ARTICLE

Keeping up image & likeness

/ 'face2face' - Gareth Duffty / Leave a comment

I was so moved today reading the ‘Cape Times’, two stories caught my attention, one of a 17-year-old girl who was gang raped,  all of which was caught on a mobile telephone and subsequently went  viral on the internet.  The video shows her being offered R2 (R12.5 to the £; R7.8 to $) to keep silent.   The other was a story from India, New Delhi and Amritsar, it out lined an account of two fathers, one who beat and burned his daughter with cigarettes as she was a girl – she was only 3 months old.   The second story  of a father who strangled his wife as she gave birth to a third daughter, another girl.   The UN states that a girl is 75% more likely to be killed in India than male children, it is reported by the UN  to be the worst country world on its treatment of women and girls.

I am scandalised, what violence on individuals, but more what violence on Gods wisdom in creating women, I don’t know about you, are you stirred by it ?  I am not covering up the atrocities that happen all across the world in other places either, Africa and Europe has its share as well.   I am moved as to how humanity deals with its self.   I am also stirred at the treatment of females worldwide.

Before we switch off thinking this is all happening somewhere else, thinking how dreadful but, is on another shore in another nation, let us consider our actions and perceived realities towards women.    It could be that lives are not taken in our society, but consider how we treat females different to males, surely this  is also needing to change and be addressed.

I am not looking for equality either I am asking for righteousness and justice to be shown in all things about gender.   If we do anything else we will always have a fight, so what do I mean by righteousness on this matter?   It is to discover the eternal view regarding man and women, to find out the foundational view of the Father and be in the same line towards humanity keeping the principles set in the Fathers heart towards humanity.   Let us not get involved with the argument on what is equality, but come back to what God says, then live and change to make our world conform to the view of the eternal Godhead, it really is the only answer.

Our world is on a course of elevating women I believe its time for the church to discover the right view of God in regards to men and women.    Much of our practice came from a fallen condition, patriarchy for instance is not a pattern taken from the Godhead, rather in the Godhead we see each one giving to the other, each one serving and pouring out for each other ‘Perichoresis’.     This is not about male headship or dominance neither is it about feminism, it is time to discover an eternal view and make it happen.

Let me outline a thought for you, we have in Genesis a view breaking in to a  time-space world of the requirement of male and female in the design of God.  it begins with Gods’ statement “…it is not good for man to be alone…”, I wonder what  your view has been regarding that statement?   Perhaps it was something that you were taught in Sunday school of the loneliness of mankind, Adam.  Looking again at the text, to my understanding this was a declaration that humanity did not fully reflect the image and likeness of God, as humanity was alone. This statement highlighted to us that God is never alone; for God is in covenant, therefore to be in the image and likeness of God there cannot be singularity there must always be more than one.

In the process of creation, we see Adam’s partnership in creation with the Father in naming the animals, Adam being the prophet giving word and describing god’s actions, interpreting God’s actions. It is my conviction that Adam did not simply name the animals, e.g. a lion, giraffe, etc., but working with God Adam named the DNA and interpreted God’s creation.

After this partnership God did not bring animals to Adam to see which one was compatible to humanity as a mate, that is a foolish thought in my view, as intimacy can only be found with the same “thing”, more on that to come.  Having “named the animals”, Adam – humanity, is put into a deep sleep.  Humanity/Adam was male and female at this time, and only at that point were they separated.   The reason was so that humanity could reflect the image and likeness of God, there has to be more than one. This thought challenges all individuality and singleness, establishing clearly that the image of God is found in more than one-corporeity.

God, the Father, the Son and Spirit brought about that which reflected them. There is so much we could say on this but this is not the time.

The Hebrew thought on this, taken from the text in Genesis, is that God did not take a side or a rib, but within the clay and the ruach there were already two faces present, one representing male and the other representing female.   God recreated them bringing the 2 faces to face one another.    It is from this idea we also read in the Old Testament the description of Moses, Abraham and others, of their quality of relationship with God being known as a ‘face-to-face’ relationship. Humanity is a picture of God and man having the capacity to be in a face-to-face relationship and the gift of marriage is also model of this ‘face-to-face’ relationship. I don’t know about you but I love this Hebrew picture, it paints for me the quality of relationship I have with God and reminds me that the gift of my marriage is to display this.

