The
apostles and prophets are mentioned twice more in Ephesians (3:5; 4:11).
Neither term is defined in the letter, and both have at least two possible
interpretations. First, the “apostles” may refer to the so-called uppercase-A
Apostles, namely the remaining original eleven plus Matthew (Acts 1:13-26),
James the Lord’s brother (Gal 1:19), and Paul, who was sent by God to the
gentiles (Acts 9:15; Rom 11:13; Gal 1:1; Eph 1:1). These Apostles were
commissioned by Christ to carry forward his teaching by the inspiration of the
Spirit (John 14:25-26; cf. Acts 2:42; 26:17). A second option is that the
“apostles” refers to so-called lowercase-a apostles, such as Andronicus and
Junia, who are possibly called “apostles” in Rom 16:7 (depending on how
this verse is translated). Given, however, that there are only a few possible
references to lowercase-a apostles in Paul’s writings (if we exclude the verse
under consideration; cf. Rom 16:7; 1 Thess 2:7; 1 Cor 15:7), and that there is
little in the present context to override the likely default meaning,
“apostles” is best understood to refer to the uppercase-A Apostles, of which
Paul is one (Eph 1:1). (Constantine R. Campbell, The Letter to the Ephesians
[The Pillar New Testament Commentary; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2023],
122)
A similar distinction may be made between
“uppercase-P” Prophets and “lowercase-p” prophets. The former refers to the
great prophets of Israelite history, especially those whose writings are
preserved in the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament), such as Isaiah, Ezekiel, and
Zechariah. The latter refers to prophets of the new covenant, such as Paul
mentioned in 1 Cor 12:28-29 and 14:29-32. The major distinction between the two
is that the former is a very select group, with great authority and perilous
consequences for falsehood (Deut 13:1-5; Ezek 13:1-6), while the latter group
appears to be broader with milder consequences for falsehood (1 Cor 14:29). In Ephesians,
it is more likely the lowercase-p prophets in view, as 3:5 and 4:11 reveal. In
3:5, the mystery of Christ “is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets
by the Spirit.” The temporal indicator “now”—along with reference to the
Spirit—affirms the new covenant context of these prophets. Likewise, 4:11 puts
prophets alongside other new covenant ministries such as apostles, evangelist,
and pastor-teachers. Thus, in 2:20, “prophets” are new-covenant believers with
the gift of prophecy, rather than the uppercase-P Prophets of the old covenant.
We may suppose that the function of the apostles and
prophets differ according to the nature of their roles—assuming we have
correctly understood to whom Paul refers here. Apostolic authority was, and
remains, a fixed bedrock of the church’s understanding of Jesus and his
ministry. But prophetic ministry addresses specific circumstances and
occasions. It is “unfixed,” and in this way complements apostolic authority.
Indeed, perhaps it is helpful to view prophetic ministry as the application of
apostolic teaching to specific situations. If so, that would explain why it
makes sense for “the apostles and prophets” to refer to uppercase-A Apostles
while also referring to lowercase-p prophets, as argued above. (Ibid., 123)