Apostle

mtume is the established Christian Union Version term, but is also the standard Swahili title for the Islamic Prophet Muhammad (‘Mtume Muhammad’), and along the Swahili coast this association is often the primary, most immediate sense of the word. Context must make unmistakably clear that Paul’s use of ‘mtume’ in Romans 1:1 refers to his own apostolic commissioning by the risen Christ, not any echo of Muhammad’s prophetic office.