Now coming back to the thought above… ‘you can only be intimate with the same stuff’, can you see why Adam could not have found a relationship with animals, they were not of the same stuff.  God took that which was clay and breath and from this took the triumph of female.     Paul in the book of Ephesians talks about the picture of the bride and bridegroom, the Christ and the Church being displayed in marriage. Firstly this face-to-face relationship and secondly that Adam and Eve were the same stuff, here we have the exciting discovery that you and I having been born from above have an intimacy with God, because we are all the same stuff as God. How do I know I am the same stuff as God?    It is his desire to be intimate with me.     What a salvation!

Another thought, in Genesis 1 we have a clear pattern laid out for us, the male and female are called to display the image and likeness of God, not to establish superiority or subservient views.  The account is far more about ruling together, filling together, enlarging and advancing the ultimate intention of God together.  I would suggest that this account is an eternal view breaking in on this time-space world.   Following this through in history, we read Paul’s statement in Galatians  “…neither Jew or Gentile, male or female master or slave…” Is Paul taking his lead from the kingdom that is breaking in upon us?  Taking his lead from the eternal realm, displaying and speaking forth what it is like in the true economy and kingdom of God.  I fully understand that patriarchy, dominance and subservience has been displayed through many of the pictures in the Old Testament but this does not mean that this is what the kingdom should be like or how eternity functions.  I would suggest that Genesis 1 with a constant flow together of male and female is how we need to operate and Paul’s statement only affirms Gods creating order, there is neither, the eternal order, the invading Kingdom of God order.    Please hear me, in our fallen world clearly there are functional differences but we have to learn to be herald righteous and just and uphold Gods eternal kingdom.

If our world constantly break down and remove women to such a low-level, causing them to live dominated, it is time for the church of God to show the righteousness of God and display a different way.   In Ephesians Paul’s tells us that man should love his wife to display the Christ and the bridegroom. Has not the bridegroom lifted up the bride and seated the bride on the throne, therefore let me suggest that man’s way should be to lift woman higher than themselves for is this not what the love of Christ has done for us, and is this not true headship.  Unfortunately as men we so quickly become dominating and press women down. Men I ask that we become the liberators of women in these days.   This is not a post-modern or a modern way of thinking but it is a rediscovery of the eternal value maleness and femaleness in the image and likeness of God.

Just as Christ serves the church we better serve one another so that the bride may truly be lifted up. Is it not amazing that all across the world, in virtually every culture women are subservient, beaten; young female children are treated with a lack of value.    It is time for the eternal people of God to speak out rather than allowing perceived realities to continue to imprison. My appeal is that we become male and female, and advance the kingdom of God together, just as God would have us to do.

There is so much more to come revelation, biblically and theologically that we are discovering in these days regarding male and female.    Let us reflect righteously the view of eternity, for this is the Kingdom of God that is breaking in upon us, as we taste more and more of the order of God.

With the Fathers empowerment we will and should bring to an end stories such as we began with throughout our world, Politicians speak out, the church do not stay silent.    Wars are fought on treasures in the ground, boundaries of nations but silence regarding such atrocities as we began this article with continue. Really its violence to the image and likeness of God let us highly regard one another and be what God intending firstly n the church family then in our world.

“Doing God” or prelude for Revival to become a “season of Restoration” in UK?

/ 'face2face' - Gareth Duffty / 1 Comment

The God Question in politics again, it hits the news again!    2012 has become a year that our Christian faith has been brought to the centre of many debates on many issues, it is certainly causing conversations and comments.    It’s not the church that has achieved this directly but the Prime Minister and the Queen.   The Guardian wrote  “At an Easter reception in Downing Street, David Cameron ventured where even Tony Blair feared to tread, quoting from the Gospel of Luke, speaking of ‘we Christians’, and welcoming the Christian ‘fightback’. ‘The values of the Bible, the values of Christianity, are the values that we need’, he said. In your view, is it acceptable for a modern prime minister to espouse Christian values so openly?”

