My working definition is as follows:
An apostle is a Christian leader gifted, taught, commissioned and sent
by God with the authority to establish the foundational government of
the church within an assigned sphere of ministry by hearing what the
Spirit is saying to the churches and by setting things in order
accordingly, for the expansion of the kingdom of God.
The most common
kind of an apostle is one who has been assigned by God to oversee a
number of churches. They form apostolic networks and are frequently
called “vertical apostles.” My personal apostolic role is different. It
has more to do with convening certain groups of leaders such as
educators, prophets, deliverance ministers and other apostles. I, then,
function as a “horizontal apostle.”
The chief distinguishing
characteristic of an apostle is God- given authority. Paul says to the
Corinthians that he is not ashamed to boast of the authority that God
has given him (see 2 Cor. 10:8). However, he goes on to point out that
God has only authorized him to use his apostolic authority in certain
spheres, one of which includes the Corinthians (see 2 Cor. 10:13).
Unfortunately, some immature apostles suppose that they are apostles to
the whole church, rather than recognizing the limitations of their
spheres. They need to follow Paul’s example when he says to the
Corinthians, “If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to
you” (1 Cor. 9:2).
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