Mid Acts

[seekingthemindofChrist]

Can you point to the passage where Paul first preached this "other" super gospel?

Nobody could point to such a passage because no such passage exists.

Let me quickly show you how the "unlearned and unstable wrest" the words of Paul in his epistles, "as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction" (2 Peter 3:16).

They deliberately cherry-pick a few isolated or grey passages of scripture as their alleged proof texts to promote their heresies while conveniently ignoring many other related passages which outrightly refute their heresies.

For example, they will cite the following three places where Paul referred to the gospel as "my gospel" as their alleged proof texts to support their heresy that Paul's gospel differed from the gospel of others:

Romans 2:16

"In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel."

Romans 16:25

"Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,"

2 Timothy 2:8

"Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:"

Now, here are some very relevant things which they fail to tell you in their unstable ignorance.

Prior to referring to the gospel as "my gospel" in Romans 2:16 and 16:25, Paul referred to the gospel in this manner:

Romans 1:1-4

"Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:"

This "my gospel" that Paul preached was "the gospel of God, (which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures) concerning his Son Jesus Christ, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh." In other words, Paul's gospel that he was preaching to the Romans was the same exact gospel which had been promised by God through the Old Testament prophets in relation to Jesus being the son of David, and we need to consider this when reading Paul's references to "my gospel" in his epistle to the Romans. Furthermore, we need to consider this same exact truth when reading the only other place in scripture where Paul referred to the gospel as "my gospel" in 2 Timothy 2:8 because the immediate context there is that of Christ being the promised seed or son of David.

Here are some other things that Paul said about the gospel in his epistle to the Romans.

Romans 1:9

"For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;"

This "my gospel" which Paul preached was "the gospel of his (God's) Son".

Romans 1:15-16

"So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. 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."

Here, we not only see that Paul's "my gospel" was "the gospel of Christ," but also that it was preached "to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." In other words, whereas the unlearned and unstable wresters of scripture would seek to convince us that Paul was solely an apostle to the Gentiles or to the uncircumcision, Paul regularly ministered the gospel of Christ to both Jews and Gentiles alike. In fact, just within this epistle to the Romans, it is quite obvious that Paul was seeking to minister to both Jews and Gentiles alike.

For example:

Romans 2:17

"Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,"

Romans 11:13

"For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:"

Here are some other ways that Paul described "my gospel" in this same epistle to the Romans:

Romans 10:6-10

"But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

Paul's "my gospel" was the same exact gospel of righteousness which is of faith that Moses preached to the children of Israel.

Deuteronomy 30:11-14

"For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it."

There is this to consider as well:

Romans 10:13-15

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"

Paul's "my gospel" is the same exact gospel or good tidings that was preached by the Old Testament prophets Isaiah and Nahum.

Isaiah 52:7

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!"

Nahum 1:15

"Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off."

Paul undoubtedly had these portions of scripture in mind when he penned the following to the saints at Ephesus:

Ephesians 6:15

"And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;"

Further still, Paul's "my gospel" was the same exact gospel that God preached unto Abraham.

Galatians 3:8

"And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed."

Of course, all the nations can be blessed through Abraham's "seed, which is Christ" (Galatians 3:16), and this is precisely the gospel which Paul preached.

There has only ever been one gospel, and, even though the cherry-picking, unstable and unlearned wresters of Paul's words will never tell you so, Paul referred to this one gospel as "our gospel."

2 Corinthians 4:3

"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:"

1 Thessalonians 1:5

"For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake."

2 Thessalonians 2:14

"Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

 

[Wansvic]

I agree. The first time we have recorded of Paul preaching the gospel is in Acts 13. As you have pointed out it is also the first time we see Gentiles hearing the gospel from Paul. Paul's gospel is almost point for point the same as Peters in Acts 2.

Who converted the Christians in Rome, good question. May current understanding, it doesn't tell us for sure, so we have to speculate. In the list of Jews at Pentecost we have this. Acts 2:10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome,
I would suggest it's like we see in Corinth. They were converted by various people. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”

I would venture to say some of those in Rome could have even been converted by Paul, but we can't know for sure unless someone knows of a passage I do not.

The following is an excerpt from an article I thought you might find as interesting as I. I've included the link to the entire article below. Any thoughts?

How Did Christianity Come to Rome?
Paul addressed the book we call Romans to Christians living in Rome. At the time the letter was written, he had not yet visited the city as far as we know and he does not personally know Christians in Rome. Although he may have something about the church through Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:1-4), there is nothing to suggest he ministered there until he arrives about A.D. 60 (Acts 28:11-31). How did Christianity come to Rome?
The traditional view is the Roman church was founded by both Peter and Paul is rarely accept today. According to Eusebius, Peter followed the ach-heretic Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8) to Rome in the second year of Claudius (A.D. 42). According to Eusebius, the Gospel Peter preached at this time was so well received the Roman people demanded a written copy, which became the Gospel of Mark, a tradition also found in Irenaeus.