Ok consider for your self, with David Cameron’s own words, what will resound into in our world, if declarations has any authority, the supernatural realm has certainly had many words from the Queen’s speech at Christmas,  Cameron’s words  at the celebration of 400 years of King James Bible, now more words from David Cameron.     We will all wonder what did the UK Prime Minister mean by this or that, what ever he has meant by these words he certainly has spoken of a regaining of Christianity at the forefront of the UK.

Are these just words or a contributing to a preparing Revival bringing about a season of  Restoration (Acts 3:19-21)?     Bringing Christ to the forefront of people’s minds in a country that is economically challenged , challenges on National identity what does it mean to be British, social challenges, young feeling isolated and more disenfranchised, education being undermined by budgets and Christ, faith being put right into the middle of it all.  An appeal for a Christ faith to take place in the ‘Big Society‘, perhaps to be the lead,  of a community of faith, a community of restoration, a community of recovery in the UK making a difference because of our Christ.

My next post will be David Cameron’s words read and consider your self

Government of God is familial – discuss?

/ 'face2face' - Gareth Duffty / 5 Comments
To agree or disagree with that statement has its implications; FAMILY is at the heart of all the Father is working towards he is a God whose in every way moves, acts, conducts himself in regard to bring a Family about.   The goal of God is the Restoration of all things through his family, through sons of God.

As you read Paul’s interactions with the New Testament church, you have to conclude his language is full of family, he uses mother, brother, father, sister, language constantly, he even called the church his children and as an apostolic father he mothered the church.   Somewhere we seem to have lost the language of the ‘ecclesia’ – church, family language.   The modern world has brought government and hierarchical issues to bear on the ‘ecclesia’, rather than the ‘ecclesia’ holding on to family and Trinitarian patterns.    Positions and titles have taken over rather than familial understanding.

Now hear me loud and clear, this is not a treaty to eradicate apostles, prophets ministers etc., far from it, it is rather to establish and honour correctly, that the ‘ecclesia’ of God might mature and “be” advancing in its servant hood towards God and his creation, being the true representation of the Father in the earth.   I believe that apostle through to evangelise is fully necessary to bring maturity to the body of Christ with one missing mature eludes us, but its not by name but by gifts of christ they must be present

It is a day when 250 million people have found faith and a staggering 125 million new church communities have been established, all in the last 6 years it’s reported.    We live in a day when 112 million people have left the organised church for the sake of their faith in the USA, and are discovering relationship with others in homes around Christ.   My appeal is for a mature relationship model as opposed to the importing of an organisational model from the business world or any other kind of world.  In the business world, titles and positions become ever so important rather than relationships, in this something has been lost from the center.     We have the language of relationships but end up with organisations, we have networks being proliferated but people are lonely and alone in the world of want works matters and leadership.   Leadership gathers talk pragmatic the how but rarely find true friendship – relationship.   Yet Jesus called people to be with him and he moved them from servants to friends did he not?

Paul brought familial language constantly and establishes a relationship pattern, a family pattern in every way

We take passages from 1 Corinthians to assist us in congregational life in bring order to meetings, yet it is now well accepted that these verses had nothing to do with meetings as we know them today.  Chapter 11 outlines the breaking of bread and sets out from then how to conduct yourself in relation to gifts and functions etc., Where does all this take place?    All around the table, in a home not in a meeting as we see today.   There is nothing stopping us taking principles from these verses and applying them to whatever setting we choose, but always seek to remember the context it was written for.

I would suggest to you that Paul’s language of government was familial brother, mother, father, sister, and children and in the midst of this apostles, elders, prophets, pastors, teachers, deacons, and evangelists were found, even gifts of stirring leadership are evident and necessary.    They father and matured children, mother and birthed new babes into the ‘ekklesia’ while the ministers functioned.   They loved as fathers and mothers and certainly never became celebrities.    They were servants of Christ and the ‘ekklesia’ of God, who the people honoured fully, therefore the people received the reward in their receiving the gift and of the Christ through these ministries.

