Posted by j on April 20, 2004 at 09:23:47:
In Reply to: Bible Studies posted by PS on April 19, 2004 at 19:57:01:
: I regret my inability to interact with you all here the next couple weeks. I miss the fellowship!
: So as to make some contribution to the board and the body, I have posted a couple short biblical studies that some of you might find interesting and thought-provoking. They are in pdf format. :-)
: I love you wierdos!
:
: Why Does Paul Call Himself An Apostle?
:
: Communion in 1 Corinthians 11
In regards to "Why Does Paul Call Himself an Apostle?...
Two points stuck out in my mind:
1. "'Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them - though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.' (I Cor. 15:-10)"
When I imagine what Paul must've been like, I think of him as pushy and obnoxious with a sort of "soft" side regarding his flock (in regards to his love toward people). The thought that he considered himself "the least of the apostles" is remarkable to me because he writes with such authority. Also noteworthy is the importance he gives to God's grace in these scriptures specifically regading his calling.
2. "He affirms the possibility of a multitude of instructors in Christ, but only the apostle is a father. In 2 Corinthians 12:11-15, Paul's sacrificial attidtude toward his 'children' is well articulated: 'I will most gladly spend and be spent for you...'"
Wow!
j