Christ's Gospel? Paul's Gospel?
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[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]2 John 1:9-11, “Everyone who is transgressing and not staying in the teaching of Messiah does not possess YHWH The one who stays in the teaching of Messiah possesses both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house nor greet him, for he who greets him shares in his wicked works.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]John/Yahanan 10:27-30, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; neither will any man snatch them out of My hand. My Father, Who gave them to Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand: I and My Father are in accord."
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[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]1 Corinthians 9:14, "In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel."[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]1 Timothy 5:17-18, “Elders who handle their duties well should be considered worthy of double compensation, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You must not muzzle an ox while it is treading out grain,” and “A worker deserves his pay.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]1 Corinthians 9:11-12, “If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap material benefits from you? If others enjoy this right over you, don’t we have a stronger claim? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we tolerate everything in order not to put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of the Messiah.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Matthew 10:7-8, “As you go, proclaim, ‘The kingdom of heaven is near! Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without payment you have received; without payment you are to give.”[/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]1 Corinthians 9:14, "In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel."[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]1 Timothy 5:17-18, “Elders who handle their duties well should be considered worthy of double compensation, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You must not muzzle an ox while it is treading out grain,” and “A worker deserves his pay.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]1 Corinthians 9:11-12, “If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap material benefits from you? If others enjoy this right over you, don’t we have a stronger claim? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we tolerate everything in order not to put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of the Messiah.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Matthew 10:7-8, “As you go, proclaim, ‘The kingdom of heaven is near! Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without payment you have received; without payment you are to give.”[/FONT]
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[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Matthew 28:19-20, “Therefore, as you go, disciple all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you each and every day until the end of the age.”[/FONT]
“[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]nations” is word #G1484 ἔθνος ethnos (eth'-nos) n., 1. a race (as of the same habit), i.e. a tribe., 2. (specially) a foreign (non-Jewish) one, Gentiles., 3. (usually, by implication) pagan., [probably from G1486], KJV: Gentile, heathen, nation, people, Root(s): G1486[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Yet Paul says Peter was sent to the Jews:[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Galatians 2:7-8, “In fact, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel for the circumcised. For the one who worked through Peter by making him an apostle to the circumcised also worked through me by sending me to the Gentiles.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]However Peter says he was sent to the Gentiles:[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Acts 15:6-7, “So the apostles and the elders met to consider this statement. After a lengthy debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God chose me to be the one among you through whom the Gentiles would hear the message of the gospel and believe."[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]1Timothy 2:7, "For this reason I was appointed to be an announcer, an apostle, and a faithful and true teacher of the gentiles. (I am telling you the truth. I am not lying.)"[/FONT]
“[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]nations” is word #G1484 ἔθνος ethnos (eth'-nos) n., 1. a race (as of the same habit), i.e. a tribe., 2. (specially) a foreign (non-Jewish) one, Gentiles., 3. (usually, by implication) pagan., [probably from G1486], KJV: Gentile, heathen, nation, people, Root(s): G1486[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Yet Paul says Peter was sent to the Jews:[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Galatians 2:7-8, “In fact, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel for the circumcised. For the one who worked through Peter by making him an apostle to the circumcised also worked through me by sending me to the Gentiles.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]However Peter says he was sent to the Gentiles:[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Acts 15:6-7, “So the apostles and the elders met to consider this statement. After a lengthy debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God chose me to be the one among you through whom the Gentiles would hear the message of the gospel and believe."[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]1Timothy 2:7, "For this reason I was appointed to be an announcer, an apostle, and a faithful and true teacher of the gentiles. (I am telling you the truth. I am not lying.)"[/FONT]
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Christ's Gospel? Paul's Gospel?
Are they different? Or are they complementary? Is Paul's Gospel 'his', or is it God's Gospel embraced by him? Are Paul's (and the other apostolic writings in the New Covenant Scriptures) what Jesus alluded to in John 16?
I was asked this question in an email recently:
"Another question, some at hrm [Hebrew Roots Movement/Torah pursuant folks] say there is the gospel of Jesus vs the gospel of Paul. Basically they teach that Paul wrote his own gospel even though Jesus clearly stated after his death burial and resurrection there would be more to come(information)."
My response:
That's a great question! In John 16, Jesus says this:
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Jesus is clearly telling His disciples that there is more truth to come that they, on that side of the Cross, could not, would not understand.
The Work of the Cross, the Resurrection, the Ascension, and His Perfect High Priesthood all needed to be in place before the fullness of the Gospel of Grace could be explained.
With the implications to the Law and Israel's relationship with it and God, when you think about it, it kinda had to be Paul to receive that revelation of the Gospel of Grace.
Paul was a Pharisee of the highest reputation, knowing the Law inside and out. For him to embrace the Gospel of Grace, which he proclaimed to be 'his' Gospel, was huge. To address that question real quick, Paul, by the end of his letter to the Romans states that it is 'his' Gospel, not in an 'I thought it up and created it' way, but in an 'I now embrace this as my Good News, applied to my life - the New Covenant, superior to the Old Covenant for which I had such passion' way.
