About 25 to 30 years ago, the apostolic reformation also reached the Netherlands. Not everyone embraced it, but some did, leading to the emergence of a new generation of apostolic people, leaders and churches. I was a part of this significant season of reformation and received many spiritual impartations and upgrades. As a result, I experienced a transformation in my mindset, lifestyle, and my role as a believer and young leader in the Kingdom of God.
The primary message of this apostolic reformation had two key components. First, it emphasized the royal priesthood of every believer. We are seated at the right hand of God in Christ Jesus, destined is to rule and reign with Him. We are called to go forth, invade, occupy, multiply, and carry out the completed work of Jesus on Earth. We were reminded that we are the head and not the tail; we should be leaders, not followers and that God’s plan for our lives is to be prosperous in accordance with His Word and His will.
The second part was focused on ministry and the local church. It called for a shift from a pastoral church model to an apostolic one. I learned various principles, including the concept of a mandate, the role of an apostolic leader, church governance, father-son relationships, the 5 fold, order, honour and other aspects related to establishing and developing local churches, mentoring disciples and advancing the Kingdom.
While both of these messages were essential at the time, unfortunately, this reformation also had also a flip side. What began as a holy and pure movement deteriorated into carnality and impurity. Rejection was one of the fundamental causes because many times when God is doing a new thing, the sent ones who God is using for this will face opposition and rejection.
Rejection always hurts, and if you don’t deal with it properly, you may harden your heart to avoid getting hurt. As a result, you might isolate yourself and, many times, this can lead to exclusivity because you think you are the only one who is right. Exclusivity often leads to ungodliness, where individuals take things that don’t belong to them. Control of people, unbiblical and carnal money offerings, being honoured in a unhealthy way and sexual immorality. We have seen it all.
Consequently, God’s fatherly judgment came upon many apostolic ministries at that time, leading to their closure. However, this doesn’t mean it was the end of the apostolic movement, and it also doesn’t mean that everything we learned during that period was wrong or bad and should be discarded. This is because many times, in response to past errors, there’s a tendency to throw out the baby with the bathwater and an anti-message is coming fort.
I have observe this trend in the body of Christ, where sometimes there’s an undercurrent of resistance against apostles and the apostolic as a whole. At times, it’s understandable, particularly when there are negative experiences. However, it’s crucial to recognize that the Apostolic remains fundamental in the church and in God’s kingdom, emphasizing the significance of not rejecting it.
If apostolic (and prophetic) voices are rejected, the voices of evangelists and pastors will dominate and while there is nothing wrong with pastors and evangelists, the Bible is clear that the church is built on the foundation of apostles and prophets. Rejection of the apostolic as a reaction to past errors can cause the church to backslide to where it was thirty years ago.
While messages about God’s love, salvation by grace and identity are important, life with God encompasses more than these fundamental topics. We also need to be equipped when it comes to the doctrine, reformation, the present works of the Holy Spirit, how the kingdom of God operates, spiritual growth, leadership, the marketplace, revival, holiness, and many more of such topics.
There’s nothing wrong with the ministry of pastors and evangelists, but all fivefold ministries must operate fully in the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-16).
While it is ok to have ministers who encourage, more than encouragement is required. We also need insight, wisdom, understanding, and structural building (Proverbs 24:3-6). This is why apostolic and prophetic teachers are crucial in the church.
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship (Acts 2: 42).
To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3).
So, instead of rejecting or neglecting the apostolic in reaction to past failures, our attitude should be one of upgrading. The Bible, in Daniel 12:4, mentions that knowledge will increase. This is evident in the world, where technology continually advances. The marketplace is flooded with constantly upgraded products because knowledge is expanding, and previous technologies, errors and shortcomings are replaced by more advanced technology.
This principle of continuous improvement also applies in the Kingdom of God. Revelation is progressive, meaning we have greater understanding now than we did a decade ago. Wise Christians learn from past mistakes and adapt their actions accordingly. The same principle should be applied to the apostolic. We should delete errors from the past and upload advanced understanding and this is exactly where the apostolic reformation is located. God is purifying and upgrading, and from that we are moving from apostolic 1.0 towards apostolic 2.0, which means the apostolic becomes more mature!
Apostolic maturity encompasses several aspects and one of them is that apostles understand that church is not about the SET-MEN but about the CORPORATE-MEN. It’s about building strong local churches and the maturing and equipping of all believers, with the goal of enabling the entire church to have a significant impact which is reaching people, making disciples and advancing His Kingdom in every sphere of influence.
Apostolic maturity means also that we don’t just talk about it, we also put it into practice. It’s not about calling yourself apostolic and have apostolic terminology, it’s about being apostolic and producing the fruit of it!
The apostolic is foundational and therefore cannot be rejected. We need it, so let’s embrace it.
May Apostolic 2.0 and maturity come forth in Jesus Name!”
