I prepared a post on modern apostles and found one already on the forum. My post is on a different aspect of the topic.
Apostles in the Modern Church
I realize that there are a number of people claiming to be apostles these days, particularly in Chrismatic circles. Many of these people are the equivalent of heads of denominations or ‘franchises’ of churches. It seems ‘apostles’ is used to refer to someone who performs a role similar to a traditional bishop, except he is considered super-anointed.
I have done a little bit of study on the concept of apostleship. I know many people believe that the only apostles were 12 and Paul, but from what I have read, in scripture and in history, the word has a wider range of meaning.
For example, Acts 14:14 refers to both Paul and Barnabas as apostles. I Thessalonians 1:1 taken with 2:6 would indicate that Silas and Timothy were apostles along with Paul. Some interpret I Corinthians 4 as saying that Apollos was also an apostle, since Paul was talking about himself and Apollos before he spoke of ‘us’ apostles.
In the late first or early second century, the Didache refers to various itinerant ministers that traveled from church to church in that period prophesying and teaching as apostles.
There is a historical use of the word ‘apostles’ to refer to men who brought the Gospel to new peoples and regions. For example, Gregory is called the Apostle to the Armenians. There are several others: Cyril and Methodius apostles to the Slavs and various other people groups, Anksar apostle of the North, Patrick the apostle of Ireland, and John Elliot apostle to the Indians to name a few. I recall going to my sister’s graduation from a Congregational school and finding an old hymn about sending out missionaries that contained the quote ‘Make them apostles’ in reference to missionaries that were sent out.
How did Barnabas become an apostle, a ‘sent one.’ The apostles did ‘send’ him to Antioch. I suppose one could argue that at that point he was an apostle in a limited sense. But if we look further in Acts, we see that in chapter 13, he, along with Paul was sent out to do a work. The work involved traveling from city to city preaching the Gospel. In the account, it is after Paul and Barnabas were sent out that Luke begins to refer to them as ‘sent ones’—that is, as ‘apostles’. Paul’s comment about Barnabas in I Corinthians 9 seems to indicate that Paul considered Barnabas to be an apostle just like himself.
Also notice the context in which the Gospel authors, Matthew and Mark, first referred to the 12 as apostles. Matthew calls the 12 apostles just before he records that Jesus sent them out to preach the Gospel and do various healing miracles in the cities and villages of Israel. Mark calls them sent ones/apostles after they returned. Compare this to the fact that Luke begins to refer to Paul and Barnabas as apostles after they went on their evangelistic preaching journey.
Paul made some interesting comments about his own apostleship and the nature of his authority in relation to the Corinthian church. In I Corinthians 9, he tells the Corinthians if he were not an apostle to others, he was an apostle to them, because they were the seal of his apostleship in the Lord. This is an interesting statement. The fact that the Corinthian church existed was evidence that Paul was indeed an apostle. Earlier in this letter, he explains that he had laid the foundation of Christ among them, as a wise master builder. He also wrote that they had many teachers, but not many fathers, for in the Gospel of Jesus Christ he had become their father. This seems to indicate that Paul considered the fruits of his church planting ministry to be evidence for his apostleship, and the foundation for his authority in the Corinthian church.
II Corinthians 10 gives us even more detailed information. Paul and his co-workers (we) had a ‘measure of rule’ that extended to the Corinthians, because they had gone as far as Corinth in preaching the Gospel of Christ.
Based on this, some interpreters of scripture believe that it is still possible for their to be apostles, in the Biblical sense, who father new churches through evangelism, by preaching Christ in new areas and among unreached people. Watchman Nee promoted a view similar to this in some of his writings, and apparently many consider him to be an apostle to this day. Some house church Christians hold to a similar viewpoint.
