Jesus never used the English
word “apostle” and it is most likely that he never used the Greek word apostolos, from which our English word
is derived. This means that our contemporary understanding of the “apostle” is
based on a Greek word and concept that was foreign to Jesus and His audience. If,
therefore, we want to understand the NT apostle, we must trace our English word
back to its Hebrew roots.
The Greek Apostolos
In our English Bibles, the word “apostle” is translated from the Greek word apostolos. In ancient Greek literature, apostolos was most often used as a seafaring term and was sometimes combined with ploion (ship) to refer to a freighter or transport ship sent out on a special voyage. However, it was also used of military expeditions and, on occasion, of the commander of a particular expedition.
In all these cases the word
denoted the act of sending, with little or no emphasis on any authorization
from the sender. It was thus often applied to the expedition itself and
eventually acquired the meaning of a naval or military expedition. Although of
interest, the parallels between apostolos
in this literature and its usage in the New Testament are minimal (Hyatt, Pursuing Power, 20-21).
The Jewish Background of the
New Testament
Since the world of Jesus was first century Judaism, not Hellenism, we should not be surprised to
find a Jewish background for the use of apostolos.
In fact, Jesus probably never used apostolos
since he spoke Hebrew (or possibly Aramaic) rather than Greek.
Although our English gospels
have been translated from Greek manuscripts, it is likely that an original
Hebrew gospel lies behind the Greek versions. Papias, a disciple of the apostle
John, said, “Matthew put together the oracles of the Lord in the Hebrew
language and everyone interpreted them as best they could.” The second century church father, Irenaeus, confirmed this by saying that Matthew issued a
written gospel among the Hebrews in their own language.
There is a growing school of
New Testament scholars who believe that a Hebrew gospel, no longer in existence,
predates our Greek versions, which are actually dependent on it.
Jesus, therefore, probably
used the Hebrew word saliah which was
then translated apostolos in the
later Greek versions.
The Hebrew Word for Apostle
In first century
Judaism, the saliah was a legal,
commissioned representative of another, acting in a sort of “power of
attorney.” The saliah represented in
his own person, the person and rights of another, i.e., the one who had commissioned him. A saliah could even represent a bridegroom in a marriage ceremony and
the one who had sent the saliah
would, thereby, become legally married.
To receive or shame the saliah was to receive or shame the one
who had sent him. The rabbis summed up the basis of the saliah in the oft-quoted statement, “The one sent by a man is as
the man himself.”
The saliah possessed no authority of his own. His authority was derived
from the one who had commissioned him. Of utmost importance, therefore, was the
subordination of the saliah to the
will of the one who was sending him. The saliah
must be one in whom the master or sender had absolute confidence and trust.
The authority of the saliah was directly related to and
limited by the particular commission that was given. The saliah had no authority to pass his commission to another since it
did not originate with him and did not belong to him. The saliah was characterized by service and faithfulness, not prestige and power.
The institution of the saliah was well in place by the first century and most certainly provided the background for the apostolos of the Greek New Testament.
The institution of the saliah was well in place by the first century and most certainly provided the background for the apostolos of the Greek New Testament.
The Apostle Is an Authorized Representative of Another
Like the saliah, the one distinguishing
characteristic of the New Testament apostle is the authorization of the “sent
one” by the sender. In Matt. 10:1, for example, Jesus gives authority (Gk. exousia) to the Twelve to heal
sicknesses and to cast out demons. He then sends them out and assures them
that, He who receives you receives Me,
and he who receives Me receives Him who sent me (Matt. 10:40). The
commissioning of the Twelve in this passage has obvious parallels with that of
the saliah.
The Greek word translated
“power” in this passage (Matthew 10:1) is exousia
and is better translated as “authority,” “right” or “privilege.” Exousia does not refer to an energy or
force, but to the right and authority to act or function. Dunamis is the Greek word that refers to an energy or force and is
usually translated “power,” as in Acts 1:8.
Matthew obviously uses exousia in Matt. 10:1 to refer to the
authorization of the Twelve by Jesus. They are authorized to go in His name as
His representatives to do and say the things He would do and say if He were
there in His own person. They are His “sent ones”—His saliah. They are His apostles.
Not all disciples are
apostles, but all apostles are disciples. A disciple is a committed learner and
follower. The Twelve did not cease to be disciples after they became apostles.
Interestingly, after 10:2 Matthew drops the word “apostle” and uses the word
“disciple” for the Twelve throughout the remainder of his gospel.
This would indicate that apostolos was not seen as a permanent
office or position into which one was placed, but a specific work to which one
was called or a particular assignment that one was given. This also indicates
that genuine discipleship is a prerequisite for authentic apostolic ministry.
The Use of Apostello
in the New Testament
Apostello is the verb form of apostolos
and means, “to send.” Apostello
is distinguished from pempo, the more
general term for “send,” in that,
like apostolos, it emphasizes the
authorization of the sent one by the sender. It often reveals the apostolic
nature of a mission even though the one sent is not referred to as an apostolos.
