On the True Method of Ministry and the Supremacy of God’s Word – Part 2 – Excerpts from the Epistles of Paul

The Apostle Paul is an interesting study in his doctrine in that he was never a hearer of Christ or a follower of the disciples. However he was taught by the resurrected Christ and received his gospel by revelation. As his epistles are studied they are seen to be consonant with the teachings of Christ in the gospel. How much was revealed supernaturally to him and how much he learned of the life of Christ from sources that Luke also availed himself of is impossible to pinpoint. In addition to his use of the gospels, Paul made great use of the Old Testament, as all the apostolic writers did. So much so that even many passages that are not direct quotes from the Old Testament should be understood in light of those Scriptures since these writers lived and breathed the Old Testament Scriptures from childhood. Thus Colossians 2:19, Ephesians 1:22-23, and Ephesians 4:15-16 should be understood in light of Psalm 133, where it is from the anointed head (Christ) that the anointing flows down to every part and where unity of the brethren is. I would now like to look at a few passages from the writings of Paul to show kindred thoughts and expressions with the teachings of Jesus. This comparison is not exhaustive by any means. Being accepted in the Beloved Eph 1:5-6 having predestined us to the adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Joh 15:7-9 If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you. In this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, so you shall be My disciples. As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you; continue in My love. Concerning Marriage 1Co 7:1-11 Now concerning what you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. But, because of the fornications, let each have his own wife, and let each have her own husband. Let the husband give to the wife proper kindness, and likewise the wife also to the husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. And likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife. Do not deprive one another, unless it is with consent for a time, so that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer. And come together again so that Satan does not tempt you for your incontinence. But I speak this according to permission, not according to commandment. For I would that all men were even as I myself am. But each has his proper gift from God, one according to this manner and another according to that. I say therefore to the unmarried and the widows, It is good for them if they remain even as I. But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn. And to the married I command (not I, but the Lord), a woman not to be separated from her husband. But if she is indeed separated, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to leave his wife. Mat 19:3-11 And the Pharisees came to Him, tempting Him and saying to Him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And He answered and said to them, Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning "made them male and female", and said, For this cause a man shall leave father and mother and shall cling to his wife, and the two of them shall be one flesh? Therefore they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate. They said to Him, Why did Moses then command to give a bill of divorce and to put her away? He said to them, Because of your hard-heartedness Moses allowed you to put away your wives; but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, Whoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is put away commits adultery. His disciples said to Him, If this is the case of the man with his wife, it is not good to marry. But He said to them, Not all receive this word, except those to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs who were born so from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of Heaven's sake. He who is able to receive it, let him receive it. Paul continues with giving his judgment concerning those married to unbelieving idolaters, something Christ had never specifically addressed because of His Jewish audience (1 Cor. 7:12-17). In this he does not allude directly to the Words of Christ, but instead lays down rules of conduct in agreement with God’s original institution of marriage and Christ’s teaching. In this he gives a pattern for handling similar situations where there is no exact Scriptural parallel, that is drawing out principles from what is taught and applying them. He did not lay down a rule of conduct on his own authority without reference to what Christ taught. It should be mentioned as a side note for those who noticed that Paul though clearly alluding to Matthew 19 (note the parallel between celibacy as a gift and Christ saying it is given) he does not mention the exception clause. This means that either he was unaware of it, or he did not interpret it in the way most commonly received today. It is highly unlikely that he would have been unaware of it, and yet been aware of the words that follow immediately afterwards concerning celibacy being given, so it follows that he must not have interpreted it in the way it commonly is interpreted. Were that clause the main part of Christian teaching concerning divorce it would be mentioned several times and omitted in an instance or two rather than the reverse. Obedience to Secular Authority Rom 13:1-8 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. Mat 22:15-22 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax." And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said, "Caesar's." Then he said to them, "Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away. Mar 12:28-34 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?" Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions. On the true source of defilement Rom 14:14-23 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. Col 2:20-23 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh. Mar 7:14-23 And he called the people to him again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him." [If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.] And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them, "Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person." On Unity 1Co 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. Joh 17:9-11 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. Undoubtedly Paul had heard something of Christ’s High Priestly prayer found in John 17, though it was not yet put down in a Gospel nor would be until after Paul’s death. Not only was the need for unity greatly emphasized by the apostle in other places as well but here in 1 Cor. 1:8-9 he refers to the keeping power of God immediately before mentioning the need for unity, almost as if he is thinking of John 17, which contains both themes interwoven. This casts an interesting possibility on how much of John’s material was available to the other Apostles and early disciples and perhaps the reason why he never wrote it earlier when there were more living witnesses and second-hand reporters of it. Exhortation to Desire the Gifts of the Spirit 1Co 12:31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. 1Co 14:1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. Luk 11:5-13 And he said to them, "Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within, 'Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything'? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Our Heavenly Tabernacle prepared for us 2Co 5:1-8 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened--not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. Joh 14:1-4 "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going." Necessity of Being Born Again Gal 6:15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. Joh 3:3 Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." One Fold One Shepherd Eph 2:14-18 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. Joh 10:14-16 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Conclusion In this post I desired to show just how much Paul relied upon Christ for his own teaching and conduct. I hope I was successful in that. It should also be noted that if I had included all the Old Testament Scriptures quoted or alluded to we would have the majority of his doctrinal teaching. Anything he brought out that was not specifically found either in the Words of Christ or the Old Testament was drawn forth from these by deduction. To show how He viewed his charge in this way and how he would not state things merely on his own authority, we look now at 1 Corinthians 4:6-7, “Now these things, brothers, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, in order that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? And if you did indeed receive what you have, why do you boast as though you did not receive it?” Here Paul makes the source of parties in the Church to consist in going beyond the Scripture, and this is very true. It is amazing but no one ever contends with as much earnestness as when they are trying to force something not in Scripture on someone else. Often people can say any old thing without upsetting someone, but if you touch their pet doctrine, which often is not in Scripture, they are up in arms. When we stay in Scripture and bind our thoughts to it, we have no room for parties, because all that we see is what God has put there and if we see more than another it is only because He has opened our eyes to understand what we read. He could do the same for any one else, so what can we boast of. May God help us all to rightly divide His Word! Amen.