Passages: Acts 1:21-23; 2Cor. 11:13-15; 1Cor. 12:28, 14:37, 5:16, 15:3, 45-49; Eph. 4:10-12; 1Jo. 4:11; Gal. 1:11, 3:28; Rev. 2:2
Apostle. (one sent forth). In the New Testament, originally the official name of those twelve of the disciples whom Jesus chose to send forth first to preach the gospel and to be with him during the course of his ministry on earth. The word also appears to have been used in a non-official sense to designate a much wider circle of Christian messengers and teachers. See 2Co. 8:23; Phi. 2:25. It is only of those who were officially designated apostles that we treat in the article. Their names are given in Mat. 10:2-4, and Christ’s charge to them in the rest of the chapter.
Their office. The original qualification of an apostle, as stated by Peter on the occasion of electing a successor to the traitor Judas, was that he should have been personally acquainted with the whole ministerial course of our Lord from his baptism by John till the day when he was taken up into heaven.
- They were chosen by Christ himself.
- They had the power of working miracles.
- They were inspired (Joh. 16:13).
- Their world seems to have been pre-eminently that of founding the church and upholding them by supernatural power specially bestowed for that purpose.
- The office ceased, as a matter of course, with their work being completed in the writing of the scriptures (epistles/letters).
The apostles were from the lower ranks of life, simple and uneducated; some of them were related to Jesus according to the flesh; some had previously been disciples of John the Baptist. Our Lord chose them early in his public career. They seem to have all been equal, both during and after the ministry of Christ on earth. The only person that might be considered an exception is the Apostle Paul, who met Jesus on his way to Damascus after His ascension. Paul was directly chosen by Jesus though he was not a part of His early ministry. Although Paul did not accompany Jesus, he had seen the Lord and thus was able to testify of his resurrection (1Co. 9:1; Rom. 1:1-4). This is the reason that Paul calls himself “one abnormally born” (1Co. 15:8). Paul was also the more educated of the apostles having established many congregations of Christians in major cities and wrote the majority of the NT letters.
Early in our Lord’s ministry, He sent them out two and two to preach repentance and to perform miracles in His name Matthew 10; Luke 9. They accompanied Him in his journey, saw His wonderful works, heard His discourses addressed to the people, and made inquiries of Him on religious matters. They recognized Him as the Christ of God, Mat. 16:16; Luk. 9:20, and ascribed to Him supernatural power, Luk. 9:54, but in the recognition of the spiritual teaching and mission of Christ, they made very slow progress, held back as they were by weakness of apprehension and by national prejudices. Even at the removal of our Lord from the earth, they were yet weak in their knowledge, Luk. 24:21-26; Joh. 16:12, though he had for so long been carefully preparing and instructing them.
On the Feast of Pentecost, ten days after our Lord’s ascension, the Holy Spirit came down on the assembled church, Acts 2; and from that time the apostles became altogether different men, giving witness with power of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, as he had declared they should. Luk. 24:48; Act. 1:8, 22, 2:32, 3:15, 5:32, 13:31.
So, knowing this, are there apostles today? No. In Act. 1:21-23, the qualifications as mentioned above were reiterated before Mathias was chosen by God to replace Judas Iscariot. Since we know of nobody that is alive today that was there, a witness, it would be impossible for there to be apostles amongst us today. Furthermore, if there were apostles today, we would have more books in the NT as they were inspired to write what the Lord commands.
In 2Co. 11:13-15, the apostle Paul warns the Corinthian church that there are “False apostles”, deceitful men disguising themselves as being affiliated with Christ. These men (and in some cases women) appear as angels of light. When you contemplate all the false doctrines in the world, especially those who claim to have healing abilities or speaking in tongues, it’s not surprising that this form of darkness exists even today.
In 1Co. 12:28, Paul outlines the appointments in the early church and rhetorically indicates that not all have the same station or authority. There is no reason to think that the terms here used referred to permanent and established ranks and orders in the ministry or the church. It is certain that the “order” of “apostles”, “miracles,” of “healings,” and of “diversity of tongues” has ceased. The truth was that the circumstances of the primitive church required the aid of many persons in various capacities which might not be needful or proper in other times and circumstances. The apostles served the entire church in its formative years. The apostolic office was temporary and ceased with the death of the last apostle, John, who died probably in A.D. 98. Indeed, the stipulations laid down for apostleship made it impossible to have successors.
