A Lesson on the Apostles

Learning Objectives

By the close of this lesson the hearer should be able to:

1. Explain why the Lord's choice of the Twelve was deliberate and instructive, not accidental.
2. Show how the variety among the apostles pictures the variety of useful members in the Lord's church.
3. Identify the kind of disciple Christ can use — and offer himself as one.

Thesis

The Lord chose twelve very different men to lay the foundation of His church, and in their variety He teaches every congregation that He has a place and a work for every kind of faithful disciple.

Burden

We are tempted to look at the apostles as giants standing far above us — and in their office they do stand alone, the foundation laid once for all (Eph. 2:20). But Jesus did not choose marble statues; He chose working men of differing temperaments, and He chose them on purpose. When we see how He used the bold man and the quiet man, the practical man and the doubter, we stop excusing ourselves with "I am not the type." In Christ's church there is no useless type — there is only the willing and the unwilling.

Introduction

Jesus first made disciples; then, after a night of prayer (Luke 6:12), He chose twelve men from among those disciples to be apostles. They were not untried youths but matured men. Boles draws the lesson in two foundations and a gallery of examples: the basis of the Lord's selection, the analogy to the church, and then the individual apostles as types of useful members.

I. The Basis of His Selection (Luke 6:12-13)

1. He made no mistakes. The choice followed prayer; it was the Father's will carried out by the Son.
2. We do well to study His selection — for what He valued in them, He still values in us.
3. He selected the best for that work at that time — fishermen, a tax-gatherer, zealots — ordinary men whom He would make extraordinary.

(One of the Twelve, Judas, would betray Him; even this the Lord foreknew (John 6:64, 70). The Lord's choice was not in error; the failure was Judas's own — a sobering note we shall return to.)

II. An Analogy to the Church (1 Cor. 12:14-20)

1. They were suited for their work.
2. There were different types of men in the group, but each was needed.
3. All types of men are needed in the church — Paul's figure of the body says the same: the body is not one member, but many (1 Cor. 12:14).
4. One type is as important as another — "the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee" (1 Cor. 12:21).

Boles' point is exactly the apostle Paul's: variety is not a weakness in the church but God's design for it.

III. The Apostles as Types of Useful Members

Boles passes through representative men, each a type still needed today:

• John — the beloved disciple, who wrote much of love; a concrete example of love. The church always needs the loving heart.
• Matthew — the practical business man; the church needs those who can order its practical affairs.
• Peter — the bold, fearless leader, to whom were given the keys of the kingdom (Matt. 16:19; cf. Acts 2). The church needs courageous leaders.
• Andrew — the quiet worker, who is repeatedly seen bringing others to Jesus (John 6:8; 12:22; and 1:40-42, bringing his brother Peter). The church needs the unnoticed soul-winner.

  [Source note: the 1949 text here carries an intrusive, garbled fragment — "Ananias, a certain disciple baptized Saul, never hear of him again." It does not belong to Andrew and appears to be an OCR or printing intrusion; it is preserved in the raw split and flagged for manual review, not built upon here.]

• Thomas — the honest doubter, who saw the dark side and all the difficulties, yet came to the great confession, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:24-28). The church has room for the honest questioner who follows his questions to faith.
• James — the sturdy pillar, first of the Twelve to be martyred, beheaded by Herod (Acts 12:1-2). The church needs the steadfast who will pay the price.
• Philip — willing to serve and to bring others ("servant of all" [source: "sep ant," reconstructed]; John 1:43-45 — he found Nathanael).
• Judas — who became a traitor; a tragic degeneration. Matthias took his place (Acts 1:26). No earthly court punished Judas; he punished himself (Matt. 27:5). The warning stands: nearness to Christ is not the same as faithfulness to Christ.

Application

Look down that gallery and find yourself. You may not be a Peter; perhaps you are an Andrew, quietly bringing one person at a time. You may not preach like an apostle; perhaps, like Matthew, you can serve the practical needs that keep a congregation sound. The lesson cuts two ways. First, never excuse your idleness by saying your gift is small; the body needs your member. Second, never despise another's gift; the hand must not look down on the foot. And let Judas warn us all: a place among the Lord's people is no substitute for a faithful heart toward the Lord Himself.

Conclusion

Jesus prayed all night, then chose twelve unlikely men, and through them laid the foundation of His church and turned the world upside down. He still calls ordinary people of every temperament into His service. The only disciple He cannot use is the one who will not be used.

Invitation

The same Lord who called the Twelve calls you. If you are not yet His, the gospel invites you to follow Him as they did — to believe, to repent, to confess Him before men, and to be baptized into Christ (Acts 2:38; Gal. 3:27). If you are a Christian who has been standing idle, offer your gift — whatever it is — back to the body that needs it. And if, like Judas, you have been near the Lord without being true to Him, turn back today before the tragedy is finished. Come as we sing.

Word Study

• "Apostle" (Gk. apostolos): one sent forth with authority, an envoy. The Twelve held a unique, foundational office (Eph. 2:20; Acts 1:21-22) that, by its qualifications, could not be perpetuated.
• "He chose" (Luke 6:13, Gk. eklegō): to pick out for oneself — a deliberate, purposeful selection, underscoring Boles' first point.

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