What Is an Apostle?

Within Christianity, there are two varieties of apostles: an Apostle with a capitalized “A” and an apostle with a lowercase “a.” Both are necessary yet distinct from one another.

Apostle with a capitalized “A” refers to a person who has seen the risen Lord and was commissioned by Him to take the Gospel to varied places. An apostle with a lowercase “a” refers to a person the church commissioned to take the Gospel to varied places. The key difference is that apostles have seen the risen Lord and are commissioned by Him, whereas apostles haven’t seen the risen Lord, and the church commissions them. From this definition, we are able to see that there can now not be Apostles today. However, there can still be apostles because the church commissions believers to serve God and share the Gospel. The Apostles of the Bible are the eleven disciples of the Lord, plus Paul and Matthias. As far as apostles go within the sense of a lowercase “a,” there are many individuals, resembling Barnabas or Timothy. 

The Apostles of the Lord

The thirteen Apostles of the Lord include Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James, son of Alphaeus, Jude, Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot, Matthias, and Paul. The first eleven walked with Jesus during His earthly ministry and were His disciples. After the Lord’s death, burial, and resurrection, the Lord appeared to those eleven men various times (Luke 24:36-49). They all believed in seeing the resurrected Lord, including doubtful Thomas (John 20:24-29). Each of those men witnessed the risen Lord and was commissioned by Him. In addition, Matthias was chosen by lot and divinely chosen by God (Acts 1:12-26), and Matthias can also be considered an Apostle, though not much is claimed of him in Scripture.

The Apostle Paul was divinely chosen by Jesus and learned what it meant to suffer for the Name of Christ (Acts 9:16). The Lord met Paul on the road to Damascus, where he saw the resurrected Lord and have become a follower of Jesus (Acts 9:1-9). Before his conversion, Paul was a Pharisee and a mass persecutor of Christians. He saw it as his religious duty as a Jew to annihilate all individuals who followed the Way. After he met the Lord on the road to Damascus, he became a follower of Jesus, and his entire life modified. Throughout Paul’s life, he was met with hardships, troubles, and beatings, yet he counted all of it joy for the Lord. Paul wrote, “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. Moreover, I consider the whole lot a loss due to surpassing price of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whose sake I actually have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I’ll gain Christ” (Philippians 3:7-8). 

The best gift on the earth is to know Jesus Christ. It will not be present in personal gains or materialism—as an alternative, it’s the best blessing to know Jesus. Paul said he had lost all things for the sake of Christ, and he wasn’t bitter about it. Instead, he wrote that the whole lot he had lost for Christ was price it. Paul happily traded earthly things to attract closer to Jesus. 

Understanding the Significance of Apostles

The Apostles were a definite group of people. Throughout the New Testament, they performed miracles and wonders, healed the sick, and raised the dead. All these items are connected to how these men were Apostles of the Lord. They got special gifts from the Lord to assist the lost come to know Him. The Jews were at all times in search of an indication or a miracle, and the signs and wonders the Apostles could perform attested to the true Messiah, Jesus. 

Modern Day Apostles

Modern-day apostles are individuals commissioned by their church to exit and serve the Lord. Even though we don’t often call individuals apostles in the fashionable day, that is what lots of us are. If your church has commissioned you to exit and share Jesus, you might be an apostle with slightly “a.” God wants us all to be apostles. He has called us all to take part in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). 

Today, we are able to learn methods to yield to the Spirit’s leading from the Apostles of the Bible. Though we may not find a way to heal the sick or raise the dead divinely, we do know Jesus. Share this truth with others and watch the great thing about Jesus bloom. 

Photo Credit: Getty Images/Catherine Leblanc

Vivian Bricker loves Jesus, studying the Word of God, and helping others of their walk with Christ. She has earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master’s degree in Christian Ministry with a deep academic emphasis in theology. Her favorite things to do are spending time along with her family and friends, reading, and spending time outside. When she will not be writing, she is embarking on other adventures.