1:1 - Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
[T - SD - G |

It is to be noted that "an apostle" is not an address. It is a statement of the role or office to which he has been appointed and out of whose authority he speaks. Nowhere in any of his letter does he use the term as an address, a title, for himself. Though we may call him "Apostle Paul," it is not a title he uses for himself.

What, then, is an apostle? John Stott has provided probably one of the most succinct summary in his little booklet, The Authority of the Bible (1974, pp19-20):

There was a double background to the word apostle—ancient and contemporary—which helps us to interpret its meaning . . . The ancient background is biblical, namely, the repeated Old Testament use of the verb to send in reference to the prophets of God . . . In each case the "sending" is not a vague dispatch but a specific commission to assume the role of a prophet and to speak God's word to the people. It is evident that when Jesus gave to the twelve the title apostles and sent them out to teach, he was likening his apostles to God's prophets and indicating that they were to speak in his name and carry his word to others. The prophets of the Old Testament and apostles of the New Testament were equally organs of divine revelation. As such they are the foundation on which the church is being built (Eph 2:20; 3:5).

The second background was contemporary. It appears from recent research that apostolos is the Greek equivalent of the Aramaic shaliach, and that the shaliach already had a well defined meaning as a teacher sent out by the Sanhedrin to instruct the Jews of the Diaspora. As such the shaliach carried the authority of those he represented, as that it was said, 'the one who is sent is as he who sent him.' In the same way Jesus sent out his apostles to represent him, to bear his authority and teach in his name, so that he could say of them: 'He who receives you receives me' (Mt. 10:40; cf. Jn. 13:20) . . . The apostle was a specially chosen emissary, the bearer of another and higher authority, the herald of a given message.

In particular, Paul always saw himself as "the apostle to the Gentiles":

I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry . . . (Rom 11:13).

For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. (Gal 2:8)

In Chap 3 of this letter, especially, he will elaborate on his ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles.

Low Chai Hok

©ALBERITH, 2015