1Co 12:28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
1Co 12:29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?
1Co 12:30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? (ESV)
Eph 4:11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, (ESV)
And then there is this:
1Co 4:9 For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.
1Co 4:10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute.
1Co 4:11 To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless,
1Co 4:12 and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;
1Co 4:13 when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.
1Co 4:14 I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. (ESV)
Does this sound like any "apostle" existing today? Sounds exactly the opposite, doesn't it?
Also:
2Co 11:1 I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me!
2Co 11:2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
2Co 11:3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
2Co 11:4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.
2Co 11:5 Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles.
2Co 11:6 Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.
2Co 11:7 Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached God's gospel to you free of charge?
2Co 11:8 I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you.
2Co 11:9 And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way.
2Co 11:10 As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.
2Co 11:11 And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!
2Co 11:12 And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do.
2Co 11:13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
2Co 11:15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. (ESV)
Apart from the biblical requirements to hold the office of Apostle being only historical and can in no way apply to anyone today, there is a serious problem with appealing to signs as evidence:
Mat 24:24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. (ESV)
So, we see that Satan and his servants disguise themselves as angels of light and servants of righteousness and are able to "perform great signs and wonders." Therefore, we cannot appeal to signs and wonders as evidence that a person is an apostle. It goes back to the historical requirements.
Besides, which of today's "apostles" has endured the following?
2Co 11:23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.
2Co 11:24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.
2Co 11:25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;
2Co 11:26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;
2Co 11:27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
2Co 11:28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. (ESV)
Not that it matters at this point, but if anyone wants to make the argument that since today's "apostles" are doing the signs the Apostles did, proves that today's "apostles" also hold to the office of Apostle, then, to be consistent, the above things do as well. How many of today's "apostles" are trying to plant churches in areas that have never heard the gospel? How many are trying to minister to believers in countries that are hostile to the gospel? How many are willing to give their lives to reach those who have never heard? My guess is none.
Something else to consider is how many are associated with Word of Faith? Maybe none, but I suspect most, if not all, are. Bill Johnson and Bethel are associated with the New Apostolic Reformation, but he is a false teacher who mixes New Age beliefs with Christianity. If there is such a lack of spiritual discernment (which really just requires knowing the Bible) in the NAR, then that puts that whole organization into serious, serious doubt.