Lets back up just a little no one would differ with the statement that the ‘ecclesia’ is a family, the challenge is our view of ‘success’ and our chase for success, our modern environment influencing us to a perception that is organizationally.   Some times the idea that big is beautiful creeps over the family wall and creates something other than the relational family that we have been born into.    There is nothing incorrect with big so-called as the life of Christ in the ‘ekklesia’ come it will produce life.   The issue is not the concept but how we so quickly allow our practice to create an organisational church rather than a familial ekklesia.    It is necessary for us to rediscover what the Father is after, what is this restorative goal he has, and what is the primary reason of us being on earth ‘bring heaven to earth’.    Making Christ fill all in all, he will remain in heaven until a season of restoration (Acts 3:19-21).   Ask yourself what does that ‘all in all’ look like?

The Father has brought a way for us to gain our sonship back through the Son, the orphan way of life and condition we have been born into is eradicated by sonship.    The reason for our sonship and salvation is “to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12), hear it to every one is given power that is the ability, the notion of privilege or right, the opportunity, to become a son.    Sonship is a process of maturing, as we take up the right and ability.   Each one of us are children of God, born from above now, and we process, mature into sonship, a life knowing the will and mind of God, and move in the inheritance of God laid up for us all.

The Father sent his Son to bring, to redeem the orphans that humanity had become along with its associated life style constantly protecting along with making ways of provision for themselves.   While the Son enabled us to entre into a family who lives by their inheritance living that is trusting on the Father and protected by He who camps around his people there by eradicating protection and provision through sonship.

This journey we now travel as a family is a process, which is captured in the Psalms, the people travelled in families, ascending to Jerusalem, for us today, being born again, the ‘ecclesia’ as the new Jerusalem, the Zion, the Mountain of the Lord we have nothing to ascend as God has come to where we are, but we do mature and become sons of God as we are led by the Spirit (Romans 8)

More to follow!

A Room With A View

/ 'face2face' - Gareth Duffty / 1 Comment

A number of years ago, actually in 1985, a best picture award was given to a film called “A Room with a View.”  it was first a book, penned in 1908 by E M Forster about the culture in Edwardian England, it was a film about a young lady who went to stay in Florence, Italy.   Her stay was in a room with no view; the room was in fact a shadow of her own life.   The film dealt with freedom from institutional religion, growing up, true love, freedom on many levels; it was a romantic optimistic book.    The main character Lucy, during her stay in Italy saw her views of the world change dramatically, as her eyes were opened to a world beyond the “protected life in a Windy Corner”.    OK after saying all that, I admit I never saw the film nor had any desire to see it, as a 20 something young man living in Wales this was not the sort of movie we watched at the time.    This film/book is not the point of this blog either.

How ever I do want to use the thoughts presented and for those of you who know me you will have heard me say time and time again, YOUR VIEW OF GOD DETERMINES HOW WELL YOU LIVE.   It is my strong belief that our freedom, empowerment of life, even my view of myself, is all wrapped up there.   I would even go as far as to say that the way the bible is written is much more about introducing us to a view of God and bringing our world view in line with himself.      The way I see God and the function of his abode is the way that my life gets transformed.    In other words the room of my, life is give a view, a view of God, which radically transforms me.

I am convinced that the Scriptures continually continues to enlarge our view of God, who God is and how God works towards creation, while we are so often a people who reduce God down to our view.   We so often speak of God and present the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in a way that we need, for us.   God becomes consumed by a consumer society, always there like a spare tire only used when we have a need, God is presented to be consumed feed me, touch me, it’s all about us, we present God that way, even on occasions presenting God  as a harsh judge, a heavy-handed parent,  yet God wants us to find our view and experience of heaven being aligned with his view and nature.

John tells us in John 1:18 (NASB) that “…he cane to explain the Father” and when the disciples said to Jesus, show us the Father Jesus replied by saying “…who ever has seen me has seen the Father…” I have explained God correctly.    We are still trying to deal with Jesus’ view of gender, his view of leadership, his view of life and what is important in his ‘explanational’ life style.