In Acts 9:10-16, for
example, a “disciple” named
Ananias is instructed by God in a vision to go and lay hands on Saul of Tarsus
that he might receive his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Ananias is
given the exact address where Saul is residing and is told that Saul is
praying.
Ananias obeys and when he
enters the house he informs Saul that, The
Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road as you came has sent (apostello) me
that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts
9:17). The use of the word apostello
highlights the fact that Ananias is aware that he is not there of his own
initiative. He is there as a sent one, an authorized representative of Jesus
Christ. He is there on assignment.
This incident also reveals
the very fluid and functional nature of apostolic ministry, for there is no
evidence that Ananias functioned in apostolic ministry apart from this one
situation.
Apostolic Ministry is a Gift & Calling
During the first century, apostolic
ministry was fluid and dynamic, characterized by service. Any disciple might
receive an apostolic commission from the risen Lord. By the end of the first century,
however, the church had begun to institutionalize, with ministries being turned
into offices and service being replaced with power. In this process, the apostolic was absorbed into the office of the bishop.
Jesus, however, did not
leave His church with authoritative offices and structure. He left His church
with an authoritative message and the Holy Spirit to lead and guide in how best
to convey that message in the many various situations his disciples would find
themselves. This is what Professor Burnett Streeter was referring to when he
wrote,
Whatever else is disputable, there is, I submit, one result from which
there is no escape. In the primitive church there was no single system of
church order laid down by the apostles. During the first hundred years of
Christianity, the Church was an organism alive and growing—changing its
organization to meet changing needs. Uniformity was a later development (Hyatt, Pursuing Power, 43).
The emphasis of Jesus to His
apostles was on service, and on their willingness to speak, act and even
suffer, if necessary, on His behalf. There is no talk of office and power. Commenting
on this, the mammoth Theological
Dictionary of the New Testament says,
We are thus prevented by the
sayings of Jesus Himself from trying to deduce from His authorization for word
and action an official congregational office fulfilled in terms of law. To be
precise, we should not use the word office at all in this context; we should
speak of commission in the sense of authorization which is limited in time and
space, and which is conditioned materially rather than personally, as in the
Jewish concept of saliah (Hyatt, Pursuing Power, 26).
John G. Lake, a true modern
apostle to South Africa, got it right when he wrote,
The modern conception of an
apostle is usually that he is a big church boss, but that was not the
conception Jesus left. An apostle was not to be a big boss; he was to be like
his Lord--a servant of all (Hyatt, Pursuing Power, 19).
Come Down Off Your Thrones
While sitting on the platform
of one of the best-known ministries in the country, I heard the Holy Spirit
speak in my heart, “You need to come down off your thrones.”
Unbeknownst to me there
were, at that very moment, individuals on that platform who were secretly
plotting to oust the leadership that had founded that ministry and led it, at
great sacrifice, for more than fifty years
The ouster failed but caused
much hurt and painful separation. I was able to later share that word with the
leadership of that ministry. I later realized that “Come down off your thrones”
was a timely word, not only for that situation, but for the church and its
leaders everywhere.
This is what Jesus did in
the Incarnation. He came down off His throne. Phil. 2:5-7 says, Though He was God, He did not demand and cling to His rights as God. He made Himself
nothing; He took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. (NLT)
Paul tells us in Phil. 2:5
that this attitude of humility demonstrated by Jesus in the Incarnation is an
attitude that all believers are to emulate. It is also the attitude of a saliah, or apostle, for Jesus said in
John 8:42b, For I proceeded forth and
came from God; nor have I come of myself, but He sent Me. The word "sent" in this verse is from the Greek verb apostello.
Conclusion
The
Hebrew saliah could be a slave or a
committed servant, but above all was one in whom the master had complete trust
to represent him and his interests. It was not about power, but about
faithfulness and trust.
Charles
Finney, who was a lawyer at the time of His conversion, saw himself as
representing God’s case before an unbelieving church and world. In other words,
Finney saw himself as a saliah,
representing in himself the cause and interest of the Savior.
What
about us? Are we more concerned with God’s interests than our own? Do we see
the apostolic as a path to personal affluence and power? Or do we see it as an
opportunity of service in representing our Lord in every situation of life?
What
was of utmost importance for the New Testament saliah, or apostle, was trustworthiness, and a commitment to serve
the interests of the One who was sending him, or her, as the case may have
been. Until our talk of faithfulness and service to the Lord supersedes all our rhetoric of apostolic order and authority, we have no biblical basis for calling ourselves "apostolic."
This article is derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt's book, Pursuing Power: How the Historic Quest for Apostolic Authority and Control Has Divided and Damaged the Church, available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com. Dr. Hyatt has a message for the church in America concerning another Great Awakening in the land. You can check this out on his website at http://www.eddiehyatt.com/america_reawakening.html.
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