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What can practically be seen from this restoration

•     The five-fold ministry is being restored (theocratical government).

•     Sound doctrine and revelation are being restored, so that we can all arrive at the unity of faith
       and maturity.

•     The power and authority of God are being restored.

•     There's a restoration of evangelism, accompanied by signs and wonders.

•     Certain sectors of the Church are experiencing a spiritual awakening and genuine revival.

•     A new financial freedom is being observed.

•     Biblical healing is being restored, thanks to the refusal of sickness .

•     People are being delivered from demons and the chains that have held them bound in the past.

•     A new, fresh revelation of God's plans and purposes is being seen.

•     The Church is beginning to spiritually rule over cities, regions and countries.

Analyzing position and function

1 st Corinthians 12: 28… First Apostles

First (Greek: Protón): First in time, place, order and importance. Before, at the beginning, principally, before anything else.

When a church inhibits this principal, it's violating the principle of the first things.

Many churches suffer because they have not recognized this principle of God. A church outside of God's order cannot experience the fullness of the anointing. The anointing flows through order. The early Church began with apostles.

APOSTLE: “Apostles”: Delegated, sent, ambassador, commissioned, an official ambassador of Christ accompanied by signs and wonders.

The basic meaning of the root of the word “Apostle” is “one sent as a representative of another with the power and authority of the representative coming from the one who sent him or her”. An apostle is like an ambassador who represents a country (from Bill Hamon's Apostles, Prophets and the Coming Moves of God).

In his book Apostles and the Emerging Apostolic Movement , Dr. David Cannistraci defines “Apostle” as “one who is called and sent by Christ with the spiritual authority, character, gifts and abilities to successfully reach and establish people in Kingdom truth and order, especially through founding and overseeing local churches”.

It's interesting to observe how in Matthew 10:1-5 and Luke 6:12-16, Jesus changed the range and position of his disciples, calling them apostles.

What does an Apostle do?

1) AN APOSTLE IS A SKILLED BUILDER AND A SPIRITUAL CONSTRUCTOR (1 st Corinthians 3:10).

An architect is one who designs buildings and supervises construction.

Apostles are concerned with:

•  Designing
•  Structuring
•  Forming

For example, the basis of the Reformation under Martin Luther was the doctrine of justification by faith. The Church had to be reconstructed and restructured over this doctrinal foundation.

2) AN APOSTLE HAS THE WORD OF GOD AND PRAYER AS HIS PRIORITIES . (Acts 6: 1-6, 20: 26-32).

3) AN APOSTLE HAS A REFORMING SPIRIT (2 nd Corinthians 11: 1-4; Galatians: 1: 6-9, 3: 1-3, 5: 1; and 2 nd Thessalonians 2:15).
Each of the apostolic works is designed to elevate the Church to its desired place. The apostles are concerned with conforming it to the Biblical order.

The greatest enemies to any reform movement are the religious, legalist, traditional and denominational systems that have been deeply rooted for years. The religious systems in need of reform are designed to serve the interests of the leadership, which frequently opposes reform.

In the days of Jesus and the early apostles, the religious leaders were the Pharisees and the Sadducees. During this “period” of reform, they had much to lose: their position, power and control of the people.

4) AN APOSTLE HAS AUTHORITY TO JUDGE, PRONOUNCE SENTENCE AND DECREE (1 st Corinthians 5: 1-5).

5) AN APOSTLE PLANTS CHURCHES (Acts 14: 19-23; 1 st Corinthians 3: 6).

6) AN APOSTLE CONFIRMS AND ESTABLISHES (Acts 15: 41, 16: 5, 18: 23; and Titus 1:5).

7) AN APOSTLE PUTS THINGS IN ORDER 1 st Corinthians 11: 34, 14: 40; and Colossians 2: 5).

8) AN APOSTLE OFFERS PATERNITY (1 st Corinthians 4: 15 and 1 st Thessalonians 2: 11).

9) AN APOSTLE PROVIDES APOSTOLIC COVERING (Paul to Timothy to Titus) (1 st Timothy 1: 3-4; 2 nd Timothy 4: 11-12, 3: 14-15; Titus 1: 5, 2: 15, and 3: 8-10).

10) AN APOSTLE IMPARTS AND CONFIRMS SPIRITUAL GIFTS (Romans 1: 11).

11) IS PROVIDED OF AN APOSTOLIC GRACE (Romans 1: 5, 12: 3; 1 st Corinthians 3: 10; and Galatians 2: 9).

Grace is a particular capacity given by God to do what normally can't be done.




The Apostolic Church…What is it?

The Church of Jesus Christ is—or should be—an apostolic church. The birth of the church and its foundation are apostolic. That's how the early church was born and began to develop. Since the term “apostle” means “one who is sent”, we can deduce that the Church is a church “sent and commissioned by Jesus Christ with apostolic authority”; in other words, an apostolic church.

