There will always be those who insist upon following the teachings of the Lord Jesus while He was upon this earth. However, the Lord Himself makes an interesting statement regarding those who reject His spokesman. He states in John 13:20: ”Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.”
The warning here is obvious. If anyone is to receive the Lord Jesus Christ, he must do so through the Lord's chosen messenger. And the Bible states in at least 14 different places that Paul was the apostle through whom the Lord spoke to the Gentiles.
1. The Lord tells Ananias in a vision that He has chosen Paul to go to the Gentiles. “But the Lord said unto him (Ananias), Go thy way: for he (Paul) is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:” (Acts 9:15)
2. Paul, in front of an angry mob in Jerusalem, relates how the Lord chose him specifically to minister to the Gentiles: “And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.” (Acts 22:21)
3. When Paul defends himself before King Agrippa, he describes the circumstances surrounding his conversion. In doing so, he relates the Lord's promise to send him to the Gentiles. “And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” (Acts 26:15-18)
4. Paul and Barnabas reprimanded the unbelieving Jews in Anticoh. This was Paul's first recorded sermon in the Bible; he also emphasized his ministry to the Gentiles. “Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.” (Acts 13:46-47)
5. After the Jews in Corinth rejected his message, Paul stressed his Gentile ministry. “And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.” (Acts 18:6)
6. Paul specifically claims to be "the" apostle of the Gentiles. “For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:” (Rom. 11:13)
7. Paul again emphasizes his calling as "the" minister of Christ to the Gentiles. “Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God, That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.” (Rom. 15:15-16)
By contrast, it is interesting to note that in this same chapter, Paul states that Christ ministered to "the circumcision" (Israel), in Rom. 15:8: “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:”
8. Another passage that demonstrates Paul's unique apostleship to the Gentiles, in which he distinguishes between the gospel he was preaching and the gospel the other apostles were preaching, is Gal. 2:7-9: “But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.”
9. Paul continually emphasized his ministry to the Gentiles. “For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: “ (Eph. 3:1-2)
10. Paul states that he preached the "unsearchable riches of Christ" among the Gentiles. “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:” (Eph. 3:8-9)
11. It is also important to note that Paul never claimed to be the Lord's "only" minister to the Gentiles. To make such a claim would be foolish, since others (such as Barnabas) ministered with him. Paul was, however, the spokesman the Lord sent to the Gentiles with a specific message. We can understand why Paul would lay claim to being "the" apostle of the Gentiles. “Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” (Col. 1:25-27)
12. In view of the fact that the 12 apostles confined their ministries to the nation of Israel, Paul is also the only writer in the Bible who claims to be a "teacher" of the Gentiles. “Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.” (1 Tim. 2:7).
13. Paul states that he is a "teacher" of the Gentiles, in 2 Tim. 1:11: “Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.”
14. In this same epistle - probably written just prior to Paul's death - it is clear that his ministry to the Gentiles has been successful (2 Tim. 4:7-8). Paul's final victory as the Lord's messenger to the Gentiles is also obvious from 2 Tim. 4:17: “Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.”
In addition, as the apostle of the Gentiles, Paul repeatedly instructs us to follow him: “For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.” (1 Cor. 4:15-16)
Paul also instructs the Gentiles to follow him as he followed Christ in His heavenly ministry, not Christ’s earthly ministry. “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” (1 Cor. 11:1)
Phil. 3:17-19: “Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)”
In fact, the "enemies of the cross of Christ" are not limited to unsaved people alone. Such enemies also include religious people who walk contrary to Paul's example, and who therefore attempt to impose teachings and promises which the Lord gave only to Israel.
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