事奉类 › 工作的再思 › 第二章　使徒们

第二章　使徒们

工作的再思

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　　神在世上直接的工作，是从差祂的儿子来到地上才起头的。这并非说，神在祂的儿子未到地上来以前没有工作。神未差祂的儿子到地上来以前，就已经作工；但是，神在世界里直接的工作，是在差祂的儿子来才起头的。所以，我们神的头一个工人，就是基督。基督，是祂职事的名称。祂所以称为基督，就是因祂所作的工；像祂所以称为耶稣，是因祂的成为人一样。祂的受膏就是为着神的工作。祂不是自己来，乃是受差来的。祂不是自告奋勇的来到地上，祂不是自告奋勇的到十字架上去，祂是被差遣来到地上，祂是被差遣到十字架上去。所以约翰福音多次说，“那差我来者的。”祂不说父，不说神，而说那差我来者的，祂说到自己是一个被差的人。神的工作第一个原则就是差遣。没有差遣就没有神的工作。
　　圣经中对被差的人，有一特别名称，就是“使徒”。希腊文这一个字，意思就是一个“被差遣的人。”中文就说使徒。使徒的意思，是一个出使的人。“徒”字在这里，并非门徒的意思，乃是一班人的意思，如云许行之徒，意思就是许行一类的人。使徒，是指一班出使的人说的。
　　主自己是头一个使徒，因祂是头一个被差的。所以圣经称祂作大使徒（来三1的“使者”，原文与“使徒”同一字）。
　
　　不只我们的主是使徒，作使徒的工作。当祂在地上尚未离世的时候，祂知道自己（在肉体中）的工作不会长久，所以祂一面负起工作的责任，一面也拣选一班人来继续祂负这责任。这一班人，也称作使徒。这一班人，也并非自告奋勇来的，也是奉差遣来的。工作最要紧的原则，就是奉差遣来作工，不是自告奋勇来作工。圣经中对有职分作工的人有一名称，就是被差遣的使徒。
　　主拣选使徒，是从那里拣选的呢？是从门徒中。当初主所差遣的工人，是从门徒中拣选的。是从门徒中拣出使徒来。不是门徒都是使徒，但使徒定规已是门徒。不是门徒都出来作主的工作，乃是主从门徒中，拣选人出来作祂的工作。所以一个作使徒的，定规有两次蒙召，一次是蒙召作门徒，一次是蒙召作使徒。一次是从世人中呼召来作门徒，一次是从门徒中呼召来作使徒。
　　这十二使徒，在圣经中，是有特别的地位的，在神的计划中，是有特别的安排的。因他们是和神的儿子同在的，神的儿子在世上的时候，他们和祂同在。像约翰所说，“就是我们所听见所看见，亲眼看过、亲手摸过的。”（约壹一1）像主所说，“你们的眼睛是有福的，因为看见了；你们的耳朵也是有福的，因为听见了。”（太十三16）所以在圣经中，这些使徒有特别的地位，不是称他们为使徒而已，乃是称他们为“那十二使徒”。所以你们看见，起头主是“叫祂的门徒来；就从他们中间拣选十二个人，称他们为使徒”（路六13）。以后，主对彼得说，“你们在我国里，坐在我的席上吃喝；并且坐在宝座上，审判以色列十二个支派。”（二二30）他们十二个人，有他们特别的地位，是在神所有其他的工人中，所没有的。基督有一特别的宝座，十二使徒，也有十二个宝座，这是普通的使徒所没有的。所以后来犹大（他根本和神没有发生关系过）作了恶，失去了这职分，神就引导其余的使徒选举两个人，从这两个人中，拣选一个人来补充这十二个人的职分。于是他们摇签，就摇出马提亚来。他“就和十一个使徒同列。”（徒一24~26）等一下，到徒二14，就说，“彼得和十一个使徒，站起，高声说。”可见圣灵承认马提亚是列在十二使徒之列。他们这十二使徒之间，是不许空一个，也不许加一个的。他们这十二个人的地位，是特别的。后来我们看见，他们的结局在启示录里，也是有他们特别的地位的。启二一14说，“根基上有羔羊十二使徒的名字。”神有许许多多的工人，但这十二使徒的地位，是神其他所有的工人所没有的。神凭着自己的旨意，自己的计划，自己的主权，给了他们这特殊的地位。我们看见在新天新地的时候，－启示录十二使徒还有他们特殊的地位。
　
　　主作使徒，是独一无二的使徒，祂不能一直在地上。十二使徒，就是有特殊地位的使徒，也不能一直在地上。主去了，有十二使徒在我们中间；十二使徒去了，有谁在我们中间呢？
　　主去了，圣灵来了，是圣灵来负工作的责任。子是为父作工的，圣灵是为子作工的。子是来成功父的旨意的，圣灵来是成功子的旨意的。子来是为荣耀父的，圣灵来是为荣耀子的。父设立基督作使徒；子在地上，设立了十二使徒；圣灵来地上，也设立了使徒。圣灵所设立的使徒，虽不在十二使徒之列，但他们仍旧是使徒。
　　我们读过以弗所四章，我们看见，在那里所设立的使徒并不是十二个使徒。在那里明告诉我们，有一班的使徒是从主耶稣升天之后才起头的。他们乃是主耶稣升天之后所赐下来给教会的恩赐。这就很明显的，不是当初的十二个。那十二个是主耶稣在地上所设立的，他们在这一卷讲基督身体的书信里是没有地位的。这一卷书是讲基督的身体，和这个身体的合一。也讲有一班的执事，特别是使徒，乃是为着造就基督的身体的。身体不能存在；如果头还未存在。头如果还未取得祂的地位，就身体是不能存在的。所以当主耶稣还末作教会的头，还在地上的时候，这里所说建立基督身体的使徒是不能存在的。所以我们必须分别“作耶稣复活见证”的使徒（徒一22，25），和建立基督身体的使徒的不同。十二个乃是耶稣复活见证的使徒。主在升天之后，所立的使徒乃是建立基督身体的使徒。十二个后来无疑的也得有以弗所四章的使命，但是十二个之所以作十二个，与以弗所四章所说的，是完全不同的。神在－以弗所十二个之外，还有其他的使徒。
　　所以自从圣灵降临之后，我们就看见，起头是十二使徒在那里作工；使徒行传一直到十二章止，都是他们在那里作工。到十三章，你就看见，是圣灵起头显现作教会的主，好像是作基督的经理。从十三章起，在安提阿，有几位先知和教师，事奉神，禁食的时候，圣灵就说，“要为我分派巴拿巴和扫罗，去作我召他们所作的工。”（十三1~2）现在有两个人被分派出去了，现在是圣灵差遣人出去了。
　　这两个人称作什么呢？他们就是使徒。保罗和巴拿巴在以哥念作工，结果“有附从犹太人的，有附从使徒的”（十四4）。巴拿巴是使徒，保罗也是使徒（这里的“使徒”，在希腊文是多数的）。下文也明说，“巴拿巴、保罗，二使徒。”（14）这给我们看见，圣灵所派出来的这两个人，就是使徒。虽然不是十二个中间之一，然而仍旧是使徒。
　　使徒是谁呢？使徒就是神的工人。乃是他们受分派去作圣灵“召他们所作的工”。工作的责任乃是在他们手里的。以广义来说，所有的弟兄都是作神工作的。那职事中的四种人更是作神工作的。但是，使徒这一班人是特别的作神工作的。神工作的责任是特别在他们身上的。他们自己是神的工人，他们的责任是神的工作。
　　在这里，我们立刻看见圣经对于使徒的教训。神设立祂的儿子作使徒。基督设立了十二使徒，为祂自己作工。圣灵又在十二使徒之外，设立了一班使徒。起头的一个使徒是独一的，只有祂一个。以后的十二使徒，是特殊的，是不能再加上一个的。但在这十二个使徒之后，不是没有使徒了，因为圣灵现今正在这里拣选人作使徒。主拣选十二使徒的事过去了，圣灵在这里，在十二使徒之外，仍一直的拣选使徒。祂所拣选的是另一等次的。圣灵在这地上有多久，就一直继续拣选使徒也有多久。
　　我们在圣经里看见，不只巴拿巴、保罗是使徒，圣灵所兴起像他们这一类的使徒，还有许多。像他们这一种新的等次的使徒，还不知有多少。在保罗、巴拿巴之外，还有许多这样的使徒。林前四9：“我想神把我们使徒明明列在末后。”这“我们使徒”是指谁说的呢？既说我们，当然在保罗之外，还有别人。这别人是谁呢？我们读上文，就知道有亚波罗也在内，他是同工（三6，四6）。若读一章一节，就所提尼也在这“我们”之内，因为写给哥林多的书信，是保罗和所提尼一同写的。所以，这里的我们，若非指亚波罗，就是指所提尼。也许是都指。在这里我们看见，不只保罗是使徒，连亚波罗也是使徒，所提尼也是使徒。
　　林后八23：“论到提多，他是我的同伴，一同为你们劳碌的，论到那两位兄弟，他们是众教会的使者。”（使者，希腊文和“使徒”同字）这两位弟兄，是保罗差他们送捐款到犹太给那些缺乏弟兄的。他们的名字虽然没有记在这里，但他们是出名的使徒，因圣经说他们是众教会的使徒。
　　还有罗十六7：“又问我亲属与我一同坐监的安多尼古和犹尼亚安；他们在使徒中是有名望的。”“他们在使徒中是有名望的”这句的意思，是“在使徒中，他们是有名望的使徒”。这里又有二个使徒了，不只是使徒，并且是有名望的使徒。从这里看起来，圣灵所设立的使徒，不只有保罗、巴拿巴，并且还有许多人。
　　帖前二6：“我们作基督的使徒。”保罗在这里，又说到他们这一班作使徒的人，这很明显的，包括和他一同署名写信的西拉、和提摩太（一1）。这告诉我们说，这二位和保罗同工的少年人都是使徒。
　　林前十五5：“并且显给矶法看；然后显给十二使徒看。”又七节：“以后显给雅各看；再显给众使徒看。”你看，在十二使徒之外，还有“众使徒”，这众使徒定规不是十二使徒。圣灵在十二使徒之外，还设立了“众使徒”这一班人起来，继续作使徒的工作。
　　许多人有一个错误的思想，以为保罗是最末了的一个使徒，所以在保罗以后就再没有使徒了。但是，圣经并没有这样说，保罗自己也没有这样承认。我们读神的话：“末了也显给我看；我如同未到产期而生的人一般。我原是使徒中最小的，不配称为使徒。”（林前十五8~9）我们要注意保罗在这里，如何用“末了”和“最小”两个辞。他并非说他是“末了”的使徒，乃是说，主在复活的身体中显现给人看，是“末了”显给他看的。他说自己是使徒中“最小”的，他没有说自己是使徒中最“末了”的。如果保罗是使徒中最“末了”的，就在保罗之后，不再有使徒了。但保罗不过是说，看见主复活后的显现，他是最末了的一个，他并没有说，他是使徒中最末了的一个。
　　从以上这些圣经节，我们看见圣灵在地上继续主的工作，同时祂拣选使徒在地上作主的工。许多人是以为十二使徒之后，就没有使徒了。但是神在十二使徒之后，仍然拣选使徒，打发他们出去作工。这一班人，像十二使徒一样是使徒，不过他们没有十二使徒那一种特殊的地位而已。
　
　　神今天在教会中所差遣的人，这些人到底是什么呢？使徒到底是什么意思呢？使徒这一个辞，希腊文就是“被差遣的人”，根本就不必加上什么解释。使徒，就是被差遣的人，此外再没有意思了。
　　这一班人是怎样的人呢？这一班人并非什么特殊恩赐的人，不过是神所差遣的人而已。凡神所差遣的人都是使徒，这一个辞，是指普通被差遣的人，并非什么特殊恩赐的人。今天有人以为，人必须这样，必须那样，才能作使徒。但是，能不能是恩赐的问题，是不是使徒，是差派的问题，不是恩赐的问题。教会里有一种思想，以为使徒是一种什么了不得的人。岂知凡有差派的人，都是神的使徒。许多人的恩赐不如保罗，但是他们若受有差派，就他们的职分是和保罗一样。不错，保罗的恩赐大，他们的恩赐小，但他们的职分是和保罗一样的。使徒不是管恩赐大不大，使徒是只管有没有差派。是神打发的，就是使徒，恩赐大小不成问题。使徒不是代表一种特别大恩赐的人，使徒乃是代表一种特别奉神差遣出使的人，乃是代表一种特别奉神差遣出去作工的人。
　　我们看圣经。路十一49说，“我要差遣先知和使徒，到他们那里去；有的他们要杀害，有的他们要逼迫。”－路加一切被差遣到以色列人那里去的，都是称作使徒。这些使徒和先知是谁呢？他们是否新约的使徒？不是。有一点是要注意的。这里是说，神是先差先知和使徒到以色列那里去，他们不接纳，然后才差祂的儿子。这些先知和使徒，都是在主耶稣之前，到以色列中间的。所以这些的使徒乃是旧约的。但从创世记到玛拉基书，你能否找出一位使徒呢？一位都找不出。那么，主耶稣为什么这样说呢？没有别的，因为使徒是一个普通的名字，并非指什么特别恩赐的人。使徒乃是神所差遣的人，是一个普通的名字。一切在旧约时被差去以色列人中的都是使徒。
　　主在新约说祂所差遣的人是如何？祂说，“仆人不能大于主人，差人也不能大于差他的人。”（约十三16）“差人”，在希腊文和“使徒”同字。在此，主论到使徒并没有什么别的意思，他们不过是一班受差的人而已，这班人并非高贵到一个什么特殊的地步的。
　　使徒的工作是如何呢？“假如有人来，另传一个耶稣，不是我们所传过的：或者你们另受一个灵，不是你们所受过的；或者另得一个福音，不是你们所得过的：…但我想，我一点不在那些最大的使徒以下。”（林后十一4~5）这给我们看见，一个使徒的工作是如何。使徒就是奉差遣去传福音，传主耶稣，叫人得救，叫人得圣灵。从前这一班人是使徒，今天这一班人也照旧是使徒。从前那一班被圣灵差遣的人是使徒，今天这一班被圣灵差遣的人也照样是使徒。
　　彼后三2：“叫你们记念圣先知预先所说的话，和主救主的命令，就是使徒所传给你们的。”这可见使徒的工作是一种传话的工作。使徒将主的话，传给祂的众儿女。当初把神的话传给神儿女们的是使徒，今天把神的话传给神儿女们的也照样是使徒。
　　今日为主所差遣出外传福音者，虽不自称为使徒，但是，却都是称为missionary，这一个字乃是拉丁文，意思就是“被差遣的人”，与希腊文的apostolos，乃是完全相等，同样意义的。我不知道为什么今日的布道者不迳称为使徒，而自称为missionary，但是，这个字已经表明，今日的布道者已经自承他们就是神所差遣的人，一如神当日所差遣的人一样。
　　人是不是使徒也不是看他在世上有没有职业。不是有职业的人就不能作使徒，没有世上职业的人才能作。保罗就是一个有职业的人。虽然也许其他的使徒乃是没有职业的人。不过保罗的职业乃是活动的，可以随身走动的。人是不是使徒乃是看他有没有蒙召受差遣。这是一切的问题。有了这个就是使徒，没有这个就不是。使徒并不是以有无职业来断定的。今天这一种以为应当没有属世的职业才是使徒，乃是人的意见，不是神的思想。但我相信，使徒是不可以有一个不能移动的职业的。
　
　　使徒这一班人，有什么凭据呢？什么种的人，才能作使徒呢？林前九1~2：“我不是自由的么？我不是使徒么？我不是见过我们的主耶稣么？你们不是我在主里面所作之工么？假若在别人我不是使徒，在你们我总是使徒；因为你们在主里正是我作使徒的印证。”这样看来，使徒是有凭据的。主有没有差一个人去作工是没有凭据的呢？保罗写信给在哥林多的信徒，曾辩驳这问题。在哥林多的信徒，有人说保罗不是使徒。保罗就告诉他们说，他是使徒，他有作使徒的凭据。他说，“你们在主里正是我作使徒的印证。”如果没有他，就哥林多的信徒不会得救，就没有教会在哥林多了。神若没有派保罗来哥林多作工，就在哥林多也没有他们的存在了。神有没有派人出去作使徒，乃是问他到一个地方，有没有果子。什么地方有神的命令，什么地方就有神的权柄。什么地方有神的权柄，什么地方就有神的能力。什么地方有神的能力，什么地方就有属灵的果子。权柄是从神的命令来的，能力是从神的权柄来的，果子是从神的能力来的。我们工作的果子，要证明我们作工的地位。
　　不过有人说，保罗说，“我不是见过我们的主耶稣么？”这样，岂不是见过主耶稣复活显现的人，才有资格作使徒么？但是，我们要知道林前九1，保罗说了四件事：（一）我不是自由的么；（二）我不是使徒么；（三）我不是见过我们的主耶稣么；（四）你们不是我在主里面所作之工么。在2节，保罗就将其中的两个事实联在一起，而把其余的两个事实略去。他将他自己是使徒，和哥林多人是他工作的果子这两个事实联在一起，而将我不是自由的么，和我不是见过主么两个事实略去。所以我们就知道，保罗是以工作的果子，作他作使徒的印证，他并没有把见主复活的显现或者他是自由的，作他作使徒的凭据。如果不是这样，就自由的人，岂都是使徒呢？保罗没有作过奴隶。保罗不过在这里说出他的三个资格来，并非说，有这三个资格，才是作使徒的凭据。
　　另一面在林前十五章怎么说呢？“并且显给矶法看；然后显给十二使徒看；后来一时显给五百多弟兄看，…以后显给雅各看；再显给众使徒看；末了也显给我看；…我原是使徒中最小的。”（5~9）这岂不是把使徒和见主复活摆在一起么？不。为什么呢？在这里，你很明显的看见使徒保罗，从来没有把见主复活当作使徒的条件。这里的题目，是见证主的复活。这里所见证的，不是保罗作使徒的凭据，乃是主耶稣的复活。并且主不只显给矶法看，不只显给十二使徒看，不只显给雅各看，主也曾显给五百多弟兄看。使徒看见了主复活的显现是使徒，没有看见主复活的显现，也仍然是使徒。那五百多弟兄，本来不是使徒，他们看见了主，也仍然不是使徒。所以说，见了主的复活才是使徒的凭据，不过是人的一种说法，圣经里并没有这样说。这个误会，我们必须除去。
　　但是使徒是有凭据的。林后十二11~12：“…我虽算不了什么，却没有一件事在那些最大的使徒以下。我在你们中间，用百般的忍耐，借着神迹奇事异能，显出使徒的凭据来。”保罗作使徒，是有他的凭据的。一件事是定规的，神如果呼召一个人作使徒，他就定规有作使徒的标记，叫人一见就知道他是一个使徒。保罗在这里，说他作使徒的标记，就是有两种的能力，一种是属灵的能力，一种是神奇的能力。最大的属灵能力，就是忍耐。属灵的能力，最大的表现就是能欢欢喜喜地忍耐宽容（西一11）。最需要能力的是忍耐，这是最大属灵的能力。你能不能忍耐，要证明你属灵的能力是大是小。林前十三章说到爱的现象时，头一句是恒久忍耐，末了一句是凡事忍耐。使徒的标记是忍耐，这是一种百折不回的精神。容易放手，没有忍耐的能力，都是因为他没有见过神，没有看见属灵的实际，这样的人那里受过神的呼召呢？他们也许是使徒，但是他们没有使徒的标记，不像使徒。同时作使徒的，不只有属灵的能力，作他的标记，还有神奇的能力，作他的标记。不只有属灵的能力在他背后，也有神奇的能力在他背后。神要听他的祷告，神要行奇事异能来证明他是神所差派的。使徒在外邦各地的工作中，这是何等的需要呢！
　　但在这里要注意一句话。这里不是说，凡能行神迹奇事的都是使徒。要记得林前十二28，在使徒之外，还有人能行异能，还有人能医病。所以有的行异能的是使徒，也有的行异能的不是使徒，不过是一个行异能的。林前十二章给我们看见，行异能的和作使徒的不同。不过有的使徒是行异能的，也有行异能的并非是使徒。
　
　　使徒也有假冒的，不只今天有，当初也有。林后十一13：“那等人是假使徒，行事诡诈，装作基督使徒的模样。”圣经明说有假使徒。并不是说，他们是假门徒，他们也许是真门徒，是真重生得救的人。不过他们也许把敬虔当为得利的门路，想在宗教方面来发财，他们盼望在哥林多人身上有所得。所以保罗叫在哥林多的信徒有所防备。有时有真的使徒，在他们作工结果子之后，有人就想从这些果子身上得一些利益。这一种的人，就是假使徒。所以圣经说，这种的使徒，就得被试验。在以弗所的教会，曾试验那自称为使徒却不是使徒的，看出他们是假的来（启二2）。他们这样作，是明明被主所称许的。
　　试验谁是假使徒，最大的试验是金钱。凡在金钱上不清楚，有贪图的，定规是假使徒。假使徒，若不谋名，定规谋利。凡在金钱上有所谋的，定规是假使徒。保罗为救济在耶路撒冷的圣徒，他特别派两位弟兄去送，他在这些事上，是特别的光明。凡在金钱上有所贪图的，定规是假使徒。什么时候钱若摸着我们，我们的工作不是完全只因着主，只为着爱主，却受钱的影响，就我们也有从真使徒变作假使徒的可能！我们要学在以弗所的信徒，知道如何试验那自称是使徒，却不是使徒的。
　　感谢神，圣灵还在这里。感谢神，不是我没有特别的恩赐，就不能作使徒。感谢神，不是肉眼看见了主才能作使徒。感谢神，不管我是先知也好，是教师也好，是传福音者也好，只要我有主的呼召，就能作祂的使徒。今天一切蒙主呼召的人，不管他恩赐如何，也不管他有没有见过主，只问他有没有主的呼召。如果他有主的呼召，他就是继续保罗、巴拿巴等次之后作使徒的。虽然我们不是十二使徒中的一个，但我们是使徒。虽然我们不是大使徒，但我们是众使徒中最小的一个。这一个数目还没有满，这一个是凡受主托付的都有分的，这一个是凡受主差遣的都有分的。
　
　　姊妹，有没有分于使徒呢？有。罗十六7说，有两个使徒，是在使徒中有名望的：－罗马一个叫作安多尼古，－罗马一个叫作犹尼亚。有一本希腊文有权威的书说，犹尼亚是一个女人的名字。在这里，有犹尼亚这一个女人，她是在使徒中有名望的。所以，我们看见在使徒中有姊妹。在－罗马十二使徒中没有姊妹，但在这许多的使徒中有姊妹。我们虽然没有别的证据，但犹尼亚这个名字，是一个证据。中文也许有男人的名字好像女人的，但在希腊文就不容易有错。
　
　　还有一件事，就是我们虽然是使徒，但这不是说，大小都是一样的。有的人是最大的使徒，有的人是最小的使徒。圣经是把使徒分作大小。有的使徒，神所托付他的责任很多，他使徒的职分就很大。有的使徒，神所托付他的责任很重，他使徒的职分也就很大。大的使徒，不只所受的托付比别人多，他也是比别人格外劳苦（林前十五10）。林后十一5说，“我一点不在那些最大的使徒以下。”林后十二11，也有同样的说法：“我虽算不了什么，却没有一件事在那些最大的使徒以下。”从这些话看就知道，圣经里不是说，凡是使徒都是一样的。
　　在这里，我们感谢神，我们今天蒙召虽不是作大的使徒，我们是比最小的使徒还小的使徒，但我们实在是主所差遣的人。我们和圣经里的使徒去比，是顶小的，和今天神所差派的许多使徒去比，也是赶不及的。但是蒙神的恩典，我们知道差遣我们的是谁。对于同工们，我说，我们要常抱一种态度，就是我们是不如别人的。我们今天不能像保罗那样说，我不在最大的使徒之下；我们该像保罗一样说，我是使徒中最小的。在工作上，保罗虽然是特别劳苦，特别被神重用，实在是一个大使徒，但他常抱一种态度是：我不配作使徒，我是使徒中最小的使徒。他都如此，何况我们今天真的是小号的使徒呢！我们若无这种态度，在工作上，就不免有竞争、有摩擦。我们要显出自己是大使徒，必须是在忍耐上、劳苦上、存心上，而不该是在话语上、妒忌上、骄傲上。这样，我们才能尽忠于我们的职分，大家同心合意的传扬主的福音，建立祂的教会。
　
　　神在世上直接的工作，是从差祂的儿子来到地上才起头的。这并非说，神在祂的儿子未到地上来以前没有工作。神未差祂的儿子到地上来以前，就已经作工；但是，神在世界里直接的工作，是在差祂的儿子来才起头的。所以，我们神的头一个工人，就是基督。基督，是祂职事的名称。祂所以称为基督，就是因祂所作的工；像祂所以称为耶稣，是因祂的成为人一样。祂的受膏就是为着神的工作。祂不是自己来，乃是受差来的。祂不是自告奋勇的来到地上，祂不是自告奋勇的到十字架上去，祂是被差遣来到地上，祂是被差遣到十字架上去。所以约翰福音多次说，“那差我来者的。”祂不说父，不说神，而说那差我来者的，祂说到自己是一个被差的人。神的工作第一个原则就是差遣。没有差遣就没有神的工作。　　圣经中对被差的人，有一特别名称，就是“使徒”。希腊文这一个字，意思就是一个“被差遣的人。”中文就说使徒。使徒的意思，是一个出使的人。“徒”字在这里，并非门徒的意思，乃是一班人的意思，如云许行之徒，意思就是许行一类的人。使徒，是指一班出使的人说的。　　主自己是头一个使徒，因祂是头一个被差的。所以圣经称祂作大使徒（来三1的“使者”，原文与“使徒”同一字）。
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来3:1  
所以，有分于属天呼召的圣别弟兄们，你们应当留意思想我们所承认为使徒、为大祭司的耶稣；
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　　不只我们的主是使徒，作使徒的工作。当祂在地上尚未离世的时候，祂知道自己（在肉体中）的工作不会长久，所以祂一面负起工作的责任，一面也拣选一班人来继续祂负这责任。这一班人，也称作使徒。这一班人，也并非自告奋勇来的，也是奉差遣来的。工作最要紧的原则，就是奉差遣来作工，不是自告奋勇来作工。圣经中对有职分作工的人有一名称，就是被差遣的使徒。　　主拣选使徒，是从那里拣选的呢？是从门徒中。当初主所差遣的工人，是从门徒中拣选的。是从门徒中拣出使徒来。不是门徒都是使徒，但使徒定规已是门徒。不是门徒都出来作主的工作，乃是主从门徒中，拣选人出来作祂的工作。所以一个作使徒的，定规有两次蒙召，一次是蒙召作门徒，一次是蒙召作使徒。一次是从世人中呼召来作门徒，一次是从门徒中呼召来作使徒。　　这十二使徒，在圣经中，是有特别的地位的，在神的计划中，是有特别的安排的。因他们是和神的儿子同在的，神的儿子在世上的时候，他们和祂同在。像约翰所说，“就是我们所听见所看见，亲眼看过、亲手摸过的。”（约壹一1）像主所说，“你们的眼睛是有福的，因为看见了；你们的耳朵也是有福的，因为听见了。”（太十三16）所以在圣经中，这些使徒有特别的地位，不是称他们为使徒而已，乃是称他们为“那十二使徒”。所以你们看见，起头主是“叫祂的门徒来；就从他们中间拣选十二个人，称他们为使徒”（路六13）。以后，主对彼得说，“你们在我国里，坐在我的席上吃喝；并且坐在宝座上，审判以色列十二个支派。”（二二30）他们十二个人，有他们特别的地位，是在神所有其他的工人中，所没有的。基督有一特别的宝座，十二使徒，也有十二个宝座，这是普通的使徒所没有的。所以后来犹大（他根本和神没有发生关系过）作了恶，失去了这职分，神就引导其余的使徒选举两个人，从这两个人中，拣选一个人来补充这十二个人的职分。于是他们摇签，就摇出马提亚来。他“就和十一个使徒同列。”（徒一24~26）等一下，到行传二章十四节，就说，“彼得和十一个使徒，站起，高声说。”可见圣灵承认马提亚是列在十二使徒之列。他们这十二使徒之间，是不许空一个，也不许加一个的。他们这十二个人的地位，是特别的。后来我们看见，他们的结局在启示录里，也是有他们特别的地位的。启示录二十一章十四节说，“根基上有羔羊十二使徒的名字。”神有许许多多的工人，但这十二使徒的地位，是神其他所有的工人所没有的。神凭着自己的旨意，自己的计划，自己的主权，给了他们这特殊的地位。我们看见在新天新地的时候，十二使徒还有他们特殊的地位。
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约壹1:1  
论到那从起初原有的生命之话，就是我们所听见过的，我们亲眼所看见过的，我们所注视过，我们的手也摸过的；
太13:16  
但你们的眼睛是有福的，因为看见了；你们的耳朵也是有福的，因为听见了。
路6:13  
到了天亮，祂就叫门徒来，从他们中间挑选十二个人，称他们为使徒，
路22:30  
叫你们在我国里，坐在我的席上吃喝，并且坐在宝座上，审判以色列十二个支派。
路加福音十二章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
路加福音十一章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
徒1:24  
就祷告说，主啊，你知道万人的心，求你从这两个人中，指明你所拣选的是哪一个，
徒1:25  
叫他得这职事与使徒职分的地位。这一分犹大已经离弃，往自己的地方去了。
徒1:26  
于是众人为他们摇签，摇出马提亚来，他就和十一位使徒同列。
徒2:14  
彼得同十一位使徒站起来，高声对众人说，诸位，犹太人和一切住在耶路撒冷的人哪，这件事你们当知道，也当侧耳听我的话。
使徒行传十一章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
使徒行传十二章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
启21:14  
城墙有十二根基，根基上有羔羊十二使徒的十二个名字。
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　　主作使徒，是独一无二的使徒，祂不能一直在地上。十二使徒，就是有特殊地位的使徒，也不能一直在地上。主去了，有十二使徒在我们中间；十二使徒去了，有谁在我们中间呢？　　主去了，圣灵来了，是圣灵来负工作的责任。子是为父作工的，圣灵是为子作工的。子是来成功父的旨意的，圣灵来是成功子的旨意的。子来是为荣耀父的，圣灵来是为荣耀子的。父设立基督作使徒；子在地上，设立了十二使徒；圣灵来地上，也设立了使徒。圣灵所设立的使徒，虽不在十二使徒之列，但他们仍旧是使徒。　　我们读过以弗所四章，我们看见，在那里所设立的使徒并不是十二个使徒。在那里明告诉我们，有一班的使徒是从主耶稣升天之后才起头的。他们乃是主耶稣升天之后所赐下来给教会的恩赐。这就很明显的，不是当初的十二个。那十二个是主耶稣在地上所设立的，他们在这一卷讲基督身体的书信里是没有地位的。这一卷书是讲基督的身体，和这个身体的合一。也讲有一班的执事，特别是使徒，乃是为着造就基督的身体的。身体不能存在；如果头还未存在。头如果还未取得祂的地位，就身体是不能存在的。所以当主耶稣还末作教会的头，还在地上的时候，这里所说建立基督身体的使徒是不能存在的。所以我们必须分别“作耶稣复活见证”的使徒（徒一22，25），和建立基督身体的使徒的不同。十二个乃是耶稣复活见证的使徒。主在升天之后，所立的使徒乃是建立基督身体的使徒。十二个后来无疑的也得有以弗所四章的使命，但是十二个之所以作十二个，与以弗所四章所说的，是完全不同的。神在十二个之外，还有其他的使徒。
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以弗所书四章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
徒1:22  
从约翰施浸起，直到主离开我们被接上升的日子，始终与我们作伴的那些人中，现在必须有一位与我们同作耶稣复活的见证人。
徒1:25  
叫他得这职事与使徒职分的地位。这一分犹大已经离弃，往自己的地方去了。
使徒行传十二章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
使徒行传十二章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
以弗所书四章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
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　　所以自从圣灵降临之后，我们就看见，起头是十二使徒在那里作工；使徒行传一直到十二章止，都是他们在那里作工。到十三章，你就看见，是圣灵起头显现作教会的主，好像是作基督的经理。从十三章起，在安提阿，有几位先知和教师，事奉神，禁食的时候，圣灵就说，“要为我分派巴拿巴和扫罗，去作我召他们所作的工。”（十三1~2）现在有两个人被分派出去了，现在是圣灵差遣人出去了。
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使徒行传十三章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
徒13:1  
在安提阿当地的召会中，有几位申言者和教师，就是巴拿巴和称呼尼结的西面，古利奈人路求，与分封王希律同养的马念，并扫罗。
徒13:2  
他们事奉主，禁食的时候，圣灵说，要为我分别巴拿巴和扫罗，去作我召他们所作的工。
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　　这两个人称作什么呢？他们就是使徒。保罗和巴拿巴在以哥念作工，结果“有附从犹太人的，有附从使徒的”（十四4）。巴拿巴是使徒，保罗也是使徒（这里的“使徒”，在希腊文是多数的）。下文也明说，“巴拿巴、保罗，二使徒。”（14）这给我们看见，圣灵所派出来的这两个人，就是使徒。虽然不是十二个中间之一，然而仍旧是使徒。　　使徒是谁呢？使徒就是神的工人。乃是他们受分派去作圣灵“召他们所作的工”。工作的责任乃是在他们手里的。以广义来说，所有的弟兄都是作神工作的。那职事中的四种人更是作神工作的。但是，使徒这一班人是特别的作神工作的。神工作的责任是特别在他们身上的。他们自己是神的工人，他们的责任是神的工作。　　在这里，我们立刻看见圣经对于使徒的教训。神设立祂的儿子作使徒。基督设立了十二使徒，为祂自己作工。圣灵又在十二使徒之外，设立了一班使徒。起头的一个使徒是独一的，只有祂一个。以后的十二使徒，是特殊的，是不能再加上一个的。但在这十二个使徒之后，不是没有使徒了，因为圣灵现今正在这里拣选人作使徒。主拣选十二使徒的事过去了，圣灵在这里，在十二使徒之外，仍一直的拣选使徒。祂所拣选的是另一等次的。圣灵在这地上有多久，就一直继续拣选使徒也有多久。　　我们在圣经里看见，不只巴拿巴、保罗是使徒，圣灵所兴起像他们这一类的使徒，还有许多。像他们这一种新的等次的使徒，还不知有多少。在保罗、巴拿巴之外，还有许多这样的使徒。林前四章九节：“我想神把我们使徒明明列在末后。”这“我们使徒”是指谁说的呢？既说我们，当然在保罗之外，还有别人。这别人是谁呢？我们读上文，就知道有亚波罗也在内，他是同工（三6，四6）。若读一章一节，就所提尼也在这“我们”之内，因为写给哥林多的书信，是保罗和所提尼一同写的。所以，这里的我们，若非指亚波罗，就是指所提尼。也许是都指。在这里我们看见，不只保罗是使徒，连亚波罗也是使徒，所提尼也是使徒。
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林前4:9  
我想神把我们使徒显列在末后，好像定了死罪的人，因为我们对世界，就是对天使和世人，成了一台戏。
林前3:6  
我栽种了，亚波罗浇灌了，惟有神叫他生长。
林前4:6  
弟兄们，我为你们的缘故，将这些事转比到自己和亚波罗身上，叫你们从我们学习不越过所写的，免得你们自高自大，高看这个，鄙视那个。
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　　林后八章二十三节：“论到提多，他是我的同伴，一同为你们劳碌的，论到那两位兄弟，他们是众教会的使者。”（使者，希腊文和“使徒”同字）这两位弟兄，是保罗差他们送捐款到犹太给那些缺乏弟兄的。他们的名字虽然没有记在这里，但他们是出名的使徒，因圣经说他们是众教会的使徒。
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林后8:23  
论到提多，他是我的同伙和为着你们的同工；至于我们的弟兄们，他们是众召会的使徒，是基督的荣耀。
哥林多后书一章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
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　　还有罗马十六章七节：“又问我亲属与我一同坐监的安多尼古和犹尼亚安；他们在使徒中是有名望的。”“他们在使徒中是有名望的”这句的意思，是“在使徒中，他们是有名望的使徒”。这里又有二个使徒了，不只是使徒，并且是有名望的使徒。从这里看起来，圣灵所设立的使徒，不只有保罗、巴拿巴，并且还有许多人。
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罗16:7  
问我亲属与我一同坐监的安多尼古和犹尼亚安，他们是使徒中著名的，且比我先在基督里。
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　　帖前二章六节：“我们作基督的使徒。”保罗在这里，又说到他们这一班作使徒的人，这很明显的，包括和他一同署名写信的西拉、和提摩太（一1）。这告诉我们说，这二位和保罗同工的少年人都是使徒。
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帖前2:6  
我们作基督的使徒，虽然有权利叫人尊重，却没有向你们，或向别人，寻求从人来的荣耀；
帖前1:1  
保罗、西拉和提摩太，写信给在父神和主耶稣基督里，帖撒罗尼迦人的召会：愿恩典与平安归与你们。
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　　林前十五章五节：“并且显给矶法看；然后显给十二使徒看。”又七节：“以后显给雅各看；再显给众使徒看。”你看，在十二使徒之外，还有“众使徒”，这众使徒定规不是十二使徒。圣灵在十二使徒之外，还设立了“众使徒”这一班人起来，继续作使徒的工作。
--------本段经节汇集--------
林前15:5  
并且向矶法显现，然后向十二使徒显现，
哥林多前书十二章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
哥林多前书十二章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
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　　许多人有一个错误的思想，以为保罗是最末了的一个使徒，所以在保罗以后就再没有使徒了。但是，圣经并没有这样说，保罗自己也没有这样承认。我们读神的话：“末了也显给我看；我如同未到产期而生的人一般。我原是使徒中最小的，不配称为使徒。”（林前十五8~9）我们要注意保罗在这里，如何用“末了”和“最小”两个辞。他并非说他是“末了”的使徒，乃是说，主在复活的身体中显现给人看，是“末了”显给他看的。他说自己是使徒中“最小”的，他没有说自己是使徒中最“末了”的。如果保罗是使徒中最“末了”的，就在保罗之后，不再有使徒了。但保罗不过是说，看见主复活后的显现，他是最末了的一个，他并没有说，他是使徒中最末了的一个。
--------本段经节汇集--------
林前15:8  
末了也向我这如同未到产期而生的人显现。
林前15:9  
我原是使徒中最小的，不适于称为使徒，因为我逼迫过神的召会。
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　　从以上这些圣经节，我们看见圣灵在地上继续主的工作，同时祂拣选使徒在地上作主的工。许多人是以为十二使徒之后，就没有使徒了。但是神在十二使徒之后，仍然拣选使徒，打发他们出去作工。这一班人，像十二使徒一样是使徒，不过他们没有十二使徒那一种特殊的地位而已。
　
　　神今天在教会中所差遣的人，这些人到底是什么呢？使徒到底是什么意思呢？使徒这一个辞，希腊文就是“被差遣的人”，根本就不必加上什么解释。使徒，就是被差遣的人，此外再没有意思了。　　这一班人是怎样的人呢？这一班人并非什么特殊恩赐的人，不过是神所差遣的人而已。凡神所差遣的人都是使徒，这一个辞，是指普通被差遣的人，并非什么特殊恩赐的人。今天有人以为，人必须这样，必须那样，才能作使徒。但是，能不能是恩赐的问题，是不是使徒，是差派的问题，不是恩赐的问题。教会里有一种思想，以为使徒是一种什么了不得的人。岂知凡有差派的人，都是神的使徒。许多人的恩赐不如保罗，但是他们若受有差派，就他们的职分是和保罗一样。不错，保罗的恩赐大，他们的恩赐小，但他们的职分是和保罗一样的。使徒不是管恩赐大不大，使徒是只管有没有差派。是神打发的，就是使徒，恩赐大小不成问题。使徒不是代表一种特别大恩赐的人，使徒乃是代表一种特别奉神差遣出使的人，乃是代表一种特别奉神差遣出去作工的人。　　我们看圣经。路加十一章四十九节说，“我要差遣先知和使徒，到他们那里去；有的他们要杀害，有的他们要逼迫。”一切被差遣到以色列人那里去的，都是称作使徒。这些使徒和先知是谁呢？他们是否新约的使徒？不是。有一点是要注意的。这里是说，神是先差先知和使徒到以色列那里去，他们不接纳，然后才差祂的儿子。这些先知和使徒，都是在主耶稣之前，到以色列中间的。所以这些的使徒乃是旧约的。但从创世记到玛拉基书，你能否找出一位使徒呢？一位都找不出。那么，主耶稣为什么这样说呢？没有别的，因为使徒是一个普通的名字，并非指什么特别恩赐的人。使徒乃是神所差遣的人，是一个普通的名字。一切在旧约时被差去以色列人中的都是使徒。
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路11:49  
所以神的智慧曾说，我要差遣申言者和使徒到他们那里去，有的他们要杀害，有的他们要逼迫，
出埃及记一章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
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　　主在新约说祂所差遣的人是如何？祂说，“仆人不能大于主人，差人也不能大于差他的人。”（约十三16）“差人”，在希腊文和“使徒”同字。在此，主论到使徒并没有什么别的意思，他们不过是一班受差的人而已，这班人并非高贵到一个什么特殊的地步的。
--------本段经节汇集--------
约13:16  
我实实在在地告诉你们，奴仆并不大过主人，受差遣的也不大过差遣他的。
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　　使徒的工作是如何呢？“假如有人来，另传一个耶稣，不是我们所传过的：或者你们另受一个灵，不是你们所受过的；或者另得一个福音，不是你们所得过的：…但我想，我一点不在那些最大的使徒以下。”（林后十一4~5）这给我们看见，一个使徒的工作是如何。使徒就是奉差遣去传福音，传主耶稣，叫人得救，叫人得圣灵。从前这一班人是使徒，今天这一班人也照旧是使徒。从前那一班被圣灵差遣的人是使徒，今天这一班被圣灵差遣的人也照样是使徒。
--------本段经节汇集--------
林后11:4  
假若有人来，传另一位耶稣，不是我们所传过的，或者你们接受了一个不同的灵，不是你们所接受过的，或者接受了一个不同的福音，不是你们所接受过的，你们还好好地容忍他！
林后11:5  
但我认为，自己一点没有赶不上那些超级的使徒。
哥林多后书一章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
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　　彼后三章二节：“叫你们记念圣先知预先所说的话，和主救主的命令，就是使徒所传给你们的。”这可见使徒的工作是一种传话的工作。使徒将主的话，传给祂的众儿女。当初把神的话传给神儿女们的是使徒，今天把神的话传给神儿女们的也照样是使徒。
--------本段经节汇集--------
彼后3:2  
叫你们记念那借着圣申言者预先所说的话，和你们的使徒所传主和救主的命令。
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　　今日为主所差遣出外传福音者，虽不自称为使徒，但是，却都是称为missionary，这一个字乃是拉丁文，意思就是“被差遣的人”，与希腊文的apostolos，乃是完全相等，同样意义的。我不知道为什么今日的布道者不迳称为使徒，而自称为missionary，但是，这个字已经表明，今日的布道者已经自承他们就是神所差遣的人，一如神当日所差遣的人一样。　　人是不是使徒也不是看他在世上有没有职业。不是有职业的人就不能作使徒，没有世上职业的人才能作。保罗就是一个有职业的人。虽然也许其他的使徒乃是没有职业的人。不过保罗的职业乃是活动的，可以随身走动的。人是不是使徒乃是看他有没有蒙召受差遣。这是一切的问题。有了这个就是使徒，没有这个就不是。使徒并不是以有无职业来断定的。今天这一种以为应当没有属世的职业才是使徒，乃是人的意见，不是神的思想。但我相信，使徒是不可以有一个不能移动的职业的。
　
　　使徒这一班人，有什么凭据呢？什么种的人，才能作使徒呢？林前九章一至二节：“我不是自由的么？我不是使徒么？我不是见过我们的主耶稣么？你们不是我在主里面所作之工么？假若在别人我不是使徒，在你们我总是使徒；因为你们在主里正是我作使徒的印证。”这样看来，使徒是有凭据的。主有没有差一个人去作工是没有凭据的呢？保罗写信给在哥林多的信徒，曾辩驳这问题。在哥林多的信徒，有人说保罗不是使徒。保罗就告诉他们说，他是使徒，他有作使徒的凭据。他说，“你们在主里正是我作使徒的印证。”如果没有他，就哥林多的信徒不会得救，就没有教会在哥林多了。神若没有派保罗来哥林多作工，就在哥林多也没有他们的存在了。神有没有派人出去作使徒，乃是问他到一个地方，有没有果子。什么地方有神的命令，什么地方就有神的权柄。什么地方有神的权柄，什么地方就有神的能力。什么地方有神的能力，什么地方就有属灵的果子。权柄是从神的命令来的，能力是从神的权柄来的，果子是从神的能力来的。我们工作的果子，要证明我们作工的地位。
--------本段经节汇集--------
林前9:1  
我不是自由的么？我不是使徒么？我不是见过我们的主耶稣么？你们不是我在主里所作之工么？
林前9:2  
若是对别人我不是使徒，对你们我总是使徒，因为你们在主里正是我使徒职分的印记。
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　　不过有人说，保罗说，“我不是见过我们的主耶稣么？”这样，岂不是见过主耶稣复活显现的人，才有资格作使徒么？但是，我们要知道林前九章一节，保罗说了四件事：（一）我不是自由的么；（二）我不是使徒么；（三）我不是见过我们的主耶稣么；（四）你们不是我在主里面所作之工么。在二节，保罗就将其中的两个事实联在一起，而把其余的两个事实略去。他将他自己是使徒，和哥林多人是他工作的果子这两个事实联在一起，而将我不是自由的么，和我不是见过主么两个事实略去。所以我们就知道，保罗是以工作的果子，作他作使徒的印证，他并没有把见主复活的显现或者他是自由的，作他作使徒的凭据。如果不是这样，就自由的人，岂都是使徒呢？保罗没有作过奴隶。保罗不过在这里说出他的三个资格来，并非说，有这三个资格，才是作使徒的凭据。
--------本段经节汇集--------
林前9:1  
我不是自由的么？我不是使徒么？我不是见过我们的主耶稣么？你们不是我在主里所作之工么？
哥林多前书一章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
哥林多前书二章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
哥林多前书三章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
哥林多前书四章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
林前9:2  
若是对别人我不是使徒，对你们我总是使徒，因为你们在主里正是我使徒职分的印记。
哥林多前书一章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
哥林多前书一章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
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　　另一面在林前十五章怎么说呢？“并且显给矶法看；然后显给十二使徒看；后来一时显给五百多弟兄看，…以后显给雅各看；再显给众使徒看；末了也显给我看；…我原是使徒中最小的。”（5~9）这岂不是把使徒和见主复活摆在一起么？不。为什么呢？在这里，你很明显的看见使徒保罗，从来没有把见主复活当作使徒的条件。这里的题目，是见证主的复活。这里所见证的，不是保罗作使徒的凭据，乃是主耶稣的复活。并且主不只显给矶法看，不只显给十二使徒看，不只显给雅各看，主也曾显给五百多弟兄看。使徒看见了主复活的显现是使徒，没有看见主复活的显现，也仍然是使徒。那五百多弟兄，本来不是使徒，他们看见了主，也仍然不是使徒。所以说，见了主的复活才是使徒的凭据，不过是人的一种说法，圣经里并没有这样说。这个误会，我们必须除去。
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哥林多前书十五章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
林前15:5  
并且向矶法显现，然后向十二使徒显现，
林前15:6  
后来一时向五百多弟兄显现，其中大多数到如今还在，但也有些已经睡了；
林前15:7  
以后向雅各显现，然后向众使徒显现，
林前15:8  
末了也向我这如同未到产期而生的人显现。
林前15:9  
我原是使徒中最小的，不适于称为使徒，因为我逼迫过神的召会。
哥林多前书一章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
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　　但是使徒是有凭据的。林后十二章十一至十二节：“…我虽算不了什么，却没有一件事在那些最大的使徒以下。我在你们中间，用百般的忍耐，借着神迹奇事异能，显出使徒的凭据来。”保罗作使徒，是有他的凭据的。一件事是定规的，神如果呼召一个人作使徒，他就定规有作使徒的标记，叫人一见就知道他是一个使徒。保罗在这里，说他作使徒的标记，就是有两种的能力，一种是属灵的能力，一种是神奇的能力。最大的属灵能力，就是忍耐。属灵的能力，最大的表现就是能欢欢喜喜地忍耐宽容（西一11）。最需要能力的是忍耐，这是最大属灵的能力。你能不能忍耐，要证明你属灵的能力是大是小。林前十三章说到爱的现象时，头一句是恒久忍耐，末了一句是凡事忍耐。使徒的标记是忍耐，这是一种百折不回的精神。容易放手，没有忍耐的能力，都是因为他没有见过神，没有看见属灵的实际，这样的人那里受过神的呼召呢？他们也许是使徒，但是他们没有使徒的标记，不像使徒。同时作使徒的，不只有属灵的能力，作他的标记，还有神奇的能力，作他的标记。不只有属灵的能力在他背后，也有神奇的能力在他背后。神要听他的祷告，神要行奇事异能来证明他是神所差派的。使徒在外邦各地的工作中，这是何等的需要呢！
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林后12:11  
我成了愚妄人，是你们强逼我的。我本该为你们所推荐，因为我即使算不了什么，也没有一点赶不上那些超级的使徒。
林后12:12  
我使徒的记号，确已在你们中间，以全般的忍耐，借着神迹、奇事和异能，完全显出来了。
哥林多后书一章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
哥林多后书一章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
哥林多后书一章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
西1:11  
照祂荣耀的权能，得以在各样的力上加力，使你们凡事欢欢喜喜地忍耐宽容，
哥林多前书十三章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
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　　但在这里要注意一句话。这里不是说，凡能行神迹奇事的都是使徒。要记得林前十二章二十八节，在使徒之外，还有人能行异能，还有人能医病。所以有的行异能的是使徒，也有的行异能的不是使徒，不过是一个行异能的。林前十二章给我们看见，行异能的和作使徒的不同。不过有的使徒是行异能的，也有行异能的并非是使徒。
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林前12:28  
神在召会中所设立的，第一是使徒，第二是申言者，第三是教师；其次是行异能的，再次是得恩赐医病的，帮助的，治理的，说各种方言的。
哥林多前书十二章（略，若需要被汇集，请勾选“不忽略整章”）
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　　使徒也有假冒的，不只今天有，当初也有。林后十一章十三节：“那等人是假使徒，行事诡诈，装作基督使徒的模样。”圣经明说有假使徒。并不是说，他们是假门徒，他们也许是真门徒，是真重生得救的人。不过他们也许把敬虔当为得利的门路，想在宗教方面来发财，他们盼望在哥林多人身上有所得。所以保罗叫在哥林多的信徒有所防备。有时有真的使徒，在他们作工结果子之后，有人就想从这些果子身上得一些利益。这一种的人，就是假使徒。所以圣经说，这种的使徒，就得被试验。在以弗所的教会，曾试验那自称为使徒却不是使徒的，看出他们是假的来（启二2）。他们这样作，是明明被主所称许的。
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林后11:13  
那等人是假使徒，是诡诈的工人，装作基督的使徒。
启2:2  
我知道你的行为、劳碌、忍耐，也知道你不能容忍恶人；你也曾试验那自称是使徒却不是使徒的，看出他们是假的；
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　　试验谁是假使徒，最大的试验是金钱。凡在金钱上不清楚，有贪图的，定规是假使徒。假使徒，若不谋名，定规谋利。凡在金钱上有所谋的，定规是假使徒。保罗为救济在耶路撒冷的圣徒，他特别派两位弟兄去送，他在这些事上，是特别的光明。凡在金钱上有所贪图的，定规是假使徒。什么时候钱若摸着我们，我们的工作不是完全只因着主，只为着爱主，却受钱的影响，就我们也有从真使徒变作假使徒的可能！我们要学在以弗所的信徒，知道如何试验那自称是使徒，却不是使徒的。　　感谢神，圣灵还在这里。感谢神，不是我没有特别的恩赐，就不能作使徒。感谢神，不是肉眼看见了主才能作使徒。感谢神，不管我是先知也好，是教师也好，是传福音者也好，只要我有主的呼召，就能作祂的使徒。今天一切蒙主呼召的人，不管他恩赐如何，也不管他有没有见过主，只问他有没有主的呼召。如果他有主的呼召，他就是继续保罗、巴拿巴等次之后作使徒的。虽然我们不是十二使徒中的一个，但我们是使徒。虽然我们不是大使徒，但我们是众使徒中最小的一个。这一个数目还没有满，这一个是凡受主托付的都有分的，这一个是凡受主差遣的都有分的。
　
　　姊妹，有没有分于使徒呢？有。罗马十六章七节说，有两个使徒，是在使徒中有名望的：一个叫作安多尼古，一个叫作犹尼亚。有一本希腊文有权威的书说，犹尼亚是一个女人的名字。在这里，有犹尼亚这一个女人，她是在使徒中有名望的。所以，我们看见在使徒中有姊妹。在十二使徒中没有姊妹，但在这许多的使徒中有姊妹。我们虽然没有别的证据，但犹尼亚这个名字，是一个证据。中文也许有男人的名字好像女人的，但在希腊文就不容易有错。
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罗16:7  
问我亲属与我一同坐监的安多尼古和犹尼亚安，他们是使徒中著名的，且比我先在基督里。
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　　还有一件事，就是我们虽然是使徒，但这不是说，大小都是一样的。有的人是最大的使徒，有的人是最小的使徒。圣经是把使徒分作大小。有的使徒，神所托付他的责任很多，他使徒的职分就很大。有的使徒，神所托付他的责任很重，他使徒的职分也就很大。大的使徒，不只所受的托付比别人多，他也是比别人格外劳苦（林前十五10）。林后十一章五节说，“我一点不在那些最大的使徒以下。”林后十二章十一节，也有同样的说法：“我虽算不了什么，却没有一件事在那些最大的使徒以下。”从这些话看就知道，圣经里不是说，凡是使徒都是一样的。
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林前15:10  
然而因着神的恩，我成了我今天这个人，并且神的恩临到我，不是徒然的；反而我比众使徒格外劳苦，但这不是我，乃是神的恩与我同在。
林后11:5  
但我认为，自己一点没有赶不上那些超级的使徒。
林后12:11  
我成了愚妄人，是你们强逼我的。我本该为你们所推荐，因为我即使算不了什么，也没有一点赶不上那些超级的使徒。
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　　在这里，我们感谢神，我们今天蒙召虽不是作大的使徒，我们是比最小的使徒还小的使徒，但我们实在是主所差遣的人。我们和圣经里的使徒去比，是顶小的，和今天神所差派的许多使徒去比，也是赶不及的。但是蒙神的恩典，我们知道差遣我们的是谁。对于同工们，我说，我们要常抱一种态度，就是我们是不如别人的。我们今天不能像保罗那样说，我不在最大的使徒之下；我们该像保罗一样说，我是使徒中最小的。在工作上，保罗虽然是特别劳苦，特别被神重用，实在是一个大使徒，但他常抱一种态度是：我不配作使徒，我是使徒中最小的使徒。他都如此，何况我们今天真的是小号的使徒呢！我们若无这种态度，在工作上，就不免有竞争、有摩擦。我们要显出自己是大使徒，必须是在忍耐上、劳苦上、存心上，而不该是在话语上、妒忌上、骄傲上。这样，我们才能尽忠于我们的职分，大家同心合意的传扬主的福音，建立祂的教会。
　
ANTIOCH—THE MODEL CHURCH
　The church in Antioch is the model church shown us in God’s Word, because it was the first to come into being after the founding of the churches connected with the Jews and the Gentiles. In Acts 2 we see the church in connection with the Jews established in Jerusalem, and in chapter ten we see the church in connection with the Gentiles established in the house of Cornelius. It was just after the establishment of these churches that the church in Antioch was founded. In its transition stage the church in Jerusalem was not altogether free from Judaism, but the church in Antioch from the very outset stood on absolutely clear Church ground. It is of no little significance that “the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch” (Acts 11:26). It was there that the peculiar characteristics of the Christian and the Christian Church were first clearly manifested, for which reason it may be regarded as the pattern church for this dispensation. Its prophets and teachers were model prophets and teachers, and the apostles it sent forth were model apostles. Not only are the men sent forth an example to us, but the manner of their sending forth is our example too. Since the first recorded sending out of apostles by the Holy Spirit was from Antioch, we shall do well to look carefully into its details.
　Since the completion of the New Testament the Holy Spirit has called many of God’s children to serve Him throughout the world, but, strictly speaking, none of these can be regarded as our examples. We must always look at the first act of the Holy Spirit in any given direction to discover His pattern for us in that particular direction. Therefore, in order to see what example the Church must follow today in the sending forth of apostles, let us examine carefully the first recorded sending forth of workers from the first church established on absolutely clear Church ground.
　
THE HOLY SPIRIT’S CALL
　In the first two verses of Acts 13 we read, “Now there were in Antioch, in the local church, prophets and teachers: Barnabas and Simeon, who was called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen, the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. And as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Let us note a few facts here. There was a local church in Antioch, there were certain prophets and teachers who were ministers in that church, and it was from among those that the Holy Spirit separated two for another sphere of service. Barnabas and Saul were two ministers of the Lord already engaged in the ministry when the call of the Spirit came. The Holy Spirit only sends to other parts such as are already equipped for the work and are bearing responsibility where they are, not those who are burying their talents and neglecting local needs while they dream of some future day when the call will come to special service. Barnabas and Saul were bearing the burden of the local situation when the Spirit put the burden of other parts upon them. Their hands were full of local work when He thrust them out to work further afield. Let us note first that the Holy Spirit chooses apostles from among the prophets and teachers.
　“And as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” These prophets and teachers ministered so wholeheartedly to the Lord that when occasion demanded they even ignored the legitimate claims of their physical being and fasted. What filled the thoughts of those prophets and teachers at Antioch was ministry to the Lord, not work for Him. Their devotion was to the Lord Himself, not to His service. No one can truly work for the Lord who has not first learned to minister to Him. It was while Barnabas and Saul ministered to the Lord that the voice of the Spirit was heard calling them to special service.
　It was to the divine call they responded, not to the call of human need. They had heard no reports of man-eaters or head-hunting savages; their compassions had not been stirred by doleful tales of child-marriage or foot-binding or opium- smoking. They had heard no voice but the voice of the Spirit; they had seen no claims but the claims of Christ. No appeal had been made to their natural heroism or love of adventure. They knew only one appeal—the appeal of their Lord. It was the lordship of Christ that claimed their service, and it was on His authority alone that they went forth. Their call was a spiritual call. No natural factor entered into it. It was the Holy Spirit who said, “Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” All spiritual work must begin with the Spirit’s call. All divine work must be divinely initiated. The plan conceived for the work may be splendid, the reason adequate, the need urgent, and the man chosen to carry it out may be eminently suitable; but if the Holy Spirit has not said, “Set apart that man for the work to which I have called him,” he can never be an apostle. He may be a prophet or a teacher, but he is no apostle. Of old all true apostles were separated by the Holy Spirit for the work to which He called them, and today all true apostles must just as surely be set apart for the work by Him. God desires the service of His children, but He makes conscripts; He wants no volunteers. The work is His, and He is its only legitimate Originator. Human intention, however good, can never take the place of divine initiation. Earnest desires for the salvation of sinners or for the edification of saints will never qualify a man for God’s work. One qualification, and only one, is necessary—God must send him.
　It was the Holy Spirit who said, “Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Only the divine call can qualify for the apostolic office. In earthly governments there can be no service without commission, and the same holds true in the government of God. The tragedy in Christian work today is that so many of the workers have simply gone out; they have not been sent. It is divine commission that constitutes the call to divine work. Personal desire, friendly persuasions, the advice of one’s elders, and the urge of opportunity—all these are factors on the natural plane, and they can never take the place of a spiritual call. That is something which must be registered in the human spirit by the Spirit of God.
　When Barnabas and Saul were sent forth, the Spirit first called them, then the brethren confirmed the call. The brethren may say you have a call, and circumstances may seem to indicate it, but the question is whether or not you yourself have heard the call. If you are to go forth, then you are the one who must first hear the voice of the Spirit. We dare not disregard the opinion of the brethren, but their opinion is no substitute for a personal call from God. Even if they are confident that we have a call, and in that same confidence a company of God’s people gladly sends us forth to the work, unless we ourselves know a direct speaking of God into our hearts, on the basis of the new covenant, then we go forth as the messengers of men, not as the apostles of God.
　If God desires the service of any child of His, He Himself will call him to it, and He Himself will send him forth. The first requirement in divine work is a divine call. Everything hinges on this. A divine call gives God His rightful place, for it recognizes Him as the Originator of the work. Where there is no call from God, the work undertaken is not of divine origin, and it has no spiritual value. Divine work must be divinely initiated. A worker may be called directly by the Spirit, or indirectly through the reading of the Word, through preaching, or through circumstances; but whatever means God may use to make His will known to man, His voice must be the one heard through every other voice; He must be the one who speaks, no matter through what instrument the call may come. We must never be independent of the other members of the Body, but we must never forget that we receive all our directions from the Head; so we must be careful to preserve our spiritual independence, even while we cultivate a spirit of mutual dependence among the members. It is wrong to reject the opinion of fellow workers under the pretext of doing the will of God, but it is also wrong to accept their opinions as a substitute for the direct instructions of the Spirit of God.
　
SEPARATION OF WORKERS
　Yes, it was the Holy Spirit who called Barnabas and Saul, but He said to the other prophets and teachers as well as to them, “Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” The Holy Spirit spoke directly to the apostles, but He also spoke indirectly through the prophets and teachers. What was said privately to the two was confirmed publicly through the other three. All apostles must have a personal revelation of God’s will, but to make that alone the basis of their going forth is not sufficient. On the one hand, the opinion of others, however spiritual and however experienced, can never be a substitute for a direct call from God. On the other hand, a personal call, however definite, requires the confirmation of the representative members of the Body of Christ in the locality from which the workers go out.
　Let us observe that the Holy Spirit did not say to the church in Antioch, “Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul.” It was to the prophets and teachers He spoke. For God to make His will known to the entire assembly would scarcely have been practicable. Some of its members were spiritually mature, but others were only babes in Christ. Some were wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord, but it is highly improbable that all the members sought the Lord with such singleness of purpose that they could clearly differentiate between His will and their own ideas. God therefore spoke to a representative company in the church, to men of spiritual experience who were utterly devoted to His interest.
　And here was the result: “When they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away” (Acts 13:3). The setting apart of the apostles by the prophets and teachers followed the call which came to them from the Spirit. The call was personal, the separation was corporate; and the one was not complete without the other. A direct call from God, and a confirmation of that call in the setting apart of the called ones by the prophets and teachers, is God’s provision against free lances in His service.
　The calling of an apostle is the Holy Spirit speaking directly to the one called. The separating of an apostle is the Holy Spirit speaking indirectly through the fellow workers of the called one. It is the Holy Spirit who takes the initiative both in the calling and separation of workers. Therefore, if the representative brethren of any assembly set men apart for the service of the Lord, they must ask themselves, Are we doing this on our own initiative, or as representing the Spirit of God? If they move without absolute assurance that they are acting on behalf of the Holy Spirit, then the separation of the worker has no spiritual value. They must be able to say of every worker they send forth, He was sent out by the Holy Spirit, not by man. No separation of workers should be done hastily or lightly. It was for this reason that fasting and prayer preceded the sending forth of Barnabas and Saul.
　When Barnabas and Saul were separated for the work, there was prayer and fasting and the laying on of hands. The prayer and fasting was not merely in view of the immediate need of clear discernment regarding the will of God, but in view also of the coming need when the apostles would actually go forth. And the laying on of hands was not by way of ordination, for Barnabas and Saul were already ordained by the Holy Spirit. Here, as in the Old Testament, it was an expression of the perfect oneness of the two parties represented. It was as though the three sending forth the two said to them, “When you two members of the Body of Christ go forth, all the other members go with you. Your going is our going, and your work is our work.” The laying on of hands was a testimony to the oneness of the Body of Christ. It meant that those who remained behind were one with those who went forth, and in full sympathy with them; and that, as they went, those at the base pledged themselves to follow them continually with prayerful interest and loving sympathy.
　As regards all sent ones, they must pay attention to these two aspects in their separation for the service of God. On the one hand, there must be a direct call from God and a personal recognition of that call. On the other hand, there must be a confirmation of that call by the representative members of the Body of Christ. And as regards all who are responsible for the sending forth of others, they must on the one hand be in a position to receive the revelation of the Spirit and to discern the mind of the Lord; on the other hand, they must be able to enter sympathetically into the experience of those whom they, as the representative members of the Body of Christ, send forth in the name of the Lord. The principle that governed the sending forth of the first apostles still governs the sending forth of all apostles who are truly appointed by the Spirit to the work of God.
　
THE EXPRESSION OF THE BODY
　On what ground did these prophets and teachers set certain men apart as apostles, and whom did these prophets and teachers represent? Why did they, and not the entire church, separate those workers? What is the significance of such separation, and what is the qualification required on the part of those who assume responsibility in the matter?
　The first thing we must realize is that God has incorporated all His children into one Body. He recognizes no division of His people into various “churches” and missions. He has designed that all who are His shall live a corporate life, the life of a body among whose many members there is mutual consideration, mutual love, and mutual understanding. And He has purposed that not only the life, but also the ministry of His children, should be on the principle of the body, that it should be a matter of mutual helpfulness, mutual edification, and mutual service—the activity of the many members of one body. There are two aspects of the Body of Christ—life and ministry. The first half of Ephesians 4 speaks of the Body in relation to its ministry; the second half speaks of the Body in relation to its life. “Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love” (v. 16). Here it is work that is under consideration. But in verse 25 the question is clearly one of life: “Therefore having put off the lie, speak truth each one with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” In Romans 12 we see how the members should care one for another, so that the thought there again is the manifestation of the one life. But in 1 Corinthians 12 we see how the members should serve one another, so the thought in that passage is the manifestation of the one ministry.
　When we speak of the one Body, we emphasize the oneness of the life of all God’s children. When we speak of its many members, we emphasize the diversity of functions in that unity. The characteristic of the former is life; the characteristic of the latter is work. In a physical body the members differ one from another; yet they function as one, because they share one life and have the upbuilding of the whole body as their one aim.
　Because the Body of Christ has these two different aspects—life and ministry—it consequently has two different outward manifestations. The church in a locality is used to express the life of the Body, and the gifts in the Church are used to express the ministry of its members. In other words, each local church should stand on the ground of the Body, regarding itself as an expression of the oneness of the life of the Body, and it should on no account admit of division, since it exists as the manifestation of an indivisible life. The various ministers of the Church should likewise stand on the ground of the Body, regarding themselves as an expression of the oneness of its varied ministries. Perfect fellowship and cooperation should characterize all their activity, for though their functions are diverse, their ministry is really one. No local church should divide into different sects, or affiliate with other churches under a denomination, thus departing from the ground of the Body; and no group of ministers should unite to form a separate unit, standing on other than Body ground. All their work should be performed as members of the Body, and not as members of an organization existing in distinction from it. A worker may employ his gifts in the capacity of an officer of an organization, but in so doing he departs from the ground of the Body.
　A cursory reading of Ephesians 4:11-12 might lead us to conclude that apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers functioned outside the Body, because they were given by the Lord to His Church for her upbuilding (v. 12). But verse 16 makes it clear that they do not stand outside the Body to build it up; they seek to build it up from within. They themselves are part of the Body, and it is only as they take their rightful place in it, as ministering members, that the whole Body is edified.
　That churches are the local expression of the Body of Christ is an established fact, so we need not go into that here; but some explanation is called for regarding the gifted ministers whom God has set in the Church as the expression of the ministry of the Body. In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul is clearly dealing with the question of Christian service. He likens the workers to different members of a body, and shows that each member has its specific use, and all serve the body as belonging to it, not as distinct from it. In verse 27 he writes, “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually”; and in the following verse he says, “And God has placed some in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then works of power, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.” A study of these two verses makes it clear that the gifted ministers of verse 28 are the members of verse 27, and that the Church of verse 28 is the Body of verse 27; therefore, what ministers are to the Church, members are to the Body. They hold their position in the Body on account of their functions (the “hearing” and “smelling” of verse 17). The gifted ministers are the functioning members of the Body, and all their operations are as members. They are to the Church what hands, feet, mouth, and head are to the physical body. God’s servants do not minister to the Church as apart from it, but as its members. They are in the Body, serving it by the use of those faculties which they, as members, possess. A church in any locality is an expression of the one life of the Body, while its ministers are the expression of the difference and yet oneness of its ministry.
　First Corinthians 12 deals with the subject of the Body of Christ, not in its life aspect but in its work aspect. The whole chapter is taken up with the question of ministry, and that ministry is spoken of as the functioning of the different members, from which it is evident that in the thought of God all ministry is on Body ground. Ministry is the practical expression of the Body, an expression of the diversity in unity of its various members. Therefore, we see that when the life aspect of the Body of Christ is expressed, there you have a local church; and when the work aspect is expressed, there you have a manifestation of the gifts God has given to His Church.
　In reading 1 Corinthians 12:28 one cannot but be arrested by the striking difference between the description of the first three gifts and the remaining five. Paul, under the inspiration of the Spirit, takes special care in enumerating them—“first apostles, second prophets, third teachers.” The first three are specifically numbered, but not the rest; and they are quite distinct in their nature as well as in their numbering. They are men; the rest are things. The three first-named gifts of the Lord to His Church—apostles, prophets, and teachers—stand apart from all the others. They are ministers of God’s Word, and their function, to edify the Body of Christ, is the most important function in the Church. They are the representatives of the ministry of the Body.
　The only scriptural record of the sending forth of apostles is found in Acts 13, and there we see that it is the prophets and teachers who set them apart for their ministry. Scripture provides no precedent for the separation and sending forth of men by one or more individuals, or by any mission or organization; even the sending out of workers by a local church is a thing unknown in the Word of God. The only example provided us there is the separating and sending forth of apostles by the prophets and teachers.
　What is the significance of this? In Antioch the prophets and teachers were chosen of God to separate Barnabas and Saul for His service, because they were the ministering members of the church, and this separation of the apostles was a question of ministry rather than of life. Had it related to life, and not specifically to service, then it would have been the concern of the whole local church, not merely of its ministering members. But let it be noted that, though Barnabas and Saul were not separated for the work by the entire church, they were sent out not as representatives of a few select members, but as representatives of the whole Body. Their being separated by the prophets and teachers implied that they did not go out on individualistic lines, or on the basis of any organization, but on the ground of the ministry of the Body. The emphasis, as we have seen, was on ministry, not on life, but it was a ministry representing the whole church, not representing any particular section of it. This is clearly expressed by the laying on of hands.
　As we have seen, the laying on of hands speaks of oneness (Lev. 1:4), and the only oneness known among the children of God is the oneness of the Body of Christ; therefore, in laying hands upon the apostles, the prophets and teachers definitely stood on the ground of the Body, acting as its representative members. Their action identified the whole church with the apostles, and identified the apostles with the whole church. These prophets and teachers did not stand on individual ground to send the apostles forth as their personal representatives, nor did they stand on the ground of any select company to send them out as representatives of that particular company; but they stood on the ground of the Body, as its ministering members, and set these two apart for the work of the gospel. In their turn the two, being thus separated, went forth, not to represent any particular individuals or any special organization, but to represent the Body of Christ, and the Body of Christ alone. All work that is truly scriptural and truly spiritual must be out from the Body and must minister to the Body. The Body must be the ground on which the worker stands, and it alone must be the sphere in which he works.
　On two different occasions Paul had the laying on of hands; first when he believed on the Lord (Acts 9:17), then on the occasion under consideration, when he was sent out from Antioch. The former expressed his identification with the life of the Body; the latter his identification with the ministry of the Body. The first proclaimed him a member of the Body by receiving life from the Head; the second proclaimed him a ministering member, working not as an isolated individual, but in relation to the other members, as a part of one great whole.
