randallmuse@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: The Doctrine of the Apostles
In a message dated 10/6/98 grant_spong@wcg.org writes:
> Dear Randy,
> > You mentioned, "I was hoping at this time to give you a greater revelation
> of the Apostle's Ministry, but the Holy Spirit will not at this time permit me
> because of so much unbelief towards the Apostle's Ministry in the Body of
> Christ today. So, the Doctrine of the Apostles which I will establish in
> this article today will be pure milk straight from the Spirit and Written
> Word of God."
> > I believe everything you wrote, and yet felt it was so basic. If the Holy
> Spirit allows, would you be so kind as to send me more information please?
> It would be a blessing if you could.
Dear Brother Grant:
Thank you for your reply. To tell you the truth, I rather enjoy replying to
people who show a genuine interest in the Word of God, as you have. I believe
that Jesus built His Ministry by focusing not just on meeting the needs of
large crowds, but by having individual fellowship and interaction with
individual people. I think that over the Internet we can have a tendency to
send masses of information without concern for the individual.
I agree with you, that the teachings in the Doctrine of the Apostles are so
basic, but many have stumbled over even making an effort to try and understand
the simple truths that are illustrated in Scripture concerning Apostolic
ministry, and keep their traditional beliefs that the Apostolic ministry died
with the original 12 Apostles. Once we can agree that Apostles do exist today,
as they existed in the 1st Century New Testament Church, then we have a
foundation for further establishing the dynamics and authority that Christ
originally intended for that particular ministry Gift to possess.
One of the greatest misunderstandings concerning Apostolic Ministry is that
some say that those claiming to be modern day Apostles are actually trying to
control and manipulate others into believing in their authority in order to gain
some sort of control or advantage for their own personal gain, over the Body of
Christ. I wrote 'The Doctrine of the Apostles' not only to show Scripturally
that Christ recognizes and participates in Apostolic Ministry TODAY, but also
to show the Body of Christ the Benefits of coming into Agreement with modern
day Apostolic Ministry today. The Blessing that comes from the Gift of the
Apostle starts with the establishment and understanding of Apostolic Ministry
and the Body of Christ's genuine submission to Apostles as they would submit
respectfully to, and openly recognize, the Gift of the Pastor, but it ends
with the Apostolic Blessing and authority over the Devil extended to the
Saints. One Apostle is now teaching that the reason why God is having this
End-Time Movement of the Apostles and Prophets is so that He can close up this
age with the End-Time Movement of the Saints. I agree.
According to Ephesians 4:11-12, the purpose of the Apostle is for equipping the
Saints for the work of the ministry. In order to equip, an Apostle must GIVE.
An Apostle who GIVES is not out for personal gain, but rather, a True Apostle
is concerned about equipping the Saints with the Truth necessary for the
individual to build up others in Christ. In these Last Days of God pouring out
His Spirit upon all flesh, God is restoring truths necessary to establish true
church government and the recognition of true officers of the Body of Christ.
Imagine an army that no longer believes in Generals or Captains but only squad
leaders and highly outstanding individuals. This is what the Body of Christ
has done by ignoring Modern Day Apostles and Prophets, and the benefit is not for us
leaders alone, but for all believers. We're here to EQUIP them and to GIVE them training
and discipline and spiritual understanding necessary to defeat the Devil
on greater levels. You can win a battle by conquering a few thousand evil
spirits, but you must destroy the work of legions to win the WAR. I believe
that the Saints and Apostles and Prophets, the Evangelists, the Pastors, and
the Teachers are going to achieve a substantially great level of Victory prior
to Jesus' return, and then at His return at Armageddon, He and His Army will
completely win the Final Conflict of this Great War. Then (after the
Millennial Reign) 1,000 years from now Satan will blow his last puff of smoke
before being tormented day and night forever through Eternal Damnation.
[Rev 19:11-16]
11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him
was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He
had a name written that no one knew except Himself.
13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word
of God.
14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed
Him on white horses.
15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the
nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads
the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS. [NKJ]
[Rev 20:1-3]
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the
bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan,
and bound him for a thousand years;
3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on
him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years
were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. [NKJ]
[Rev 20:7-10]
7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison
8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the
earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as
the sand of the sea.
9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the
saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.
10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone
where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and
night forever and ever. [NKJ]
Sincerely yours in Christ,
(A letter sent to a dear Brother in Christ, asking about Apostolic ministry)
Dear Brother Ken:
I am filled with joy to hear your reply about more information concerning the
Apostolic Ministry. It seems that Teun J. de Ruiter has a hard time accepting
the things I have written, but I am going to continue to reply to his comments
on the mailing list for at least a little while longer, concerning the
Apostles' Ministry, as long as he continues to agree that "our writings will
contribute to a deeper understanding of the original teachings of Christ and
His apostles."
