Absolution, apocrypha, apostle, and apostolic :

Word Definitions and Meaning

ver.: 20 March 2008

The meaning of : absolution (expanded), apocrypha, apostle, apostolic.

What Is Absolution ?

absolution [ < Latin absolutio (acquittal) < absolvere (to absolve) < ab- (away) + solvere (to loosen)] A formal or official pardon; a remission or a setting loose.

Under most circumstances, "absolution" is only used to describe the formal action of a priest or ordained minister to forgive sins under the auspices of the organized Church by the authority of Christ. The term is only used that way by the liturgical churches, such as the Roman Catholics. These churches see this as a reflection of the "power of the Keys" that Christ granted to his apostles in John 20:23, and through them to Christ's future followers. This granting, though, was done when Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit onto them (John 20:22). It is precisely this Spirit that is living in each follower of Christ. The church later turned this power into an institutional thing : it is owned by a hierarchy, or can only be done by those the institution allows to do it, or only follows an 'apostolic succession' the presence of which is real but the chain of which is rather murky. The non-liturgical churches (like most Protestants) would note that in the John passage, Jesus grants the power to forgive and bind sins, but he is not creating an institution, he is sending out on a mission -- a mission that belongs to the whole church and not just the apostles or an organization's leaders or the ordained ministry. The church over the years discovered it needed a discipline so that forgiveness of sins is spoken by those who understand the gravity of what they are doing -- but many ministers are clueless and many non-ministers know full well.

Absolution is, at its heart, when a believer simply tells a repentant person what Christ has already told us : you, a repentant sinner, are in fact forgiven by Christ -- now go and live in it. In the Roman Catholic tradition, absolution is declared by the priest who has personally heard the person repent of their sins. The priest then gives instructions, originally intended as a way for the repentant believer ('the penitant') to follow through on their repentance so it doesn't stop the moment they leave the priest. Christ's charge to the forgiven is to forgive others just as He has forgiven us.

A 'general absolution' is given by the pastor after the congregation confesses its sin during the worship service. It is not said with the same certainty in which an individual confession is absolved, since those in a congregation are not all at the same state of repentance. For most traditions, a general confession and absolution is given during each worship service; others only do it at a baptism. For Roman Catholics, the general confession and absolution has no effect in those who are not repenting and who have no intent to confess their sin to a priest.

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What is the Apocrypha ?

apocrypha [ < Greek apo- (away (from), off) + Greek kruptein (to hide).] Hidden away; held in reserve.

The books of the Apocrypha were treated as secret or hidden because, though they contained useful materials on matters of faith, they were considered to be inauthentic and thus they should not be used as an authority for churchly matters. Not that the books themselves were seen as evil -- quite the contrary, they were honored as tradition. And as tradition, the Apocryphal books of Sirach (OT) and the Didache (NT) get a lot of attention and honor today.

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Apostle and Apostolic

apostle [ < Greek apo- (off, out, away) + stellein (to send).] One who is sent out with a specific mission, message, or purpose.

The clearest example of 'apostle' are the inner circle of followers of Jesus whom He trained and chose to lead His other followers. An apostle bears the authority of the sender to act on the sender's behalf on all matters related to the mission he/she is sent to do. This word should not be viewed as a 'religious' term, since it was used for envoys and delegates in all sorts of contexts.

In the first chapter of Acts, the apostles chose Matthias to join their ranks; later on Paul was recognized as an apostle 'untimely born'. The reason the early church stopped calling their leaders 'apostles' is that Jesus was no longer around to choose and send out people, and those who had been sent by Jesus were dying off. The Church could choose and send, even with great authority and power, but the Church is not Jesus. So, they called their chosen leaders by the names of their tasks : deacons, presbyters, bishops, and so on. These people are part of the apostolic train, but are not themselves apostles. There are church leaders today who call themselves 'apostles' or claim the full authority of an apostle, but noone has seen Jesus walking with them and teaching them. For the most part, they sent themselves, or gave broad hints to their own loyal followers to get them to do it. There are also some in Pentecostal circles who think that in the end-times, God will raise up 'super-apostles'. That's just a bad guess. In Scripture, God repeatedly chooses to work through dangerously flawed people, not supermen.

apostolic : 'as the apostles did/were'. It means that which was done by the twelve apostles or Paul. A small-a 'apostolic' church takes it to be a matter of faith that they do their best to live out the faith in keeping with the leaders of the first generation of Christians, those called the Apostles, who were made up of those who knew Jesus best. The source for what's 'apostolic' is their record, the New Testament. The creeds of the church, notably the Nicene Creed, attest to how central and authoritative the apostolic witness was to the church back then.

Capital-A 'Apostolic', when in the name of a church body or congregation, usually means it is a Pentecostal church that is descended in a fairly direct line from the Apostolic Faith Missions which spun off from the revival at Azusa Street. Most of these are 'Oneness' Pentecostals. They see themselves as restoring the structure, style, and spiritual power of the believers of Paul's day.

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