Duncan Christian Reformed Church

12 Apostles

What's in a Church? The Apostles' Teaching

How can you tell if you're in a church? What do you look for to find one that is suitable? Spurred by the Spirit, the early church discovered four corners to their church. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer (Acts 2:42). In this article we will look into the first corner, "the apostles' teaching."

We know that Jesus called Twelve to himself whom he designated apostles (Luke 6:13). They spent all their time with him over a period of about three years simply to be with him (Mark 3:14). They heard him teach about the kingdom of God. They watched as he threw demons out of people, healed the sick, made those with leprosy clean, gave strength to atrophied muscles so the paralyzed could walk again. They even were witness to Jesus raising people from the dead! Like any good teacher, however, Jesus did not just show them how it's done and assume that then they knew all. He sent them out - which is what "apostle" actually means, "the sent out one" -- giving them authority to cast out demons, to heal the sick, and to preach the good news of the kingdom to the villages to which he would soon come (Luke 9:1-2). Afterwards they could "debrief," talk about their ministry experiences, and learn by experience from the Master (Luke 9:10). See, for example, the question they asked Jesus about the boy who was possessed by a demon, why they couldn't drive it out (it had worked before! Mark 9:28-29).

In other words, these apostles learned Jesus by heart! They became familiar with the way he worked. They imitated him - which is exactly what a disciple was expected to do (see Matthew 10:24-25, where "student" is actually the word for disciple). In other words, it was not striking up a committee to do the work, nor was it a particular program to try; it was a Person, the Man Jesus who needed to be the focus. This was the apostles' teaching. As the apostle Paul wrote, We proclaim him (that is, Christ in you, the hope of glory), admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ (Col 1:28). The church needs to get strong by getting to know Christ. The church needs to learn how to die to self, and live in and through him. The church needs to do this together as the Spirit gives them the ability to do so.