A discussion of the apostolic
church as missional must not overlook the fact that Jesus Christ is too called
an apostle. The single verse in the New Testament where apostolos (ἀπόστολος) is used of him is Hebrews
3:1, which says: “consider Jesus, the
apostle and high priest of our confession.”[1] In this statement, the
author of Hebrews ties apostolicity to the mission of the Triune God (missio Trinitatis). Jesus
is the one whom the Father has sent, a theme repeated throughout the Gospel of
John.[2] In Hebrews 3:1, the basic
idea of Jesus as “the apostle” is about mission. [3] He was sent by the Father with authority to accomplish a mission that
was sacrificial in nature, as 1 John 4:10 states: “[God]
loved us and sent (aposteilen) his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”[4] Thus, the mission of the Triune God led to Jesus’ apostleship. Indeed, his apostleship is the basis of all apostleship.
He is “the first apostle, the great
apostle, and the source of all apostleship.” [5] His apostolicity is prior
to and the ground of all apostles.
After Jesus’
resurrection and ascension, the Eleven sensed the need to replace Judas, and so
they sought someone who had been with Jesus and was an eyewitness of the risen
Lord. The selection of this twelfth apostle was taken up in order to preserve
the mission and authority entrusted to the Twelve. As such, they represented the
church as the people of God on the pattern of the twelve tribes of Israel. Luke
records in the Acts of the Apostles:
And they put
forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias.
And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of
all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the
place in this ministry (diakonias) and
apostleship (apostolēs), from which
Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they cast lots
for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven
apostles. (Acts 1:23-26)
With Matthias, the Twelve went on to fulfill
their purpose as apostles of Jesus.
Theirs was a unique and historic role in the establishment of the church—“the
household of God, built on the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,” (Gal. 2:19-20).
Although the
Twelve were a distinct group, the New Testament describes other apostles.[6] Paul and James, the
half-brother of Jesus, are two examples.
Paul asks about himself: “Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our
Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? If to others I am
not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in
the Lord,” (1 Cor. 9:1-2). As for James, the half-brother of Jesus, Paul said:
“But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother,” (Gal.
1:19). Clearly, as with Paul and,
probably as with James, the apostolate referred to a group larger than the
Twelve.
This idea of an apostolate larger than the Twelve, however, has caused some to question the selection of Matthias, thinking that it was a mistake by the Eleven since Paul was clearly identified as an apostle who would have completed the Twelve. In my Formation Group with students at TEDS, I came across this view in J. I. Packer’s Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs that states:
Acts 1:15-26 shows
us the church before Pentecost prayerfully asking Christ through the casting of
a lot to choose a successor to Judas. Whether they were right to do this, and
Paul was Christ’s thirteenth apostle, or whether Paul was Christ’s intended
replacement for Judas and the choice of Matthias was a mistake, is not clear in
Acts; Luke himself may not have known.”[7]
Of
course, Packer does not mention James, the half-brother of Jesus, even though
Paul wrote: “I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother.”[8] Yet, Paul and James each
rose to prominence in their respective spheres of leadership among the Twelve. Paul was named the “apostle to the Gentiles”
and announced himself as an apostle in most of his epistles (Rom 1:1; 11:13).
James, the brother of Jesus, became the leader of the church in Jerusalem and was
a principal author of the apostolic decree of Acts 15. Moreover, both leaders are
mentioned as eyewitnesses of the risen Lord:
[Jesus] appeared
to Cephas [Peter], then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five
hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have
fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the
apostles.[9] Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared
also to me [Paul]. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy
to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. (1 Cor.
15:7-9)
Let us consider
Barnabas also. While Luke usually limits his use of apostolos to the Twelve, he does refer to “the apostles Barnabas
and Paul” (Acts 14:14).[10] Barnabas co-labored with Paul and was commissioned with him by the
Holy Spirit to go to Seleucia and Cyprus (Acts 13:2-4). Paul asked: “Don’t we
have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other
apostles (οἱ λοιποὶ ἀπόστολοι) and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? Or is it
only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?”
(1 Cor. 9:5-6) Like Paul, Barnabas worked to fulfill the apostolic ministries of
proclaiming the gospel and establishing churches. Let us further consider
Apollos, Silas, and Timothy. Paul referred to himself and Apollos as apostles
(2 Cor. 4:6-9), and to himself, Silas and Timothy as apostles (1 Thess. 1:1; 2:6).[11]So what does it mean that Jesus is the source of all apostleship? It means that his apostleship as the first apostle sent by the Father for redemptive mission is prior to and the ground all apostleship.
Triune God
↓
Jesus, The First Apostle
↓
The Twelve Apostles of Jesus
Peter, James
and John, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas,
James of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon,
Judas Iscariot, and later Matthias
↓
Other Apostles
Paul, James the brother of Jesus, Barnabas, Apollos, Titus, Timothy
↓
What
does it mean that the church is apostolic?
It means that it is “built on the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,” (Gal. 2:20). It means
that the church is sent on mission to continue the missio Trinitatis, doing so through the witness to the gospel of
Jesus Christ in word and demonstrated in deed. It means the church is entrusted
to guard the deposit of faith—the apostles' teaching recorded in the New
Testament—in order to dispense it faithfully to others.
If the church is
not missional, is it apostolic? Continued.
[1]
Hebrews 3:1, κατανοήσατε τὸν ἀπόστολον καὶ ἀρχιερέα τῆς ὁμολογίας
ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν,
[2]
John 3:17; 34, 5:36; 6:29, 57; 7:29; 8:42; 10:36; 11:42; 17:3, et. al.
[3]
Frank Gaebelein, ed., The Expositors
Bible Commentary Vol. 12 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981): 31.
[4]
Cf. Mark 10:45.
[5]
Philip E. Hughes, A Commentary on the
Epistles to the Hebrews (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1977): 127.
[6]
For the Twelve, see: John 6:70 and Rev. 21:14. The New Testament describes other apostles—apostles of the churches as
well. Paul states : “And as for our
brothers, they are messengers (apostles, ἀπόστολοι) of the churches, the glory of Christ.” 2 Cor.
8:23 While some understand “apostles of
the churches” as another category of apostles, it more like means messengers or
envoys.
[7]
J. I. Packer, Concise
Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs (Carol Stream, Ill: Tyndale
House, 1993): 197.
[8]
Some doubt whether James, the Lord’s brother, was an apostle,
as the ei mē (except, only) of Gal.
1:19 is ambiguous. Colin Brown, New
Testament Theology Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publ., 1986): 130.
[9]
1 Cor. 15:7, ἔπειτα ὤφθη Ἰακώβῳ, εἶτα τοῖς ἀποστόλοις πᾶσιν.
[10]
See also Acts 13:50–14:4.
[11]
1 Thess. 2:6b δυναμενοι
εν βαρει ειναι ως χριστου αποστολοι
