Paul the lone apostle

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konroh

konroh

Senior Member
#1
Sep 17, 2013
615
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#1
Many people have a lone wolf mindset when it comes to Christianity. They think they can be like Paul and be fine with just them and God. Certainly on an individual basis we each have a personal relationship to God, but this relationship is done in community. Not only did Paul write many of his letters with other individuals, Silas and Timothy and Sosthenes, he also mentions numerous Christians by name that he worked with.

Want to take a guess how many people Paul the lone apostle mentions?

20

Twenty solid Christians that encouraged and ministered with Paul. Wow!

Oh wait, that's wrong, it was 50. Forgot the book of Romans.

How many of us can say that we have ministered and been encouraged by and worked with 50 other Christians for the cause of Christ? I know I falter in this area.

Oh wait, I'm wrong again, it was 90!

90 people Paul mentions. They are men and women, slaves and slave-owners, from geographic regions from Rome to Jerusalem. Absolutely amazing.

I'm indebted to Les Lofquist from Voice magazine (IFCA publication) for opening my eyes to this.
 
jonathanbchristian

jonathanbchristian

Banned
#2
Feb 16, 2011
2,957
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I would trade all the encouraging Christians in the world for encounters with Christ. I already have. They forsake you when you preach and teach the Bible's true doctrines like they forsook Paul. Paul and his teachings are still forsaken by Christians (especially his verses on Christian living.) Many doctrines of the Bible are hated and explained away but Paul is the most disbelieved apostle and most hated. He is often called a chovinist for his teaching on gender. He is called racist for his teaching on slavory. He is accussed of hyjacking Christianity. He is forgotten when they teach 12 is the magic number (Paul was 13 because Mattias replaced Judas.) I stick with Paul and other Christians hate me for it (especially women). Paul sited creation and the o.t. but they still say it was his culture. He is called bias.
 
konroh

konroh

Senior Member
#3
Sep 17, 2013
615
21
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#3
Paul had personal encounters with Christ, he also had personal encounters with over 90 Christians that were so beneficial they are a part of Holy Writ. Would that we all have encounters like this.
 
p_rehbein

p_rehbein

Senior Member
#4
Sep 4, 2013
30,330
6,623
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#4
So, is this gonna end up as another "hate Paul" thread?

Well, I suppose it will serve to give the KJV a rest eh?
 
konroh

konroh

Senior Member
#5
Sep 17, 2013
615
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#5
I'd rather hope it's a "love Paul and be like him" thread. You can't hate him unless you've ministered like he's ministered with the results he's had. Personally, I've benefited from Paul's ministry, as had every Christian for 2000 years.
 
RedTent

RedTent

Banned
#6
Oct 31, 2011
8,200
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#6
It is interesting to delve into the personalities that God used for His message, and we do need to learn about them and also the circumstances and events that were happening at the times God used, too. It is necessary to understand the message God is sending to us, today.

The message we are to understand isn't in the people God used, or even in the times God used to explain His principles to us, it is the principles themselves. Paul reported what God told him to report, Paul wasn't reporting on his personal conclusions.
 
S

SpaceCowboy

Guest
#7
#7
RedTent said:
It is interesting to delve into the personalities that God used for His message, and we do need to learn about them and also the circumstances and events that were happening at the times God used, too. It is necessary to understand the message God is sending to us, today.

The message we are to understand isn't in the people God used, or even in the times God used to explain His principles to us, it is the principles themselves. Paul reported what God told him to report, Paul wasn't reporting on his personal conclusions.
Click to expand...
Yes and no. He was reporting what God told him to report yeah because the resurrected Christ blinded him quite literally and sent him off on his mission for the church. But to look at any apostles writings or epistles in a strictly legalistic way is quite foolish. There are commandments in the bible but there not commandments for the sake of commandments like a military would be or something like that. There's a motive to have the commandments be proclaimed and a motive to follow them to the logical conclusion. The motive being love for Jesus Christ. So its only rational to conclude that what he wrote to others was extremely personal and Godly no doubt had a major impact on the community and fellowship of the early christian church. Its just whether or not people are willing to accept their faults long enough to see the gold in someone else.

I mean he poured everything he had into the ministry for Christ.

konroh said:
I'd rather hope it's a "love Paul and be like him" thread. You can't hate him unless you've ministered like he's ministered with the results he's had. Personally, I've benefited from Paul's ministry, as had every Christian for 2000 years.
Click to expand...
Do you understand his gospel?
 
konroh

konroh

Senior Member
#8
Sep 17, 2013
615
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#8
Paul gave the gospel in 1 Cor. 15, but his first epistle gave his living gospel, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Good gospel truth.
 
P

presidente

Senior Member
#9
May 29, 2013
9,093
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#9
Paul may have been alone, without other believers that is, at times. We don't know if there were any believers in Tarsus after he was sent there from Jerusalem. He may also have been alone briefly in Athens.
 
p_rehbein

p_rehbein

Senior Member
#10
Sep 4, 2013
30,330
6,623
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#10
What is the point of this thread? Is there some group teaching that Paul was "alone" in his ministry? What specific point is this thread addressing?
 
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