01 What Defines an Apostle?

Welcome, guys. Welcome to a conversation around understanding apostles today. We're kind of taking a whole bunch of questions that we've got from you guys to try and understand more about apostles, more about how they fit. And so I've got Shan and Mike with me, and we want to just have a conversation around understanding what is such a broad term—apostles, apostolic. It's used in so many different ways, and really trying to dig down to: How do we see that in the Bible? How does it work in the church? How does it work in our lives? And ultimately, how does it impact us?

And so I think the first question for me would be: Where does it begin, this concept of the apostle, apostles in general? Where do we start? Where does it begin? Maybe you can help us.

So it's important for us to go back to Scripture. So I think a lot of our practices we do today as churches need to be rooted back in the New Testament. So I want to really just go back to what Scripture says and then build from there in terms of a modern application, because the term apostle does get thrown around a lot. You have these self-appointed individuals. You have things that actually don't look like the New Testament, which is the heart, of course, of what we want to do.

Jesus as the First Apostle and Sent One

But I think when we talk about the word apostle, we have to actually start with Jesus, because in Hebrews 3, it mentions how Jesus is the apostle and the high priest of our confession—Hebrews 3:1. And we have to start with Him because, as a movement, He's the cornerstone of who we build upon, and all the gifts flow from Him. He gives gifts to His church through His Spirit.

The term apostle was from a word, apostolos, which means “sent one.” And so Jesus, in many ways, is the very first sent one. He was the one sent from the Father. You know, John 3:16: God so loved the world that He sent His only Son. And He was sent with authority to bring salvation, break open the kingdom, and to establish His church.

And so the idea of apostolos, it was even in a Roman culture, Greek culture, used of a person who was a bit of like an emissary, someone who was sent on someone else's behalf, often with authority, sure, to deliver a message or to represent someone, et cetera. And so that term then firstly gets used for the person of Jesus. And we have to start there before we look at other individuals in the Bible that refer to apostles.

And there are other individuals. There is the twelve. I mean, I think that's the common one we read about, is the twelve. And then there's Paul, and then there's the others. And I suppose, what is the difference between all of them?

The Twelve Apostles and Their Unique Foundation

I just read, “Apostle.” The twelve apostles obviously were chosen by Jesus and were unique, and He described it. He said, “They will have twelve thrones.” They'll each have a throne one day, which He doesn't say about anyone else.

So we've got to make room for the same gift in operation, but a unique function and a unique result of using that gift. So I think if we're going to define what an apostle is, let's define as well what we're not saying. We're not saying someone today who is recognized as an apostle has the same function as the twelve had. They were the twelve, and they did what they did, and there were those who came after them.

But we are saying the same gift is in operation, and with that gift, it is used in the way God's people need it today. So the apostles—the twelve apostles—were used in the way God's people needed them to be used then, which was to lay the very foundations of the gospel of redemption. And today, apostles are needed to build upon that, to still lay foundations, but they're not laying unique foundations. They're not coming with Jesus having chosen them at that time in Israel.

So I think that would be important to clarify that. And then Paul—maybe how does Paul fit into that as well? Because we've got the twelve who we spoke about, and some of them wrote Scripture, and then we've got Paul, who writes a lot of Scripture.

Paul’s Unique Apostolic Calling to the Gentiles

Yeah, almost two-thirds of the New Testament. So Paul is a bit of an anomaly in some ways. He is someone who's not one of the twelve. He wasn't an eyewitness of the life and the ministry of Jesus, and that's what makes the twelve so unique. That's unrepeatable. They walked with Him.

But Paul, in his own words in the book of Galatians, speaks about how he had a direct revelation of Jesus on the road to Damascus. And from that moment, he was set apart. He was actually set apart from birth, is how he describes it, but there is a moment where God revealed Jesus to him and set him apart to preach the gospel to Gentiles.

And so he has a unique calling as an apostle. And when you read Paul's writings, he actually places himself alongside the twelve. He says, “I'm equal with the twelve.” He says, “I have a genuine apostolic ministry and genuine apostolic authority.”

And so we also have to leave room for the unique dealings of God with Paul and the nature of his apostolic ministry. He had a very specific assignment that he was to preach among the Gentiles, and he mentions this: that the same God who was at work through Peter to the Jews, or to the circumcised, was the same God who was at work through him to the Gentiles.

And so there is that distinction with Paul. And he writes in 1 Corinthians 15 about the resurrection of Jesus, and then he makes a comment about being the last of all that Jesus appeared to. And he actually talks about himself as one who was untimely born.

