THE APOSTOLIC POSITION PAPER

The most recent General Conference commissioned the formation of an Apostle Task Force to prepare a Biblical statement on apostolic ministry. The task force, chaired by Rev. Ed Wood, has completed its work, and they have prepared an excellent Apostolic Position Paper. The report has been accepted by the GEB and the GBA. The one page summary and the complete document are posted on the IPHC Website.

I commend Chairman Wood and the members of the committee for their commitment to the task. The members worked together and found common ground in the Scriptures, in church history, and in what God is doing today. A close reading of the position paper will reveal the desire of the committee to be faithful to the Biblical text. IPHC Ministries must always remain committed to the finality of God's Word. We firmly believe that the canon of scripture is complete.

As a fellowship of believers, we must always be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is doing in the body of Christ. God is moving during these days with emphasis on the apostolic and the prophetic. It is not new; in fact, apostolic anointing and prophetic movings began with the apostolic church and continue to this day. You can see an outbreak in the Azusa Street Pentecost; in fact, I think it is a part of the DNA of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement. None of us will deny today that God brought fresh illumination of His Word on the gifts of the Spirit in the '60's.

The Apostolic Position Paper recognizes three levels of apostles: Jesus Christ is the foremost Apostle, and the twelve are listed as foundational apostles. The Paper also recognizes a third level of functional apostles in the apostolic church. The New Testament names some functional apostles and they are clearly distinctive from the foundational apostles. In the church today, there are only functional apostles.

The following is a quote from the paper: “The term, functional, is used because they functioned in apostolic categories in the New Testament, although the Biblical text leaves unanswered questions about their calling and ministry.” The key words are “they functioned in apostolic categories.” The terms I have used to describe the function of the apostolic are “apostolic leadership” and “apostolic ministry.” The Paper affirms four key areas of foundational apostolic ministry that functional apostles cannot duplicate. But the Paper also states an area that can be repeated: “functional apostles could then and can today equal those at the second level in the area of anointing and power for ministry.”

The Paper also gives Practical Guidelines, and states: “We hold these to be ministry gifts of the Holy Spirit…and not titles to be conferred by the IPHC.”

The Apostolic Position Paper provides a good scriptural foundation for understanding apostolic leadership and ministry, and includes a word of caution about false prophets.

Our IPHC position is to be faithful to the Bible, with a Word-based sensitivity to the work of God. We want to know what God is doing and join Him in the great task of world evangelization.