what is an apostle in the bible

An apostle in the Bible is a person specially chosen and sent by God—especially by Jesus Christ—with authority to preach the gospel and help lay the foundation of the church.

What “apostle” means

• The word comes from the Greek apostolos , which means “one who is sent,” “messenger,” or “envoy.”

• It carries the idea not just of being sent, but of representing the sender with delegated authority.

Think of an apostle as an official representative: when they spoke the message of Christ, they spoke with His backing and authority.

The Twelve Apostles of Jesus

• In the New Testament, “apostle” most often refers to the Twelve disciples Jesus chose and “named apostles.”

• Their privileges included:
  • Being with Jesus during His ministry
  • Receiving His teaching and training
  • Being sent out to preach and heal (for example, in Mark 6 and Matthew 10)

After Jesus’ resurrection, He commissioned them to preach the gospel to all nations and make disciples, and promised the Holy Spirit to empower them.

Broader use of “apostle” in the Bible

Besides the Twelve, the New Testament sometimes calls others “apostles” in a broader sense:

• Paul is called an apostle because he encountered the risen Jesus and was specially commissioned as “apostle to the Gentiles.”

• Others such as Barnabas, Andronicus, and Junia are also called apostles in the sense of being recognized, sent-out witnesses of the risen Christ.

In this wider sense, an apostle is a person who:

• Has seen the risen Christ
• Is sent out by Him to proclaim the gospel
• Serves as a foundational witness in the early church

Key functions of an apostle

According to the New Testament, apostles:

• Preached the gospel and taught the faith.

• Served as Christ’s “ambassadors,” representing Him to the world.

• Bore witness to Jesus’ resurrection and saving work.

• Helped establish and organize the early Christian communities.

One way to picture it: prophets mainly spoke God’s message to God’s people, while apostles were specially sent as Christ’s envoys to carry the gospel out into the world.

Today’s language

• In many Christian circles today, “apostle” in the strict biblical sense is reserved for those original foundational witnesses (the Twelve and Paul).

• In a looser, everyday sense, people may still use “apostle” to mean anyone who is strongly sent to promote a cause or mission—for example, “an apostle of peace.”

Quick recap:
In the Bible, an apostle is a specially chosen and sent representative of Christ, a witness to His resurrection, entrusted with preaching the gospel and helping build the early church.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.