Now, there's a debate over exactly what he means by that, but I think what he's getting at is that Jesus appeared to him kind of outside the norm, like in a way that was unique to him. And so he is also a unique apostle, just like the twelve are unique in their own way. But I think the distinction is, even though they're unique, the gift, the grace, and the authority is not unique. It gets carried on to later generations.

And we see that in Acts 14 as well, where it speaks of Barnabas and Paul. So there are more than just Paul himself. But I think he is very clear that the twelve and him are unique in a very, very powerful way, but the gift carries on to future generations.

What Is Apostolic Authority?

Which makes sense, I think. So just backtracking slightly there, because it's a term that you used: authority. What is actually apostolic authority?

That's a great question. So I would actually define it as a spiritual or God-given influence and ability to actually accomplish something for God's sake. So the authority, in essence, isn't your own authority, isn't a position, isn't a title—something that you carry around—but it is actually a trust that has been given to you by God, and people recognize it.

It's not necessarily something that you claim you have or you say, “I am an apostle,” but it's something that is recognized over time by the community of faith as you're sent by God to accomplish something for God's sake. And there's a kind of a spiritual weight, there's a gravity to your life. There's grace on you to actually accomplish something that not everyone can accomplish. That's apostolic authority.

But that authority is not yours; it's God's authority in you.

The word influence—when you talk about influence, some people can think of bad ways of influence, and we don't want that. And in my experience, to see people who want to have influence, so they call themselves apostle. But what you're saying is true authority is actually God-given and recognized by the church.

Yes. The word authority is a word that's often misunderstood, and especially when we live in a culture where people misuse authority or there are people in authority who abuse their authority, that's a healthy skepticism that we can have and should have.

But biblical authority is not about control or manipulation; it's influence. And so the authority that Jesus had was an authority that was actually recognized by people that saw the works that He did. They saw the words that He preached. They recognized that there is something different about Him. And that's how apostolic authority works.

You don't have to actually claim it or demand it. It's something that people recognize over time, and there is a genuine weight and substance to it that people recognize.

Yes, that's great, because, yeah, the only title that we really hold dear is the one that God gives us anyway. And so the idea of stepping forward, claiming something that God hasn't given to you is not going to end well.

Apostolic Fruit: Making Disciples and Starting Churches

And I think the oversimplification of our—or our justification, I suppose, of the title—is really fruit. What is it that you actually bear? Because if you are an apostle, then you better be a fruit bearer.

And if we look in many places across the New Testament, we see that there is fruit that should be attached to the function, and that fruit ultimately should be making disciples and seeing churches started and seeing people come to salvation and discipleship and seeing people grow in Christ.

And so if there is no fruit to the title that we've taken or claimed, then really, what are we actually doing? Because it's self-appointed. And what I think is interesting about apostles is they are not self-appointed.

And so, looking at Paul, for example, we've seen that he was called by Jesus directly. We also see that the twelve had a function that Jesus appointed them. But what about Barnabas and others that we find? I mean, where do they get their title from?

Yes, yes. So, I mean, I think one of the key passages when it comes to Barnabas is found in Acts 13. So in Acts 13, there was a local church in Antioch. There were prophets and teachers, and you have Agabus and Silas, and there's just a list of people. And then it says, “The Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’” And then they laid hands on them and sent them off.

So there was a commissioning process where the Holy Spirit said specifically, “Set apart these people for the work that I'm calling them to.” And then the church came along and recognized God's call on them through the laying on of hands, and they sent them off.

And that's a pattern that we see throughout the New Testament with Paul and Barnabas and then other leaders that are sent out. They are first recognized by their local church, and the local church affirms the call of God on them and then sends them off to do the work that God's called them to do.

And so that's where we see the word apostle used of Barnabas and Paul in Acts 14, because they had been sent out by the Holy Spirit and the local church. That's the basic pattern that we see in the New Testament when it comes to how God raises up apostles and sends them out.

What Defines an Apostle? Sent Ones and Apostolic Calling

But then what makes them apostles? Because they've been sent out. I mean, when a church sends out a missionary, that's not necessarily the same as saying they're an apostle. And in Acts 13, it doesn't actually call them apostles right there. In Acts 14:4, it calls them apostles. So what's the difference?

Well, they are sent out on a mission, and that's the basic definition of the word apostle—apostolos. They're sent ones. And so in that sense, any believer who is sent out is an apostle in the broadest sense.

But there is a specific gift of apostle that Paul talks about in Ephesians 4, and he says that Jesus gave some to be apostles and some to be prophets and evangelists and pastors and teachers.

