Differentiation of Apostleship

Romans 1:1b

In the last article we saw how Paul was a willing bondservant, choosing to surrender himself to Jesus and be His. Now we will move forward in verse one and see what else we can dig up. The wonderful thing about the Holy Scriptures is that there are deep, life changing truths all throughout it. I believe we will see even more truths today.

Let’s review verse one again. It says, “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God.” We already looked at the first half of this verse, so let’s focus on the second part now.

Paul states that he is “called to be an apostle,” but what exactly is an apostle? The Greek word for apostle is ἀπόστολος (apostolos) which is also the same word used for “messenger” or “he who is sent” and is defined as “a delegate.” It is important to note that there is a distinction between two different types of apostles. For example, the disciples were all called apostles, as were Barnabas, Silas, and Timothy (Acts 14:14; 1 Thessalonians 2:6), but Acts 1:21-22 shows us there are  differences between the disciples and men like Barnabas.

Before we look at the verse it is important to note that the disciples were not more spiritual or more godly than others and therefore elevated to a higher form of apostle. Barnabas was a godly man, as were Silas and Timothy, but they did not meet the qualifications to be regarded as one of the thirteen (the twelve disciples, including Matthias, and Paul).

The setting of Acts 1 is of Peter talking to the other ten disciples about ordaining a twelfth disciple. This is where he lays out who qualifies as a possible replacement for Judas. In verses twenty and twenty-one he says, “Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,  beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” This shows us that what sets apart the disciple’s apostleship from others is that they were a witness of Christ after His resurrection, something Barnabas, Silas, and Timothy were not.

This verse also supports the fact that the type of apostleship the disciples had does not exist today. There is not anybody alive who can claim that they are a witness of Jesus Christ, whether before or after His resurrection. Those who claim to be are lying fools. It is not my opinion that they do not exist, it is what the Bible says.

Paul was a witness in Acts 9 on the road to Damascus and was commissioned to go to the Gentiles in that same chapter (v. 15), that is why he is also an apostle. He states this more clearly in 1 Corinthians 15:7-9. Remember these are not his words, but the words of God (1 Timothy 3:16). God called him to be an apostle, though he born “out of due time” (1 Corinthians 15:8). It was God’s choice, not man’s. He was separated to the gospel of God, or, he was called to preach the gospel. That was his purpose (Galatians 1:15-17).

We have now completed the first verse of Romans 1! Ahead of us we will continue to look at Paul’s greeting to the Romans. These are verses that are probably skipped over quite often, (at least I know I tend to skip over them quickly), but are in the Bible for a reason. I hope we will be able to gather vast truths from God’s Word together!

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