{"id":411911,"date":"2010-03-10T00:40:02","date_gmt":"2010-03-10T05:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gordonmoyes.com\/2010\/03\/10\/all-the-names-of-jesus-study-1-apostle\/"},"modified":"2010-03-10T00:40:02","modified_gmt":"2010-03-10T05:40:02","slug":"all-the-names-of-jesus-study-1-apostle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/411911","title":{"rendered":"ALL THE NAMES OF JESUS – Study 1. Apostle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An apostle was a messenger sent from God. Jesus gave the twelve disciples the name apostle when he sent them out (Matt. 10:1-15) to preach, teach and heal. Other apostles were also chosen: Matthias, (Acts 1:15-26); Paul, (Gal. 1:1, 15-16<\/a>); and possibly others (Rom. 16:17<\/a>) who had the requirements of Christian belief, character, ability and who had been witnesses of the resurrection.<\/p>\n

In classical Greek, ‘apostle’ was used of an ambassador sent out on behalf of his country or king, of colonists sent to take civilisation into barbarian areas and even of ships sent on foreign service.<\/p>\n

In Hebrew it was used of a messenger from the Sanhedrin to the faithful bearing instructions concerning their faith. Paul was sent as an apostle of the Sanhedrin to persecute the Christians at Damascus (Acts 9:1-2). When the Sanhedrin sent out an apostle their authority rested in him.<\/p>\n

Moses, Elijah, Elisha and Ezekiel were called apostles of God because God had delegated to them a special message, task and power. The Jewish High Priest was also called an apostle because he brought the mercy of God to the people as Moses brought the deliverance of God.<\/p>\n

In the New Testament Jesus is called an apostle (Heb. 3:1<\/a>). Like the High Priest (which term is also used in the same sentence) Jesus brought God’s mercy to his people. Like Moses (who is mentioned in the next verse) Jesus brought God’s deliverance to his people. Like the Old Testament prophets he had a special message, task and power. Like bearers of the news of the faith from the Sanhedrin Jesus came from God with the gospel.<\/p>\n

Frequently Jesus speaks of himself as being sent under authority using the very word for “apostle” (Matt. 10:40); Mark 9:37<\/a>). John frequently uses the same term.<\/p>\n

Jesus was unique in that while he brought God’s message he was the message. His unique apostleship was recognised by the Church in their use of this term.<\/p>\n

FOR TODAY<\/span><\/p>\n

As Jesus was sent by God so he sends his friends to do his work. (John 20:21<\/a>) We become God’s ambassadors, living and proclaiming for him (2 Cor. 5:20<\/a>). Our task is that of an apostle under the guidance of “the apostle and High Priest of our confession.” We too share this heavenly call (Heb.3:1)<\/p>\n

A representative sent on divine service is never off duty. We are called to represent our King with confidence. And when an apostle is sent to foreign shores bearing a message it is expected that he will return home. Heaven becomes our home where our citizenship is based. (Phil. 3:20) Jesus has gone ahead to prepare our place for us. (John 14:3<\/a>)<\/p>\n

An apostle stands only for the authority of the one who sent him. Jesus represented the power and the authority of God. This point would be debated with him. (Mk. 11:27-33<\/a>); but their questioning of his credentials did not lessen his right. We, too, are sent on His Majesty’s Service and in his authority each Christian witness must live.<\/p>\n

Jesus both proclaimed with the authority of God’s power and the kindness of God’s mercy. In every congregation there is the need for strength in personal authority and loving consideration for personal weakness and need.<\/p>\n

REV THE HON DR GORDON MOYES AC MLC<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An apostle was a messenger sent from God. Jesus gave the twelve disciples the name apostle when he sent them out (Matt. 10:1-15) to preach, teach and heal. Other apostles were also chosen: Matthias, (Acts 1:15-26); Paul, (Gal. 1:1, 15-16); and possibly others (Rom. 16:17) who had the requirements of Christian belief, character, ability and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4129,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-411911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=411911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411911\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}