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•Ephesians 3:9-11. The Church plays an essential role in God's eternal purposes.

• THE MYSTERY What is it? That the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body. (v. 6, where the church is introduced).

• AND HOW IS THE UNION SPREAD? “By the means of evangelism” (v.6), that is… “to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” (v.8).

• WHO IS THE AGENT? The church “…through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known…” (vs. 9-11).

Ephesians 4:10-16. God has a plan, a framework and a strategy for the Body of Christ: the Church functions, is edified, expands with a sense of destiny and fulfills its role on the earth through apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.

•Ephesians 2:20. The basis for the foundation of apostles and prophets.

• JESUS: The first apostle (Hebrews 3:1); the first prophet (Luke 24: 19, Mathew 21:11); the first evangelist (Mathew 9:35-36); the first pastor (John 10:11, 1 st Peter 5:4); and the first teacher (Mark 4:38, John 13:13-14).

• The Apostolic Ministry: This is based on foundation, implantation, solidification, edification, teaching, correction, covering, paternity, government, authority and spiritual anointing.

• The Prophetic Ministry: The prophetic word calls for repentance, confession and coming back to God, so that the Church can live in holiness. The prophetic word activates and liberates God's plans and purposes for an individual or the Church in general. The prophetic word is creative. Prophecy not only informs us of what God is doing, but it also propels us into action. Prophecy does much more than just confirm: it liberates.




How did the Church lose its foundation?

• 1 st CENTURY: After His resurrection and before ascending into Heaven, Jesus called the apostles together and gave them specific instructions not to leave Jerusalem until they received the “promise of the Father”, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, of which he himself had spoken to them (Luke 24:49). The purpose of this baptism was to endue them with “power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8).

The Lord ascended into the Heavens. The group of apostles and believers gathered in the Upper Room to pray, numbering 120 in total. A few days later during the Festival of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended on those who were assembled together.

From that day forward, the church began to take shape. The apostle Peter preached a powerful sermon of repentance, and 3,000 people believed and were baptized (Acts 2:41).

The characteristics of the newborn Church were: They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42).

The Church is born with apostles and grows, even in the midst of great persecution. The members of the Church in Jerusalem were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria, and their purpose was to carry out their mission: Preaching the Good News about Jesus Christ.

Besides enduring persecution, the Church had to deal with heresies such as Gnosticism. This movement insisted that salvation came by secret wisdom or “gnosis” (knowledge). Its followers proclaimed superior knowledge based on philosophical principles, initiation rites and magical elements. The Gnostics were discontent with what they considered to be the “simplicity of Christianity” and wanted to convert it into a philosophy and align it with the other popular philosophies of the day.

The Gnostics claimed that matter is inherently bad and spirit, perfectly good. This gave rise to a contradiction: How could a good God have created a bad world? Their conclusion was that God was not the agent of creation.

The Gnostics also denied the clear divinity and the clear humanity of Jesus Christ, saying that Jesus could have simply been one of the numerous emanations of God. Even in the midst of so many confusing ideas and heresies, the Church held firm and continued preaching the powerful message of salvation.

Little by little, the apostles were dying off, and the last was John at the end of the first century. The men who had been discipled by the apostles and eventually succeeded them were known as the Apostolic Fathers (Clement, Ignatius, Papías, Polycarp). The name of “father” was a popular designation given the paternal warmth that it represented. The work of these fathers terminated in the second century.


• 2 nd CENTURY: By the turn of this century, Christianity had become well established, especially in Asia Minor. The Christian communities were well organized and maturing rapidly, while the message of Christ was spreading, not only throughout the Roman Empire, but beyond its borders as well.

The believers were overflowing with enthusiasm, their confession of faith accompanied by signs, wonders and works done by the Holy Spirit. There was sensitivity to the Spirit, people were still being baptized by the Holy Spirit and the gifts were still freely flowing.

The Christians' conduct drew the attention of the Roman Empire, which saw in them a sect that was getting carried away and refused to conform to the established religions. The Empire then began to put considerable pressure on the Christians. The heresies continued, and dissident voices soon began to arise that were threatening to endanger the faith, just as the apostles had forewarned.

The Canon (rule of measurement) of the New Testament began to take root in this century. The Church had to accurately define its confession of faith and how to define its ministries, how it would act in the face of persecution of the state and other important questions. It still clung to the apostolic doctrine, accompanied by powerful manifestations of the Holy Spirit.

In the latter third of the second century, the idea of universality appeared and began to dominate the Church in the form of the Catholic Church (non-Roman).

Ireneo, one of the greatest theologians of that century and a bishop of Lyon, taught the unity of the Church—a non-organic, spiritual unity.

Sadly, and in spite of this teaching, the concept of spiritual unity became distorted and this same unity was transformed into an organizational unity.

Ireneo also taught that Peter and Paul founded the Church of Rome, designating successors (There was never any trustworthy Biblical or historical support for this theory).


• 3 rd CENTURY: This century was a time of great opportunity for the witness of the Church, but likewise of enormous difficulties.

The Church continued growing in Asia Minor, but strong persecution in the middle of the century began to threaten its very existence in various areas. This began to cause many internal problems for Christians.

Throughout the century, the Church continued propagating its message in spite of it all, expanding its geographical and social borders at an amazing rate. Little by little, it was becoming an empire within the Roman Empire.

In the middle of the third century, Cipriano, the Bishop of Cartago, taught that the Universal Church (apart from which there was no salvation) should be governed by the bishops who succeeded the apostles. He maintained that the apostolic authority had been given first to Peter. In that way, the Church of Rome made itself predominate because it believed that Peter himself had founded it.


• 4 th CENTURY: With the supposed conversion of Constantine (between 312-325 AD), the luck of Christians within the realm of the Roman Empire began to change.

It went from a persecuted religion to one favored by the Empire. In the year 379, Christianity became the official religion of the State through the decree of Emperor Theodosius.

Due to the new privileges and favorable conditions, the Church began to relax its convictions. There were no ethics, nor evangelistic and missionary goals. Her commitment to the Kingdom lifestyle was lost.

Christianity slowly became institutionalized, yielding to pressure from the Empire. The Empire began using the Christian faith to accomplish its political goals, under the pretext of unifying an Empire that had become increasingly decadent.

It was inevitable that the leadership of the Church would become identified with the State. The result was that the Church began to confide more in human strength than on the power of God. Thus, the institutionalization of Christianity was accompanied by the simultaneous loss of power and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Some very strong theological controversies began to arise during this period of spiritual weakness. There were problems in resolving the relationship between the three figures of the Godhead (Trinity). In spite of declaring the divinity of the Holy Spirit in the Council of Constantinople in the year 381, the Spirit began to be replaced by the devotion to the Virgin Mary.

Within this context, the universal priesthood of believers gave way to the rise of the clergy (a group of priests or ecclesiastics), and this group became the symbol of all that was sacred or holy.

The spiritual gifts that the common believers exercised became the exclusive right of the clergy, who considered laymen to be spiritually ignorant. The priesthood considered itself the only ones qualified to minister the word to the sick and afflicted; be in charge of the worship; and administer baptism, marriage and funeral rites. They also considered themselves the only ones capable of speaking in tongues and casting out devils, etc.

So due to these circumstances and from this time forward, the Christian community began to give up its right to walk in the gifts and guidance of the Holy Spirit and the privilege of serving as receptacles of the power granted by the operation of the Holy Spirit.

The bishops continued to expand their sphere of influence throughout the Empire to meet the administrative needs of the Church.

One of the tragic results of the process of institutionalization of this century was that the model of the “ekklesia” (the assembly of those called from the outside) was transformed into the congregation of “those called from the inside”. The Church, the world and the Empire were now one and the same. To be citizens of the Empire signified that one was a Christian, and vice versa. Imperial citizenship and the Christian condition became synonyms. The power of the system and of the flesh began to impose itself over the power of the Spirit. Was apostolic government possible in these circumstances? No.


• 5 th CENTURY: By this century, Rome was attempting to exercise its supremacy over all the other bishops, arguing that its church had been founded by Peter himself. The idea of apostolic succession—the form of naming subsequent bishops—was firmly taking root. Rome ultimately succeeds in the debate, and the Holy Father—the bishop of Rome—became known as the bishop over all others. This was the beginning of what's known as the Roman Catholic Church.

During the MIDDLE AGES, roughly the period from the 5 th to the 15 th centuries, the institution of the Church gained immense social and political power, which produced a spiritual obscurantism. In this manner, the Church departed from the true teachings and apostolic practices.

Later, the PROTESTANT REFORMATION of the 16 th century began to shake the Church from the spiritual darkness that had blinded its mind for several centuries, thanks to Martin Luther.

The Reformation challenged the monopolistic doctrine of apostolic succession, since Luther believed that the Holy Bible was the sole apostolic authority, rather than the Church and its institutions.

Unfortunately, some of the most prominent reformers also believed that the apostolic period ceased during the days of the early New Testament Church (CESSATIONISM).

The theory of cessationism has done much harm to the Church. This doctrine propagates the belief that the spiritual gifts and the manifestations of the Holy Spirit passed away with the early church at the end of the 1 st century. The same is said of the apostolic ministry, which encompasses the prophetic ministry as well. Cessationists claim the apostolic ministry ended with the death of the last apostle, effectively negating the Church's true apostolic character.

It's very important to realize that, even though the apostles died, the ministry—or “office”—did not die. It's the same when the president of a country dies—the function or the responsibilities of the office live on afterwards.

But most importantly: Which Biblical passage, book or letter of the New Testament affirms that this ministry ceased to exist? None. God's plan for the Church since its foundation has never changed.



Times of Restoration

The time of obscurantism left the Church spiritually mute and deaf. She lost her dependence on the Holy Spirit, and therefore her guide and direction towards the truth. The leaders of the Church in an institutionalized religious system had eyes but could not see, and ears but could no longer hear the voice of the Spirit's guidance. In this way, the Church was betrayed by the traditions of men and robbed of its spiritual heritage in Christ.

Nevertheless, in his faithfulness, the Lord has promised restoration! (Isaiah 42: 16-22). The promise of restoration will not only bring God's people back to their original position, but will also project them towards a much higher plane.

It's important to analyze the expression of the apostle Peter in Acts 3:21 “He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets, which have existed since ancient times (see Amos 3:7).




Definition of the term “Restoration”

Only once in the New Testament does the Greek word apokathistemi (to restore) appear, in Acts 3:21. It literally means to return once again to its place and original order.

At any rate, when something in God's Word is restored, it's multiplied to such a degree that it actually surpasses its original state (Joel 2:21-26).

If, according to the Law of Moses, a thief stole a bull or a sheep, he not only had to return the animal he taken, but also had to pay the equivalent of five bulls or four sheep (Exodus 22:1). Another clear example was the restored state of Job after his terrible trials (Job 42: 10-12), when “The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first”, and “…made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before”.

Likewise, Jesus himself told his disciples that no one choosing to leave anything behind to follow him “… will fail to receive a hundred times as much…” (Mark 10:29-30)




The Prophets speak on Restoration

According to Acts 3:21, things will be restored according to the words spoken by “his holy prophets”.

In other words, not everything would be restored at this same time, but that restoration would come to “…everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.” It's important that we continue to analyze some of “these things”.

1) The Book of Genesis declares God's purpose for mankind (Genesis 1:26-31).

The fall into sin corrupted the image and appearance of God in man: Adam and Eve lost the rights to the tree of life, are expelled from the garden and loose their close communion with God—but also catch a glimpse of their redemption. Everything that has its beginning in Genesis also has its end in Revelation. In the book of Revelation, we see the complete state of redemption: mankind restored with all their rights to the tree of life (Revelation 21 & 22), with new heavens and a new earth. The restoration encompasses everything from Genesis to Revelation.

2) The prophets spoke to the people of Israel about idolatry, apostasy and God's coming judgment of their behavior. Later, they announced God's restoration, liberation from captivity and the reestablishment of justice and fellowship with God (Jeremiah 29:14-30; 30:3; 33:7-11, 26; Joel 3:1; Amos 9:14-15; Zephaniah 3:20).

3)  Ezekiel proclaimed restoration to the people in interesting visions in chapters 33 and 48. In Ezekiel 36: 24-27, God's people were promised “a new heart” and “a new spirit” and that “I will put my Spirit in you…”, assuring them that “You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God" (vs 27-28). Chapter 37 speaks of the “dry bones”, describing the theme of restoration for a displaced people and a work of spiritual renewal that would even touch the Jews and Gentiles of today.

4) The Church today is experiencing the restoration of the truth Psalms 100:5 prophetically states: “For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations”, and HIS TRUTH for all generations (emphasis added).

The Church must be exposed to THE TRUTH. There are not various truths. The “private” or “denominational” interpretations of “the truth” are based on deductions and human points of view without revelation, in accordance to a personal context or doctrinal or ecclesiastical convenience. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6, emphasis added). He also said that the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of TRUTH (John 14:17; 15:26) and that He would guide us “into all truth” (John 16:13).

5) The Church begins to be a witness to the restoration of the Temple of David (Amos 9:11; Acts 15:16-18).

This tabernacle was established during the reign of King David, instead of during the rule of his father Saul (aqui dice que Saul era el padre de David-que dice en espanol. The Ark of the Covenant, the representation of the presence and power of God, had been taken captive by the Philistines. It was returned to David, who in turn brought it back to Jerusalem, placing it in a tent on Mount Zion (1 Samuel 4 and 7:1; 2 Samuel 6; and 1 Chronicles 13-16).

The ark had been in the tabernacle of Moses. Its location was in the Holy of Holies, where only the High Priest was allowed access once a year, to spring animal blood over its cover (Hebrews 9:1-7).

The people could only draw near in the outer court of the tabernacle to offer sacrifices and praise to God.

David's tabernacle represents a significant change, however, since the separation between the worshipers and God and His presence is reduced, creating more intimacy.

The restoration of David's tabernacle for the Church today represents a restoration of true worship in spirit and truth (John 4: 23-24). This is the expression of a people who've been redeemed, know the truth and have their own spirits fused with the Spirit of God, live in His presence and walk in the light in the fullness of joy (Jeremiah 31:12; Psalms 16:11) and offer a sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15). This is the restoration of the presence of God in the House of the Lord, which produces praise with thanksgiving, liberty and happiness.

The restoration of David's tabernacle today moves aside all rigidity, formalism, tradition, legalism and traditions of man, resulting in “times of refreshing” while living in the presence of the Lord (Acts 3:19; Jeremiah 31:12-13).

6)  The restoration of the voice of the Church in the world

(Jeremiah 33:11) speaks of  the voices of bride and bridegroom”. The voice of the bridegroom—the Lord himself—is being heard today through God's people.

The Church of the Middle Ages lost its communion with the Spirit when its leaders closed their ears. But Christ comes a second time to the Church, and the voice of “the spirit of prophecy” is heard (Revelation 19:10). After the Church hears “the voice of the bridegroom”, it then becomes “the voice of the bride”—the Church speaking out to the world.

The Church prophesies to the world, governs and decrees: the law is coming out of Zion (Isaiah 2:3).

7) Restoration brings liberation and freedom from spiritual slavery (Psalms 126; Jeremiah 33:7; Galatians 42:22-31 & 5:1).

The Church has been enslaved for a long time by the traditions of men. The restoration includes a pouring out of the Holy Spirit with freedom to apply the principles of the New Testament.

8) Restoration of theocratic government

When the Church lost the notion of theocratic government (the government of God), human governments began to take its place, instituted by the Church itself, including:

• Episcopal Government (government of bishops, concentrated in one person or a group of persons).