God, Son and Holy Spirit are ceaselessly lifting us out of room with no view and bringing us to a view of him, which will bring liberty at every level.    My encouragement is to visit your view of God, declare your view and see your liberty increase.    The following list, or glimpses of God i present, are to stimulate you to re think and reconsider the view you have, my hope is  it will  enlarge your view.

While I see that Gods nature, essence, is in two things light and love is necessary that form these two essences we discover the characteristic that God has been determined to be known by and through

I present a number of characteristics which by far are never conclusive but are simply a part of our journey, I write because I have a strong belief that our freedom and liberty is all tied up here with our view of God, it is not in the miracle, or the sign and wonder we live life through, although they are all wonderful, but it is in my view of God that  a revelatory  change takes place and we are freed so lets be free!

MERCY

J.I. Packer once wrote, ‘Knowing God is a relationship calculated to thrill a man’s heart.’ Certainly it has thrilled the hearts of many through the years.  Gathered here are in following article under “A Room with a View” are some observations my prayer is that your room will have in it that which will bring you out into the wide open places of Gods invitation    I trust you will come upon fresh views on the nature of God, pause to worship him & express your love for Him, the more we know of Him, the more we will love Him.

The self-portrait of His mercy, which God painted for Moses when He declared Himself on Mount Sinai, imprinted itself deeply on the consciousness of God’s people and inspired the faith of future generations of Israelite believers. We find in the following words describing God’s mercy recalled often throughout the Old Testament and at crucial times in people’s lives they are anchored and motivated by these truths in a way that deeply affects their responses to difficulty, failure, and success.

When God’s people are in trouble, needy, or under attack, what do they call to mind? “But you, O LORD, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” (Ps. 86:15). 

When they are moved to celebrate, what do they sing about? “The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love” (Ps. 145:8). 

When God has granted them success, as in the amazing exploit of rebuilding in Nehemiah, they are kept humble by an overwhelming sense of God’s mercy. They had been stubborn and rebellious, stiff-necked and disobedient; “But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them, or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God” (Neh. 9:31). 

It is impossible to read Ezra’s great prayer in Nehemiah 9 without seeing how deeply the conviction of God’s mercy had touched and influenced his thinking. His response to success was rooted in the truths about God’s mercy. ” . . . But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them” (Neh. 9:17). 

There is nothing that can keep us humble like this sense of God’s mercy. It is the great antidote to pride, for pride and a deep awareness of God’s mercy simply cannot coexist.

SO where is God’s mercy for you seen and felt, what action and in what direction of your life can you stop and shout our it is his mercy in evidence at work in my life.    My view of life is coloured and contoured by this great mercy of God towards me.    The exploits we do, the achievement we experience O the great mercy of God.   The challenges we encounter the sadness that comes our way O the great Mercy of God.   Stop for a moment and watch the mercy of God at work.

To come  Glorious, Father, Transcendent, Just, Loving, Redeemer, Mysterious, Good, Holy, Beautiful, Servant, Unchanging

21st C Apostolic – Part 2

/ 'face2face' - Gareth Duffty / 1 Comment

Let continue with our journey into an understanding on the Apostolic, it is needed to be said that this is my journey to date which is not complete as yet, as we join with other ministers with different understanding we will find a fuller meaning in for today rooted in the scriptures.   These relationships will also adjust thinking and practice I am sure as well as add to understanding.   Now for my continuing thoughts to date.

Apostles are part of eternity’s plan; they were commissioned before they were born, chosen by God.  Apostle ship is not a learned skill it is an eternal choice, selected, appointed “… Before the foundation of the world…” when asked, Paul said of himself, he had been chosen from his mother’s womb (Galatians 1:15). To be an apostle is an issue of choice in eternity, to be sent forth by the Father with a mandate to preach the kingdom of God and lay the foundation of Jesus Christ into people’s lives. The apostolic burden is to establish a people and a community of believers, who are  willing to be led by the Holy Spirit and demonstrate a life under the order of God (Acts 2:41-47).

