BACK TO FAQ MENU

Apostles

Bible Question: 2 Corinthians 8:1-7 Financial support for the Apostles?

Answer:

2Co 8:1 And now we give you news, brothers, about the grace of God which has been given to the churches of Macedonia;
2Co 8:2 How while they were undergoing every sort of trouble, and were in the greatest need, they took all the greater joy in being able to give freely to the needs of others.
2Co 8:3 For I give them witness, that as they were able, and even more than they were able, they gave from the impulse of their hearts,
2Co 8:4 Seriously requesting us that they might have a part in this grace of being servants to the needs of the saints:
2Co 8:5 And going even farther than our hope, they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us after the purpose of God.
2Co 8:6 So that we made a request to Titus that, as he had made a start before, so he might make this grace complete in you.
2Co 8:7 And that as you are full of every good thing, of faith, of the word, of knowledge, of a ready mind, and of love to us, so you may be full of this grace in the same way.
2Co 8:8 I am not giving you an order, but using the ready mind of others as a test of the quality of your love.
(Bible in Basic English Translation)
The Apostle is talking about the financial support the Brethren in Macedonia were able to give abundantly, even though they themselves were in difficulties. The Apostle Paul is encouraging the brethren at Corinth to see the blessing of giving generously for the needs of others not as a commandment, but as an act of Christian love. The sacrifice of giving happily, even if it hurts a little is the attitude our Heavenly Father is pleased to see. Jesus' example in everything he did went far beyond that, even to the cross. Below is a brief article on those Scriptures you should find informative.

ST. PAUL ON THE GRACE OF GIVING
—II COR. 8:1-15—
Golden Text:—"Remember the words of the Lord Jesus... It is more blessed to give than to receive."—Acts 20:35.
THE Bible is singularly free from monetary solicitations from first to last. The prophets were poor. The Savior himself had not where to lay his head and his followers were noted as being "of the common people who heard him gladly," and "chiefly the poor of this world." And yet we know of no solicitations for money, either for personal use or for building churches. The Scripture we consider today may be said to be the only appeal for money recorded in the Bible, and it was for the poor at Jerusalem, sorely pressed by the famine in the time of the Roman Emperor Claudius. (Acts 11:28.) If the pages of the Bible abounded with accounts of our Lord's and the Apostles' begging and "sponging," their lives and their words would have far less influence with us.
The fact that their faith and their preaching did not bring them wealth, but cost them much in self-sacrifice, is a convincing proof to us of their sincerity, their honesty—that they believed what they proclaimed. Not to mention the great Redeemer' s self-denials, but merely looking at his followers, we perceive that in espousing an unpopular cause they became objects of hatred and derision and were boycotted socially and everyway. Instead of profiting by the Gospel, it was of Divine Providence that the acceptance of it cost them "the loss of all things." What noble characters they were, in that they needed not to be bought with money, but gladly paid the price of the Truth. They esteemed their earthly possessions and hopes as loss and dross, that they might share in the sufferings of Christ and thereby attain joint-heirship with him in his Millennial Kingdom by the First Resurrection.—Phil. 3:8; Rev. 20:4.
"MORE BLESSED TO GIVE"
Our text furnishes the key-note to this Study. St. Paul had proven the Truth of Jesus' words, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." He was happy, "joyful in tribulation," giving constantly for the good of others from his store of grace and Truth. He was more blessed in the giving than any of his hearers in the receiving of the message. In the words of this Study, he sought to extend to the Church at Corinth the blessing and joy of giving. They already knew of the necessities of the principal congregation of Christians—at Jerusalem. They already knew that St. Paul intended going thither and that others of the Gentiles purposed sending at his hands a present—an acknowledgment, as it were, that the spiritual blessings of the Gospel message had come to them through representatives of the Jewish people.
St. Paul knew that giving would cheer and warm their hearts and bring them a great blessing—therefore, not selfishly, but as their true friend, he would stir them up to the exercise of generosity that he might increase their spiritual vitality and joy. He asked nothing for himself, however. It was by way of inspiring them to emulation that he related how the churches of Macedonia had contributed, even while in affliction. The abundance of their joy led them to great liberality, notwithstanding their own deep poverty. Evidently there, as elsewhere, "not many rich" were among the "called." To the measure of their power and beyond it and without urging they gave. Indeed they had entreated the Apostle to act as their representative in this service to the Jerusalem saints. Their course in the matter was more noble than the Apostle had dared hope. They had said in effect, "We are Christ's in this matter, and yours after him; for this we realize to be the will of God."

Bible Question: Apostle John, how old was he before his death?

