There are also a few who say that there are just twelve apostles and no other. If questioned about apostle Paul, they agree that he is an apostle. The early apostles were twelve. There are differences between the early apostles and the apostles who came up later. In their line, there are those who are raised as apostles.
Apostles are however alike in many respects.
An Apostle is chosen by God to be a role-model to the church and its leader. Apostles receive the foundational doctrines and commandments straight from God. There shall be no variance among their doctrines. Doctrinal controversy arose because of a few who did not receive the commandment from apostles. The first council assembled and put an end to that evil.