STAND & COMFORT Newsletter
Email NEWSLETTER #20 (Vol 2 No 5)
By Ed Tarkowski

February 27, 2002

THE TWELVE AND "OTHER" APOSTLES

I spent some time in the past few weeks on a message board reading messages regarding the authority Christ established in the Church. Some of the discussions centered around the following verse and what is called the "five-fold" ministry:

Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

We often hear of the five-fold ministry to the body of Christ, but I realized this week that there are only four ministries mentioned here. Paul said the Lord gave:

SOME = apostles
SOME = prophets
SOME = evangelists
SOME = pastors and teachers

I believe that the pastor and teacher in this verse refer to one person, not two. Tim Warner pointed this out and stated that the grammatical principle known as the Granville Sharp rule indicates that, in this verse, the "pastor and teacher" are the same person in each church. I checked this out on the web and found this explained in many places. I also found there is controversy on some verses regarding this rule, but I believe the following to be right. Warner explained Granville Sharp as follows:

"The Granville Sharp rule (in English) is basically this:

"Whenever nouns of the same case appear in a list separated by 'kai' (and), if the definite article precedes the first noun and also the second noun, the second noun is referring to a different thing or person than the preceding noun. Whenever the first noun has the definite article but not the second, they are two descriptive terms for the same thing or person. The second noun refers to the same thing or person as the first.

"For example, If the text read 'THE God and THE Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,' it would indicate that 'God' and 'Father' are two different beings. But, if the Greek text reads 'THE God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,' then 'God' and 'Father' are two terms for the same being.

"Titus 2:13 is a good example where Granville Sharp applies twice. It applies to 'THE blessed hope and glorious appearing' as being the same thing, and also 'THE great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ.' 'God' and 'Savior' refer to the same being, meaning that our Savior Jesus Christ is 'God.'

"In the Greek text of Ephesians 4, the list of the four-fold ministry reads like this:

"'He gave THE apostles, THE and prophets, THE and evangelists, THE and pastors and teachers.' Although 'the' may not be an exact representation of the Greek definite article here (because it is masculine in Greek in this case), it serves to illustrate the grammar. Notice the definite article (the) before each of the nouns in the list EXCEPT 'teachers.' Because there is no definite article before 'teachers,' this word is to be associated with the previous noun (pastors). Therefore, there is no 5-fold ministry, but a 4 fold ministry. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers.

"The NIV renders it correctly.

"'Eph 4:11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, (NIV).'"

I also read some posts quoting the Early Church Fathers (ECF) on the presence of apostles and prophets among them. After searching their writings myself, there appears to be an absolute void concerning the presence of apostles and prophets after the death of John the Revelator. Clement of Alexandria wrote about the ending of the period of revealing the faith once delivered:

"For the teaching of our Lord at His advent, beginning with Augustus and Tiberius, was completed in the middle of the times of Tiberius.

"And that of the apostles, embracing the ministry of Paul, ends with Nero. It was later, in the times of Adrian the king, that those who invented the heresies arose; and they extended to the age of Antoninus the eider, as, for instance, Basilides, though he claims (as they boast) for his master, Glaucias, the interpreter of Peter.

"Such being the case, it is evident, from the high antiquity and perfect truth of the Church, that these later heresies, and those yet subsequent to them in time, were new inventions falsified [from the truth]" (Clement of Alexandria (160 AD), Book IV, Chapter XVII.-The Tradition of the Church Prior to that of the Heresies).

My search and inquiries turned up no apostles or prophets during the times of the Early Church Fathers, but I found many references to false apostles and false prophets who attempted to corrupt the word of God delivered by the original Twelve Apostles. Significantly, I learned that these false ones and their lies were refuted, not by apostles living at the time of the ECF, but by the Fathers referring to the teachings of Jesus, the original Twelve apostles, Paul, and the prophets of the Old Testament. In other words, none of the ECF "boasted" as Paul did about being a true apostle. Even in the midst of terrible persecutions, there were no true apostles and prophets exhorting and encouraging believers in the faith. Here, too, the Christian turned to Scriptures delivered by the original Twelve for support and defence of the faith. So the fact that there have been false prophets and false apostles since the Church was established does not necessitate true prophets and true apostles being raised up to refute them. The defense of the faith is adequately provided for by the word of God established by the apostles and prophets immediately after Pentecost:

Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

As for the Catholic doctrine of Apostolic Succession, there is no indication in the writings of the Church Fathers that a new apostle filled an office when it was vacated, such as by martyrdom. It is believed that eleven of the original Twelve were martyred (John the Revelator probably died a natural death), yet there is absolutely no mention anywhere of their position as apostle being refilled by the appointment of another. If there was such a thing as Apostolic Succession, the ECF would certainly have mentioned these positions and who filled them, as this was the primary ministry established by Christ to raise up the NT Church. Dr. Orrel Steinkamp, in a paper titled "The New Apostolic Reformation," wrote:

"NT apostles were required to be eyewitnesses of the resurrected Jesus. This is indicated in Acts 1:22 when Peter insisted that the replacement of Judas 'must become a witness with us of His resurrection.'

"Paul (1 Cor. 9:1) defended his apostleship by saying, 'Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen the Lord?'

"In recounting those to whom Jesus appeared, Paul says: 'After He was seen by James and then by all the apostles, then "last of all" he was seen by me also as one "born out of due time"' (I Corinthians 15:8). Paul was 'untimely born' in the sense that Jesus had appeared to the other apostles before his ascension. Paul, converted by a miraculous post-ascension appearance of the resurrected Jesus, also saw the risen Lord, albeit later in time than the other apostles. The phrase 'last of all' seals the case that Paul was the last apostle. 'Last of all' grammatically can only be an adverb describing something that is last in a series. This is even more certain when there is a group of adverbs (then...then...and last of all). In Paul's mind he was the last of all the apostles. Surely he would be surprised to hear that he wasn't really 'last of all.'"

By definition, an apostle is:

"Apostolos" is defined by Strong's as "a delegate; spec. an ambassador of the Gospel; officially a commissioner of Christ ["apostle"] (with miraculous powers):--apostle, messenger, he that is sent.

"Apostolos" is used 81 times in the New Testament, with the KJV translation primarily using the word "apostle." A quick count show 65 of these references refer to the Twelve or Paul, 2 to specific "other" apostles, 2 to "messengers" (apostolos), and 12 not informative enough to add anything to the above totals.

Scripture does mention or imply that there were other apostles besides the Twelve and Paul. Among this group, Barnabas (Acts 14:14) and James (the Lord's brother; Galatians 1:19) are specifically called apostles.

According to Holman's Bible Dictionary,

"The name Barnabas appears 23 times in Acts and 5 times in Paul's letters and probably means 'son of prophecy' or one who prophesies or preaches ('son of exhortation,' Acts 4:36)."

In Acts 13, he is called a teacher and/or prophet:

Acts 13:1 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, . . .

In the next chapter, Barnabas is recognized as an apostle:

Acts 14:13 Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.
14 Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out. . .

Barnabas was sent to Antioch and helped settle disputes at Jerusalem and Antioch, and he also accompanied Paul on many of his missionary journeys.

James, the Lord's brother, was not an original apostle, but was in the upper room at Pentecost (Acts 1:14). At a later time, he assumed leadership of the Jerusalem church.

In Romans 16:7, Paul says that Adronicus and Junia are "my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles." The Greek word translated as "of note" is episemos, defined by Strong as "remarkable, i.e. (fig.) eminent," so it could be implied that they were also apostles. But, then again, why didn't Paul just refer to them as those "who were distinguished apostles" (Barnes). It must concluded that whether they were apostles or not is unclear.

There are other people mentioned in Scripture that some speculate were "other" apostles, but the Scriptures are unclear regarding these. For instance, Apollos was a powerful expounder of the Old Testament and learned the full understanding of the gospel from Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:26). This most likely happened after hearing Paul preach at Ephesus. Some use 1 Corinthians 4:6,9 to say Apollos was an apostle, but Paul said he and Apollos were "labourers together" (1 Corinthians 3:9), with Paul planting the seed and Apollos watering it. Paul called him "our brother" in 1 Corinthians 16:12 and wanted to send Apollos to them, but it was inconvenient at the time. It is not clearly stated in the Scriptures that Apollos was an apostle, though Paul wanting to send him to the Corinthians could qualify him as one sent (apostolos?) by Paul.

Epaphroditus (Phil 2:25) is called a companion in Paul's labour, fellowsoldier, a messenger (apostolos) to the Philippian church and a minister to Paul's wants regarding service. He is not specifically called an apostle, but a messenger:

Phil 2:25 Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, BUT YOUR MESSENGER (apostolos), and he that ministered to my wants.