• Congregational Government (elders and deacons of the local church, chosen and ordered by the congregation itself in a prime example of democracy).

• Presbyterian Government (a group of elders and Presbyterians who make up the consistory that presides over the local congregation with absolute power).

• Independent Government (This system considers any form of government to be human intervention that enslaves the Church and hinders the free work of the Holy Spirit. It usually has a very charismatic leader (known as a pastor) who's able to attract people. This leader claims to be called by God, and so no one dares to confront or judge him.

• Other movements combined congregational government with Presbyterian.

Governments chosen and elected according to human criteria will eventually disappear. God is restoring the five-fold ministry: Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers in order to equip and perfect the Church so that it cannot perform the works of service “until we all reach unity in the faith” (Ephesians 4: 11-16; Jeremiah 33:12-13; Isaiah 30: 20-21), without sectarianism and divisions and with a unified doctrine.

The Church cannot be equipped or perfected without the combined effort of the five-fold ministry that was a gift from Jesus Christ to His body, so that the body could grow into maturity and implement the theocratic government.

If God is to restore The Truth in the Church, He will do so via the five-fold ministry and through His government.

9) The Church will be restored in love and power

God's premise was always this: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5).

The Church is supposed to express the same type of love that Jesus manifested while he was in the world. He himself told his disciples that they would be known by their love for one another (John 13: 34-35). The restoration also includes the manifestation of God's unlimited power through the medium of the Church.

When the gifts of the Spirit flowing through the people of God are allowed to develop without restrictions in His children, power and love will be fused in a perfect union. People will be drawn by the love and power manifested by the Church.

10) The restoration of the “Kingdom of God” concept

Jesus prayed: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven…” That idea was always in the heart of the Father.

The people of Israel heard over and over again from their leaders that they had to listen to God and do His will. With the restoration of theocratical government, the Church is now prepared to restore the government of God in its life and in the nation.

Jesus taught the principles of living in the Kingdom of God in Matthew 5-7. When the Church learns to apply them, she will see profound changes in society “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).

We will note that there are “times of refreshing”. These are times when the Lord gives to the Church what it lost. Acts 3:21 doesn't say that all things will be restored, but we need to infer that “all things” include only those that were spoken of by the prophets.

Christ cannot return until all the prophecies have been fulfilled. He could come at any moment, but He will not come for His Church until everything is fulfilled. In fact, it's necessary that the Heavens receive (reserve, retain) Him until that time, because when He returns, He's coming for a restored Church, a glorious Church (brilliant, full of honor, splendor and beauty, reflecting the beauty of her groom) without spot, blemish or wrinkle (with the freshness of a an eager, prepared bride without signs of deterioration) or similar defect (Ephesians 5:27).

Jesus Christ wants to present Himself to a holy Church without blemish. Is the Church presently meeting these conditions? NO. So we need to work along the lines of holiness in the Church, making it more beautiful for her groom.




Reviewing the history

Just as the apostolic and prophetic ministries were the first things for the Church to lose, they are the latest to be restored.

•  John Calvin, who lived between 1509-1564, initiated the restoration of the ministry of TEACHER, which saw an intensification in the decade of the 1970s.

•  John Wesley appeared between 1750-1900. His emphasis was on holiness, but he also did away with icons and priestly garb. This was when the ministry of PASTOR was restored.

•  Between 1900-1950, the ministry of evangelist —accompanied by signs and wonders—was restored. God used such men as T.L. Osborn, Oral Roberts, Kenneth Hagin, Tommy Hicks and others.

•  The PROPHETIC ministry was restored between 1950-1990, which was especially seen in the 1980s. Men such as Kenneth Hagin and Bill Hammon played significant roles.

•  From 1990 until the present, the APOSTOLIC ministry has been undergoing restoration, with participation by such outstanding men as Peter Wagner, John Kelly, John Eckhardt and David Cannistraci, among others.