Are There Still Apostles Today? Are Modern Day Apostles Biblical?

I want to show you how somebody becomes an apostle according to the Word of God. Now, there are two kinds of apostles in the New Testament, and I want to talk about each of them one at a time.

The First Kind of Apostle: Chosen by Jesus Christ

The first kind of apostle is an apostle who has been chosen by Jesus Christ to be a witness of His resurrection. We see the criteria for this kind of apostle laid out very clearly in Acts chapter 1, beginning at verse 21. Here the other apostles are seeking to replace Judas. They're seeking to give somebody else his place among the twelve apostles. And it says this, beginning at verse 21:

"Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us while the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the very day that He was taken up from us, one of these men must become with us a witness of His resurrection." — Acts 1:21–22

Here in this passage, we can see very clearly the criteria for somebody to become one of these apostles. They had to have been with Jesus from the very beginning, all the way up to the time that Jesus was taken up into heaven. And this honour was given to Matthias. Matthias took the place of Judas and became the twelfth apostle.

What About the Apostle Paul?

Now you're asking yourself, what about the Apostle Paul? Wasn't the Apostle Paul an apostle like these twelve? And yes, he was. He was an apostle equal to the twelve. But he himself describes himself as one born out of due time. He did see Christ, but he wasn't with Christ from the beginning. He was born out of due time. He was an exception to the rule, but he wasn't in any way inferior to these other apostles.

If you go to 2 Corinthians 11:5, it says this:

"For I think I am not in any way inferior to the most eminent of the apostles." — 2 Corinthians 11:5

And then in verse 11 of chapter 12, it says:

"I have become a fool in boasting. You have compelled me, for I ought to have been commended by you, for I am in no way inferior to the leading apostles, though I am nothing." — 2 Corinthians 12:11

And earlier than that, in 1 Corinthians chapter 9, beginning at verse 1, Paul says this:

"Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?" — 1 Corinthians 9:1

So in order to become one of these apostles, you have to have seen the resurrected Christ.

Could Someone Become an Apostle if Jesus Appeared to Them Today?

Now you might say, "Well, what if Jesus appeared to someone today? Couldn't they then become one of these apostles?" No. You see, the Apostle Paul, when he described himself as an exception to the rule, specifically said:

"Last of all, He appeared unto me as one born out of due time." — 1 Corinthians 15:8

Paul is the last of this kind of apostle. He was specifically chosen by Jesus Christ, and he saw the resurrected Christ. But he describes himself as the last one to whom Christ appeared in this sequence of resurrection appearances. So I believe that there are no more apostles of this kind today.

The Second Kind of Apostle: Sent Out by a Local Church

Now, there are other apostles mentioned in the New Testament. Barnabas is called an apostle in Acts chapter 14. Also, Epaphroditus. When you look at the Greek in Paul's epistle to the Philippians, when he calls Epaphroditus their messenger, it specifically uses the Greek word for apostle. So there are at least two other men in the New Testament who are described using this word.

But there's a big difference between these two kinds of apostles. See, the first kind of apostle is an apostle specifically chosen by Jesus and sent out by Him to be a witness of the resurrection. And He confirms their apostleship by signs, wonders, and miracles, and they have authority over local churches. The second kind of apostle is the kind of apostle who is sent out by a local church on some kind of mission.

Barnabas Was Sent Out to Preach the Gospel and Plant Churches

Barnabas was sent out to go and preach the Gospel with the Apostle Paul and to plant churches. They established elders in those churches, and then they moved on. We see this in Acts 13:1–3, where the Holy Spirit calls Barnabas and Saul to the work that He has appointed for them. The church then fasts, prays, lays hands on them, and sends them out. And later, in Acts 14:23, we read that Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in the churches that they had established.

So Barnabas was sent out to go and preach the Gospel, plant churches, and establish elders in those churches. And Acts 14:14 specifically refers to Barnabas and Paul as apostles.

Epaphroditus Was Sent by the Church in Philippi

Epaphroditus was sent by the church in Philippi to bring relief, a financial gift, to the Apostle Paul. And so he was called an apostle in that context. If you look at Philippians 2:25, Paul refers to Epaphroditus as their messenger. Now, the Greek word translated as "messenger" is apostolos, which is the same Greek word translated as "apostle" elsewhere in the New Testament.

So in this context, Epaphroditus was an apostle in the sense of being a messenger or representative sent out by the church in Philippi on a particular mission. He wasn't an apostle like the twelve or the Apostle Paul. He was a messenger sent out by a local church. And this is an important distinction.

How Do You Become an Apostle Today?

So how do you become one of those apostles? Well, you have to actually join a local church, and that church has to call you and send you out on a particular mission. That's how you become one of those apostles.

So there are no more of the first kind. And in order to become one of the second kind, you have to actually join a local church and be sent out by that church on a mission.

The important thing is to understand that the word "apostle" is used in more than one sense in the New Testament. There is a difference between somebody who was personally chosen by Jesus Christ to be an authoritative witness of His resurrection and somebody who is sent out by a local church as a messenger or missionary. And if we're going to understand apostleship according to the Word of God, we need to recognise that distinction.