When we think of the apostles, we usually think of the number "twelve." "And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles" (Luke 6:13). Yet, we also refer to Paul as an apostle, even though he was not one of the twelve. Was Paul an apostle? Did he have the same authority that Jesus gave to the twelve?
Paul claimed to be an apostle. In many of his letters, he referred to himself as an apostle of the Lord. In fact, he claimed to be an equal with the other apostles: "For I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles" (2 Cor. 11:5). Although he was not made an apostle at the same time that the twelve were, Paul makes it clear that he was made an apostle by the Lord, and not by man. "Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead)" (Gal. 1:1).
The legitimacy of Paul's apostleship is an easy matter for us to settle. Paul found it necessary, on a number of occasions, to defend his apostleship. From these passages we can clearly see that Paul possessed the qualifications and characteristics (and thus the authority) of an apostle.
1. He saw the resurrected Lord. The apostles were, first and foremost, eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ. This qualification is set forth when Judas is being replaced. "Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection" (Acts 1:21-22). Paul fulfilled this qualification. He saw the resurrected Christ. "Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?" (1 Cor. 9:1, see also 15:8).
2. He was sent by Christ to be a witness of His resurrection to the Gentiles. The word apostle literally means "one sent." Paul was commissioned and sent by the Lord Himself. "But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you" (Acts 26:16-17).
3. He had the power to convey spiritual gifts. The Bible makes it clear that only the apostles had the power to give spiritual gifts to other men. In Acts 8, Philip preached in the city of Samaria and converted many people to the Lord. When the apostles heard about it, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they laid their hands on them and the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit. Why didn't Philip do this himself? He couldn't. He wasn't an apostle. Also, notice what is said next: "And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, 'Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit'" (Acts 8:18-19). Only the apostles had the power to give men spiritual gifts. Paul claimed to have this power. "For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established" (Rom. 1:11). Thus, Paul was an apostle.
4. He publicly rebuked another apostle. One of the proofs that Paul gave of his apostleship was the fact that he rebuked the apostle Peter. "Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed" (Gal. 2:11). Who, other than another apostle, would dare to challenge and rebuke an apostle of the Lord?
The Bible clearly shows that, although "born out of due time" (1 Cor. 15:8), Paul was an apostle. He was equal in authority with the twelve. The writings of Paul are to be accepted as the authoritative commands of an inspired apostle, not dismissed as "love letters" to the churches (1 Cor. 14:37; 2 Pet. 3:15-16).