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== Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament <ref name="term_54913" /> == | == Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament <ref name="term_54913" /> == | ||
<p> The term ‘Apostle’ (Gr. ἀπόστολος) is more definite than ‘messenger’ (Gr. ἄγγελος) in that the apostle has a special mission, and is the commissioner of the person who sends him. This distinction holds good both in classical and in biblical Greek. There is no good reason for doubting that the title ‘apostle’ was given to the Twelve by Christ Himself [ Luke 6:13 = Mark 3:14, where ‘whom he also named apostles’ is strongly attested). That the title was used in the first instance simply in reference to the temporary mission of the Twelve to prepare for Christ’s own preaching is a conjecture which receives some support from the fact that, in the [[Apostolic]] Church. [[Barnabas]] and Paul are first called ‘apostles’ ( Acts 14:4; Acts 14:14) when they are acting as envoys of the Church in [[Antioch]] in St. Paul’s first missionary journey. On this hypothesis, the temporary apostleship, though not identical with the permanent office, was typical of it and preparatory to it (Hort, <i> The [[Christian]] [[Ecclesia]] </i> , 1897, p. 28f.). </p> <p> There is fundamental agreement between the work of the apostles during Christ’s ministry and their work after the Ascension: their functions undergo no radical change. But the changes are considerable. Christ chose them in the first instance ( Mark 3:14) ‘that they might be with him,’ to be educated and trained, ‘and that he might send them forth to preach’ and do works of mercy Instruction is the main thing, and ‘disciples’ is the usual designation; mission work is secondary and temporary. After the [[Ascension]] their mission work becomes primary and permanent. Apostle-ship is now the main thing; in Acts ‘apostles’ is the dominant appellation, and in the [[Epistles]] ‘disciples’ are not mentioned. Instead of being led and guided, the Twelve now become leaders and guides or rather, instead of having a visible Guide, they now have an invisible one-instead of Jeans, ‘the Spirit of Jesus’ ( Acts 16:7), who helps them to lead others. The guidance of the Spirit is the dominant idea in the Apostolic Church. Nevertheless, the other way of stating the change is true; they have become teachers rather than disciples. But the purpose is the same; their mission is unchanged. With enlarged experience, with powers greatly augmented at Pentecost, and with an enormously extended sphere of work, they have to make known the [[Kingdom]] of God. Cf. articleDisciple. </p> <p> This extension of sphere is one of the special marks of the transfigured apostleship. It is no longer restricted to ‘the lost sheep of the house of Israel,’ but is to embrace ‘all the nations’ throughout ‘all the world.’ The tentative mission to the inhabitants of [[Palestine]] at a peculiar crisis has become one which has no limitations of either space or time ( Matthew 28:19, Luke 24:47, Acts 1:8). But this universality of sphere was not the only or the most important characteristic of the new mission. The chief mark was the duty of bearing witness. The Twelve seem to have been selected originally because of their fitness for bearing witness. They were not specially qualified for grasping or expounding theological doctrines; nor were such qualifications greatly needed, for the doctrines which the [[Master]] taught them were few and simple. Yet they had difficulty in apprehending some of these, and sometimes surprised their Master by their inability to understand ( Mark 7:16; Mark 8:17; Mark 9:32). But because of their simplicity they were very credible witnesses of what they had heard and seen. They had been men of homely circumstances, and their unique experiences as the disciples of Christ made a deep impression upon them, especially with regard to the hopeless sense of loss when He was put to death, and to the amazing recovery of joy when their own senses convinced them that He had risen again. They were thus well qualified to convince others. They evidently had not the wit to invent an elaborate story, or to retain it when it had been elaborated, and therefore what they stated with such confidence was likely to be true. They were chosen to keep alive and extend the knowledge of events that were of the utmost importance to mankind-the knowledge that Jesus Christ had died on the cross, and had risen from the grave. That He had died and been buried was undisputed and indisputable; and all of them could testify that they had repeatedly seen Him alive after His burial. This was the primary function of an apostle-to bear witness of Christ’s [[Resurrection]] ( Acts 1:22; Acts 4:2; Acts 4:33), and the influence of the testimony was enormous. The apostles did not argue; they simply stated what they knew. Everyone who heard them felt that they were men who had an intense belief in the truth of what they stated. There is no trace in either Acts or the Epistles of hesitation or doubt as to the certainty of their knowledge; they knew that their witness was true ( John 21:24, 1 John 1:1-3). And the confidence with which they delivered their testimony was communicated to those who heard it all the more effectually because, without any sign of collusion or conspiracy, they all told the same story. They differed in age, temperament, and ability, but they did not differ when they spoke of what they had seen and heard. Nay, this still held good when one whom they had at first regarded with fear and suspicion ( Acts 9:26) was added to their company. [[Greatly]] as Saul of [[Tarsus]] differed from the Twelve in some things, he was entirely at one with them respecting fundamental facts. He, like them, had seen and heard the risen Christ ( 1 Corinthians 9:1; 1 Corinthians 15:8; 1 Corinthians 15:11; Latham, <i> pastor Pastorum </i> , 1890, pp. 228-230). </p> <p> It was probably owing to St. Paul’s persistent claim to be an apostle, equal in rank with the Twelve ( Galatians 1:1, 1 Corinthians 9:1), that it became customary from very early times to restrict the appellation of ‘apostle’ to the Twelve and the [[Apostle]] of the Gentiles; but there is no such restriction in the NT. It is certainly given to Barnabas, but perhaps primarily as being an envoy from the Church of Antioch ( Acts 13:1-2; Acts 14:4; Acts 14:14), rather than as having a direct mission from Christ. St. Paul seems to speak of him as a colleague, recognized by Peter and John as equal to himself in the mission to the [[Gentiles]] ( Galatians 2:9), and as one who, like himself, used the apostolic privilege of working for nothing, although he had a right to maintenance ( 1 Corinthians 9:6). We need not doubt that Barnabas continued to be called an apostle in a general sense after the mission from Antioch was over. </p> <p> Perhaps the simplest and most natural way of understanding Galatians 1:19 is that James, the Lord’s brother, had the title of ‘apostle’ in the wider sense. It may be regarded as certain that this James was not one of the Twelve. But 1 Corinthians 15:7 ought not to be quoted as implying either that there was a company of apostles larger than the Twelve or that James was a member of this larger company. ‘Next he appeared to James; then to the whole body of the apostles.’ There is no emphasis on ‘all,’ implying an antithesis between ‘to one, then to all.’ Such an antithesis, as well as the idea that James was in some sense an apostle, is foreign to the context. The ‘all’ probably looks back to ‘the twelve’ in 1 Corinthians 15:10, which is an official and not a numerical designation, for only ten were there, [[Thomas]] and [[Judas]] being absent. ‘Then to all the apostles’ probably means that on that occasion the apostolic company was complete (for Thomas was present) rather than that some were there who were called apostles although they were not of the original Twelve. It is highly probable that James, the Lord’s brother, was such a person, but 1 Corinthians 15:7 ought not to be quoted as evidence of this. It is after the murder of James the son of [[Zebedee]] that James the Lord’s brother comes on the scene. He may have taken the place of his namesake in the number of the Twelve. </p> <p> That [[Silvanus]] and Timothy were regarded as apostles in the wider sense is not improbable. In both 1 and 2 Thess. they are associated with St. Paul in the address, and in both letters the first person plural is used with a regularity which is not found in any other group of the [[Pauline]] Epistles: ‘our gospel,’ <i> i.e. </i> ‘the gospel which we apostles preach,’ is specially remarkable ( 1 Thessalonians 1:5, 2 Thessalonians 2:14). Still more remarkable is the casual addition, ‘when we might have been burdensome as apostles of Christ’ ( 1 Thessalonians 2:6). </p> <p> Romans 16:7 probably means that [[Andronicus]] and [[Junias]] were distinguished as apostles; but there are two elements of doubt: ἐπίσημοι ἐν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις might mean ‘well known to the apostles,’ but it more probably means that among the apostles they were illustrious persons; and Ἰουνίαν may be masc. or fem., <i> Junias </i> or <i> [[Junia]] </i> , If <i> Junia </i> is right, the probability that Andronicus and Junia (? man and wife) were distinguished members of the apostolic body is lessened. But Chrysostom does not shrink from the thought that a woman may be an apostle. He says that to be an apostle at all is a great thing, and therefore to be illustrious amongst such persons is very high praise; and ‘how great is the devotion of this woman, that she should be even counted worthy of the appellation of apostle!’ (Sanday-Headlam, <i> ad loc. </i> ). </p> <p> The fact that there were people who claimed, without any right, the title of ‘apostle’ ( 2 Corinthians 11:13, Revelation 2:2) amounts to proof that in the Apostolic Church there were ‘apostles’ outside the Twelve with the addition of St. Paul. It is incredible that there were people who claimed to belong to a body so well known us the Twelve, or any who tried to personate St. Paul; and ‘it would be unprofitable to waste words on the strange theory that St. Paul is meant by these false apostles’ (Hort, <i> Judaistic [[Christianity]] </i> , 1894, p. 163). Very soon, though not in the NT, the title of ‘apostle’ was given to the Seventy. It is not likely that [[Joseph]] [[Barsabbas]] and [[Matthias]] were the only persons among the 120 gathered together after the Ascension ( Acts 1:15) who had the apostolic qualification of having seen the Lord; probably most of them had been His personal disciples. All of those who took to missionary work would be likely to be styled ‘apostles’; and it is not impossible that the ‘false apostles’ who opposed St. Paul had this qualification, and therefore claimed to have a better right to the title than he had. </p> <p> The cumulative effect of the facts and probabilities stated above is very strong-so strong that we are justified in affirming that in the NT there are persons other than the Twelve and St. Paul who were called apostles, and in conjecturing that they were rather numerous. All who seemed to be called by Christ or the Spirit to do missionary work would be thought worthy of the title, especially such as had been in personal contact with the Master. When it is said that this reasonable affirmation, based entirely upon Scripture, is confirmed by the account in the <i> [[Didache]] </i> of an order of wandering preachers who were called ‘apostles,’ we must be careful not to exaggerate the amount of confirmation. There is no proof, and there is not a very high degree of probability, that the ‘apostles’ of the <i> Didache </i> are the same kind of ministers as those who are called ‘apostles’ in the NT, although not of the number of the Twelve. We must not infer that they are the lineal descendants, officially, of workers such as Silvanus, Andronicus, and Junias. But the fact that in the sub-Apostolic Age there were itinerant ministers called ‘apostles’ does give confirmation to the assertion that in the NT there were, outside the apostolic body, ministers who were known as ‘apostles.’ Chief among these were Paul, Barnabas, and James, of whom Paul certainly, and the other two probably, were regarded by most [[Christians]] as equal to the Twelve. Like the Twelve, Paul and Barnabas had no local ties: they retained a general authority over the churches which they founded, but they did not take up their abode in them as permanent rulers. They trained the churches to govern themselves. The Twelve are to be twelve [[Patriarchs]] of the larger Israel, twelve repetitions of Christ (Harnack, <i> [[Expansion]] of Christianity </i> , Eng. translation, 1904-5, i. 72), and at first they were the whole ministry of the infant Church. The first act of the infant Church was to restore the typical number twelve by the election of Matthias; and it is worthy of note, as indicating both the undeveloped condition of the ministry and also the germs of future developments, that in Acts all three terms, ‘diaconate’ ( Acts 1:17; Acts 1:25), ‘bishopric’ ( Acts 1:20), and ‘apostleship’ ( Acts 1:25), are used in connexion with the election of Matthias. There is no good ground for the conjecture that the choice of Matthias did not receive subsequent sanction, that he was set aside, and that St. Paul was Divinely appointed to take his place. It is true that he subsequently falls into the background and is lost from sight; but so do most of the Twelve. </p> <p> The absence from Christ’s teaching of any statement respecting the priesthood of the Twelve, or respecting the transmission of the powers of the Twelve to others, is remarkable. As the primary function of the Twelve was to be witnesses of what Christ had taught and done, especially in rising from the dead, no transmission of so exceptional an office was possible. Even with regard to the high authority which all apostles possessed, it is not clear that it was a jurisdiction which was to be passed on from generation to generation. Belief in the speedy return of Christ would prevent any such intention. The apostles wore commissioned to found a living Church, with power to supply itself with ministers and to organize them. </p> <p> Literature.-In addition to the works already cited, see J. B | <p> The term ‘Apostle’ (Gr. ἀπόστολος) is more definite than ‘messenger’ (Gr. ἄγγελος) in that the apostle has a special mission, and is the commissioner of the person who sends him. This distinction holds good both in classical and in biblical Greek. There is no good reason for doubting that the title ‘apostle’ was given to the Twelve by Christ Himself [ Luke 6:13 = Mark 3:14, where ‘whom he also named apostles’ is strongly attested). That the title was used in the first instance simply in reference to the temporary mission of the Twelve to prepare for Christ’s own preaching is a conjecture which receives some support from the fact that, in the [[Apostolic]] Church. [[Barnabas]] and Paul are first called ‘apostles’ ( Acts 14:4; Acts 14:14) when they are acting as envoys of the Church in [[Antioch]] in St. Paul’s first missionary journey. On this hypothesis, the temporary apostleship, though not identical with the permanent office, was typical of it and preparatory to it (Hort, <i> The [[Christian]] [[Ecclesia]] </i> , 1897, p. 28f.). </p> <p> There is fundamental agreement between the work of the apostles during Christ’s ministry and their work after the Ascension: their functions undergo no radical change. But the changes are considerable. Christ chose them in the first instance ( Mark 3:14) ‘that they might be with him,’ to be educated and trained, ‘and that he might send them forth to preach’ and do works of mercy Instruction is the main thing, and ‘disciples’ is the usual designation; mission work is secondary and temporary. After the [[Ascension]] their mission work becomes primary and permanent. Apostle-ship is now the main thing; in Acts ‘apostles’ is the dominant appellation, and in the [[Epistles]] ‘disciples’ are not mentioned. Instead of being led and guided, the Twelve now become leaders and guides or rather, instead of having a visible Guide, they now have an invisible one-instead of Jeans, ‘the Spirit of Jesus’ ( Acts 16:7), who helps them to lead others. The guidance of the Spirit is the dominant idea in the Apostolic Church. Nevertheless, the other way of stating the change is true; they have become teachers rather than disciples. But the purpose is the same; their mission is unchanged. With enlarged experience, with powers greatly augmented at Pentecost, and with an enormously extended sphere of work, they have to make known the [[Kingdom]] of God. Cf. articleDisciple. </p> <p> This extension of sphere is one of the special marks of the transfigured apostleship. It is no longer restricted to ‘the lost sheep of the house of Israel,’ but is to embrace ‘all the nations’ throughout ‘all the world.’ The tentative mission to the inhabitants of [[Palestine]] at a peculiar crisis has become one which has no limitations of either space or time ( Matthew 28:19, Luke 24:47, Acts 1:8). But this universality of sphere was not the only or the most important characteristic of the new mission. The chief mark was the duty of bearing witness. The Twelve seem to have been selected originally because of their fitness for bearing witness. They were not specially qualified for grasping or expounding theological doctrines; nor were such qualifications greatly needed, for the doctrines which the [[Master]] taught them were few and simple. Yet they had difficulty in apprehending some of these, and sometimes surprised their Master by their inability to understand ( Mark 7:16; Mark 8:17; Mark 9:32). But because of their simplicity they were very credible witnesses of what they had heard and seen. They had been men of homely circumstances, and their unique experiences as the disciples of Christ made a deep impression upon them, especially with regard to the hopeless sense of loss when He was put to death, and to the amazing recovery of joy when their own senses convinced them that He had risen again. They were thus well qualified to convince others. They evidently had not the wit to invent an elaborate story, or to retain it when it had been elaborated, and therefore what they stated with such confidence was likely to be true. They were chosen to keep alive and extend the knowledge of events that were of the utmost importance to mankind-the knowledge that Jesus Christ had died on the cross, and had risen from the grave. That He had died and been buried was undisputed and indisputable; and all of them could testify that they had repeatedly seen Him alive after His burial. This was the primary function of an apostle-to bear witness of Christ’s [[Resurrection]] ( Acts 1:22; Acts 4:2; Acts 4:33), and the influence of the testimony was enormous. The apostles did not argue; they simply stated what they knew. Everyone who heard them felt that they were men who had an intense belief in the truth of what they stated. There is no trace in either Acts or the Epistles of hesitation or doubt as to the certainty of their knowledge; they knew that their witness was true ( John 21:24, 1 John 1:1-3). And the confidence with which they delivered their testimony was communicated to those who heard it all the more effectually because, without any sign of collusion or conspiracy, they all told the same story. They differed in age, temperament, and ability, but they did not differ when they spoke of what they had seen and heard. Nay, this still held good when one whom they had at first regarded with fear and suspicion ( Acts 9:26) was added to their company. [[Greatly]] as Saul of [[Tarsus]] differed from the Twelve in some things, he was entirely at one with them respecting fundamental facts. He, like them, had seen and heard the risen Christ ( 1 Corinthians 9:1; 1 Corinthians 15:8; 1 Corinthians 15:11; Latham, <i> pastor Pastorum </i> , 1890, pp. 228-230). </p> <p> It was probably owing to St. Paul’s persistent claim to be an apostle, equal in rank with the Twelve ( Galatians 1:1, 1 Corinthians 9:1), that it became customary from very early times to restrict the appellation of ‘apostle’ to the Twelve and the [[Apostle]] of the Gentiles; but there is no such restriction in the NT. It is certainly given to Barnabas, but perhaps primarily as being an envoy from the Church of Antioch ( Acts 13:1-2; Acts 14:4; Acts 14:14), rather than as having a direct mission from Christ. St. Paul seems to speak of him as a colleague, recognized by Peter and John as equal to himself in the mission to the [[Gentiles]] ( Galatians 2:9), and as one who, like himself, used the apostolic privilege of working for nothing, although he had a right to maintenance ( 1 Corinthians 9:6). We need not doubt that Barnabas continued to be called an apostle in a general sense after the mission from Antioch was over. </p> <p> Perhaps the simplest and most natural way of understanding Galatians 1:19 is that James, the Lord’s brother, had the title of ‘apostle’ in the wider sense. It may be regarded as certain that this James was not one of the Twelve. But 1 Corinthians 15:7 ought not to be quoted as implying either that there was a company of apostles larger than the Twelve or that James was a member of this larger company. ‘Next he appeared to James; then to the whole body of the apostles.’ There is no emphasis on ‘all,’ implying an antithesis between ‘to one, then to all.’ Such an antithesis, as well as the idea that James was in some sense an apostle, is foreign to the context. The ‘all’ probably looks back to ‘the twelve’ in 1 Corinthians 15:10, which is an official and not a numerical designation, for only ten were there, [[Thomas]] and [[Judas]] being absent. ‘Then to all the apostles’ probably means that on that occasion the apostolic company was complete (for Thomas was present) rather than that some were there who were called apostles although they were not of the original Twelve. It is highly probable that James, the Lord’s brother, was such a person, but 1 Corinthians 15:7 ought not to be quoted as evidence of this. It is after the murder of James the son of [[Zebedee]] that James the Lord’s brother comes on the scene. He may have taken the place of his namesake in the number of the Twelve. </p> <p> That [[Silvanus]] and Timothy were regarded as apostles in the wider sense is not improbable. In both 1 and 2 Thess. they are associated with St. Paul in the address, and in both letters the first person plural is used with a regularity which is not found in any other group of the [[Pauline]] Epistles: ‘our gospel,’ <i> i.e. </i> ‘the gospel which we apostles preach,’ is specially remarkable ( 1 Thessalonians 1:5, 2 Thessalonians 2:14). Still more remarkable is the casual addition, ‘when we might have been burdensome as apostles of Christ’ ( 1 Thessalonians 2:6). </p> <p> Romans 16:7 probably means that [[Andronicus]] and [[Junias]] were distinguished as apostles; but there are two elements of doubt: ἐπίσημοι ἐν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις might mean ‘well known to the apostles,’ but it more probably means that among the apostles they were illustrious persons; and Ἰουνίαν may be masc. or fem., <i> Junias </i> or <i> [[Junia]] </i> , If <i> Junia </i> is right, the probability that Andronicus and Junia (? man and wife) were distinguished members of the apostolic body is lessened. But Chrysostom does not shrink from the thought that a woman may be an apostle. He says that to be an apostle at all is a great thing, and therefore to be illustrious amongst such persons is very high praise; and ‘how great is the devotion of this woman, that she should be even counted worthy of the appellation of apostle!’ (Sanday-Headlam, <i> ad loc. </i> ). </p> <p> The fact that there were people who claimed, without any right, the title of ‘apostle’ ( 2 Corinthians 11:13, Revelation 2:2) amounts to proof that in the Apostolic Church there were ‘apostles’ outside the Twelve with the addition of St. Paul. It is incredible that there were people who claimed to belong to a body so well known us the Twelve, or any who tried to personate St. Paul; and ‘it would be unprofitable to waste words on the strange theory that St. Paul is meant by these false apostles’ (Hort, <i> Judaistic [[Christianity]] </i> , 1894, p. 163). Very soon, though not in the NT, the title of ‘apostle’ was given to the Seventy. It is not likely that [[Joseph]] [[Barsabbas]] and [[Matthias]] were the only persons among the 120 gathered together after the Ascension ( Acts 1:15) who had the apostolic qualification of having seen the Lord; probably most of them had been His personal disciples. All of those who took to missionary work would be likely to be styled ‘apostles’; and it is not impossible that the ‘false apostles’ who opposed St. Paul had this qualification, and therefore claimed to have a better right to the title than he had. </p> <p> The cumulative effect of the facts and probabilities stated above is very strong-so strong that we are justified in affirming that in the NT there are persons other than the Twelve and St. Paul who were called apostles, and in conjecturing that they were rather numerous. All who seemed to be called by Christ or the Spirit to do missionary work would be thought worthy of the title, especially such as had been in personal contact with the Master. When it is said that this reasonable affirmation, based entirely upon Scripture, is confirmed by the account in the <i> [[Didache]] </i> of an order of wandering preachers who were called ‘apostles,’ we must be careful not to exaggerate the amount of confirmation. There is no proof, and there is not a very high degree of probability, that the ‘apostles’ of the <i> Didache </i> are the same kind of ministers as those who are called ‘apostles’ in the NT, although not of the number of the Twelve. We must not infer that they are the lineal descendants, officially, of workers such as Silvanus, Andronicus, and Junias. But the fact that in the sub-Apostolic Age there were itinerant ministers called ‘apostles’ does give confirmation to the assertion that in the NT there were, outside the apostolic body, ministers who were known as ‘apostles.’ Chief among these were Paul, Barnabas, and James, of whom Paul certainly, and the other two probably, were regarded by most [[Christians]] as equal to the Twelve. Like the Twelve, Paul and Barnabas had no local ties: they retained a general authority over the churches which they founded, but they did not take up their abode in them as permanent rulers. They trained the churches to govern themselves. The Twelve are to be twelve [[Patriarchs]] of the larger Israel, twelve repetitions of Christ (Harnack, <i> [[Expansion]] of Christianity </i> , Eng. translation, 1904-5, i. 72), and at first they were the whole ministry of the infant Church. The first act of the infant Church was to restore the typical number twelve by the election of Matthias; and it is worthy of note, as indicating both the undeveloped condition of the ministry and also the germs of future developments, that in Acts all three terms, ‘diaconate’ ( Acts 1:17; Acts 1:25), ‘bishopric’ ( Acts 1:20), and ‘apostleship’ ( Acts 1:25), are used in connexion with the election of Matthias. There is no good ground for the conjecture that the choice of Matthias did not receive subsequent sanction, that he was set aside, and that St. Paul was Divinely appointed to take his place. It is true that he subsequently falls into the background and is lost from sight; but so do most of the Twelve. </p> <p> The absence from Christ’s teaching of any statement respecting the priesthood of the Twelve, or respecting the transmission of the powers of the Twelve to others, is remarkable. As the primary function of the Twelve was to be witnesses of what Christ had taught and done, especially in rising from the dead, no transmission of so exceptional an office was possible. Even with regard to the high authority which all apostles possessed, it is not clear that it was a jurisdiction which was to be passed on from generation to generation. Belief in the speedy return of Christ would prevent any such intention. The apostles wore commissioned to found a living Church, with power to supply itself with ministers and to organize them. </p> <p> Literature.-In addition to the works already cited, see [[J. B]] Lightfoot, <i> Galatians </i> , ed. 1892, pp. 92-101; E. Haupt, <i> Zum Verständnis des Apostolats im NT </i> , Halle, 1896; H. Monnier, <i> La Notion de l’apostolat </i> , Paris, 1903; P. Batiffol, <i> L’Église naissante </i> 3, do. 1909, pp. 46-68; also article‘Apostle,’ in <i> Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) </i> , <i> Dict. of Christ and the [[Gospels]] </i> <i> , Encyclopaedia Biblica </i> , and <i> Encyclopaedia Britannica </i> 11. </p> <p> Alfred Plummer. </p> | ||
== Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary <ref name="term_80083" /> == | == Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary <ref name="term_80083" /> == | ||
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== Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology <ref name="term_17626" /> == | == Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology <ref name="term_17626" /> == | ||
<p> (Gk. <i> apostolos </i> [Ἀπόστολος]). Envoy, ambassador, or messenger commissioned to carry out the instructions of the commissioning aget. </p> <p> <i> Etymology and Usage of the Term </i> Pre-Christian use of <i> apostolos </i> [Ἀπόστολος] in the sense of messenger is rare. More common is the verb <i> apostello, </i> referring to the sending of a fleet or an embassy. Only in [[Herodotus]] (1.21; 5.38) is it used of a personal envoy. [[Josephus]] employs it once <i> (Antiquities </i> 17.11.1) in the classical sense of an embassy. [[Epictetus]] <i> (Discourse </i> 3.22) speaks of the ideal Cynic teacher as one "sent by Zeus" to be a messenger of the gods and an "overseer" of human affairs. </p> <p> The [[Septuagint]] uses <i> apostello </i> [Ἐμπέμπω Ἀποστέλλω] or <i> exapostello </i> [Ἐξαποστέλλω] some seven hundred times to translate the Hebrew <i> salah </i> [שָׁלַח] ("stretch out, " "send"). More than the act of sending, this word includes the idea of the authorization of a messenger. The noun <i> apostolos </i> [Ἀπόστολος] is found only in 1 Kings 14:6 , where the commissioning and empowering of the prophet are clearly in mind. Thus, the Septuagint uses the <i> apostello </i> [Ἐμπέμπω Ἀποστέλλω] word-group to denote the authorization of an individual to fulfill a particular function, with emphasis on the one who sends, not on the one who is sent. </p> <p> The noun <i> apostolos </i> [Ἀπόστολος] appears seventy-nine times in the New [[Testament]] (ten in the Gospels; twenty-eight in Acts; thirty-eight in the Epistles; and three in Revelation). The vast majority of these occurrences are found in Luke-Acts (thirty-four) and in the Pauline epistles (thirty-four), and refer to those appointed by Christ for a special function in the church. Their unique place is based not only on having witnessed the resurrection, but also on having been commissioned and empowered by the resurrected Lord to proclaim the gospel to all nations. </p> <p> In the New Testament <i> apostolos </i> [ Hebrews 3:1 ), to those sent by God to preach to [[Israel]] ( Luke 11:49 ), to those sent by churches (2Col 8:23; Philippians 2:25 ), and most often, to the individuals who had been appointed by Christ to preach the gospel of the kingdom. This latter category, however, is understood differently by New Testament writers. For example, Luke-Acts uses the term "apostle" to refer almost exclusively to the Twelve, while Paul uses it in relation to a broader group of individuals. The expression "all the apostles" in 1 Corinthians 15:7 seems to include more than the twelve referred to in verse 5. James is considered here, and in Galatians 1:19 , to be an apostle. Barnabas is referred to as an apostle in Acts 14:14 (11:22-24; 13:1-4). Paul calls Andronicus and Junias apostles in Romans 16:7 . In this broader sense, an apostle was a witness to the resurrection of Christ, sent by him to make disciples of all nations. </p> <p> <i> Christ the Apostle </i> Although there is only one explicit reference to Jesus as an apostle ( Hebrews 3:1 ), implicit references to his having been "sent" by the Father are found throughout the New Testament. Nowhere is this more pronounced than in the Gospel of John, where Christ's entire ministry is qualified by the term <i> apostello </i> [3:17,34; 5:36-38; 6:29,57; 10:36; 17:3,8, 18,21, 23; 20:21), Jesus in turn "sends out" his disciples (4:38; 17:18) to continue and extend his mission. Thus, all apostleship finds its meaning in Jesus the Apostle, sent by God to be the [[Savior]] of the world ( 1 John 4:14 ). </p> <p> <i> The Twelve </i> Jesus had a large number of disciples during his ministry, but not all of them were apostles. The Twelve were chosen out of a wider group both to be with Jesus as disciples and to be sent out to preach and teach as apostles. There are four lists of the Twelve in the New Testament, one in each of the three Synoptic Gospels ( Matthew 10:1-4; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16 ) and one in Acts (1:13). These lists are roughly the same, representing four variant forms of a single early oral tradition. </p> <p> Matthew and Mark identify the Twelve as apostles only once, and in each case, in the context of a missionary journey ( Matthew 10:2; Mark 6:30 ). Here