James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, Jesus promised that, upon the rock of Peter’s confession, “I will build my church” (Mt 16:16–18), and we noted last time that the apostle’s teaching ministry comprises the church’s foundation (Eph 2:20). Jesus gives divine offices to His church forming its structure, building it upon that foundation (Eph 4:11–12). He’s the cornerstone of the apostolic foundation, and all God’s people are living stones in His spiritual house (1 Pt 2:4–8). The twelve men in vv. 16–19 are those Christ chose as His foundation. He organized the structure. While it’s popular to disparage “organized religion” (and sometimes right), our Lord did not create an unorganized faith. As Paul said, “God is not a God of confu...