Foundations of Christian Leadership, Student Workbook, SW07

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F O U N D A T I O N S O F C H R I S T I A N L E A D E R S H I P

A Theological Overview of the Equipping Gifts Described in Ephesians 4.11 (continued)

2. “The titles ‘apostle’ and ‘prophet’ occur in the NT with both wide and narrow meanings. Sometimes the term ‘apostle’ is filled with connotations of special election and authority; in these cases it is restricted to the twelve disciples of Jesus and Paul. On other occasions it is used in a wider sense: every witness of the resurrected Christ and anyone delegated by a church for mission work can bear the same title (Matt. 10.1-5; Gal. 1.1,17, 19; 1 Cor. 9.1-2; 2 Cor. 8.23)” (Karl Barth, Ephesians 4-6 , Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1974, p. 314 quoted in Harley H. Schmitt, Many Gifts, One Lord , Fairfax, VA: Xulon Press, 2002). 3. “[Apostle] is a comprehensive term for “bearers of the NT message.” The name is first borne by the circle of the twelve, i.e., the original apostles. . . . Yet the name is also applied to the first Christian missionaries or their most prominent representatives, including some who did not belong even to the wider groups of disciples” (Gerhard Kittel, ed., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament , Vol. 1, Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1964, p. 422). 4. “The term apostles designates three different groups of people. Initially, only the original disciples (meaning “students, learners”) of Jesus were called apostles (meaning “those sent forth with a mission”). Later, the name was given to missionaries involved in church planting who were also eyewitnesses of Christ’s resurrection, such as Paul himself (1 Cor. 9.1-1) and a group of Jesus’ followers other than the Twelve (1 Cor. 15.5,7). Finally, the designation was extended to people who had never seen Christ but who were involved with apostles in pioneer missionary efforts—Apollos (1 Cor. 4.6,9); Epaphroditus (Phil. 2.25); Silvanus and Timothy (1 Thess. 1.1, cf. 2.6). The definition of “apostles” as one of the higher gifts to be desired bears evidence to the continued accessibility to this ministry for qualified individuals (1 Cor. 12.28, cf. 31). Corinthian Christians could aspire to become apostles, prophets, or teachers. The term apostle was still used in this broad sense in the post-apostolic writings of the Didache” (Gilbert Bilezikian, Beyond Sex Roles: What the Bible says about a Woman’s Place in Church and Family , Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1986).