The great battle has been, still is, and will be for some time, over the restoration of apostolic authority. And obviously, such authority can only be acceptable when found in real apostles. John Alley

Central to the gospel is the offence of the cross. That sovereign work of grace, so perfectly replete of divine love, life, power, and salvation, was offensive to some and foolish to others. John Alley

A great sin of false apostles, amongst others, is that they despise other ministries and anything they think is beneath them. All this will be well disguised, but it is our inheritance, the house of our Father, that they are ravaging when they despise any part of the Body of Christ. John Alley

When believers dishonour their pastor, or think little of his leadership, or speak derogatively of other pastors and churches, these are examples of despising the Father and the Father’s house. This fleshly behaviour is the despising of one’s inheritance. John Alley

Independence is highly dangerous! Especially for apostles. Everyone in leadership, and especially every apostle, must walk in submission to others. Every apostle needs a spiritual covering, another apostle, to be both a father and a spiritual covering. John Alley

Believers and leaders who lack a spirit of submission to authority and hold no heartfelt unity with the Body of Christ, are in grave danger. John Alley

But without apostles rightly in place, greater power for the church is unachievable. The authority of holy apostles must be established yet for such freedoms to come. John Alley

Every apostle, knowing the Lord’s grace, is mindful of personal circumstances and not afraid to be transparent about struggles, burdens, and weaknesses. The false apostle, so confident, boasts in perceived strengths. This grace alone so often will reveal whether we are dealing with a counterfeit or a real apostle. John Alley

When a church looks to a false apostle for relationship and spiritual fathering, the counterfeit apostle has displaced the apostle that was meant to be there. Two things result: the church has failed to receive the apostle of Christ’s choosing, and in addition the apostle was hindered from advancing the cause of Christ not only in that church but in the apostolic ministry and the church more generally. John Alley

We must look to the Lord, then, for great apostles – for those who have died to self, who walk with Christ, and have the heart an apostle must have. This great need commends itself to our prayers. We are on holy ground. John Alley