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In broad terms there are two schools of thought on this. One concerns apostolic succession - the idea that the authority of the original 12 apostles has been passed down through the generations, relay-race style. For those who follow the doctrine of apostolic succession, apostolic authority belongs only to those who have inherited it from a predecessor, ...

This answer brings up an interesting verse in 1 Corinthians 7, when Paul distinguishes between his words and the Lord's. Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife. But to ...

One of the closest examples would be Paul's Letter to the Laodiceans. Scholarship is divided about the authorship, whether it is Paul or a Marcionite forgery - but the point is that at the time, when canonization was occurring, it was not accepted as such. Most everything else (Gospel of Peter, Gospel of Thomas, etc...) was pretty much rejected even at the ...

The Bible says a great deal about testing prophets and spirits. A spirit will confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that ...

There is one problem with the argument - "Matthias was never sent by Christ to do anything, therefore he cannot be an apostle". The problem is that Barnabus (of whom we have no evidence that he was sent by Christ) is also called an "apostle" in Acts 14:14. We know that Judas was an apostle and his "office" (Acts 1:20) was taken over by Matthias. And it is ...

Here are some suggestions, none of which I am claiming as necessarily the answer: Naming people draws attention to them. The writers probably didn't want their readers going to find out what these people were writing Naming people makes them exclusive. If the writer says "don't listen to Marcus and Suetonius" that leaves Octavius free to spread his ...

I think the answer can be summed up in what John the Baptist says regarding Jesus in John 3:30: "He must increase, but I must decrease." That is to say, the Gospels were not primarily about bolstering confidence in the disciples, but rather about telling the truth about and bolstering confidence in Jesus. In other words, I think you partially ...

Matthias was appointed for a very specific purpose: to fill the void in the Twelve once Judas had died. We have no record of when or under what circumstances Paul was called as an apostle, but we do know that his ministry coincided with a period of very heavy persecution for the church. So it's not at all unreasonable to assume, in the absence of any ...

According to Strong's Concordance, the definition of the greek used here is "one who is eagerly devoted to a person or a thing, a zealot." The Helps Word-studies says a zealot is one "who (literally) 'boils over with passion'". (Here "boils over" is the literal translation of zeó, which figuratively means "to be earnest, to set one's heart on, to be ...

Bishops (from the Greek, epi-scopus = overseers) are the successors of the Apostles. Their primary responsibility is shepherding the faith of the people in their diocese. They ordain priests, perform the sacrament of confirmation on the faithful, and serve to teach, provide guidance and support for the faithful. So in that sense, they indeed have the ...

Apostle does come from the Greek word apostolos / apostello, as noted by Mason Wheeler, and it does indicate one who is sent out. In the Gospels, the Twelve are most commonly referred to as disciples. They were following the Teacher, learning from Him as His students. In John 17:18 and Matthew 28:18-20, among other verses, Jesus specifically sends ...

Specifically, the word Apostle comes from the greek word 'apostolos' which literally means messenger, envoy, or one sent. Apostle essentially means "teacher" as opposed to disciple which means "student". Specifically in Christianity the Apostles were the 11 disciples who went on to spread the Gospel of Christ after His death and resurrection. Paul and some ...

The word apostle is a straight transliteration of the Greek apostolos, literally meaning "one who is sent forth." It implies an ambassador or messenger bearing an official message by the authority of someone more powerful than himself. Jesus called twelve Apostles to be his special messengers to all the world. As we know, Judas, one of the twelve, ...

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zealotry I'll quote an interesting part here. The Zealots objected to Roman rule and violently sought to eradicate it by generally targeting Romans and Greeks. Zealots engaged in violence against other Jews were called the Sicarii.[9] They raided Jewish habitations and killed Jews they considered ...

To answer the question of "apostolic authority", you must first define "apostolic succession". From the Wikipedia article on apostolic succession: Apostolic succession (Hebrew: הירושה האפיפיורית‎, Greek: Αποστολική διαδοχή) is a doctrine, held by some Christian denominations, which asserts that the chosen successors (properly ordained bishops) of the ...

