Encyclopedia of The Bible – Apostle
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Apostle

APOSTLE ə pŏs’ əl (ἀπόστολος, G693, one sent out). Title of the Twelve and others in the NT.

A. Background and usage.

1. Secular Greek. Derived from the verb ἀποστέλλω, G690, to send, it often means a “ship,” “fleet,” “naval expedition” or “naval commander,” but rarely “a person sent.”

2. Old Testament and Judaism. The word apóstolos occurs only in the LXX in 1 Kings 14:6, where it is used in a non-technical sense to represent the Heb. שָׁל֥וּחַ, from the verb שָׁלַח, H8938, “to send.” The idea of God sending His servants the prophets is frequent in the OT, and the verb is normally tr. by apostéllō in the LXX. The noun שָׁלִיחַ is used of Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and Ezekiel. In later Judaism this word was used to refer to those who acted as representatives for others (“a man’s shalīaḥ is as himself”). In particular it referred to accredited agents, often sent out in pairs, going from the authorities in Jerusalem to the Diaspora. These men had authority for only a limited commission and were in no sense missionaries.

3. New Testament. Christ Himself is described as apóstolos in Hebrews 3:1, where the conjunction with ἀρχιερεύς, G797, “high priest,” may imply a superiority to Moses in the first role and to Aaron in the second. The idea of the Son’s being sent from the Father is prominent in John, where πέμπω, G4287, “send” is used almost interchangeably with apostéllō. The word can be used in a general sense, as in the proverb in which it alone occurs in John (13:16). It is used also to refer to messengers from the churches on two occasions (2 Cor 8:23; Phil 2:25). There is also an interesting use of the word to describe God’s messengers to Israel (Luke 11:49).

Altogether the word occurs ten times in the gospels, twenty-eight in Acts, thirty-eight in the epistles, and three times in Revelation. In the majority of cases it refers to men appointed by Christ for a special function in the Church. The Twelve and Paul are frequently in mind, but there are some instances where others are called apostles. James, the Lord’s brother, seems to be one (Gal 1:19; 2:9; cf. 1 Cor 15:7). Barnabas is described as an apostle in Acts 14:4, 14, and he is associated with Paul in the argument of 1 Corinthians 9:6, but he is distinguished from the Jerusalem apostles (Acts 9:27). Silvanus and Timothy can be associated with Paul under that title (1 Thess 2:6). Andronicus and Junias (or even possibly Junia, a woman) also can be called apostles (Rom 16:7).

B. The apostles and Christ.

1. During the ministry. Jesus had a large, if fluctuating, number of disciples during His ministry, but not all of them were apostles. The Twelve were chosen out of a wider group (Mark 3:13-19) and they were both to be with Jesus as disciples and sent out to preach and exorcize as apostles. Jesus gave them the title of “apostles” (Luke 6:13), though at this stage it may neither have been exclusive nor understood as permanent (cf. Matt 10:2; Mark 6:30). The apostles were able to act in the name of Christ (Mark 9:38-41). Twelve were esp. chosen because of the twelve patriarchs of Israel (Matt 19:28), though there is some uncertainty about the exact list of names. Luke describes them regularly as “the apostles” (9:10; 17:5; 22:14; 24:10), using terminology appropriate to the time of writing (cf. his use of “the Lord” in the gospel), while John avoids the technical term completely, perhaps in order to avoid magnifying the office as opposed to the reality for which it stood.

2. After the Resurrection. The sources all agree that the Eleven (perhaps with others) were commissioned by the risen Christ to go forth with a mission to the world (Matt 28:19 f.; Luke 24:48f.; John 20:21-23; Acts 1:6-8; cf. Mark 16:14f.). One of the first tasks was to find a replacement for the traitor Judas, and Matthias was chosen by lot to make up the number to twelve (Acts 1:15-26). Emphasis is laid on the divine choice (1:24). The apostleship of Paul was also due to the divine choice and he was often at pains to point this out, both to emphasize the wonder of the grace of God and to maintain the authority of his own message (Gal 1:1, 11, 12, 15-17. cf. Rom 1:1; 1 Cor 1:1; 9:1; 15:8). There could be no substitute for a personal call from Christ to this service.

C. The apostles and the Gospel. When the Twelve were sent out by Jesus during His ministry, one of their tasks was to preach κηρύσσειν (Mark 3:14). This is one of their most prominent activities in Acts, and the basic form of the apostolic preaching is known as the κήρυγμα, G3060. The qualifications for membership of the Twelve are laid down in Acts 1:21f. It was necessary to be with Jesus from the time of John’s baptism until the Ascension and to be a witness of the resurrection. This is the essential period of the saving events. The canonical gospels have John’s baptism as their basic starting point (Matt 3:1ff.; Mark 1:2ff.; Luke 3:1ff.; John 1:6ff.), with some historical preliminaries in the case of Matthew and Luke and a brief theological introduction in the case of John. This was presumably also the starting point of the kērygma (Acts 10:37; 13:24). The gospels close with Christ’s departure (Matt 28:16-20; Luke 24:50-53; John 20:17; cf. also Mark 16:19), though this is not made fully explicit in John. The kērygma goes on past the Ascension to speak of the presence of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33, etc.), the knowledge of whose activity in the Church seems to be assumed by the written gospels. While it was necessary to have been present during all that period, particular stress is laid upon being a witness of the Resurrection (Acts 2:32; 3:15; 13:31).