It's important to observe the attitude and practice of the early Church in Acts 2:42: “They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching…”

The apostolic Church has an apostolic character and anointing and a defined identity. Because the Great Commission—“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” and “make disciples of all nations”—was a commission given to apostolic people, the authority of the Church that recognizes its apostolic identity is singular.

An apostolic Church is a church that has a strong apostolic dimension.
A dimension is defined as the measure of length, width and thickness; in other words, proportion, extension, range, reach or weight of an object. So, the apostolic dimension is a measure of the apostolic anointing that flows through a believer, as well as the congregation in general. Not all believers will be apostles, but all will—the Church itself—have apostolic ANOINTING AND VISION.
When a Church begins to move in the apostolic dimension, it will begin to break all the barriers that previously hindered it. It will begin to acquire a capacity to do things that were impossible before. This is a result of the apostolic grace that's poured out and received through the apostolic ministry. The grace gives us the ability to do what we've been called and sent to do. The apostolic anointing frees grace to flow to the Church.

A Church that does not have an apostolic dimension with the operation of the five-fold ministry will reflect the whims of its leader or pastor. If the focus of the pastor is on evangelism, then the Church will primarily focus on evangelism. If the anointing of the pastor is that of a teacher, the whole church will have a great knowledge of the Word of God. If he or she is oriented towards prophecy, then the congregation will be focused on prophecy.

Churches generally reflect the strength of their pastors because their dimensions are determined by that of their leaders.

The difference between the apostolic ministry and the pastoral calling resides in the fact that a pastor thinks in terms of security, protection and preservation, while an apostle concentrates on progress and expansion.

Believers need to be oriented and taught via the five-fold ministry in order to receive the anointing from each, since no gift can be perfected by itself in the Church.




Characteristics of an Apostolic Church

1)   AN APOSTOLIC CHURCH fulfills the “great commission” with apostolic sense and authority. ( Matthew 28:18-20).

2)  IT DOES NOT THINK IN TERMS OF ITS NEEDS, BUT RATHER IN THE NEEDS OF ITS BROTHERS AND THOSE ON THE OUTSIDE (Acts 2:43-47; 3:1-6; 20:35; Ephesians 4:28; and Titus 3:8-14).

3)  AN APOSTOLIC CHURCH IS GENEROUS IN GIVING TO GOD: TITHES, OFFERINGS, FIRSTFRUITS AND CHARITABLE GIFTS FOR THE NEEDY (Malachi 3:8-12; Acts 2:43-47; 4:32-35; 2 nd Corinthians 9:6-15; and Philippians 4:18-19).

4)  IT MANIFESTS POWER WHEN TESTIFYING (Acts 1:8; 4:33).

5)  THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH RECOGNIZES THE AUTHORITY IT WELDS (Mathew 10: 1-5; Mark 16: 17-20).

6)  IT HAS THE ABILITY TO FIGHT AGAINST THE FORCES OF EVIL (Mark 16: 17; and 2 nd Corinthians 10: 3-5).

7)  THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH WALKS IN HEALTH (Mark 16:18; Acts 5:12; 14:3).

8)  IT IS KNOWN BY THE MANIFESTATION OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD (Acts 2; 4:24-33; and 2 nd Corinthians 2:14).

9)  PRAISE AND WORSHIP ARE DIFFERENT IN THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH (Juan 4:23-24; Ephesians 5:18-20; and Hebrews 13: 10-15). The glory and the presence of God will affect the spirit of the members and release the spiritual gifts (Hebrews 2:11-12). Dancing, cheering and celebrating are normal (Psalms 149-150; Galatians 4:21-28; and Acts 2:46-47).

10)  THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH ENJOYS SPIRITUAL LIBERTY. RELIGIOSITY AND TRADITIONS OF MEN ARE BROKEN, WITH THE MEMBERS FREE TO EXPERIENCE AND ENJOY THE PRESENCE OF GOD (Galatians 5:1; 2 nd Corinthians 3:17; and Hebrews 10:19).

11)  IT IDENTIFIES WITH THE SINS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE CITY, LIVING IN AN ATTITUDE OF REPENTENCE (2 nd Chronicles 7:14-15; Nehemiah 9: 1-3; and Daniel 9: 1-19).

12)  THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH WILL TAKE CITIES, SINCE IT'S A CHURCH IN CHARGE OF A CITY OR REGION (Psalms 2:8; Acts 13:42-44; Romans 15:17-20; and 1 st Peter 2:9).

13)  IT WILL PREPARE, TRAIN AND PAVE THE WAY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS (Acts 20:17-28; Philippians 2:19-24; 2 nd Timothy 2:1-2, 3:10 and 4:1-5).