Apostles work alongside elders, having a responsibility and appointed by the Holy Spirit to love and care for the people of God, carrying a charge before God for the body. Paul talked about his “… light afflictions…” (2 Cor 4:17) Considering his catalogue of beatings, whippings, left for dead and his sea experiences, I wonder what our understanding of light afflictions are (1 Cor 11) he then goes further to clearly establish what was his non-negotiable charge and weighty matters 1 Cor 11:28 ”…Besides everything else, all the light afflictions mentioned, he also faced the daily pressure of his concern for all the churches…” Paul carried a burden for the church, this is necessary for all apostles, unless you have a God-given “charge” the responsibility is too great.   It is so much of a charge long with the matter of building a family it is not a light thing that the care or work towards a church responsibility for the churches can be given away easily, the churches do not become commodities to trade with or without much thought.    The church of God is not like a football team that transfers their players at payment, the call and the church are not the “transferable”.

Today’s church, family is being passed around from so-called apostle to apostle, being tossed around as a commodity, surely the passage above indicates that some apostolic gifts carry a “fathering grace” and cannot trade on the church. I have heard the sentence “I don’t care for the churches under…” this surely does not display the fathering apostolic grace. How abusive it would be if a parent treated his children in that way, not caring for them.  It would be questioned whether they were truly parents. Paul clearly looked at the church in Corinth as his children.

Those with the charge towards the people of God seek to continue the cause of God, and his Christ, seeking to be in the same heart and mind, and bring that oneness to the people of God, the church. The apostle carries the heart of God and their commission will be in line with Gods heart.   The commission, an apostolic task, is outworked along side a people group.   Paul is an example to us again as he outlines to King Agrippa in the book of Acts 26 in the years following his encounter with the Christ, Paul’s commission is seen in that he was not “disobedient to the heavenly call” this was his vision, his agenda, he worked with heavens work, he underlined that he was called to bring “light in darkness” and to a specific people called the Gentiles. Whereas James and Peter were called to a different group of people, Jewry.

Apostles must work and I would even go as far as to say they cannot work in isolation, they are not autocrats they are to enable all the ministries of Christ to flow together, they are catalyst ministries. They do not sit on the top of the pyramid structure, they are not CEO’s of an organisation structure and they seek to work within relationship.   It is evident from the Scriptures, as we look at the various named examples that each apostle functioned through different mantles, gifts. For example Paul saw himself as a preacher, a prophet; James and Barnabas were clearly teachers and pastors etc.    The apostle will function through another gift and will recognise and realise the need, and sometimes the inability to function, without other ministry compliments alongside them.  They seek friendship, and counsel and are accountable to others personally they know that they must give themselves to each other as influencers in the community of God.

It is the aim of the Ascension ministries to bring the restoration of Christ to his body, so that his body might be Apostolic, Prophetic – interpretive of God’s action; Teaching – the mountain of the Lord shall be the highest mountain and all of the mountains shall come and say teach us your ways; Pastoral – caring for God’s creation and people; Evangel – proclaiming the good news. These gifts are Christ himself and therefore we must not only have the individual gifts in our world but these characteristics must be seen in the body, the corporate Christ, so that the mountain of the Lord shall be the highest mountain and all other mountains shall come and say teach us your ways;

It is necessary the apostolic gift be seen in terms of characteristics, to avoid qualifying as it’s about Gods choice.   These characteristics are to be transferable in order that a people group – the ecclesia of God, that ultimate we must see the restoration of an apostolic people as well as having apostles as catalysts to bring a corporate maturity to pass.   That the people of God mature to be an apostolic, prophetic, pastoring, teaching and evangel people while being a fathering and mothering community in our world

Listed below is a catalogue of characteristics I see are necessary of the apostolic ministry, characteristics which ultimately will be transferred into a people. When the maturing Church embodies these characteristics what an amazing group of people we will have.

To close, consider this, Paul as an apostle saw the necessity of the apostolic so sharply that he defended his apostolic commission in the churches to which he worked as a father. One either concedes that Paul was a very insecure man or is considering something else in his defense of the call.    If one takes a wider view on Paul’s writings, his instructions, encouragements, retorts and appeals, one would conclude that he was not insecure at all.    I would suggest to you that Paul clearly had maturity, growing up in Christ in mind, and in Paul’s defense I suggest that the view of the apostolic he had was more to do with the maturity of the coming generations. So he defended the apostolic with the full knowledge that if the apostolic gifting was removed today tomorrow’s generation would not achieve the full maturity of Christ spoken of.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE APOSTLE AND MINISTRY

1.      A true apostle will have had a personal encounter with the resurrected Christ. (Acts 22:8)

2.      They have been personally commissioned/charge to an apostolic task. (Acts 26:16-18)

3.         They fulfil their apostleship through some other gifting, e.g. prophet, teacher, pastor. (Acts 13:1)

4.       They will be an equipper of the saints, releasing and empowering. (Eph.4:11-12) – Apostolic task is the empowerment for others

5.         They have a foundational grasp and a steward of the mysteries of God, of which they have a divine revelation.

6.         An apostle will recognise and be recognised in their order of apostleship, i.e. they may lead, or they will certainly be a part of an apostolic       “body of ministries”  and they will prove to be the catalyst for the other ministries. They may be an apostle built into another apostle’s sphere as Barnabas was with Paul, and therefore although have a valid apostolic ministry did not necessarily have the same task of Paul in which he would have been required to be the catalyst for many others.

7.       They will be a wise master builder (architect) of the house of God. An astute user of the plumb line of the mystery of Christ to what is being built with everything being measured against the end purpose for the house. (1 Cor. 3:10)

8.         Their authority is given by Christ. (2 Cor .10:8)

9.         They will demonstrate grace and wisdom in their relationships with people so that a sphere of apostolic ministry and influence emerges in the lives of the people. Their positive relationship with the people of God will provide the people with a deep sense of security. This will produce a committed, productive people who happily help in the task called to. It is inside this sphere of committed people actively pursuing God’s desire for His house that they have the authority of rule, not to be engaged in an authoritarian manner but following the example of Christ who came to serve rather than be served. (Matt. 20:25-28)

10.      They pursue a vision in which is:  Clear, and can be  seen in their commission – they are committed to its completion, they are obedient to the will of God in its commands, they patiently persevere despite any and all setbacks to be obedient to the heavenly vision.

An apostolic commission is fulfilled in phases – it is a process. With the completion of each phase (Acts 14:26) the apostle will be sensitive to God to be ‘sent’ into the new phase. When all phases of an apostolic commission are complete they will be able to say with Paul an apostle, ‘I have finished my course’. They then can then with joy be received by the Lord for his reward. (2 Tim.4:7)

11       An apostolic ministry by nature of what they are to bring about are filled with persevering faith; regardless of enticements, setbacks, or opposition from mankind or demons. Their faith enables them to persevere. This faith will extend itself to lay hold of all that is necessary of the supply of God’s grace to fulfill their ministry, and lay hold of the people and money resource required for the task. Faith will demonstrate the supernatural power of God so that God is seen to be working with confirming signs and wonders following.

12       The apostle will be the living example of all they want the people to become, and do. Therefore, personal Christ-Likeness will be evident to all so that they are secure in following their example. They may unashamedly stand before the people and say, ‘you yourselves know how you ought to follow us’ (2 Thes.3:7-9).  The apostle is humble, prayerful, long-suffering gentle with the weak, firm with those that require it, full of integrity and honesty in all business matters and dealings with people,  all should  speak well of them, so that when testing an apostle,  by their fruit they shall be known, as indeed for all Christians.

13       Apostolic Continuity – Paul had a deep sense of Abrahamic continuity and that being part of an apostolic call to walk in the continuity of a line of faith.       Paul had a theology developed from the eternal realm, drawing on Dream, Prophecy, and Visions.

14       Supernatural involvement, heavenly assistance to bring about a system of life to enable economy, love and care in creation