　In sending Barnabas and Saul from Antioch, the prophets and teachers stood for no “church” or mission; they represented the ministry of the Body. They were not the whole Church; they were only a group of God’s servants. They bore no special name, they were bound by no particular organization, and they were subject to no fixed rules. They simply submitted themselves to the control of the Spirit and separated those whom He had separated for the work to which He had called them. They themselves were not the Body, but they stood on the ground of the Body, under the authority of the Head. Under that authority, and on that ground, they separated men to be apostles; and under the same authority, and on the same ground, others can do the same. The separation of apostles on this principle will mean that the men sent out may differ, those who send them may differ, and the time and place of their sending may differ too; but since all is under the direction of the one Head, and on the ground of the one Body, there will still be no division. If Antioch sends men out on the basis of the Body, and Jerusalem sends men out on the basis of the Body, there will still be inward oneness despite all outward diversity. How grand it would be if there were no representatives of different earthly bodies, but only representatives of the Body, the Body of Christ. If thousands of local churches, with thousands of prophets and teachers, each sent out thousands of different workers, there would be a vast outward diversity, but there could still be perfect inward unity if all were sent out under the direction of the one Head and on the ground of the one Body.
　That Christ is the Head of the Church is a recognized fact, but that fact needs emphasis in relation to the ministry as well as to the life of the Church. Christian ministry is the ministry of the whole Church, not merely of one section of it. We must see to it that our work is on no lesser basis than the Body of Christ. Otherwise, we lose the headship of Christ, for Christ is not the Head of any system, or mission, or organization: He is the Head of the Church. If we belong to any human organization, then the divine headship ceases to be expressed in our work.
　In Scripture we find no trace of man-made organizations sending out men to preach the gospel. We only find representatives of the ministry of the Church, under the guidance of the Spirit and on the ground of the Body, sending out those whom the Spirit has already separated for the work. If those responsible for the sending out of workers sent them out, not as their own representatives or the representatives of any organization, but only as representatives of the Body of Christ, and if those sent out stood on the ground of no particular “church” or mission, but on the ground of the Church alone, then no matter from what places the workers came or to what places they went, cooperation and unity would always be possible and much confusion in the work would be avoided.
　
THEIR MOVEMENTS
　After the apostles were called by the Spirit and were separated for the work by the representative members of the Body, what did they do? We need to recall that those who separated them only expressed identification and sympathy by the laying on of hands; they had no authority to control the apostles. Those prophets and teachers at the base assumed no official responsibility in regard to their movements, their methods of work, or the supply of their financial needs. In Scripture we nowhere find that apostles are under the control of any individual or any organized company. They had no regulations to adhere to and no superiors to obey. The Holy Spirit called them, and they followed His leading and guidance; He alone was their Director.
　In Acts 13 and 14 we find the first scriptural record of missionary movements. Though today the places we visit and the conditions we meet may be vastly different from those of the Scripture record, yet in principle the experience of the first apostles may well serve as our example. Let us glance for a moment at these two chapters.
　“They then, having been sent out by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia; and from there they sailed away to Cyprus. And when they were in Salamis, they announced the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they also had John as their attendant. And when they had passed through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain man, a magician” (13:4-6). From the very outset constant movement characterized those sent ones. A true apostle is a traveler, not a settler.
　“And putting out to sea from Paphos, Paul and his companions came to Perga of Pamphylia; and John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem. And they passed through from Perga and arrived at Pisidian Antioch. And they went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down” (13:13-14). (The Antioch mentioned here is not the same as the Antioch from which Barnabas and Saul set forth on their first missionary tour.) The apostles were constantly on the move, proclaiming the Word of God wherever they went, but until they reached Antioch in Pisidia we are not told anything of the result of their labors. From this point there is a definite development in the work.
　“And when the synagogue gathering had been dismissed, many of the Jews and the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God” (13:43). Here is the outcome of a short period of witness in Antioch of Pisidia—many of the Jews and religious proselytes believed. A week later almost the whole city gathered together to hear the Word (v. 44), but this enthusiastic response on the part of the people provoked the Jews to jealousy, and they opposed the apostles (v. 45). At this point the apostles turned to the Gentiles (v. 46), and “as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (v. 48). On the previous Sabbath a number of Jews had received the Word of life. This Sabbath a number of Gentiles believed on the Lord. So not long after the arrival of the apostles in Antioch of Pisidia we find a church there.
　But the apostles did not argue, “Now we have a group of believers here. We must stay awhile and shepherd them.” They founded a local church at Antioch of Pisidia, but they did not stay to build it up. On they went again, publishing the Word of the Lord “through the whole region” (v. 49). Their objective was not one city, but “all the region.” The modern custom of settling down in one place to shepherd a particular flock has no precedent in Scripture.
　Persecution followed (v. 50). The opponents of the gospel message expelled the apostles from their coasts, and they answered by shaking the dust from their feet (v. 51). Many a present-day missionary has no dust to shake from his feet! But those who gather no dust lack the characteristic of an apostle. The early apostles never settled down in comfortable homes, nor did they stop for long to pastor the churches they founded. They were constantly traveling. To be an apostle means to be a sent one, that is, to be always going out. A stationary apostle is a contradiction in terms. A true apostle is one who in times of persecution will always have dust to shake off his feet.
　What effect had this early departure of the apostles upon the infant church? Here was a group of new believers, mere babes in Christ, and their fathers in the faith forsook them in their infancy. Did they argue, “Why should the apostles be afraid of persecution and leave us to face the opposition alone?” Did they plead with the apostles to remain awhile and care for their spiritual welfare? Did they reason, “If you leave us now we shall be as sheep without a shepherd. If both of you cannot stay, surely one at least can remain behind and look after us. The persecution is so intense, we shall never get through without your help.” How amazing the Scripture record is: “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (v. 52).
　There was no mourning among the disciples when the apostles left, but great gladness. The disciples were glad, for they knew the Lord; and they might well rejoice, because the apostles’ departure meant an opportunity for others to hear the gospel. What was loss to them was gain to Iconium. Those believers were not like the believers of today, hoping for a settled pastor to instruct them, solve their problems, and shelter them from trouble. And those apostles were not like the apostles of today; they were pioneers, not settlers. They did not wait till believers were mature before they left them. They dared to leave them in mere infancy, for they believed in the power of the life of God within them.
　But those disciples were not only filled with joy; they were filled with the Holy Spirit. The apostles might go, but the Spirit remained. Had the apostles remained to pastor them, it would have mattered little whether they were filled with the Spirit or not. If they had had a pastor to throw light on all their problems, they would have felt little need of the Spirit’s instruction; and they would have felt little need of His power if they had had one in their midst who was bearing all responsibility for the spiritual side of the work while they attended to the secular. In Scripture there is not the slightest hint that apostles should settle down to pastor those they have led to the Lord. There are pastors in Scripture, but they are simply brethren raised up of God from among the local saints to care for their fellow believers. One of the reasons why so many present-day converts are not filled with the Spirit is that the apostles settle down to shepherd them and take upon themselves the responsibility that belongs to the Holy Spirit.
　Praise God that the apostles moved on to Iconium, for “a great multitude of both Jews and Greeks believed” (14:1). Before long “the multitude of the city was divided, and some were with the Jews and some with the apostles” (v. 4). The saved were obviously a great multitude, since their coming out from the unsaved so vitally affected the place as to cause a division in the city. Only a short time after the apostles left Antioch in Pisidia, there was a church established in Iconium; and here, as in the previous place, opposition was intense. The apostles might well have argued that to leave a great multitude of mere babes in Christ exposed to fierce persecution was heartless, and bad policy besides. But the apostles were true to their apostolic calling, and off they went “to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe” (v. 6). And what did they do when they came to Lystra? As elsewhere, so here, “they announced the gospel” (v. 7), and as elsewhere, so here, there was opposition and persecution (v. 19). It is difficult to estimate the number of believers at Lystra, but judging by the remark that the disciples surrounded Paul (v. 20), there must have been at least half a dozen, and there may have been scores or even hundreds. So now there is a church in Lystra!
　Does Paul stay to shepherd them awhile, or at least to tend them till the fierceness of the opposition has subsided? No! “On the next day he went out with Barnabas to Derbe” (v. 20). And there again the glad tidings are proclaimed and many disciples are made (v. 21). So another church is formed! And with the founding of a church in Derbe the first missionary tour of the apostles closes.
　Looking back over these two chapters, we note that a fundamental principle governs the movements of the apostles. They travel from place to place, according to the leading of the Spirit, preaching the gospel and founding churches. Nowhere do we find them settling down to shepherd and instruct the converts, or to bear any local responsibility in the churches they have founded. In days of peace the apostles were on the move, and in days of persecution likewise. “Go!” was the word of the Lord, and “Go!” was the watchword of the apostles. The outstanding trait of a sent one is that he is always on the move.
　
ON THEIR RETURN
　But the question arises, How were these new converts shepherded and instructed? How were the newly-founded churches established? In studying the Word we find that the missionary tour of the apostles consisted of an outward and a return journey. On their outward journey their first concern was to found churches. On their return journey their chief business was to build them up.
　Having “made a considerable number of disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, establishing the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith and saying that through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God” (14:21-22). Here we see Paul and Barnabas returning to do some construction work in the churches already founded; but as before on their outward journey, so now on their return, they never settle down in any one place.
　It is clear then that the apostles did not just move from place to place founding churches; they also did definite construction work. Merely to found churches without establishing them would be like leaving newborn babes to their own resources. The point to note here is that, while the instruction of the new converts and the building up of the churches was a very vital part of the apostles’ work, they did it, not by settling down in one place, but rather by visiting the places where they had been before. Neither in their initial work of preaching the gospel, nor in their subsequent work of establishing the churches, did the apostles take up their permanent abode in any one place.
　Before they left a place where a church had been founded and some construction work done, they appointed elders to bear responsibility there (14:23). This is one of the most important parts of an apostle’s work. (This subject will be dealt with more fully in a subsequent chapter.)
　Thus the early apostles worked, and the blessing of the Lord rested on their labors. We shall do well if we follow in their steps, but we must realize clearly that even though we adopt apostolic methods, unless we have apostolic consecration, apostolic faith, and apostolic power, we shall still fail to see apostolic results. We dare not underestimate the value of apostolic methods—they are absolutely essential if we are to have apostolic fruits—but we must not overlook the need of apostolic spirituality, and we must not fear apostolic persecution.
　
BACK TO ANTIOCH
　“And from there they sailed away to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled. And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared the things that God had done with them and that He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles” (14:26-27). On their return to Antioch the apostles “declared the things that God had done with them.” It was from Antioch that Paul and Barnabas had gone out, so it was only fitting that on their return they should give an account of the Lord’s dealings with them to those from whom they had gone forth. To give reports of the work to those who are truly bearing the burden with us, is sanctioned by God’s Word. It is not only permissible, but necessary, that the children of God at the base should be informed of His doings on the field; but we do well to make sure that our reports are not in the nature of advertisements.
　In the matter of reporting, we should on the one hand avoid all unnatural reticence and soulish seclusiveness; on the other hand, we must carefully guard against the intrusion of any personal interest. In all reports of the work our aim should be to glorify God and bring spiritual enrichment to those who share them. To utilize reports as a means of propaganda, with material returns in view, is base in the extreme, and unworthy of any Christian. When the motive is to glorify God and benefit His children, but at the same time to make known the needs of the work with a view to receiving material help, it is still far from acceptable to the Lord, and is unworthy of His servants. Our aim should be this alone— that God shall be glorified and His children blessed. If there were this perfect purity of motive in our reports, how differently many of them would be worded!
　Each time we write or speak of our work, let us ask ourselves these questions: (1) Am I reporting with a view to gaining publicity for myself and my work? (2) Am I reporting with the double object of glorifying the Lord and advertising the work? (3) Am I reporting with this aim alone, that God shall be glorified and His children blessed? May the Lord give us grace to report with unmixed motives and perfect purity of heart!
 
