📖 Biblical Definition
Apostles, in the strict New Testament sense, are those Christ Himself chose, commissioned, and sent with foundational church-authority — eyewitnesses of the risen Lord empowered to write Scripture and lay the church’s foundation. The original Twelve (Matthew 10:2-4); Matthias chosen by lot to replace Judas before Pentecost (Acts 1:26); Paul as one "born out of due time" (1 Corinthians 15:8) who saw the risen Christ on the Damascus road and was commissioned as "the apostle of the Gentiles" (Romans 11:13). The office is unrepeatable: "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone" (Ephesians 2:20). Foundations are laid once. The word also names broader "sent ones" (e.g., Barnabas, Acts 14:14).
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Sent ones; those Christ chose and commissioned with foundational church-authority.
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Greek apostolos — sent one; from apo (away) plus stellô (to send).
Foundational apostles: the Twelve (with Matthias), Paul, and possibly James the brother of the Lord (Gal 1:19). Their authority was unique; their writings are scripture; the office in the strict sense closed with their generation.
📖 Key Scripture
Ephesians 2:20 — "And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone."
Matthew 10:2 — "Now the names of the twelve apostles are these."
1 Corinthians 15:8 — "And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time."
Acts 1:21 — "Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern movements often claim apostolic office; the New Testament reserves the office for those who saw the risen Christ and were directly commissioned by Him.
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Acts 1:21-22 sets the criteria: a man who had been with the apostles from John's baptism through the resurrection — a witness of the resurrection. Paul met the criterion as one born out of due time, having seen the risen Christ on the Damascus road.
The household's discernment: apostle in the broader sense (sent one, missionary) is biblical and ongoing; apostle in the foundational sense is closed. Modern claims to foundational apostolic office require modern claims to apostolic authority over Scripture, which the church has historically refused.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Greek apostolos; sent one.
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Greek apostolos — sent one; with foundational authority in NT usage.
Usage
"The Twelve, Matthias, Paul: the foundational apostles."
"Their writings are scripture; the office in that sense closed with them."
"The apostolic mission continues; the foundational office does not."