Re: The Early Christians: In Their Own Words

What a mighty reality were God and the Holy Spirit for those first 
communities! An ancient fragment describes the prophetic Spirit common to 
both apostles and prophets which Origen later ascribes to the apostles 
alone:

The prophetic Spirit is what makes the firmly established prophetic order 
of life into a body. He endows the body of the flesh of Jesus Christ with
a 
living soul.

The body of Christ as the living church is indeed the determining and God-
given reality. This depends entirely on faith; the church as a body 
received its soul by the spirit of the apostles and prophets.

And yet the main task of the apostolic ambassadors was not entrusted to
the 
prophets: at all times the importance of the apostolic calling far 
surpasses that of the prophets. What was said about the prophets was just 
as true for the apostles. The apostles too had the prophetic Spirit, and 
were prophets and teachers. But God entrusted them with tasks which far 
exceeded prophesying and instruction. The ambassadorship of the apostles 
carried more weight than the mission of prophecy, and was much more 
significant than the charge of teaching. It went beyond prophecy because, 
above and beyond all its other tasks, it alone had the power to lay the 
foundation for the church. The apostle Thaddaeus said he would be silent
in 
a small circle, because he knew he was sent to proclaim the Word in
public. 
Therefore he demanded that all the citizens of the town should assemble. 
“Then I will speak to them.”