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NASB | Luke 6:13 And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles: |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 6:13 When day came, He called His disciples and selected twelve of them, whom He also named apostles (special messengers, personally chosen representatives): [Matt 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19] |
Subject: What is the biblical def of apostle |
Bible Note: Doc, I agree that Peter, the impetuous stumblebum, was perhaps the unlikeliest leader in Christendom, yet the Bible amply attests to his authority, an authority recognized by the aposotles as given him by Jesus (Matt 16:19) and exercised only by the Grace of God in the Holy Spirit. Casting lots (Acts 1:26) wasn't foolishness or gambling, but a time-honored means of discerning God's will (Lev 16:7-10; Proverbs 16:33). In the nascent Church, those eligible for apostolic office had to have witnessed Jesus' ministry in full and were charged with testifying to His resurrection (Acts 1:22). (Note that it is Peter who stands up to declare and authorize the means and ends of this particular election). Why does Matthias subsequently disappear from the narrative of Acts? Quien sabe? But it appears that the number 12 is a meaningful symbol to this startup Church (the restoration of the 12 tribes of Israel), though the necessity of maintaining 12 fades, evidently, after the death of James in Acts 12:2. Paul is an obvious exception to the incipient rule of apostolic candidacy; but isn't that the kind of exceptional surprise God likes to pull from time-to-time? Colin |