Answer: Only James and Judas have their deaths recorded in Scripture. The remainder of the Apostles have been written about by early church historians like Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History and Josephus in Jewish Antiquities and many of the writings in the Apocrypha . It is difficult to know for sure what is true and what is partially true and what is false. No doubt most of the Apostles were martyred due to the great persecutions of the Christians which even secular history records. The Roman Emperor, Nero was particularly cruel and put many Christians to death.
Historians tell us that the Apostle John was the last Apostle to die. Almost all of the Apostles met with violent deaths as a result of preaching the Gospel of Christ, but John died a natural death in Ephesus at the advanced age of around one hundred. Although John was imprisoned for his witness to the truth, he was not put to death as a result. While imprisoned, John received the vision seen in the last book of the Bible known as the Revelation of John. There are no Scriptures which state how John died, because he was the last of the writers of the Bible to live.

Bible Question: How come that nothing was mentioned about the Apostles wives? Does it mean none of them had a wife?

Answer: The Book of Acts tells us a little about Peter and Paul in regards to their ministry but that's it. We have no facts regarding where the other Apostles spread the Gospel message or even how they died except for the Apostle James who the Book of Acts tells us was beheaded not long after Jesus' death. The Apostle Peter was married for his mother-in-law is mentioned: Mar 1:30 But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her. When one studies the various Mary's and James' in Scripture to try and learn who's who, one finds more questions than answers at the end. Remember that the New Testament for the most part is a collection of letters, and when an Apostle is writing a letter to someone there are a lot of details that they assume the other person or Church knows already, or maybe assumes that the other party does not need to know. The letters are not to tell all the news of what was happening to all of the disciples, but Jesus and his teaching is the focus. The Lord doesn't desire truth seekers to get all side tracked on issues not important for the Christian to know. That is exactly why God buried Moses himself in a hidden grave for he knew Satan would make Moses grave site a monument of worship unparalleled.
The Bible is a book of Faith and written to the faithful. All of God's promises and Truths are realized through faith. We need not have to many details to know that the Apostles laid down their lives in self sacrifice in the Lord's service to the day they died. If they had Families, they were taken care of, but they were secondary to the teachings of Jesus, as it should be.
We have accounts of their martyrdom through tradition such as the Apostle Peter being crucified upside down because he felt unworthy to die as our Savior did. And the Apostle Paul being Beheaded In Rome by Nero's decree. The Apostle John who gave us the Gospel of John and three epistles as well as Revelation was the youngest and was the last to die.
On our web site is a booklet called the "Twelve Apostles of the Lamb" below is a link to it. It will fill in everything important to know about those Jesus hand picked. apostlebook_01.cfm

Bible Question: which one of the 12 apostles died of natural death, and were can I find the scripture on how he died?

Answer: The Apostle John was the last Apostle to die, whereas his brother James was the first of the Apostles to die. Almost all of the Apostles met with violent deaths as a result of preaching the Gospel of Christ, but John died a natural death in Ephesus at the advanced age of around one hundred. Although John was imprisoned for his witness to the truth, he was not put to death as a result. While imprisoned, John received the vision seen in the last book of the Bible known as the Revelation of John.
There are no Scriptures which state how John died, because he was the last of the writers of the Bible to live. However, history is reliable by this time, and John's death is clearly recorded in history.

Bible Question: Theologians and other Biblical scholars record the manner of death of most of Christ's apostles and since this is not recorded in the Holy writings, What was their source of information?

Answer: As you know only James and Judas have their deaths recorded in Scripture. The other Apostles have been written about by early church historians like Eusebius, in his Ecclesiastical History and Josephus in Jewish Antiquities and many of the writings in the Apocrypha . It is difficult to know for sure what is true and what is partially true and what is false. No doubt most of the Apostles were martyred due to the great persecutions of the Christians which even secular history records. The Roman Emperor, Nero was particularly cruel and put many Christians to death.
We prefer to use the Bible accounts of the life and teachings of the Apostles and give very little weight to the uninspired writings, even though somewhat interesting. If they are not reliable they seem to have very little value.

