What Is the Apostle's Doctrine, and Why Does It Still Matter?

Walk into ten different churches and you may hear ten different teachings. With so many voices claiming to speak for God, it's fair to ask: what did the first church actually believe? The answer is found in something the Bible calls the Apostle's Doctrine.

Doctrine Handed Down from the Father

The Apostle's Doctrine didn't begin with the apostles. It began with God. In His prayer in John 17, Jesus told the Father, "I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them" (John 17:8).

The chain is clear. The Father gave His words to the Son. The Son gave those words to His apostles. The apostles then delivered them to the Church. This is why the teaching of the apostles carries the authority of God Himself.

Jesus Commissioned His Apostles to Teach

After His resurrection, Jesus declared, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth" (Matthew 28:18). He then sent His apostles out with a specific assignment: to teach all nations "to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:20).

Luke tells us in Acts 1:2 that Jesus gave commandments "through the Holy Ghost unto the apostles whom he had chosen." The apostles weren't inventing a new religion. They were delivering exactly what Christ had commanded.

The Early Church Continued in It

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached the first gospel message of the New Testament church. When the people asked what they should do, he answered, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38).

About three thousand souls gladly received his word and were baptized that day. Then Scripture tells us what they did next: "they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers" (Acts 2:42).

Notice the order. The first thing listed is the apostles' doctrine. Before fellowship, before communion, before prayer, the early church anchored itself in the teaching of the apostles.

One Body, One Faith-What Is the Apostle's Doctrine

Jesus prayed not only for His apostles, but "for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one" (John 17:20-21).

This is the heart of why the Apostle's Doctrine matters. God never intended His people to be divided by competing teachings. He intended them to be united through one message, the word of the apostles. Paul echoed this when he wrote that there is "one Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Ephesians 4:5).

Why It Still Matters Today

Some believe the teaching of the apostles was only for the first century. But God's Word does not expire. The same doctrine that saved and united believers in Acts 2 is still the foundation for the Church today.

Paul warned the Galatians that even if an angel from heaven preached any other gospel than the one the apostles delivered, it should not be received (Galatians 1:8). The Apostle's Doctrine is not one option among many. It is the pattern God gave for His Church.

Our Commitment

At Christian Ministries of the Apostolic Faith Church, we are committed to teaching, upholding, and continuing in the Apostle's Doctrine as it is written in the New Testament Scriptures. Our desire is to see every believer built up in the unity of the faith, just as Ephesians 4:11-16 describes.

Continue Steadfastly with Us

If you want to know what the early church believed and how you can walk in that same faith today, we invite you to join us. Open the Book of Acts, read it with fresh eyes, and come study the Scriptures with us.

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