Today, we conclude our study of the film, The Apostle, and examing the word “apostle.” We look at how Paul’s apostleship has been disputed and define the term in a broader sense and how it was used. Part 1 introduces the subject and part 2 gives a stricter meaning and definition of the term.
Paul’s Apostleship Disputed
Paul refers to himself many times as an “apostle,” and frequently as an “apostle of Jesus Christ” or similar ascription (1 Cor 1:1; 2 Cor 1:1; Eph 1:1; Col 1:1; 1 Tim 1:1; 2 Tim 1:1; Tit 1:1). It is “through Jesus Christ” that Paul has received his apostleship (Rom 1:5) because Jesus has called Paul to be an apostle and separated him for the gospel of God (Rom 1:1; 1 Cor 1:1) to bring about the obedience of faith among the Gentiles (Rom 1:5; 11:13). All of this is due to the risen Christ appearing to Paul “last of all,” as the persecutor was travelling to Damascus (1 Cor 15:9). Because he was the last and untimely born, Paul could call himself the “least of the apostles”. He felt less deserving of the office because he had been an opponent of the church (Acts 22:4) which he now served (2 Cor 4:5).[1]
During the time of his writings and journeys, Paul, the self-proclaimed “least of the apostles” (1 Cor 15:9), was having to defend his apostleship and teachings against many false apostles. In his letter to the Thessalonians, there is no hint that Paul’s apostleship was in dispute in the Greek church. But from that time, due to mounting criticism, Paul became explicit about his status as an apostle (Gal 1:1; 1 Cor 1:1; 2 Cor 1:1; Rom 1:1), and was careful to distance himself as an apostle from various co-workers (1 Cor 1:1; 2 Cor 1:1; Col 1:1; Phil 1:1).[2] While writing 1 Corinthians, Paul acknowledges his apostleship was in dispute (1 Cor 9:1). Those disputing his apostleship seem to be saying that Paul was nothing more than a messenger on an errand from the Jerusalem church.[3] Later in 1 Corinthians 15:8-9, Paul affirms his apostleship even though he was not present when the risen Lord appeared to the apostles before him. His opponents claim that Christ’s appearance was later in time, of a different kind and to Paul alone.[4] Thus, they argue that a true resurrection appearance did not occur in his case.
Others claimed Paul was not an apostle because of his ministry lifestyle which some members of the Corinthian church found unacceptable, namely that he did not accept financial support.[5] From his defense (1 Cor 9:3-18), it appears some Corinthians found that his refusal to accept patronage was his tacit recognition that he was not in any true sense an apostle, because a genuine apostle would accept full payment.[6] In his defense, Paul asks four questions in these verses that were rhetorical and expected an affirmative reply, though some among the Corinthians may have denied one or all of them. In the course of an extended defense of his apostleship in 2 Corinthians he never mentioned seeing the Lord but he returned repeatedly to the theme of 1 Corinthians 9:2 that the Corinthians themselves were his vindication (2 Cor 3:1-3; 5:12; 7:14-16; 8:24).[7]
In a matter of a year or two, the questioning of some Corinthians had developed into widespread opposition. This change is attributable to the recent arrival of a number of self-professed “ministers” or “apostles” (2 Cor 11:13, 23), who had launched an opposition against Paul and his version of Christianity (2 Cor 2:17-3:1; 11:4).[8] These opponents launched a devastating attack on Paul as they shown him to be inadequate, inferior, powerless, worldly and a fool (2 Cor 2:17; 3:5; 10:1-6; 11:5; 12:12). Paul defends his apostleship by implicitly referring to his Damascus Road call by Jesus in that he was an apostle by the will of God (2 Cor 1:1), who uses the authority the Lord gave him to build up the church (2 Cor 10:8; 13:10).[9] Paul also takes observation about his weakness and not only expands on it, but boasts about in three passages (2 Cor 4:7-8; 6:3-10; 11:23-12:10).
