THREE KINDS OF APOSTLES

There is a lot of confusion and dispute regarding the office of the apostles today. In this teaching I aim to clarify a few things by presenting 3 kinds of apostles as we find in the scriptures and then take a brief look at the function of the modern day apostle.

1. FOUNDATIONAL APOSTLES

Ephesians 2:19-20 (NIV)
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

Paul gives us a picture of the church as a building which is under construction and the foundation being the apostles and prophets. Not all apostles will fit into this particular scripture. In fact, there are only 12 apostles who fit here, and I call these the foundational apostles. The book of revelation calls them, the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The church is also called the bride of Christ. John sees this bride of Christ in a vision as a city prepared for her husband, Jesus. And this city had twelve foundations and on these twelve foundations were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Revelation 21:14 New International Version (NIV)
2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband
14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Their Purpose

At this point I am not looking at the functions and work of an apostle in general, but specifically what makes the twelve, foundational. The core of the gospel of our salvation is based on the ministry, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. These twelve were chosen to be eye witnesses of the living gospel that is Christ, and to then go out and minister what they had seen to the world.

Mark 3:14 (ESV)
14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach

What makes the twelve special, is that they were specially anointed by Jesus to be his eye-witnesses.

Acts 1:8
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every matter be established. Theses twelve are witnesses together with the Holy Spirit.

John 15:26-27 (NKJV)
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 
27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

Acts 5:32
And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

It is through the eye witness accounts of the twelve that we can be sure that Jesus was a real person who lived a real life, who actually prophesied of his own death, burial and resurrection and fulfilled it. It is through them that we can be certain that Jesus actually ascended. It is the witness of the twelve that separate Jesus from mythical characters such as Zeus, Hercules and other so called heroes and gods.

Peter, who was one of the twelve, says this

2 Peter 1:16 (ESV)
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

John, another one of the twelve says this,

1 John 1:1-2 Amplified Bible (AMP)
1 [I am writing about] what existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life [the One who existed even before the beginning of the world, Christ]— 
2 and the Life [an aspect of His being] was manifested, and we have seen [it as eyewitnesses] and testify and declare to you [the Life], the eternal Life who was [already existing] with the Father and was [actually] made visible to us [His followers]—

It is this concrete reality of the work of Christ that is the foundation of our faith. They were not just witnesses to what he did, but they were witnesses to his words, without which, there would be no christianity.

John 14:26
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

Matthew 28:19-20 (NKJV)
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

The Replacement Apostle

One of the twelve, Judas, betrayed Jesus and killed himself to fulfill the scriptures. And also according to the scriptures, it was necessary that he be replaced by another. Some people believe that Paul replaced Judas, but it is not so. Paul does not fit into the commission of the twelve, he was not an eye witness of the ministry, death and resurrection of Christ. The church was founded on the day of pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came, all twelve had to be there at the foundation of the church, but Paul became an apostle about 17 years later. We shall see later, when we touch on Paul’s apostleship, that Paul himself did not consider himself one of the twelve.

1 Corinthians 15:5-9 New International Version (NIV)
5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

But most importantly,  scripture tells us who the twelfth apostle is.

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26 (NKJV)
15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), and said, 16 “Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus; 17 for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry.”

21 “Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 
22 beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.”
23 And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen 25 to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.” 26 And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Peter and the other apostles had full rights to do what they did.

Jesus had given them the authority.

Matthew 16:19
And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind one earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Matthew 18:18-19 (NKJV)
18 “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.

The 11 then asked the Lord to choose who was worthy, they cast lots and God chose. Yes, It was God who directed the lots towards Mathias. This is what the bible says…

Proverbs 16:33 (NKJV)
The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord.

So the outcome of the lots that were casted was from the Lord. All the twelve were chosen before the Holy Spirit had been given. And Lots had were the way that God used to show his will before the coming of the Holy Spirit.

 2. APOSTLES BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

I am not saying these are not apostles of Jesus Christ. I am merely distinguishing how they were chosen and commissioned. The foundational apostles were all chosen by Christ before the Holy Spirit had been given because they had to be the first to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. However, after the church had started growing for several years, Jesus Christ then chose other apostles by the Holy Spirit.

Acts 13 New King James Version (NKJV)

13 Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 
2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 
3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
Preaching in Cyprus
4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

Paul and Barnabas were numbered among the prophets and teachers of Antioch. The Holy Spirit then spoke to the church, to separate Paul and Barnabas for a specific work. The church then laid hands on Paul and Barnabas, which was an act done in ordination and/or impartation. The church then sent Paul and Barnabas by the instruction of the Holy Spirit, and so verse 4 they were sent of the Holy Spirit. From this point on, Barnabas and Paul are no longer numbered among prophets and teachers but are now numbered among the apostles.

Acts 14:4
But the multitude of the city was divided: part sided with the Jews, and part with the apostles.

Acts 14:14 New King James Version (NKJV)
14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out.

Paul and Barnabas had been sent as apostles on a very specific commission. They were to bring the light of the gospel to the gentiles.

Acts 13:46-47 New King James Version (NKJV)
46 Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. 
47 For so the Lord has commanded us:
‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles,
That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”

So they were apostles to the gentiles. Neither of them were eye witnesses of the ministry of Christ but they took the gospel to new places. In this way, they worked as master builders laying Christ as a foundation.

Romans 15:20 New International Version (NIV)
20 It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation.

1 Corinthians 3:9-10 New International Version (NIV)
9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care.

So we see, these new apostles were chosen and sent by the Holy Spirit to lay the foundation of Christ in new territories and to build the church. So while Paul was not an eye-witness of the ministry of Christ on earth, he received a multitude of revelation in order to build the church. Barnabas and Paul were no less apostles than Peter and John, they just were called at different times, for a different purpose.

Different Callings same Commission

The Calling for Barnabas and Paul was different, but their commission was the same. Paul saw a vision of Jesus. We have no record that Barnabas saw the resurrected Christ, in a vision or otherwise.

 3. APOSTLES OF THE CHURCH

The word apostle means a sent out one. In greek its apostolos. It comes from the word Apostella which means to send away. Apostolos refers to someone who is sent out as a representative and has authority to make certain decisions and act on behalf of the sender.

2 Corinthians 8:23 Berean Literal Bible
Whether as regards Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for you; or our brothers, they are apostles of the churches, the glory of Christ.

Other versions put messenger there, but the greek word used was apostlos. Paul refers to the people that had been sent by the churches to help him in his work as apostles of the churches.

Phillipians 2:25 World English Bible
But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier, and your apostle and servant of my need;

Epaphroditus had been sent by the church of philipi, as a representative of the church to minister to Paul, fully acting on their behalf. So he was their apostle. For over a thousand years, latin was the language of the educated, and bibles were only read in latin. The latin equivalent for apostella (to send away) is mitto. from which we get missio, which in morden day english is called Missionary.

So missionaries, were a type of apostle. They were apostles of the churches like Epaphroditus and Titus, sent as representatives of the church to plant the gospel in new territories. There is no need for the Holy Spirit to say, separate for me Epaphroditus and Titus. In this case, the church makes a decision to separate these men and send them away as their representatives in the work of the gospel.

Listen to how Paul distinguishes his apostleship


Galatians 1:1 New American Standard Bible
Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead),

So nowadays, we call these apostles of the churches, Missionaries. They are appointed by men and through men, under the authority of the church, to go as representatives of the church in different areas.

In conclusion… I will look at the general function of apostles, and look at the position of the apostle at work today.

CONCLUSION

There are three kinds of Apostles:

1. Foundational Apostles, which are known as the 12 apostles of the lamb.

2. Then we have Apostles by The Holy Spirit of which Barnabas and Paul were the first, and these continue till today.

3. Then lastly have Apostles of the churches, who are also known as missionaries.

Since there are only 12 foundational apostles, it stands to reason that there are no more foundational apostles today. John saw a vision of the New Jerusalem and there were only twelve names on its foundation. Jesus already died and resurrected and all those who were witnesses are gone. So That is that. While the first kind of apostle is gone, the last two are still relevant.

The holy spirit is still at work, the church is still being built. We still have apostles by the Holy Spirit and Apostles of the Church, who are missionaries. Apostles of the Holy Spirit are apostles of Christ just as Paul and Barnabas were apostles of Christ. They can be called in different ways but their calling must be confirmed by the Holy Spirit. In the scriptures the apostles were used by God to do some of the following functions which are still relevant today:

1. Baptism of the Spirit by Laying on of Hands.

I am not saying, only apostles can do this, but we do see apostles being used for this specific purpose.

PETER AND JOHN
Acts 8:17-19
Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that 8the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands,* he offered them money, saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

PAUL
Acts 19:6
And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.

Now there is a man named Ananias, who baptised Paul. Whoever he was… was a mighty man because he laid hands on Paul to receive the Holy Spirit. So it’s either he was an apostle, or the gift is not restricted to apostles only.

Acts 9:17
So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

2. Impartation and nurturing of spiritual Gifts

We also see the gifts of God being imparted by the laying on of hands of apostles.

2 Timothy 1:6 (NIV)
6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

3. Giving direction, correction and direction tor the spiritual growth of churches.

Romans 1:11 New International Version (NIV)
¹¹ I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—

We see this in Paul’s letters and also in Revelation chapter 1,2 and 3 when the apostle John is given messages for 7 churches in relation to their current spiritual state, what they needed to improve, Christ’s direction for each church and what they needed to do to get there.

Some people believe that an apostle must be someone who writes scripture. This is wrong. Of the original 12, only four wrote scriptures, we hear the names of the others and never hear anything from them afterwards. Some people believe that an apostle must be someone who is perfect in character. This again is wrong, Judas was an apostle who was appointed by Christ himself, yet he was a liar, a thief and a traitor. Some people think apostles must plant many churches like Paul, but how many churches did James and John plant? None.

Not every apostle has to live up to the same type of calling as Peter, Paul and John. Some, like Thomas had trouble with faith, others like James and John never plant a single church. Bathelomeo, Andrew, Thadeus, James the Less, Simon the Zealot and Philip of Galilee; we don’t hear much about them, but they are no less apostles than Paul, Peter and John. Even today, the apostles don’t have to follow the same calling of Paul, Peter and John. What makes one an apostle of Christ, is that God calls you an apostle. I will end here for now.