“…and apostle of Jesus Christ,”
Summary: God, through his Son, Jesus, has provided a means for us to know Him today. Peter was one of the Lord’s disciples, sent out with a mission, equipped for that mission, and given authority from God to implement that mission.
Some words take their meaning from the dictionary. Other words derive their meaning from usage. The Greek “apostolos,” meaning apostle, is a little of both.
The basic meaning of “apostle” is the same as what it was two thousand years ago. It means roughly “to send forth” or to send with instructions to do something. Mark records the following about Peter’s call:
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people” (Mark 1:17).
To prepare Peter for his “fishing trip” Jesus spent three years with his disciples teaching them about God’s desire that all people “be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4b). He also equipped them. Instead of fishing poles and tackle, he gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and heal people. (Matthew 10:1)
Now, if I send you out to go fishing and I don’t show you how to fish, or equip you, or give you authority to fish (a.k.a. – a fishing license!), then I should not expect you to catch any fish. If the game warden catches you, you might not even come back. The apostles that Jesus sent out were well prepared. They had been with Jesus and were given his Holy Spirit. He equipped them with knowledge and power. Then he sent them out into the world with a message.
This letter from Peter is the second part of his written message to the world. Through it, God has provided us with a chance to know Peter personally through his writings. We can see the mark that Jesus left on his life through his words. Through these written words, God has ensured that the mission our Lord sent him on continues to be proclaimed throughout the centuries.
Application: God has provided a treasure of affirmation and instruction for us.
Food for Thought: Does God still send people out into the world who are trained, equipped, and given authority from God?
I would say Yes,..God still sends us out,..not all of us are as trained or equipped as others,..but it is God who does the equipping anyway,..we are the ones that have been given the authority to go out into the world and make disciples,..again not an easy thing to do,..but with the power from the Holy Spirit it happens,..disciples are made and the gospel is spread out to another part of the world,..
As you know,..He has sent me out to,..bait others, plant seeds by depositing New Testaments in the little libraries scattered about,..I don’t know who is picking these New Testaments up and reading them,..but I assured of one thing,..the person who does pick it up,..read it,..believe it,..accepts Jesus and the work He has accomplished,..that person’s life has been transformed like mine has been,..
Someone will walk along side the person that has picked up the New Testament and be the person to explain things for the other,..out of the close to 500 NewTestaments deposited I have not a clue who has picked them up or has been delivered into the hands of God,..but one day I will,..
The other day,..my neighbor moved out from across the street,..leaving a bunch of their stuff on the sidewalk to be taken,..one day there was a lady that was all caught up in what was left behind,..she was in the mess for hours,..as I was in my truck getting ready to leave for a fence estimate that day,..I was glancing over at what she was or wasn’t doing,..during a glance I noticed that there was one of those New Testaments sticking out from her carrying bag,..I sent a prayer up to God,..shooting an arrow asking that He would allow her to open that book up to read and understand it,..then I was thinking about going over to ask her if she knew what the book she had was about,..but she was yelling at something in the air,..so I decided to leave well enough alone and let God do the work,..my wife told me it was a good thing that I left the cat alone,..even still the bait was taken
John,
What a wonderful calling to share the Word of God by passing out Bibles. How much more exciting to know that one day, when we all meet at the feet of our Lord, you will discover those who came to know Jesus because of finding a New Testament in a neighborhood library.
Thank you brother.
Yes, God still sends people out on mission. He still equips them for service. In fact, He has given a specific task for the church (Acts 1: 8; Matthew 28: 19; 2 Timothy 2: 2). He has uniquely gifted people and prepared them (Romans 12: 3 – 8; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4: 11 – 16).
However, I do believe the original Apostles were uniquely given the responsibility and authority to give us His revelation. He used them to give us His NT word and they had authority others are not granted. If someone says they have a new revelation and “thus saith the Lord,” tread cautiously and wisely.
Agree Rich, the Apostles were definitely unique individuals, great men of faith chosen and empowered for their unique ministries.
Rich,
I appreciate your sense of caution on this topic. You more than most have experience with people who claim “thus saith the Lord.” Even in OT days it could be a challenge to discern who was speaking for the Lord and who was speaking on their own. Yet having God’s Word as a guide, it should be possible to discern whether a claim is in line with God’s prior instruction or not. Anything that contradicts what God has recorded in his Word should be quickly called out as false testimony. This actually has a benefit to the Body of Christ: it keeps us on our toes! 🙂
Brother Rich,
I would add this: I was just reviewing Revelation 22 and reminded of these words: “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.” (vs 18-19)
The revelation of God’s Word is not subject to addition or revision. Any kind of apostolic profession in these current days is by definition subordinate to the written Word of God.
Thus, a “thus saith the Lord” statement would have to be context sensitive (that is pertinent to a specific current situation) and at the same time fully subordinate to and compliant with the written Word.
08-28-2021, 2 Peter 1:1c,
Does God still send people out into the world who are trained, equipped, given authority from God?
44 years ago I began attending a men’s Bible Study where I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. 300 men would study the same material each day and meet each Monday night in groups of 17, where we would discuss our response to questions we had all been given, and I was always amazed at how there were so many different right answers to the same question regarding God’s word. I would ride to and from the study with another more mature christian man and we continue discussion until after midnight.
There was one question I would ask over and over. “ What were we supposed to do with all we were learning? ” Jim would just smile and reply “ Keep praying and studying we would find out in time.”
Matthew 28:18-20, “All authority in heaven and earth has been handed over to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
Mark 16:15-18, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.
Luke 24:45-49, Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
John 20:21-23: As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
God’s word was written by people as they were directed by God, and has been preserved by His power to this day. We remain on this earth to glorify God by living in humble obedience to HIS WORD.
Acts 1:8, We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live in the world, not of this world. We are trained, equipped and proclaim Gods Word to those around us with authority from God.
1 Corinthians 12:4–7, There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” The basic principle is straightforward: God grants us different gifts and there are different roles in which those gifts can be expressed.
Ron,
Great to have you back! Thank you for the story of your early Bible studies. I love the part where Jim says, you will “find out in time” what God has in mind for your learning. We never know! Who would have thought we would be here swapping stories of our faith on a blog!?
🙂