Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
One thing Paul said is that in the church everything must be done decently and in order. I Cor. 14:40
In the Bible, God gave us information concerning the working of the New Testament church.
Romans 12 ... For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 4For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. 6Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
Just as the human body has different parts of the body for different purposes (the eye does one thing the hand another), so the body of Christ, the church, has gifts given by God for different purposes. The eye cannot function as the hand nor the hand as the eye. And the order in the church is just as important.
I Cor. 12 ... Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 7But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 8For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 11But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as HE will.
If we are to function as God wills in the church we must work in the area of the church to which we are appointed by God. And we operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit given by God. We do not copy another in the church doing his gift in the church. This causes confusion in the church and the power of God will not be there when a person tries to do that. Instead we work according to the specific gift given to us by God.
God has made it clear to me that I am appointed apostle & prophet to the church. The work I do is the work of an apostle & prophet.
Apostles keep order in the church. When we see something out of order we are greatly troubled and must try to set it straight. I am always doing this. You can look at the various writings and see this in the work I do. That is because one of the offices to which I am appointed by God is "apostle". The fruit of apostle is shown in the work I do. Just as we know an apple tree when apples come on the limbs of the tree, we know these offices by the work done by the office.
Recently I received email from a man who called himself "reverend" ... I told him there is no example in Bible of a man calling himself "reverend" and told him the ministry offices are apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher (Eph. 4) and this is what the ministers in the Bible called themselves. Paul, for example, was apostle/teacher. Peter was apostle. Agabus was prophet. Phillip was evangelist.
This man agreed to stop calling himself "reverend". This man has a great heart for unsaved. He began calling himself "pastor". I explained to him that "pastor" worked in the church with the saved. Evangelist works with unsaved.
These things are very important. All of the work of God is done in truth. If we go about with some form of error, order will be disturbed in the church.
The work you see me do in case of this man is work of NT "apostle" ... keeping order in the church by the Spirit of God according to the will of God. That is what "apostles" do.
Some people are taught there are no apostles or prophets in the church today. This is incorrect.
Eph. 4 ... After Jesus arose (after the crucifixion and resurrection), Jesus gave gifts to the church to work in the church.
When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. Eph. 4
Paul was not the last apostle. Paul was the first of the New Testament apostles. Paul was unlike the other apostles. Paul did not walk with Jesus when Jesus walked on the earth in the flesh. It was not until after Jesus was crucified and resurrected (rose) that HE revealed himself to Paul. (Acts 9)
Paul is like those of us today who are called as apostles to the NT church.
And in almost each epistle Paul wrote to the church, Paul identified himself as an "apostle" ... We see this over and over in verse 1 of his epistles.
There were some at that time who did not believe Paul to be an apostle. Paul explains this: I Cor. 9:1 ... Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord? 2If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.
So God puts together the body of Christ as HE wills and each part of the body functions according to the assignment of God.
I Cor. 12 ... Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 7But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 8For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 11But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
12For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14For the body is not one member, but many. 15If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 16And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 17If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? 18But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
...Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. 28And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. 29Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? 30Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?
God has set "some" in the church to care for the church.
Paul explains in the above scriptures that not all are apostles ... not all are prophets ... but God has set some of the members of the church in these roles.
Paul is very concerned that the church operate correctly and that each member of the body functions exactly where God has put that person. Paul is concerned about such things because Paul is an apostle and apostles keep order in the church and correct such things as this when they are wrong in the church.
Paul is also called as a teacher. II Tim. 1 ... Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. 12For the which cause I also suffer these things:
So those of us called to ministry offices present ourselves as such to the church and we (like Paul) identify ourselves to the church in the office to which we are appointed by God. If individuals do not think we are called to such, let those individuals examine the work we do in the church. If the fruit appears on the tree we know the name of the tree bearing that fruit. And so it is with ministry offices.