1 Corinthians 9:1
1 Corinthians 9:11Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you yourselves not my workmanship in the Lord?
JWs recognise Paul as an apostle but use the concept of apostolic authority to argue for a continuing governing body. If the first century had apostles exercising centralised authority, the modern era requires the same — filled by the Governing Body as the "faithful and discreet slave."
Paul grounds his apostleship in two non-transferable credentials: "Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?" Seeing the risen Christ was the defining mark of apostolic authority (; ). The apostolic office also carried unique signs () and the authority to deliver new revelation (). None of these marks is transmissible to a successor body. calls the apostles part of the "foundation" — a foundation is poured once and never re-laid. Paul in commits the next generation of leaders to "God and the word of his undeserved kindness," not to a successor council. The Governing Body neither claims nor possesses any apostolic credential.