"MATTHIAS WAS APPOINTED BY MAN, AND NOT GOD"
One of the chief arguments against Matthias' appointment among the twelve is that Matthias was CHOSEN by men, i.e. through the casting of lots by the apostles, and not God; whereas, Paul, they say, was chosen by Jesus Himself to be an apostle.
Acts 1:24-25 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen, 25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
Some who believe Paul has replaced Judas, suggest that this was pure presumption on the parts of all present, to present to God to select from the two, when they themselves had no idea whether God chose EITHER of the men. There was no possibility that the lot could have fallen to NEITHER of them, otherwise, there would be no reason for this article, because a vote of "neither " from God would have left the door open for another (Paul). Suffice it to say that no one overturned the selection of these two, and especially, the selection of Matthias.
Again, some say that the apostles employing the casting of lots (which among the heathen is a form of divination) as a way of determining whom God had chosen, is proof that the apostles were "in the flesh". However, the use of casting lots to make such decisions is not without precedent in the scriptures.
Aaron cast lots to determine which of two goats would be the LORD's and which would be the scapegoat (Lev 16:8). Joshua divided the land for the inheritance of the seven tribes who had not yet received it, by casting lots "before the LORD". There are at least as many negative references to the casting of lots, in the scriptures, but the scripture no where condemns the practice, but rather:
Prov 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.
Therefore, the apostles (yes, even all that were gathered) cannot be condemned as being "in the flesh" on the basis of casting the lots, alone.
Acts 1:26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
Here we have the witness of all present, including the apostles, Luke, the Holy Spirit, Paul, and the lack of any contrary testimony that Matthias was "numbered with the eleven".
Some have objected that these events took place prior to the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and thus, were done in the flesh. This is by far the worst stretch of imagination. Consider that Jesus trusted the apostles' judgment enough to send them out preaching during His ministry (Mat 10:5, Luke 10:10). And Jesus said to them: "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth WITH YOU, and shall be in you " (John 14:16-17). It is simply not true that the apostles were without the guidance of the Holy Spirit as these suggest. Consider that at this moment, the Holy Spirit was "with them" in the same way that the Holy Spirit was with all of the Old Testament prophets, including Moses, for the Holy Spirit was not yet "sent" that He might be "in them". Therefore, if they want to say that the apostles were yet "in the flesh" because they hadn't been baptized by the Holy Ghost, then they must also say that all of the Old Testament prophets were "in the flesh" as well. I don't think they would suggest that, do you?
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