¹⁸ “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.”

Preparation of the apostles was absolutely critical to the founding of the Christian movement. Their role cannot be overstated–thus Jesus spent considerable time preparing them and praying for them. One wonders how much of His other times of prayer focused on these men. When Jesus spoke of Peter being the particular target of Satanic attack, He said, “I have prayed for you …” (Lk 22:32). The implication is that this may have been a previous, ongoing prayer. Finally, in the Upper Room we may be given just a peek into the kinds of things He regularly prayed for.

But as to the importance of the apostles, Scripture says to us, “… you are God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone” (Eph 2:19b–20). The early church devoted themselves to “the apostles’ teaching” (Acts 2:42). To this day, Christians rely on the apostolic teaching as foundational to spiritual truth and growth. It was in God’s wisdom that Jesus did not physically write the Scriptures for us, but inspired human authors to convey His teachings. Jesus sent these twelve out. They had previously had their short-term internship where they were sent out by Jesus (Mark 6:7-13, Luke 10:1). These initial experiences of ministering without Jesus were simply training sessions to prepare them for the permanent absence of the physical Jesus. After His death, resurrection and ascension, they would carry on permanently without Him. Fast forward to the time after the death of the apostles. The early church had to carry on without the physical Jesus and without the apostles. What were they to do?

First, they had the apostolic writings, inspired by God. Then they had other writings, by non-apostles, which were affirmed by the apostles (the discussion of this goes beyond the scope of our purposes here). But, they also had the Holy Spirit. And that was all they needed, for they had the Word of God and God’s presence. And the church continues to grow, having been built on the apostles and prophets.

We finish our comments on this verse by noting that nowhere in Scripture do we find the apostles conferring their role to a succession of others. Their function was foundational to the church—the foundation has been laid and is not in need of re-laying over and over again with new apostles. The concept of “apostolic-succession” as taught in some branches of so-called “Christendom” is not biblical. The authority of the apostles was unique and foundational, establishing for all time what the teachings of Christ were.

Lord, thank You for a unique, solid, unchanging foundation in the Word of God.