Thread
M
MAD
“If Paul preached the same gospel, doctrine, and commission as the Twelve, why did the risen Christ separately save Paul, reveal his gospel to him by revelation, and send him specifically to the Gentiles?”
Hi MAD.
In Galatians 1:6-9 Paul says if anyone
preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. If the other 11 preached a different Gospel that would include them.
In Matthew 4:23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, "teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
Mark 1:14-15 records Jesus in Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
In Luke 4:43 And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent. (Scattered Jews) Jesus came to the lost sheep of Israel. He was a shepherd gathering his flock.
In Luke 4:18-21 Jesus went to the synagogue and he opened the book of Isaiah showed them how he was fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 61:1 and a portion of verse 2. "The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; (To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,)..
Again, I believe this was the kingdom Gospel to the "lost sheep of Israel."
They rejected him!
After the Resurrection he told his Desciples to go all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (Not John's baptism) where the ax is laid at the root! Matthew 3:10-11.
Jesus was opening the door to the Gentiles beginning with Peter as shown in Acts 10. Afterwards Paul was commissioned to be the Apostles to the Gentiles and Peter was the leader of the Apostles to the Jews preaching the same Gospel to different groups. Jews and Gentiles.
In 1 Corinthians 15:8, the apostle Paul number his self with the twelve using the phrase "born out of due time" (or "out of season") as a expression He means his late encounter with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus.
Blessings.
Hi Spencer,
Peter and Paul both preached Jesus Christ, but they did not preach the same message or program.
Galatians 1:6–9 does not say Peter and the Twelve were accursed. Paul was warning the Galatians not to accept anyone who corrupted the gospel Paul had preached to them by adding circumcision and the law. Paul says:
“If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” — Galatians 1:9
The important words are “unto you.” The Galatians were under Paul’s ministry. They had received Paul’s gospel of grace and were not permitted to return to Israel’s law and circumcision.
Galatians 2 actually shows that two different commissions were recognized:
“The gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter.” — Galatians 2:7
“They should go unto the heathen, and we unto the circumcision.” — Galatians 2:9
Jesus and the Twelve preached:
“The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” — Matthew 4:17
That message concerned Israel’s promised earthly kingdom. They preached Jesus as Israel’s Messiah and King. During Christ’s earthly ministry, the Twelve did not yet understand His death and resurrection:
“They understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them.” — Luke 18:34
Therefore, they could not have been preaching Paul’s gospel of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:1–4.
Peter’s visit to Cornelius in Acts 10 does not prove that Peter began a general Gentile ministry. Peter had to receive a special vision, and even then he said:
“God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.” — Acts 10:28
When Peter returned, the Jewish believers criticized him for entering a Gentile’s house (Acts 11:2–3). Years later, Peter still agreed that Paul would go to the heathen while he and the Twelve continued with the circumcision (Galatians 2:9).
Paul also did not number himself among the Twelve in 1 Corinthians 15. He carefully separated himself from them:
“He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve.” — 1 Corinthians 15:5
Then Paul says:
“And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.” — 1 Corinthians 15:8
Paul’s appearance was separate and later. “Born out of due time” emphasizes that his apostleship came unexpectedly and outside the normal order. Christ gave Paul a new commission and later revealed to him “the mystery” that had previously been hidden (Ephesians 3:1–9; Colossians 1:25–26).
So the difference is simple:
* Peter preached Israel’s promised kingdom and Christ as Israel’s Messiah.
* Paul preached salvation to all people by grace alone through faith in Christ’s finished work.
* Both preached the same Lord, but under different commissions with different messages and audiences.
* Peter eventually recognized Paul’s distinct ministry without abandoning his own ministry to the circumcision.
Hi MAD.
Thanks for responding.
I'm not wanting to do a lengthy debate on this topic being that we debated this topic with length a little while back but I would like to touch on some things you noted.
First of all I want to say is that I'm somewhat a Dispensationalist and believe in a literal kingdom here on earth fulfilling the promises to Abraham and King David.
However I believe that Jesus came preaching that message with John the baptist as his forerunner taking the message to the lost sheep of Israel.
The Jews rejected Christ as King and savior delaying that Kingdom transition.
That message was at hand! Now it's not!
Jesus commissioned his Desciples to the world the message of the cross baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holyspirit putting them in a Body of believers by the power of the resurrection.
This parallels passages in Romans 6 and Romans 8 by Paul.
As for what you have written,
I don't believe Matthias was an Apostle.
He was amongst the crowd but he wasn't called by the Lord himself.
Peter ran ahead of God's timing in Acts 1 by eagerly trying to replace Judas with Matthias before the Holy Spirit had arrived at Pentecost. I believed Matthias was man's choice rather than God's.
The Casting lots to choose Matthias as an action done on human initiative before the indwelling of the Holy Spirit initiated the Church age.
However even if he was an Apostle that doesn't make Paul message any different.
Also Peter did preach the resurrection as seen in Acts 10:39-43.
Also:
Here's Peter in In Acts 15:7. "And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
In Acts 1:6 The Apostles "Who he have chosen "Not Matthias" asked him Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? In verses 7 and 8 he tells them "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
Now I understand that there primary mission was to the scattered Jew but it was to bring them under the New covenant that was ushered in by the shedding of blood on the cross!
Galatians 2:7 doesn't show two different commissions were recognized.
It shows two different recipients.
"UNCIRCUMCISION" was committed unto me, as the gospel of the "CIRCUMCISION" was unto Peter.
That was the difference in the message! One was to turn from the dead works of the law the other was to turn to Christ! Both was preaching the cross by faith and through faith. Romans 3:30.
Paul is not speaking of two Gospels when he says in Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
He's not speaking of a difference in the Gospels when he says in Romans 11:11 "I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
He gives the response of the two to the Gospel preached to both Jews and Gentiles.
The Gospel of the cross was preached to Abraham along with the kingdom promises. Galatians 3:8
Genesis 12:3.
Genesis 22:18.
What most of them didn't know is that it wasn't going to be done under the Levitical covenant.
We will have to agree to disagree MAD.
Thanks for your time.
GBU.
When Paul was Saul, he persecuted and killed Christians. He held Stephen's cloak when Stephen was stoned to death. If he had come preaching anything other than what the other apostles preached, he would not have been accepted by the other followers of Jesus Christ. God had to give him the word exactly as he had taught the disciples. Otherwise, God's word would have come back void. And God's word will never come back void.