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The apostles were to be forever the teachers of the world. It was necessary, therefore, that
what they taught was infallible. That did not mean they were infallible in their personal
conduct, as was seen in Peter's actions at Antioch (Galatians 2:11 ff), but that what
they taught was the infallible word of God. Jesus promised that they would be infallibly guided
when they were brought before magistrates. "But when they deliver you up, take no thought
how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you" (Matthew
10:19-20). And on the night He was betrayed, Christ promised that He would send the
Comforter — the Holy Spirit — to guide them into all truth and to recall to their minds all
He had taught them (John 14:26; 16:13).
Christ also metaphorically referred to their apostolic authority as His spokesmen when He said, "Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matthew 19:28). That period which Christ called "the regeneration" referred to the gospel dispensation in which He would sit upon David's throne and the "judging the twelve tribes of Israel" by the apostles would be concurrent with His reign. Their words would be the standard by which the people of God — called metaphorically, "the twelve tribes of Israel" — would be judged and regulated until Christ delivers the kingdom to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:24). Hence their authority in the church would extend throughout the gospel dispensation by the word which they delivered in the first century. That word which is the very Word of God, is unchanged and unchangeable and through it the apostles of Christ wield authority as judges of "the twelve tribes of Israel" — the church — today. They who wield this authority from Christ are a special class of men, as the word apostle indicates. Like many New Testament words, there is no special religious significance inherent in it. It is a combination of two Greek words — apo which means "away (from something near)" and stello, meaning "remove one's self, withdraw one's self, to depart" (Strong, 14; Thayer, 587). Rendered into English, the word apostle means "one sent," i.e. one sent on a particular mission with authority and credentials to perform that for which he is sent. Therefore, one who was an apostle of Christ was one sent by Christ for a particular purpose and endowed with authority to accomplish that purpose. That concept is described by another word — ambassador — exclusively applied to Christ's apostles by Paul himself. "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:20). An ambassador is one endowed by a sovereign power to speak in that power's behalf with the ambassador's words carrying the same weight as if the sovereign head of state himself were speaking. In his second epistle to the Corinthians, Paul also referred to himself and the other apostles as "earthen vessels" (2 Corinthians 4:7). In that letter, Paul also defended his apostleship, saying they had been given the "earnest of the Spirit in our hearts" (2 Corinthians 1:22). This "earnest of the Spirit" is an apostolic term that refers to no one today, and is connected with Paul's statement that "we have this treasure in earthen vessels" (2 Corinthians 4:7). At one time, the gospel was in the inspired man and that's Paul's meaning in using the term "earthen vessels" to describe the apostles. But now we have God's word in the inspired Book. Consequently, there are no "earthen vessels" alive today. Those were the apostles who had the "earnest of the Spirit." That Paul referred to apostolic inspiration in the use of these terms can be seen from his use of pronouns in the Second Corinthian letter when he said, "Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God: who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts" (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). That the words "anointed," "sealed," and "earnest" apply to Paul and the other apostles is seen in the contrasting pronouns, "us," "our," and "you" in this passage. The apostles were anointed in Holy Spirit baptism to guide them into all truth (John 16:12-13). The "earnest of the Spirit" was the truth in the inspired man, and the "seal" of the Spirit were the miraculous manifestations of the Spirit in them to confirm their preaching. When Paul said, "we have this treasure in earthen vessels," he didn't refer to the preaching of men today, but to the truth that was in the apostles through Holy Spirit baptism. He uses the pronouns "us" in Second Corinthians 5:5, "we" in Second Corinthians 5:11, "us" in Second Corinthians 5:18, and "we" in Second Corinthians 5:20, in reference to the apostles as "ambassadors" for Christ. In all of these passages, Paul refers to inspiration in himself. He is not describing men today. There are no living "ambassadors for Christ" nor "earthen vessels" today. Those terms applied exclusively to the apostles in the age of inspiration. Thus, the apostles of Christ were special ambassadors sent by Christ to carry His message to the world. In so doing, He endued them with authority to speak in His name by sending the Holy Spirit upon them (Acts 2:1-4) and giving them miraculous powers as credentials of their calling. The apostles were, therefore, special representatives of Christ, personally called and commissioned by Him, and through whom the word of God was revealed and preached in the world. Paul had the same authority and credentials possessed by the other apostles (2 Corinthians 12:12) and was not inferior to them in any way (2 Corinthians 11:5). Like the other apostles, he was an "ambassador," a "witness" of Christ, an "earthen vessel" containing the truth of God, and he could impart the seal and "earnest of the Spirit." Paul was an apostle in every sense described by these terms. There has not been a living man to whom those terms applied since the apostles walked the earth and, despite Catholic and Mormon claims, the apostles of Jesus Christ had no successors. The apostolic office which Paul and the others occupied was — and remains — unique. |