　　神在世上直接的工作，是从差祂的儿子来到地上才起头的。这并非说，神在祂的儿子未到地上来以前没有工作。神未差祂的儿子到地上来以前，就已经作工；但是，神在世界里直接的工作，是在差祂的儿子来才起头的。所以，我们神的头一个工人，就是基督。基督，是祂职事的名称。祂所以称为基督，就是因祂所作的工；像祂所以称为耶稣，是因祂的成为人一样。祂的受膏就是为着神的工作。祂不是自己来，乃是受差来的。祂不是自告奋勇的来到地上，祂不是自告奋勇的到十字架上去，祂是被差遣来到地上，祂是被差遣到十字架上去。所以约翰福音多次说，“那差我来者的。”祂不说父，不说神，而说那差我来者的，祂说到自己是一个被差的人。神的工作第一个原则就是差遣。没有差遣就没有神的工作。

　　圣经中对被差的人，有一特别名称，就是“使徒”。希腊文这一个字，意思就是一个“被差遣的人。”中文就说使徒。使徒的意思，是一个出使的人。“徒”字在这里，并非门徒的意思，乃是一班人的意思，如云许行之徒，意思就是许行一类的人。使徒，是指一班出使的人说的。

　　主自己是头一个使徒，因祂是头一个被差的。所以圣经称祂作大使徒（来三1的“使者”，原文与“使徒”同一字）。
 
　The church in Antioch is the model church shown us in God’s Word, because it was the first to come into being after the founding of the churches connected with the Jews and the Gentiles. In Acts 2 we see the church in connection with the Jews established in Jerusalem, and in chapter ten we see the church in connection with the Gentiles established in the house of Cornelius. It was just after the establishment of these churches that the church in Antioch was founded. In its transition stage the church in Jerusalem was not altogether free from Judaism, but the church in Antioch from the very outset stood on absolutely clear Church ground. It is of no little significance that “the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch” (Acts 11:26). It was there that the peculiar characteristics of the Christian and the Christian Church were first clearly manifested, for which reason it may be regarded as the pattern church for this dispensation. Its prophets and teachers were model prophets and teachers, and the apostles it sent forth were model apostles. Not only are the men sent forth an example to us, but the manner of their sending forth is our example too. Since the first recorded sending out of apostles by the Holy Spirit was from Antioch, we shall do well to look carefully into its details.

