DISCIPLE Vs. APOSTLE

It is important that we point put that: JESUS DOES NOT HAVE AN OFFICE HE HAS OFFICERS. It is religion and culture that has an office (with or without an officer).

Now the term DISCIPLE was a Greek coinage of the students in the rabbinical movements. Every rabbi was recognised as one due to the number of people that followed him, and the number always started with 12 and not exceeding 70 – both Jewish symbolic numbers. This applied to rabbinical schools too.

So Paul was a disciple to Gamaliel well as the 12 fishermen (some) were disciples to Jesus of Nazareth. So Mathetes is a Greek term to translate the Hebrew word for “student”, “follower” or “the mastered”.

On the other hand Apostolos was a socio-political term equivalent to our modern “Ambassador”, “Messenger” “representative” “consulate”. The term was used in all social institutions and life.

The Jerusalem upper-room Sect (11 disciples) considered themselves disciples to Jesus in the first rabbinical order. However, they did not consider themselves as Apostles (the sent) to everyone but exclusively to Jews. When we get to Acts 7, many are going to preach in this name (Jesus) but cannot claim to have been DISCIPLES (Seen, touched, and heard directly from the historical Jesus) to Jesus as the 11 would. However, they claim to be also representing the philosophy of Jesus and in the literal sense they consider themselves Apostles, something the 11 were not comfortable with.

Now when you get to the New Testament epistles, Paul has a task to convince people that he too is an Apostle (sent by Christ) for two reasons:

1-former Persecutor

2-Never part of the discipling nucleus.

It is due to this historical tension that modern religions take advantage and make these OFFICERS/SERVANTS convention offices with a clout and institutional benefits.

So Paul is very defensive on the issue of him being an authentic messenger of Christ while the disciples (11) are on the offensive accusing him of impersonation. So he had to defend himself.

Now we have to understand that the term “Disciple” and “Apostle” dropped their secular meaning and adopted the Christian (read: religious meaning). As we all know in language evolution, the same word can mean different things to different societies.

So to this society, Disciple and Apostle were terms conceptually tied to Jesus Christ and his theological views. So the debate of whether one is a disciple or not an Apostle or not is one based on one’s understanding and belief system around the man Jesus.

With this we can then conclude that if any denomination or religious organisation argues that it has Apostles or Disciples, it must prove that based on its belief system (Theology) about Jesus.

So Paul became the most authentic Apostle and Disciple to Jesus Christ not because he had the Privilege of Touching, Seeing, Hearing  (the last two are about proximity since Paul was a Jesus contemporary) but because he represented Jesus Christ theologically better than the rest.

Now this trend applies to all other titles; pastor, prophet, deacon etc. Before we address you by any of the above, we must first confirm with the THEOLOGY.

Pr. I. T. WHITE