Difference between revisions of "Apostle"

<p> The Greek word ἀπόστολοςsignifies 'a messenger,' 'one sent,' and is used in this sense for any messenger in &nbsp;2 Corinthians 8:23; &nbsp;Philippians 2:25; and as 'one sent' in &nbsp;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 &nbsp;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 &nbsp; 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> &nbsp;Matthew 10:2-4 . &nbsp;Mark 3:16-19 . &nbsp;Luke 6:14-16 . &nbsp;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. &nbsp;Matthew 10:5-15 . </p> <p> They received a new mission from the Lord as <i> risen </i> : see &nbsp;Luke 24; &nbsp;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. &nbsp;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. &nbsp;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, &nbsp;Acts 1:22; &nbsp;Revelation 21:14 as there must still be twelve tribes of Israel. &nbsp; James 1:1; &nbsp; Revelation 21:12 . At the conference of the church in Jerusalem respecting the Gentiles 'the apostles' took a prominent part, with the elders. &nbsp;Acts 15 . How many apostles remained at Jerusalem is not recorded: we do not read of 'the twelve' after &nbsp;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. &nbsp;2 Peter 3:15,16 . </p> <p> There were no successors to the apostles: to be apostles they must have 'seen the Lord.' &nbsp;Acts 1:21,22; &nbsp;1 Corinthians 9:1; &nbsp;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." &nbsp;Ephesians 4:12,13 . </p>

<li> Another qualification was the power of working miracles (&nbsp;Mark 16:20; &nbsp;Acts 2:43; &nbsp;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 &nbsp;2 Corinthians 8:23 and &nbsp; 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>

<p> This is a word well known in the New Testament, It is peculiarly applied to the twelve men, whom the Lord Jesus called and commissioned to be his more immediate disciples and followers, to preach the gospel. But Christ himself condescended to be called by the same name. (&nbsp;Hebrews 3:1.) Indeed, he was the apostle of [[Jehovah]] As it may be gratifying to have their names brought into one </p> <p> 1Peter. </p> <p> 2Andrew. </p> <p> 3John. </p> <p> 4Philip. </p> <p> 5 James the Greater. </p> <p> 6 Bartholomew. </p> <p> 7 Thomas. </p> <p> 8 Matthew. </p> <p> 9 Simon the Canaanite. </p> <p> 10 Jude, the brother of James. </p> <p> 11James the Less. </p> <p> 12Judas the Traitor. </p> <p> Matthias was elected in the Traitor's room. </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 (&nbsp;Matthew 10:1; &nbsp;Mark 3:14; &nbsp;Mark 6:30; &nbsp;Luke 6:13; &nbsp;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]] (&nbsp;Acts 1:2 , &nbsp;Acts 1:26 ), and after the election of Matthias in place of Judas, for the Twelve (&nbsp;Acts 2:37 , &nbsp;Acts 2:42 , &nbsp;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 (&nbsp;Matthew 28:19 , &nbsp;Matthew 28:20; &nbsp;Mark 16:15 ). He had said that they were to be His witnesses not only in Jerusalem and Judea, but in Samaria (contrast &nbsp;Matthew 10:5 ), and unto the uttermost part of the earth (&nbsp;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 &nbsp;Revelation 21:14 is evidently symbolic; compare in &nbsp; 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 &nbsp; 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 (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 9:1; compare &nbsp;Acts 22:6 ); that he had received a call to the work of an apostle (&nbsp;Romans 1:1; &nbsp;1 Corinthians 1:1 , etc.; &nbsp;Galatians 2:7; compare &nbsp;Acts 13:2; &nbsp;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 (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 9:2; &nbsp;2 Corinthians 12:12; &nbsp;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" (&nbsp;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 (&nbsp;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 &nbsp;1 Corinthians 15:7; &nbsp;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 (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 9:5 f; &nbsp; Galatians 2:9; compare &nbsp;Acts 13:2 f; &nbsp; Acts 14:4 , &nbsp;Acts 14:14 ); he speaks of Andronicus and Junias as "of note among the apostles" (&nbsp;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 (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 4:6 , &nbsp;1 Corinthians 4:9 ); the natural inference from a comparison of &nbsp;1 Thessalonians 1:1 with &nbsp; 1 Thessalonians 2:6 is that he describes Silvanus and Timothy as "apostles of Christ"; to the Philippians he mentions Epaphroditus as "your apostle" (&nbsp; 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" (&nbsp; 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" (&nbsp; 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 &nbsp;Luke 24:48; &nbsp;Acts 1:8 , &nbsp;Acts 1:22; &nbsp;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> &nbsp; 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 &nbsp;Luke 24:48 and &nbsp; Acts 18:22 it is the chosen company of the Twelve who are in view. In &nbsp; 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 (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 12:28; &nbsp;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 (&nbsp;Ephesians 2:20 ). The distinction between the two classes was that while the prophet was God's spokesman to the believing church (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 14:4 , &nbsp;1 Corinthians 14:22 , &nbsp;1 Corinthians 14:25 , &nbsp;1 Corinthians 14:30 , &nbsp;1 Corinthians 14:31 ), the apostle was His envoy to the unbelieving world (&nbsp;Galatians 2:7 , &nbsp;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 (&nbsp;Matthew 10:1 parallel), and after His resurrection this call was repeated, made permanent, and given a universal scope (&nbsp; Matthew 28:19 , &nbsp;Matthew 28:20; &nbsp;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 (&nbsp;Acts 1:15 , &nbsp;Acts 1:23 , &nbsp;Acts 1:26 ). Paul's call came to him in a heavenly vision (&nbsp;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 (&nbsp;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 (&nbsp;Galatians 1:1 ). Barnabas was sent forth ( <i> ''''' exapostéllō ''''' </i> is the verb used) by the church at Jerusalem (&nbsp;Acts 11:22 ) and later, along with Paul, by the church at Antioch (&nbsp;Acts 13:1 ); and soon after this we find the two men described as apostles (&nbsp;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" (&nbsp;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 (&nbsp;Galatians 2:6 , &nbsp;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 (&nbsp;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 (&nbsp;Acts 15:2 , &nbsp;Acts 15:6 , &nbsp;Acts 15:22 ), and the letter returned to Antioch was written in the name of "the apostles and the elders, brethren" (&nbsp;Acts 15:23 ). In founding a church Paul naturally appointed the first local officials (&nbsp;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 (&nbsp;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 (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 12:25 , 40). His appeals in the latter case are grounded upon fundamental principles of morality common to heathen and Christian alike (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 5:1 ), or are addressed to the spiritual judgment (&nbsp;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 (&nbsp;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 &nbsp;1 Corinthians 15:7 James is contrasted with "all the apostles" rather than included in their number (compare &nbsp; 1 Corinthians 9:5 ). And in &nbsp;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>