　Since the completion of the New Testament the Holy Spirit has called many of God’s children to serve Him throughout the world, but, strictly speaking, none of these can be regarded as our examples. We must always look at the first act of the Holy Spirit in any given direction to discover His pattern for us in that particular direction. Therefore, in order to see what example the Church must follow today in the sending forth of apostles, let us examine carefully the first recorded sending forth of workers from the first church established on absolutely clear Church ground.
　　不只我们的主是使徒，作使徒的工作。当祂在地上尚未离世的时候，祂知道自己（在肉体中）的工作不会长久，所以祂一面负起工作的责任，一面也拣选一班人来继续祂负这责任。这一班人，也称作使徒。这一班人，也并非自告奋勇来的，也是奉差遣来的。工作最要紧的原则，就是奉差遣来作工，不是自告奋勇来作工。圣经中对有职分作工的人有一名称，就是被差遣的使徒。

　　主拣选使徒，是从那里拣选的呢？是从门徒中。当初主所差遣的工人，是从门徒中拣选的。是从门徒中拣出使徒来。不是门徒都是使徒，但使徒定规已是门徒。不是门徒都出来作主的工作，乃是主从门徒中，拣选人出来作祂的工作。所以一个作使徒的，定规有两次蒙召，一次是蒙召作门徒，一次是蒙召作使徒。一次是从世人中呼召来作门徒，一次是从门徒中呼召来作使徒。

　　这十二使徒，在圣经中，是有特别的地位的，在神的计划中，是有特别的安排的。因他们是和神的儿子同在的，神的儿子在世上的时候，他们和祂同在。像约翰所说，“就是我们所听见所看见，亲眼看过、亲手摸过的。”（约壹一1）像主所说，“你们的眼睛是有福的，因为看见了；你们的耳朵也是有福的，因为听见了。”（太十三16）所以在圣经中，这些使徒有特别的地位，不是称他们为使徒而已，乃是称他们为“那十二使徒”。所以你们看见，起头主是“叫祂的门徒来；就从他们中间拣选十二个人，称他们为使徒”（路六13）。以后，主对彼得说，“你们在我国里，坐在我的席上吃喝；并且坐在宝座上，审判以色列十二个支派。”（二二30）他们十二个人，有他们特别的地位，是在神所有其他的工人中，所没有的。基督有一特别的宝座，十二使徒，也有十二个宝座，这是普通的使徒所没有的。所以后来犹大（他根本和神没有发生关系过）作了恶，失去了这职分，神就引导其余的使徒选举两个人，从这两个人中，拣选一个人来补充这十二个人的职分。于是他们摇签，就摇出马提亚来。他“就和十一个使徒同列。”（徒一24~26）等一下，到行传二章十四节，就说，“彼得和十一个使徒，站起，高声说。”可见圣灵承认马提亚是列在十二使徒之列。他们这十二使徒之间，是不许空一个，也不许加一个的。他们这十二个人的地位，是特别的。后来我们看见，他们的结局在启示录里，也是有他们特别的地位的。启示录二十一章十四节说，“根基上有羔羊十二使徒的名字。”神有许许多多的工人，但这十二使徒的地位，是神其他所有的工人所没有的。神凭着自己的旨意，自己的计划，自己的主权，给了他们这特殊的地位。我们看见在新天新地的时候，十二使徒还有他们特殊的地位。
 
　In the first two verses of Acts 13 we read, “Now there were in Antioch, in the local church, prophets and teachers: Barnabas and Simeon, who was called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen, the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. And as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Let us note a few facts here. There was a local church in Antioch, there were certain prophets and teachers who were ministers in that church, and it was from among those that the Holy Spirit separated two for another sphere of service. Barnabas and Saul were two ministers of the Lord already engaged in the ministry when the call of the Spirit came. The Holy Spirit only sends to other parts such as are already equipped for the work and are bearing responsibility where they are, not those who are burying their talents and neglecting local needs while they dream of some future day when the call will come to special service. Barnabas and Saul were bearing the burden of the local situation when the Spirit put the burden of other parts upon them. Their hands were full of local work when He thrust them out to work further afield. Let us note first that the Holy Spirit chooses apostles from among the prophets and teachers.

　“And as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” These prophets and teachers ministered so wholeheartedly to the Lord that when occasion demanded they even ignored the legitimate claims of their physical being and fasted. What filled the thoughts of those prophets and teachers at Antioch was ministry to the Lord, not work for Him. Their devotion was to the Lord Himself, not to His service. No one can truly work for the Lord who has not first learned to minister to Him. It was while Barnabas and Saul ministered to the Lord that the voice of the Spirit was heard calling them to special service.

　It was to the divine call they responded, not to the call of human need. They had heard no reports of man-eaters or head-hunting savages; their compassions had not been stirred by doleful tales of child-marriage or foot-binding or opium- smoking. They had heard no voice but the voice of the Spirit; they had seen no claims but the claims of Christ. No appeal had been made to their natural heroism or love of adventure. They knew only one appeal—the appeal of their Lord. It was the lordship of Christ that claimed their service, and it was on His authority alone that they went forth. Their call was a spiritual call. No natural factor entered into it. It was the Holy Spirit who said, “Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” All spiritual work must begin with the Spirit’s call. All divine work must be divinely initiated. The plan conceived for the work may be splendid, the reason adequate, the need urgent, and the man chosen to carry it out may be eminently suitable; but if the Holy Spirit has not said, “Set apart that man for the work to which I have called him,” he can never be an apostle. He may be a prophet or a teacher, but he is no apostle. Of old all true apostles were separated by the Holy Spirit for the work to which He called them, and today all true apostles must just as surely be set apart for the work by Him. God desires the service of His children, but He makes conscripts; He wants no volunteers. The work is His, and He is its only legitimate Originator. Human intention, however good, can never take the place of divine initiation. Earnest desires for the salvation of sinners or for the edification of saints will never qualify a man for God’s work. One qualification, and only one, is necessary—God must send him.

　It was the Holy Spirit who said, “Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Only the divine call can qualify for the apostolic office. In earthly governments there can be no service without commission, and the same holds true in the government of God. The tragedy in Christian work today is that so many of the workers have simply gone out; they have not been sent. It is divine commission that constitutes the call to divine work. Personal desire, friendly persuasions, the advice of one’s elders, and the urge of opportunity—all these are factors on the natural plane, and they can never take the place of a spiritual call. That is something which must be registered in the human spirit by the Spirit of God.

　When Barnabas and Saul were sent forth, the Spirit first called them, then the brethren confirmed the call. The brethren may say you have a call, and circumstances may seem to indicate it, but the question is whether or not you yourself have heard the call. If you are to go forth, then you are the one who must first hear the voice of the Spirit. We dare not disregard the opinion of the brethren, but their opinion is no substitute for a personal call from God. Even if they are confident that we have a call, and in that same confidence a company of God’s people gladly sends us forth to the work, unless we ourselves know a direct speaking of God into our hearts, on the basis of the new covenant, then we go forth as the messengers of men, not as the apostles of God.

　If God desires the service of any child of His, He Himself will call him to it, and He Himself will send him forth. The first requirement in divine work is a divine call. Everything hinges on this. A divine call gives God His rightful place, for it recognizes Him as the Originator of the work. Where there is no call from God, the work undertaken is not of divine origin, and it has no spiritual value. Divine work must be divinely initiated. A worker may be called directly by the Spirit, or indirectly through the reading of the Word, through preaching, or through circumstances; but whatever means God may use to make His will known to man, His voice must be the one heard through every other voice; He must be the one who speaks, no matter through what instrument the call may come. We must never be independent of the other members of the Body, but we must never forget that we receive all our directions from the Head; so we must be careful to preserve our spiritual independence, even while we cultivate a spirit of mutual dependence among the members. It is wrong to reject the opinion of fellow workers under the pretext of doing the will of God, but it is also wrong to accept their opinions as a substitute for the direct instructions of the Spirit of God.
　　主作使徒，是独一无二的使徒，祂不能一直在地上。十二使徒，就是有特殊地位的使徒，也不能一直在地上。主去了，有十二使徒在我们中间；十二使徒去了，有谁在我们中间呢？

　　主去了，圣灵来了，是圣灵来负工作的责任。子是为父作工的，圣灵是为子作工的。子是来成功父的旨意的，圣灵来是成功子的旨意的。子来是为荣耀父的，圣灵来是为荣耀子的。父设立基督作使徒；子在地上，设立了十二使徒；圣灵来地上，也设立了使徒。圣灵所设立的使徒，虽不在十二使徒之列，但他们仍旧是使徒。

　　我们读过以弗所四章，我们看见，在那里所设立的使徒并不是十二个使徒。在那里明告诉我们，有一班的使徒是从主耶稣升天之后才起头的。他们乃是主耶稣升天之后所赐下来给教会的恩赐。这就很明显的，不是当初的十二个。那十二个是主耶稣在地上所设立的，他们在这一卷讲基督身体的书信里是没有地位的。这一卷书是讲基督的身体，和这个身体的合一。也讲有一班的执事，特别是使徒，乃是为着造就基督的身体的。身体不能存在；如果头还未存在。头如果还未取得祂的地位，就身体是不能存在的。所以当主耶稣还末作教会的头，还在地上的时候，这里所说建立基督身体的使徒是不能存在的。所以我们必须分别“作耶稣复活见证”的使徒（徒一22，25），和建立基督身体的使徒的不同。十二个乃是耶稣复活见证的使徒。主在升天之后，所立的使徒乃是建立基督身体的使徒。十二个后来无疑的也得有以弗所四章的使命，但是十二个之所以作十二个，与以弗所四章所说的，是完全不同的。神在十二个之外，还有其他的使徒。

　　所以自从圣灵降临之后，我们就看见，起头是十二使徒在那里作工；使徒行传一直到十二章止，都是他们在那里作工。到十三章，你就看见，是圣灵起头显现作教会的主，好像是作基督的经理。从十三章起，在安提阿，有几位先知和教师，事奉神，禁食的时候，圣灵就说，“要为我分派巴拿巴和扫罗，去作我召他们所作的工。”（十三1~2）现在有两个人被分派出去了，现在是圣灵差遣人出去了。

　　这两个人称作什么呢？他们就是使徒。保罗和巴拿巴在以哥念作工，结果“有附从犹太人的，有附从使徒的”（十四4）。巴拿巴是使徒，保罗也是使徒（这里的“使徒”，在希腊文是多数的）。下文也明说，“巴拿巴、保罗，二使徒。”（14）这给我们看见，圣灵所派出来的这两个人，就是使徒。虽然不是十二个中间之一，然而仍旧是使徒。

　　使徒是谁呢？使徒就是神的工人。乃是他们受分派去作圣灵“召他们所作的工”。工作的责任乃是在他们手里的。以广义来说，所有的弟兄都是作神工作的。那职事中的四种人更是作神工作的。但是，使徒这一班人是特别的作神工作的。神工作的责任是特别在他们身上的。他们自己是神的工人，他们的责任是神的工作。

　　在这里，我们立刻看见圣经对于使徒的教训。神设立祂的儿子作使徒。基督设立了十二使徒，为祂自己作工。圣灵又在十二使徒之外，设立了一班使徒。起头的一个使徒是独一的，只有祂一个。以后的十二使徒，是特殊的，是不能再加上一个的。但在这十二个使徒之后，不是没有使徒了，因为圣灵现今正在这里拣选人作使徒。主拣选十二使徒的事过去了，圣灵在这里，在十二使徒之外，仍一直的拣选使徒。祂所拣选的是另一等次的。圣灵在这地上有多久，就一直继续拣选使徒也有多久。

　　我们在圣经里看见，不只巴拿巴、保罗是使徒，圣灵所兴起像他们这一类的使徒，还有许多。像他们这一种新的等次的使徒，还不知有多少。在保罗、巴拿巴之外，还有许多这样的使徒。林前四章九节：“我想神把我们使徒明明列在末后。”这“我们使徒”是指谁说的呢？既说我们，当然在保罗之外，还有别人。这别人是谁呢？我们读上文，就知道有亚波罗也在内，他是同工（三6，四6）。若读一章一节，就所提尼也在这“我们”之内，因为写给哥林多的书信，是保罗和所提尼一同写的。所以，这里的我们，若非指亚波罗，就是指所提尼。也许是都指。在这里我们看见，不只保罗是使徒，连亚波罗也是使徒，所提尼也是使徒。

　　林后八章二十三节：“论到提多，他是我的同伴，一同为你们劳碌的，论到那两位兄弟，他们是众教会的使者。”（使者，希腊文和“使徒”同字）这两位弟兄，是保罗差他们送捐款到犹太给那些缺乏弟兄的。他们的名字虽然没有记在这里，但他们是出名的使徒，因圣经说他们是众教会的使徒。

　　还有罗马十六章七节：“又问我亲属与我一同坐监的安多尼古和犹尼亚安；他们在使徒中是有名望的。”“他们在使徒中是有名望的”这句的意思，是“在使徒中，他们是有名望的使徒”。这里又有二个使徒了，不只是使徒，并且是有名望的使徒。从这里看起来，圣灵所设立的使徒，不只有保罗、巴拿巴，并且还有许多人。

　　帖前二章六节：“我们作基督的使徒。”保罗在这里，又说到他们这一班作使徒的人，这很明显的，包括和他一同署名写信的西拉、和提摩太（一1）。这告诉我们说，这二位和保罗同工的少年人都是使徒。

　　林前十五章五节：“并且显给矶法看；然后显给十二使徒看。”又七节：“以后显给雅各看；再显给众使徒看。”你看，在十二使徒之外，还有“众使徒”，这众使徒定规不是十二使徒。圣灵在十二使徒之外，还设立了“众使徒”这一班人起来，继续作使徒的工作。

　　许多人有一个错误的思想，以为保罗是最末了的一个使徒，所以在保罗以后就再没有使徒了。但是，圣经并没有这样说，保罗自己也没有这样承认。我们读神的话：“末了也显给我看；我如同未到产期而生的人一般。我原是使徒中最小的，不配称为使徒。”（林前十五8~9）我们要注意保罗在这里，如何用“末了”和“最小”两个辞。他并非说他是“末了”的使徒，乃是说，主在复活的身体中显现给人看，是“末了”显给他看的。他说自己是使徒中“最小”的，他没有说自己是使徒中最“末了”的。如果保罗是使徒中最“末了”的，就在保罗之后，不再有使徒了。但保罗不过是说，看见主复活后的显现，他是最末了的一个，他并没有说，他是使徒中最末了的一个。

　　从以上这些圣经节，我们看见圣灵在地上继续主的工作，同时祂拣选使徒在地上作主的工。许多人是以为十二使徒之后，就没有使徒了。但是神在十二使徒之后，仍然拣选使徒，打发他们出去作工。这一班人，像十二使徒一样是使徒，不过他们没有十二使徒那一种特殊的地位而已。
 
　Yes, it was the Holy Spirit who called Barnabas and Saul, but He said to the other prophets and teachers as well as to them, “Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” The Holy Spirit spoke directly to the apostles, but He also spoke indirectly through the prophets and teachers. What was said privately to the two was confirmed publicly through the other three. All apostles must have a personal revelation of God’s will, but to make that alone the basis of their going forth is not sufficient. On the one hand, the opinion of others, however spiritual and however experienced, can never be a substitute for a direct call from God. On the other hand, a personal call, however definite, requires the confirmation of the representative members of the Body of Christ in the locality from which the workers go out.

