1 Corinthians 12:28 – The first in the ecclesia

Whom also God indeed, placed in the ecclesia first, apostles, second, prophets, third, teachers.

No member of the ecclesia is superfluous. Nevertheless, there is also a ranking. The first members that GOD placed in the ecclesia are the apostles. When Christ rose from the grave, he was seen by “all the apostles” (15: 7) and as “the last of all” by Paul (15: 8). All of them have been given a primary role in the ecclesia by God. Because the testimony began with them.

In Ephesians 2:20, Paul writes about the ecclesia as a house built on “the foundation of the apostles and the prophets.” The foundation itself is Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:11). His resurrection from the dead is the solid foundation of everything. But this foundation has been laid (read: preached) by the apostles, that is, those who were highly delegated personally. And furthermore, the foundation has been laid by others through whom GOD spoke his word directly. So prophets. Think of men who cannot be counted as apostles, such as Mark or Luke but who have recorded the word of God. Every healthy teaching is based on this “foundation of the apostles and prophets.” Behold the teachers!

Delen: