Apostles’ mission (2)

“1Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. ²Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: ³And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” 1 Jn 4.

The mission of the apostles, was also to watch against the introduction of false doctrines in the Church which is the pillar and ground of the Truth (1Tm 3 :15). In fulfilling this mission, John asks us not to believe every spirit, but test the spirits. Paul already said that we do not belong to ourselves (1Co 6 :19). As a result, we are not free to believe whatever we choose, but what God commands us to believe. And it is what he spoke by the mouth of his apostles, in the order he has established himself in his Church. The role of ours is not to tolerate evil and to test those who call themselves apostles without being.

And the test is that every apostle must build on the doctrinal foundation laid in advance by the twelve. John gives the benchmark to recognize true or false servants: confession of Jesus Christ come in the flesh. It is not a question here of a confession of the lips, as the demons also do (see my publication “Faith Confession”), but this confession must be consistent with the twelve. Now here is the confession of the twelve, as made ​​by Peter: “11This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”  Act 4.  “30The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. 31Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.”  Act 5.

The Twelve Apostles, and the Holy Spirit, witness and confess that the matter of salvation is only enclosed in the name of Jesus Christ. A soul that is saved, except through the name of Jesus, is saved only in his own illusion, not according to God. They confess that repentance and forgiveness of sins are given in the name of Jesus. However, it is a complete process: hear the preaching of the cross, believe and repent, be baptized, receive the remission of sins and the Holy Spirit. According to the confession of the twelve, and of the Holy Spirit, this process is only valid if each stage is carried out in the name of Jesus-Christ, which Paul summarizes: « 17And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. » Col 3:17

All those who confess, preach, teach and practice a single point whatever in reference to salvation (godhead, baptism) without the name of Jesus are those builders who rejected the cornerstone. We have the obligation to test any so-called servant of God, to assess whether all the details of his teachings and practices comply with the teachings and practices of the Twelve Apostles whose names are known on earth as in heaven. God so wanted things, it is not the will of those who were chosen, but who has chosen. It is in vain that one attacks the Twelve Apostles, they have nothing to do: they have only been selected. When the king loves and chooses a particular woman rather than another for his queen, the one that is chosen has nothing to do: she is only loved and chosen as queen. Whoever refuses to recognize her as queen in the kingdom, attacks, not her, but directly the king who is the author of the choice. So it is with those who reject the doctrinal foundation of faith posed by the twelve, they do reject God himself.

The woman chosen and crowned queen by the king in person is just and innocent in this matter. But if a woman makes herself queen, without the king's choice, such a woman is guilty. We children of God, must call culprit who is culprit and innocent who is innocent, especially as God tells us that « 15He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD. » Pr 17. The true servants of God, we must receive as such, and the false apostles, we should not bear with, but reject as such, and God will reward us therefore.

The apostles were not working on their own, they acted as one body moved by one Spirit. We have had this testimony earlier « And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost. », never alone, but always with the Holy Spirit. This they repeated in their letter to the converted of the Gentiles (us) as follows:  “28For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;”  Act.15

If someone does not want things to be so, he has then to take training to be stronger than God on that battlefield. But Paul asks us to think twice: « 22Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? »  1Co 10. The Lord is a consuming fire, and who can deliver from his hand? the wisdom of Solomon also urged us to be consequential with the choices we make : « 27Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? 28Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? “ Pr 6. If anyone does not like the order established by God, through which we come to salvation, he is wretched. « 22If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.” 1Co 16. If anyone is shocked to hear that salvation comes to us solely and exclusively in the name of Jesus, that baptism without the name of Jesus Christ is worthless, same is also accursed! The Lord is coming soon. « 27For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”  Ga 3, and all those who were baptized in the Trinitarian formula of Roman paganism, have also put on the Roman paganism.

The Lord has prepared for us of the Gentiles a special apostle in the person of Paul “7Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.” 1Tm 2. « 11Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. » 2Tm 1  He taught us on the same testimony confirmed by the Holy Spirit. After he received the revelation of Jesus Christ, he did not want to know anything other than Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

During his lifetime he observed that some believers were already trying to get away from the teachings of the apostles and elders in Jerusalem and exclaimed « 6I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.”  Ga 1. This is another gospel and not another gospel: it is apparently not another gospel because trouble-makers come with the same speech: Christ is risen, he will raise us the same way, God is savior and merciful, etc., but in the bottom of the same speech there are either omissions or defects which cause it to lose originality, and it becomes then a different gospel.

Then Paul goes on hammering “8But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. 10For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”  It is just enough to have a single difference with the doctrinal foundation laid by the apostles under the authority of the Holy Spirit: the author of this deviation, as well as those who bear it, fall under the curse.

He that commissioned the apostles told them “15 Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”  Mc 16. Whoever needs salvation must believe exactly what the apostles preached and come to salvation through the way they prepared (not any private church’s way), and it is my wish to all of you who are reading me. Our preaching, our faith, our repentance, our baptism, the forgiveness of our sins, our Holy Spirit, and everything else that relates to our salvation must be exactly the same as those of the Twelve Apostles foreknown, chosen and established in their time by God, the sovereign king who expects no council from anyone whosoever.

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