The Problem with Paul – Part 2
October 21, 2008 by A Watchman
When looking for an answer to the first question in my research on Paul; ‘Did the original disciples of Christ accept Paul and his teachings?’, As seen in ‘The Problem with Paul – Part 1’, the only realistic and logical conclusion that I could come up with according to the scriptures is that the early church did at first try to accept Paul and his teachings but afterwards rejected him. Especially when the witness of Paul’s own words are brought into the equation. In 2 Timothy chapter 1 Paul declares that all of the churches in Asia have turned away from him: “15This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me;”.
Now… If the early church rejected Paul and his teachings… Why? Why would the church reject Paul? Upon superficial study we find that Paul was rejected by the Christian Jews in Jerusalem because he taught all the Jews which were among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs (Acts 21:17-31), a doctrine which was first brought to the attention of James and the Christian council in Jerusalem in Acts 15.
But why would “all they which are in Asia” be turned away from him? There are two things that stand out to me in this text – 2 Timothy chapter 1:15 “This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me;” The first thing that draws my attention in his statement is the fact that he writes “All” they which are in Asia have turned away from him. ‘All they which are in Asia’. There doesn’t seem to be much room for discussion here. It seems that whatever happened in Asia that caused them to reject Paul had spread throughout ‘All’ Asia. And ‘All’ seemed to be in agreement with regard to rejecting him. And the second thing that draws my attention in this text is that Paul says that all those in Asia have “turned away from me”. He doesn’t say that they have turned away from Christ, but declares that they have turned away from him (Paul).
There is somebody else in the bible that talks about the churches in Asia:
Revelation
9I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
10I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
11Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
Revelation 2
1Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
2I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
The very first letter to the churches in Asia in the book of Revelation is addressed to the Ephesians at the church at Ephesus. It commends them on their works, their labour and their patience, and the fact that they can not tolerate those who are evil. It states that they have tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars.
According to the references that we have available to us in the bible there is only one person directly quoted as declaring themselves to be an apostle to the Ephesians:
Ephesians 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Is the verse in Revelation that states “thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars” referring to Paul? By his own admission “All” the churches in Asia had turned away from him (2 Timothy 1:15) which by default includes the church at Ephesus.
The verse in Revelation 2:2 says “thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars” which says to me that God knew they were not apostles and the church in Ephesus suspecting that they weren’t looked for some form of evidence to prove if these people who claimed apostleship were lying or telling the truth. Apparently the evidence or proof pointed to the fact that they were liars. They were tried or tested and found to be liars with regard to their apostleship.
Is the verse in Revelation 2:2 declaring that Paul was a false apostle… A liar…?
Is this the reason why all the church in Asia turned away from him…?
Is the verse 2 Timothy 1:15 the end result of these findings…?
How would you try, test and prove the validity of somebody’s claim to apostleship…?
Is there a standard by which we can measure such claims…?
And if so… Does Paul measure up to this standard…?
I guess a good place to start would be to look at the original meaning of the word ‘Apostle’. According to the ‘Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance Of The Bible’ the original meaning of the word apostle is:
A delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders
a) specifically applied to the twelve apostles of Christ
b) in a broader sense applied to other eminent Christian teachers
1) of Barnabas
2) of Timothy and Silvanus
Paul declared himself to be an apostle on many occasions throughout the ‘New Testament’ and that is exactly what Paul claimed to be… a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders.
So the word apostle is specifically applied to the twelve apostles of Christ, but is also used in a broader sense and applied to other eminent Christian teachers. Looking at the original meaning of the word ‘apostle’ sheds a little more light on the original meaning and use of the word but does not prove one way or the other whether Paul was a true apostle or not. But this does pose another question… how many apostles are (were) there…? When looking into the meaning of the word ‘apostle’ we find that the word was’ specifically applied to the twelve apostles of Christ, but is also used in a broader sense and applied to other eminent Christian teachers’. So… were there twelve apostles… or were there more…? Are there any references in the bible telling us how many apostles there were?
Revelation 21:14
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
According to the above verse there is a very specific number of apostles. Twelve. There are twelve apostles of the Lamb. According to this scripture, the fact that the number of apostles is twelve is non negotiable, it is so non negotiable that, to coin a phrase, it has been set in concrete!
So… Who were these apostles…?
Luke 6
13And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;
14Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,
15Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,
16And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
Twelve apostles are named in Matthew 10 and in Luke 6 which agrees with the verse in Revelation 21:14 that there are only twelve apostles. There is no mention of Jesus (the Lamb) naming any others as apostles anywhere else in the bible. There is no mention of Paul being named as an apostle in either Matthew 10 or Luke 6.
Now… We have twelve apostles… one dies…. Judas Iscariot… Leaving only eleven.
If Paul took Judas’ place as the twelfth apostle… then he could truly be one of the twelve apostles mentioned in Revelation 21:14. Is there any reference in the bible to another person taking Judas Iscariots place as the twelfth apostle…? Did Paul take the place of Judas Iscariot as the twelfth apostle…? If so… then his claim to being an apostle has some weight to it.
The book of Acts does in fact tell us that somebody took the place of Judas Iscariot as the twelfth apostle:
Acts 1
15And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)
16Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.
17For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.
18Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
19And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.
20For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.
21Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
23And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
24And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,
25That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
26And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
No… It was Not Paul that was numbered among the twelve apostles. It was a man named Matthias. According to Revelation 21:14 there are twelve apostles of the Lamb. That number is set in concrete so to speak. Paul is not one of the twelve. So… According to scripture Paul’s claim to being an Apostle of Jesus Christ (the Lamb of God) does not hold any weight whatsoever.
But does that make Paul a liar…?
Those are pretty strong words.
Although… The evidence does seem to be stacking up against Paul.
In Paul’s own words in 2 Timothy 1:15 “This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me;”
Something major must have taken place within ‘all’ the churches in Asia for ‘everybody’ to turn against Paul.
The verse in Revelation 2:2 says “thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars”.
Having tried, or tested Paul’s claims of being an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the scriptures, I myself find his claims wanting. There is no scriptural evidence supporting his claims… The only evidence I can find in the scriptures regarding his apostolic authority are to the contrary of Paul’s claims… There is no room in scripture for thirteen apostles.
However… Revelation 2:2 goes even further when it says “and hast found them liars”. To my way of thinking… you would want to have some pretty definite proof that somebody is lying before you go calling them a liar. Just because Paul’s claim of apostleship doesn’t meet the scriptural apostleship standard doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a liar… Does it…?
Revelation 2:2 states that the church at Ephesus tried these false apostles and found them to be liars.
In a court of law… to try somebody… you have to have supporting evidence.
Liars use words to lie… We have plenty of Paul’s words written in the bible that we can examine to test whether he is a liar or not.
To be continued…
It seems to me if Paul is claiming to have been one sent from Jesus in person we have only his word for it and Paul himself doesn’t seem to make any bones about the fact being open and straightforward about the nature of the dispute as he is. Surely this is a little irrelevent however. Even if we can succesfully assaninate the character of Paul, it is not Paul that we follow but Jesus, is it not?