Was there ever a portrait of Jesus found? If not, would it not be wrong for man to try to portray what Jesus looked like?

We have no authentic portraits, images, or likenesses of Jesus that were done during his life and so we really have no understanding of Jesus true appearance. The portraits, images, and likenesses of Jesus that have been done through the years come merely from the artist’s imagination. I understand that in history the first depictions of Jesus were of a man with the appearance of a middle-eastern descent, but as Christianity (I’m using the term in its broadest possible sense here) became more dominated by those of European descent, depictions of Jesus took a more European look. This clearly indicates a subjective understanding of Jesus’ appearance and not one in which we can definitively say, “This is what He looked like.”

So, would it be sinful to make an appearance of Jesus? Yes, it would be. What is one going to do with an image or likeness of Jesus? Admire it? Appreciate it? Respect it? Why would those things not be idolatrous? Consider if you would Exodus 20:4-5 “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me�.” This is a very clear prohibition and it is the standard upon which the New Testament condemns idolatry. We are told in 1 Corinthians 10:14 to “flee idolatry.” In Galatians 5:20, idolatry is listed among the works of the flesh. In Colossians 3:5 we are told to put idolatry (along with a host of other things) to death in our lives.

The fact of the matter is that the word of God tells us how to admire, appreciate and respect Jesus in our life. We do this through loving Him and keeping His commandments (John 14:15). As we mentioned earlier, we have everything that we need in the scriptures to be godly (2 Peter 1:3). No where, in any part of the scriptures, do we find even as much as a hint that we ought to make and respect images or likenesses of Jesus, in fact, we find just the opposite in Exodus 20:4-5. Jesus is now reigning from heaven and that is where we direct our honor, respect, reverence, and appreciation today, not toward some carved image or painted likeness.

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The Deceit of Peer Pressure

It’s good to have friends. I’m glad I have some. Friends can be a great encouragement for good. But friends can also be a source of temptation as well.

I remember in my Junior year of High School how I enjoyed going to Taco Bell for lunch with some friends. Some of these friends I had known since grade school. They were the popular crowd. I didn’t hang out with them much, but I enjoyed going to Taco Bell and they were the ride, so, I went with them. The Enchirito was my favorite item (with two packets of Taco Bell sauce; they didn’t have mild, medium and hot back then).

It was enjoyable riding in the car with them and visiting. Most of the time, the fun was squeaky clean. Then, one day, they said to me, You need to go out with us some night. There was a new thought. I didn’t think I would be invited to do that. It was a tempting thought because I enjoyed being with them. I told them that I would think about it, but didn’t give a definite answer. You see, they knew who I was. They knew where I worshipped. Some had even visited our congregation before. They knew my standards and what I stood for.

Then one day, out of the blue, we were in one of those conversations where everything was kind of crazy and fun. I ended up saying some things that I shouldn’t have said. Interestingly enough, instead of them going along with it, they looked at me all bug eyed and slack jawed. They were shocked. They never thought that I would have said such things.

They weren’t the only ones who were shocked. I was shocked too. I didn’t think that I would ever have behaved that way. But I had. They had had an influence on me even though it was mostly (99%) innocent fun. It was the other 1% that was harmful that had had its effect.

I decided that as much as I loved Taco Bell, that I would have to stop going with them to lunch. They came and asked me why. I told them it was because of my bad behavior and I wouldn’t be going anymore. You see, it wasn’t because I didn’t like them, but because I did. They had influenced me to do something that I would not have done had I not been in their company. I considered that I could still go to lunch with them and influence them for good, but I decided that my own soul wasn’t worth the risk. They had influenced me for evil and it had to stop.

It’s good to have friends. We all need them. But we need to be aware that peer pressure doesn’t have to be overt. It can be subtle and one never know what has happened until it is too late.

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The Twelve Apostles and Modern Day Claims for Apostleship

There are at least two major religious bodies today who claim apostleship or apostolic like authority for individuals in their religion. The Mormons plainly state that they have living apostles in The Quorum of the Twelve. These, they claim, have apostolic authority just as the apostles of the New Testament. The Catholic church doesn’t claim to have any modern day apostles, per se, but they believe strongly in the principle of apostolic succession which more or less states that they have individuals who are on par with the twelve apostles in the persons of their arch-bishops. There are also a litany of denominational preachers (mostly pentecostal in nature) who claim to be apostles with the same authority Jesus personally gave the twelve. These justify their claims by going to Ephesians 4:11 and saying that God gave some to be “apostles.” Ought we to believe that God has given us apostles today? If so, in what mold ought these apostles to be considered?

