I happened to read the following in a book: A person had written about a pastor mentioning his name that as the Lord had given him numerous responsibilities he is affectionately called as an apostle. Some used to say, "There is apostolic ministry in our church. But no one is referred in particular as an apostle though this or that person could be an apostle". Some others say: "Considering the way I am being used by God, perhaps I have the calling to be an apostle!" Some say that all are ministers or all are equal and there is no special designation to anybody. Thus various persons hold various opinions on this subject.

An apostle means a messenger who is sent forth with a command. While the 'apostles' is a plural term, 'apostle' refers to a single person. Paul said that in the church formed at Jerusalem, while there were many apostles, the gospel to the circumcised was committed to apostle Peter by the Lord (Gal. 2:7-8). This Peter alone had received from Jesus the key to the kingdom of heaven (Mat. 16:19). He had received direct command in a special way from the resurrected Lord to feed His lambs (believers) and His sheep (ministers). In the same manner, Barnabas and Paul were apostles (Act 14:4), and when they went to Jerusalem to meet the church as led by God (Gal. 2:1-2), Paul said, "When the church saw that as the gospel for the circumcision had been committed to me (not to us) as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me towards the Gentiles)" (Gal. 2:7-8). Paul had thus established that as his special status (qualification). God had chosen him to be an apostle for the Gentiles (Acts. 9:15). We are not analyzing the acts of apostles. On the other hand we are only discussing about the apostle (the one sent by God) who had been ordained by God for a specific purpose.

1. A true apostle would have known who he is: "Am I not an apostle?" (I Cor. 9:1). "I am called to be an apostle" (Rom. 1:1). "I am called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God" (I Cor. 1:1). Paul clearly identified himself as one who became an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God (II Cor. 1:1). In the same way, John the Baptist who was sent by God with a specific purpose (John 1:6) too testified authoritatively about himself and his mission (John 1:23).

2. An apostle means one who is ordained and sent by God: When an apostle dies, his son or any other person can not take his post on his own. Also an apostle is not elected. Apostle Paul said of himself that he was an apostle- sent not from men nor by men, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead (Gal. 1:1) and that he was an apostle by the command of God and Christ Jesus (I Tim. 1:1). Of John the Baptist it was written, "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John" (John 1:6).

3. If one is an apostle, he must have received command(instructions) from God directly: Paul said: "We now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: "I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth"" (Acts. 13:46-47)(NIV). The command received by Paul was to preach the gospel to the Gentiles ( I Cor. 1:17; Gal. 2:8). The command received by St. John the Baptist was to baptize with water (John 1:33).

4. A true apostle must have seen the Lord: How can one receive the above commands from God without knowing or seeing Him or contacting Him? "Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?" (I Cor. 9:1). Seeing does not signify dreams but only about the messages received directly from God in many ways. In the vision received by Isaiah, the words as spoken by the Lord were mentioned (Isa. 1:1-2). John the Baptist said "He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, "Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit"" (John 1:33).

5. A true apostle must be aware of the mystery of his mission: Apostle Paul had seen the resurrected Lord and received command from Him to be an apostle to the Gentiles and preach the gospel to them. He had been clearly instructed by the Lord as to what to preach and how to preach. The gospel which he preached was about Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:6). The Lord had revealed to him the mystery concerning the matter between Him and the Gentiles (Eph. 3:3-6). His mission was accomplished and he left (II Tim. 4:7). John the Baptist too prepared the way for the Lord, prepared a set of faithful people, instructed them to follow Jesus and seeing that his mission was completed, left the world (John 1:35-37, 3:28-30). Thus the true apostles who were sent by God knew what they had to do and carried out the plan.

Beloved, are they like this whom you call apostles? The church without an apostle will be like the house without a man, an army without a general and the body without a head. St.Paul said: " We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed" (I Cor. 15:51). However he passed away. Therefore the meaning of his words is: we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will be changed (I Thes. 4:15). In other words, those (we) who are alive in the fellowship with the apostle will be changed. Because only an apostle can present the church as a chaste virgin to Christ (II Cor. 11: 2). A person can not prepare himself on his own for the coming of the Christ without an apostle. As we carefully study the Scriptures it becomes clear that an apostle is necessary to prepare the people (church) for the coming of the Lord and present them to Christ. You need an apostle. Identify him, listen to him and prepare for the coming of the Lord. Behold the Lord comes! "We have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name" (Rom. 1:5)(NKJV)