Apostle

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Apostle \A*pos"tle\, n. [OE. apostle, apostel, postle, AS.
     apostol, L. apostolus, fr. Gr. ? messenger, one sent forth or
     away, fr. ? to send off or away; ? from + ? to send; akin to
     G. stellen to set, E. stall: cf. F. ap[^o]tre, Of. apostre,
     apostle, apostele, apostole.]
     1. Literally: One sent forth; a messenger. Specifically: One


        of the twelve disciples of Christ, specially chosen as his
        companions and witnesses, and sent forth to preach the
        gospel.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              He called unto him his disciples, and of them he
              chose twelve, whom also he named apostles. --Luke
                                                    vi. 13.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: The title of apostle is also applied to others, who,
           though not of the number of the Twelve, yet were equal
           with them in office and dignity; as, "Paul, called to
           be an apostle of Jesus Christ." --1 Cor. i. 1. In
           --Heb. iii. 1, the name is given to Christ himself, as
           having been sent from heaven to publish the gospel. In
           the primitive church, other ministers were called
           apostles --(Rom. xvi. 7).
           [1913 Webster]
  
     2. The missionary who first plants the Christian faith in any
        part of the world; also, one who initiates any great moral
        reform, or first advocates any important belief; one who
        has extraordinary success as a missionary or reformer; as,
        Dionysius of Corinth is called the apostle of France, John
        Eliot the apostle to the Indians, Theobald Mathew the
        apostle of temperance.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Civ. & Admiralty Law) A brief letter dimissory sent by a
        court appealed from to the superior court, stating the
        case, etc.; a paper sent up on appeals in the admiralty
        courts. --Wharton. Burrill.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Apostles' creed}, a creed of unknown origin, which was
        formerly ascribed to the apostles. It certainly dates back
        to the beginning of the sixth century, and some assert
        that it can be found in the writings of Ambrose in the
        fourth century.
  
     {Apostle spoon} (Antiq.), a spoon of silver, with the handle
        terminating in the figure of an apostle. One or more were
        offered by sponsors at baptism as a present to the
        godchild. --B. Jonson.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  apostle
       n 1: an ardent early supporter of a cause or reform; "an apostle
            of revolution"
       2: any important early teacher of Christianity or a Christian
          missionary to a people
       3: (New Testament) one of the original 12 disciples chosen by
          Christ to preach his gospel

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  49 Moby Thesaurus words for "apostle":
     Aaronic priesthood, Ambrose of Milan, Athanasius, Barnabas, Basil,
     Clement of Alexandria, Clement of Rome, Cyprian of Carthage,
     Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory of Nyssa, Hermas, Ignatius, Irenaeus,
     Jerome, John, John Chrysostom, Justin Martyr, Lactantius Firmianus,
     Luke, Mark, Melchizedek priesthood, Origen, Papias, Paul, Peter,
     Polycarp, Seventy, Tertullian, ante-Nicene Fathers, bishop,
     colporteur, convert, converter, deacon, disciple, elder,
     evangelist, follower, high priest, missionary, missioner,
     patriarch, priest, propagandist, proselyte, proselyter,
     proselytizer, saint, teacher
  
  

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Apostle
     a person sent by another; a messenger; envoy. This word is once
     used as a descriptive designation of Jesus Christ, the Sent of
     the Father (Heb. 3:1; John 20:21). It is, however, generally
     used as designating the body of disciples to whom he intrusted
     the organization of his church and the dissemination of his
     gospel, "the twelve," as they are called (Matt. 10:1-5; Mark
     3:14; 6:7; Luke 6:13; 9:1). We have four lists of the apostles,
     one by each of the synoptic evangelists (Matt. 10:2-4; Mark
     3:16; Luke 6:14), and one in the Acts (1:13). No two of these
     lists, however, perfectly coincide.
     
       Our Lord gave them the "keys of the kingdom," and by the gift
     of his Spirit fitted them to be the founders and governors of
     his church (John 14:16, 17, 26; 15:26, 27; 16:7-15). To them, as
     representing his church, he gave the commission to "preach the
     gospel to every creature" (Matt. 28:18-20). After his ascension
     he communicated to them, according to his promise, supernatural
     gifts to qualify them for the discharge of their duties (Acts
     2:4; 1 Cor. 2:16; 2:7, 10, 13; 2 Cor. 5:20; 1 Cor. 11:2). Judas
     Iscariot, one of "the twelve," fell by transgression, and
     Matthias was substituted in his place (Acts 1:21). Saul of
     Tarsus was afterwards added to their number (Acts 9:3-20; 20:4;
     26:15-18; 1 Tim. 1:12; 2:7; 2 Tim. 1:11).
     
       Luke has given some account of Peter, John, and the two
     Jameses (Acts 12:2, 17; 15:13; 21:18), but beyond this we know
     nothing from authentic history of the rest of the original
     twelve. After the martyrdom of James the Greater (Acts 12:2),
     James the Less usually resided at Jerusalem, while Paul, "the
     apostle of the uncircumcision," usually travelled as a
     missionary among the Gentiles (Gal. 2:8). It was characteristic
     of the apostles and necessary (1) that they should have seen the
     Lord, and been able to testify of him and of his resurrection
     from personal knowledge (John 15:27; Acts 1:21, 22; 1 Cor. 9:1;
     Acts 22:14, 15). (2.) They must have been immediately called to
     that office by Christ (Luke 6:13; Gal. 1:1). (3.) It was
     essential that they should be infallibly inspired, and thus
     secured against all error and mistake in their public teaching,
     whether by word or by writing (John 14:26; 16:13; 1 Thess.
     2:13).
     
       (4.) Another qualification was the power of working miracles
     (Mark 16:20; Acts 2:43; 1 Cor. 12:8-11). The apostles therefore
     could have had no successors. They are the only authoritative
     teachers of the Christian doctrines. The office of an apostle
     ceased with its first holders.
     
       In 2 Cor. 8:23 and Phil. 2:25 the word "messenger" is the
     rendering of the same Greek word, elsewhere rendered "apostle."