Fullness of Life to Be Messengers of the One Gospel

It turns out that a wave of new officiants and administrators of grace has now been unleashed. A new clericalism is in fashion: self-proclaimed apostles, deceitful patriarchs, and scoundrels who seek adoration and recognition among the most innocent and humble people, those most sensitive to the beauty of the gospel.

If Paul was an apostle, it was by the will of God. His apostleship was given to him by the Lord himself when he said, “… he is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles, kings, and the Israelites” (Acts 9.15). Paul affirmed the same thing when he wrote to the Romans: “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart to proclaim the gospel of God” (Rom 1.1), and a few verses later: “Through him, and for the sake of his name, we received the apostolic gift to persuade all nations to obey the faith” (Rom 1.5).

An apostle is “someone who has been sent with authority to act on behalf of the one who sent him” (Deiros, P. A. (1997). Diccionario Hispano-Americano de la misión). Thus, if we are moved by the Holy Spirit to carry out the Great Commission the Lord left us (Matthew 28:18–20), all of us, in a certain way, have been called to apostleship, which is nothing more than “going and making disciples”: planting churches, preaching the gospel of salvation, strengthening the faith of new believers, and embodying a godly life of love and justice as a testimony in the name of Jesus. Yet Paul warned us against some who claim to be apostles but seek only their own interests, glorifying themselves: “For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.” He went on: “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Cor 1-13-14).

God has placed apostles in his church (1 Corinthians 12.28). Apostleship is a spiritual gift. The Word must be preached and spread to the ends of the earth; the church of the living God must continue to permeate our nations, but all for the glory of God. Jesus said that “the one who is sent (the apostle) is not greater than the one who sent him” (John 13.16). Some media outlets, steeped in new trends that glorify man rather than God, have taken it upon themselves to exalt and praise the miracle workers of the moment. Sadly, some brothers and sisters in the faith still need to see “signs” from the Most High God in order to believe, forgetting that we live by faith, “the conviction of things not seen, the assurance of things hoped for” (Hebrews 11.1).

Let us not be impressed by the fanfare and showy trappings used to preach from pulpits marked by cheap, deceptive miracle-mongering that proclaims prosperity for the faithful in multiplied proportion to what they put into the “storehouse” for tithes and offerings. The church of Christ must not remain silent in the face of these psychological abuses. Let us preach the Christ who called the poor in spirit blessed and promised them a Kingdom, along with those who mourn, the humble, those who hunger, the merciful, and those who seek peace (Matthew 5); the Christ who stripped the masks of hypocrisy from the Pharisees and false interpreters of the law (Luke 11).

We have been called to fulfill the mission of “making disciples”—not of ourselves, but of Christ. We are the messengers—apostles of the good news of salvation—through the magnificent merits of Jesus Christ on the cross. Believe it! He has given us the authority we need, in the name of the Father, to tear down every kind of stronghold opposed to the Kingdom of God. Only for his glory!

God bless you!