[B-Greek] APOSTOLOS in 1 Cor 12

CWestf5155 at aol.com CWestf5155 at aol.com
Mon Aug 30 03:41:39 EDT 2004


<<In a message dated 8/29/2004 11:39:54 PM Mountain Standard Time, 
iver_larsen at sil.org writes:
I wouldn't quite agree with this description. In 1 Cor 12:28 the apostle is
mentioned together with the prophet and teacher as one of the ministries
placed by God/Jesus for an authoritative ministry in the church. Eph 4:11
adds two more such ministries. These ministries ought to be distinguished
from the many and varied spiritual gifts. Gifts are meant as tools for
ministry, not identical to it. The apostolic ministry is not primarily a
link between churches, but a representative of Christ, ministering to the
churches - as well as to non-believers. They normally have a ministry which
goes beyond the boundaries of a local church, and therefore often travel.
So, in a secondary sense they help to link and unify the various local
churches.

> If APOSTOLOS is not a closed set for Paul, I have no trouble at
> all seeing Titus and Epaphraditus in that role (2 Cor 8:23; Phil 2:25),
> particularly since Barnabas had the role also.

I would have trouble with that as do all Bible translations that I have
checked. These two references use sense 1 as indicated by their contexts.>>
Iver,

Particularly in Eph. 4:7-12, APOSTOLOS is listed as a spiritual gift.  In 1 
Cor. 12, gifts, services and working are interchangeable manifestations of the 
spirit (I Cor 12:4-5) which the Spirit distributes (1Cor. 12:11).  They are 
clearly treated in one category in 12:27-30.  I suggest that the distinctions 
you make are not based on the the text.  The ministries are the gifts, and the 
other gifts are equally used in the congregation as ministries.  Regardless, 
the way they are handled and distributed by the Spirit is indistinguishable, so 
other than categorization, what is the point?

Yes, the translations have generally treated apostle as limited to the 12 and 
Paul (as a special case), but now there has been a more widespread 
recognition that that is a reflection of Luke's terminology and that Paul utilizes the 
terminology differently (as Paul and James use "grace" differently).  I learned 
Greek in part so my perspectives in such things would not be limited to the 
translations.  

I Cor. 9 refers to Barnabas as an apostle with apostle's rights.  What about 
the context in 2 Cor. 8:23 makes Titus, for instance, not a similar authority 
with similar rights to Barnabas?  He was sent in an authoritative capacity to 
Crete, among other places. In these cases, the translations miscue the 
readers, not making a good interpretive decision, though I understand the basis of 
the interpretation.

Cindy Westfall
Denver Seminary



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