Within Christianity, there are two types of apostles: an Apostle with a capitalized "A" and an apostle with a lowercase "a." Both are important yet distinct from each other.
Apostle with a capitalized "A" refers to an individual who has seen the risen Lord and was commissioned by Him to take the Gospel to various places. An apostle with a lowercase "a" refers to an individual the church commissioned to take the Gospel to various places. The key difference is that apostles have seen the risen Lord and are commissioned by Him, whereas apostles have not seen the risen Lord, and the church commissions them. From this definition, we can see that there can no longer be Apostles today. However, there can still be apostles as 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 in the sense of a lowercase "a," there are numerous individuals, such as 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 these 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 these men witnessed the risen Lord and was commissioned by Him. In addition, Matthias was chosen by lot and divinely selected by God (Acts 1:12-26), and Matthias is also considered an Apostle, though not much is said 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 became 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 changed. Throughout Paul's life, he was met with hardships, troubles, and beatings, yet he counted it all joy for the Lord. Paul wrote, "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. Moreover, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:7-8).
The greatest gift in the world is to know Jesus Christ. It is not found in personal gains or materialism—instead, it is the greatest 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 everything he had lost for Christ was worth it. Paul happily traded earthly things to draw closer to Jesus.
Understanding the Significance of Apostles
The Apostles were a distinct group of individuals. Throughout the New Testament, they performed miracles and wonders, healed the sick, and raised the dead. All these things are connected to how these men were Apostles of the Lord. They were given special gifts from the Lord to help the lost come to know Him. The Jews were always looking for a sign 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 go out and serve the Lord. Even though we do not usually call individuals apostles in the modern day, this is what many of us are. If your church has commissioned you to go out and share Jesus, you are an apostle with a little "a." God wants us all to be apostles. He has called us all to participate in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).
Today, we can learn how to yield to the Spirit's leading from the Apostles of the Bible. Though we may not be able to heal the sick or raise the dead divinely, we do know Jesus. Share this truth with others and watch the beauty of Jesus bloom.
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Catherine Leblanc
