When a Christian lady was asked, "Of what denomination are you a member?," she replied, "Of none. I am simply a member of the New Testament church, which was not, and is not today, a denomination." Her questioner then said,

The gentleman’s questions show that he is a Bible reader. Indeed, the New Testament church had both "apostles and prophets" (Ephesians 2:20; 3:5; 2 peter 3:2), and also "miracles": "God set some in the church, first apostles, secondly prophets, then miracles" (1 Corinthians 12:28; cf. Mark 16:17-18), even the miracle of raising Dorcas from the dead (Acts 9:36-43).

The apostles were "baptized in the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:5) and received "power" (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8) to make some people "prophets" (as mark, Luke, Jesus’ half-brothers James and Jude) and prophetesses (as Philip’s four daughters, Acts 21:9) "through the laying on of the apostles’ hands" (Acts 8:18; Romans 1:11; 2 Timothy 1:6).

Though the apostles and prophets (male and female) are all dead, and in God’s plan had no successors, practically speaking, both the apostles and the prophets are still with us in 27 written documents, to which not a word is to be added, nor from which a word is to be subtracted (1 Corinthians 4:6, ASV; Revelation 22:18-19).

The apostles (including Paul, "one born out of due time," a special apostle "to the Gentiles," 1 Corinthians 15:8; Romans 11:13) had authority to "bind" and to "loose" (Matthew 18:18). The authority that Jesus gave to the apostles to "bind" and to "loose" is displayed in the "apostles’ doctrine" in 27 books (Acts 2:42). An apostle wrote:

We are of God; he who knows God hears us; he who is not of God hears us not. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error (1 John 4:6).

God’s plan was that the New Testament church would be "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets" (Ephesians 2:20), and that even in heaven the apostles would be important in the "sacred city, the new Jerusalem":

The New Testament church literally was not Israel: "they are not all Israel that are of Israel" (Romans 9:6). But spiritually the New Testament church is "the Israel of God" (Galations 6:16). Figuratively and spiritually, the apostles "sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of [spiritual] Israel, which is the New Testament church (Matthew 19:28), not the literal twelve tribes. The rills of genealogy, identifying tribal membership, were destroyed in 70 A.D.

The apostles’ authority as "ambassadors," sitting "upon twelve thrones," Jesus announced, would be during the "regeneration" (2 Corinthians 5:20; Matthew 19:28). The "regeneration" started on the birthday of the church (Pentecost Sunday, May 28, A.D. 30), when "about 3000 souls" were "born again" of "water and Spirit," after they obeyed "the apostles’ doctrine" to "repent and baptized" in order to receive the forgiveness of their sins (John 3:3, 5; Acts 2:38-47).

As those 3000 souls, and then "multitudes both of men and women" (Acts 5:14), were regenerated, "day by day" the Lord added to the church "the ones being saved" (Acts 2:47; cf. 5:11). Similarly, sinners today are regenerated in the same way and the Lord adds them to his church. Thus the time of "the regeneration" is from the birthday of the church to "the end of the world" (Matthew 19:28; 28:20).

The One with "all authority in heaven and in the earth" promised the apostles, not that "I will be with you until you die," but "I will be with you all the days, even to the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). Thus he was transferring his "all authority" to the apostles, whose words are final to "the end of the world," for whatever they have bound "on the earth" has "been bound in heaven," and whatever they have loosed "on the earth" has "been loosed in heaven" (Matthew 18:18; 28:1).

The whole of the apostles’ binding and loosing is "the apostles’ doctrine" (Acts 2:42), and now is contained in 27 indestructible books (1 Peter 1:25). Those books contain "all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:30), leaving every regenerated person "equipped" and "completely furnished for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:17).

During the time that the apostles laid hands on certain men and women to make them prophets or prophetesses (Acts 8:18; 21:9; Romans 1:11; 2 Timothy 1:6), all Christians were commanded to "despise not prophesyings" (1 Thessalonians 5:20). Such prophesying were God ordained and God commanded all Christians not to "quench" the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19; 1 Corinthians 12:8-10).

Since it was God’s plan to make certain people prophets "through the laying on of the apostles’ hands" (Acts 8:18; 21:9; Romans 1:11; 2 Timothy 1:6), then, when the last person died on whom the hands of an apostle had been laid, all prophesyings automatically ceased. Today, therefore, prophesyings are impossible. An apostle emphasized that something better than prophesyings is now God’s play:

Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak in languages? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts, and yet I show you a far better way (1 Corinthians 12:29-31).

What is the "far better way"? A "love" that "never fails," for

During the early years of the New Testament church, revelation was not complete. At that time, Paul wrote,

After the intermediate prophesyings had served their purpose, and after the "perfect," the completed New Testament revelation, was finished in about 96 A.D., all spiritual Christians consecrate on "faith, hope," and "love," noble qualities which will abide on and on, "these three; and the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13).