Timothy, Titus, and Silas are shown to be mainly Paul's companions and co-workers on his journeys, serving as messengers at times.

Titus was spoken of by Paul as his "partner and fellowhelper concerning" the church of Corinth, and he and those sent with him were called "messengers (apostolos) of the churches":

2 Cor 8:23 Whether any do inquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellowhelper concerning you: or our brethren be inquired of, THEY ARE THE MESSENGERS OF THE CHURCHES (apostolos), and the glory of Christ.

Silvanus (aka Silas) was a leader in the Jerusalem church and accompanied Peter and Paul on various journeys. He also served as Peter's scribe and wrote other letters (1 Peter 5:12) (Holman Bible Dictionary). He is listed as a prophet in Acts 15:32, not an apostle.

Both Silas and Timothy are mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2:6-7, possibly in the context of being apostles, but it is not really clear that they were apostles in the technical sense. In Acts 15:32, Silas is named as a prophet. Timothy was appointed as an evangelist in 2 Timothy 4:5 by the laying on of hands, but it is unclear whether he was an "other" apostle. He and Silas accompanied Paul on some of his journeys.

Philip (not the Philip of the original Twelve) is often labeled as an apostle, but this, too is unclear. In Acts 6:5, he is listed as one of the seven deacons that waited on tables while the apostles attended the word of God. This is also referred to in Acts 21:8 where Philip is called an evangelist.

If any of these men really were apostles, they were definitely not of the original Twelve. Yet they worked and travelled with them, did the work of various ministries and supported the original Twelve who were chosen by Christ. The "others" were apparently chosen by Christ through the working of the Holy Spirit in the Apostles. On various occasions, they were sent by the Twelve on missions, served as messengers, or accompanied the apostles on their journeys. What is important about them was that they were apparently confirmed by the Twelve and were directly related to the Twelve for the building up of the churches.

As we see in the above scriptures, these "other" apostles and messengers seem to have served, at least in part, as the messengers of the churches, keeping the message of the gospel intact. I learned some interesting things regarding these messengers (apostolos) from Tim Warner's research. He found that these messengers most likely carried correspondence from the Twelve to the churches, as, for example, Timothy and Titus carrying messages from Paul. "Sometimes churches supplied trusted messengers to deliver epistles (Rom. 16:1,2, Phil. 2:25). Having trusted messengers was a necessity, because false epistles were circulating pretending to be from one of the Apostles" (Warner):

2 Th 2:2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, NOR BY LETTER AS FROM US, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

Warner went on to write,

"The early Church had a system of communication in both writing and orally that guaranteed authenticity. In Paul's case, it consisted of a special signature post-script, 'the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you' (or similar phrase), which he wrote with his own hand (even though the rest of the epistle was usually written by a companion). In the very epistle where he warned them of bogus epistles, Paul wrote the following:

"2 Th 3:17 The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

"All of Paul's Epistles contain this post-script. It was his trademark.

"Secondly, the epistle was sent by someone known and trusted by the recipient church, who could validate the authenticity of the Epistle.

"In the case of John's Revelation, each of the seven churches over which John assumed an Apostolic oversight after Paul's death, would have provided a messenger to John at Patmos. This was his only means of communication with the churches. The 'angels' of the churches in Rev. 2,3 are simply the trusted messengers who carried the correspondence between John and the churches. They were most likely members of the churches.

"The Greek word "angelos" is used of human messengers in the following passages: Matt. 11:10, Mark 1:2, Luke 7:24,27, James 2:25. It is also used several times of human messengers in the LXX."

We know that these "other" apostles were vitally connected to the Twelve and Paul in building up the Church for the work of the ministry. The important point concerning them is this, that all that they preached and taught and exhorted and encouraged and strengthened and warned is now contained in the faith once for all delivered to the saints. All that they established is written in the word of God and it is the responsibility of every Christian to read it, know it, stand on it, defend it, share it, and seek the Lord to understand it.

In the last few years, some have used the list of ministries in Ephesians 4:11 to justify a restoration of apostles because, they say, the number and diversity of denominations is antagonistic towards the unity of the faith called for in Ephesians 4:11-13. But no one today can see the risen Lord Jesus, an apparent vital requirement for being an apostle (Acts 1:22). Also, since there are no primary apostles today, there would be no one to confirm "other apostles," which seems to have been another requirement.

Let's examine the idea of a modern restoration of apostles and prophets. Scripture tells us that apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors/teachers were given:

Eph 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:

In today's Church as well as in Paul's time, the saints still must be perfected (matured), the work of the ministry must continue, and the body of Christ must be edified. But unlike today, the churches that met at Ephesus and at Corinth and at Thessalonica, etc. had not yet grown into the "unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God." Why? Because the revelation of Christ and God's hidden mystery weren't fully understood and fully explained. Jesus had fulfilled Old Testament prophecies and he'd fulfilled the Law, and all of these things, and their ramifications, were in the process of being revealed and understood as a whole. The evangelists and apostles were still writing their gospels and epistles, and these were slowly being circulated among the churches by messengers (apostolos). But Paul saw that faith and knowledge of the Son of God would eventually pull the Church together into the true unity of a perfect man who could then defend the faith against deceivers:

Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

In the time of the Apostles, the Church was already being attacked by gnostics and the Judaisers. These crafty men were bringing in what Paul called the winds of doctrine, and the solution was the understanding of and standing firm in the faith. The work of the apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors/teachers of verse 11 was to build up the body of Christ:

Eph 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

That the Church did reach a point of maturity through the work of the apostles, the prophets and their fellow laborers is evident from passages such as Ephesians 6:10-20 and 1 John 2:12-14:

1 John 2:12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

In chapter 2 of Ephesians, Paul used another image to describe the initial raising up of the body of Christ - that of a temple built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ as the Cornerstone:

Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

God himself laid the initial Cornerstone, as Paul wrote,

1 Cor 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

And Paul explains that by revealing to the apostles and prophets the mystery kept secret during Old Testament times, God was setting in place the other foundation stones of the Church:

Eph 3:4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

It is upon this mystery that all believers become building stones in God's one living temple. The teaching and revelation of the apostles and prophets concerning the salvation of Jew and Gentile as one body in Christ was the building plan on which the Church would be built. Thus we read in Revelation:

Rev 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Here each of the Apostles is described as a foundation, but they corporately made up the entire foundation with Christ as the Cornerstone. At the time when Paul was writing his letter to the Ephesians, the first course of stones was still being laid on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. It was vital that this course be laid perfectly and straight, because the rest of the temple, the ever-growing body of Christ, would depend on it for the knowledge of the Son of God and the unity of the faith. That's why God gave the apostles and prophets to the early Church, so that those whom He himself had chosen and taught would be the first builders. Guided by the Holy Spirit, working together and separately, writing down their revelations and sharing them with the others, these men were used to give the one faith to the church.

One can only lay a foundation of a building once, and then one builds on that foundation. A building would have to be disassembled to lay again a foundation, and that is exactly what is being attempted today. Some say that today's Church needs to be redefined, and this redefinition has supported the tearing down of walls and the laying of a "new" foundation by a supposed "restoration" of apostles and prophets. But the words of the true apostles and prophets are written down in the New Testament. They show that the foundation HAS been laid and the Church HAS continually been built upon since then:

1 Cor 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have LAID THE FOUNDATION, and ANOTHER BUILDETH THEREON. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

Eph 2:20 And ARE BUILT UPON the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom ALL THE BUILDING fitly framed together GROWETH [on the foundation-Ed] unto an holy temple in the Lord:

The Church in 2002 is a continuation of the building up of the body of Christ, but we are not to lay again the already-laid foundation found in Ephesians. Instead, we're to keep the unity of the faith already established in Christ, just as the early Church did as they came to a full knowledge of the faith delivered once and for all by Christ and his true apostles and prophets.

This holy temple is still being added to, as God continues to draw people into the body of Christ. But Peter's words in his first epistle confirm that the foundation has already been laid:

1 Pet 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Eph 2:21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

I believe the following five truths testify against the idea of a restoration of apostles and prophets:

1) An apostle was an at-the-moment-it-happened witness of Christ's resurrection (Acts 1:22);

2) The "other" apostles and prophets worked directly with the Twelve and Paul in laying the foundation and building up the Church;

3) By the time all of the apostles and prophets were martyred, the work of the Twelve and Paul had reached a point where the Church could stand on its own by the word of God;

4) The faith was delivered once for all to the Church and is still with us.

5) It is an unequivocal fact that in the 38 volumes written by the Early Church Fathers, there is no mention of the existence of apostles and prophets after Paul, the Twelve and the "other" apostles, who fulfilled their ministries of laying such a sure foundation.

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