MONDAY June 7, 2021

What is an Apostle?

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers....
Ephesians 4:11

Remember, Paul taught that Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, is the giver of spiritual gifts (Ephesians 4:7).There are three different lists of spiritual gifts found in the New Testament, giving the total of 21 gifts. The first 9 gifts are found in 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11. The second group of 7 gifts is found in Romans 12:3-8. Then Ephesians 4:11 gives to us 5 more gifts. Not everyone has the same capabilities or functions.

In the Greek language, the gifts of pastor–teacher are combined. In Romans 12:7 and I Corinthians 12:28 teaching is listed on its own, so there are 21 spiritual gifts. The first gift listed in Ephesians 4:11 is apostles. The question arises, “Are there any apostles today?” I believe there are no apostles today. The word apostle in the Greek language means “one who is sent with a commission or mission.” So I would venture to say the closest person to an apostle would be a missionary. This is a person who has been trained, commissioned, and sent out to the uttermost parts of the world to build churches and to evangelize.

The first apostles are found in the early church. Before the disciples were called apostles, they were first disciples. The word disciple in the Greek language means “learner.” Jesus had twelve apostles (Matthew 10:1-4). Judas became a betrayer and was disqualified from apostleship. To be an apostle, a person would have had to have been with Jesus at His death and seen Him after His resurrection. These qualifications are given in Acts 1:15-22.

The Apostle Paul was not one of the original Twelve Disciples. Paul met Jesus face to face (1 Corinthian 9:1-2). It is considered that he took the place of Judas. The Apostles helped build the foundation of the Church (Ephesians 2:20), and Jesus authenticated their ministry by miracles and wonders (Hebrew 2:1-4).

“‘Not called!’ Did you say? ‘Not heard the call,’ I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible and hear Him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin.”
~William Booth~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!