The word “apostle” simply means “one who is sent.” There is nothing extraordinary about this word in the Greek language. It was a word used in ancient literature to describe anyone who was sent on a particular mission. The New Testament describes more than just the twelve as apostles. The writer of the book of Hebrews calls Jesus an Apostle (Hebrews 3:1). Barnabas also was called an apostle in Acts 14:4 because he was one of the men sent specifically by the church at Antioch to go to the gentiles (see Acts 13:2-4). But there is also within the New Testament, a specialized sense in which this word is used. As we have come to know, it primarily refers to the office that was held by the twelve apostles given to them specifically by Jesus himself.

Jesus selected the twelve apostles specifically to be eye-witnesses of his life. We find a listing of these men in Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:16-19, and Luke 6:13-16. Matthew and Luke specifically use the word “apostle” to describe these men. In the book of Acts also, Luke refers to them as the “apostles whom [Jesus] had chosen” (Acts 1:2) and repeats the list of the now eleven men in Acts 1:13. Acts 1:8 declares Jesus’ specific purpose for these men. He says, “you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” The job of the apostles was to testify as eye-witnesses that Jesus was who he claimed to be (see John 21:24 and Acts 8:25).

That this was the primary reason Jesus selected the apostles can be seen in the qualifications for the successor of Judas. We read this story in Acts 1:15-26. We learn from this that when it came to selecting a new apostle, some qualifications had to be met. Peter states in Acts 1:21,22, “Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.” Notice first that Peter chose from among men that had accompanied them at all times during Jesus ministry. Second, they had to witness Jesus’ life from the baptism of John until the day that Jesus ascended into heaven. Finally, the one who qualified would be appointed or ordained a witness of Jesus’ resurrection. We read in Acts 1 that not just one, but two men qualified, Joseph and Matthias. However, the apostles only chose one of those two to fulfill the office of apostle. This information clearly demonstrates that even among those that qualified, not all were selected and shows that the apostleship was a special office that could not be filled by just anyone. Significantly, after Matthias’ appointment, we don’t find any other examples of succession of apostles, though we do find at least one apostle being killed, James (Acts 12:2). After this point, the apostles, as a body of decision makers, begin to fade out and elders begin playing the permanent role of decision making in the church (see Acts 14:23, Acts 15:6, Acts 20:17, Acts 21:18). Why would this be if there were continual successions of apostles to lead and guide the church?

The twelve apostles of Jesus not only served as the leaders of the early church, they also were given special abilities by Jesus in order to carry the gospel to the whole of creation. We note that they were the first individuals who were baptized in the Holy Spirit according to Jesus’ promise in Acts 1:4, 5. This promise was fulfilled in Acts 2:1-4 when the Holy Spirit came upon them and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. That Jesus was the one who administered this baptism is clear from John’s prophecy regarding the Messiah in Matthew 3:11 and parallels. The baptism of the Holy Spirit was not administered by any other.

The apostles also had the unique ability to lay their hands on believers so that they could receive the ability to do miracles. In Acts 8, Philip went into Samaria preaching the gospel. Many believed because they saw the signs that Philip perform (Acts 8:6) and they were baptized (Acts 8:12). But they themselves could do no miracle until the apostles Peter and John came and laid their hands on them (Acts 8:14-17). Simon saw this phenomenon and rightly concluded that it was due to the laying on of hands that these miracles were happening. So he offered money for the ability. It wasn’t the ability to do miracles that he was after; it was the ability to lay his hands on someone else so that they might do miracles. This is clear in the words that Simon uses in Acts 8:19. But this ability wasn’t for him, nor was it for anyone else. We know this because not even Philip could lay his hands on individuals so that they could receive the ability to do the miraculous. It was an ability unique to the apostles and when the apostles died, the ability to lay hands on others so that they might do the miraculous was also ended.

The apostles were also given the ability to do special signs which only they could demonstrate. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:12 “Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.” What were the signs of an apostle? Laying on hands was one, but there were more. Evidently, only the Apostles had the ability to do most or all of the miraculous gifts that God had provided for the early church. These miraculous gifts are listed in different places throughout scripture, but they included: prophesying, speaking in tongues, interpreting, special knowledge, special faith, revelation, special prayers, special songs, special wisdom, healing, miracles, and special discernment (see 1 Corinthians 12:8-10). These gifts were distributed among the brethren, but only the apostles, evidently, had all or most all of these special abilities.

Why did they have these abilities? What was their purpose? This takes us to Ephesians 4:11 and the question that started our entire study of apostles. Paul states in that verse, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers,” but notice that he gives the explanation for why these offices were created and why the gifts that Jesus gave were given (Ephesians 4:7-9). Verse 12-15 say:

“For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till 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: That 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; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.”

