Answer: The apostles were the first leaders of the
Lord's church, (verse 42).
MORE INFORMATION AND/OR OTHER SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
Some of the following notes are taken from an article by J.
C. Choate, "Preaching The Kingdom," appearing in The
Voice of Truth International, Volume 9:
Christ said that He would build His church upon the rock, the
fact that He was the Son of God (Matthew 16:18-19;
1 Corinthians 3:11). He promised that He would
give to the APOSTLES the "keys of the kingdom," the
authority to tell men and women what they could do to enter the
kingdom, or, the church (Matthew 16:19).
After the Lord's death, burial, and resurrection, Luke
writes these words concerning Christ: "In my
former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do
and to teach until the day He was taken up to heaven, after giving
instructions through the Holy Spirit to the APOSTLES He had
chosen. After His suffering [crucifixion, death, and burial],
He showed Himself to THESE MEN and gave many convincing proofs that
He was alive. He appeared to THEM over a period of forty days and
spoke about the kingdom of God" (Acts
1:1-3). In other words, Christ was giving final
instructions to the APOSTLES concerning His kingdom, or, church,
which would shortly be established in Jerusalem. Jesus went
on to exhort, "But YOU [THE APOSTLES] will receive power when
the Holy Spirit comes on YOU; and YOU will be My witnesses in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth" (Acts 1:8).
In Acts 2, we see that the prophecies were
fulfilled concerning the establishment of the kingdom in Jerusalem
as the power of the Holy Spirit was poured out on the APOSTLES and
THEY began to speak with tongues, or, in other known languages, as
the Spirit gave them utterance. This was the kingdom that
John the Baptist had said was soon to be established, the one that
was from heaven, and the one Christ said He would build. The
APOSTLES, then, used the keys of the kingdom, or, the church, as
THEY preached the Gospel for the first time and revealed to sinful
man how he could be saved. Those who heard, believed,
repented of their sins and were baptized for the remission of their
sins were saved and added to the church by the Lord Himself.
So, that kingdom, the Lord's church itself was established
with some 3,000 obeying God and being added to it by the Lord
Himself (Acts 2:40).
The APOSTLES were the first leaders of the Lord's
church, and their teaching (those things the Lord Himself, and then
the Holy Spirit taught to them--the "keys of the
kingdom") are still our revelation from God of how sinful man
can be saved, and continue faithful to the end as children of God
in His family, the kingdom of God, or, the church.
Christ/God/the Holy Spirit used the leadership of the APOSTLES to
proclaim the Good News of salvation, to set in order the
organization of Christ's church, and to teach how Christians
ought to behave in Christ's one body, the church. This
teaching/leadership was for people in the time of original New
Testament church, and is for us today, having been recorded in
God's inspired Word, the Bible. Christ's
teachings became the apostles' teachings, and are to be our
teachings today. When we reject these teachings and
instructions, we do not reject the leadership of the Apostles, but
we reject God:
Acts 4:1-4: "The priests and the
captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and
John while they were speaking to the people. They were
greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and
proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized
Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail
until the next day. But many who heard the message believed, and
the number of men grew to about five thousand."
1 Corinthians 11:2: "I praise you
for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings,
just as I passed them on to you."
1 Thessalonians 4:1-2, 8: "Finally,
brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as
in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord
Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what
instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord
Jesus...Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not
reject man but God, Who gives you His Holy Spirit."
2 Thessalonians 2:15: "So then,
brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you,
whether by word of mouth or by letter."
2 Thessalonians 3:14-15: "If anyone
does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of
him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel
ashamed. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a
brother."
1 Timothy 3:14-15:
"Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these
instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people
ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church
of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the
Truth."
1 Timothy 4:6: "If you point these
things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ
Jesus, brought up in the Truths of the faith and of the good
teaching that you have followed."
1 Timothy 5:21: "I charge you, in
the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep
these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of
favoritism."
1 Timothy 6:3-4a: "If anyone
teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction
of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and
understands nothing."
2 Timothy 3:14: "But as for you,
continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of,
because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from
infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make
you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture
is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting
and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be
thoroughly equipped for every good work."
