What is the difference between disciples and apostles?

[Always in His Presence]

In the Gospels, the 12 and others were called both.

 

[HTacianas]

In the Gospels, the 12 and others were called both.

A disciple is a student. An Apostle is an emissary. The Apostles were at first disciples, but they "graduated" to Apostle.

Jhn 15:15 “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

Jhn 15:16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

There are a number of what's called Church Order commandments -like the authority to forgive or withhold sins- that were given to the Apostles as they were sent out to "go and bear fruit". You can see the hierarchy that was put in place in 1 Corinthians:

1Co 12:28 And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.

1Co 12:29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles?

 

[d taylor]

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In the Gospels, the 12 and others were called both.

What is the difference between a disciple and apostle? | GotQuestions.org

 

[Always in His Presence]

A disciple is a student. An Apostle is an emissary. The Apostles were at first disciples, but they "graduated" to Apostle.

Luke 9 vs 10 the 12 were called Apostles, 4 verses later they are called disciples.

Did they loose their ‘graduation’?

 

[HTacianas]

Luke 9 vs 10 the 12 were called Apostles, 4 verses later they are called disciples.

Did they loose their ‘graduation’?

Luke was writing long after the fact and may have used the terms interchangeably.

 

[Fervent]

Apostle simply means "one who is sent off," disciple means "student." While these terms came to have a specific Christian meaning, it's not at all clear that the understanding these words developed within the tradition was intended by the original NT authors(or that they were meant the exact same way in every instance they were used for that matter).

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

@HTacianas is right that a disciple learns, an apostle proclaims the message. The two terms are interchangeable concerning the twelve apostles of the Lord. The most obvious difference between apostles and disciples is knowledge and experience, another difference is between the twelve apostles of the Lord and the other apostles such as saint Paul. These other apostles had knowledge and experience, but they were not chosen to be apostles directly by Jesus Christ while he was still upon this Earth. Matthias is numbered among the twelve and he was chosen by lot guided by the Holy Spirit, and he had a qualification that saint Paul lacked, he was an eyewitness of Christ's earthly ministry and resurrection.

 

[Clare73]

@HTacianas is right that a disciple learns, an apostle proclaims the message. The two terms are interchangeable concerning the twelve apostles of the Lord. The most obvious difference between apostles and disciples is knowledge and experience, another difference is between the twelve apostles of the Lord and the other apostles such as saint Paul. These other apostles had knowledge and experience, but they were not chosen to be apostles directly by Jesus Christ while he was still upon this Earth. Matthias is numbered among the twelve and he was chosen by lot guided by the Holy Spirit, and he had a qualification that saint Paul lacked, he was an eyewitness of Christ's earthly ministry and resurrection.

And all lacked what Paul had. . .caught up to the third heaven and hearing things he was not allowed to speak.

 

[BobRyan]

In the Gospels, the 12 and others were called both.

all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares.

The Apostles (the 12) were all disciples
But the 70 disciples and others -- were not all "Apostles"

 

[Always in His Presence]

all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares.

The Apostles (the 12) were all disciples
But the 70 disciples and others -- were not all "Apostles"

I am speaking of the 12 -

Luke 9:10 And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. 11 But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. 12 When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.”​

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13 But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.”​

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And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men.​

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Then He said to His disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of fifty.” 15 And they did so, and made them all sit down.​

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