Do apostles exist today?
What exactly is an Apostle? The New Testament, and especially Paul, uses the Greek word apostolos (apostle) in at least two senses. Broadly, it means one who is sent on a specific mission as an envoy or representative of the sender. For example, when Titus’ two companions travelled to collect the Corinthian church’s full contribution for the saints in Jerusalem, they arrived as “messengers [apostoloi] of the churches” in Macedonia (2 Cor. 8:23). Likewise, the Philippian church dispatched Epaphroditus as their “messenger [apostolos] and minister to [Paul’s] need” (Phil. 2:25). This broad use of the term apostolos may reflect an older Jewish legal concept that the messenger resembles the sender insofar as his activity reflects the sender’s will and authority. As Jesus observed, “A servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger [apostolos] greater than the one who sent him” (John 13:16). In its more focused and familiar sense, the word apostolos designates o