How do Christians who believe in current-day Apostles, Prophets and the 5-fold ministry interpret Ephesians 2:20?
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The foundational apostles and prophets of Eph. 2:20 refers to New Testament apostles and Old Testament Prophets. Christ is the cornerstone.
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; Eph. 2:20
Peter writes of the same foundation.
That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: 2 Peter 3:2
From that foundation, the church is built up on what would be the subsequent five-fold.
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; Eph. 4:11
The difference between the two categories is one of function.
The OT prophets spoke "thus sayeth the LORD"; written in stone as it were. The NT prophets speak "unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. (1 Cor. 14:3). There is no sense that a NT prophet speaks for God, like the OT prophets did. In the NT, we are to challenge in fact.
Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. 1 Cor. 14:29, 32
For apostles, they initially were eyewitnesses of Christ's ministry; they laid the foundation. But we also find other examples of men called apostles in scripture, yet who were not eyewitnesses from baptism to ascension.
Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, Acts 14:14
Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. Rom. 16:7
But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother. Gal. 1:19
So, for the most part, apostles after the apostolic age (from James' death to John's death), they were called as messengers.
Messenger:
"an apostle," is translated "messengers" in 2Cr 8:23 Vines
So today, we have apostles who are those sent from a church, prophets who encourage and edify, evangelists, pastors who lead the local church, and teachers.
Upvote:0
The house of God is still expanding.
When you build an extension for your house, the first thing you do is lay down some more concrete to extend the foundation, right? It's the same thing for the Church: the apostles and prophets help to lay the foundations for the Church's growth, through the conversion of non-believers and the creation of new churches.
Upvote:0
Foundations
It appears that there are essentially 2 schools of thought on "apostles as foundation":
a) The apostles laid the foundation and that work is done. When you build a building, you hire contractors to dig, pour cement, etc. Once they have done so, the contractors are no longer needed (their work remains)
b) The apostles are the foundation. The work of apostles and other officers is described not only here but in Ephesians 4, cited above (additional description of their work can be found, for example, in the Great Commission)--the apostolic ministry is to take the Gospel message to the world, to bring about unity in the faith, knowledge of the Son of God, etc. The apostles were and are the foundation of that work. As stated in the OP, that work isn't done yet any more than Jesus' work as Savior is done--if I go to Him for help, how many Christians really believe He would say "you're on your own, I've got nothing left to give"? Not I.
I suggest the genitive construction τῶν ἀποστόλων ("of the apostles"), and the ontological statement about Jesus Himself that follows it (not He made the cornerstone, He is the cornerstone), very much favors option b above. It is not that the apostles laid a foundation and left it; they are the foundation.
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Theological View
I believe that the ministry of the apostles is a critical function in God's ongoing work. Just as God was able to authorize (through His chosen channels) Matthias, James ben Joseph, Barnabas, and Paul to officiate as apostles after the calling of the original 12, He can (and I believe He does) appoint apostles when & where the time is right, and that this was a significant feature of the restoration of the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in modern times.
I don't believe Jesus' participation in the work of salvation is done; He is not a passive observer. His atoning sacrifice has been performed, but He remains actively involved in the development and progression of humanity. So too the offices He instituted to join Him in taking His good news & His covenants to the ends of the earth.
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The Word of God is complete?
I believe in a God whose words "never cease".
From the OP:
The Word of God is the completed revelation of God. The Bible contains everything the church needs to know to grow, thrive, and fulfill God’s mission (2 Timothy 3:15-16)
Nowhere does the Biblical text claim to be the completed revelation of God. The commonly cited passage in Revelation 22 refers not to the Bible as a whole (didn't exist yet), but to the book of Revelation. If warnings about adding or taking away were intended to apply to the entire Bible, we'd have to claim the same for the parallel passage in Deut. 4:2...which would mean discarding everything in the Bible except the Torah. Sadducees anyone?
I respectfully suggest that 2 Tim. 3:15-16 is being misused here. If Paul really meant to say that the scriptures contain everything the church needs to grow, that would be an argument for discarding the entire New Testament. The New Testament, as a collection of 27 (or 29, etc) sacred texts had not yet been compiled, and even on a generous interpretation of the chronology, several of its books hadn't been written yet when 2 Timothy was composed.
When Paul refers to the "scriptures" he means the Tanakh/Septuagint, not the 66/73/74+ book Bible.
Upvote:1
The argument that His role as the cornerstone of the church was completed with His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. If the work of the cornerstone is, in that sense, complete, so must the work of the apostles and prophets, who were the foundation, be complete. is fallacious.
- Ephesians was written after Christ's death/resurrection and says:
are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstonenot you were fellow citizens.... - They are referencing the foundation Jesus set forth/designed/laid, and he was resurrected (still lives, still the cornerstone...is not Jesus Christ the cornerstone of Christianity's faith).
- And the apostles didn't stop their work after Jesus' resurrection
If the argument is fallacious, then the rest of the scripture still stands the His church needs prophets and apostles.
LDS Perspective
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe Jesus still leads the church. The prophets and apostles guide and direct his church here on earth.
See also:
- The Cornerstones of Our Faith, Pres Gordon B Hinckley
- Four Cornerstones of Faith, Pres Gordon B Hinckley
- The Blessing of Continuing Revelation to Prophets and Personal Revelation to Guide Our Lives, Elder Quentin L Cook
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