THERE are but Paul and Peter who name their apostleship at the beginning of the Epistles; and Paul, supposing the Epistle to the Hebrews to be his which I do not doubt, does not call himself so there. This title is not found in Philippians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon, the character of which epistle is much more personally fraternal. He associates also others; but this is not by itself the absolute reason. But these facts show that the title is assumed with a definite purpose and meaning: Paul and Barnabas, and in result Paul, having mission to the Gentiles, and Peter to the Jews, assume their title when in special exercise of their mission.
The others write according to the wisdom and gift of God. This is the case with Paul to the Hebrews, for he had not the place of apostle with them; and the kind of intercourse, as with the Thessalonians and Philemon, instead of claiming such a title, rendered it unsuited to the occasion. It was not authoritative revelation, or mandate, or the assumption of this place as title or ground of intercourse, but brotherly occasions of tender care or thoughtful communication. Though the truth he might announce might be the same, and its authority equal, its proper bearing is evident in the cases in which it is used.
Paul had never seen the Romans, and he was to present himself as the called apostle of all the Gentiles. Among the Corinthians he had to exercise this authority, and an authority contested, to put things in order. In the Galatians it was the question in a great measure, though scarce, of the truth which he taught. In the Ephesians and the Colossians he is the depository, as apostle of the Gentiles, of “the great mystery,” of Christ in them the hope of glory. The position of Timothy and Titus, who were to regulate important things in virtue of his authority, makes the use of this title evident and clear. Hence the use of it in an inspired Epistle is not to be looked for without a reason; and, generally speaking, Peter and Paul alone are in this place in respect of their scriptural relationships with the church. The authority does not come simply from apostleship, but from the will of God acting by inspiration. The manner of address is connected with the bearing of the letter, though it be an instruction for all times. For it is in these circumstances that the ways of God in the church are fully developed, and the proper Christian relationships, as well as divine truths, unfolded.
J. N. D.