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By James Quansah
The Call of the Apostles
WE HAVE been discussing two important things that people receive when they are called to leadership positions in God’s Church. The two things are the unique messages and assignments church leaders receive from God when He calls them.
We looked at some examples in the Old Testament in Part One and Two. In Part Three, we want to go into the New Testament and see if the Apostles were also given specific messages and assignments when they were called.
We know that during His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ called ministers to accomplish divine tasks on earth.
He first appointed 12 Apostles who served as foundational ministers; they were used to establish doctrines for the New Testament ministries for the salvation of man.
We know their names according to Matthew 10: 1- 4. But Judas Iscariot who betrayed our Lord committed suicide, and was replaced with Matthias.
As Jesus called them, He told them many things which are mainly recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These messages cannot be briefly retold in this short article. In fact, many of us know them.
However, we can remember that when Jesus called the Apostles, He told them: “…FOLLOW ME, AND I WILL MAKE YOU BECOME FISHERS OF MEN…” (Mark 1: 16- 20).
Thus, in Matthew 28:19-20, Christ gave the Apostles their main and general assignment: “…Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…teaching them…
They heard Jesus and so Peter flanked by the other Apostles began to preach the gospel to make disciples immediately after receiving the power of the Holy Spirit. (Acts Chapter 2)
Earlier, Jesus had told them as recorded in Matthew Chapter 10 to go to the lost sheep of Israel to preach this message: “The kingdom of heaven is near.” And then He gave them authority to heal the sick, raise the dead, drive out demons etc.
There were several instances where Jesus spoke to Peter personally and directly gave him special divine assignment to perform. In John 21: 15-17, Jesus specifically told Peter to feed His lambs and take care of His sheep.
We also know that Jesus called Paul to be a foundational Apostle as he was used to establish doctrines by the Lord. Many of the New Testament books were also written by Paul.
In Galatians 1:15, Paul explained that he was called by God’s grace TO REVEAL JESUS CHRIST particularly to the Gentiles.
Paul had more to tell King Agrippa about his calling:
“At midday, O king…the Lord said, ‘I have appeared to you for this purpose, TO APPOINT YOU AS A SERVANT AND WITNESS to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles- to whom I am sending you to open their eyes,…” (Acts 26:13-18).
Paul could tell the message he heard God tell him and the specific assignment He gave him and the people he must minister to. And he was not disobedient to what Christ told him.
He performed his duties as instructed, and in the end, he could say, he had fought the good fight of the faith.
To be continued…
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James Quansah is the Executive Director of Christ-Conscious Leadership Centre (CLC) and lead Pastor of End-Time Christ’s Commissioners (ECC), Kumasi, Ghana. James is also a journalist by profession. He is married with four children.
