This is the basic definition of the word apostle: It comes from the Greek word apostolos, meaning a delegate, an ambassador of the Gospel, officially a commissioner of Christ (with miraculous powers), a messenger, he that is sent. Before this word found its way into our Bible, it was a secular term used by the Greeks and Romans to describe special envoys who were sent out for the purpose of expanding the dominion of the empire. Many of these envoys were military generals with authority to go into new territories and fight, if necessary, to establish the Greek or Roman culture in that region.
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