Planting Churches Among the City's Poor - Volume 2

P ART I: C OACHING U RBAN C HURCH P LANTERS • 99

I. The Missionary Call Is an Apostolic Call: Defining the Apostoloi Today

A. Linguistic considerations of apostolos : (the literal meaning “one sent forth,” an envoy, messenger.)

1. Classical Greek: distinction between aggelos (messenger) and apostolos (a delegate or representative of the person who sent him) 2. Later Judaism : apostoloi envoys sent by the elders in Jerusalem to collect tithe and tribute from the Jews of the Dispersion

New Testament Senses of Apostleship

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. In his writings Paul also refers to some of his associates as his “co-workers” or his “fellow workers.” Under his pen, this term seems to have become a technical label to designate people who identified closely with him in his church planting efforts as frontline, pioneer missionaries. Interestingly, the same people whom Paul calls “apostles” are also referred to as his “co-workers” – Barnabas (1 Cor. 9.5-6, cf. Acts 14.14; Col. 4.10-11), Epaphroditus (Phil. 2.25), Timothy (Rom. 16.21). In 2 Corinthians 8.23, Titus is a co-worker and his lesser companions are apostles. We can therefore deduce that there exists some interchangeability between the terms apostles and co-workers .

~ Gilbert Bilezikian. Beyond Sex Roles: What the Bible Says about a Woman’s Place in Church and Family . Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1986. pp. 197-98.