And so there's a specific gift and calling that is recognized over time, and the local church plays a critical role in recognizing that gift and calling and then sending that person out. And that person then has a specific grace to go and establish churches, to establish gospel movements, to establish works in a way that other people don't necessarily have the grace to do.

And so there is a distinction between someone who's sent out on a mission and someone who carries the gift of an apostle. And that distinction is made over time as the fruit of their ministry is seen by the church.

Paul’s Unique Apostolic Authority and Revelation

A sense comes afterwards, and he's this individual again that has a revelation of the mystery of the gospel, and really, it's upon his revelation. Obviously, Christ appears to him, so in that sense he is an eyewitness of Christ, of the resurrected Christ. But in some ways, he is the one in whom great authority was given to him, like the twelve, because of his revelation that was given to really build into the foundations of the church. And, of course, his writings today and his teachings today are Scripture.

And so, when Acts 2:42 speaks about being devoted to the apostles' teaching and how the early church was, it was the apostles of Jesus, the twelve, obviously. This is before Paul, who then would have taught Christ to them, and that's what they were devoted to, which in many ways is our Scripture today, the New Testament that we hold to.

But Paul was—yeah, he was not one of the twelve, but it was, in a sense, the twelve plus one. But you do have another category, which we can talk about now as well.

Yeah, and I think that would be my question. Paul's—at the same time, there is a number of people alive who are also called apostles, so it's not based on the time that they're alive that made them apostles. But there's something different between Paul and Barnabas and the rest of those apostles. What is that difference?

Pre-Ascension and Post-Ascension Apostles

So you have what is often called pre-Ascension, post-Ascension apostles. So you have the twelve unrepeatable, unrepeatables, so to speak. And you have these individuals.

And I think it's important, again, for us to go back to Scripture. So what we're doing is not trying to make up fancy titles and terms to make ourselves—or not ourselves, I'm not an apostle—but to make individuals like Brad or Jonathan and Andrew feel good about themselves and carry this dictatorial power. Nothing like that. But we have to get back to Scripture.

Ephesians 4 and Apostles as Church-Age Gifts

And so I think, to answer that question, this other group, again, is founded upon some key Scriptures. The one would be in Ephesians 4, from verse 8 all the way through to verse 13, where it mentions how, when Jesus ascended, at His ascension, after His life, His death, et cetera, He then gave gifts to the body in the form of these gifted individuals. And, of course, it says apostles, and it says that we need these gifts.

Let me read the Scripture to you, because it's actually helpful for us to unpack this, to give a rationale for it: “And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,” verse 11 says, “to equip the saints for the work of ministry.”

Now, many would say, “Well, okay, we don't need apostles today because, you know, we have Scripture, and so that's been done. Scripture equips us today.” But it says, “for the building up of the body of Christ.” And verse 13 is the key there, and I think that is our rationale for the apostles in the church age, why they were needed after the resurrection and ascension, and why they need them today. It's because it says, “until we attain the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, into mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

So we need apostles and prophets and pastors and evangelists and teachers until the church is fully mature. When will that happen? At the return of Christ. And so we need them as church-age gifts, in some ways.

And that's why you had these individuals during the church age, right, who are mentioned in Scripture: Barnabas. You mentioned Paul is one of them, but as mentioned, it seems like a bit of an anomaly. And then you look at individuals like Silvanus. Timothy's mentioned as an apostle. Apollos, in 1 Corinthians 3 and 4, most likely was an apostle. So these individuals who worked with Paul on his team operated with him in many ways outside of the twelve.

Then you look at another Scripture, like 1 Corinthians 12, another one where the context is the body of Christ and gifts in the body. And how, in this Spirit-filled community, a New Testament community, you find he says here, “You are the body of Christ.” In verse 28, “And God has appointed in the church first apostles, then prophets.”

So it's quite normative for him to have these unique individuals that seem to be operating within the church. And maybe something that you touched on there: you spoke about what some of those first twelve apostles did and what Paul did, and—

What Do Apostles Do Today?

Then what the apostles around Him and after Him are doing. And I suppose maybe the question comes then: What did they do, like specifically? And then what do they do today? Because, I mean, Scripture is wrapped up. We don't add to it. But what does that mean? What do they actually do today?

Yeah, it's a great question, because—and we have to answer this because—the objection people have against modern apostles is this one. The most common one I've heard, and I'm sure Sean will jump in on this as well, is, “Oh, but we don't need apostles today because apostles were given as eyewitnesses to Jesus to write down the mystery of the Gospel, the work of Christ, and then to write that down in Scripture. And so they were Scripture writers. They established the canon. We don't need that today.”

But actually, if you look at the Twelve, only three of the Twelve wrote Scripture, and the rest of the Scripture writers were outside of the Twelve. You look at Luke; he seems to be a teacher, and he writes more Scripture than any other apostle in terms of the Twelve. And then you've got Paul over and above that.

Apostles as Foundation Layers

So I think it's a weak case to say that the Twelve were there. In fact, I would say that the role of apostles—and that's for both post-Ascension, like category B, in a sense, those who came after the Ascension—were actually to lay in foundations. So they were foundation layers, and that's what Scripture says. Ephesians 2:20 speaks about them being foundation layers. Paul speaks about that: “I came and laid a foundation; others are building upon it.”

The Biblical Case for Apostles Today

That's good. I mean, it's interesting. You know, these passages Mark quoted, if you just read them without some preconceived ideas, you would come undoubtedly to the conclusion that the apostle is for today. He speaks in the present tense.

It's very interesting in that list in Ephesians. It was, “Here you go. He gave some to apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers.” Many people who believe that that gift of an apostle is no longer for today—I have no problem with the gift of teaching. In fact, they'd consider themselves teachers as they teach that doctrine. So you've either got to take all of it, or you've got to take none of it.

So I do think there's, in a sense, there's a bit of possibly scriptural dishonesty sometimes with just taking out a part of it because it doesn't seem to fit our paradigm.

So I think what an apostle does today—you know, Paul makes this statement. He says that actually the job God gave him was to make plain the administration of the Gospel. And I think that is much of what the apostle is called to do today.

You might find someone gets up and speaks, and they say things, and you go, “I kind of knew that, but I didn't know it.” When they say it, it's so obvious. What are they doing? They're making plain the administration of the Gospel. They're making plain it's to do with the church. It's to do with the church, how it's governed, how the church functions.

And so sometimes you're seeing that gift in operation; you're not necessarily realizing what it's doing, but it just makes things clear, brings it to a focal point.

Apostolic Authority and the Foundation of Scripture

Again, we are not saying that people have the authority to go and change foundational doctrines. That's not Christianity. That's something else. But we are saying they are given an authority, and they're sent by God to lay foundations that reinforce what is in the Word, that reinforce what the Holy Spirit says—never in contradiction to it.

And that is why they are still needed, because the passage says, “Until we all reach maturity.” The question is, have we all reached maturity yet? I don't think so. When you look at the church today, we're still getting there. And so that gift is very much needed today.

How Apostolic, Prophetic, and Teaching Gifts Function Today

It would be the same as if someone is a prophet. You say, “Well, do you think you're like Isaiah?” Well, no. Isaiah needed to prophesy the Messiah coming. You don't need to do that today; the Messiah's come. But the prophetic gift still remains. The gift is still there, a gift of teaching.

Jesus would interact with teachers of the law. That was how the gift functioned in Jesus' time, legitimately, to help God's people. The law was taught today.

You don't need to teach the law, but the gift of teaching still remains. It's doing something different according to how God has worked through history. I think if we can just understand that, you're able to move away from sounding the alarm on calling yourself an apostle or someone being named an apostle. Let's say you're allowed to—you—you—you're able to move away from that and not, in a sense, be too nervous about it because you understand that it's the same gift, different function, for its own different way it's outworking.

Can Modern Apostles Add to Scripture?

I think a lot of folk who love the Word of God are fearful of having the word apostle used today because they're concerned that we then are giving an authority to an individual that would then—can they then reinterpret Scripture? Can they lay in the foundations of extra truth? And I think we need to make that very clear.

What I want to even make it clearer is that, as an apostle today—apostles we have in our movement—they build on the foundation of Christ. So they are laying foundations because I think that's a dynamic thing. I mean, if you read Romans 15, Paul speaks about laying foundations when it comes into planting churches, and Paul in 1 Corinthians 3. So it's dynamic, but we never, in some ways, that original foundation of the canon of Scripture closed. And so anyone is just simply revealing Christ. They're just wanting to build churches and oversee churches and plant churches that measure up to who Christ is, and making sure we're healthy. And we need them today for the gifts that they are to create healthy churches.

Yeah, thank you. That is super helpful just to hear about the concept, the origin story of the apostle, how it works. And I think for you guys at home as well, it helps to bring clarity around the beginning. But it is the beginning of the conversation, and so even as we look into more episodes, we want to talk about, what are the qualifications of an apostle? And so, yeah, join us then as we talk about that.