Who were the apostles Paul referred to?

Answer 1

The verses referred to are:-

Co 15:3-8 KJV For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (v.4) And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: (v.5) And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: (v.6) After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. (v.7) After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.(v.8) And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

A "disciple" is a "learner or pupil" [Strongs G3101] while an " Apostle" is "one sent forth" [Strongs G652]: they are one and the same:-

Matthew 10:1-5 1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, andJohn his brother;

3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;

4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

5 These twelve Jesus sent forth,....

After they had been trained, the twelve Disciples were referred to as Apostles.

Since Judas Iscariot had committed suicide after betraying Christ , his place was taken by Matthias.

Acts 1:13-26 KJV

(v.13) And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.

(v.16) ...[C]oncerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.

(v.24) And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,

(v.25) That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

(v.26) And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Therefore apostles Paul referred to were Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Lebbaeus, Simon, and Matthias.

Answer 2

In 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, Paul said that Jesus died and was buried, rose again according to the scriptures, then was seen by Cephas, then the twelve, then by more than 500, most of whom were still alive, then by James and all the apostles, and finally by himself. There are some important differences here compared to the gospel account written some years later. Some of these are the reference to Cephas (Peter) as outside the 'twelve', the reference to being seen by twelve when Judas should have been excluded, then the strange reference to the 'apostles' who are not the same group as the 'twelve'. Moreover, Paul seems to equate the appearances to the others and to himself, such that it would seem that all the appearances were purely spiritual, not physical.

Clearly, Paul had an entirely different understanding of the appearances of the risen Jesus than would come down to us in the gospel account. We can only speculate about the apostles of whom Paul spoke, but I believe the answer does not lie in the gospels.