Wow! There is a wonderful verse that, strictly speaking, does not apply to the original twelve apostles or to the apostle Paul, but it contains a really rich principle related to apostolic labor for the Lord. This verse is Luke 10:1 and was spoken to “the seventy” whom our Lord sent out after he had sent out the twelve:
Quote:
|
“Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them two and two ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.” (Luke 10:1)
|
What a principle for apostolic labor! Being sent out ahead of the Lord to every place where He Himself was going to come. In other words, being sent out to prepare these places for the arrival of the Lord’s presence. Just think, in all the places that the seventy visited, the presence of the Lord was soon to follow! This is not a natural human thought at all – to think of our labor for the Lord as being a factor in actually bringing the presence of Christ to the places where people live and work! There is a very deep principle here, much deeper than our usual natural thought of apostles being sent out to do a work of "church planting". TAS explains all this much better than I can:
Quote:
|
“And it says, "He sent them into every place, where He Himself would go." He has never changed that principle. He does not send us to form churches or set up Christianity. He sends us before His face to bring Himself there. That does not mean that churches have no meaning. But that brings us right to the point. What are churches? They are just people gathered into Christ where He Himself is. The supreme thing is this eternal thought of God, the Presence of the Lord. The Presence of the Lord, that is the purpose of anything that is called the church. And that is the only Purpose.”
|