signs of an Apostle

[kross]

Matthias was chosen by God.

Act 1:21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

Act 1:22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.

Act 1:23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

Act 1:24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all [men], shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,

Act 1:25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

Act 1:26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

And like I said, they gave GOD their choices and did not give HIM HIS choice, Paul.

[traveller]

Matthias was chosen by God.

Act 1:21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

Act 1:22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.

Act 1:23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

Act 1:24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all [men], shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,

Act 1:25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

Act 1:26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

And like I said, they gave GOD their choices and did not give HIM HIS choice, Paul.

This controvery has bounced around for 2000 years. Neither you nor I will settle it, so I withdraw from the discussion. Be blessed brother.

[EricH]

"And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. " (Rev. 21:14)

There are only 12 foundations to the holy city. That is how we can be assured that there were/are only 12 apostles of the Lamb.

What about Paul was/is he not an apostle?

Paul was very much an Apostle !

Perhaps, Ovedya, the key phrase is των δωδεκα αποστολων του αρνιου (the twelve apostles of the lamb). I have not seen this anywhere else in the NT or Septuagint. Surely the twelve names John saw did not include Judas. Judas' name on the faoundation of New Jerusalem? Apostasy! Therefore, it must have been Matthias, the thirteenth Apostle and replacement for Judas. So now our count of Apostles is up to thirteen.

Add Paul and you get 14.

Now we come to Acts 14:14 which identifies Barnabas as an Apostle equal to Paul ("But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this,". That makes 15.

Then in Romans 16:7. Paul identifies two more Apostles, ("Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was."). That brings us to as much as 17.

So clearly the phrase "Apostles of the Lamb" refers to specific people because we can count well more than 12 Apostles...

Matthias was chosen by flawed men using a flawed logic. Paul was chosen by JESUS. As scripture says, "You did not choose ME, I chose you..."

And we never heard from Mattias again.

When casting lots, the men did not give JESUS the choice of Paul, thus they could not come to the right decision.

Apostles are chosen by JESUS.

I think the best statement so far in this thread is that what people are called, their label, is moot. A church planter can be someone who is working in the office of Evangelist and teacher. If they are an apostle, they are an apostle unto JESUS.

We never heard from several of them again. That is not really proof. there is nothing in the text that indicates God was not in favor of Mattias. Everything is speculation