Featured Apostolic Uniqueness

James and Paul had Jesus visit and commission them post resurrection, correct?

 

The Office of the Greater NT Apostle ended and ceased when John passed, but the other Apostles could be seen as modern missionaries!

 

(1) Which James? There were two in The Twelve, and then there was James, literally the brother of Jesus, who wrote the epistle of James. He appeared to His brother James (1 Corinthians 15:7), although I am unaware of James the brother of Jesus being recognized as an apostle in the New Testament, since he led the Jerusalem church (he was not "sent"). I also am unaware of any reference to James, the brother of Jesus, being "commissioned" by Jesus or anyone else.

After Matthias, we have no other record of anyone else being added to "The Twelve" (what you are calling "greater" apostles instead of the biblical name), but The Twelve and modern missionaries are all apostles.

 

James? When?

 

There is quite a bit of confusion among NT scholars and the man in the pew as to what makes someone an apostle. Seeing Jesus? No, because thousands saw Him and hundreds followed Him without becoming apostles. Being sent out by Him? Yes, that is historically when it happened. Please note:

The twelve disciples became apostles and were first called apostles in the Bible well before Pentecost. This occurred upon their being sent on an evangelistic journey, showing that the most important thing about being an apostle is being sent with a message and a task (Matthew 10:1-2, Mark 6:30, Luke 6:13, Luke 9:10).

 

Regarding being sent out by Jesus, do you think the 72 sent out by Jesus (Luke 10:1-23) were also apostles, even though Luke doesn't note it in his gospel?

 

They are not specifically called "apostles" either in the NT, or as far as I know in church history, but to me they fit the definition.

 

Only the 12 and Paul received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and worked miracles. Also the few they laid hands on. The gentiles had the baptism some 7 years later in their outpouring in Peter's presence.

But only one of the 12 or Paul is said to pass the baptism and gifts through their hands. The gifts began dwindling in the epistles where Paul could no longer heal sick comrades. This shows the uniqueness of the apostles chosen by Christ. All believers since Pentecost have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and can seek healing through the prayer of faith.

 

Everyone focuses on the apostles themselves. What about what God did through them? We should be thrilled at 3,000 saved at Pentecost, not the miracles, which are secondary.

I just talked to our missions pastor, who is all excited. He has been in West Africa observing a church planting movement that has seen 3,000 churches planted. The leader of the movement is asking God to use him to influence 1.5 billion people for Christ. Now tell me how is that different from the book of Acts? Never mind the miracles! People are getting saved by the millions!

I myself have been to Africa to teach African Bible translators. There I observed a church planting movement with about 30 churches! That's the exciting thing, not the miracles. And I flew in a small plane at 9,000 feet looking down on hundreds of villages. I asked the missionary pilot if he had a 1,000 new missionaries what would he do. He said he could place them in unreached villages immediately. That's what the book of Acts is about, folks.

Note the following scholarly account of the church planting movement in the Roman province of Galatia as related in the book of Acts:

"The evangelization of the province began in Acts 13:14. The stages were: (1) the audience in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch, 13:14-43; (2) almost the whole city, 13:44; (3) the whole region, i.e., a large district that was affected from the capital (as the whole of Asia was affected from Ephesus, Acts 19:10); (4) Iconium, another city of this region – in 13:51 no boundary is mentioned; (5) a new region Lycaonia with two cities and a surrounding district, 14:6; (6) return journey to organize the churches (14:21-23…); (7) progress across the region Pisidia, where no churches were founded (14:24…)."
W. M. Ramsay and C. J. Hemer, "Galatia,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, rev., vol. 2, ed. by Geoffrey Bromiley (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982), 378.

 

No one has brought this up yet, and our esteemed OP author is not posting, so I thought I'd fire a preemptory shot across the bows concerning apostleship and what I just posted. Some refer to miracles as the sign of apostleship, but this is mistaken. Miracles are only a means to produce the sign of apostleship, which is souls saved. Note what Paul said in 1 Cor. 9:1-2:

"1 Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord? 2 If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord."

Paul clearly says that the Corinthians themselves, souls he saw saved as a result of his ministry, are the "seal" of his apostleship.

Someone will then take me to 2 Cor. 12:12, "Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds." But the word "in" there is the Greek en (ἐν), which takes the dative case. Even in a prepositional phrase the dative case often is the dative of means. In other words, Paul is saying that the signs of apostleship were produced "by means" of "patience, signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds." Many people were saved in Corinth because of the miracles they saw and the Gospel Paul preached. The miracles were secondary, not primary. So if you are focusing on the miracles of apostles in the Bible you are missing the whole point of apostleship--people getting saved.

 

Paul recorded down to us inspired books, none could do that after Him, as he was the last called as a greater Apostle!

 

he wrote inspired revelation, correct?

 

None have since John passed been given revelations from God directly, nor penned down inspired works, correct?

 

There is still a unique position and role the greater Apostles functioned for Jesus, not repeatable today!

 

Apostles could do signs and wonders, gifted to do such by Lord Jesus, and could pen down inspired revelations from God to us!

 

Right. So?

 

This totally misses my point.

 

I agree missionaries seem to fir the definition of the lessor Apostles of the NT, but think the greater position was now closed off...

 

You referenced "James" and I asked which one of the three prominent James' in the New Testament (two apostles and one the brother of Jesus), and you respond by making unbiblical assertions about Paul.

The Bible DOES NOT use the term "greater apostle." It uses "The Twelve" to identify the twelve selected by Jesus and Matthias, the replacement for Judas Iscariot. Paul IS NOT one of The Twelve, nor is he called a "greater apostle."

Moreover, as has been noted MANY, MANY times, some apostles wrote scripture and others did not. Some non-apostles wrote scripture (John Mark, Luke, and possibly the author of Hebrews), so that is not a mark of an apostle.

I realize you just like posting at high volume and not interacting, helping, or learning, so I'm sure I am wasting my time with you. However, others might read your nonsense and be misled, so I feel compelled to correct your false teaching. You will be held accountable for your words and attitude in the judgment (James 3:1).

 

Paul was THE Apostle to the Gentiles, and his books are among the greatest in entire canon, see Romans!