Apostles

This Sunday we will begin a new series on 1 Corinthians. Paul begins this letter by saying that he was called to be an apostle. An apostle was one that was commissioned by the Lord to bring the message to the world. The question of whether there are apostles today? Some would say that the leader who holds the highest ecclesiastical office would fulfill that role while others would say that they had to be directly commissioned by the Lord Himself.
We know that the original disciples were commissioned but was Paul? He talks about his commissioning by the Lord Jesus Christ. He had a special meeting that he claimed that we was unable to tell about.
So are there apostles today? My sense is that the answer is no. There are those who claim a special commissioning but when you examine them it appears to be more man given than God given. There is a pride in the office as well as a dominating spirit which was not the spirit of the original apostles. Paul tells us that he was the least of all apostles and doesn't deserve the title (1 Corinthians 15:9). Paul was reluctant to take upon himself that role but he does remind us that he had that calling from the Lord Himself.
The other reason why I think that there are no apostles today is that the apostles were were the foundation upon which the church was built, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). The church was established by the apostles and today we are to build upon their foundation, not lay a new foundation.