Apostolic Governance
We believe in the Word of the Lord through the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:19-22 which tells us that the Church is built on apostles and prophets, followed by chapter 4:11-16 stating that at Christ’s Ascension He “gave some as apostles, some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of he Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” (NASB) God gave us these gifts to establish and build the whole body into their functions for the growth and maturity of His kingdom. God established an order in these gifts, not for ranking, but for building–first, the apostle, who establishes foundations for God’s work to be built; secondly, prophets, who hear and see the “now” word of God to bring understanding of God’s movements in His ways for the “now” season. These are not added words to the Bible but revelatory understanding built from and upon the foundation of God’s inerrant and unchangeable Scripture. God is still speaking as it says in John 10:27–” My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me….”
God’s government rests on His shoulders (Is. 9:6) and is eternal and He is the head (Ephesians 4:15-16) but He chose to give rulership of the earth to man (Gen. 1:26-28). As we yield to His order and calling we can carry out the 5-fold government of God as He chose to give gifts to mankind. It is no different than someone fulfilling their call to the mission field or to lead a church or to work in the marketplace. When believers yield their lives to God, He can then fulfill His government through the different functions as talked about in 1 Cor. 12:4-7.