Bible Question: I found a blatant lie in a simple thing as who were the Apostles! How can I be sure that the rest of your beliefs are based on biblical facts? I believe that you erroneously listed the Apostle's names. Your site states, "What are the names of the 12 Apostles?
Simon Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, Thaddaeus, Simon, Judas Iscariot, Paul (replacement for Judas)."
Paul was NOT a replacement for Judas Iscariot ... Matthias was chosen. I have included Scripture to prove it. Acts 1:13, 21-22, 23-26

Answer: What you have proved is that the Apostles themselves voted and chose who they thought should be the replacement. This was not God's choice, as was indicated later in I Cor. 1:26-29 & II Cor. 11:5 .
After the resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus, the eleven faithful Apostles, along with about one hundred of Jesus' disciples were gathered together in an upper room in Jerusalem, waiting for the promised blessing of the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:4-15 And while waiting, the Apostle Peter remembered the prophecies concerning Judas in the book of Psalms, "Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick [office of an overseer] let another take." Acts 1:20 From this, Peter urged his brethren that they should choose from among those who were faithful followers of Jesus a replacement for the betrayer, Judas.
This replacement had to be a believer who had witnessed the life and resurrection of their Lord. They selected two honored Christians from among them, Justus* and Matthias, and prayed for the Father to bless which one He wanted to replace Judas. "...and they gave forth their lots: and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles." Acts 1:21-26
*It is possible that Justus is the same as Barnabas, also called Joses in Acts 4:36. Joses is the same as "Joseph called Barsabas who was surnamed Justus" in Acts 1:23. More will be written on Barnabas in the next chapter on the Apostle Paul.
Now, Matthias was definitely a faithful example to the early Church. We know he was a Jew, because the call of the Church had not yet gone out to the Gentiles. He was probably from a faithful Jewish household, for his name means "Gift of Jehovah." It is very possible that he was a former follower of John the Baptist, for Peter noted this as one of the qualifications they looked for in a replacement. Act 1:21,22 And by these qualifications, it is quite likely also that he was one of the 70 disciples that Jesus sent out to preach by the power of the Holy Spirit. Luke 10:1 Matthias would have been a very responsible and active example of a believer, otherwise he would not have been selected to such a place of honor among the brethren.
Even though Matthias was quite capable as a good Christian example to replace Judas, and the Apostles in their zeal were trying to do God's will, for many reasons they were wrong to jump ahead of the Lord. One reason was that Jesus simply told them to stay in Jerusalem and "wait for the promise of the Father...." He did not direct them to take matters of great importance to the Church into their own hands. Another reason was that they had not yet received the Holy Spirit, which would have given clearer wisdom in such matters. Finally, Peter should have known through the many lessons of his walk with the Lord, that he should beware of his tendency toward acting out first, before considering the consequences. He should have been very cautious with his impetuous nature. Even though the Heavenly Father appreciated the zeal of their hearts, He ignored their error and let time prove to them that He was quite able to make His own choice of an Apostle to replace Judas.
Jehovah had another plan and was preparing an instrument of His own choosing— Saul of Tarsus. But, Saul? The Apostles would never have chosen him! He would become known as one of the most noted persecutors of the Church and soon would even assist in the stoning of their beloved Stephen! Acts 7:57-60 God would prove to the early Church and to all believers that He could take the misguided zeal of Saul, and by His Holy Spirit, transform him into the most noted of the twelve Apostles. I Cor. 1:26-29 & II Cor. 11:5
But what of Matthias? When he saw that God had not blessed him to be the Apostle to replace Judas, did he become jealous or hurt and fight for his right to be an Apostle? Did he storm off in disgust and leave the flock of the Lord? It is likely that he did not, for history claims him to be very active in the witness of the Gospel. All Christians should learn a lesson by this humble loving spirit which would rejoice in the special blessings of others. In I Corinthians 13:4 we read that love envies not. The fact that others had chosen Matthias to replace Judas was a testimony of his loving character toward the Lord and his brethren.
Tradition states that Matthias helped in spreading the Gospel as far as Armenia and Ethiopia. It is thought that he was imprisoned and blinded by the Ethiopians and then was rescued by the Apostle Andrew. Historians believe that the final mission of Matthias was in Jerusalem where he was stoned to death for his ministry to Jesus.
We recall that Matthias and Justus were present with the 120 disciples gathered in the upper room who received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It is certain, through the Scriptural records that Matthias and Justus were well respected by the eleven faithful Apostles and even though they were not numbered as one of the twelve Apostles, they can be respected by the Church as faithful followers of the Lamb.

Bible Question: WERE THE APOSTLES PETER & PAUL MARRIED MEN?

Answer: Mark 1:30 tells us Apostle Peter was married. "But Simon's [Peter] wife's mother lay sick of a fever..."

1 Cor. 7:1, 6-8 tells us that Apostle Paul was NOT married. Quoting from the New Amer. Standard Translation, "Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman.... But this I say by way of concession, not of command. Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am. However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that. But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I."

Apostle Paul found it advantageous to be unmarried because he was able to accomplish greater service to the Lord without having to be concerned with the necessary obligations one would have to a spouse. But he says this is not a command to be single. Not everyone is able to be content with being single, so it is not wrong to marry.