The Apostle in the Bible

An apostle, from the Greek apostolos, is "one who is sent"—a commissioned messenger bearing the authority of the one who sends him. In the New Testament the term refers especially to the men Jesus personally chose and sent out to lay the foundation of the church. Matthew 10:2 introduces them by name: "The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter," continuing through the full list of those who would carry the gospel to the world. Their calling was no accident of circumstance but the fruit of deliberate, prayerful choice. Luke 6:13 records that Jesus, after a night of prayer, "called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles." The number twelve was symbolic, echoing the twelve tribes of Israel and signaling the formation of God's renewed people. When Judas fell away, the eleven sought a replacement, and Acts 1:26 reports that "the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles," restoring the foundational twelve before Pentecost. The apostles held a unique and unrepeatable place in God's design. Ephesians 2:20 says the church is "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone." Their eyewitness testimony to the risen Lord and their Spirit-given teaching became the bedrock of Christian faith. First Corinthians 12:28 lists apostleship first among the gifts God appointed in the church, underscoring its priority. Apostolic authority came directly from Christ, not from human institutions. Paul insists in Galatians 1:1 that he was an apostle "not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father." For believers today, the apostles remain the trustworthy witnesses through whom we receive the gospel, and their example calls every Christian to faithful, Spirit-empowered mission.