Posted on 02/07/2012 4:57:57 PM PST by bibletruth
Bible proof in Acts 26, 22, Romans 2, and Ephesians 3, that God and Christ made HIS choice for Paul to be HIS Apostle to the Gentiles
Ephesians 3:7: Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
Remember, these are God's WORDs, not men's words. Take heed.
Acts 26:13: At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.
Acts 26:14: And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Acts 26:15: And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
Acts 26:16: 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;
Acts 26:17: Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
Acts 26:18: To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Further Bible proof in Acts 22 that God and Christ commissioned Paul to be an Apostle to the Gentiles:
Acts 22:5: As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.
Acts 22:6: And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.
Acts 22:7: And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Acts 22:8: And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
Acts 22:9: And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.
Acts 22:10: And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.
Paul was made a minister BY GOD for the gospel of the grace of God:
Ephesians 3:7: Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
And WHY was Paul made a minister, this was well summarized by God in I Corinthians:
I Corinthians 1:18: For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
I Corinthians 1:24: But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
I Corinthians 2:4: And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
I Corinthians 2:5: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Now if anyone shall deny God's WORD - Christ Jesus, the WORD, on this matter of His commission for HIS minister today for the Gentiles, thus will he/she be so judged:
Romans 2:16: In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
Notice - these words in Romans 2:16 are GOD's Words, not men's words, for God/Christ/Spirit inspired Paul to write them. So if you go against them, you are in effect working against God the Father and Christ Jesus the Lord and King of Kings...
I pray that you do not take Paul's gospel light, if you do, God will not make light your judgment, I fear... Sinner, take heed, God's grace is sufficient for salvation. Believer, take heed, God's minister to us Gentiles is God's gift to us today in the Apostleship of Paul for the grace of God and it all sufficiency for salvation.
Yeah, I had figured out he was a Minister.
Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem;
Creatorem caeli et terrae.
Et in Jesum Christum,
Filium eius unicum, Dominum nostrum;
qui conceptus est
de Spiritu Sancto,
natus ex Maria virgine;
passus sub Pontio Pilato,
crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus;
descendit ad inferos;
tertia die resurrexit a mortuis;
ascendit ad caelos;
sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis;
inde venturus est
iudicare vivos et mortuos.
Credo in Spiritum Sanctum;
sanctam ecclesiam catholicam;
sanctorum communionem;
remissionem peccatorum;
carnis resurrectionem;
vitam aeternam. Amen.
In English:
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ,
his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived
by the power of the Holy Spirit,
and born of the Virgin Mary,
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
He descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
he will come again
to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen
They are wonderful verses, and thank you for them, but I’m not sure who/what is contesting the annointing of Paul to preach to the gentiles.
thank you for this post.
Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) Galatians 1:1.
I think that's point of Acts 1: a picture of man's going ahead with good ideas but ahead of God and without the fulness of the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire which they got in Acts 2. The Acts 2 church and leadership was transformed from their condition in Acts 1.
For some reason the Messianic Jews despise Paul. They believe in the other Apostles, but reject Paul since he preaches salvation through faith and not through works, and also because of certain scriptures from him that state it is not necessary to follow the Jewish ritual law. Don’t know if there were any around here expressing that, though.
.
Romans(actually the entirety of the 1st century apostolic writings from Mt - Rev) is full of quotes from the only Scripture they had at the time with which to teach from and those being Genesis-Malachi, thus the definition of what the good news is, is found in those books. What you reference here is from Jer 31, however specifically in Romans 2 Paul quotes from Ex 20, Dt 5, Is 52, Ez 36, Ps 62 & Prov 24. To understand what Paul is saying, one must 1st study the Scripture he used to teach the good news.
Thanks for the clarification.
The words I did not see is “the” and “apostle”. I saw “a minister” in Acts 26:16. So I checked a couple of other translations:
King James “a minister and a witness”
New King James “a minister and a witness”
NLT “a minister and a witness”
NIV “a servant and a witness”
ESV “a servant and a witness”
NASB “a minister and a witness”
ASV “a minister and a witness”
YLT “an officer and a witness” (Note an, not a)
HNV “a servant and a witness”
WEB “a minister and a witness”
The reason I post is the word “The” has special meaning in Hebrew, it means “specific” or “Unique” so your choice of words not from the Scriptures “The Apostle” adds new meanings that are not in place in the origonal translations due to the english. I am sure that is not your intention.
That would indicate, as the scriptures do not, that Paul is somehow unique in his Ministry to the Gentiles in the Christian Church. The entire purpose and call or Commision to all Christians is to minister and be a witness of Christ.
This story is highlighted here because the idea of the Gentiles being taught the things of God were an anthema to the Hebrew Church. To them, the Messiah came FOR THEM, not the Gentiles. Yet Paul clearly indicates that God said Christ came not only for the Jews but ALSO for the Gentiles. This was RADICAL in those days, a whole new avenue of thought.
The unfortunate choice of “The Apostle” in english wording, (translating it back into Hebrew speach patterns), has a two pronged english problem. As Apostle is singular in english, whereas in Hebrew the word itself would indicate singular or plural. In Hebrew it would indicate by the prefix Ha if it was specific, AND by the letter ending singular or plural. Greek is also somewhat that way by my understanding, but english is not. Ie. Paul was one of the Apostles, not The Apostle. In that choice of words, you turn 12 Apostles into 1 Super Apostle and 11 Apostle-lites.
This also adds to what is not in the scriptures. The job of Biblical translation is quite an involved one, and is why you MUST stick very closely to tranlations as translated. Small changes that mean nothing to you mean whole new doctrines when put in origonal language context. Doctrines that are not present in the origonal language.
So, just wanted to clear up that rough spot a bit.
Gal 1
11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
Hmmm, never really got that in my time in Israel with Messianic Believers. The impression I got was more inline with the Orthodox type of thought on the Noachide Laws, the 7 out of 10 commandments; cut down verison of the law for Gentiles. (Which I personally do not care for much as it is Law-lite, that I also do not see in the Scriptures) This Gentile loves Lobster, thank you very much... Its good to be Goy!
I agree with you, good point.
I’m confused by references to Paul as an apostle; Christ certainly had the chance to reach out to him while He was preaching, and never did (this was when Saul was abetting those persecuting Christians). Paul wasn’t at the Last Supper, and using any logic to include him with those chosen by Christ fuels those who want Mary Magdalene included as well.
Well, Mary didn’t go around preaching the Gospel. Paul met Christ face to face on the road to Damascus and was chosen directly by Him to suffer for His name. That definitely makes him an Apostle.
Interesting. Thanks for your reply. Not sure why it’s a controversy here, though. Is it having to do with the messianic Jewish issue mentioned above?
I’m with you, I don’t get the import. Paul obviously wrote to and taught both jew and gentile in Rome, and spent many an hour in synagogues with only jews in attendance.
If I remember correctly God called Paul to be an instrument to take the gospel to the gentiles...he did not call him an apostle....
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