The Elders in Jerusalem in the Book of Acts
1 Corinthians 12:28-30 – What Is an Apostle?
What offices did God give to his church? This article explains the list of gifted men and spiritual gifts from 1 Corinthians 12:28-30. Among these gifts are apostles, prophets, and teachers.
Leadership in the Church
What should church leadership look like? This article first discusses New Testament terms for church leaders, such as apostles, elders, and deacons, and then explains that elders are called to rule God's church, and should be men, not women.
Are There Still Apostles Today?
This article explores the question of whether apostles still exist in the church today. It considers the qualifications necessary for apostleship, the uniqueness of Paul's apostleship, the apostolic authority and the closing of the canon, the foundational role of the apostles, and the testimony of those following the apostles. The inevitable conclusion is that there are no longer apostles today.
The Plan of God and Preaching in Acts
This article argues that the plan of God played a big role in the writings of Luke and thus in the book of Acts. The author argues that the "plan of God" forms the theological basis for what Luke understood as preaching. It was God who acted through the preaching of the apostles. The preaching of the disciples is a result of God working out his plan for the nations. The plan of God also determines the content of the preaching.
Israel, the People of God, and the Nations
Schnabel reflects in this article on the universal context for the narrative of Israel in Scripture and the universal perspective of the identity of Israel.
Theologians You Should Know – Only Let Me Reach Jesus Christ: The Apostolic Fathers
Chapter 1 introduces the apostolic fathers. Their writings are the most important for understanding the first generations after the apostles. Chapter 1 introduces a number of authors who wrote from around the end of the first century to the middle of the second.
Tongues-Speech: A Patristic Analysis
Was there speaking in tongues in the period immediately following the apostles? Hunter examines writings from the early church fathers for the possible references to the phenomena of glossolalia. Specific attention is given to reactions against Montanism.
God Has Spoken – Christianity and Judaism
Christianity and Judaism are different religions. Why is that? After all, Jesus and the apostles were all Jews. What was the nature of the Judaism that prevailed in the 1st century AD? What was the view of God? How was Jesus Christ related to the Jewish God? How should biblical monotheism be interpreted in the light of Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God send from heaven?
Only a Voice
The one thing which distinguishes false prophets from true prophets, and true apostles from false apostles, is the message preached. All true prophets throughout the Bible and now preach the same message, which has originated in God.
2 Peter 3:15-16 – Rivalry or Chivalry?
Repairing the Apostolic Foundation
One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church
What does it mean that the church is an apostolic church? This article looks at the central place of the apostles in the church, the apostles as witnesses and authority in the church.
1 John 1:3 - An Apostolic Church
John 20:2 – "So That We Might Believe …"
Were Apostles Unique and Unrepeatable Messengers of Christ?
The twelve apostles were chosen by Christ for a unique, unrepeatable role in the history of redemption. Missionaries and church planters today are authorized by the risen Christ to carry out their task, but they have a different level of authority from that which the apostles had.