Apostleship and Authority

In the book of Hebrew, it talks about the great apostle, Christ. You know what apostle means? "Sent one," and after Christ, and you would say Christ is capital APOSTLE, as the Great ‘APOSTLE’. Then you have the twelve, they are ‘Apostle.’ And then you have Andronicus, Junias and the whole bunch--Barnabas, and they are 'apostle' which means a broad word, is like "servant," "sent one." We can look at 'apostles' in an official capacity or an unofficial one without the "Apostle" gifts. Andronicus and Junias and those were "sent ones" they were like missionaries, there is a sense in which today, some of us are "sent ones". Apostle (with capital A) out of due season and in a very special way, then plus a lot of other apostles (in lower case 'a'). In Ephesians 2:20 says the church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Hebrews 3:1 [ Jesus Greater Than Moses ] Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest whom we confess. The gifts and title of Apostleship are significant enough to be declared, along with prophets, as the foundation of the church (Eph. 2:20). From: Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology: Apostle

Apostles and the Spirit The primary function of the apostles was to witness to Christ. The Twelve had intimate knowledge of his life, and a wider group had been witnesses to his resurrection. Their commissioning by the risen Lord to worldwide witness (Ac 1:8), however, was incomplete without the anointing of the Spirit. Only after Pentecost were they empowered by the Spirit for their ministry of word and deed. Their witness to Christ was not only empowered, but also guided and validated by the Spirit (John 14:26). Thus, their full apostolic vocation was realized only in the Spirit (John 14-17). Paul viewed apostleship as a gift of the Spirit (1 Co 12:28), which was often accompanied by miraculous signs and mighty works (2 Co 12:12). Such signs and wonders, however, were clearly secondary to the apostolic functions of preaching and teaching. Apostolic Authority Having direct knowledge of the incarnate Word, and being sent out as authorized agets of the gospel, the apostles provided the authentic interpretation of the life and teaching of Jesus. Because their witness to Christ was guided by the Spirit (John 15:26-27), the apostles' teaching was considered normative for the church. They were regarded as the "pillars" (Gal 2:9) and "foundation" (Eph 2:20; cf. Rev 21:14) of the church, and their teaching became the norm for Christian faith and practice. The deposit of revelation transmitted by the apostles and preserved in its written form in the New Testament thus forms the basis of postapostolic preaching and teaching in the church. Paul uses the word "apostle" in more than one sense. At times he employs the term in the broader sense of messenger or agent (2 Col 8:23; Php 2:25). More often, however, Paul uses the term to refer to those who had been commissioned by the risen Lord to the apostolic task. Included in this category are the Twelve (although he never explicitly applies the title of apostle to them as a group), Peter (Gal 1:18), Paul himself (Rom 1:1; 1 Col 1:1; 9:1-2; 15:8-10; Gal 2:7-8), James the brother of Jesus (Gal 1:19; cf. Acts 15:13), Barnabas (1 Col 9:1-6; Gal 2:9; cf. Acts 14:4, 14), and possibly others (Ro 16:7). In addition to understanding apostleship in terms of its basis in a divine call, Paul views the life of an apostle as being one of self-sacrificial service that entails suffering (1 Col 4:9-13; 15:30-32; 2 Col 4:7-12; 11:23-29).

651 apostleship ajpostolhv apostole sending away, of the sending off of a fleet, of consuls with an army, i.e. of an expedition, a sending away, i.e. a dismissal, release, a thing sent, esp. of gifts, in the NT, the office and dignity of the apostles of Christ, apostleship 652 apostle ajpovstoloß apostolos a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders, specifically applied to the twelve apostles of Christ, in a broader sense applied to other eminent Christian teachers, of Barnabas, of Timothy and Silvanus 5570 false apostles yeudapovstoloß pseudapostolos a false apostle, one who falsely claims to be an ambassador of Christ From: The New Testament Greek Lexicon I found this interesting because I always believe the Apostles (Peter, John, etc) WERE SPECIAL. The successors to the apostles (Timothy and Titus) are never called apostles or regarded with full apostolic authority. Many apostles such as Timothy and Titus were to carry on the apostle's work like all Christians do everyday (as we do) The key point is this: The genuine apostolic succession was never meant to continue. There are Super Apostles (Peter, etc), and minor apostles (without special gifts). I am an apostle by definition of a servant, sent on and missionary. But I do NOT have the Apostleship authority as Peter and others had. There's a HUGE difference. Paul explained in his letters. Apostles were personal ambassadors for Jesus Christ. The title and their words carried divine authority which means there was no appeal above their words, no discussion, no debate. They had Divine gifts, bringing the very word of God to men. Their authority in the church was absolute. When Paul's rebuked Peter for not practicing what he preached (Galatians 2:11) and Peter submitted without debating. When they tell a person that they lacked faith, they had the authority, while we Christians DO NOT. (By the way, this is one of my issue when Christians tell me that I am lacking faith ) The other "apostles" didn't have those authority and divine gifts.