Apostles

Who is an Apostles? Are there different kinds or classes of apostles? Is the office of the apostle still relevant today?

An apostle is defined by the Greek Koine term (the New Testament was written originally in Greek) ἀπόστολος pronounced apostolos i.e. ap-os’-tol-os. This word means:

• a delegate; specifically an ambassador of the Gospel; officially a commissioner of Christ (“apostle”), (with miraculous powers)
• messenger, he that is sent
• in a broader sense applied to other eminent Christian teachers

Through these definitions, we can clearly see examples of apostles throughout the scriptures. Now, I am writing this article so that I can help address a number of controversies that have come to the Church today because of this specific office and gift. I hope this article will be a blessing to you.

There are three classes of apostles seen in the scriptures:

The first class is a very exclusive list of 12 disciples who were chosen by Jesus Christ of Nazareth to be Witnesses of His holy and perfect life, His death on the cross and His Resurrection after 3 days. That was their function. Simple as that. They were called to be Witnesses and there’s abundant scripture showing that – Luke 24:48; John 1:14; Acts 1:22; 2:32; 3:15; 5:32; 10:39; 13:31; 1 Peter 5:1; 1 John 1:1-2. They were pre-ordained into that grace (Acts 10:41). Jesus prayed overnight before He chose them from a larger group, Peter being first in the list, always and then the sons of Zebedee and Andrew his brother (Luke 6:12-16). You could not add yourself to the list not. No. Not even the Apostle Paul could. When Judas Iscariot, through greed and disillusionment (having thought that Jesus was supposed to be military conqueror from Rome) decided to betray him for 30 pieces of silver (the price of a slave), when by transgression he fell by taking his own life, he had to be replaced. There could not just be 11 apostles. No, no, no. They had to be 12 (Luke 6:13). This number has a great significance in the Bible and has to do with divisions (tribes of Israel) and government.

And so the Apostle Peter the leader of the early church (Matthew 16:17-19) standing up in the office Jesus had ordained him to after his restoration (John 21:15-18) realised by the Holy Ghost and through the scriptures that Judas had to be replaced. So he decided with the other 10 that from among the others who had been with Jesus from the beginning, (remember at some point He sent out 72 to evangelise and that also 500 saw Him after His resurrection – 1 Corinthians 15:15) by lot to choose one of them to replace Judas Iscariot and so Matthias called Justus was chosen and became an Apostle. This is an exclusive group that you cannot add yourself to and as I’ve said before not even the Apostle Paul can be put in that category. In the book of Revelation Chapter 21 verses 14 we see that the New Jerusalem, that great and holy city in the new Heaven and a new Earth has 12 gates with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel and it also has 12 pillars or foundations and the name thereof are the names 12 apostles. Matthias’ name is on one of the pillars. Jesus prophesied that they would judge the 12 tribes of Israel, the Jews, the chosen people of God (Matthew 19:28). This is the first exclusive class of 12 Apostles and that is great honour bestowed on them and Judas Iscariot missed out because of the love of power and money. Like Esau, he sold his birth right for a morsel of meat (Hebrews 12:15-17). He could have repented and turned back to Jesus just like Peter did after his betrayal but he didn’t. This should be a warning to all of us. Stick with Jesus, you might not know what He has in store for you in this life and for all eternity.

The second class of apostles as seen in the book of the Acts of the Apostles were people conferred with authority or power to preach the gospel among the Jews first then to the Gentiles. Was one of the marks of the apostles was that signs and wonders followed their preaching of the Gospel? – 2 Corinthians 12:12. This list does not just include the exclusive 12 list but also includes the Apostle Paul, Barnabas whose travels are well-documented in the Book of Acts. An apostle also may have been one who had seen the risen Lord (1 Corinthians 9:1). James the brother of Jesus, the first Bishop of Jerusalem saw the Lord. Barnabas is called an apostle but we are not told that he had a vision of Jesus. We don’t know and the Bible is silent.

These people had authority and their letters gave instructions to the early church. The Bible used back then was the Old Testament and so their letters were complementary to the scriptures from Genesis to Malachi. Their authority in their names and apostleship was used to confirm the right letters and books in the formation of the biblical Canon two and three centuries later.

Below a list of all the apostles mentioned in the New Testament apart from the 12 disciples:

1. Jesus Christ (Hebrews 3:1)
2. Paul (Galatians 1:1)
3. Barnabas (1 Corinthians 9:5-6, Acts 14:4, 14)
4. Andronicas (Romans 16:7)
5. Junias (Romans 16:7) – a woman!
6. James, the Lord’s brother (Galatians 1:19)
7. Silas (Silvanus) (1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2:6)
8. Timothy (1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2:6)
9. Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25) – The word apostolos does not appear in most English translations but does appear in the Greek, Strong’s word 652.
10. Apollos (1 Corinthians 4:6-9 & 1 Corinthians 3:22)
11. First of 2 Unnamed Apostles (2 Corinthians 8:23) – in many English versions it says messenger, but in Greek, Apostolos.
12. Second of 2 Unnamed Apostles.

The third thing you must understand is that there is a gift of apostleship. In Ephesians 4:7-11 we see that Christ gave gifts unto men when He had ascended up to the right hand of the Father. The first gift/grace on this list is the Apostle, then the Prophet, then the Evangelist, then the Pastor and finally the Teacher. Notice that these are graces and gifts and it is for this reason I believe that the office and the gift of the apostle is available and operating today. If the gifts of the Holy Spirit are still there then the office the Apostle has to be there. How comes the office of the Pastors is there but not the Apostle, Prophet and sometimes even Evangelists are left out. Despite of abuse of spiritual gifts in the Corinthian Church, the Apostle Paul urges them (and us) to earnestly covet the best gifts (1 Corinthians 12:31).

