Called to be An Apostle” (Romans 1:1)
Called to be An Apostle” (Romans 1:1)
What is an apostle? It is a special official title given by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. “And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples He gave them power against unclean spirits to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these . . .” (Matthew 10:1-2). Not all disciples are apostles. Christ chose only certain disciples to be apostles. In Luke 6:12-13 we read that there were a large number of disciples, but Christ chose twelve, and them only, and called them apostles. A good definition of an apostle is a person chosen and sent with an important mission as the completely authorized representative of the sender.
What are the characteristics belonging typically of an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ?
(i) Firstly, no man could be an apostle unless he had seen the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. There are two statements in the Bible which prove this beyond any doubt. The first is in Acts 1:21 where the apostles were talking together about appointing a person to take the place of Judas Iscariot, and we read: “Wherefore of these men which have accompanied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto the same day that He was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of His resurrection.” You cannot be an apostle without being a witness of seeing the resurrected Christ. The second is in 1 Corinthians 9:1 where the Apostle Paul says, “Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?” Paul says, ‘I am a witness of the resurrection, I have seen the risen Lord Jesus Christ, I am an apostle’.
(ii) Secondly, an apostle had to be ‘called’ specifically by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
(iii) Thirdly, an apostle has been given authority, power and a commission by Christ to work miracles. The Apostle Paul says, “Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds” (2 Cor. 12:12). Paul defends his apostleship by the signs and miracles which he performed.
(iv) Fourthly, the apostles had power to give spiritual gifts and the Holy Spirit to others by the laying on of hands. This was another sign of an apostle’s power and commission.
(v) Fifthly, an apostle was given authority by the Lord Jesus Christ to teach the gospel, lay down true Christian doctrine, and establish people in the truth. Also, the apostles were given authority to set the order of the churches and ordain elders. The apostles spoke with the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself with regards to teaching and doctrine.
What are the results of these men being apostles? Firstly, they spoke as Christ’s representative, and people were to listen and obey them as such. For example, Paul says to the Thessalonians, “when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God” (1 Thess. 2:13). The apostles had this exceptional authority which only the Lord Jesus Christ can give in teaching and preaching. Secondly, the apostle said it about each other. The Apostle Peter said about the Apostle Paul, “as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures” (2 Peter 3:15-16). The Apostle Peter means that the writings of the Apostle Paul are Scriptures with the equal authority of the Old Testament Scriptures. Thirdly, the spoken and written words as recorded in the Book of Acts and the various epistles have a divine authority. They were inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit so that the New Testament epistles are divinely inspired and are of equal authority with the Old Testament Scriptures.
Why does the Apostle Paul say that he is a “called” apostle? He says it to make sure that the Roman Christians are clear and certain that he is truly an apostle. In Galatians 1:1, Paul states it even more emphatically, saying, “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ”. The risen Lord Jesus Christ sovereignly chose Paul to be an apostle of His, not one of the twelve, but one who had been His chief enemy. Listen how the Apostle Paul describes the way the risen Lord revealed Himself: “last of all He was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time” (1 Cor. 15:8).The Apostle Paul literally saw the risen Lord Himself and was commissioned by Christ to be His apostle to the Gentiles. The risen Lord in speaking to Paul says, “But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me” (Acts 26:16-18). That is the Apostle Paul’s commission with all of the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
But there is something else that we need to observe carefully, and this was another mark of his being an apostle – he was revealed or taught the truth directly by the Lord Himself. Paul declared this, saying, “But I made known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:11-12). Paul was not taught the gospel by the other apostles. In Galatians chapter one, Paul proceeds to emphasize this truth, he says, “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter” (Galatians 1:15-18). He didn’t go to learn from Peter, but he went as Peter’s equal, as an apostle. Paul’s claim is that the gospel truth that he preached had been revealed to him directly by the Lord Himself. The same Lord Jesus Christ who had taught the twelve directly in the time He was on earth in the flesh, revealed the gospel message to the Apostle Paul from glory.
This is a very important truth that is part of Paul’s statement that he is a “called” apostle, and he states it in two other places. In the passage in connection with the communion of the Lord’s Supper, Paul says, “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you . . .” (1 Cor. 11:23). Again, Paul makes the same claim that he did not learn it from men, but received it directly by revelation from the risen Lord. And in first Corinthians chapter fifteen, he emphasizes the same point again. “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures . . . Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed” (1 Cor. 15:3, 11). The Apostle Paul asserts his absolute equality with the other apostles, that he is a “called” apostle by the risen Lord. He is a certified chosen apostle as much as the Apostle Peter and the other apostles.
The risen Lord Jesus commissioned Paul very especially to go and preach to the Gentiles, so that he says, “I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry” (Romans 11:13). The Apostle Paul is concerned that the Christians at Rome are convinced that he is really a full apostle. Why? There were many in the early days of the first century church who claimed that they were apostles, but who weren’t – they were false apostles, liars and deceivers. We read: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:13-14). The Apostle Paul wants the members of the church at Rome to know that he is writing as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ with the full authority of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He is Christ’s ambassador; he is Christ’s representative. What he writes he writes with the unique authority of Christ Himself.
We are living in an age where many people claim many amazing things so it is very important that we understand clearly what an apostle is. There are several deductions that we can draw from the Bible about this term ‘apostle’. First, there is no such thing as apostolic succession. A correct understanding of the Biblical term ‘apostle’ shows that this is completely impossible as an apostle had to be a witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, the Christian church is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets”. The foundation must be completely constructed first and has been says the Bible. And since the Canon of the New Testament is complete, there is no need for apostle. The New Testament Scriptures contain all of the authoritative teaching of the true apostles commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ, and there can be no further addition. The New Testament Canon is closed.
- Excerpt from “Romans” by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jone