I am 30 years old (31 in December) and I have been married going on 4 years in
January, and I have 3 lovely daughters and one beautiful son. I live in Long
Beach, California. I have heard of men who call themselves apostles, who are
into domination and "ruling" over individuals, rather than building up the Body of
Christ. I am going to be bold in my statements, because concerning these issues
I don't have little understanding. These are false apostles, or men like
Judas, who was genuinely called by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who had a
genuine apostolic function given to him, but because of his character, his
ministry became false (false apostle) or filled with error. Jesus said that you
will know whether they are true or false by their fruit. In other words, their
character will be revealed by the kind of results they get and by the actions
they have. Any one who does not have holy motives in ministry is in error, and
though they may have a genuine Gift from the Lord, that Gift becomes perverted
by the tainted user of the Gift, which was entrusted to the individual for the
benefit of the Body of Christ.
God revealed to me in a dream that there are two specific demonic spirits that
are attacking the Body of Christ right now, concerning true apostolic
ministry. The first spirit is the anti-apostle spirit. These are spirits that
influence men or the Body of Christ (who would benefit most) to have unbelief
in the fact that genuine apostles exist today. Another way this spirit
operates is by lowering the authority of the apostle by making the word to
mean a mere missionary, who supposedly starts churches but is not to have any
assumed governmental influence over them. In other words, men think that a
missionary starts a church, gets it going, and then leaves the congregation to
nurture itself once a local Elder has been set in place by the missionary.
THIS IS NOT THE WORK OF AN APOSTLE. The work of an Apostle is to have direct
governmental authority over the ministries which the Holy Spirit has made him
overseer of, and an Apostle's desire is not to merely get people on the Path to
Heaven, and give them guidelines to stay on that path, but a true Apostle will
see a work through until a baby congregation becomes a fully matured and fully
functioning institution of the Lord Jesus Christ, able to train up other
Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, etc. in that local ministry. It is obvious that
many Churches today ARE NOT fully functioning institutions, which is proven by
the mere fact that some ministries don't even equip and train other Pastors.
(They may be healthy churches and holy churches, but are not fully functioning
Churches if they cannot educate and ordain all the 5-Fold ministry Gifts.)
They usually send people to Bible College to gain the education, but an
education can never become a father that nurtures a child to become a full
grown man of God. While Colleges can produce men of knowledge, only fathers
can produce men of character. Colleges can give you the paper that someone may
use to say you qualify to be a Pastor based upon your education, but a father
will not be impressed by your knowledge or your ministry gift until after he
sees your character.
An Apostle is no more a mere missionary than a Pastor is a mere leader of
sheep. Some Pastors are leaders, but they are not fully functioning Pastors
because they don't have the Apostolic Spirit to fight. The spirit of an
Apostle is the spirit of a Warrior, Christ being the Ultimate Apostle (Heb.
3:1), and the Ultimate Warrior (see Rev. 19:11-21)! A Pastor who has a
relationship with an Apostle, as David the Shepherd had a relationship with
the Lord Jesus Christ, will not just lead the sheep, but will fight against
lions and bears to protect the sheep. A True Shepherd like David, at times
like when the Giant and the armies of the enemies are defying his God and the
God of Israel, filling them with fear to make them their slaves, will not run
away in battle. But many Pastors are afraid to confront the enemies of darkness
and are afraid to teach bold truths, because they want to teach a safe Gospel that they
know their congregation will not reject, instead of giving them the truth they
need to defeat the enemy. They stay away from teachings about Apostles and
miracles, etc., to avoid controversy, but God says that His People are
destroyed because of a lack of knowledge. The Body of Christ has suffered
destruction because of our lack of knowledge and understanding concerning not
only the offices of the Apostles and Prophets, but other ministry Gifts as
well, and how they are to function together as a whole for the benefit of the
Body. But how can a Body function as a whole if it leaves parts of the Gospel
(like the Apostles) out?
The second spirit is the spirit of the false apostles, which you have
witnessed face to face. This is the spirit of a man claiming to be an apostle
but has no genuine love for the Body of Christ. Satan sends them in to
discourage belief in the true Apostles by sending bad examples, to cause
people to stereotype all apostles as men like the false ones. They cause
people to judge the Gift instead of the man, when they should be judging the
man as true or false, but accept the Gift (rejecting false apostles of
course). Some of these spirits influence men to call themselves apostles who
have different motives based upon their individual character make-up and
personalities. Some false apostles may have little desire for money, but may
have a strong desire to control others, which leads to dominating submission
to false apostles compared to willing submission to the true. Others may be
influenced by money to have a network of Churches to send in finances to
support their personal desires in life. Jesus said that you will know them by their
fruit. Taste their motives and see whether they are evil or good.
