THE NEW APOSTOLIC REFORMATION AND ITS FOUNDER, C. PETER WAGNER

 

 

The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement is highly attractive. It is estimated that 20,000 churches belong to this movement. Why is it so alluring, especially among young adults? Pivec and Geivett warn:

 

·       If you submit to their leadership, then you too will work mighty miracles. You’ll become part of a great end-time army that will bring about a world revival and cleanse the earth of evil by calling down hailstones, fire, and the other judgments of God described in the New Testament book of Revelation. If you do not submit to their leadership then, at the very least, you will miss out on God’s end-time plans. And if you actively oppose the apostles and prophets, then brace yourself for the fallout. Others must be warned that you are the pawn of a powerful demon, known as the “spirit of religion.” (God’s Super-Apostles Encountering the Worldwide Prophets and Apostles Movement, R. Douglas Geivett and Holly Pivec)

 

The authority of these divisive Apostles is unquestioned. However, the Bible directs us to question and examine all things:

·       Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1)

 

However, according to Pivec and Geivett, by failing to exercise caution by testing all things (1 Thessalonians 5:21), many have left the NAR wounded,:

 

·       I have personally witnessed the devastation of the many wounded people left in its wake. I’ve watched unsuspecting Christians who are hungry for revival become swept up in a movement that promises unity, renewal, and even miracles only to deliver confusion, empty promises, and manipulation.” (Introduction, Counterfeit Kingdom: The Dangers of New Revelation, New Prophets, and New Age Practices in the Church, Holly Pivec, R. Douglas Geivett)

 

According to the authors:

·       NAR leaders call their new movement apostolic because they claim to be restoring apostles and prophets to the church. And they call it a reformation because they say it will completely change the way church is done—and its effects will be greater than the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation.

 

However, their bold prophecies of reformation contrast with end-time Biblical prophecies, even those of Jesus, of great persecution:

·       For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” (Matthew 24:21–22)

 

·       “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:9–12)

 

These prophets and Apostles usurp great authority for themselves, dominating those under them. However, church leaders are servants who are to lead by example:

 

·       So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. (1 Peter 5:1-3)

 

Apostle C. Peter Wagner, who has been credited as the initial guiding light of the NAR, claimed:

 

·       “Of all the changes involved with the emergence of the New Apostolic Reformation, the most radical of all is the following: the recognition of the amount of spiritual authority delegated by the Holy Spirit to individuals [Apostles].”

 

Has this authority been “delegated by the Holy Spirit or by man? According to Wagner, these Apostles are to exercise dominion even over the pastors:

 

·       “The responsibility of pastors is to care for, nurture and comfort the flock. Very few pastors have either the gifts or the temperament to mobilize an army for war. Apostles, on the other hand, do.”

 

Such dominance invites abuse and the degradation of “ordinary” brethren. However, it was these who were honored by the Scriptures for not simply believing the Apostle Paul but by checking everything he had said against the Word of God (Acts 17). However, such Biblical discernment is not allowed by the Apostles of the NAR who are bringing new revelations. Wagner claims that the non-Apostles must willingly set aside their spiritual discernment in favor of these Apostles. Why?

 

·       “They are convinced that they would not be able to reach their full destiny in serving God apart from the spiritual covering of the apostle.”

 

However, even Jesus cautioned that He shouldn’t be believed without confirmatory evidences:

·       If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me… (John 5:31–37)

 

Have these Apostles been confirmed by a heavenly voice? According to Wagner and the NAR, the greatest are the all-authoritative Apostles. In contrast, Jesus taught that the least, the servant, was the greatest:

 

·       And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35)

 

Therefore, Geivett and Pivec warn:

 

·       Failure to submit to an apostle is seen as defiance against God.

 

They cite prophet-Apostle Bill Hamon in support of this claim:

 

·       “It is almost impossible for individuals to humble themselves under God without humbling themselves in submission and relationship to Christ’s delegated representatives of Him [the Apostles] to His Church.” (All of the above quotations come from the second mentioned book.)

 

However, as members of the Body of Christ, we are to submit to one another:

 

·       giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:20–21)

 

However, these Apostles submit to no one. Instead they are to dominate the Church. How then can they regard others as better than themselves as the Scriptures require:

·       Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3)

 

Therefore, even pastors are required to believe what the Apostle teaches. However, the Bible teaches that we are servants of the Word before all else and not of these alleged Apostles:

 

·       The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. (Romans 14:22)

 

We are not to violate our conscience, our understanding of the Word, for the sake of honoring these Apostles. Paul had warned:

 

·       However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled [if they eat]. Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. (1 Corinthians 8:7–9)

 

Even when our understanding of the Word is incorrect, we cannot violate it without violating our relationship with the Lord. Instead, we must be convinced by the Word of God and not the behavior or say-so of others. Consequently, our relationship with our Triune God depends on our response to the Word of God, however faulty it might be, and not any ecclesiastical authority. Therefore, loving God is matter of abiding in His Word rather than in a human authority:

 

·       “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” (John 15:7-10)

 

As the highest authorities, these Apostles are not accountable to anyone but to the Apostles who appoint them. However, the 12 had been appointed by Jesus. They had to be His witnesses. Consequently, the NT lists qualifications for the appointment of elders and deacons but never for Apostles. Evidently, it was because there was no further need for more Apostles, since these men had already laid the foundation for the Church with their teachings and the books of the NT.

 

These twelve stood apart from the allegedly thousands or millions of Apostles who had followed them:

·       And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. (Revelation 21:14)

 

These alone are the Apostolic foundation of the Church of which the NAR “Apostles” have no part!