The Heart Of Paul’s Theology: Paul And His TheologySample

 Paul’s Apostolic Office: Galatians 1:11-12

On at least twenty occasions, Paul described himself as an “apostle,” often with the qualification that he was “an apostle of Jesus Christ.” This claim to apostleship was very important because Christ ordained apostles to speak with absolute authority to the church on his behalf. Now, we all know that Paul wasn’t one of the original apostles whom Jesus had chosen during his earthly ministry. Still, Paul claimed to be Christ’s authoritative representative. Paul insisted that he had received an apostleship equal to the original apostles. But how was this possible? The answer lies in the fact that Paul met a set of qualifications established for apostleship. 

As the apostles awaited the outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, Peter determined that a new apostle should replace Judas. So, Peter explained that authoritative apostles of Christ had to meet three criteria. First, according to Acts 1:21 they had to have been taught directly by Christ during his earthly ministry. Second, in Acts 1:22 we read that they had to be witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection. And third, in Acts 1:23-26 we find that new apostles had to be chosen for the office by the Lord himself. 

But what about Paul? At first glance he fails to meet the first criterion for apostleship — after all, he didn’t follow Jesus during his earthly ministry. But a closer look reveals his qualification. In Galatians 1:11-18 Paul reported that immediately after his conversion he spent three years in the Arabian wilderness. He mentioned the length of this period to demonstrate that it roughly equaled the time which the other apostles had spent with Jesus. During those years, Jesus himself taught the gospel to Paul. Consider Paul’s words in Galatians 1:11-12: 

The gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:11-12).

Paul also met the second criterion. In Acts 9:1-6 we read that Paul actually saw the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus. He had seen the risen Savior. Finally, according to Acts 9:15, Jesus himself ordained Paul to his office: 

This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel (Acts 9:15). 

And lest there be any doubt about the validity of Paul’s apostleship Galatians 2:7-8 tell us that the original apostles confirmed his call and apostleship. As Paul wrote, the others: 

… saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles (Galatians 2:7-8).

The other apostles recognized that Paul’s apostleship was comparable to Peter’s. Consider Peter’s words in 2 Peter 3:15-16: 

Our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him… His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:15-16). 

According to Peter, Paul’s epistles were to be set on par with “the other Scriptures.”