The purpose of the miracles was to establish the early church to the point where they could be self sustaining and be a full-grown entity that is capable of surviving without such miraculous aid. The “unity of the faith” was key to being able to accomplish this. Without the revelation of God’s will for the church, they would not be able to continue to sustain themselves as God’s church. Hence, the miraculous gifts were necessary to both reveal to God’s people what God desired for them to do as well as to prove that the message that was spoken was, in fact, God’s message (see Mark 16:20, John 20:30,31 and Hebrews 2:3, 4). There were others besides the apostles who could perform miraculous gifts, yes, but as we’ve noted the apostles were the unique distribution point from which these unique abilities were propagated. Without them, there could be no exercise of the miraculous.

The implication of this is that today we don’t have apostles, at least, in the same sense that these men were specially chosen by Jesus for this particular function in the church. To have such an apostle would mean that they would have the same abilities as these apostles had and the one’s who make such a modern day claim simply don’t have those abilities. This isn’t to say that one can’t be an apostle in the ordinary sense of the word of one who has been sent for a particular job or mission. Certainly we can have apostles in that sense, but that’s clearly not the same as the function and role that the twelve apostles fulfilled in the New Testament.

Moreover, there is no need to have modern day apostles in the same vein as the twelve. The work that the apostles were given to do was accomplished and that work stands before us today in the pages of the New Testament. One might argue and say that all other roles in Ephesians 4:11 wouldn’t be necessary either. Such an argument doesn’t hold true because it is the whole of the individuals in Ephesians 4:11 that were given to accomplish what God desired, not each individual role. Moreover, in saying such, one assumes that the role of the twelve apostles can only be fulfilled while they are alive. Such isn’t the case. The apostles are still fulfilling the function that God gave them to do, even though they, as individuals, have passed on. We still have apostles today in the sense that the influence of these men continues to live.

There are, however, other roles mentioned in this passage which require living individuals in order for these roles to continue to be fulfilled as God would have them. Individuals may still fulfill the role of pastor, teacher, and evangelist today without, of course, the direct aid of miraculous gifts. The bottom line is that just because some roles in Ephesians 4:11 are no longer miraculously filled today doesn’t mean that other roles couldn’t be filled in a non-miraculous way. Remember the various miraculous gifts that were listed from 1 Corinthians 12:8-10? Some of those gifts were knowledge, faith, interpreting, singing, and praying. Can those gifts be practiced today in a non-miraculous way? Absolutely they can, though some of those gifts were uniquely miraculous. So also in the roles that God designed for the church. Some of those roles were uniquely miraculous. Others, however, could be exercised either miraculously or non-miraculously. Hence, we ought not to conclude from Ephesians 4:11 that we must either have all of these roles today or none of them. The role of apostle was designed to end on earth, but have lasting consequences whereas other roles were designed to continue on earth perpetually in the church.

Having studied the various different aspects of what it meant to be an apostle, one can truly understand why we don’t have special apostles today like the twelve. Their role was important, necessary, consequential, yet fulfilled in the men that directly witnessed the life of Christ during His earthly ministry. Paul too was a witness of the resurrected Jesus’ and received the gospel directly from Jesus according to Galatians 1:10-12. He was as much an apostle as the others in that regard and so he is no exception to the rule, but merely one who was “born out of due time” (1 Corinthians 15:28). But once again, the miraculous nature of his apostleship testifies as to its temporal nature. Today the influence of the twelve continues to live on, though, there is no apostolic succession. Their work abides and cannot be improved upon; we have everything we need revealed for us in scripture. Indeed, what would a so called modern day apostle do to improve upon their work? Let us be satisfied with the pattern God has left for the church and not seek to innovate based upon our own perceived inadequacies.

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Is Our Gospel Hid?

We’re all familiar with the VBS tune, “This little light of mine.” We sing this song so as to let our children know that they need to be good examples and positive influences in the world around them. This song also reminds us to practice what we preach and let our light shine too. In addition to letting our light shine, however, we need to be concerned about supplying the appropriate information to those who need the message of the gospel. Paul the apostle was so confident regarding both his example and the efforts that he made at preaching the gospel that he made this statement in 2 Corinthians 4:3, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.” Several lessons come to mind from such a statement.

First, do we hide God’s word from others or do we share it freely? Paul could say that he hadn’t hid God’s word. In fact, he said in Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” What about us? Are we ashamed of the gospel? When the subject comes up do we avert our eyes? Do we look to get out of the conversation? Do we change the subject? Truly, our behavior is revealing as to what we truly think about God’s message. We ought never be guilty of hiding the gospel from others. It is their only hope for salvation!

