Apostles & Disciples

An apostle is one who is sent out; specifically applying to Y’Shua’s twelve. By the N.T. times apostle meant an ambassador, one sent on a mission as the personal representative of the one sending him. The word was used in the Greek O.T. for messengers who were sent by G-d and who spoke with His authority. In the N.T. the word apostle serves both as a title and as a general description. It seems to have been essential to this high office to have certain qualifications:
1. That they should have seen the L-rd and have been eye and ear witnesses of what they testified to the world. (John 15:27; Acts 1:21).
2. Called and chosen by the L-rd Himself in Acts 1:24. Not self appointed.
3. Infallible inspiration (Jn. 16:13; 1 Cor. 2:10,) because it was their office to explain the O.T. and to set forth the N.T. (Lk. 24:27).
4. The power of working miracles in Mark 16:20; and Acts 2:43.
5. To these were added the power to settle points of faith and determine all controversies. Y’Shua is once called “The Apostle of our profession” in Heb. 3:1. The apostle Paul claims equal authority from having seen Y’Shua in a vision in 1 Cor. 9:1, 15:8. And he was directly commissioned by the L-rd in Acts 26:15-18. Paul rightly speaks of G-d’s household as “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Y’Shua Himself as the Chief Cornerstone” in Eph. 2:20; and 1 Cor. 12:28.
Are there apostles today? In this general sense, yes. Every Believer is an ambassador of Y’Shua. As the Messiah commissioned the twelve, so He has committed to us the ministry of reconciliation according to 2 Cor. 5:18. The modern missionary may fill the role closest to that of the N.T. apostle, but each believer remains a representative of our L-rd. Disciples in the Gospels: the word disciple was used in three ways:
1. A person who followed a particular movement or school of thought
2. One who believes in Y’Shua.
3. The word disciple meant student of the Word.
In first century Judaism, religious leaders received their training through a well define system. The Rabbis provided support for their students; they devoted full time to serving the Rabbi and to learn from him. The goal of discipleship was that the learner would not only master what his teacher knew but also become like him in piety (Lk. 6:40.) the people of Y’Shua’s time were amazed when the Messiah began to teach, for He displayed learning without having studied with a Rabbi in this traditional manner (Jn. 7:15). In the tradition of the time, Y’Shua’s twelve disciples literally lived with Him. They traveled with him, watched all he did, and listened to all He said. When the Messiah was finished with a day of public ministry, He taught His disciples privately, asking them questions and explaining what they had observed.
The word disciple is not in the vocabulary of the N.T. epistles, as either a practical or a general term; although Paul often took younger persons with him on his missionary journeys. But the discipleship approach used by the Rabbis to train leaders tended to produce religious elite, and Y’Shua specifically warned His followers against this in Matt. 23:8-12. In contrast, Christian leaders were to be servants. They matured within the fellowship of the church and were affirmed as leaders only when their character and gifts were recognized by the local organization. The entire theme can be summarized by saying that a disciple was:
1. A person who became a believer in Acts 11:26.
2. One who became a learner of Y’Shua and thus His follower or pupil.
3. A believer who is committed to suffering and living a sacrificial life style for the sake of the Messiah. (Lk. 14:26-27, 33.)
4. One who fulfills the ultimate obligation of discipleship to make students of others in Matt. 28:19-20.
Whom or what are you teaching? Quite clearly, disciple is a most significant term. It implies repentance and faith for salvation, dedicated, sacrificial living, and identification with service to Y’Shua, telling the good news to others.