Biblegems #132
Question: According the book of Acts, one of
the qualifications for being an apostle was being with Jesus throughout His
ministry. How, then, does Paul qualify to be an apostle?
Acts 1:21-22
says,
Therefore it is necessary to
choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went
in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was
taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.
Following
Judas’ suicide, the remaining eleven apostles saw the need to fill Judas’ “position of leadership” (v. 20). It was
scripturally necessary for the core group’s number to be restored to twelve men
who were trusted witnesses of Jesus' ministry from the time of His baptism to
His ascension. With the addition of Matthias, this was accomplished, fulfilling
God’s plan for the early church and also for the perfect completion of His
church in the New Jerusalem:
Rev.
21:14 The wall of the city had twelve
foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
However, the
term “apostle” is used 83 times in
Scripture and beyond the Gospels and Acts often applies to others besides
Jesus’ core group of twelve. It was a common word in the Greek-speaking world
that meant “a
person sent by another; a messenger; envoy.”[i] That’s
why Paul could use the term of himself 18 times in the New Testament. In fact,
in Hebrews 3:1 even Jesus is called “the
apostle and high priest whom we confess,” meaning He was sent by God,
commissioned with a task, which He then passed on to others:
John
20:21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be
with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
Paul was
extremely conscious of the fact that he was not counted among the original
twelve:
1Cor.
15:9 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.
He was
often misunderstood and his apostleship held suspect:
1Cor.
9:2 Even though I may not be an
apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship
in the Lord.
But Paul
also knew that his calling as an apostle came as a direct calling from God through
Jesus Christ (2Cor. 1:1; Gal. 1:1; Rom. 11:13; etc.), and that his calling was
validated by the fact that he had seen Jesus personally (1Cor. 9:1) and that
his ministry was accompanied by “the
things that mark an apostle—signs, wonders and miracles” (2Cor. 12:12).
Acts 1:22
does not give qualifications for being an apostle in general but for replacing
Judas as one of the foundational twelve apostles. Unlike the twelve, Paul was
called specifically to be an apostle to the Gentiles (Rom. 11:13). He was “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command
of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope”
(1Tim. 1:1).
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