Jesus had called His disciples that He might send them forth as His witnesses, to declare to the world what they had seen and heard of Him. Their office was the most important to which human beings had ever been called, and was second only to that of Christ Himself. They were to be workers together with God for the saving of the world. As in the Old Testament the twelve patriarchs stand as representatives of Israel, so the twelve apostles were to stand as representatives of the gospel church.

Jesus havde kaldet sine disciple for at kunne udsende dem som sine vidner for at forkynde verden, hvad de havde set og hørt af ham. Deres embede var det mest betydningsfulde, til hvilket mennesker nogen minde var blevet kaldede, og stod kun tilbage for Kristi egen gerning. De skulle være Guds medarbejdere til verdens frelse. Ligesom de tolv patriarker i Det gamle Testamente står som repræsentanter for Israel, sådan skulle de tolv apostle stå som repræsentanter for evangeliets menighed.