The word ‘apostle’ means ‘one who is sent’, particularly with an important message. In the New Testament it is sometimes used to speak of what today we would call ‘pioneer missionaries’, but more often refers to a specific office in the New Testament church - ‘an Apostle of Jesus Christ’. These Apostles had a special authority to preach and drive out demons (Mark 3:14-15) and their ministry was marked by signs and wonders (2 Corinthians 12:12). They were like the Old Testament prophets in having authority to speak and write down God’s words. This group began with the Twelve appointed by Jesus. In the Old Testament the people of God were the twelve tribes of Israel. The choice of twelve is therefore symbolic, pointing to Jesus re-forming the people of God around Himself. This explains why Judas Iscariot needed to be replaced by Matthias before Pentecost (Acts 1:26) but when James and other apostles died, they did not need to be replaced. Paul was later chosen by Jesus to be the ‘Apostle to the Gentiles’ (Galatians 2:8), with the same authority as the Twelve. Apostles in this sense had to have seen Jesus, so that they could testify about Him and His resurrection as eye-witnesses (Acts 1:21-22). There are no new ‘Apostles’ of this kind today. Instead, we have the Apostles’ teaching in the New Testament as the foundation for church life. There were others who were called apostles but did not have the authority of the Twelve and Paul. They include ‘pioneer missionaries’ such as: Barnabas (Acts 14:14), Jesus’ brother James (Galatians 1:19), Andronicus and Junia (Romans 16:7), and possibly Apollos (1 Corinthians 4:6), and Silas (Acts 17:4, 1 Thessalonians 2:6). Some Christians continue to use the term apostle to refer to someone who is a church leader or an effective pioneer missionary, but this can be confusing. The Apostles of Jesus Christ whose eye-witness testimony is recorded in the New Testament have a higher authority than anyone living today.
