Does the Church of God embrace any of these New Reformation concepts?
Apostolic governance – The Apostle Paul’s assertion that Jesus appoints apostles within his church continues to this day.
The office of the prophet – There is within the church a role and function for present-day prophets.
Dominionism – “When Jesus came, He brought the kingdom of God and He expects His kingdom-minded people to take whatever action is needed to push back the long-standing kingdom of Satan and bring the peace and prosperity of His kingdom here on earth.”
Theocracy – Not to be confused with theocratic government but rather the goal to have “kingdom-minded people” in all areas of society. There are seven areas identified specifically: religion, family, education, government, media, arts & entertainment, and business.
Extra-biblical revelation – There is available to all believers the ability to hear from God. “The one major rule governing any new revelation from God is that it cannot contradict what has already been written in the Bible. It may supplement it, however.
Supernatural signs and wonders – Signs and wonders such as healing, demonic deliverance and confirmed prophecies accompany the move of God.
Relational structures – church governance has no formal structure but rather is by relational and voluntary alignment to apostles.
From reading the Bible, I don’t see why we should have a problem with the idea of apostles. The ‘relational structure’ part you mentioned? I don’t see how that communicates a BIblical understanding of apostleship. That’s a ‘New Apostolic Reformation’ understanding of it.
If we look at the people that were described as ‘apostles’ in the Bible and what they did, in a lot of cases, I don’t see how some of the NAR guys fit the pattern. Their understanding of apostle is rather loose as well. Movers and shakers get labeled as apostles.
If we look at Paul and Barnabas, In Acts 13, they were sent, and in Acts 14:4 and 14, when they actually go on the journey they are sent to do, they start getting called ‘apostles.’ Even after Paul’s call, the book of Acts doesn’t call him an ‘apostle’ until he was sent out on that journey. ‘Apostle’ means ‘sent one’ after all. And the ministry they were doing was evangelism that resulted in new churches being formed, discipleship, and appointing local elders to oversee the flock. They also did signs among the Gentiles.
Now let us compare that to the context in which the 12 were first referred to as apostles. In Matthew 9, Jesus says to pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into His harvest. Then He goes up a mountain and prays all night, comes down, and appoints 12 of His disciples as apostles and sends them out to preach with the power to do miracles.
Then there are a few others that may not fit the mold quite exactly. James the Lord’s brother. We don’t know that much about his apparent call to apostleship but that the Lord appeared to him. Apollos was sent by the Ephesians to Corinth and the numbers of believers grew, and Paul indicated that he was an apostle.
I Thessalonians 1:1 tells us Paul, SIlas, and Timothy cowrote I Thessalonians. In chapter 2, they refer to themselves as ‘apostles of Christ.’ Reminiscent of Paul and Barnabas’ sending in Acts 13, Timothy received a gift through prophecy with the laying on of hands of the elders, and had a gift in him with the laying on of Paul’s hands.
When we think about apostles, we should be thinking more along the lines of missionaries and domestic church planters starting new works and itinerant ministers to help strengthen new works, sometimes working closely with those who actually break the new ground.
In II Corinthians 10, Paul wrote about false apostles, ‘super apostles’ who tried to claim the Corinthians, even though the Corinthians were not the fruit of their labor. They boasted foolishly, in the Corinthians, who weren’t the fruit of their labor. The apostles, Paul, Silas, and Timothy, had taken the Gospel to Corinth, so that was within their ‘measure of rule.’ Those false apostles who sought to boast in the Corinthians as if their ‘measure of rule’ extended to them, when it didn’t, were boasting foolishly.
In I Corinthians , Paul tells the Corinthians that they had many teachers but not many fathers, for in the gospel he had become their father. He’d actually evangelized the first of them and won them to Christ. So he was a father in the gospel. He didn’t just find some long-time believers who had daddy issues and convince them to be their daddy. He didn’t find some pastor whose dad abandoned him as a child, who had a big church, and talk him into being under his hierarchy and sending him a tithe.
Here are the verses from II Corinthians 10.
12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
13 But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you.
14 For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ:
15 Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men’s labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly,
16 To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man’s line of things made ready to our hand.
This was taken from the NAR and Wagner is considered a modern day apostle.
Charles Page, I’m not sure what Wagoner has done to be considered an apostle. Be a Bible college professor? All that emphasis on so-called ‘spiritual warfare’ where you assign the name of a demon to your problem and fix problems by rebuking the demons or principalities? Promoting this NAR stuff?
No, not at all
Some of the stuff that gets labeled as ‘dominionism’ is actually quite reasonable. We aren’t talking about creating a state where they burn you at the stake for disagreeing about their form of baptism. A lot of this is about being salt and light here on the earth until Jesus comes back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WboWrp-Cwo