Eusebuis, Hist. eccl. 2.15.1 And so greatly did the splendor of piety illumine the minds of Peter’s hearers that they were not satisfied with hearing once only, and were not content with the unwritten teaching of the divine Gospel, but with all sorts of entreaties they besought Mark, a follower of Peter, and the one whose Gospel is extant, that he would leave them a written monument of the doctrine which had been orally communicated to them.​

Irenaeus, Haer. 3.1 Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, and laying the foundations of the Church.​

​

Setting this tradition aside, the modern consensus view is that the church was founded by believers who returned to Rome after Pentecost...​

https://readingacts.com/2017/10/11/how-did-christianity-come-to-rome/#:~:text=3.1 Matthew also issued a,returned to Rome after Pentecost.

 

[seekingthemindofChrist]

I would venture to say some of those in Rome could have even been converted by Paul, but we can't know for sure unless someone knows of a passage I do not.

I do not know that we can rightly say that any of the saints who were in Rome prior to Paul's arrival there were directly converted by Paul, but he may have had some indirect influence upon them.

Please consider the following:

Acts 18:1-4

"After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome) and came unto them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers. And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks."

While at Corinth, Paul encountered Aquila and Priscilla, two Jews who had been commanded to depart from Rome (which means that they previously dwelt there), and he dwelt with them, and worked with them for a period of time.

Acts 18:18-19

"And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow. And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews."

Paul traveled with Aquila and Priscilla to Ephesus, and he left them there.

Acts 18:24-26

"And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly."

While at Ephesus, Aquila and Priscilla expounded unto Apollos the way of God more perfectly.

We only hear of Aquila and Priscilla (or Prisca, which is a shortened form of Priscilla) three more times in scripture.

Romans 16:3-4

"Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my well-beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ."

Aquila and Priscilla, having once been commanded to depart from Rome (Acts 18:2), were not only in Rome at the time of Paul's writing of his epistle to the Romans, but they also had a church in their house.

1 Corinthians 16:19

"The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house."

This church which was in the house (presumably in Rome) of Aquila and Priscilla was already established at the time of Paul's writing of his first epistle to the Corinthians.

2 Timothy 4:19

"Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus."

While writing to Timothy from prison in Rome, Paul told him to salute both Prisca (Priscilla) and Aquila who were apparently in Rome and overseeing the church in their house at that time.

With these things in mind, it is quite apparent that Aquila and Priscilla had at least something to do with the converts at Rome, and seeing how they were so close to Paul, he might have had some indirect influence on those converts himself.

As far as direct converts are concerned, it seems as if Paul converted Onesimus after arriving in Rome, and while imprisoned there.

Philemon 1:10

"I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds: "

He also seems to have converted some while under house arrest in Rome.

Acts 28:16-31

"And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him. And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. Who, when they had examined me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of death in me. But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had ought to accuse my nation of. For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain. And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judaea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of thee. But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against. And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening. And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves. And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him."

Also, we know that Christ was being preached in Rome as a direct result of Paul's imprisonment there.

Philippians 1:12-18

"But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice."

 

[Wansvic]

This is incorrect.

Go to Acts 9:20 And straightway he [Paul] preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God... 22 But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.

To "preach Christ" is to preach the Gospel. Saul had already heard the Gospel being preached by the other apostles. But he was opposing the Gospel at that time. Now he was preaching the Gospel.

We were discussing when Paul first preached to the Gentiles.

Note the comment: "Thanks for asking, "When did Paul first preach to the Gentiles?" It caused me to review that point, and provided answers to a few questions brought up by others recently. The Acts 13 account confirms Paul preached the same gospel message to both Jews and Gentiles."

 

[Nehemiah6]

We were discussing when Paul first preached to the Gentiles.

Yet that is not in this statement: The first time we have recorded of Paul preaching the gospel is in Acts 13. Nothing about Gentiles.

 

[Pilgrimshope]

You are correct. My bad. What I meant was, what was the substance of the gospel that Paul was preaching.

Jesus sent the 12 out to preach the gospel and the first time they did we have Peter's sermon. We have recorded the gospel they were preaching, so after that when it says word of the Lord or preached Jesus, we know what was preaching. If Paul was converting Christians with a different gospel, it would be nice to know what he was preaching. In Acts 9:20 we would have to assume Paul was preaching the same thing as Peter without more information. Thankfully, God recorded what Paul was preaching in Acts 13.

Sorry, that was my point.

Jesus

“Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into 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.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭1:14-15‬ ‭KJV‬‬

later Jesus says

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭24:14‬ ‭

paul to the Ephesians when he left

“And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭20:25‬ ‭

The last account of Paul before his execution in rome

“And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭28:


To claim Paul eas preaching a different gospel than the one Jesus sent to all people for salvation , is just a way to get people to reject the real gospel it’s this

“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:3-6‬ ‭KJV‬‬


The Bible presents the lord to us in the gospel of Matthew mark Luke and John thisnis the account of our lords life ministry death and resurrection and his ascention to the throne and giving his spirit to believers ect everything we see happening in the nt is because of what Jesus preached and what they believed

paul was never preaching any other gospel , any other way there isn’t one Paul eas a servant and witness of the only gospel of our lord and savior Jesus Christ

“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: ( that’s a short summary of what happens in the gospel ) by whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭1:1, 3-6‬ ‭KJV‬‬

To create alternatives to Gods way is just a way to get people away from believing it like Satan did in Eden god speaks truth and says believe me trust me have faith , then Satan tells lies to try to get us not to

there’s only the one gospel then there’s the worlds ideas that explain there’s another one