The Church is APOSTOLIC

“Apostolic” has two possible meanings:

a) Ephesians 2:19-22

God’s temple is built on a firm foundation: it began with Jesus himself, and was completed by the teaching of “the apostles and prophets”. From our point of view, this means that everything the Church does should be based on the New Testament. The Church of Scientology, despite its name, is not a church in the Biblical sense, because it is based on the teachings of Ron Hubbard. And what about the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints? And what about “prosperity gospel” churches?

Of course, people have been building on that foundation for almost two thousand years now. Some things have stood the test of time; others have turned out to be unhelpful. (I Corinthians 3:10-15) The ‘superstructure’ is, in principle, negotiable; the foundation must not be tampered with.

Although we have to apply the Gospel to our own generation and culture (which means that individual churches may well express it in many and various ways), we are not free to choose which bits we find palatable and which bits we don't!

b) Matthew 28:18-20

The word apostolic comes from the same Greek root as the word `apostle', and means `sent out with a message’. Evangelism is not an optional extra; the Church is missionary by its very nature. The Church is not meant to be a ‘holy huddle’; we are meant to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. (Matthew 5:13-16)


These two meanings are not mutually exclusive: we must look forward as well as backward. There must be continuity with the past, not only in belief but also in mission.