SUNDAY May 26, 2024
What Is an Apostle?
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers....
Ephesians 4:11
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. The first 9 gifts are found in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. The second group of 7 gifts is found in Romans 12:6-8. Then Ephesians 4:11 gives us 5 more gifts. 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 in actuality 21 spiritual gifts.
Again, not everyone has the same capabilities or functions. 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), but Judas became a betrayer and was disqualified from apostleship.
To be an apostle, a person had to have been with Jesus at His death and seen Him after His Resurrection. These qualifications are given in Acts 1:21-22. Although the Apostle Paul was not one of the original Twelve Disciples, he met Jesus face to face (1 Corinthians 9:1-2). It is considered by most scholars that Paul took the place of Judas who betrayed Jesus.
The church changes the world not by making converts but by making disciples.
~John Wesley~
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