Acts is quite clear on the matter. Matthias was called to fill the vacancy left by Judas, whereas Paul didn't even appear on the scene for quite some time afterwards. And even after he showed up, we have several epistles where he refers to himself as an apostle, but unlike Matthias, the actual process of him being called as an apostle has not been preserved ...

All he seems to be doing is widening the traditional understanding of the word "apostle" to it's original Greek meaning, which is "messenger". I don't see a problem with that on an academic level. That being said, I think his redefinition and reuse of the word in the modern world is unnecessary and argumentative. Why use the word "apostle" when the ...

I see several possibilities: One major characteristic of the Gnostic groups was the lack of defined leadership1, so one might imagine that the false brethren may simply have been without definite leader. Considering that the Gnostic movement would have started by the time that the Johanine literature was complete, I think this should hold particular ...

I am no expert in the apostles' lives, but here are some thoughts. It has been said that God provides His truth in earthenware vessels. That is, they are never of impeccable moral character. Judas is an obvious example, but Peter, too, sinned against Jesus in the course of His passion (by denying him three times). The difference between the two is that ...

As ever, context is all important when trying to understand this verse. The gift in question is not the laying on of hands itself, but Timothy's ability to teach and preach: 1 Timothy 4:11-14 (New International Version): Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in ...

According to your correct assessment of the term Apostle I can not see that Matthias could possibly be an Apostle. He was never sent by Christ as an Apostle. To fill in as a top disciple he was a fit, but not as an Apostle to replace Judas. On the other hand we have irrefutable evidence in scripture that Paul was called to be an Apostle of Christ. ...

The Catholic response you'll often hear: To show that they're weak, stupid, feeble humans. In the economy of salvation, God is the only "thing" that needs to be perfect. All else can be weak and broken -- you, your neighbor, your church leaders, and so on. And the inclusion of the weaknesses and imperfections of the 12 in the Gospel properly aligns this ...

The unflattering details included in the writings of the Gospels attest both to their accuracy and to apostolic authorship. If Christians of later centuries who venerated the apostles had been the actual authors, it is highly improbable that such unflattering details would have been included. Those we venerate we do not shame. Yet, time and time again, ...

It's likely that Thomas was a nickname rather than his given name. Parents of twins would not name one of them "Twin". Yet by translating "Thomas" to "Didymus" three times, the Gospel of John makes it clear that as an adult Thomas was known—even among Greek speakers—as "the twin". We don't know exactly where or why he got this nickname, or what ...

This is a difficult question to answer, due to the sparsity of the record. We have no indication that Paul ever met Jesus during his mortal life, and in at least one place, we have Paul claiming to quote Jesus but giving a doctrine not recorded anywhere in the Gospels. Acts 20:35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to ...

The word "apostle" has two meanings in a Protestant Christian context. From http://christianity.about.com/od/glossary/a/Apostle.htm An apostle was one of Jesus Christ's 12 closest disciples, chosen by him early in his ministry to spread the gospel after his death and resurrection. In the Bible, they are called Jesus' disciples until the Lord's ...

Paul quoted Jesus directly in 1 Cor 11:23-25. "For I received from the Lord (not from the other apostles) what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, ...

Acts 1 21-26 (NIV) 21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, 22 beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” 23 So they nominated two men: Joseph called ...

Judas was the twelfth apostle, an by your own definition Matthias makes a more fit candidate to be reckoned as lucky #12 after Judas' death. In Luke 10, Jesus sends out 72 disciples. Among them most assuredly was St. Matthias. And the rest of the Apostles were doing quite a bit of on the job training, clearly away for Jesus as is shown in Matthew 17:21 ...

Pauls did name and shame Phygelus and Hermogenes for leaving him, and latter in the same letter, he mentions Demas (maybe the same guy in Col 4:14) who had deserted him. [15] You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. (2 Timothy 1:15 ESV) [10] For Demas, in love with this present world, has ...