Apostles

2021-10-25

Definition

An apostle is defined a few times in the New Testament for us.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. (John 13:16)

Whether any do enquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellowhelper concerning you: or our brethren be enquired of, they are the messengers of the churches, and the glory of Christ. (2 Corinthians 8:23)

Both “he that is sent” and “messengers” translate the word for apostle. A person who is sent on behalf of another would be called an “apostle.”

Types of Apostles

I see five categories of people that are defined as apostles in the Bible. Let us look at these.

Jesus Christ

First, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is an Apostle:

Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus (Hebrews 3:1)

Jesus Christ our Lord is an Apostle because the Father sent Him into the world to redeem the world: For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved (John 3:17).

The Twelve Apostles

Second, the Twelve:

And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor. (Luke 6:13-16)

Jesus’ inner core of disciples He also called apostles. Jesus sent them into the world: “...as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (John 20:21) and “...ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8).

The Twelve were appointed by Jesus, but Judas Iscariot became the traitor and needed to be replaced. Matthias was appointed to replace him (Acts 1:26). The replacement for Judas Iscariot had certain requirements to meet:

Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. (Acts 1:21-22)

Clearly, the replacement had to be with the other eleven the entire duration of Jesus’ ministry and see Him risen and ascend to heaven.

Resurrection Witnesses

Third, a witness of Jesus’ resurrection:

And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve... After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. (1 Corinthians 15:5, 7)

We see a group that is distinct from the Twelve, and yet are called apostles.

The Apostle Paul

Fourth, the apostle Paul.

Paul also had seen the risen Christ:

And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. (Acts 9:4-5; cf. 9:7)

Paul was not of the Twelve, but He saw the risen Lord. His situation was a little different from the third group, however. Paul only saw Jesus after His ascension into heaven; the others had seen Jesus on earth:

And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. (1 Corinthians 15:8)

With the phrase “last of all,” we see that Paul was the last one to see the risen Lord. He was called “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13; cf. 1 Timothy 2:7; 2 Timothy 1:11).

Messengers

Fifth, a messenger or missionary:

Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. (Philippians 2:25)

The word for “messenger” is also the word “apostle” here. Missionaries today are sent ones, but they do not have the same authority as the apostle that has seen the risen Lord.

Apostolic Authority

The authority of an apostle comes from Jesus Christ Himself: “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)” (Galatians 1:1) These believed in the Lord because they saw Him risen, and were given authority directly by Him:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:1-3)

People who have not seen the risen Christ and received their authority directly from Him do not have apostolic authority. Therefore, the only type of apostle that exists today is the fifth variety. We use the term missionary to differentiate from the other types. This rules out apostolic succession and apostles appointed by other human beings. They claim to have an authority that they could never receive. Paul was the last one to see the risen Lord (1 Corinthians 15:8).

There is a point where we see an inclusive “all the apostles” that tells us this group was complete before the Lord ascended to the Father, with the exception of Paul: “After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles” (1 Corinthians 15:7).