The Apostle Paul says (Ephesians 4:12-16) that ALL these five offices, gifts or graces are given by Jesus to His Church for the following reasons:

• to equip His people for works of service, so that the Body of Christ may be built up
• until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ
• Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming
• Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ
• From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work

Can this be truly said of the Church today? Have we reached this level of maturity, unity and perfect love? I think we can all agree that the church has not yet reached this level and if we have not yet reached there then the Apostle is needed as is the Prophet, the Evangelist, the Pastor and the Teacher. A fully balanced diet is needed for healthy growth in our earthly tents i.e. our bodies. If one of these gifts is lacking in the church then the health of the Body of Christ is jeopardized. Remember in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 20 we are told that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. That refers to the apostles in the early church who we see in the Book of Acts establishing the Church and in the writings of the New Testament. The prophets were the Old Testament saints and writers from Genesis to Malachi who were the forerunners of a better covenant.

Yet still the Apostolic and Prophetic graces are not extinct because they are mentioned as gifts in Ephesians 4:11. Some say that some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit have ended in the Church and they mainly quote 1st Corinthians chapter 13 from verse 8 to 12 which is taken completely out of context because the meaning in that text of “when that which is perfect is come” is referring to the time when Jesus returns for His Church and in the twinkling of an eye we will have perfect bodies and know all things (Deuteronomy 29:29; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 John 3:1-2). If the complete compiling of the Bible in A.D. 397 was the fulfillment of 1 Corinthians 13:8-12 then we should be knowing ALL things but that simply isn’t the case today. Perfection will come when Jesus returns for His Bride.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are still available today. Why should we have this one and then neglect the other? Why should there be Pastors and not Apostles or Prophets? Why should the gift of leadership or service be valid but working of miracles, divers kinds of healing, divers kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues and prophecy supposedly be extinct? There is not one scripture that can support this. I have built my case from the scripture so I rest my case. I believe in the gift of apostleship today.

I remember listening to a 1980s teaching by H. A. Maxwell Whyte and he talked about how, I believe it was in the 1950s or 60s, a large Pentecostal denomination asked him whether he believed in Apostles and Prophets and when he replied affirmatively they excommunicated him. I don’t believe there was a Biblical precedent for this. Remember an apostle is one sent as William Carey was sent to India and he brought the gospel to that part of the Orient. Adonirum Judson was sent to Burma, present-day Myanmar, translated the entire Bible to the local language and after his death over 200,000 Christians came about in that country. We could say much about others who were sent such as David Livingstone, Hudson Taylor, Jim Elliot, Amy Wilson Carmichael and on and on. Men and women of whom the world was not worthy. They were sent to lands unknown to them and they established great works. Today Bishop Dag Heward-Mills (from Accra, Ghana) has planted over 3000 churches in 94 countries and is doing evangelistic campaigns in Africa that has brought about 13 million people salvation. Hallelujah! Bishop David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel International has planted 11,000 churches worldwide (including 5,089 in 2019!) and is planting 10,000 more in 2020! Smith Wigglesworth (know in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles as the Apostle of Faith), an illiterate plumber from Bradford, England was used mightily by God to preach to the nations and God confirmed his ministry through mighty sings and wonders greatly edified the church in the early 20^th century. Lester Sumrall whose well documented journeys in Asia, the Orient, Europe, North and South America, Australia and New Zealand are so remarkable that when you read them all you can remember is the Apostle Paul’s journeys in the Bible. His ministry was confirmed with signs and wonder too. Read his book Run With The Vision, it will change your life. A local example is that of Apostle John Kimani William who’s ministry of MBCI (Missions to the Body of Christ International) has done amazing work in Nakuru and the entire country of Kenya and other countries too. He has traveled through all 47 counties, twice, holding prayer rallies and this has greatly blessed this land.

Remember the Jesus said the signs and wonders (speaking in tongues, cast out devils, healing of the sick) would follow those who believe (Mark 16:15-20). He did not say pastors, apostles, prophets, theologians, missionaries or elders. Those that believe! If you believe in Jesus you can walk in the supernatural. So, miracles cannot be necessarily used to tell whether a person is an apostle or not because it is available to “them that believe.” The question I would ask is that if one is truly an apostle (one who is sent), have they gone where the Holy Spirit has commissioned them to and have they done what they are called to do? All other things are neither here nor there.

So how does one tell between a true and false apostle? It would be absurd to call them all false or on the other side to say that there is no such thing as false apostle. The Apostles Paul was greatly opposed by false apostles. I remember a certain Bishop telling us that he went to a minister’s conference and after conversing with a certain gentleman, he was given a business card and the title of that minister was “Senior Apostle.” Interestingly, the Apostle Paul talks facetiously about some “super-apostles” who were saying they were superior to him yet they couldn’t dare say that “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”

The first thing you always look at is what Jesus said…“you shall know them by their fruit.” What are the fruit of the Spirit? Well, they are found in Galatians 5:22-23 & James 3:13-18. Number two, they do not seek their glory but they glorify Jesus (John 16:13-14). Other ways to tell as described in 2 Corinthians 11:

• if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus or another Gospel (vs. 4)
• they have a need for superior titles (vs. 5)
• false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ (vs. 13)
• their actions will expose them (vs. 15)

The Apostle Paul resigns their fate to God who will judge them and give them what they deserve. Like Paul, don’t waste your energy trying to detect and expose false apostles because ultimately all ministers will stand before God and receive greater judgement (James 3:1). Just focus on the work God has called you to and be faithful to it. You will receive your heavenly crown. Be blessed.

If you are not saved, that is, born-again please read this article here and accept Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Saviour and Love. He loves you too much. Please make this decision today, you will never regret it.