What the Bible says about Apostle, Authority of
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Numbers 16:3 To paraphrase, they said, "Look! Who are you, Moses? You've taken this authority to yourself, but it should be shared among all the people, because we have all been called out. We are all holy before God. Why then do you exalt yourself above the congregation of the LORD?" Notice what they say. It is quite ironic. They say, "You are taking too much authority to yourself. Everybody should have this authority." And then they accuse Moses of exalting himself: "You put yourself in this position." But were they not attempting to do the very same thing? These words would come back to haunt them very shortly. Richard T. Ritenbaugh Countering Presumptuousness Related Topics: Apostle, Authority of | Authority | Authority of Moses | Authority, Apostle's | Authority, Exceeding | Humility | Presumption | Presumptuous | Presumptuousness | Self Exaltation

2 Corinthians 12:12 Paul is defending a challenge to his apostleship. What were the signs? They were things the Corinthians could see, the fruits of his ministry. The gospel of the Kingdom of God was preached to them, people were healed, demons cast out, people converted, congregations raised up, and apostles used to clarify doctrine under Christ (as in Acts 15). John W. Ritenbaugh Was Mr. Armstrong an Apostle? Related Topics: Apostle | Apostle's Doctrine | Apostle, Authority of | Apostle, Function of | Paul the Apostle | Paul's Credentials | Sign

Galatians 1:1 This epistle was one of Paul's first letters, if not the first. As such, it was early on in his ministry, and one of the first topics in this letter was his credentials. This is seen in his parenthetical statement that he was an apostle appointed by God and Jesus Christ and NOT by men. The other apostles ate, walked, and lived with Christ while He was on the earth, and thus their credibility was established in part by proximity and association with Christ. Paul did not fall into this category, but rather persecuted the true Christians until his dramatic conversion. However, at that time, he was instructed by Christ personally and thus had a legitimate claim to apostleship. David C. Grabbe Related Topics: Apostle, Authority of | Conversion | Galatians | Paul the Apostle | Paul's Association with Christ | Paul's Calling | Paul's Conversion | Paul's Credentials

Galatians 1:1-3 The bulk of this chapter is occupied with Paul's defense of his apostolic office. False teachers,the people who had access to the Galatian Christians' ears,were teaching them that what Paul had previously taught them had no authority from God because Paul did not meet the qualifications of being an apostle. These people could come up with all kinds of things. They might say, "Well, Paul never met Jesus": that he had not been an eyewitness to Jesus' preaching, that he had received no commission from God to be an apostle, and that he had not even been chosen like Matthias. Paul's calling, conversion, and commission were done apart from large numbers of people. Nobody had seen him trailing around after Jesus as they had seen the Twelve. He had not been eyewitness to the miracles that Jesus did. "He had not been taught directly by Jesus," was what they were saying. Thus, Paul spends the first chapter and more defending his position. Immediately, he states that his authority did not come through men. He confirms that he was an apostle, but his selection was not of men but by Jesus Christ. Right off he states his authority, and that it had come directly from God. By doing this, Paul puts himself in the same class as the Twelve, because even these false teachers were willing to concede that the Twelve's offices did not come through men either. Everybody knew that they were directly chosen by Christ. So Paul asserts, "So was I." He also speaks of his experience on the Damascus Road as his commission, and then he references the resurrection, further linking his commissioning to the risen and glorified Christ. All of this is contained within the first three verses. He had to establish his authority quickly, and this is how he chose to do it. John W. Ritenbaugh The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Twenty-Four) Related Topics: Apostle, Authority of | Apostle, Function of | Galatians | Paul the Apostle | Paul's Association with Christ | Paul's Calling | Paul's Conversion | Paul's Credentials | Resurrection

2 Thessalonians 2:15 Tradition is broader than some admit. A note from a study Bible contains a bit of useful information regarding this word: Traditions refers to more than customs. In view here is the totality of the apostolic doctrine as it was given to them—all of the teachings, not just what we would think of being the foundational teachings that appear in Hebrews the sixth chapter or things directly pertaining to the great goal in life that gives us the vision of being born in the kingdom of God. The writer understands that word applies to the whole revelation given through the apostles. "Traditions" reach out to include policies and practices or procedures that the Bible does not specifically speak to. The apostle has the authority to establish them while he is God's apostle. Notice an application in I Corinthians 11:2. Corinth was a badly divided congregation, at least internally; church members there had all kinds of different ideas. In I Corinthians 1:10, the phrase about being "perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" has to do with the way we see things, with our perspective. He is saying that we should not be divided even in our perspectives. I Corinthians 11:2 reads, Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you. Ordinances is the same word that is translated "traditions" in II Thessalonians 2:15 and II Thessalonians 3:6. Here, the translators have rendered it "ordinances," as if it referred to law. However, consider the issue in I Corinthians 11: the way—the manner—in which Christians should keep the Passover, the procedures that were to be followed. He instructs them to eat at home first before coming to the service. The passage deals with what we would call church-service procedures. "Traditions" includes these matters. John W. Ritenbaugh Unity (Part 5): Ephesians 4 (B) Related Topics: Apostle | Apostle, Authority of | Apostle, Function of | Christian Unity | Customs of Men | God's Traditions | Ordinances | Tradition | Tradition as Doctrine | Tradition as Ordinances

1 John 1:1 Who is "we" and "our" here? They are the apostles of Christ: Peter, James, John, Andrew, and even Paul, an apostle "born out of due time" (I Corinthians 15:8). Why would they be unimpeachable as sources? John tells us why: "We were with the Boss for three and a half years. We heard our Lord, Master, and Savior with our own ears, saw Him with our eyes, watched Him do miracles, saw Him walk on the water. We touched Him. We ate with Him. We slept by Him." It really makes a difference to have good sources, and eyewitnesses are among the best. John W. Ritenbaugh The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Twenty) Related Topics: Andrew | Apostle | Apostle to the Gentiles | Apostle's Doctrine | Apostle, Authority of | Apostle, Function of | Authority | Authority, Apostle's | Authority, John's | James the Apostle | John the Apostle | Paul the Apostle | Peter the Apostle | Testimony | Testimony of Eye Witnesses | Testimony of Jesus Christ | Witness | Witness of the Apostles

 

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