KJV

KJV

Click to Change

Return to Top

Return to Top

Printer Icon

Print

The Blue Letter Bible

Don Stewart :: Do People Today Have the Gift of Apostle?

Choose a new font size and typeface
Don Stewart

[A new version of this page can be found here]

Is the gift of apostle still with the church today? There has been much discussion concerning the twelve original apostles and whether or not they were the only ones with this gift. In a particular sense, the office of apostle referred to the twelve disciples of Jesus:

And when it was day, He called His disciples to Him; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles (Luke 6:13).

One of the Twelve, Judas, was replaced after his suicide. However, the Twelve, as they are known, did not have successors.

But the New Testament uses the term apostle for others beside the original twelve. Paul was not one of the original twelve but he is called an apostle: "Am I not an apostle?" (1 Corinthians 9:1).

Barnabas also served as an apostle:

But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul heard this (Acts 14:14).

The New Testament mentions additional apostles who were not among the Twelve:

Andronicus, Junias (Romans 16:7), James the brother of Jesus (Galatians 1:19), Silvanus and Timothy (1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2:6).

Furthermore, the warning Paul gave concerning false apostles (2 Corinthians 11:13) would have no meaning if the apostles were limited to the Twelve. Thus the word apostle has both a limited and wide sense.

Though some believe the gift of being an apostle is no longer active among Christians, biblical evidence indicates that the gift continues:

And He Himself gave some to be apostles (Ephesians 4:11).

BLB Searches
Search the Bible
KJV
 [?]

Advanced Options

Other Searches

Multi-Verse Retrieval
x
KJV

Daily Devotionals
x

Blue Letter Bible offers several daily devotional readings in order to help you refocus on Christ and the Gospel of His peace and righteousness.

Daily Bible Reading Plans
x

Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year.

One-Year Plans

Two-Year Plan

CONTENT DISCLAIMER:

The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of Scripture. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry.