Paul, Apostle by the Will of God

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After almost two thousand years of Christianity, Paul, the great Apostle of the Gentiles, still has to fight for his right of apostleship. He had great controversy with the churches of Galatia and Corinth because there were many false teachers who undermined his authority and discredited his word among these congregations.

Paul’s conversion is recorded in Acts 9. He was a “blasphemer, a persecutor, an injurious” (1 Tim. 1:13) person against the church of Christ. He gives testimony of his condition before God “revealed His Son” in him (Gal. 1:13).

Paul was a Pharisee, raised in the Jewish religion at the feet of Gamaliel. He was very proud and confident that his upbringing and preparation in the Law of Moses gave him the necessary knowledge and right to come before Jehovah God approved.

However, God had better plans for Paul. Christ himself taught Paul of the purpose of the Law, which is the constant discussion in most of his letters. Paul learned the truth of the Gospel of Christ: The Law was the schoolmaster to lead the Jews to Christ.

When Paul learned the truth of the Gospel, he consider all his previous knowledge “as dung” to gain the “excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus”.

Paul understood this, by God’s Grace, and became a teacher and preacher of the New Covenant. All things became old and vanished away with the death and resurrection of Christ, and Christ brought in the New Covenant that Paul preached and the Jews rejected.

That was the main reason the Jews slandered Paul. They said that Paul was preaching against the Law of Moses, but Paul was not preaching against the Law. He was establishing the right place of the Law in the Everlasting Covenant that God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit made before the foundation of the world.

Paul was unjustly persecuted. The enemies of Christ and of the truth would move heaven and Earth to hurt Paul. Still, God preserved him until he finished his ministry.

Paul always had to defend his authority as an Apostle of Christ. In the introduction to his letters he stated being an Apostle “by the will of God”, because he had the thorn of the Jews discrediting and contradicting his message.

Little has changed to this day. Many “Christians” disregard Paul’s admonishions as if it’s not the Word of God. We still have a controversy with those who want to keep the Law of Moses and bring us into bondage to the Old Covenant again.

We should not subject to these false teachers, not even for one hour. Gal. 2:4-5

 

 

 

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