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Apostles, are they for today?

Apostles, are they for today

Apostles, are they for today?

By John L. Chopores

 

Apostles, are they for today?

 

Eph. 4: 11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

13  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:

14.That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

 

The word “Apostle” in the Greek, means “sent forth. … one sent, messenger, ambassador, envoy, …(from apostellw, to send off or away from.)” [BULLINGER PAGE 58.].

 

New Apostles could be, called. Cf. Acts 1: 20  For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.

21  Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

22  Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.

23  And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

24  And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,

25  That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

26      And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

The ones called here had been with Jesus.

 

St. Paul was an Apostle, but not one of the Twelve. We see that there were Apostles, even after the Twelve, that had been with Jesus! Paul did see Jesus, but after the cross.

There were many Apostles who are not named among the Twelve! cf. Ro 16:7  Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.

 But these could have been of the 70. Cf. Luke 10:1 ¶ After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.

 

Remember that there are many prophets talked about in the Bible, but few Apostles!

 

However, Eph.4:13 seems to say that we will have "apostles" until we come to the "unity of the faith". As far as I know, not all Christians have come to that unity! So, I would have to say (at this time) that we still need "apostles"! I would have to say, that "apostles" are probably for today.

Cf. Eph.4: 11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

13  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:

 

What some church Histories have to say:

 

“1.  Apostles.  These were originally twelve in number, answering to the twelve tribes of Israel.  In place of the traitor, Judas, Matthias was chosen by lot, between the ascension and Pentecost.  After the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Paul was added as the thirteenth by the direct call of the exalted Saviour.  He was the independent apostle of the Gentiles, and afterward gathered several subordinate helpers around him.  Besides these there were apostolic men, like Barnabas, and James the brother of the Lord, whose standing and influence were almost equal to that of the proper apostles.  The Twelve (excepting Matthias, who, however, was an eye-witness of the resurrection) and Paul were called directly by Christ, without human intervention, to be his representatives on earth, the inspired organs of the Holy Spirit, the founders and pillars of the whole church.  Their office was universal, and their writings are to this day the unerring rule of faith and practice for all Christendom.  But they never exercised their divine authority in arbitrary and despotic style.  They always paid tender regard to the rights, freedom, and dignity of the immortal souls under their care.  In every believer, even in a poor slave like Onesimus, they recognized a member of the same body with themselves, a partaker of their redemption, a beloved brother in Christ.  Their government of the church was a labor of meekness and love, of self-denial and unreserved devotion to the eternal welfare of the people.  Peter, the prince of the apostles, humbly calls himself a “fellow-presbyter,” and raises his prophetic warning against the hierarchical spirit which so easily takes hold of church dignitaries and alienates them from the people.” [Schaff].