Apostle (ἀπόστολος)
An apostle (ἀπόστολος) is a messenger who is sent out on a specific mission; however, unlike a regular messenger who delivers a message, an apostle is sent with a specific task to perform while giving the message.
Christ sent out the 12 apostles to the Jews during His earthly ministry to proclaim the message of the kingdom of the heavens, Matthew 10:5-42. They were not to take any provisions with them for their journey or go into any city of the Gentiles nor to the Samaritans, for they were sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. Herod sent forth men with a specific mission to slay all the children in Bethlehem who were two years old or younger after the Magi left the region, having been warned by a messenger, failing to report where they found the King of the Jews, Matthew 2:16.
In a single act of expressing love towards the inhabited world, God the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world, 1 John 4:14. He sent Him on a specific mission so that through Him we should have life, 1 John 4:9. In this we know love, for God sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins, 1 John 4:10.
When Christ ascended, He gave gifts to men for the edification of the Church to bring us to a oneness of the faith so that we are no longer tossed around like inarticulate babblers by every wind of teaching by the trickery of men, Ephesians 5:8. Of these gifts were the Apostles, Ephesians 5:11. Twelve of them to the Church. These twelve laid down the foundation of the Church, built upon Christ, giving us the entire revelation concerning the […]
Not Adopted, Real Children Placed as Sons
having marked off our bounds to the placement of sons (υἱοθεσία) through Jesus Christ unto Himself according to the good pleasure of His desirous will – Ephesians 1:5.
Did you know that the Greek words for “adoption” never occur in Scripture? “ἄμφανσις”, which means, “adoption” and “ἐκποίητος”, which is “to give in adoption” are not used in Scripture because we are not adopted into God’s family; rather, we become legitimate children of God.
Beloved now we are the children (born ones) of God… 1 John 3:2. His seed has been placed into us (1 John 3:9) and we are now born again, not from a corruptible seed (1 Peter 1:23).
In Ephesians 1:5, Paul is not writing about adoption, but about son placement. This is a concept in the Roman culture concerning when a child is no longer under governors and tutors (Galatians 4:1). When the father determines the child is trained properly, the child would be placed as a son, into a place of privilege where the child (inarticulate babbler) is no longer under governors and tutors (Galatians 4:2). When it comes to humans and God, those who are inarticulate babblers are under law, but those who are sons live out from faith.
When I was an inarticulate babbler (child), I spoke as an inarticulate babbler (child), I framed the mind as an inarticulate babbler (child), I reasoned as an inarticulate babbler (child). When I became a man, I rendered ineffective the things of the inarticulate babbler (child), 1 Corinthians 13:11.
As children (born ones) of God, let us walk in the light (Ephesians 5:8). As sons, let us exercise our senses to know what is proper and what is wrong in our conduct (Hebrews 5:14) and live out […]