle of Jesus Christ to the nations (cf. Ac.20:24)? Because of Paul’s missionary genius and unflinching evangelization, the gospel has successfully and irreversibly infiltrated the Gentile world. And the magnificent history of Western civilization is a glittering testimony to that fact.

And yet, it would be wrong for us to conclude that the charge entrusted to the original apostles was either delimited or exhausted by their ministries. Why?

For one, the book of Acts makes clear that the Lord’s decree to the (now) eleven in 1:8 is executed not only through Peter (and presumably the other apostles), but also through such luminaries as Stephen the martyr and Philip the evangelist, who first takes the gospel to Samaria, and both of whom were ‘deacons’ (Ac.6-8)! Perhaps more striking is the fact that the preaching of the gospel is an endeavor undertaken by the church at large. After Stephen’s martyrdom, Luke writes, “on that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and they were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles…those who had been scattered went about preaching the word,” (8:1, 4). Here Luke paints the picture of everyone but the apostles preaching the gospel abroad! It was through such ‘anonymous’ evangelists - known to us only as “men of Cyprus and Cyrene” - that the gospel was first preached to Greeks in Syrian Antioch (11:19-21).

Clearly, then, though the apostles maintained a unique status as authoritative witnesses of the risen Christ (e.g., 10:39-42; cf. 1Co.15:4-8), with direct appointment from the Lord himself (1:15-26; 22:6-21), the injunction to “Go…!” was not limited to the twelve. It seemed, rather, to permeate through and beyond them to their disciples (e.g., Barnabas, Silas, Titus, Timothy), and on to theirs (e.g., 2Ti.2:2), etc., etc.

Moreover, as we briefly noted in the last post, the promise of Christ’s empowering presence for the accomplishment of the mission extends beyond the apostolic era and on to “the very end of the age,” (Mt.28:20). Does this not imply that the mission itself extends to the closing of the present age? Likewise, in the Olivet Discourse, Jesus announces: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come,” (24:14). Many students of Scripture have naturally concluded from this that until Christ returns the on-going testimony to the nations necessarily continues.

At the very least, then, we must conclude that the mission of making disciples among the nations has not expired with the dying breath of John!

Positively speaking, it is clear that the mission originally issued to the apostles extended beyond their immediate circle, and apparently, well beyond their life-time.

What then is unique to the ministry of the apostles as missionaries to the world? Why was the Lord's mandate addressed specifically and especially to them?

And then how and in what sense does their apostolic commission continue in the church today?