the word designates function rather than status. Luke, however, frequently and almost exclusively calls the Twelve "apostles" (6:13; 9:10; 17:5; 22:14; 24:10; Acts 1:26; 2:43; 4:35,36 , 37; 5:2,12 , 18; 8:1 ). Except for Luke 11:49 and Acts 14:14 , Luke applies <i> apostolos </i> [ Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-18; Luke 24:48-49; John 20:21-23; Acts 1:8 ). Thus, the essential qualification of an apostle is being called and sent by Christ. In the case of Matthias, additional qualifications come to light. In addition to the divine call, the person must have been a disciple of Jesus from John's baptism to the ascension, and specifically a witness of the resurrection ( Acts 1:21-22 ). </p> <p> Jesus' choice of twelve disciples to form an inner circle of followers served to symbolize the truth that he had come to build a new house of Israel. The Twelve formed the nucleus of this new people of God, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel, and signifying God's saving activity at work in Jesus and his followers. Their number implies that they were destined primarily to work among the children of Israel. Although not confined to the Jews, the mission of the Twelve had special relation to the twelve tribes of Israel, as emphasized in the promise of Matthew 19:28 . </p> <p> <i> Paul the Apostle </i> Since Paul had not accompanied Jesus during his earthly ministry, he did not meet the apostolic criteria of Acts 1:21-22 . It is clear, however, that he considered himself to be an apostle. Even though the only place in the Book of Acts where Paul is called an apostle is in reference to the apostles of the church in Antioch (14:4,14), Luke's portrayal of Paul's ministry as paradigmatic for the church gives implicit support to his apostolic claims. Not only does Acts depict Paul as manifesting the signs of an apostle, but in its three accounts of the [[Damascus]] [[Road]] encounter, his apostolic task is presented as the direct action of the risen Christ (9:3-5; 22:6-8; 26:12-18; cf. 2 Corinthians 4:6; Galatians 1:16 ). </p> <p> Paul's own claim to apostleship is likewise based on the divine call of Christ ( Romans 1:1; 1Col 1:1; Galatians 1:1,15; cf. 2Col 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; 1 Timothy 1:1; 2 Timothy 1:1; Titus 1:1 ). He is an apostle, "not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead" ( Galatians 1:1 ). His encounter with the resurrected Jesus served as the basis for his unique claim to be an "apostle to the Gentiles" ( Romans 11:13 ). Paul bases his apostleship on the grace of God, not on ecstatic gifts or the signs of an apostle ( 2 Corinthians 12 ). His apostolic commission is to serve God primarily through preaching the gospel ( Romans 1:9; 15:19; 1Col 1:17). </p> <p> Paul uses the word "apostle" in more than one sense. At times he employs the term in the broader sense of messenger or aget (2Col 8:23; Philippians 2:25 ). More often, however, Paul uses the term to refer to those who had been commissioned by the risen Lord to the apostolic task. Included in this category are the Twelve (although he never explicitly applies the title of apostle to them as a group), Peter ( Galatians 1:18 ), Paul himself ( Romans 1:1; 1Col 1:1; 9:1-2; 15:8-10; Galatians 2:7-8 ), James the brother of Jesus ( Galatians 1:19; cf. Acts 15:13 ), Barnabas (1Col 9:1-6; Galatians 2:9; cf. Acts 14:4,14 ), and possibly others ( Romans 16:7 ). In addition to understanding apostleship in terms of its basis in a divine call, Paul views the life of an apostle as being one of self-sacrificial service that entails suffering (1Col 4:9-13; 15:30-32; 2Col 4:7-12; 11:23-29). </p> <p> <i> Apostles and the Spirit </i> The primary function of the apostles was to witness to Christ. The Twelve had intimate knowledge of his life, and a wider group had been witnesses to his resurrection. Their commissioning by the risen Lord to worldwide witness ( Acts 1:8 ), however, was incomplete without the anointing of the Spirit. Only after [[Pentecost]] were they empowered by the Spirit for their ministry of word and deed. Their witness to Christ was not only empowered, but also guided and validated by the Spirit ( John 14:26 ). Thus, their full apostolic vocation was realized only in the Spirit ( John 14-17 ). Paul viewed apostleship as a gift of the Spirit ( 1 Corinthians 12:28 ), which was often accompanied by miraculous signs and mighty works ( 2 Corinthians 12:12 ). Such signs and wonders, however, were clearly secondary to the apostolic functions of preaching and teaching. </p> <p> <i> Apostolic [[Authority]] </i> Having direct knowledge of the incarnate Word, and being sent out as authorized agets of the gospel, the apostles provided the authentic interpretation of the life and teaching of Jesus. Because their witness to Christ was guided by the Spirit ( John 15:26-27 ), the apostles' teaching was considered normative for the church. They were regarded as the "pillars" ( Galatians 2:9 ) and "foundation" ( Ephesians 2:20; cf. Revelation 21:14 ) of the church, and their teaching became the norm for Christian faith and practice. The deposit of revelation transmitted by the apostles and preserved in its written form in the New Testament thus forms the basis of postapostolic preaching and teaching in the church. </p> <p> It is evident that the apostles formed the nucleus of primitive Christianity. The New Testament highlights their function as apostles, without delineating in detail the authoritative nature of their office in relation to the church. What is emphasized is that their apostolic commission authorized them to preach ( 1 Corinthians 1:17 ); to be ambassadors for Christ (2Col 5:20; Ephesians 6:20 ); to be witnesses to all nations ( Luke 24:48 ); and to make disciples of all peoples ( Matthew 28:19 ). </p> <p> R. David Rightmire </p> <p> <i> Bibliography </i> . F. Agnew, <i> JBL </i> 105 (1986): 75-96; C. K | <p> (Gk. <i> apostolos </i> [Ἀπόστολος]). Envoy, ambassador, or messenger commissioned to carry out the instructions of the commissioning aget. </p> <p> <i> Etymology and Usage of the Term </i> Pre-Christian use of <i> apostolos </i> [Ἀπόστολος] in the sense of messenger is rare. More common is the verb <i> apostello, </i> referring to the sending of a fleet or an embassy. Only in [[Herodotus]] (1.21; 5.38) is it used of a personal envoy. [[Josephus]] employs it once <i> (Antiquities </i> 17.11.1) in the classical sense of an embassy. [[Epictetus]] <i> (Discourse </i> 3.22) speaks of the ideal Cynic teacher as one "sent by Zeus" to be a messenger of the gods and an "overseer" of human affairs. </p> <p> The [[Septuagint]] uses <i> apostello </i> [Ἐμπέμπω Ἀποστέλλω] or <i> exapostello </i> [Ἐξαποστέλλω] some seven hundred times to translate the Hebrew <i> salah </i> [שָׁלַח] ("stretch out, " "send"). More than the act of sending, this word includes the idea of the authorization of a messenger. The noun <i> apostolos </i> [Ἀπόστολος] is found only in 1 Kings 14:6 , where the commissioning and empowering of the prophet are clearly in mind. Thus, the Septuagint uses the <i> apostello </i> [Ἐμπέμπω Ἀποστέλλω] word-group to denote the authorization of an individual to fulfill a particular function, with emphasis on the one who sends, not on the one who is sent. </p> <p> The noun <i> apostolos </i> [Ἀπόστολος] appears seventy-nine times in the New [[Testament]] (ten in the Gospels; twenty-eight in Acts; thirty-eight in the Epistles; and three in Revelation). The vast majority of these occurrences are found in Luke-Acts (thirty-four) and in the Pauline epistles (thirty-four), and refer to those appointed by Christ for a special function in the church. Their unique place is based not only on having witnessed the resurrection, but also on having been commissioned and empowered by the resurrected Lord to proclaim the gospel to all nations. </p> <p> In the New Testament <i> apostolos </i> [ Hebrews 3:1 ), to those sent by God to preach to [[Israel]] ( Luke 11:49 ), to those sent by churches (2Col 8:23; Philippians 2:25 ), and most often, to the individuals who had been appointed by Christ to preach the gospel of the kingdom. This latter category, however, is understood differently by New Testament writers. For example, Luke-Acts uses the term "apostle" to refer almost exclusively to the Twelve, while Paul uses it in relation to a broader group of individuals. The expression "all the apostles" in 1 Corinthians 15:7 seems to include more than the twelve referred to in verse 5. James is considered here, and in Galatians 1:19 , to be an apostle. Barnabas is referred to as an apostle in Acts 14:14 (11:22-24; 13:1-4). Paul calls Andronicus and Junias apostles in Romans 16:7 . In this broader sense, an apostle was a witness to the resurrection of Christ, sent by him to make disciples of all nations. </p> <p> <i> Christ the Apostle </i> Although there is only one explicit reference to Jesus as an apostle ( Hebrews 3:1 ), implicit references to his having been "sent" by the Father are found throughout the New Testament. Nowhere is this more pronounced than in the Gospel of John, where Christ's entire ministry is qualified by the term <i> apostello </i> [3:17,34; 5:36-38; 6:29,57; 10:36; 17:3,8, 18,21, 23; 20:21), Jesus in turn "sends out" his disciples (4:38; 17:18) to continue and extend his mission. Thus, all apostleship finds its meaning in Jesus the Apostle, sent by God to be the [[Savior]] of the world ( 1 John 4:14 ). </p> <p> <i> The Twelve </i> Jesus had a large number of disciples during his ministry, but not all of them were apostles. The Twelve were chosen out of a wider group both to be with Jesus as disciples and to be sent out to preach and teach as apostles. There are four lists of the Twelve in the New Testament, one in each of the three Synoptic Gospels ( Matthew 10:1-4; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16 ) and one in Acts (1:13). These lists are roughly the same, representing four variant forms of a single early oral tradition. </p> <p> Matthew and Mark identify the Twelve as apostles only once, and in each case, in the context of a missionary journey ( Matthew 10:2; Mark 6:30 ). Here the word designates function rather than status. Luke, however, frequently and almost exclusively calls the Twelve "apostles" (6:13; 9:10; 17:5; 22:14; 24:10; Acts 1:26; 2:43; 4:35,36 , 37; 5:2,12 , 18; 8:1 ). Except for Luke 11:49 and Acts 14:14 , Luke applies <i> apostolos </i> [ Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-18; Luke 24:48-49; John 20:21-23; Acts 1:8 ). Thus, the essential qualification of an apostle is being called and sent by Christ. In the case of Matthias, additional qualifications come to light. In addition to the divine call, the person must have been a disciple of Jesus from John's baptism to the ascension, and specifically a witness of the resurrection ( Acts 1:21-22 ). </p> <p> Jesus' choice of twelve disciples to form an inner circle of followers served to symbolize the truth that he had come to build a new house of Israel. The Twelve formed the nucleus of this new people of God, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel, and signifying God's saving activity at work in Jesus and his followers. Their number