Apostles

[OBW]

BTW.

Being an apostle was not like being Jesus during his earthly ministry. The real followers of an apostle were generally not following him around from place-to-place, but following his teaching word-for-word. Apostles weren't around to have people flock after them. They were to help churches be what they needed to be.

So we are in churches. We are getting help (hopefully) from various sources, both within the assembly and without. We may not even realize all the places that the external help comes from. Do you think that as churches grew that everyone there was hanging all over the apostle(s) whenever they came to town, or when they sent a letter? Probably not, or at least less and less over time. But the church still benefited. It gets to your teachers who have immediate responsibility for serving you. And they take the help and pass it on. The letter to Galatia eventually gets to Ephesus and Sardis. Some of the details may not seem immediately applicable. But the true teacher takes note of it all and is ready to use it as needed.