There is also another type of false apostolic spirit, which controls entire
denominations. This is a false apostolic government that has placed presidents
of ministries where Apostles should be (I am not here saying that a ministry
cannot have a legitimate president over the ministry, but that there must be
Apostles involved in the level of Government that they are serving in). They
are self-appointed men who also appoint others under them. The main reason why
they are false, is because they are governing their ministry through error.
They appoint deacons to pray for the sick and anoint them with oil, when James
5:14 says to "call upon the Elders of the Church." They fail to recognize that
Deacons and Elders are two different levels or two different classes of
officers (1 Tim. 3:1 & 8). Throughout the Old Testament God gave examples of
how His specific orders are to be obeyed, and if they were not, it could
result in death. The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:30 that because of
improper practices or failing to discern the purpose of the Holy Communion,
"many are weak and sick among you" and MANY die a premature death. In these
congregations they vote on doctrinal issues and practices like whether or not
women should be included in the office of a Deacon, and they appoint Bishops
over regions to oversee, for example, Pastors and churches in a particular
city, placing the office of a Bishop (non-5 Fold) over a Pastoral 5 Fold
Ministry Gift, while they completely refuse the Apostles' ministry today. They
accept the function of an Apostle, but refuse to accept its authority and
Gift. It's sad to say, but many churches in the Body of Christ are operating
under the principle of death, because they refuse to function in Church
Government the way God says it should be done in HIS WORD!
about them. I would love to continue corresponding with you. It seems that on
the Internet, not many lasting relationships are formed. Even with Christians,
I have written to them for a while, and then you just never heard from them
again. If you will send me a snail mail address, I would love to send you a
book on fathering that I believe will help you tremendously. I am much like
you in many ways. I was called to be an Apostle years ago, but I didn't know
of any living Apostles, nor was I able to find the right teachings on this
ministry Gift. I am now submitted to an Apostle who is my spiritual father,
who accepts my calling, and has encouraged me to continue my work overseas.
God is the One Who sovereignly ordains a spiritual father-son relationship.
I can say this for sure, you will not lack any education if you stay in
communication with me. Our Pastor (Apostle Emil Cedeno) just had an
Apostle come to our Church for a 2 week conference, and we also have
Prophetic conferences as well. He has led me to more books and other
spiritually gifted individuals to learn from. Without him I would not be where
I am, nor would my ministry be what it is today. I can assure you that you
will not lack spiritual information concerning your Gift, if you remain in
contact with me.
I understand what it means to be uncomfortable talking about the calling. But
when you come into Covenant Relationship with other Apostles, that dormant
Gift will be awakened like you've never seen it come alive before. It's God's
principle of submission, that by submission, we resist the devil...AND HE MUST
FLEE! When you begin Covenanting with other ministries that believe in you and
believe in your Gift, combined faith will cause increased faith as we begin to
operate in one Spirit and in one accord. The Word of God says, "Behold, how
good and how pleasant it is for Brethren to dwell together in unity! It is
like the precious oil (Anointing) upon the head, running down the beard, even
the beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the
dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; FOR THERE (Brethren
dwelling together in unity through Covenant Relationship) THE LORD COMMANDED
THE BLESSING - LIFE Forevermore.!" [Psalm 133:1-3]
Covenant Relationship is like the fountain of Eternal (Heavenly) Life. For it
is through Covenant Relationship with God the Father through His Son Jesus
Christ, that God has commanded the Blessing! But within that Covenant
relationship, Psalm 133:1-3 is referring to a commandment of blessing coming
from the Covenant Relationship developed between two men coming into covenant
relationship with each other. Brethren means that there is more than two
people in this type of covenant relationship, but the Brethren are not just one
mass of unity, but it is actually a combined vision of each Brother in Christ
coming into Covenant Relationship with another Brother in the Body of Christ.
In others words, a whole bunch of individual covenant relationships between
individuals make up the Brethren or the corporate Covenant Relationship. But
to many, we just call ourselves Brothers and Sisters, but don't live in
Covenant Relationship with one another. A Covenant is an agreement between two
individuals. When the New Testament was made effective as the New Covenant,
the whole world did not automatically enter into this relationship. This New
Covenant that God has made available and possible for the Whole World to enter
into is actually made up of individual people deciding to come into Covenant
Relationship with God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. The benefits
of the Covenant are limited to the agreement of the terms of the Contract made
between two individuals.