Though no miraculous signs or wonders done in Corinth are recorded in Acts about Paul’s ministry, such miracles certainly occurred as Paul states they were done among them (2 Cor 12:12). These signs, wonders, and miracles done in Corinth, as well as Philippi (Acts 16:18) and Ephesus (Acts 19:11), provide evidence that Paul had the marks of an apostle (cf. Acts 2:22, 43). Along with Paul’s great perseverance that was empowered by God (Acts 18:9-11), these evidences point to Paul as a true apostle and to his opponents as “false apostles” (2 Cor 11:13).[10]
In addition to the opponents at Corinth, Paul also took up the challenge of his authority as an apostle in Galatians. Paul’s defense was autobiographical by declaring (a) he was an apostle before he met the other apostles; (b) when he did meet the other apostles he was received as an equal; and (c) he even found it necessary to rebuke Peter, the reputed chief apostle.[11]
In Romans, Paul says that he is called to be an apostle (Rom 1:1), expands on his apostleship (Rom 1:5), and refers to himself as an “apostle to the Gentiles” (Rom 11:3). Paul is clear about his own status as apostle, even when this is disputed. Paul asserts that not only had he met the risen Lord, but that he worked harder than the original apostles in his ministry work. Yet, Paul deferentially calls himself the least of the apostles when he compares himself with Jesus’ disciples (1 Cor 15:9-10). Paul sought to establish the limited extent of the numbers of apostles. His words that Christ “appeared to me last of all” (1 Cor 15:8) serve to show that while there were apostles before him, there were no apostles after him.[12] According to Paul he is both “the least” and “the last” of the apostles.
Questions and rejection of Paul’s authority as an apostle of Christ is not only confined to those in Paul’s day. Some modern scholars have attempted to broaden the definition of “apostle” in such a way that Paul’s distinctive authority is dissipated.[13] Paul adamantly resisted attempts to downgrade him in this way. If Paul’s apostleship meant and means no more than a messenger, then he had and continues to have little real authority in the churches. There should be no doubt that Paul based his claim to be an apostle on having seen the risen Lord and being commissioned by Him to go out to the Gentiles (1 Cor 9:1; 15:8; Gal 1:11-17). Paul pointed to his effectiveness in establishing churches, his own sufferings as a continuation in history of the sufferings of Christ and to his own integrity, but these served only to legitimize a ministry which had its basis in Christ’s confronting him on the road to Damascus.[14]
Apostle in the Broad Sense
The word apostle is from the verb apostello, which itself is from the union of apo (from, away from, from a distance), and the primitive verb stello (to prepare, arrange).[15] Therefore, to prepare from a distance became “to send,” from which derived the noun, “one sent.”[16] Thus, the meaning of apostle is a “sent one.” Paul uses the word “apostle” in more than one sense. Most often, he uses the term to describe those who have been commissioned by the risen Lord Jesus to the apostolic task, which include the Twelve and several others as was just shown.[17] However, there are times when Paul employs the term in a broader sense of “messenger” or “agent.” There are two references in Paul’s writings to apostles in the broad or nontechnical sense.[18] In the first of these, Paul was writing from Macedonia to prepare the Corinthians for the coming of two men, about whom he writes a brief commendation (2 Cor 8:16-24). The purpose of their visit was to accelerate the Corinthians’ completion of the collection for the saints in Jerusalem. Paul declared that these two “brothers” are “messengers of the [Macedonian] churches” to the church in Corinth (2 Cor 8:23), sent for a practical and financial mission.[19] The use of apostolos appears to resemble the šālîaḥ of later rabbinic writings who might be sent on a mission from Jerusalem to synagogues of the Diaspora.[20]
In the second instance Paul wrote from prison to the church in Philippi explaining that due to illness Epaphroditus was returning to them. Epaphroditus was the Philippian church’s “messenger and minister” to Paul’s need (Phil 2:25). This apostle’s role was practical and not directly religious. These two references support the notion that messengers of the churches were well established in the Pauline churches by the idle fifties of the first century.[21] The most probable explanation of these apostles is that Paul borrowed the idea from Jewish practice and applied it to his churches.[22]
Apostles are mentioned in the context of gifts given to the church (Eph 4:11). Since one or more of these gifts are supported elsewhere in the New Testament as ongoing offices, such as pastors and teachers, some suggest that apostles have continued as well. Others differentiate between the office of apostle, those of the apostolic age given special ability and power by Christ (2 Cor 12:12), and the role of apostle, like church planters, leaders, and missionaries. Others suggest on the basis of Ephesians 2:20 that apostles and prophets were only for the foundational period of the church and should not be expected to continue past that foundational first-century period.[23] With this suggestion, the Apostles laid the foundation of the church (Eph 2:20) and then passed from the scene.
Conclusion
Since Paul makes more use of the word apostolos than other New Testament writers and his writings are chronologically the earliest, it is clear that study of this word must begin with Paul’s letters. While all believers are sent forth to represent Jesus (John 17:18; 20:21), no believer today can honestly claim to be an apostle; for none of us has seen the risen Christ (1 Pet 1:8).[24] Three categories of apostles appear in the New Testament. First, Christ Himself is “the apostle and high priest whom we confess” (Heb 3:1). Second, the original twelve disciples were ultimately designated by Jesus to be apostles (Mark 3:14; Luke 6:13), Matthias being added to the group to replace Judas. In the choosing of Matthias is the only statement regarding the qualification of an apostle: one who has been with the other disciples during the ministry of Christ, from the time of John’s baptism until the ascension. An apostle also had to be a witness to the resurrection. The marks of a true apostle are shown by signs, wonders, and miracles. The third category is how Paul uses the term to describe others who lived during the apostolic age but were not present with Jesus during His ministry, such as Barnabas. It was on the foundation of the apostles and prophets that the Christian church was built, with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone. All of this leads to the conclusion that there is a true difference between those who meet the technical definition and the unique qualifications of apostleship and those who fall into the broad definition by being a messenger or one who was sent.
Bibliography
Max Anders, “Galatians-Colossians,” in Holman New Testament Commentary, vol. 8 (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999
P. W. Barnett, “Apostle,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, eds. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993
Kenneth Boa and William Kruidenier, “Romans” in Holman New Testament Commentary, vol. 6. (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 39.
Darrel L. Bock, “Acts,” in Baker Exegetical Commentary of the New Testament, eds. Robert W. Yarbrough and Robert H. Stein (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007
Donald K. Campbell, “Galatians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 591.
Harold W. Hoehner, “Ephesians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985),
David K. Lowery, “1 Corinthians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 583.
David K. Lowery, “2 Corinthians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985),
D. Nässelqvist, “Apostle,” in The Lexham Bible Dictionary, ed. John D. Barry et al., (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016), under chap. ‘A’, sec., “Apostle,” Logos Bible Software
John B. Polhill, “Acts,” in The New American Commentary, vol. 26. (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992),
Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald B. Allen, H. Wayne House, eds., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: Nelson, 1999
R. David Rightmire, Baker’s evangelical dictionary of biblical theology. “Apostle,” (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996), http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/apostle/.
Stanley D. Toussaint, “Acts,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985
Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 Wheaton: Victor Books, 1996
[1] David K. Lowery, “1 Corinthians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 542.
[2] P. W. Barnett, “Apostle,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, eds. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 49.
[3] P. W. Barnett, “Apostle,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, eds. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 49.
[4] P. W. Barnett, “Apostle,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, eds. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 49.
[5] P. W. Barnett, “Apostle,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, eds. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 49.
[6] P. W. Barnett, “Apostle,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, eds. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 49.
[7] David K. Lowery, “1 Corinthians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 522.
[8] P. W. Barnett, “Apostle,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, eds. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 49.
[9] P. W. Barnett, “Apostle,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, eds. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 49.
[10] David K. Lowery, “2 Corinthians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 583.
[11] Donald K. Campbell, “Galatians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 591.
[12] P. W. Barnett, “Apostle,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, eds. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 50.
[13] P. W. Barnett, “Apostle,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, eds. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 50.
[14] P. W. Barnett, “Apostle,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, eds. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 50.
[15] Kenneth Boa and William Kruidenier, “Romans” in Holman New Testament Commentary, vol. 6. (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 38.
[16] Kenneth Boa and William Kruidenier, “Romans” in Holman New Testament Commentary, vol. 6. (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 38.
[17] R. David Rightmire, Baker’s evangelical dictionary of biblical theology. “Apostle,” (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996), http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/apostle/.
[18] P. W. Barnett, “Apostle,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, eds. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 47.
[19] P. W. Barnett, “Apostle,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, eds. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 47.
[20] P. W. Barnett, “Apostle,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, eds. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 47.
[21] P. W. Barnett, “Apostle,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, eds. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 47.
[22] P. W. Barnett, “Apostle,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, eds. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 47.
[23] Kenneth Boa and William Kruidenier, “Romans” in Holman New Testament Commentary, vol. 6. (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 39.
[24] Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1996), 36.