Paul's belief in Christ - Lets get it STRAIGHT this time!

by lovelylil 44 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  lovelylil

  Jesus hand chose the first 12 Apostles while he was on earth. But that did not limit Apostleship to only them. In the bible Apostles are missionaries who were entrusted by Holy Spirit to go out and spread the message of Christianity. So Paul was an Apostle, he definately fulfilled his missionary assignment to the Gentiles. As some already pointed out on this thread, the other Apostles were a little lacking in this work Jesus gave them. He told them to go to the Gentiles (Matthew 28:19,20) but they did not go. Later, Christ intervened by giving Peter a vision that helped him to see that they were supposed to preach the gospel now to the nations (gentiles) too.

  Romans 11:13 (Paul speaking)
  Iam talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as Iam the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry

  1 Corinthians 12:27-29

  27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?

  * Since there is not a limit placed on the number of teachers, prophets, miracle workers or others in the church and Paul called himself an Apostle, we can discern from this that the number of Apostles was not limited to the original 12. Again, Apostles were missionaries. Peace, Lilly
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  MissingLink

  Again - the only "proof" scripture is Paul himself saying that he's an apostle. I'm not saying 100% that he's not - Just I haven't seen proof. Anyone who wanted a bit of fame or power could make such a claim and written it down in a convincing manner.

  If everyone can be an apostle, then in what way were the first ones special?
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  lovelylil

  The first ones were hand picked by Jesus himself. Apostles were missionaries. Paul in that sense was an Apostle. Lilly
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  JosephMalik

  #1 Paul was not the 12th as MissingLink pointed out.

  #2 The apostles weren't doing their jobs? Pass that pipe please.

  Burn,

  Of course he was the 12 th apostle. Jesus chose Paul which is why he could be nothing else but the 12th. The other 11 tried to appoint Matthias and Luke recorded this but they were wrong in even trying to do that. Mistakes are recorded in scripture as well like the ones James and Peter made. No one can appoint an apostle for anyone else. They can only appoint an apostle to represent their own interests. This is a rule the scriptures made clear. Jesus had to step in personally and correct their error. Apostolic succession is a false doctrine. Yes, the apostles were not doing their jobs Burn, and I do not smoke. Paul had to correct not only Peter, but John. He also had to correct James and thousands of Jews in Jerusalem which would have included any other apostles present because they were still keeping the Law. This took him well over 14 years to accomplish. You will find out more of what happened at that Acts 15 meeting in Gal chapter 2.

  Lovelylil,

  You said: Jesus hand chose the first 12 Apostles while he was on earth. But that did not limit Apostleship to only them.

  Yes it does when it comes to the 12. Only Jesus could appoint one of the 12 to represent Him. Now the apostles and disciples had authority to appoint apostles to represent their interests like taking care of meal and money distribution and how the disciples in Antioch did with Paul and sent him to Jerusalem. But that did not make Matthias or Paul one of the 12. The appointment that Jesus made personally when He chose Paul is what made him the 12 th apostle. It must be over 20 years ago that I had a discussion about this and put together an article on this very subject. You will find it on my web page and it was also included in the download with my book.

  Joseph
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  JosephMalik

  There's no proof that Paul was legit.

  Missing Link,

  Sure there is. And is was if time was altered to fit him in. You just read a verse in Revelation that there could not be more than 12. No one can claim to be the 14th as you suggest. And if they can not raise the dead you know they are fakes. This is not a problem

  You said: The fact that the other apostles didn't agree with him is a pretty good indicator that he wasn't legit,

  And who won this battle for truth? The other apostles or Paul? Does anyone understand the message that is being taught to us? Those that follow the WTS should take notes.

  Joseph