When we confess that the church is apostolic, we are confessing that the churches to which we belong today stand in direct continuity to the church we see in the book of Acts. It is not the formal structure of the church that endures, nor do we need to trace an unbroken line of popes from Peter down to the present day. But it does mean that the Gospel Jesus gave to His apostles is the same Gospel we preach today.
Tabletalk, p. 18, June 2004, Ligonier Ministries, Used by Permission.
The only [true] church…is truly apostolic. It is built on the foundation laid by the Apostles, and holds the doctrines which they preached. The two grand objects at which its members aim are apostolic faith and apostolic practice; and they consider the man who talks of following the Apostles without possessing these two things to be no better than sounding brass and tinkling cymbal.
How is the church built upon the apostles and prophets? It was built initially through their preaching (Acts 2:42; 5:42) and then historically through their inspired writings. Through the Gospel, they testified to Jesus Christ – His person and work – as the ultimate foundation of the church (1 Cor. 3:11).
Tabletalk, p. 12, June 2004, Ligonier Ministries, Used by Permission.