　Let us observe that the Holy Spirit did not say to the church in Antioch, “Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul.” It was to the prophets and teachers He spoke. For God to make His will known to the entire assembly would scarcely have been practicable. Some of its members were spiritually mature, but others were only babes in Christ. Some were wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord, but it is highly improbable that all the members sought the Lord with such singleness of purpose that they could clearly differentiate between His will and their own ideas. God therefore spoke to a representative company in the church, to men of spiritual experience who were utterly devoted to His interest.

　And here was the result: “When they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away” (Acts 13:3). The setting apart of the apostles by the prophets and teachers followed the call which came to them from the Spirit. The call was personal, the separation was corporate; and the one was not complete without the other. A direct call from God, and a confirmation of that call in the setting apart of the called ones by the prophets and teachers, is God’s provision against free lances in His service.

　The calling of an apostle is the Holy Spirit speaking directly to the one called. The separating of an apostle is the Holy Spirit speaking indirectly through the fellow workers of the called one. It is the Holy Spirit who takes the initiative both in the calling and separation of workers. Therefore, if the representative brethren of any assembly set men apart for the service of the Lord, they must ask themselves, Are we doing this on our own initiative, or as representing the Spirit of God? If they move without absolute assurance that they are acting on behalf of the Holy Spirit, then the separation of the worker has no spiritual value. They must be able to say of every worker they send forth, He was sent out by the Holy Spirit, not by man. No separation of workers should be done hastily or lightly. It was for this reason that fasting and prayer preceded the sending forth of Barnabas and Saul.

　When Barnabas and Saul were separated for the work, there was prayer and fasting and the laying on of hands. The prayer and fasting was not merely in view of the immediate need of clear discernment regarding the will of God, but in view also of the coming need when the apostles would actually go forth. And the laying on of hands was not by way of ordination, for Barnabas and Saul were already ordained by the Holy Spirit. Here, as in the Old Testament, it was an expression of the perfect oneness of the two parties represented. It was as though the three sending forth the two said to them, “When you two members of the Body of Christ go forth, all the other members go with you. Your going is our going, and your work is our work.” The laying on of hands was a testimony to the oneness of the Body of Christ. It meant that those who remained behind were one with those who went forth, and in full sympathy with them; and that, as they went, those at the base pledged themselves to follow them continually with prayerful interest and loving sympathy.

　As regards all sent ones, they must pay attention to these two aspects in their separation for the service of God. On the one hand, there must be a direct call from God and a personal recognition of that call. On the other hand, there must be a confirmation of that call by the representative members of the Body of Christ. And as regards all who are responsible for the sending forth of others, they must on the one hand be in a position to receive the revelation of the Spirit and to discern the mind of the Lord; on the other hand, they must be able to enter sympathetically into the experience of those whom they, as the representative members of the Body of Christ, send forth in the name of the Lord. The principle that governed the sending forth of the first apostles still governs the sending forth of all apostles who are truly appointed by the Spirit to the work of God.
　　神今天在教会中所差遣的人，这些人到底是什么呢？使徒到底是什么意思呢？使徒这一个辞，希腊文就是“被差遣的人”，根本就不必加上什么解释。使徒，就是被差遣的人，此外再没有意思了。

　　这一班人是怎样的人呢？这一班人并非什么特殊恩赐的人，不过是神所差遣的人而已。凡神所差遣的人都是使徒，这一个辞，是指普通被差遣的人，并非什么特殊恩赐的人。今天有人以为，人必须这样，必须那样，才能作使徒。但是，能不能是恩赐的问题，是不是使徒，是差派的问题，不是恩赐的问题。教会里有一种思想，以为使徒是一种什么了不得的人。岂知凡有差派的人，都是神的使徒。许多人的恩赐不如保罗，但是他们若受有差派，就他们的职分是和保罗一样。不错，保罗的恩赐大，他们的恩赐小，但他们的职分是和保罗一样的。使徒不是管恩赐大不大，使徒是只管有没有差派。是神打发的，就是使徒，恩赐大小不成问题。使徒不是代表一种特别大恩赐的人，使徒乃是代表一种特别奉神差遣出使的人，乃是代表一种特别奉神差遣出去作工的人。

　　我们看圣经。路加十一章四十九节说，“我要差遣先知和使徒，到他们那里去；有的他们要杀害，有的他们要逼迫。”一切被差遣到以色列人那里去的，都是称作使徒。这些使徒和先知是谁呢？他们是否新约的使徒？不是。有一点是要注意的。这里是说，神是先差先知和使徒到以色列那里去，他们不接纳，然后才差祂的儿子。这些先知和使徒，都是在主耶稣之前，到以色列中间的。所以这些的使徒乃是旧约的。但从创世记到玛拉基书，你能否找出一位使徒呢？一位都找不出。那么，主耶稣为什么这样说呢？没有别的，因为使徒是一个普通的名字，并非指什么特别恩赐的人。使徒乃是神所差遣的人，是一个普通的名字。一切在旧约时被差去以色列人中的都是使徒。

　　主在新约说祂所差遣的人是如何？祂说，“仆人不能大于主人，差人也不能大于差他的人。”（约十三16）“差人”，在希腊文和“使徒”同字。在此，主论到使徒并没有什么别的意思，他们不过是一班受差的人而已，这班人并非高贵到一个什么特殊的地步的。

　　使徒的工作是如何呢？“假如有人来，另传一个耶稣，不是我们所传过的：或者你们另受一个灵，不是你们所受过的；或者另得一个福音，不是你们所得过的：…但我想，我一点不在那些最大的使徒以下。”（林后十一4~5）这给我们看见，一个使徒的工作是如何。使徒就是奉差遣去传福音，传主耶稣，叫人得救，叫人得圣灵。从前这一班人是使徒，今天这一班人也照旧是使徒。从前那一班被圣灵差遣的人是使徒，今天这一班被圣灵差遣的人也照样是使徒。

　　彼后三章二节：“叫你们记念圣先知预先所说的话，和主救主的命令，就是使徒所传给你们的。”这可见使徒的工作是一种传话的工作。使徒将主的话，传给祂的众儿女。当初把神的话传给神儿女们的是使徒，今天把神的话传给神儿女们的也照样是使徒。

　　今日为主所差遣出外传福音者，虽不自称为使徒，但是，却都是称为missionary，这一个字乃是拉丁文，意思就是“被差遣的人”，与希腊文的apostolos，乃是完全相等，同样意义的。我不知道为什么今日的布道者不迳称为使徒，而自称为missionary，但是，这个字已经表明，今日的布道者已经自承他们就是神所差遣的人，一如神当日所差遣的人一样。

　　人是不是使徒也不是看他在世上有没有职业。不是有职业的人就不能作使徒，没有世上职业的人才能作。保罗就是一个有职业的人。虽然也许其他的使徒乃是没有职业的人。不过保罗的职业乃是活动的，可以随身走动的。人是不是使徒乃是看他有没有蒙召受差遣。这是一切的问题。有了这个就是使徒，没有这个就不是。使徒并不是以有无职业来断定的。今天这一种以为应当没有属世的职业才是使徒，乃是人的意见，不是神的思想。但我相信，使徒是不可以有一个不能移动的职业的。
 
　On what ground did these prophets and teachers set certain men apart as apostles, and whom did these prophets and teachers represent? Why did they, and not the entire church, separate those workers? What is the significance of such separation, and what is the qualification required on the part of those who assume responsibility in the matter?

　The first thing we must realize is that God has incorporated all His children into one Body. He recognizes no division of His people into various “churches” and missions. He has designed that all who are His shall live a corporate life, the life of a body among whose many members there is mutual consideration, mutual love, and mutual understanding. And He has purposed that not only the life, but also the ministry of His children, should be on the principle of the body, that it should be a matter of mutual helpfulness, mutual edification, and mutual service—the activity of the many members of one body. There are two aspects of the Body of Christ—life and ministry. The first half of Ephesians 4 speaks of the Body in relation to its ministry; the second half speaks of the Body in relation to its life. “Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love” (v. 16). Here it is work that is under consideration. But in verse 25 the question is clearly one of life: “Therefore having put off the lie, speak truth each one with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” In Romans 12 we see how the members should care one for another, so that the thought there again is the manifestation of the one life. But in 1 Corinthians 12 we see how the members should serve one another, so the thought in that passage is the manifestation of the one ministry.

　When we speak of the one Body, we emphasize the oneness of the life of all God’s children. When we speak of its many members, we emphasize the diversity of functions in that unity. The characteristic of the former is life; the characteristic of the latter is work. In a physical body the members differ one from another; yet they function as one, because they share one life and have the upbuilding of the whole body as their one aim.

　Because the Body of Christ has these two different aspects—life and ministry—it consequently has two different outward manifestations. The church in a locality is used to express the life of the Body, and the gifts in the Church are used to express the ministry of its members. In other words, each local church should stand on the ground of the Body, regarding itself as an expression of the oneness of the life of the Body, and it should on no account admit of division, since it exists as the manifestation of an indivisible life. The various ministers of the Church should likewise stand on the ground of the Body, regarding themselves as an expression of the oneness of its varied ministries. Perfect fellowship and cooperation should characterize all their activity, for though their functions are diverse, their ministry is really one. No local church should divide into different sects, or affiliate with other churches under a denomination, thus departing from the ground of the Body; and no group of ministers should unite to form a separate unit, standing on other than Body ground. All their work should be performed as members of the Body, and not as members of an organization existing in distinction from it. A worker may employ his gifts in the capacity of an officer of an organization, but in so doing he departs from the ground of the Body.

　A cursory reading of Ephesians 4:11-12 might lead us to conclude that apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers functioned outside the Body, because they were given by the Lord to His Church for her upbuilding (v. 12). But verse 16 makes it clear that they do not stand outside the Body to build it up; they seek to build it up from within. They themselves are part of the Body, and it is only as they take their rightful place in it, as ministering members, that the whole Body is edified.

　That churches are the local expression of the Body of Christ is an established fact, so we need not go into that here; but some explanation is called for regarding the gifted ministers whom God has set in the Church as the expression of the ministry of the Body. In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul is clearly dealing with the question of Christian service. He likens the workers to different members of a body, and shows that each member has its specific use, and all serve the body as belonging to it, not as distinct from it. In verse 27 he writes, “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually”; and in the following verse he says, “And God has placed some in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then works of power, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.” A study of these two verses makes it clear that the gifted ministers of verse 28 are the members of verse 27, and that the Church of verse 28 is the Body of verse 27; therefore, what ministers are to the Church, members are to the Body. They hold their position in the Body on account of their functions (the “hearing” and “smelling” of verse 17). The gifted ministers are the functioning members of the Body, and all their operations are as members. They are to the Church what hands, feet, mouth, and head are to the physical body. God’s servants do not minister to the Church as apart from it, but as its members. They are in the Body, serving it by the use of those faculties which they, as members, possess. A church in any locality is an expression of the one life of the Body, while its ministers are the expression of the difference and yet oneness of its ministry.

　First Corinthians 12 deals with the subject of the Body of Christ, not in its life aspect but in its work aspect. The whole chapter is taken up with the question of ministry, and that ministry is spoken of as the functioning of the different members, from which it is evident that in the thought of God all ministry is on Body ground. Ministry is the practical expression of the Body, an expression of the diversity in unity of its various members. Therefore, we see that when the life aspect of the Body of Christ is expressed, there you have a local church; and when the work aspect is expressed, there you have a manifestation of the gifts God has given to His Church.

　In reading 1 Corinthians 12:28 one cannot but be arrested by the striking difference between the description of the first three gifts and the remaining five. Paul, under the inspiration of the Spirit, takes special care in enumerating them—“first apostles, second prophets, third teachers.” The first three are specifically numbered, but not the rest; and they are quite distinct in their nature as well as in their numbering. They are men; the rest are things. The three first-named gifts of the Lord to His Church—apostles, prophets, and teachers—stand apart from all the others. They are ministers of God’s Word, and their function, to edify the Body of Christ, is the most important function in the Church. They are the representatives of the ministry of the Body.

　The only scriptural record of the sending forth of apostles is found in Acts 13, and there we see that it is the prophets and teachers who set them apart for their ministry. Scripture provides no precedent for the separation and sending forth of men by one or more individuals, or by any mission or organization; even the sending out of workers by a local church is a thing unknown in the Word of God. The only example provided us there is the separating and sending forth of apostles by the prophets and teachers.

　What is the significance of this? In Antioch the prophets and teachers were chosen of God to separate Barnabas and Saul for His service, because they were the ministering members of the church, and this separation of the apostles was a question of ministry rather than of life. Had it related to life, and not specifically to service, then it would have been the concern of the whole local church, not merely of its ministering members. But let it be noted that, though Barnabas and Saul were not separated for the work by the entire church, they were sent out not as representatives of a few select members, but as representatives of the whole Body. Their being separated by the prophets and teachers implied that they did not go out on individualistic lines, or on the basis of any organization, but on the ground of the ministry of the Body. The emphasis, as we have seen, was on ministry, not on life, but it was a ministry representing the whole church, not representing any particular section of it. This is clearly expressed by the laying on of hands.

　As we have seen, the laying on of hands speaks of oneness (Lev. 1:4), and the only oneness known among the children of God is the oneness of the Body of Christ; therefore, in laying hands upon the apostles, the prophets and teachers definitely stood on the ground of the Body, acting as its representative members. Their action identified the whole church with the apostles, and identified the apostles with the whole church. These prophets and teachers did not stand on individual ground to send the apostles forth as their personal representatives, nor did they stand on the ground of any select company to send them out as representatives of that particular company; but they stood on the ground of the Body, as its ministering members, and set these two apart for the work of the gospel. In their turn the two, being thus separated, went forth, not to represent any particular individuals or any special organization, but to represent the Body of Christ, and the Body of Christ alone. All work that is truly scriptural and truly spiritual must be out from the Body and must minister to the Body. The Body must be the ground on which the worker stands, and it alone must be the sphere in which he works.

　On two different occasions Paul had the laying on of hands; first when he believed on the Lord (Acts 9:17), then on the occasion under consideration, when he was sent out from Antioch. The former expressed his identification with the life of the Body; the latter his identification with the ministry of the Body. The first proclaimed him a member of the Body by receiving life from the Head; the second proclaimed him a ministering member, working not as an isolated individual, but in relation to the other members, as a part of one great whole.

　In sending Barnabas and Saul from Antioch, the prophets and teachers stood for no “church” or mission; they represented the ministry of the Body. They were not the whole Church; they were only a group of God’s servants. They bore no special name, they were bound by no particular organization, and they were subject to no fixed rules. They simply submitted themselves to the control of the Spirit and separated those whom He had separated for the work to which He had called them. They themselves were not the Body, but they stood on the ground of the Body, under the authority of the Head. Under that authority, and on that ground, they separated men to be apostles; and under the same authority, and on the same ground, others can do the same. The separation of apostles on this principle will mean that the men sent out may differ, those who send them may differ, and the time and place of their sending may differ too; but since all is under the direction of the one Head, and on the ground of the one Body, there will still be no division. If Antioch sends men out on the basis of the Body, and Jerusalem sends men out on the basis of the Body, there will still be inward oneness despite all outward diversity. How grand it would be if there were no representatives of different earthly bodies, but only representatives of the Body, the Body of Christ. If thousands of local churches, with thousands of prophets and teachers, each sent out thousands of different workers, there would be a vast outward diversity, but there could still be perfect inward unity if all were sent out under the direction of the one Head and on the ground of the one Body.

　That Christ is the Head of the Church is a recognized fact, but that fact needs emphasis in relation to the ministry as well as to the life of the Church. Christian ministry is the ministry of the whole Church, not merely of one section of it. We must see to it that our work is on no lesser basis than the Body of Christ. Otherwise, we lose the headship of Christ, for Christ is not the Head of any system, or mission, or organization: He is the Head of the Church. If we belong to any human organization, then the divine headship ceases to be expressed in our work.

