2 Corinthians 8:23

Whether any inquire about Titus, he is my partner and my fellow-worker to you-ward; or our brethren, they are the messengers of the churches, they are the glory of Christ.

From this it is clear that there were three in the group, Titus and the other brethren being mentioned separately.

Messengers of the churches ... This is the same word translated "apostles" in a number of New Testament passages, but these were apostles only in a secondary sense. Hillyer declared, "This does not put them into the same category as Paul and Peter who are `apostles by the will of God.'"[27] Furthermore, these were in no sense plenary delegates, commissioned by the churches to decide either doctrine or policy. They were messengers of information only, not messengers of plenary power.

Lipscomb has some weighty words in this connection. He said:

Those messengers could not change or modify any decision, nor legislate for God, nor determine what was best for the churches, nor meet other messengers and organize a body, nor confer with one another on how the Lord should act, nor sit in judgment, nor otherwise change or direct the work of the churches.[28]

Thus, it is clear that some modern "church messengers" are in no sense justified by what these men did.

[27] Norman Hillyer, The New Bible Commentary, Revised (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970), p. 1082.

[28] David Lipscomb, op. cit., p. 118.