To understand the authority of the apostles' teachings

[Mary Naeem]

The Office of Apostles

To understand the authority of the apostles' teachings, we must understand who apostles were, the nature and purpose of their work, and how they became apostles. In particular, we must consider whether or not Paul possessed the qualifications and authority of an apostle equally with the other apostles.

Apostleship involved all the following things:
A. A Special Calling

One could not become an apostle simply by volunteering, by choosing to take the office upon himself, by deciding to meet certain requirements, nor by being selected by other men. Each apostle had to be personally selected by Christ, who then had to directly reveal which men He selected.

If one claimed to be an apostle, when he lacked this calling, he would not be a good man at all but would be a false apostle - 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Revelation 2:2.
Apostles were especially chosen and called personally by God to be apostles.

Luke 6:12-16 - Jesus personally chose 12 men and named them to be apostles.

Acts 1:24 - When one was chosen to take Judas' place and be numbered among the 12, the Lord indicated which man He had chosen to fill the office.

[Cf. John 15:27; Acts 10:40,41.]
Specifically, Paul was personally chosen and called by Jesus to be an apostle.

Acts 9:15 - Jesus personally appeared to Paul (vv 1-9), then told Ananias to teach and baptize him because Paul was "a chosen vessel" to preach Jesus' name to Gentiles, etc.

Acts 26:16 - Jesus said that He had appeared to Paul to make him a minister and witness of what he had seen. [Acts 22:14,15]

Romans 1:1; Galatians 1:1 - So, Paul repeatedly affirmed in his letters that he had been "called to be an apostle," not by men, but by Jesus Christ.

[1 Corinthians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1]
Other inspired men confirmed Paul's claim to inspiration.

Note that, if Paul's claim to be an apostle was not true, he would not even have been a faithful preacher. He would have been a false apostle, a false prophet, a liar, and a hypocrite. But Paul's claim to be inspired and a faithful teacher was confirmed by many other inspired men.

Acts 9:15 (26:16; 22:14,15) - Luke records that Jesus Himself endorsed Paul as a chosen vessel to preach His name.

2 Peter 3:15,16 - Peter classed Paul's writings along with other Scripture. This endorses Paul's writings as truth, including when those epistles claim that Paul was an apostle.

Galatians 2:7-9; Acts 15:22-32 - Other apostles and prophets confirmed Paul's claim to be inspired and to be a faithful preacher.

Acts 13:1-4 - Luke recorded that the Holy Spirit recognized Paul as one called by the Spirit to preach.

Revelation 2:2 - Jesus commended the church at Ephesus for examining and rejecting men who falsely claimed to be apostles. But Paul had done much preaching at Ephesus, and his letter to the Ephesians had claimed he was an apostle (Ephesians 1:1).

If Paul was not an apostle, the Ephesians surely ought to have rejected him; nor would Jesus have commended them if they had mistakenly accepted Paul as an apostle. So the fact Jesus commended the Ephesians for rejecting false apostles, even when they accepted Paul as an apostle, constitutes conclusive approval from Jesus Himself that Paul was an apostle!

So other inspired writers repeatedly endorse Paul's claim to be an apostle.
B. Special Qualifications
Apostles had to be eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ.

Apostles repeatedly affirmed that they were eyewitnesses - Acts 2:32; 10:41; 3:15; 1 John 1:1-4; etc.

Acts 1:15-26 (esp. vv 21,22) - The one chosen to replace Judas had to be an eyewitness.
Paul was an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ.

Acts 22:3-16 (esp. vv 14,15) - Paul saw and heard Jesus so he could be a witness.

Acts 26:16 - Jesus said he appeared to Paul to make him a witness. [Acts 9:1; 1 Corinthians 15:4-8; 9:1-5]

One special duty of apostles was to give testimony of Jesus' resurrection whereby others could believe. To do this, each one had to have personally witnessed Christ alive after the resurrection. Jesus' appearance to Paul was exceptional; nevertheless he did see Jesus alive, so he was just as qualified to do this work as were other apostles.
C. Special Powers

The apostles were granted special miraculous powers by the Holy Spirit.
Apostles were empowered by the Spirit to do miraculous signs to confirm that they were inspired by the Spirit.
Other apostles had this power.

Matthew 10:1-4 - Jesus gave the 12 power to perform miracles. [Hebrews 2:3,4]

Mark 16:14,20 - Apostles used miracles as they preached to confirm the word.

The Bible contains many examples showing that the apostles performed such miracles - Acts 3:1-10; 8:14-24; 9:32-41; etc.
Paul was empowered to do miraculous signs.

2 Corinthians 12:12 - He accomplished the signs of an apostle among the Corinthians.

Luke records many signs performed by the Spirit through Paul - Acts 14:8-10; 19:1-7; 20:8-12; 16:16-18; Romans 15:19.
Apostles could lay hands on others and bestow on them the power to do miracles.
Other apostles had this power.

Acts 8:14-21 - Apostles went from Jerusalem to Samaria to lay hands on Christians there and give them the Holy Spirit. Philip, though he could preach the gospel and do miracles, was not an apostle and did not bestow these powers on others (vv 5-13).
Paul could lay hands on others and bestow miraculous powers on them.

Acts 19:6,7 - He laid hands on twelve disciples so the Holy Spirit came on them and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

2 Timothy 1:6 - He gave Timothy a gift through the laying on of his hands. [Rom. 1:11]

2 Corinthians 11:5; 12:11 - For all the reasons we have listed, Paul claimed apostleship fully and equally with the other apostles. [1 Corinthians 9:1-5]

Note that much of the evidence for Paul's apostleship comes from other men besides Paul. It is clear that his teachings possess as much authority as those of any other apostle.