Second, can such a statement be made regarding our efforts to preach and teach the gospel? Have we so effectively preached God’s word to those around us that we can truly say that no one whom we have encountered is unaware of the truths of the gospel? If we have, then that is truly a wonderful goal to have reached. If we haven’t, then there is work for us to do. Let’s consider Jesus statement to the disciples in John 4:35 “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” God has spread before us a great harvest! Our job is to go into the fields and reap what God has given. Let’s be about the Lord’s work!

Third, perhaps there are some around us with whom we have shared the gospel message and yet, they have rejected it. That would put us in the same situation in which Paul was in. Paul said regarding these individuals, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Yes, there are some who will reject the message. But that’s not really our problem. Jesus never promised that every single person to whom we preach the gospel would respond favorably to it. In fact, He said the opposite, namely, that more would reject it than accept it. In Matthew 7:13 Jesus said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat” and more often than not, Jesus would teach and then end with the statement, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” What did that mean? It meant that if you are of a willing and ready mind, then listen to the message and apply it. Otherwise, too bad. It is sad that some will not hear and obey the gospel message, but that’s a fact that we’ve been told about and we must accept it.

So, what category are you in? Are you hiding the gospel? Are you preaching it to those who haven’t receive it yet? Have you preached it and it has been rejected? Regardless, let us realize that there is always someone somewhere who needs to hear the message. If we’ve exhausted the location that we are in, we can move on to other places. If we’ve just started, then let’s get busy watering what’s been planted. If we’re not doing anything, then let’s get out of our comfort zone and do something. We all can do something to further His kingdom. Won’t you start working today?

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The Ubiquity of New Testament Teaching

Recently someone asked, more or less, the following question: “How do we know that the things that were done in one church in the first century were done in the other churches as well?” That’s a good question because if we can’t know that the things practiced, say, in Corinth, were also practiced in Rome, then we can’t really know that we ought to practice the same things that they practiced in religion today. Ultimately, this would mean that we could do whatever we wanted to do in “worship” to God, which many people in the denominational world are doing in our day and age. And that there basically would be no identifying marks of the New Testament church, since the instruction from one congregation wouldn’t necessarily apply to another.

The word “ubiquitous” isn’t a common word, but it is a current word. It is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as meaning, “Being or seeming to be everywhere at the same time.” The idea of the word is that if something is ubiquitous, then it is common to all places. That’s the idea that we are examining in relationship to New Testament teaching. Was it common in all churches? Was it something that was taught not merely to one congregation, but to all of them? Let’s see if we can find a scriptural answer.

First, we must understand that Jesus intended the message of the gospel to be ubiquitous. In Matthew 28:19, Luke 24:47, and Mark 16:15, Jesus made it clear that he wanted the message of the gospel preached to all nations. This included the message related to the kingdom of God (the church, Matthew 16:18,19) because the teaching and preaching regarding the kingdom was part of the gospel message (see Matthew 4:23, 9:35). In fact, Jesus expected this teaching to go to all nations prior to the destruction of Jerusalem. He said in Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations�.” Jesus certainly expected the teaching and preaching of the gospel to be ubiquitous.

Secondly, we must note that Paul said that his message was ubiquitous. In 1 Corinthians 4:17, Paul wrote, “For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.” Paul told the church at Corinth that he was sending Timothy to them so that Timothy could teach them the same things that Paul had taught in every other church in which he had preached. It should be clear from this that the message that Paul took to each congregation was the same message. That means that when he instructed the church at Corinth to take up a collection upon the first day of the week (1 Corinthians 16:1,2) he also instructed all of the other congregations to do the same. This means that Paul’s observance of the Lord’s Supper at Troas upon the first day of the week (Acts 20:7) was also observed by every other congregation at which he had preached upon the first day of the week as well. Paul certainly believed that his preaching and teaching was ubiquitous.

Finally, we must apply this same message ubiquitously today. Paul told the elders at Ephesus in Acts 20:27, “For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” Paul didn’t refuse to preach the entire message of the gospel and neither should we. We cannot afford to hold back part of the gospel message. We must be willing to teach all of it. That means we learn lessons from all of the churches in the New Testament and we can apply those lessons to our congregations today just as they were originally applied to the churches in the first century. Paul told Timothy, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” The scriptures certainly present the message within them as being ubiquitous.

Because the message of the gospel is ubiquitous, we have everything today that we need to be the kind of person that God wants us to be. We have all of the information we need to be the kind of church that God wants us to be. Let’s apply all of it appropriately (2 Timothy 2:15) and remember the counsel of the Psalmist in Psalm 119:160 “The sum of thy word is truth�” and the counsel of Jesus in Matthew 4:4, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” The teaching of the New Testament is ubiquitous in its application!

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