In Romans 1:1 Paul introduces himself to the reader. This is the first of his Epistles to be found in the Bible, right after the book of Acts where we are first introduced to Paul by Luke.
It starts with the following: “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called [to be] an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God…”
Paul starts off by referring to himself as a servant. The word used here is doulos (doo’-los) which refers to someone who finds himself in the position of a slave – whether voluntary or involuntary.
A little bit of context is required here.
What is striking is that Paul would introduce himself, first and foremost, as a slave/servant and only then as an apostle.
Slaves in the first century Rome were generally separated into two categories – skilled and unskilled. The unskilled, often those sentenced to slavery, often worked on farms and in mines and mills. They usually performed menial tasks and hard labour.
Many other slaves however were actually quite educated and included physicians and accountants.
This being considered though, across both categories Roman law still considered them – both the accountant and the miner – as property without legal personhood.
So whether the slave was skilled or unskilled, highly educated or illiterate, or even voluntary or involuntary – they were considered nothing more than a servant, property and without legal personhood.
This makes Paul’s reference important.
He describes himself first and foremost as a slave of Jesus Christ. Paul is so completely sold out to the Gospel. He has given himself up to the will of God to extend and advance the cause of Heaven here on the earth. He is devoted to the truth of the Cross so much so that his own interests has diminished completely and his identity is completely found in Christ. In what Christ has done for him and in what Christ will do through him in the lives of others.
He has given up his own personhood for the Kingdom. Given his life for the cause of Christ – given his life for the purpose of Him who gave His life for us.
Next Paul introduces himself as an Apostle.
Adopted by many over the last few years especially, much as the title of Prophet, as an honorific, the roots of this word is much more humble than we might assume.
Oxford Languages offers the following definitions of the word Apostle:
1: One of the twelve disciples of Jesus.
2: An important early Christian teacher or pioneering missionar
3: And in a more secular sense: a vigorous and pioneering advocate or supporter of a particular policy, idea or cause.
There is a distinction between discipleship and apostleship. The word disciple is used in an educational context to refer to a student – one who is still learning – while apostle is used to describe someone who is living out a mission.
The word apostle has never been a “Christian word” – even though it appears in the Bible and we have attached many religious and spiritual connotations to it, the title in and of itself was originally political rather than religious.
This does not come as a shock as much of the Gospel uses politicized language. The words ‘Gospel’ and ‘Kingdom’ for example moves away from merely spiritual language towards the kind of language used in the political arenas of the ancient world.
The three most common translations for the Greek Apostolos are envoy, ambassador or messenger.
Therefore, although never referred to as such in the Bible, the early church recognized Mary Magdalene as an Apostle. In fact, the influential 13th century theologian, philosopher and Doctor of the Church, Thomas Aquinas writes the following about Mary in his Lectura Super Loannis:
“Note the three privileges given to Mary Magdalene. First, she had the privilege of being a prophet because she was worthy enough to see the angels, for a prophet is an intermediary between angels and the people. Second, she had the dignity or rank of an angel insofar as she looked upon Christ, on whom the angels desire to look. Third, she had the office of an apostle; indeed, she was an apostle to the apostles insofar as it was her task to announce our Lord’s resurrection to the disciples. Thus, just as it was a woman who was the first to announce the words of death, so it was a woman who would be the first to announce the words of life.”
In the Latin church she is referred to as the apostola apostolorum or “female apostle to the male apostles” for she went to the disciples crying “I have seen the Lord!”
The Greek statesman and orator, Demosthenes, who lived between 384 and 322 BC paints us a picture of the original meaning of the word Apostolos by describing a cargo ship sent out with a specific shipment to complete a mission. The word Aposolos here referred to the Admiral, the team, the ship and the cargo itself.
The speech writer Lysias (c. 445 – c. 380 BC) uses the word in the same way.
In fact, the connection between the word Apostolos and sailing vessels are so closely linked that many cargo ships and oil tankers today are named Apostolos I and II, as well as many other derivatives and variations of the same.
Later, during the Hellenistic period of Greek history the word Apostle was used for those commissioned or authorized by one of the gods, and even later during the Koine period to describe civil agents transacting official business.
The original conception many of us have regarding Apostleship is that it is for those commissioned by God – like the 12 Disciples and Paul – however the Bible also makes reference to other Apostles like Barnabas, Andronicus and Junia. Junia of course is also noteworthy because she is a woman – a subtle and gentle reminder of the fact that woman are called just like men to preach, teach and spread the Gospel. Junia was just one of many of Paul’s female co-workers. Not congregants – but co-workers – missionaries and church leaders.
The word Apostle in the New Testament, therefore, seems to imply a sort of missionary work rather than just an honorific title.
Although the Bible mentions a few Apostles by name, the twelve closest disciples and Paul being the most prominent, there is absolutely no way for us to establish how many apostles there were.
In more modern terms that is exactly what the word was used for – rather than being the leader of a local church, the accepted usage of the word Apostle was as an honorific for missionaries who had extended and established the Kingdom in foreign and unreached territories.
This fits more with the 1st century use of the word where many Christians adopted the title to show a personal commitment to pioneer and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Like a cargo ship with a specific shipment out to complete a mission.
In a broader sense the word apostle then refers to any believer who devotes themselves to carry the precious cargo of the Gospel in order to fulfill the great commission.
As I said before, Paul first and foremost introduces himself as a slave and then without any pomp or vainglory as an apostle. He sets a precedent. He gives us the definition in black and white. An Apostle is not much more than just a servant – a servant who has given up his personhood and identity to serve Christ (Doulos) to carry the message of the Kingdom according to the great commission (Apostolos) – a mission which was not given to the few, but to all believers.