Psalm 133:1-3 reveals that it is through the unity of Covenant Relationships
between individual Brethren that God has commanded this special blessing to
come to. As we know, it is all too true that many who are in the Household of
God do not live together in unity, which causes them to be excluded from God's
commanding this specific blessing to come to them. Psalm 133 is actually an
Old Testament shadow of New Testament ministry. The Psalmist describes not
only the conditions or terms of receiving the Blessing (the condition of
unity), but also what the Blessing is that God will COMMAND to come to those
who dwell together in Unity. "It is like the precious oil upon the head." Oil,
as we know, symbolizes the Holy Spirit, and the Head Apostle of the Church is
the Lord Jesus Christ.
[Acts 10:38]
38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: Who
went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for
God was with Him.
Psalm 133:2 then begins to go on, describing in more detail, how this Anointing
begins to flow, "running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron..." As we know,
Aaron was an Old Testament High Priest, which is not only the shadow of the
Lord Jesus Christ's High Priestly Ministry (which was actually of the order of
Melchizedek, Heb. 5:6), but this depiction of Aaron as the High Priest is
actually a picture of the Apostles' Ministry. Hebrews 3:1 says that Christ
Jesus is the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. The Apostle and High
Priest are here shown as having the same common traits of being over our
confession. He is the Apostle of our confession, and He is the High Priest of
our confession. Apostleship is here referenced as an order of Priesthood. We
are all a Kingdom of Priests, but there are different levels of Priestly order
in that Kingdom of Priests. Not all are Apostles, not all are Pastors, etc. A
Pastoral Office is a level or an order of Priesthood. Evangelist is another.
Both are Priests in the Kingdom, but the Priesthood of one functions differently
from the Priesthood of the other. As we know that the Apostle is the Highest
Ranking Ecclesiastical Official, even as the High Priest of the Old Testament
is considered the Highest Ranking Priest. Aaron the High Priest is a picture
of the New Testament Apostle. In the New Testament, the oil of the Holy Ghost
was upon first the Head [Jesus], and ran down upon the Apostles next.
First we have the Gospels [of Jesus], and then the Book of Acts [of the
apostles]. The oil was on the Head, then it flowed down on the
High Priest or the Apostles. Then verse 2 goes on to describe even
further the flow of the Anointing. No longer is it flowing down Aaron
or the Apostle, but now it is running down the Garments. Garments as we
know are a covering for the Body. So it is the High Priest who covers or
protects the Body, and as the Anointing flows down the Garment of the Apostle,
it then begins to become absorbed into the garments, which in turn saturates
the Body with the Anointing. As the Body of Christ comes under the Garment or
Governmental Covering of the Apostles' Ministry, the Anointing then becomes
theirs in Apostolic proportions. While not everyone holds the office of an
Apostle, the Body of Christ in the Book of Acts had an Apostolic Anointing as
an Apostolic People, willingly submitted to the Apostles' ministry, and not
only the Apostles performing miracles in Jesus' Name, but the Scripture
records that even Stephen, a Deacon in the Church, "full of faith and power,
did great wonders and signs among the people."
Notice that the Scripture records Stephen doing miracles after he agreed to
serve in the House of God as a Deacon, under the Administration of the
Apostles. The Anointing started on the Head, Jesus Christ, Who went about
doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; flowed down to
the Apostles who caused fear to come upon every soul; and many wonders and
signs were done by the apostles (Acts 2:49); down to Stephen who was "full of
faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people." We went from
an Apostle who saved us, to Apostles who were appointed by God, down to an
Apostolic People with an Apostolic Anointing who did the same works as the
Apostle Jesus Christ, and the men under Him. While we are looking at three
different levels of Priesthood, we can see one common bond or thread that
ties these men together as one in ministry, the Apostolic Level of Anointing!
New Testament order is the channel through which the Anointing flows, and
unless the Body of Christ begins to understand and operate in Divine
Government and God Ordained Order, only the few who willingly submit to this
order will receive the Highest Level of Anointing in the Kingdom of God.
Without order, the channel has unconnected pipes which waste the Anointing and
cause it to run off into some unknown stream. Or, without the Proper
Functioning Government in the Local Assembly, the spiritual pipes that the
Anointing is to flow down will be clogged by the lack of order and error being
practiced in the local church.
May God cause you to increase in your understanding and may you remain
faithful to the High Order of Priesthood He has called you to WITH ALL
BOLDNESS AND WITH PERSEVERANCE AND ENDURANCE, in Jesus' Mighty Name,
Amen!
Sincerely yours in Christ and His Anointing,
Randy Muse
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