Note that in Romans 1 Paul says this:
16 For I am not ashamed of >>> the <<< gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
At the beginning of the letter to the Romans it is 'the' Gospel, and the letter to the Romans is a treatise on our
>>> need <<< for the Gospel for Jews and Gentiles alike, the
>>> supply <<< of the Gospel for Jews and Gentiles alike, and the
>>> results <<< of the Gospel for Jews and Gentiles alike.
And Paul expertly weaves the proper use of the Law and the application and superiority of Grace throughout - at the end proclaiming, as a former Pharisee Law-keeper, that this is *his* Gospel - a Gospel that he embraces himself, after having gone through the issues of Law and Grace point by point throughout the letter (and also in his other letters).
Now read Paul's closing comments in Romans 16:
25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations,
>>> according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— <<<
27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.
So the Gospel that Paul preached was not a gospel apart from Christ's, but Paul's and other apostolic New Covenant writings were the fulfillment of what Christ said in John 16.
Paul minces no words here when establishing the source for what he was teaching to the Galatians:
11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it,
>>> but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. <<<
13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16
>>> was pleased to reveal his Son to me, <<<
in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.
One thing to note here, as well, is that Jesus said that the Spirit of Truth would point to and glorify Christ - not to point to and glorify the Law, but to Christ, which is what Paul and the other apostles do all throughout the New Covenant Scriptures.
God was no longer relating to mankind - nor was He desiring mankind to relate to Him - through the Law, but through the Work and Person of God in the flesh, Christ Jesus.
So Paul (and the others) were not writing their own 'gospels'; they were carrying out the fulfillment of Jesus' words in John 16 - they were receiving that further information that could be understood on the side of the Cross where they now lived and we do too - revealing what was actually accomplished at the Cross, the Resurrection, the Ascension, and with the High Priesthood of Christ - and writing it down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
(I found the photo at a pro-Islam think tank site, btw. Funny, they use the same arguments that HRMers tend to use!)
Grace and peace to you in our Lord, Jesus Christ!
-JGIG
Christ's Gospel? Paul's Gospel?
Are they different? Or are they complementary? Is Paul's Gospel 'his', or is it God's Gospel embraced by him? Are Paul's (and the other apostolic writings in the New Covenant Scriptures) what Jesus alluded to in John 16?
I was asked this question in an email recently:
"Another question, some at hrm [Hebrew Roots Movement/Torah pursuant folks] say there is the gospel of Jesus vs the gospel of Paul. Basically they teach that Paul wrote his own gospel even though Jesus clearly stated after his death burial and resurrection there would be more to come(information)."
My response:
That's a great question! In John 16, Jesus says this:
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Jesus is clearly telling His disciples that there is more truth to come that they, on that side of the Cross, could not, would not understand.
The Work of the Cross, the Resurrection, the Ascension, and His Perfect High Priesthood all needed to be in place before the fullness of the Gospel of Grace could be explained.
With the implications to the Law and Israel's relationship with it and God, when you think about it, it kinda had to be Paul to receive that revelation of the Gospel of Grace.
Paul was a Pharisee of the highest reputation, knowing the Law inside and out. For him to embrace the Gospel of Grace, which he proclaimed to be 'his' Gospel, was huge. To address that question real quick, Paul, by the end of his letter to the Romans states that it is 'his' Gospel, not in an 'I thought it up and created it' way, but in an 'I now embrace this as my Good News, applied to my life - the New Covenant, superior to the Old Covenant for which I had such passion' way.
Note that in Romans 1 Paul says this:
16 For I am not ashamed of >>> the <<< gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
At the beginning of the letter to the Romans it is 'the' Gospel, and the letter to the Romans is a treatise on our
>>> need <<< for the Gospel for Jews and Gentiles alike, the
>>> supply <<< of the Gospel for Jews and Gentiles alike, and the
>>> results <<< of the Gospel for Jews and Gentiles alike.
And Paul expertly weaves the proper use of the Law and the application and superiority of Grace throughout - at the end proclaiming, as a former Pharisee Law-keeper, that this is *his* Gospel - a Gospel that he embraces himself, after having gone through the issues of Law and Grace point by point throughout the letter (and also in his other letters).
Now read Paul's closing comments in Romans 16:
25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations,
>>> according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— <<<
27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.
Paul minces no words here when establishing the source for what he was teaching to the Galatians:
11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it,
>>> but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. <<<
13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16
>>> was pleased to reveal his Son to me, <<<
in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.
One thing to note here, as well, is that Jesus said that the Spirit of Truth would point to and glorify Christ - not to point to and glorify the Law, but to Christ, which is what Paul and the other apostles do all throughout the New Covenant Scriptures.
God was no longer relating to mankind - nor was He desiring mankind to relate to Him - through the Law, but through the Work and Person of God in the flesh, Christ Jesus.
So Paul (and the others) were not writing their own 'gospels'; they were carrying out the fulfillment of Jesus' words in John 16 - they were receiving that further information that could be understood on the side of the Cross where they now lived and we do too - revealing what was actually accomplished at the Cross, the Resurrection, the Ascension, and with the High Priesthood of Christ - and writing it down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
(I found the photo at a pro-Islam think tank site, btw. Funny, they use the same arguments that HRMers tend to use!)
Grace and peace to you in our Lord, Jesus Christ!
-JGIG
Yet? As years go by in this generation, and apostasy grows? Many (so called) believers, wish, and hoped, that Paul would have expanded even more!