I inserted all of the referenced Bible verses in the quote from the Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology
Apostles and the Spirit The primary function of the apostles was to witness to Christ. The Twelve had intimate knowledge of his life, and a wider group had been witnesses to his resurrection. Their commissioning by the risen Lord to worldwide witness (Ac 1:8), however, was incomplete without the anointing of the Spirit. Only after Pentecost were they empowered by the Spirit for their ministry of word and deed. Their witness to Christ was not only empowered, but also guided and validated by the Spirit (John 14:26). "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
Thus, their full apostolic vocation was realized only in the Spirit (John 14-17). {that is} the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, {but} you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. Paul viewed apostleship as a gift of the Spirit (1 Co 12:28), And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, {various} kinds of tongues. which was often accompanied by miraculous signs and mighty works (2 Co 12:12). The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles. Such signs and wonders, however, were clearly secondary to the apostolic functions of preaching and teaching. Apostolic Authority Having direct knowledge of the incarnate Word, and being sent out as authorized agents of the gospel, the apostles provided the authentic interpretation of the life and teaching of Jesus. Because their witness to Christ was guided by the Spirit (John 15:26-27), "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, {that is} the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you {will} testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning. the apostles' teaching was considered normative for the church. They were regarded as the "pillars" (Gal 2:9) and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we {might} {go} to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. and "foundation" (Eph 2:20; having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner {stone,} cf. Rev 21:14) And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them {were} the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. of the church, and their teaching became the norm for Christian faith and practice. The deposit of revelation transmitted by the apostles and preserved in its written form in the New Testament thus forms the basis of post apostolic preaching and teaching in the church. Paul uses the word "apostle" in more than one sense. At times he employs the term in the broader sense of messenger or agent (2 Col 8:23; As for Titus, {he is} my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brethren, {they are} messengers of the churches, a glory to Christ. Php 2:25). But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need; More often, however, Paul uses the term to refer to those who had been commissioned by the risen Lord to the apostolic task. Included in this category are the Twelve (although he never explicitly applies the title of apostle to them as a group), Peter (Gal 1:18), Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord's brother. Paul himself (Rom 1:1; Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called {as} an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 1 Col 1:1; Paul, called {as} an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 9:1-2; Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. 15:8-10; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. Gal 2:7-8), But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter {had been} to the circumcised (for He who effectually worked for Peter in {his} apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles), James the brother of Jesus (Gal 1:19; But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord's brother. cf. Acts 15:13), After they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, "Brethren, listen to me. Barnabas (1 Col 9:5-6; Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or do only Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working? Gal 2:9; and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we {might} {go} to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. cf. Acts 14:4, But the people of the city were divided; and some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out), and possibly others (Ro 16:7 Greet Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners, who are outstanding among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.). In addition to understanding apostleship in terms of its basis in a divine call, Paul views the life of an apostle as being one of self-sacrificial service that entails suffering (1 Col 4:9-13; For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor. To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, {even} until now. 15:30-32; Why are we also in danger every hour? I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, LET US EAT AND DRINK, FOR TOMORROW WE DIE. 2 Col 4:7-12; But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; {we are} afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you. 11:23-29 Are they servants of Christ?--I speak as if insane--I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine {lashes.} Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. {I have been} on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from {my} countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; {I have been} in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from {such} external things, there is the daily pressure on me {of} concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?).
Reference is made to post apostolic preaching and teaching. Does this reference believe that apostles are no longer part of the chuch leadership?
