1 Corinthians 12:28, God Has Set First Apostles

1 Corinthians 12:28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

William MacDonald observed well, “The apostle now gives us another list of gifts. None of these lists is to be considered as complete. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles. The word first indicates that not all are apostles. The twelve were men who had been commissioned by the Lord as His messengers. They were with Him during His earthly ministry (Acts 1:21, 22) and, with the exception of Judas, saw Him after His resurrection (Acts 1:2, 3, 22).”

He said insightfully, “But others besides the twelve were apostles. The most notable was Paul. There were also Barnabas (Acts 14:4, 14); James, the Lord’s brother (Gal. 1:19); Silas and Timothy (1 Thess.1:1; 2:6). Together with the NT prophets, the apostles laid the doctrinal foundation of the church in what they taught about the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:20).”

Ephesians 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

Finally, he said, “In the strict meaning of the word, we no longer have apostles. In a wider sense, we still have messengers and church-planters sent forth by the Lord. By calling them missionaries instead of apostles, we avoid creating the impression that they have the extraordinary authority and power of the early apostles.”   Amen.