implies that they were destined primarily to work among the children of Israel. Although not confined to the Jews, the mission of the Twelve had special relation to the twelve tribes of Israel, as emphasized in the promise of Matthew 19:28 . </p> <p> <i> Paul the Apostle </i> Since Paul had not accompanied Jesus during his earthly ministry, he did not meet the apostolic criteria of Acts 1:21-22 . It is clear, however, that he considered himself to be an apostle. Even though the only place in the Book of Acts where Paul is called an apostle is in reference to the apostles of the church in Antioch (14:4,14), Luke's portrayal of Paul's ministry as paradigmatic for the church gives implicit support to his apostolic claims. Not only does Acts depict Paul as manifesting the signs of an apostle, but in its three accounts of the [[Damascus]] [[Road]] encounter, his apostolic task is presented as the direct action of the risen Christ (9:3-5; 22:6-8; 26:12-18; cf. 2 Corinthians 4:6; Galatians 1:16 ). </p> <p> Paul's own claim to apostleship is likewise based on the divine call of Christ ( Romans 1:1; 1Col 1:1; Galatians 1:1,15; cf. 2Col 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; 1 Timothy 1:1; 2 Timothy 1:1; Titus 1:1 ). He is an apostle, "not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead" ( Galatians 1:1 ). His encounter with the resurrected Jesus served as the basis for his unique claim to be an "apostle to the Gentiles" ( Romans 11:13 ). Paul bases his apostleship on the grace of God, not on ecstatic gifts or the signs of an apostle ( 2 Corinthians 12 ). His apostolic commission is to serve God primarily through preaching the gospel ( Romans 1:9; 15:19; 1Col 1:17). </p> <p> Paul uses the word "apostle" in more than one sense. At times he employs the term in the broader sense of messenger or aget (2Col 8:23; Philippians 2:25 ). More often, however, Paul uses the term to refer to those who had been commissioned by the risen Lord to the apostolic task. Included in this category are the Twelve (although he never explicitly applies the title of apostle to them as a group), Peter ( Galatians 1:18 ), Paul himself ( Romans 1:1; 1Col 1:1; 9:1-2; 15:8-10; Galatians 2:7-8 ), James the brother of Jesus ( Galatians 1:19; cf. Acts 15:13 ), Barnabas (1Col 9:1-6; Galatians 2:9; cf. Acts 14:4,14 ), and possibly others ( Romans 16:7 ). In addition to understanding apostleship in terms of its basis in a divine call, Paul views the life of an apostle as being one of self-sacrificial service that entails suffering (1Col 4:9-13; 15:30-32; 2Col 4:7-12; 11:23-29). </p> <p> <i> Apostles and the Spirit </i> The primary function of the apostles was to witness to Christ. The Twelve had intimate knowledge of his life, and a wider group had been witnesses to his resurrection. Their commissioning by the risen Lord to worldwide witness ( Acts 1:8 ), however, was incomplete without the anointing of the Spirit. Only after [[Pentecost]] were they empowered by the Spirit for their ministry of word and deed. Their witness to Christ was not only empowered, but also guided and validated by the Spirit ( John 14:26 ). Thus, their full apostolic vocation was realized only in the Spirit ( John 14-17 ). Paul viewed apostleship as a gift of the Spirit ( 1 Corinthians 12:28 ), which was often accompanied by miraculous signs and mighty works ( 2 Corinthians 12:12 ). Such signs and wonders, however, were clearly secondary to the apostolic functions of preaching and teaching. </p> <p> <i> Apostolic [[Authority]] </i> Having direct knowledge of the incarnate Word, and being sent out as authorized agets of the gospel, the apostles provided the authentic interpretation of the life and teaching of Jesus. Because their witness to Christ was guided by the Spirit ( John 15:26-27 ), the apostles' teaching was considered normative for the church. They were regarded as the "pillars" ( Galatians 2:9 ) and "foundation" ( Ephesians 2:20; cf. Revelation 21:14 ) of the church, and their teaching became the norm for Christian faith and practice. The deposit of revelation transmitted by the apostles and preserved in its written form in the New Testament thus forms the basis of postapostolic preaching and teaching in the church. </p> <p> It is evident that the apostles formed the nucleus of primitive Christianity. The New Testament highlights their function as apostles, without delineating in detail the authoritative nature of their office in relation to the church. What is emphasized is that their apostolic commission authorized them to preach ( 1 Corinthians 1:17 ); to be ambassadors for Christ (2Col 5:20; Ephesians 6:20 ); to be witnesses to all nations ( Luke 24:48 ); and to make disciples of all peoples ( Matthew 28:19 ). </p> <p> R. David Rightmire </p> <p> <i> Bibliography </i> . F. Agnew, <i> JBL </i> 105 (1986): 75-96; [[C. K]] Barrett, <i> [[Signs]] of an Apostle </i> ; W. Baur, <i> New Testament [[Apocrypha]] </i> 2 (1965): 35-74; O. Cullmann, <i> Early Church </i> ; [[E. J]] Goodspeed, <i> The Twelve </i> ; L. Goppelt, <i> Apostolic and Post-Apostolic Times </i> ; [[J. B]] Lightfoot, <i> Galatians, </i> pp. 92-101; H. Mosbech, <i> ST </i> 2 (1948): 166-200; D. Mller, <i> NIDNTT, </i> 1:126-33; J. Munck, <i> ST </i> 3 (1949): 96-100; K. Rengstorf, <i> TDNT, </i> 1:398-447; W. Schneemelcher, <i> New Testament Apocrypha </i> 2 (1965): 25-34; R. Schnackenburg, <i> Apostolic History and the Gospel, </i> pp. 287-303. </p> | ||
== Bridgeway Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_18395" /> == | == Bridgeway Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_18395" /> == | ||
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== Morrish Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_64734" /> == | == Morrish Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_64734" /> == | ||
<p> The Greek word ἀπόστολοςsignifies 'a messenger,' 'one sent,' and is used in this sense for any messenger in 2 Corinthians 8:23; Philippians 2:25; and as 'one sent' in John 13:16 . It is also used in a much higher and more emphatic sense, implying a divine commission in the one sent, first of the Lord Himself and then of the twelve disciples whom He chose to be with Him during the time of His ministry here. The Lord in His prayer in John 17:18 said, "As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world." He was the Sent One, and in Hebrews 3:1 it is written "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High [[Priest]] of our profession, Jesus."* They were to consider this One who had been faithful, and who was superior to Moses, to the Aaronic priests, and to angels, and was in the glory. The ordering of a dispensation depended on the apostolic office as divinely appointed. </p> <p> * The word 'Christ' is omitted by the Editors. </p> <p> | <p> The Greek word ἀπόστολοςsignifies 'a messenger,' 'one sent,' and is used in this sense for any messenger in 2 Corinthians 8:23; Philippians 2:25; and as 'one sent' in John 13:16 . It is also used in a much higher and more emphatic sense, implying a divine commission in the one sent, first of the Lord Himself and then of the twelve disciples whom He chose to be with Him during the time of His ministry here. The Lord in His prayer in John 17:18 said, "As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world." He was the Sent One, and in Hebrews 3:1 it is written "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High [[Priest]] of our profession, Jesus."* They were to consider this One who had been faithful, and who was superior to Moses, to the Aaronic priests, and to angels, and was in the glory. The ordering of a dispensation depended on the apostolic office as divinely appointed. </p> <p> * The word 'Christ' is omitted by the Editors. </p> <p> [[Apostles,The Twelve]] The Lord appointed these "that they should be with him, and that he <i> might send them forth </i> to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out demons," and also to carry out the various commissions given by Christ on earth. It will be seen by the lists that follow that Lebbaeus, Thaddaeus and Judas are the same person; and that Simon the [[Canaanite]] (Cananaean) and Simon Zelotes are the same; Peter is also called Simon; and Matthew is calledLevi. </p> <p> Matthew 10:2-4 . Mark 3:16-19 . Luke 6:14-16 . Acts 1:18 . </p> <p> 1 Peter and 1 Peter. 1 Simon. 1 Peter. </p> <p> 2 Andrew. 3 James. 2 Andrew. 3 James. </p> <p> 3 James and 4 John. 3 James. 4 John. </p> <p> 4 John. 2 Andrew. 4 John. 2 Andrew. </p> <p> 5 Philip and 5 Philip. 5 Philip. 5 Philip. </p> <p> 6 Bartholomew. 6 Bartholomew. 6 Bartholomew. 7 Thomas. </p> <p> 7 Thomas and 8 Matthew. 8 Matthew. 6 Bartholomew. </p> <p> 8 Matthew. 7 Thomas. 7 Thomas. 8 Matthew. </p> <p> 9 James and 9 James. 9 James. 9 James. </p> <p> 10 Lebbaeus. 10 Thaddaeus. 11 Simon Zelotes. 11 Simon Z. </p> <p> 11 Simon the Cana- 11 Simon C. 10 Judas. 10 Judas. </p> <p> naean and 12 Judas 1. 12 Judas I. </p> <p> 12 Judas Iscariot. </p> <p> Peter is always named first; he with James and John was with the Lord on the mount of transfiguration and also with the Lord at other times, though no one apostle had authority over the others: they were all brethren and the Lord was their Master. Judas [[Iscariot]] is always named last. In Matthew the word 'and' divides the twelve into pairs, perhaps corresponding to their being sent out two and two to preach. Bartholomew and Simon Zelotes are not mentioned after their appointment except in Acts1. </p> <p> When the Lord sent the twelve out to preach He bade them take nothing with them, for the workman was worthy of his food: and on their return they confessed that they had lacked nothing. Their mission was with authority as the sent ones of the Lord; sicknesses were healed and demons cast out; and if any city refused to receive them it should be more tolerable for [[Sodom]] and [[Gomorrha]] in the day of judgement than for that city. Matthew 10:5-15 . </p> <p> They received a new mission from the Lord as <i> risen </i> : see Luke 24; John 20 . And before the ascension the apostles were bidden to tarry at Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. This was bestowed at the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. They are also viewed first among the gifts with which the church was endowed by the Head of the body when He ascended up on high. Ephesians 4:8-11 . These gifts were for "the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." The mystery hitherto hid in God was now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, namely, that the Gentiles should be joint heirs, and a joint body, and partakers of His promise in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 3 . Paul was the special vessel to make known this grace. His apostleship occupies a peculiar place, he having been called by the Lord from heaven, and being charged with the gospel of the glory. See PAUL. </p> <p> On the death of Judas Iscariot, Matthias, an early disciple, was chosen in his place, for there must be (irrespective of Paul, who, as we have seen, held a unique place) twelve apostles as witnesses of His resurrection, Acts 1:22; Revelation 21:14 as there must still be twelve tribes of Israel. James 1:1; Revelation 21:12 . At the conference of the church in Jerusalem respecting the Gentiles 'the apostles' took a prominent part, with the elders. Acts 15 . How many apostles remained at Jerusalem is not recorded: we do not read of 'the twelve' after Acts 6 . Tradition gives the various places where they laboured, which may be found under each of their names. [[Scripture]] is silent on the subject, in order that the new order of things committed to Paul might become prominent, as the older things connected with [[Judaism]] vanished away: cf. 2 Peter 3:15,16 . </p> <p> There were no successors to the apostles: to be apostles they must have 'seen the Lord.' Acts 1:21,22; 1 Corinthians 9:1; Revelation 2:2 . The foundation of the church was laid, and apostolic work being complete the apostles passed away, there remain however, in the goodness of God, such gifts as are needed "till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." Ephesians 4:12,13 . </p> | ||