Paul could not be numbered among the Twelve, for he had not fulfilled the conditions laid down. But, he had been a witness of the Resurrection (Acts 26:16-18; 1 Cor 9:1; 15:8), and the way in which he describes the appearance of Christ to him suggests that he had a unique objective experience really belonging to the period before the Ascension. James, the Lord’s brother, had likewise seen the risen Christ (1 Cor 15:7), as had more than 500 others (15:6). It was necessary for those who had not been among the disciples during the ministry to rely on the common παράαδοσις, “tradition,” of the apostles concerning the events of that period. Paul, while claiming authority directly from Christ, nevertheless shows his dependence upon the parádosis (1 Cor 11:23-26; 15:1-5). This shows that he was concerned about the historical Jesus.

The apostles were not simply witnesses of facts, they were also interpreters of them. God had sent men to interpret His saving acts in the OT, particularly Moses who had been a witness of and participant in the Exodus (Ps 103:7; Mic 6:4). So there was a common apostolic teaching, and appeal was made to that even against the foremost apostles (Gal 2:11). The preaching and writing of the apostles and their companions taken together therefore provide both the basic historical evidence and the norm of interpretation through which alone future generations could reach the facts about Christ.

D. The apostles and the Spirit.

1. The power of the Spirit. The apostolic witness could be accomplished only in the Spirit. Their missionary journeys depended on Him (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8). Their proclamation of forgiveness was effective through Him (John 20:22f.). They realized their full apostolic vocation only at Pentecost. It was the Spirit who was to teach them and remind them of things (John 14:26). He was to lead them into all the truth about Jesus (John 16:13-15). The direct witness of the Spirit on the existential level was closely connected with the witness of the apostles on the historical (John 15:26 f.). The ministry of the Gospel is a ministry of the Spirit (2 Cor 3).

2. The gifts of the Spirit. Various forms of ministry, of which the apostolate was first, were gifts of the Spirit to the Church (1 Cor 12:28). The work of a true apostle was accompanied by signs and wonders and mighty works (2 Cor 12:12), though such things are regarded as peripheral compared with Christian converts (1 Cor 9:2). It is through the laying on of the apostles’ hands that special manifestations of the Spirit come upon groups of people at significant stages in the missionary advance of the Church (Acts 8:14-19; 19:1-7). There is no suggestion that these manifestations are permanent and on one important occasion the outward signs are shown without the laying on of apostolic hands (10:44-48).

E. The apostles and the Church. The apostolate was God’s gift to the Church and has a place of pre-eminence among the ministries (1 Cor 12:28; Eph 4:11). The Church could be said to be founded upon the apostles and prophets (Eph 2:20). They were given authority (ἐξουσία, G2026, Mark 6:7) and power (δύναμις, G1539, Acts 1:8) to be used not only in proclaiming the Gospel to outsiders, but also for use in the Church (Acts 4:33; 2 Cor 10:8; 13:10). Besides their preaching, their functions were to teach (Acts 2:42), to heal (5:12) and to undertake certain administration (4:37), though that was not allowed to get out of hand (6:1-4). Their authority was shown in the exercise of discipline (5:1-11; 1 Cor 5:1-5) and of oversight (Acts 15:36; 1 Cor 4:15f.). Major decisions which had to be made in the Church were reached by a council of apostles and elders (Acts 15:6).

Paul tells us how areas of work were allotted, with his mission field being the Gentiles and that of James, Peter, and John being the Jews (Gal 2:7-10). At first the Twelve stayed in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), but in due course some at least seem to have gone further afield. There is no reason to suppose that the areas were too strictly kept as Paul was accustomed to preach first to the Jews (13:5, etc.), and Peter was the first to preach to Gentiles (ch. 10). As traveling representatives of Christ and of the universal Church they sought to open up new places to the Gospel (Rom 15:14-24). James, the Lord’s brother, seems to have had a resident ministry which distinguished him from others called apostles.

F. Conclusion. It was through the apostles that Christ continued much of His work. Their position was unique and normative and many of their functions were not transmissible. There is no evidence that their numbers were to be made up as the original loyal apostles died (Acts 12:2), nor that Paul should have taken the place of Judas, and James, the Lord’s brother, that of James bar-Zebedee. They appeared at a turning point in history, and they, through the Spirit, both founded the Church and, with their companions left the NT for us. It is through them that we have to go to find the historical Jesus. It is to them that the appeal has been made with varying degrees of justification for “Catholic” order, “Evangelical” faith, and “Pentecostal” life.

Bibliography J. B. Lightfoot, Epistle to the Galatians (1902), 92-101; K. E. Kirk (ed.), The Apostolic Ministry (1948), 113-182; T. W. Manson, The Church’s Ministry (1948), 31-52; A. Ehrhardt, The Apostolic Succession (1953), 11-34; J. N. Geldenhuys, Supreme Authority (1953); O. Cullmann, The Early Church (1956), 57-99; A. T. Hanson, The Pioneer Ministry (1961), 89-107; M. H. Shepherd Jr. in IDB I (1962), 170-172; A. F. Walls in NBD (1962), 48-50; L. Morris, Ministers of God (1964), 39-61; K. H. Rengstorf in TDNT I (1964), 398-448; C. K. Barrett, The Signs of an Apostle (1970).