When we hear the word apostle, the apostles of Jesus Christ who were with him during his ministry usually come to mind. Today we find brothers who say that the apostolic ministry is in force and another group of brothers denies the existence of the apostolate in our days.
But, what does the Bible say? In this article you will find what the Bible teaches, because several serious brothers in the Word are still not clear about the different types of apostles.
The word apostle in Greek apostles “ἀπόστολος” means “one sent on a mission» and in the Bible there are 3 types of Apostles:
- The apostles of Jesus
- The Apostles and Prophets of the New Testament
- The building apostles
An apostle, therefore, is that person sent by the Lord Jesus, with the main mission of preaching the gospel of the kingdom to the ends of the earth (Mark 16:15).
1. The apostles of Jesus
Definitely something that we find in the Bible regarding the apostles is that there are several levels of them, however, today we find many brothers who believe that all the apostles are the same or that there are no apostles today. So, let’s look at the characteristics of the apostles of the lamb.
The Bible presents in the New Testament the apostles of the lamb, although the Lord Jesus had many followers throughout his ministry and had a very close group of disciples, he spent a night of prayer to choose twelve (Luke 6:12 -14).
In this way, among the many disciples that the Lord had, he chose only twelve, whom he also called Apostles. These apostles are the only ones recorded in the Bible with their own names, being the twelve apostles of Jesus:
- Simon (whom Peter called).
- Andrew (Peter’s brother)
- jacob
- Juan
- Philip
- Bartholomew
- Matthew
- Thomas
- James son of Alphaeus
- Simon (who was called The Zealot)
- Judas son of James
- Judas Iscariot (the traitor)
Subsequently, Matthias (Acts 1:26) replaced Judas the Iscariot.
Characteristics of the Apostles of Christ
The characteristics of the apostles of Christ are:
- they are jewish
- They are eyewitnesses to Jesus’ public ministry and resurrection; from John’s baptism, until his ascension to the Father (Acts 1: 21-22). (It does not include the Apostle Paul because he was not in the death and resurrection of the Lord).
- There are twelve, they cannot be increased.
Because Judas the traitor abandoned Christ, selling him and hanging himself, he was replaced by Matthias who qualified as an eyewitness to Christ’s public ministry and resurrection. (Acts 1:26), thus completing the 12 apostles again.
Important: several brothers say that Paul is part of the apostles of Christ (the abortive 1 Corinthians 15:8), however this is not a correct statement. Paul is part of the apostles, but not of the apostles of Christ because it was necessary to be one of the twelve to have been in the ministry of Christ all the time (Acts 1:21), and there is no historical or biblical evidence that Paul witnessed the ministry of the Lord when he was on earth.
Why are the twelve apostles so important?
The twelve apostles of Christ are so important because the church in the first century did not have the written gospel. That is, they did not have the New Testament, therefore the Lord left the task of teaching his doctrine to a team of men called the twelve apostles of the lamb.
Therefore, the way of building the primitive church was through the oral teaching of the apostles. This is why Christ invested so much time in the lives of these twelve.
2. The apostles and prophets of the New Testament
The apostles and prophets of the New Testament or of the foundation were the men that God raised up to write the New Testament, because oral teaching could be perverted over time.
God raised up apostles who, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote letters that would later become what we know today as the New Testament.
Although the oral tradition of biblical teaching was viable, when the apostles died this teaching would be lost, so the Lord inspired men to leave us the foundation (Ephesians 2:20). Therefore, although we have the apostles of Christ, the Bible also presents other apostles who are not part of the twelve, these are the apostles of the New Testament, although the Bible does not present all the names among them we have the following:
- Luke, who was a Gentile and wrote the Gospel of Luke.
- Mark, who wrote the gospel of marks, it is said by tradition that this gospel was dictated by Peter, but the writer was marks.
- Paul, who wrote a large number of letters inspired by the Holy Spirit and who is not part of the twelve because he does not meet the biblical requirements for being one.
- James, the half brother of the Lord who wrote the letter of James.
- Judas, the other half-brother of the Lord who wrote the Judas letter.
This group of men are the ones who laid the foundation of written doctrine, the New Testament, which is the standard of faith that does not change and presents the truth of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:10-11; Luke 1:1- 3; 1 John 1:3-4; Galatians 1:11-12; 1 Corinthians 2:9; 2 Peter 3:15-16).
3. The building apostles
The building apostles are those that throughout history God has raised up and sent for the building of the church.
They are those who prepare for the work of the Lord, they are raised within a local church and when they are ready they leave the local church and are sent to preach the word in another place. They are the current missionaries, who go to places where God sends them to find God’s people and build them up in the Word.
The difference between the building apostles and the New Testament apostles is that they do not have the right to bring another biblical revelation, because the foundation has already been laid. And they also have to be tested and recognized. Because anyone who claims to be an apostle must be tested.
Note: several brothers say that the apostles do not exist today, however, the role of the apostle (to be sent, messenger) currently exists.
Therefore, the apostles of today are not those who call themselves apostles, but the apostles of today are all those missionaries who have been sent by the Lord to preach the word.
Characteristics of the building apostles
The building apostles or also called missionaries are those who are formed in the local church and due to their work and work within the local church God calls them to a special job (Extra local work), a work of preaching and building of the churches of Christ throughout the earth (Acts 13:1-3).
The characteristics of the building apostles or missionaries are:
- Visit and evangelize churches in other locations to build them up in the doctrine of Christ.
- Found churches in locations where the gospel has not reached and appoint elders.
- Preach in churches building the local brothers.
This work was not only necessary in the times of the New Testament, but it is a work that is still very necessary in our times (Ephesians 4:11-12) which have the task of perfecting the Saints so that they may participate in the work of the ministry for the edification of the body of Christ.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the word of God says that there are apostles today, because their role «be sent on a mission» is totally necessary for the Lord’s gospel to continue advancing.
However, an apostle is not a person who calls himself an apostle as those Pentecostal and charismatic movements do where everyone is an apostle and a prophet.
The true apostles are men who know the word, who have been called and set apart by God (Acts 13:2) and have been sent to preach the word in different parts of the world, call it what you call it, missionary, messenger, apostle, whatever. The important thing is not the name, the important thing is that the Kingdom of God advances through these men (Ephesians 4:13).