== Smith's Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_71407" /> == | == Smith's Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_71407" /> == | ||
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== Easton's Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_30392" /> == | == Easton's Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_30392" /> == | ||
<li> Another qualification was the power of working miracles ( Mark 16:20; Acts 2:43; 1 Corinthians 12:8-11 ). The apostles therefore could have had no successors. They are the only authoritative teachers of the Christian doctrines. The office of an apostle ceased with its first holders. <p> In 2 Corinthians 8:23 and Philippians 2:25 the word "messenger" is the rendering of the same Greek word, elsewhere rendered "apostle." </p> <div> <p> '''Copyright Statement''' These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., | <li> Another qualification was the power of working miracles ( Mark 16:20; Acts 2:43; 1 Corinthians 12:8-11 ). The apostles therefore could have had no successors. They are the only authoritative teachers of the Christian doctrines. The office of an apostle ceased with its first holders. <p> In 2 Corinthians 8:23 and Philippians 2:25 the word "messenger" is the rendering of the same Greek word, elsewhere rendered "apostle." </p> <div> <p> '''Copyright Statement''' These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton [[M.A., DD]] Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain. </p> <p> '''Bibliography Information''' Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Apostle'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/a/apostle.html. 1897. </p> </div> </li> | ||
== Webster's Dictionary <ref name="term_87512" /> == | == Webster's Dictionary <ref name="term_87512" /> == | ||
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== Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature <ref name="term_20399" /> == | == Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature <ref name="term_20399" /> == | ||
< | |||
== International Standard Bible Encyclopedia <ref name="term_813" /> == | == International Standard Bible Encyclopedia <ref name="term_813" /> == | ||
<p> '''''a''''' -'''''pos''''' ´''''''l''''' ( ἀπόστολος , [@ <i> '''''apóstolos''''' </i> , literally, "one sent forth," an envoy, missionary): For the meaning of this name as it meets us in the New Testament, reference is sometimes made to classical and Jewish parallels. In earlier classical Greek there was a distinction between an <i> '''''ággelos''''' </i> or messenger and an <i> '''''apostolos''''' </i> , who was not a mere messenger, but a delegate or representative of the person who sent him. In the later Judaism, again, <i> '''''apostoloi''''' </i> were envoys sent out by the patriarchate in Jerusalem to collect the sacred tribute from the Jews of the Dispersion. It seems unlikely, however, that either of these uses bears upon the Christian origin of a term which, in any case, came to have its own distinctive Christian meaning. To understand the word as we find it in the New Testament it is not necessary to go beyond the New Testament itself. To discover the source of its Christian use it is sufficient to refer to its immediate and natural signification. The term used by Jesus, it must be remembered, would be Aramaic, not Greek, and <i> '''''apostolos''''' </i> would be its literal equivalent. </p> 1. The Twelve <p> In the New Testament history we first hear of the term as applied by Jesus to the Twelve in connection with that evangelical mission among the villages on which He dispatched them at an early stage of His public ministry ( Matthew 10:1; Mark 3:14; Mark 6:30; Luke 6:13; Luke 9:1 ). From a comparison of the Synoptics it would seem that the name as thus used was not a general designation for the Twelve, but had reference only to this particular mission, which was typical and prophetic, however, of the wider mission that was to come (compare Hort, <i> Christian Ecclesia </i> , 23-29). Luke, it is true, uses the word as a title for the Twelve apart from reference to the mission among the villages. But the explanation probably is, as Dr. Hort suggests, that since the Third Gospel and the Book of Acts formed two sections of what was really one work, the author in the Gospel employs the term in that wider sense which it came to have after the Ascension. </p> <p> When we pass to Acts, "apostles" has become an ordinary name for the [[Eleven]] ( Acts 1:2 , Acts 1:26 ), and after the election of Matthias in place of Judas, for the Twelve ( Acts 2:37 , Acts 2:42 , Acts 2:43 , etc.). But even so it does not denote a particular and restricted office, but rather that function of a world-wide missionary service to which the Twelve were especially called. In His last charge, just before He ascended, Jesus had commissioned them to go forth into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature ( Matthew 28:19 , Matthew 28:20; Mark 16:15 ). He had said that they were to be His witnesses not only in Jerusalem and Judea, but in Samaria (contrast Matthew 10:5 ), and unto the uttermost part of the earth ( Acts 1:8 ). They were apostles, therefore, <i> qua </i> missionaries - not merely because they were the Twelve, but because they were now sent forth by their Lord on a universal mission for the propagation of the gospel. </p> 2. Paul <p> The very fact that the name "apostle" means what it does would point to the impossibility of confining it within the limits of the Twelve. (The "twelve apostles" of Revelation 21:14 is evidently symbolic; compare in Revelation 7:3 the restriction of God's sealed servants to the twelve tribes.) Yet there might be a tendency at first to do so, and to restrict it as a badge of honor and privilege peculiar to that inner circle (compare Acts 1:25 ). If any such tendency existed, Paul effectually broke it down by vindicating for himself the right to the name. His claim appears in his assumption of the apostolic title in the opening words of most of his epistles. And when his right to it was challenged, he defended that right with passion, and especially on these grounds: that he had seen Jesus, and so was qualified to bear witness to His resurrection ( 1 Corinthians 9:1; compare Acts 22:6 ); that he had received a call to the work of an apostle ( Romans 1:1; 1 Corinthians 1:1 , etc.; Galatians 2:7; compare Acts 13:2; Acts 22:21 ); but, above all, that he could point to the signs and seals of his apostleship furnished by his missionary labors and their fruits ( 1 Corinthians 9:2; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Galatians 2:8 ). It was by this last ground of appeal that Paul convinced the original apostles of the justice of his claim. He had not been a disciple of Jesus in the days of His flesh; his claim to have seen the risen Lord and from Him to have received a personal commission was not one that could be proved to others; but there could be no possibility of doubt as to the seals of his apostleship. It was abundantly clear that "he that wrought for Peter unto the apostleship of the circumcision wrought for (Paul) also unto the Gentiles" ( Galatians 2:8 ). And so perceiving the grace that was given unto him, Peter and John, together with James of Jerusalem, recognized Paul as apostle to the Gentiles and gave him the right hand of fellowship ( Galatians 2:9 ). </p> 3. The Wider [[Circle]] <p> It is sometimes said by those who recognize that there were other apostles besides the Twelve and Paul that the latter (to whom some, on the ground of 1 Corinthians 15:7; Galatians 1:19 , would add James the Lord's brother) were the apostles <i> par excellence </i> , while the other apostles mentioned in the New Testament were apostles in some inferior sense. It is hardly possible, however, to make out such a distinction on the ground of New Testament usage. There were great differences, no doubt, among the apostles of the primitive church, as there were among the Twelve themselves - differences due to natural talents, to personal acquirements and experience, to spiritual gifts. Paul was greater than Barnabas or Silvanus, just as Peter and John were greater than Thaddaeus or Simon the Cananean. But Thaddaeus and Simon were disciples of Jesus in the very same sense as Peter and John; and the Twelve and Paul were not more truly apostles than others who are mentioned in the New Testament. If apostleship denotes missionary service, and if its reality, as Paul suggests, is to be measured by its seals, it would be difficult to maintain that Matthias was an apostle <i> par excellence </i> , while Barnabas was not. Paul sets Barnabas as an apostle side by side with himself ( 1 Corinthians 9:5 f; Galatians 2:9; compare Acts 13:2 f; Acts 14:4 , Acts 14:14 ); he speaks of Andronicus and Junias as "of note among the apostles" ( Romans 16:7 ); he appears to include Apollos along with himself among the apostles who are made a spectacle unto the world and to angels and to men ( 1 Corinthians 4:6 , 1 Corinthians 4:9 ); the natural inference from a comparison of 1 Thessalonians 1:1 with 1 Thessalonians 2:6 is that he describes Silvanus and Timothy as "apostles of Christ"; to the Philippians he mentions Epaphroditus as "your apostle" ( Philippians 2:25 the Revised Version, margin), and to the Corinthians commends certain unknown brethren as "the apostles of the churches" and "the glory of Christ" ( 2 Corinthians 8:23 the Revised Version, margin). And the very fact that he found it necessary to denounce certain persons as "false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ" ( 2 Corinthians 11:13 ) shows that there was no thought in the primitive church of restricting the apostleship to a body of 12 or 13 men. "Had the number been definitely restricted, the claims of these interlopers would have been self-condemned" (Lightfoot, <i> Galatians </i> , 97). </p> 4. Apostles in Didache <p> When we come to the <i> Didache </i> , which probably lies beyond the boundary-line of New Testament history, we find the name "apostles" applied to a whole class of nameless missionaries - men who settled in no church, but moved about from place to place as messengers of the gospel (chapter 11). This makes it difficult to accept the view, urged by Lightfoot (op. cit., 98) and Gwatkin ( <i> HDB </i> , I, 126) on the ground Of Luke 24:48; Acts 1:8 , Acts 1:22; 1 Corinthians 9:1 , that to have seen the Lord was always the primary qualification of an apostle - a view on the strength of which they reject the apostleship of Apollos and Timothy, as being late converts to Christianity who lived far from the scenes of our Lord's ministry. Gwatkin remarks that we have no reason to suppose that this condition was ever waived unless we throw forward the <i> Didache </i> into the 2nd century. But it seems very unlikely that even toward the end of the 1st century there would be a whole class of men, not only still alive, but still braving in the exercise of their missionary functions all the hardships of a wandering and homeless existence (compare <i> Didache </i> 1 Corinthians 11:4-6 ), who were yet able to bear the personal testimony of eye-witnesses to the ministry and resurrection of Jesus. In Luke 24:48 and Acts 18:22 it is the chosen company of the Twelve who are in view. In 1 Corinthians 9:1 Paul is meeting his [[Judaizing]] opponents on their own ground, and answering their insistence upon personal intercourse with Jesus by a claim to have seen the Lord. But apart from these passages there is no evidence that the apostles of the early church were necessarily men who had known Jesus in the flesh or had been witnesses of His resurrection - much less that this was the primary qualification on which their apostleship was made to rest. </p> 5. The Apostleship <p> We are led then to the conclusion that the true differentia of the New Testament apostleship lay in the missionary calling implied in the name, and that all whose lives were devoted to this vocation, and who could prove by the issues of their labors that God's Spirit was working through them for the conversion of Jew or Gentile , were regarded and described as apostles. The apostolate was not a limited circle of officials holding a well-defined position of authority in the church, but a large class of men who discharged one - and that the highest - of the functions of the prophetic ministry ( 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11 ). It was on the foundation of the apostles and prophets that the Christian church was built, with Jesus Christ Himself as the chief corner-stone ( Ephesians 2:20 ). The distinction between the two classes was that while the prophet was God's spokesman to the believing church ( 1 Corinthians 14:4 , 1 Corinthians 14:22 , 1 Corinthians 14:25 , 1 Corinthians 14:30 , 1 Corinthians 14:31 ), the apostle was His envoy to the unbelieving world ( Galatians 2:7 , Galatians 2:9 ). </p> <p> The <i> call </i> of the apostle to his task might come in a variety of ways. The Twelve were called personally by Jesus to an apostolic task at the commencement of His earthly ministry ( Matthew 10:1 parallel), and after His resurrection this call was repeated, made permanent, and given a universal scope ( Matthew 28:19 , Matthew 28:20; Acts 1:8 ). Matthias was called first by the voice of the general body of the brethren and thereafter by the decision of the lot ( Acts 1:15 , Acts 1:23 , Acts 1:26 ). Paul's call came to him in a heavenly vision ( Acts 26:17-19 ); and though this call was subsequently ratified by the church at Antioch, which sent him forth at the bidding of the Holy Ghost ( Acts 13:1 ), he firmly maintained that he was an apostle not from men neither through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead ( Galatians 1:1 ). Barnabas was sent forth ( <i> '''''exapostéllō''''' </i> is the verb used) by the church at Jerusalem ( Acts 11:22 ) and later, along with Paul, by the church at Antioch ( Acts 13:1 ); and soon after this we find the two men described as apostles ( Acts 14:4 ). It was the mission on which they were sent that explains the title. And when this particular mission was completed and they returned to Antioch to rehearse before the assembled church "all things that God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith unto the Gentiles" ( Acts 14:27 ), they thereby justified their claim to be the apostles not only of the church, but of the Holy Spirit. </p> <p> The <i> authority </i> of the apostolate was of a spiritual, ethical and personal kind. It was not official, and in the nature of the case could not be transmitted to others. Paul claimed for himself complete independence of the opinion of the whole body of the earlier apostles ( Galatians 2:6 , Galatians 2:11 ), and in seeking to influence his own converts endeavored by manifestation of the truth to commend himself to every man's conscience in the sight of God ( 2 Corinthians 4:2 ). There is no sign that the apostles collectively exercised a separate and autocratic authority. When the question of the observance of the [[Mosaic]] ritual by Gentile Christians arose at Antioch and was referred to Jerusalem, it was "the apostles and elders" who met to discuss it ( Acts 15:2 , Acts 15:6 , Acts 15:22 ), and the letter returned to Antioch was written in the name of "the apostles and the elders, brethren" ( Acts 15:23 ). In founding a church Paul naturally appointed the first local officials ( Acts 14:23 ), but he does not seem to have interfered with the ordinary administration of affairs in the churches he had planted. In those cases in which he was appealed to or was compelled by some grave scandal to interpose, he rested an authoritative command on some express word of the Lord ( 1 Corinthians 7:10 ), and when he had no such word to rest on, was careful to distinguish his own judgment and counsel from a [[Divine]] commandment ( 1 Corinthians 12:25 , 40). His appeals in the latter case are grounded upon fundamental principles of morality common to heathen and Christian alike ( 1 Corinthians 5:1 ), or are addressed to the spiritual judgment ( 1 Corinthians 10:15 ), or are reinforced by the weight of a personal influence gained by unselfish service and by the fact that he was the spiritual father of his converts as having begotten them in Christ Jesus through the gospel ( 1 Corinthians 4:15 f). </p> <p> It may be added here that the expressly missionary character of the apostleship seems to debar James, the Lord's brother, from any claim to the title. James was a prophet and teacher, but not an apostle. As the head of the church at Jerusalem, he exercised a ministry of a purely local nature. The passages on which it has been sought to establish his right to be included in the apostolate do not furnish any satisfactory evidence. In 1 Corinthians 15:7 James is contrasted with "all the apostles" rather than included in their number (compare 1 Corinthians 9:5 ). And in Galatians 1:19 the meaning may quite well be that with the exception of Peter, none of the apostles was seen by Paul in Jerusalem, but only James the Lord's brother (compare the Revised Version, margin). </p> Literature <p> Lightfoot, <i> Galatians </i> , 92-101; Hort, <i> Christian Ecclesia </i> , Lect II; Weizsäcker, <i> The Apostolic Age </i> , II, 291-99; Lindsay, <i> The Church and the [[Ministry]] </i> , 73-90. </p> | <p> ''''' a ''''' - ''''' pos ''''' ´' ''''' l ''''' ( ἀπόστολος , [@ <i> ''''' apóstolos ''''' </i> , literally, "one sent forth," an envoy, missionary): For the meaning of this name as it meets us in the New Testament, reference is sometimes made to classical and Jewish parallels. In earlier classical Greek there was a distinction between an <i> ''''' ággelos ''''' </i> or messenger and an <i> ''''' apostolos ''''' </i> , who was not a mere messenger, but a delegate or representative of the person who sent him. In the later Judaism, again, <i> ''''' apostoloi ''''' </i> were envoys sent out by the patriarchate in Jerusalem to collect the sacred tribute from the Jews of the Dispersion. It seems unlikely, however, that either of these uses bears upon the Christian origin of a term which, in any case, came to have its own distinctive Christian meaning. To understand the word as we find it in the New Testament it is not necessary to go beyond the New Testament itself. To discover the source of its Christian use it is sufficient to refer to its immediate and natural signification. The term used by Jesus, it must be remembered, would be Aramaic, not Greek, and <i> ''''' apostolos ''''' </i> would be its literal equivalent. </p> 1. The Twelve <p> In the New Testament history we first hear of the term as applied by Jesus to the Twelve in connection with that evangelical mission among the villages on which He dispatched them at an early stage of His public ministry ( Matthew 10:1; Mark 3:14; Mark 6:30; Luke 6:13; Luke 9:1 ). From a comparison of the Synoptics it would seem that the name as thus used was not a general designation for the Twelve, but had reference only to this particular mission, which was typical and prophetic, however, of the wider mission that was to come (compare Hort, <i> Christian Ecclesia </i> , 23-29). Luke, it is true, uses the word as a title for the Twelve apart from reference to the mission among the villages. But the explanation probably is, as Dr. Hort suggests, that since the Third Gospel and the Book of Acts formed two sections of what was really one work, the author in the Gospel employs the term in that wider sense which it came to have after the Ascension. </p> <p> When we pass to Acts, "apostles" has become an ordinary name for the [[Eleven]] ( Acts 1:2 , Acts 1:26 ), and after the election of Matthias in place of Judas, for the Twelve ( Acts 2:37 , Acts 2:42 , Acts 2:43 , etc.). But even so it does not denote a particular and restricted office, but rather that function of a world-wide missionary service to which the Twelve were especially called. In His last charge, just before He ascended, Jesus had commissioned them to go forth into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature ( Matthew 28:19 , Matthew 28:20; Mark 16:15 ). He had said that they were to be His witnesses not only in Jerusalem and Judea, but in Samaria (contrast Matthew 10:5 ), and unto the uttermost part of the earth ( Acts 1:8 ). They were apostles, therefore, <i> qua </i> missionaries - not merely because they were the Twelve, but because they were now sent forth by their Lord on a universal mission for the propagation of the gospel. </p> 2. Paul <p> The very fact that the name "apostle" means what it does would point to the impossibility of confining it within the limits of the Twelve. (The "twelve apostles" of Revelation 21:14 is evidently symbolic; compare in Revelation 7:3 the restriction of God's sealed servants to the twelve tribes.) Yet there might be a tendency at first to do so, and to restrict it as a badge of honor and privilege peculiar to that inner circle (compare Acts 1:25 ). If any such tendency existed, Paul effectually broke it down by vindicating for himself the right to the name. His claim appears in his assumption of the apostolic title in the opening words of most of his epistles. And when his right to it was challenged, he defended that right with passion, and especially on these grounds: that he had seen Jesus, and so was qualified to bear witness to His resurrection ( 1 Corinthians 9:1; compare Acts 22:6 ); that he had received a call to the work of an apostle ( Romans 1:1; 1 Corinthians 1:1 , etc.; Galatians 2:7; compare Acts 13:2; Acts 22:21 ); but, above all, that he could point to the signs and seals of his apostleship furnished by his missionary labors and their fruits ( 1 Corinthians 9:2; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Galatians 2:8 ). It was by this last ground of appeal that Paul convinced the original apostles of the justice of his claim. He had not been a disciple of Jesus in the days of His flesh; his claim to have seen the risen Lord and from Him to have received a personal commission was not one that could be proved to others; but there could be no possibility of doubt as to the seals of his apostleship. It was abundantly clear that "he that wrought for Peter unto the apostleship of the circumcision wrought for (Paul) also unto the Gentiles" ( Galatians 2:8 ). And so perceiving the grace that was given unto him, Peter and John, together with James of Jerusalem, recognized Paul as apostle to the Gentiles and gave him the right hand of fellowship ( Galatians 2:9 ). </p> 3. The Wider [[Circle]] <p> It is sometimes said by those who recognize that there were other apostles besides the Twelve and Paul that the latter (to whom some, on the ground of 1 Corinthians 15:7; Galatians 1:19 , would add James the Lord's brother) were the apostles <i> par excellence </i> , while the other apostles mentioned in the New Testament were apostles in some inferior sense. It is hardly possible, however, to make out such a distinction on the ground of New Testament usage. There were great differences, no doubt, among the apostles of the primitive church, as there were among the Twelve themselves - differences due to natural talents, to personal acquirements and experience, to spiritual gifts. Paul was greater than Barnabas or Silvanus, just as Peter and John were greater than Thaddaeus or Simon the Cananean. But Thaddaeus and Simon were disciples of Jesus in the very same sense as Peter and John; and the Twelve and Paul were not more truly apostles than others who are mentioned in the New Testament. If apostleship denotes missionary service, and if its reality, as Paul suggests, is to be measured by its seals, it would be difficult to maintain that Matthias was an apostle <i> par excellence </i> , while Barnabas was not. Paul sets Barnabas as an apostle side by side with himself ( 1 Corinthians 9:5 f; Galatians 2:9; compare Acts 13:2 f; Acts 14:4 , Acts 14:14 ); he speaks of Andronicus and Junias as "of note among the apostles" ( Romans 16:7 ); he appears to include Apollos along with himself among the apostles who are made a spectacle unto the world and to angels and to men ( 1 Corinthians 4:6 , 1 Corinthians 4:9 ); the natural inference from a comparison of 1 Thessalonians 1:1 with 1 Thessalonians 2:6 is that he describes Silvanus and Timothy as "apostles of Christ"; to the Philippians he mentions Epaphroditus as "your apostle" ( Philippians 2:25 the Revised Version, margin), and to the Corinthians commends certain unknown brethren as "the apostles of the churches" and "the glory of Christ" ( 2 Corinthians 8:23 the Revised Version, margin). And the very fact that he found it necessary to denounce certain persons as "false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ" ( 2 Corinthians 11:13 ) shows that there was no thought in the primitive church of restricting the apostleship to a body of 12 or 13 men. "Had the number been definitely restricted, the claims of these interlopers would have been self-condemned" (Lightfoot, <i> Galatians </i> , 97). </p> 4. Apostles in Didache <p> When we come to the <i> Didache </i> , which probably lies beyond the boundary-line of New Testament history, we find the name "apostles" applied to a whole class of nameless missionaries - men who settled in no church, but moved about from place to place as messengers of the gospel (chapter 11). This makes it difficult to accept the view, urged by Lightfoot (op. cit., 98) and Gwatkin ( <i> HDB </i> , I, 126) on the ground Of Luke 24:48; Acts 1:8 , Acts 1:22; 1 Corinthians 9:1 , that to have seen the Lord was always the primary qualification of an apostle - a view on the strength of which they reject the apostleship of Apollos and Timothy, as being late converts to Christianity who lived far from the scenes of our Lord's ministry. Gwatkin remarks that we have no reason to suppose that this condition was ever waived unless we throw forward the <i> Didache </i> into the 2nd century. But it seems very unlikely that even toward the end of the 1st century there would be a whole class of men, not only still alive, but still braving in the exercise of their missionary functions all the hardships of a wandering and homeless existence (compare <i> Didache </i> 1 Corinthians 11:4-6 ), who were yet able to bear the personal testimony of eye-witnesses to the ministry and resurrection of Jesus. In Luke 24:48 and Acts 18:22 it is the chosen company of the Twelve who are in view. In 1 Corinthians 9:1 Paul is meeting his [[Judaizing]] opponents on their own ground, and answering their insistence upon personal intercourse with Jesus by a claim to have seen the Lord. But apart from these passages there is no evidence that the apostles of the early church were necessarily men who had known Jesus in the flesh or had been witnesses of His resurrection - much less that this was the primary qualification on which their apostleship was made to rest. </p> 5. The Apostleship <p> We are led then to the conclusion that the true differentia of the New Testament apostleship lay in the missionary calling implied in the name, and that all whose lives were devoted to this vocation, and who could prove by the issues of their labors that God's Spirit was working through them for the conversion of Jew or Gentile , were regarded and described as apostles. The apostolate was not a limited circle of officials holding a well-defined position of authority in the church, but a large class of men who discharged one - and that the highest - of the functions of the prophetic ministry ( 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11 ). It was on the foundation of the apostles and prophets that the Christian church was built, with Jesus Christ Himself as the chief corner-stone ( Ephesians 2:20 ). The distinction between the two classes was that while the prophet was God's spokesman to the believing church ( 1 Corinthians 14:4 , 1 Corinthians 14:22 , 1 Corinthians 14:25 , 1 Corinthians 14:30 , 1 Corinthians 14:31 ), the apostle was His envoy to the unbelieving world ( Galatians 2:7 , Galatians 2:9 ). </p> <p> The <i> call </i> of the apostle to his task might come in a variety of ways. The Twelve were called personally by Jesus to an apostolic task at the commencement of His earthly ministry ( Matthew 10:1 parallel), and after His resurrection this call was repeated, made permanent, and given a universal scope ( Matthew 28:19 , Matthew 28:20; Acts 1:8 ). Matthias was called first by the voice of the general body of the brethren and thereafter by the decision of the lot ( Acts 1:15 , Acts 1:23 , Acts 1:26 ). Paul's call came to him in a heavenly vision ( Acts 26:17-19 ); and though this call was subsequently ratified by the church at Antioch, which sent him forth at the bidding of the Holy Ghost ( Acts 13:1 ), he firmly maintained that he was an apostle not from men neither through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead ( Galatians 1:1 ). Barnabas was sent forth ( <i> ''''' exapostéllō ''''' </i> is the verb used) by the church at Jerusalem ( Acts 11:22 ) and later, along with Paul, by the church at Antioch ( Acts 13:1 ); and soon after this we find the two men described as apostles ( Acts 14:4 ). It was the mission on which they were sent that explains the title. And when this particular mission was completed and they returned to Antioch to rehearse before the assembled church "all things that God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith unto the Gentiles" ( Acts 14:27 ), they thereby justified their claim to be the apostles not only of the church, but of the Holy Spirit. </p> <p> The <i> authority </i> of the apostolate was of a spiritual, ethical and personal kind. It was not official, and in the nature of the case could not be transmitted to others. Paul claimed for himself complete independence of the opinion of the whole body of the earlier apostles ( Galatians 2:6 , Galatians 2:11 ), and in seeking to influence his own converts endeavored by manifestation of the truth to commend himself to every man's conscience in the sight of God ( 2 Corinthians 4:2 ). There is no sign that the apostles collectively exercised a separate and autocratic authority. When the question of the observance of the [[Mosaic]] ritual by Gentile Christians arose at Antioch and was referred to Jerusalem, it was "the apostles and elders" who met to discuss it ( Acts 15:2 , Acts 15:6 , Acts 15:22 ), and the letter returned to Antioch was written in the name of "the apostles and the elders, brethren" ( Acts 15:23 ). In founding a church Paul naturally appointed the first local officials ( Acts 14:23 ), but he does not seem to have interfered with the ordinary administration of affairs in the churches he had planted. In those cases in which he was appealed to or was compelled by some grave scandal to interpose, he rested an authoritative command on some express word of the Lord ( 1 Corinthians 7:10 ), and when he had no such word to rest on, was careful to distinguish his own judgment and counsel from a [[Divine]] commandment ( 1 Corinthians 12:25 , 40). His appeals in the latter case are grounded upon fundamental principles of morality common to heathen and Christian alike ( 1 Corinthians 5:1 ), or are addressed to the spiritual judgment ( 1 Corinthians 10:15 ), or are reinforced by the weight of a personal influence gained by unselfish service and by the fact that he was the spiritual father of his converts as having begotten them in Christ Jesus through the gospel ( 1 Corinthians 4:15 f). </p> <p> It may be added here that the expressly missionary character of the apostleship seems to debar James, the Lord's brother, from any claim to the title. James was a prophet and teacher, but not an apostle. As the head of the church at Jerusalem, he exercised a ministry of a purely local nature. The passages on which it has been sought to establish his right to be included in the apostolate do not furnish any satisfactory evidence. In 1 Corinthians 15:7 James is contrasted with "all the apostles" rather than included in their number (compare 1 Corinthians 9:5 ). And in Galatians 1:19 the meaning may quite well be that with the exception of Peter, none of the apostles was seen by Paul in Jerusalem, but only James the Lord's brother (compare the Revised Version, margin). </p> Literature <p> Lightfoot, <i> Galatians </i> , 92-101; Hort, <i> Christian Ecclesia </i> , Lect II; Weizsäcker, <i> The Apostolic Age </i> , II, 291-99; Lindsay, <i> The Church and the [[Ministry]] </i> , 73-90. </p> | ||
== Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature <ref name="term_15100" /> == | == Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature <ref name="term_15100" /> == | ||
