This paper is a critique of the book—Apostles and Prophets: The Foundation of the Church—authored by C Peter Wagner and published by Regal Books, Ventura, California, in the year 2000. Wagner was former professor of Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the acclaimed leader of the New Apostolic Reformation and Third Wave Charismatism. Wagner is co-founder of the World Prayer Center, and chancellor of the Wagner Institute in Colorado Springs. A prolific writer, some of his other books are Apostles of the City, Churchquake!, Acts of the Holy Spirit, Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow, Lightening the World, and Prayer Shield.

Wagner’s Apostles and Prophets seeks to prove that apostles and prophets are needed for the growth and success of the church today based on Ephesians 2:20 (7-9). He asserts that God is still giving "apostles and prophets" to the church, and that these two must work together harmoniously to bring the kingdom of God into fruition. Although both offices receive authentic revelation from God today, the prophets, he says, must subject themselves to the apostles for the latter are the anointed CEOs of the church of Christ. In his book, he lists four categories of apostles, and gives a personal testimony of his calling and appointment as a "horizontal apostle" to give "apostolic covering" to this New Apostolic Reformation movement as well as to the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders.

Is his thesis valid? It ought to be noted that Paul did not say in Ephesians 2:20 that the apostles and prophets are the foundation of the church but that the church is built on their foundation. It must be understood that the church is built not on apostles and prophets but on Christ, the Rock (cf. Matt 16:18). Paul himself acknowledged, "According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon… For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Cor 3:10-11). It is thus not the apostles and prophets themselves, but their Christ-centred and Spirit-inspired oral (1 Thess 2:13, 2 Pet 1:20-21) and written (2 Tim 3:16) tradition (2 Thess 3:6), i.e. the Scriptures that constitute the very Foundation of every true Christian church.

Since the Church has the complete and authoritative Scriptures written by the OT prophets and NT apostles with Christ as the Chief Cornerstone, no other foundation is needed today. Since revelation has ceased with the completion of the canonical Scriptures, there is no longer any need for the revelatory offices of apostles and prophets. God has solemnly commanded the church not to add to or subtract from the Holy Scriptures (Rev 22:18-19).

Not only Ephesians 2:20, Wagner also misinterprets Philippians 2:19-29 by claiming that Titus, Timothy, and Epaphroditus were apostles in the same way Peter and Paul were (44-45). He argues that the Greek word apostolos as used in the passage to refer to those men proves that they were apostles of Jesus Christ like the Twelve. But this disregards the fact that the word apostolos has two meanings: (1) a general meaning of "a delegate" or "messenger," and (2) a special meaning to mean the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ (cf Acts 1:20-26).

Another serious misinterpretation of Scripture comes from his arbitrary grouping of apostles into four types (vertical, horizontal, hyphenated, and marketplace). Wagner classified Paul as a vertical apostle, and as such "he was not an apostle over the whole Church everywhere" (1 Cor 9:1-2). Unjustifiably, he limits Paul’s apostolic authority to a few local churches. This contradicts the nature of Christ’s calling and appointment of His apostles. Although Paul had a specialised ministry, his authority was universal as witnessed by the authoritative Scriptures he wrote that are binding on all churches of all ages in all places (cf. 2 Pet 3:15-17).

Wagner, believes that the Holy Spirit continues to give the sign gifts of "healings, deliverance, prophecy, miracles, ecstatic experiences" to the church today (15). He believes in the continuity of authoritative revelation through apostles and prophets. He records all such revelation in his "Prophetic Journal," and depends on them for daily guidance (57-58, 78ff). He tells of his experiences with "prophecies," and how he uses them to build his doctrines (48, 79). He counsels, "Do you want to know how to set a certain situation in order? Ask the apostle!" Wagner does not think the Scriptures to be sufficiently authoritative for he considers his words to be equally authoritative (44). He exalts the words of men above the Word of God.

Wagner’s theology contradicts God’s Word that teaches the cessation of the partial and temporary means of revelation when Perfect Revelation comes, which is the completed and canonical Scripture (1 Cor 13:8-10). The sign gifts were given to the apostles of Christ to authenticate their ministry (Mark 16:17-20), and once their purpose is fulfilled they shall cease (1 Cor 13:8-10). The view that dreams and visions have not ceased and remain authoritative contradicts the written revelation of God in the Scriptures and undermines their sole and sufficient authority for the life and growth of the church (2 Tim 3:16-17, Rev 22:18-19).

Wagner also teaches that without the divine administration provided by the foundation of "apostles and prophets" today, the church cannot achieve what God has purposed for her (7-9). In his view, no living apostles and prophets means no foundation for the church today. Such a view has serious theological implications. It does not only deny the special and exclusive calling of the Twelve to lay the foundation of Christianity, it also replaces Christ and His Word with self-appointed apostles and self-concocted revelation to be the foundation of the Church (cf. 1 Cor 3:10-11).

Wagner promotes a postmillennial view of the end-times, and claims that through the ministry of apostles (especially "marketplace apostles") God will transform secular society (54). He claims that there are "apostles of finance, technology, medicine, industry, education, the military, government, transportation, nuclear science, and a hundred other segments of society" (55). Such a doctrine is not only foreign to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, it also demeans the sacred and spiritual office of the original apostles of Jesus Christ.

This grand plan of Wagner for world reconstruction is alien to Scripture. The Bible teaches that in the last days wickedness will increase in both society and church, and there will be an apostasy before the return of Christ (Mat 24:21, 2 Tim 3:1-9, 2 Thes 2:3-4). The world will not get better and better, but from bad to worse, culminating in an end-time judgement. It is quite clear from prophetic Scripture that it will not be so-called "apostles and prophets" that will bring peace to this sin-cursed world, but the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the Prince of peace, at His return (Rev 20:1-6).

What has the Bible to say about this practice of Wagner? The Bible teaches that there were only 12 apostles of Christ, no more, no less. The apostles appointed "elders" in every church, not "apostles" (Acts 14:23, Titus 1:5). Even mighty preachers such as Stephen and Philip were made deacons not apostles. The apostles of Christ understood the special office of apostleship to be solely from God and not man (cf. Gal 1:1). Therefore, let every church that believes in the authenticity and authority of the Holy Scriptures follow the pattern of the original apostles.