Paul, apostle to Gentiles

Paul saw his encounter with the risen Christ as a call to apostleship, with a special mission to proclaim the gospel to the Gentile world. Paul's complete dedication to Jesus Christ made his own personal weaknesses a vehicle for the power of God.

Paul's calling as an apostle: origins and implications

His calling began with his encounter with the risen Christ

Galatians 1:15–16 See also Acts 9:3–19 parallels Acts 22:6–16, Acts 26:12–18; 1 Corinthians 9:1

But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not rush to consult with flesh and blood,

His calling involved his being sent to the unevangelised Gentile world

Galatians 2:9 See also Acts 22:21; Romans 15:18–21; 2 Corinthians 10:13–16; Ephesians 3:7–9

And recognizing the grace that I had been given, James, Cephas, and John — those reputed to be pillars — gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.

His calling put him under an obligation to preach the gospel

1 Corinthians 9:16 See also Romans 1:14–15; 2 Corinthians 5:11–14

Yet when I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am obligated to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

Paul's commitment to his apostolic calling

He supported himself in order to present the gospel free of charge

1 Thessalonians 2:6–9 See also 1 Corinthians 9:3–18; 2 Corinthians 12:13

Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it. On the contrary, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother caring for her children. We cared so deeply that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives as well. That is how beloved you have become to us. Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

He put the gospel before everything else

2 Corinthians 4:5 See also Romans 9:1–3; 1 Corinthians 9:19–23; Philippians 1:12–26

For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.

He boasted in his weaknesses

2 Corinthians 12:7–10 See also 2 Corinthians 4:7–10, 2 Corinthians 6:3–10, 2 Corinthians 11:21–29

or because of these surpassingly great revelations. So to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

He experienced God's power at work through him

2 Corinthians 12:11–12 See also Acts 13:6–12, Acts 19:11–12; Romans 15:18–19; 1 Corinthians 2:4–5; 1 Thessalonians 1:4–5

I have become a fool, but you drove me to it. In fact, you should have commended me, since I am in no way inferior to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing. The marks of a true apostle — signs, wonders, and miracles — were performed among you with great perseverance.

He had a confident attitude to death

Philippians 3:10–11 See also 2 Corinthians 5:6–10; Philippians 1:20–24; 2 Timothy 4:6–8

I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Paul and the example of Jesus Christ

His appeal to Jesus Christ as an example to the churches

2 Corinthians 8:9 Paul here uses the example of Jesus Christ in order to encourage the Corinthians in their giving. See also Romans 15:1–3; Philippians 2:5–11

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

His own exemplary imitation of Jesus Christ

1 Corinthians 11:1 See also 1 Corinthians 4:14–17; Philippians 3:12–17, Philippians 4:8–9; 2 Thessalonians 3:6–9

You are to imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.

His sharing of Jesus Christ's sufferings

Colossians 1:24 Paul is not suggesting here that there is any deficiency in Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice. Rather, there are some aspects of suffering which Christ could not experience because they arose only as a result of people preaching the message of the cross and suffering because of it. See also 2 Corinthians 1:5–9, 2 Corinthians 4:7–12; Galatians 6:17

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church.

Paul and the churches

His integrity in dealing with the churches

2 Corinthians 1:12 See also Acts 20:17–21; 2 Corinthians 2:17, 2 Corinthians 4:1–2; 1 Thessalonians 2:10–12

For this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God — not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God.

His love for the churches

Philippians 1:8 See also 2 Corinthians 11:7–11, 2 Corinthians 12:14–15; 1 Thessalonians 3:12

God is my witness how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

His prayers for the churches

1 Thessalonians 1:2 See also Romans 1:8–10; Ephesians 1:15–19; 2 Thessalonians 1:11–12

We always thank God for all of you, remembering you in our prayers

His dependence on the prayers of the churches

1 Thessalonians 5:25 See also Romans 15:30–32; Ephesians 6:19–20; Philemon 1:22

Brothers, pray for us as well.

Paul's imagery of apostleship

As God's captive

1 Corinthians 4:9; 2 Corinthians 2:14–16 Paul portrays God as a victorious Roman general, with himself as a captive, bringing up the rear of the triumphal procession.

As Jesus Christ's slave

The word translated servant'' in these verses commonly meantslave'': Romans 1:1; 2 Corinthians 4:5; Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:1

Paul's successors were to safeguard the truth of the gospel after his death

2 Timothy 2:1–2 See also 2 Timothy 1:13–14, 2 Timothy 3:10–4:8

You therefore, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard me say among many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be qualified to teach others as well.