　In Scripture we find no trace of man-made organizations sending out men to preach the gospel. We only find representatives of the ministry of the Church, under the guidance of the Spirit and on the ground of the Body, sending out those whom the Spirit has already separated for the work. If those responsible for the sending out of workers sent them out, not as their own representatives or the representatives of any organization, but only as representatives of the Body of Christ, and if those sent out stood on the ground of no particular “church” or mission, but on the ground of the Church alone, then no matter from what places the workers came or to what places they went, cooperation and unity would always be possible and much confusion in the work would be avoided.
　　使徒这一班人，有什么凭据呢？什么种的人，才能作使徒呢？林前九章一至二节：“我不是自由的么？我不是使徒么？我不是见过我们的主耶稣么？你们不是我在主里面所作之工么？假若在别人我不是使徒，在你们我总是使徒；因为你们在主里正是我作使徒的印证。”这样看来，使徒是有凭据的。主有没有差一个人去作工是没有凭据的呢？保罗写信给在哥林多的信徒，曾辩驳这问题。在哥林多的信徒，有人说保罗不是使徒。保罗就告诉他们说，他是使徒，他有作使徒的凭据。他说，“你们在主里正是我作使徒的印证。”如果没有他，就哥林多的信徒不会得救，就没有教会在哥林多了。神若没有派保罗来哥林多作工，就在哥林多也没有他们的存在了。神有没有派人出去作使徒，乃是问他到一个地方，有没有果子。什么地方有神的命令，什么地方就有神的权柄。什么地方有神的权柄，什么地方就有神的能力。什么地方有神的能力，什么地方就有属灵的果子。权柄是从神的命令来的，能力是从神的权柄来的，果子是从神的能力来的。我们工作的果子，要证明我们作工的地位。

　　不过有人说，保罗说，“我不是见过我们的主耶稣么？”这样，岂不是见过主耶稣复活显现的人，才有资格作使徒么？但是，我们要知道林前九章一节，保罗说了四件事：（一）我不是自由的么；（二）我不是使徒么；（三）我不是见过我们的主耶稣么；（四）你们不是我在主里面所作之工么。在二节，保罗就将其中的两个事实联在一起，而把其余的两个事实略去。他将他自己是使徒，和哥林多人是他工作的果子这两个事实联在一起，而将我不是自由的么，和我不是见过主么两个事实略去。所以我们就知道，保罗是以工作的果子，作他作使徒的印证，他并没有把见主复活的显现或者他是自由的，作他作使徒的凭据。如果不是这样，就自由的人，岂都是使徒呢？保罗没有作过奴隶。保罗不过在这里说出他的三个资格来，并非说，有这三个资格，才是作使徒的凭据。

　　另一面在林前十五章怎么说呢？“并且显给矶法看；然后显给十二使徒看；后来一时显给五百多弟兄看，…以后显给雅各看；再显给众使徒看；末了也显给我看；…我原是使徒中最小的。”（5~9）这岂不是把使徒和见主复活摆在一起么？不。为什么呢？在这里，你很明显的看见使徒保罗，从来没有把见主复活当作使徒的条件。这里的题目，是见证主的复活。这里所见证的，不是保罗作使徒的凭据，乃是主耶稣的复活。并且主不只显给矶法看，不只显给十二使徒看，不只显给雅各看，主也曾显给五百多弟兄看。使徒看见了主复活的显现是使徒，没有看见主复活的显现，也仍然是使徒。那五百多弟兄，本来不是使徒，他们看见了主，也仍然不是使徒。所以说，见了主的复活才是使徒的凭据，不过是人的一种说法，圣经里并没有这样说。这个误会，我们必须除去。

　　但是使徒是有凭据的。林后十二章十一至十二节：“…我虽算不了什么，却没有一件事在那些最大的使徒以下。我在你们中间，用百般的忍耐，借着神迹奇事异能，显出使徒的凭据来。”保罗作使徒，是有他的凭据的。一件事是定规的，神如果呼召一个人作使徒，他就定规有作使徒的标记，叫人一见就知道他是一个使徒。保罗在这里，说他作使徒的标记，就是有两种的能力，一种是属灵的能力，一种是神奇的能力。最大的属灵能力，就是忍耐。属灵的能力，最大的表现就是能欢欢喜喜地忍耐宽容（西一11）。最需要能力的是忍耐，这是最大属灵的能力。你能不能忍耐，要证明你属灵的能力是大是小。林前十三章说到爱的现象时，头一句是恒久忍耐，末了一句是凡事忍耐。使徒的标记是忍耐，这是一种百折不回的精神。容易放手，没有忍耐的能力，都是因为他没有见过神，没有看见属灵的实际，这样的人那里受过神的呼召呢？他们也许是使徒，但是他们没有使徒的标记，不像使徒。同时作使徒的，不只有属灵的能力，作他的标记，还有神奇的能力，作他的标记。不只有属灵的能力在他背后，也有神奇的能力在他背后。神要听他的祷告，神要行奇事异能来证明他是神所差派的。使徒在外邦各地的工作中，这是何等的需要呢！

　　但在这里要注意一句话。这里不是说，凡能行神迹奇事的都是使徒。要记得林前十二章二十八节，在使徒之外，还有人能行异能，还有人能医病。所以有的行异能的是使徒，也有的行异能的不是使徒，不过是一个行异能的。林前十二章给我们看见，行异能的和作使徒的不同。不过有的使徒是行异能的，也有行异能的并非是使徒。
 
　After the apostles were called by the Spirit and were separated for the work by the representative members of the Body, what did they do? We need to recall that those who separated them only expressed identification and sympathy by the laying on of hands; they had no authority to control the apostles. Those prophets and teachers at the base assumed no official responsibility in regard to their movements, their methods of work, or the supply of their financial needs. In Scripture we nowhere find that apostles are under the control of any individual or any organized company. They had no regulations to adhere to and no superiors to obey. The Holy Spirit called them, and they followed His leading and guidance; He alone was their Director.

　In Acts 13 and 14 we find the first scriptural record of missionary movements. Though today the places we visit and the conditions we meet may be vastly different from those of the Scripture record, yet in principle the experience of the first apostles may well serve as our example. Let us glance for a moment at these two chapters.

　“They then, having been sent out by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia; and from there they sailed away to Cyprus. And when they were in Salamis, they announced the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they also had John as their attendant. And when they had passed through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain man, a magician” (13:4-6). From the very outset constant movement characterized those sent ones. A true apostle is a traveler, not a settler.

　“And putting out to sea from Paphos, Paul and his companions came to Perga of Pamphylia; and John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem. And they passed through from Perga and arrived at Pisidian Antioch. And they went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down” (13:13-14). (The Antioch mentioned here is not the same as the Antioch from which Barnabas and Saul set forth on their first missionary tour.) The apostles were constantly on the move, proclaiming the Word of God wherever they went, but until they reached Antioch in Pisidia we are not told anything of the result of their labors. From this point there is a definite development in the work.

　“And when the synagogue gathering had been dismissed, many of the Jews and the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God” (13:43). Here is the outcome of a short period of witness in Antioch of Pisidia—many of the Jews and religious proselytes believed. A week later almost the whole city gathered together to hear the Word (v. 44), but this enthusiastic response on the part of the people provoked the Jews to jealousy, and they opposed the apostles (v. 45). At this point the apostles turned to the Gentiles (v. 46), and “as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (v. 48). On the previous Sabbath a number of Jews had received the Word of life. This Sabbath a number of Gentiles believed on the Lord. So not long after the arrival of the apostles in Antioch of Pisidia we find a church there.

　But the apostles did not argue, “Now we have a group of believers here. We must stay awhile and shepherd them.” They founded a local church at Antioch of Pisidia, but they did not stay to build it up. On they went again, publishing the Word of the Lord “through the whole region” (v. 49). Their objective was not one city, but “all the region.” The modern custom of settling down in one place to shepherd a particular flock has no precedent in Scripture.

　Persecution followed (v. 50). The opponents of the gospel message expelled the apostles from their coasts, and they answered by shaking the dust from their feet (v. 51). Many a present-day missionary has no dust to shake from his feet! But those who gather no dust lack the characteristic of an apostle. The early apostles never settled down in comfortable homes, nor did they stop for long to pastor the churches they founded. They were constantly traveling. To be an apostle means to be a sent one, that is, to be always going out. A stationary apostle is a contradiction in terms. A true apostle is one who in times of persecution will always have dust to shake off his feet.

　What effect had this early departure of the apostles upon the infant church? Here was a group of new believers, mere babes in Christ, and their fathers in the faith forsook them in their infancy. Did they argue, “Why should the apostles be afraid of persecution and leave us to face the opposition alone?” Did they plead with the apostles to remain awhile and care for their spiritual welfare? Did they reason, “If you leave us now we shall be as sheep without a shepherd. If both of you cannot stay, surely one at least can remain behind and look after us. The persecution is so intense, we shall never get through without your help.” How amazing the Scripture record is: “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (v. 52).

　There was no mourning among the disciples when the apostles left, but great gladness. The disciples were glad, for they knew the Lord; and they might well rejoice, because the apostles’ departure meant an opportunity for others to hear the gospel. What was loss to them was gain to Iconium. Those believers were not like the believers of today, hoping for a settled pastor to instruct them, solve their problems, and shelter them from trouble. And those apostles were not like the apostles of today; they were pioneers, not settlers. They did not wait till believers were mature before they left them. They dared to leave them in mere infancy, for they believed in the power of the life of God within them.

　But those disciples were not only filled with joy; they were filled with the Holy Spirit. The apostles might go, but the Spirit remained. Had the apostles remained to pastor them, it would have mattered little whether they were filled with the Spirit or not. If they had had a pastor to throw light on all their problems, they would have felt little need of the Spirit’s instruction; and they would have felt little need of His power if they had had one in their midst who was bearing all responsibility for the spiritual side of the work while they attended to the secular. In Scripture there is not the slightest hint that apostles should settle down to pastor those they have led to the Lord. There are pastors in Scripture, but they are simply brethren raised up of God from among the local saints to care for their fellow believers. One of the reasons why so many present-day converts are not filled with the Spirit is that the apostles settle down to shepherd them and take upon themselves the responsibility that belongs to the Holy Spirit.

　Praise God that the apostles moved on to Iconium, for “a great multitude of both Jews and Greeks believed” (14:1). Before long “the multitude of the city was divided, and some were with the Jews and some with the apostles” (v. 4). The saved were obviously a great multitude, since their coming out from the unsaved so vitally affected the place as to cause a division in the city. Only a short time after the apostles left Antioch in Pisidia, there was a church established in Iconium; and here, as in the previous place, opposition was intense. The apostles might well have argued that to leave a great multitude of mere babes in Christ exposed to fierce persecution was heartless, and bad policy besides. But the apostles were true to their apostolic calling, and off they went “to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe” (v. 6). And what did they do when they came to Lystra? As elsewhere, so here, “they announced the gospel” (v. 7), and as elsewhere, so here, there was opposition and persecution (v. 19). It is difficult to estimate the number of believers at Lystra, but judging by the remark that the disciples surrounded Paul (v. 20), there must have been at least half a dozen, and there may have been scores or even hundreds. So now there is a church in Lystra!

　Does Paul stay to shepherd them awhile, or at least to tend them till the fierceness of the opposition has subsided? No! “On the next day he went out with Barnabas to Derbe” (v. 20). And there again the glad tidings are proclaimed and many disciples are made (v. 21). So another church is formed! And with the founding of a church in Derbe the first missionary tour of the apostles closes.

　Looking back over these two chapters, we note that a fundamental principle governs the movements of the apostles. They travel from place to place, according to the leading of the Spirit, preaching the gospel and founding churches. Nowhere do we find them settling down to shepherd and instruct the converts, or to bear any local responsibility in the churches they have founded. In days of peace the apostles were on the move, and in days of persecution likewise. “Go!” was the word of the Lord, and “Go!” was the watchword of the apostles. The outstanding trait of a sent one is that he is always on the move.
　　使徒也有假冒的，不只今天有，当初也有。林后十一章十三节：“那等人是假使徒，行事诡诈，装作基督使徒的模样。”圣经明说有假使徒。并不是说，他们是假门徒，他们也许是真门徒，是真重生得救的人。不过他们也许把敬虔当为得利的门路，想在宗教方面来发财，他们盼望在哥林多人身上有所得。所以保罗叫在哥林多的信徒有所防备。有时有真的使徒，在他们作工结果子之后，有人就想从这些果子身上得一些利益。这一种的人，就是假使徒。所以圣经说，这种的使徒，就得被试验。在以弗所的教会，曾试验那自称为使徒却不是使徒的，看出他们是假的来（启二2）。他们这样作，是明明被主所称许的。

　　试验谁是假使徒，最大的试验是金钱。凡在金钱上不清楚，有贪图的，定规是假使徒。假使徒，若不谋名，定规谋利。凡在金钱上有所谋的，定规是假使徒。保罗为救济在耶路撒冷的圣徒，他特别派两位弟兄去送，他在这些事上，是特别的光明。凡在金钱上有所贪图的，定规是假使徒。什么时候钱若摸着我们，我们的工作不是完全只因着主，只为着爱主，却受钱的影响，就我们也有从真使徒变作假使徒的可能！我们要学在以弗所的信徒，知道如何试验那自称是使徒，却不是使徒的。

　　感谢神，圣灵还在这里。感谢神，不是我没有特别的恩赐，就不能作使徒。感谢神，不是肉眼看见了主才能作使徒。感谢神，不管我是先知也好，是教师也好，是传福音者也好，只要我有主的呼召，就能作祂的使徒。今天一切蒙主呼召的人，不管他恩赐如何，也不管他有没有见过主，只问他有没有主的呼召。如果他有主的呼召，他就是继续保罗、巴拿巴等次之后作使徒的。虽然我们不是十二使徒中的一个，但我们是使徒。虽然我们不是大使徒，但我们是众使徒中最小的一个。这一个数目还没有满，这一个是凡受主托付的都有分的，这一个是凡受主差遣的都有分的。
 
　But the question arises, How were these new converts shepherded and instructed? How were the newly-founded churches established? In studying the Word we find that the missionary tour of the apostles consisted of an outward and a return journey. On their outward journey their first concern was to found churches. On their return journey their chief business was to build them up.

　Having “made a considerable number of disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, establishing the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith and saying that through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God” (14:21-22). Here we see Paul and Barnabas returning to do some construction work in the churches already founded; but as before on their outward journey, so now on their return, they never settle down in any one place.

　It is clear then that the apostles did not just move from place to place founding churches; they also did definite construction work. Merely to found churches without establishing them would be like leaving newborn babes to their own resources. The point to note here is that, while the instruction of the new converts and the building up of the churches was a very vital part of the apostles’ work, they did it, not by settling down in one place, but rather by visiting the places where they had been before. Neither in their initial work of preaching the gospel, nor in their subsequent work of establishing the churches, did the apostles take up their permanent abode in any one place.

　Before they left a place where a church had been founded and some construction work done, they appointed elders to bear responsibility there (14:23). This is one of the most important parts of an apostle’s work. (This subject will be dealt with more fully in a subsequent chapter.)

　Thus the early apostles worked, and the blessing of the Lord rested on their labors. We shall do well if we follow in their steps, but we must realize clearly that even though we adopt apostolic methods, unless we have apostolic consecration, apostolic faith, and apostolic power, we shall still fail to see apostolic results. We dare not underestimate the value of apostolic methods—they are absolutely essential if we are to have apostolic fruits—but we must not overlook the need of apostolic spirituality, and we must not fear apostolic persecution.
　　姊妹，有没有分于使徒呢？有。罗马十六章七节说，有两个使徒，是在使徒中有名望的：一个叫作安多尼古，一个叫作犹尼亚。有一本希腊文有权威的书说，犹尼亚是一个女人的名字。在这里，有犹尼亚这一个女人，她是在使徒中有名望的。所以，我们看见在使徒中有姊妹。在十二使徒中没有姊妹，但在这许多的使徒中有姊妹。我们虽然没有别的证据，但犹尼亚这个名字，是一个证据。中文也许有男人的名字好像女人的，但在希腊文就不容易有错。
 
　“And from there they sailed away to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled. And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared the things that God had done with them and that He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles” (14:26-27). On their return to Antioch the apostles “declared the things that God had done with them.” It was from Antioch that Paul and Barnabas had gone out, so it was only fitting that on their return they should give an account of the Lord’s dealings with them to those from whom they had gone forth. To give reports of the work to those who are truly bearing the burden with us, is sanctioned by God’s Word. It is not only permissible, but necessary, that the children of God at the base should be informed of His doings on the field; but we do well to make sure that our reports are not in the nature of advertisements.

　In the matter of reporting, we should on the one hand avoid all unnatural reticence and soulish seclusiveness; on the other hand, we must carefully guard against the intrusion of any personal interest. In all reports of the work our aim should be to glorify God and bring spiritual enrichment to those who share them. To utilize reports as a means of propaganda, with material returns in view, is base in the extreme, and unworthy of any Christian. When the motive is to glorify God and benefit His children, but at the same time to make known the needs of the work with a view to receiving material help, it is still far from acceptable to the Lord, and is unworthy of His servants. Our aim should be this alone— that God shall be glorified and His children blessed. If there were this perfect purity of motive in our reports, how differently many of them would be worded!

　Each time we write or speak of our work, let us ask ourselves these questions: (1) Am I reporting with a view to gaining publicity for myself and my work? (2) Am I reporting with the double object of glorifying the Lord and advertising the work? (3) Am I reporting with this aim alone, that God shall be glorified and His children blessed? May the Lord give us grace to report with unmixed motives and perfect purity of heart!

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