46 Bible Verses about Apostles, Function In Early Church

"It is necessary, therefore, that of the men who have been with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us-- beginning from His baptism by John down to the day on which He was taken up again from us into Heaven--one should be appointed to become a witness with us as to His resurrection."

This Jesus, God has raised to life-- a fact to which all of us testify.

The Prince of Life you put to death; but God has raised Him from the dead, and we are witnesses as to that.

while the Apostles with great force of conviction delivered their testimony as to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus; and great grace was upon them all.

And, after a few days, He appeared to the people who had gone up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem and are now witnesses concerning Him to the Jews.

So I exhort the Elders among you--I who am their fellow Elder and have been an eye-witness of the sufferings of the Christ, and am also a sharer in the glory which is soon to be revealed.

Simon Peter, a bondservant and Apostle of Jesus Christ: To those to whom there has been allotted the same precious faith as that which is ours through the righteousness of our God and of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an Apostle, set apart to proclaim God's Good News,

As for us Apostles, let any one take this view of us--we are Christ's officers, and stewards of God's secret truths.

Are they servants of Christ? (I speak as if I were out of my mind.)

Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Christ Jesus: To all God's people in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the ministers of the Church and their assistants.

Paul, a bondservant of God and an Apostle of Jesus Christ for building up the faith of God's own people and spreading a full knowledge of the truths of religion,

For though it is true that He was crucified through weakness, yet He now lives through the power of God. We also are weak, sharing His weakness, but with Him we shall be full of life to deal with you through the power of God.

But at present I am going to Jerusalem to serve God's people,

(For we do not proclaim ourselves, but we proclaim Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bondservants for the sake of Jesus.)

Other Churches I robbed, receiving pay from them in order to do you service.

So I exhort the Elders among you--I who am their fellow Elder and have been an eye-witness of the sufferings of the Christ, and am also a sharer in the glory which is soon to be revealed. Be shepherds of God's flock which is among you. Exercise the oversight not reluctantly but eagerly, in accordance with the will of God; not for base gain but with cheerful minds; not lording it over your Churches but proving yourselves patterns for the flock to imitate.

You are a building which has been reared on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, the cornerstone being Christ Jesus Himself,

And by God's appointment there are in the Church--first Apostles, secondly Prophets, thirdly teachers. Then come miraculous powers, and then ability to cure diseases or render loving service, or powers of organization, or varieties of the gift of 'tongues.'

and when they perceived the mission which was graciously entrusted to me, they (that is to say, James, Peter, and John, who were considered to be the pillars of the Church)

Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an Apostle, set apart to proclaim God's Good News, which God had already promised through His Prophets in Holy Writ, concerning His Son, who, as regards His human descent, belonged to the posterity of David,read more.
but as regards the holiness of His Spirit was decisively proved by His Resurrection to be the Son of God--I mean concerning Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and Apostleship in His service in order to win men to obedience to the faith, among all Gentile peoples,

But they went out and made proclamation everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming their Message by the signs which accompanied it.

with power manifested in signs and marvels, and through the power of the Holy Spirit. But--to speak simply of my own labours--beginning in Jerusalem and the outlying districts, I have proclaimed without reserve, even as far as Illyricum, the Good News of the Christ; making it my ambition, however, not to tell the Good News where Christ's name was already known, for fear I should be building on another man's foundation.

Christ did not send me to baptize, but to proclaim the Good News; and not in merely wise words--lest the Cross of Christ should be deprived of its power.

But when He who set me apart even from my birth, and called me by His grace, saw fit to reveal His Son within me in order that I might tell among the Gentiles the Good News concerning Him, at once I did not confer with any human being,

and they were constant in listening to the teaching of the Apostles and in their attendance at the Communion, that is, the Breaking of the Bread, and at prayer.

But when He has come--the Spirit of Truth--He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak as Himself originating what He says, but all that He hears He will speak, and He will make known the future to you. He will glorify me, because He will take of what is mine and will make it known to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; that is why I said that the Spirit of Truth takes of what is mine and will make it known to you.

But they did not desist from teaching every day, in the Temple or in private houses, and telling the Good News about Jesus, the Christ.

So the Twelve called together the general body of the disciples and said, "It does not seem fitting that we Apostles should neglect the delivery of God's Message and minister at tables.

if, that is, you have heard of the work which God has graciously entrusted to me for your benefit, and that by a revelation the truth hitherto kept secret was made known to me as I have already briefly explained it to you. By means of that explanation, as you read it, you can judge of my insight into the truth of Christread more.
which in earlier ages was not made known to the human race, as it has now been revealed to His holy Apostles and Prophets through the Spirit-- I mean the truth that the Gentiles are joint heirs with us Jews, and that they form one body with us, and have the same interest as we have in the promise which has been made good in Christ Jesus through the Good News,

So then, brethren, stand your ground, and hold fast to the teachings which you have received from us, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

of which I have been appointed a preacher, Apostle and teacher, to the Gentiles.

Am I not free? Am I not an Apostle? Can it be denied that I have seen Jesus, our Lord? Are not you yourselves my work in the Lord? If to other men I am not an Apostle, yet at any rate I am one to you; for your very existence as a Christian Church is the seal of my Apostleship.

What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are just God's servants, through whose efforts, and as the Lord granted power to each, you accepted the faith. I planted and Apollos watered; but it was God who was, all the time, giving the increase.

So the Twelve called together the general body of the disciples and said, "It does not seem fitting that we Apostles should neglect the delivery of God's Message and minister at tables. Therefore, brethren, pick out from among yourselves seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, and we will appoint them to undertake this duty. But, as for us, we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the delivery of the Message."read more.
The suggestion met with general approval, and they selected Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch. These men they brought to the Apostles, and, after prayer, they laid their hands upon them.

of which I have been appointed a preacher, Apostle and teacher, to the Gentiles. That indeed is the reason why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know in whom my trust reposes, and I am confident that He has it in His power to keep what I have entrusted to Him safe until that day.

and laid hands upon the Apostles, and put them into the public jail.

God, it seems to me, has exhibited us Apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; for we have come to be a spectacle to all creation--alike to angels and to men.

Are they servants of Christ? (I speak as if I were out of my mind.) From the Jews I five times have received forty lashes all but one. Three times I have been beaten with Roman rods, once I have been stoned, three times I have been shipwrecked, once for full four and twenty hours I was floating on the open sea.read more.
I have served Him by frequent travelling, amid dangers in crossing rivers, dangers from robbers; dangers from my own countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles; dangers in the city, dangers in the Desert, dangers by sea, dangers from spies in our midst; with labour and toil, with many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, in frequent fastings, in cold, and with insufficient clothing. And besides other things, which I pass over, there is that which presses on me daily--my anxiety for all the Churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led astray into sin, and I am not aflame with indignation?

Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he replied, "Rulers and Elders of the people,

Having said this He breathed upon them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

and yet you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judaea and Samaria and to the remotest parts of the earth."

They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in foreign languages according as the Spirit gave them words to utter.

By means of that explanation, as you read it, you can judge of my insight into the truth of Christ which in earlier ages was not made known to the human race, as it has now been revealed to His holy Apostles and Prophets through the Spirit--

When the Apostles in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans had accepted God's Message, they sent Peter and John to visit them. They, when they came down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit: for He had not as yet fallen upon any of them. They had only been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.read more.
Then the Apostles placed their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Spirit. When, however, Simon saw that it was through the laying on of the Apostles' hands that the Spirit was bestowed, he offered them money.

and when Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy.