God’s Word for You

2 Timothy 1:11 herald, apostle, teacher

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Thursday, June 4, 2026

11 into (the service of) which I was placed as herald and apostle and teacher,

Verse 10 ended with Paul saying that Christ works “through the gospel,” and now adds, “into which I was placed….” We take this to mean “into the service of which I was placed.” The preposition “into” (εἰς) shows us that Paul did not choose these offices for himself, but he was placed or set “into” them by Christ.

The offices are these:

A herald. A herald is a special servant of a king, a trustworthy man who will go and proclaim a message wherever he is commanded to proclaim it. Noah is called “a herald of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5) because he proclaimed the will of God, the promise given to Adam and Eve in the Garden, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins for half a millennium. He lived in what was the most wicked world mankind has ever known. For most of that time, as the blessed Luther concludes by putting the best construction on the text of Genesis, Noah remained a virgin, shunning the wicked and sinful lifestyle that everyone else in the world seemed to have embraced and expected of everyone else. Echoes of this lewdness appeared later in Sodom and Gomorrah, when a gang of homosexual rapists beat on Lot’s door shouting, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them!” (Genesis 19:5). And what did Joseph face when, as a slave, he was approached by his master’s wife who had contrived to be alone in the house with the young man, saying, “Come to bed with me!” (Genesis 39:7). But facing worse trials and temptations than these, Noah was a herald of God’s law and gospel with his words and with his life. He “warned about things not yet seen” (Hebrews 11:7), but only eight people in all, just he, his wife (Noah married at last in order to have children to be saved with him when the Flood came), and his sons and their wives, were saved. So also Paul was living as a herald of God’s holy will in the world. He proclaimed the gospel and lived the gospel for all to see, even here in prison in Rome, in the final days of his life.

An apostle. This word means someone who is sent on a mission with authority to carry it out. The difference between a herald and an apostle in the secular world would be that a military officer with orders to carry out could be called an apostle in a broad sense (2 Maccabees 2:15), as could any servant sent on an errand (Nehemiah 8:12). But in the New Testament it is used of those who were commanded to proclaim the gospel with signs and with the sacraments. The Lord said to the Twelve, “Preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons” (Matthew 10:7-8; Mark 3:14-15).

A teacher. A teacher remains with a group to explain more thoroughly what has been preached. We learn from the Hebrew word “to teach” (yarah, Exodus 4:12; 1 Samuel 12:23) that a good teacher presents the lesson in many different ways, as necessary, until the students catch the meaning. For yarah in Hebrew means to “throw” or even to shoot arrows, and the word-picture is of someone tossing a ball to a child. The teacher throws and throws and throws until the idea or information is caught. To “throw” in the same way every time is fruitless; the good teacher teaches in whatever way the pupil can catch. “It was I who taught the people of Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms” (Hosea 11:3). In Old Testament times, we think that there was some teaching done to older children by the priests or Levites, with “the teaching of the law by the priest… the counsel from the wise… the word from the prophets” (Jeremiah 18:18). But as in every culture, a great deal of early teaching is done by mothers with their children. “Do not forsake your mother’s teaching” (Proverbs 1:8, 6:20). But just as Jesus taught the people in the synagogues (Matthew 4:23; Mark 14:49), so our pastors and ministers teach our people in Bible classes, so that they will deepen their knowledge of the Scriptures and their love of Christ (Matthew 28:20).

Not everyone has the gifts to be all of these things. “Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?” (1 Corinthians 12:29-30). And Paul also says, “If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully” (Romans 12:6-8). Therefore if you have a gift, offer it to be used by the church. If it is not required one day, it may on another occasion. If you do not have a gift for teaching, use the gift you have for prayer, and pray for those who teach, who are apostles, who are heralds of the gospel. Pray that they would use their gifts wisely and well, and thay they would avoid all false doctrine, but preach the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). For Christ promises to be with us in truth and in love (2 John 1:3), and to be with us until the very end of the age.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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