The BIG Picture (Q&A)

DEVIATION OF TRUTH: Paul preached like me and you. He preached Christ crucified. He preached repentance and remission of sins. He pointed people to Jesus. Therefore, Jesus is the pattern to follow not Paul. Paul healed and delivered people using Jesus' name. Christ is the focus. His teachings are what we should follow and apply. Paul clarified Jesus' sacrifice and related it the Old Testament atonement. His teachings can never override Jesus' teachings. If you preach Paul, you have missed it completely by abandoning Jesus to concentrate on Paul. You left the substance and pursued the shadow. I'm not saying Paul teachings are not to be followed but it shouldn't be the central focus. CORRECTION ACCORDING TO SCRIPTURE: 1Ti_1:16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Paul is the first to be saved into the grace dispensation...

Paul mentions a thorn in the flesh in the verse below, 2 Cor.12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. The thorn was given to Paul to keep him humble, to prevent him from becoming too exalted in the flesh and in the calling that the Lord had given him. In this context, what was the thorn that kept Paul humbled? Who were the messengers of Satan that buffeted him and kept his flesh from being exalted through the revelations he received?  The thorn in Paul's flesh was not (as many believe) his poor eyesight as mentioned in Gal.4:15, but rather, the thorn were the Jewish messengers of Satan, who were constantly buffeting him. These messengers were the religious Jews who incessantly undermined his work in the grace gospel. These men spread lies and deceit causing new believers in Pau...

WOW! What a question! It deserves a significant answer! In Gen.12, God's covenant promise to Abraham (Israel) was that in (or through) Israel all the nations of earth would be blessed. Through Israel, salvation would come to the world (Acts 1:8, Zachariah 8:23). However, about 5 years after Jesus ascended into heaven, the Jews stoned Stephan, and this triggered the downfall of the Jewish nation. Paul writes about the fall (or blinding) of the Jews in Romans 9-11. So, does this not cause a dilemma? How would the Gentiles be blessed if the source of blessing (Israel) has fallen? *The answer is: Paul! God keeps His word and saves Paul, a Jew (a descendant of Abraham), and equips him with a new gospel and a mystery message and sends him to the Gentiles. Acts 9:15 But the Lord said to him (Ananias), Go! For this one is a chosen vessel to Me, to bear My name before Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel. (See also Galatians 1:1) Transliteration of ‘chosen’ : eklogḗ; Definition (Stron...

See  part #4  in this series for the next point of credibility regarding Paul's bold and assertive claims in his writings. Credibility Point #3: The ascended Lord chose Paul for this ministry Paul wrote many times in his epistles that he was an apostle, appointed by the Lord, and that he had authority to speak in His name. We read often how Paul had to defend his credibility when we read statements or personal testimony as follows, Acts 22:21 And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles. —— ( testimony before a Jewish crowd) Acts 26:15-17 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. 16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; 17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, ...

See  part #3  in this series for the first point of credibility regarding Paul's bold and assertive claims in his writings. Credibility Point #2: Paul stood in proxy for Israel as he took the gospel to the Gentiles In order to understand the context of this point, we have to start here... Genesis 12:1-5 Now the Lord had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And IN YOU [Israel] *   all the families [nations] of the earth shall be blessed. " (See  Genesis 3:15  Israel was chosen to fulfil the promise given to Adam and Eve) God's covenant promise to Abraham (Israel) was that  in ( or through ) Israel all the nations of earth would be blessed . Through Israel, salvation would come to the world ( Acts 1:8...

Paul made some incredible claims in his writings. He claims to be the "mater builder", "the Apostle to the Gentiles" and encourages his converts that they should "imitate and follow him". In this short series we will investigate these claims and determine how Paul could say such bold things. In part #2 I laid out some of the bold and assertive claims that Paul wrote in his letters. Let us now start to investigate how Paul was able to write these things. What qualified him to claim these statements? How credible are they that we should accept them? Credibility Point #1: Paul is to the the Body of Christ as Abraham is to Israel The bible is full of patterns and types. There are many instances where things are repeated through the lives of bible characters or through events so as to bring emphasis to something important. This scenario is true within the comparison of both Abraham and Paul who each were the progenitors of primary dispensations within human hi...

In Part #1 I asked you to identify some bold and assertive claims that Paul wrote in his epistles. In this post I will now expose them and justify them. Let's identify these bold claims and clarify their meaning. (All underlined text below is what I have identified as the claims made by Paul in the previous post) In  Rom.11:13 , Paul emphatically claims  he is the apostle to the Gentiles . This was possible to do as Paul was informed by Jesus Christ Himself that this was his calling and mission.  (See Acts 22:21; Acts 26:15-17; Eph.3:6-9, 1Tim.2:7; 2 Tim.1:11) Even Ananias was told that Paul was  ' divinely'  called for this purpose, A cts 9:15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way:  for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles , and kings, and the children of Israel: In  1 Cor.3:10 , Paul mentions that he,  as a wise master builder, has laid the foundation . He claims this after Jesus had already laid the groundwork o...

Below are a few scriptures taken from Paul's epistles. In these are some  very bold  and  very strong  claims. I'd like you to slow down and take your time to read through each scripture below to  see if you can identify the part in it that presents a bold or assertive  claim,  or statement, that Paul makes. Feel free to add your feedback in the  comments section below. In further posts concerning this topic we will delve into these 'claims' and analyze how Paul could truthfully write these very bold and assertive statements. Can you identify some bold claims by Paul in the following:   Romans 11:13 I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay tha...