Many
people think the teachings presented by apostles or prophets, especially Paul,
are somehow less authoritative than what Jesus Himself personally spoke.
* A
"philosophy major," when I quoted Acts 2:38, said that was just Peter
expressing his opinion.
* A
feminist said I based all my beliefs on the teaching of "that old
reprobate, the apostle Paul."
* A
Muslim leader (El Dareer) in debate claimed that Paul's teaching differed from
that of Jesus. Other people have claimed that Paul's teaching disagreed with
that of Peter.
* A
defender of homosexuality said that "Jesus said nothing about gays" -
meaning that He personally said nothing, so we can disregard clear teachings in
the epistles regarding homosexuality.
*
Others have said that the apostles, especially Paul, did not show as good an
attitude as Jesus in teaching: they expressed less love and tolerance but were
more condemning of other people's views.
* For
these reasons, some follow only the "Red Letters" as being necessary
to salvation.
To such
people, what Jesus said may be worth considering, but other teaching in the New
Testament is optional. They feel free to reject the teaching of some apostle or
prophet, especially Paul, if they don't like it.
The
purpose of this study is to consider the teachings of the apostles and
prophets, especially Paul, and compare their authority to that of Jesus'
teachings.
I. The
Office of Apostles
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
To
understand the authority of the apostles' teachings, we must understand who
apostles were, the nature and purpose of their work, and how they became
apostles. In particular, we must consider whether or not Paul possessed the
qualifications and authority of an apostle equally with the other apostles.
Apostleship
involved all the following things:
A. A Special Calling
============
One
could not become an apostle simply by volunteering, by choosing to take the
office upon himself, by deciding to meet certain requirements, nor by being
selected by other men. Each apostle had to be personally selected by Christ,
who then had to directly reveal which men He selected.
If one
claimed to be an apostle, when he lacked this calling, he would not be a good
man at all but would be a false apostle - 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Revelation
2:2.
Apostles
were especially chosen and called personally by God to be apostles.
*****************************************************
Luke 6:12-16 - Jesus personally chose 12 men and named them to be
apostles.
Acts
1:24 - When one was chosen to take Judas' place and be numbered among the 12,
the Lord indicated which man He had chosen to fill the office.
[Cf.
John 15:27; Acts 10:40,41.]
Specifically,
Paul was personally chosen and called by Jesus to be an apostle.
*****************************************************
Acts
9:15 - Jesus personally appeared to Paul (vv 1-9), then told Ananias to teach
and baptize him because Paul was "a chosen vessel" to preach Jesus'
name to Gentiles, etc.
Acts
26:16 - Jesus said that He had appeared to Paul to make him a minister and
witness of what he had seen. [Acts 22:14,15]
Romans
1:1; Galatians 1:1 - So, Paul repeatedly affirmed in his letters that he had
been "called to be an apostle," not by men, but by Jesus Christ.
[1
Corinthians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1]
Other
inspired men confirmed Paul's claim to inspiration.
**********************************************
Note
that, if Paul's claim to be an apostle was not true, he would not even have
been a faithful preacher. He would have been a false apostle, a false prophet,
a liar, and a hypocrite. But Paul's claim to be inspired and a faithful teacher
was confirmed by many other inspired men.
Acts
9:15 (26:16; 22:14,15) - Luke records that Jesus Himself endorsed Paul as a
chosen vessel to preach His name.
2 Peter
3:15,16 - Peter classed Paul's writings along with other Scripture. This
endorses Paul's writings as truth, including when those epistles claim that
Paul was an apostle.
Galatians
2:7-9; Acts 15:22-32 - Other apostles and prophets confirmed Paul's claim to be
inspired and to be a faithful preacher.
Acts
13:1-4 - Luke recorded that the Holy Spirit recognized Paul as one called by
the Spirit to preach.
Revelation
2:2 - Jesus commended the church at Ephesus for examining and rejecting men who
falsely claimed to be apostles. But Paul had done much preaching at Ephesus,
and his letter to the Ephesians had claimed he was an apostle (Ephesians 1:1).
If Paul
was not an apostle, the Ephesians surely ought to have rejected him; nor would
Jesus have commended them if they had mistakenly accepted Paul as an apostle.
So the fact Jesus commended the Ephesians for rejecting false apostles, even
when they accepted Paul as an apostle, constitutes conclusive approval from
Jesus Himself that Paul was an apostle!
So other inspired writers repeatedly endorse Paul's claim to be an
apostle.
B.
Special Qualifications
==============
Apostles
had to be eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ.
***********************************************
Apostles
repeatedly affirmed that they were eyewitnesses - Acts 2:32; 10:41; 3:15; 1
John 1:1-4; etc.
Acts 1:15-26 (esp. vv 21,22) - The one chosen to replace Judas had
to be an eyewitness.
Paul
was an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ.
****************************************
Acts 22:3-16 (esp. vv 14,15) - Paul saw and heard Jesus so he
could be a witness.
Acts
26:16 - Jesus said he appeared to Paul to make him a witness. [Acts 9:1; 1
Corinthians 15:4-8; 9:1-5]
One
special duty of apostles was to give testimony of Jesus' resurrection whereby
others could believe. To do this, each one had to have personally witnessed
Christ alive after the resurrection. Jesus' appearance to Paul was exceptional;
nevertheless he did see Jesus alive, so he was just as qualified to do this
work as were other apostles.
C.
Special Powers
===========
The apostles were granted special miraculous powers by the Holy
Spirit.
Apostles
were empowered by the Spirit to do miraculous signs to confirm that they were
inspired by the Spirit.
*****************************************************
Other apostles had this power.
Matthew 10:1-4 - Jesus gave the 12 power to perform miracles.
[Hebrews 2:3,4]
Mark 16:14,20 - Apostles used miracles as they preached to confirm
the word.
The
Bible contains many examples showing that the apostles performed such miracles
- Acts 3:1-10; 8:14-24; 9:32-41; etc.
Paul was empowered to do miraculous signs.
2 Corinthians 12:12 - He accomplished the signs of an apostle
among the Corinthians.
Luke
records many signs performed by the Spirit through Paul - Acts 14:8-10; 19:1-7;
20:8-12; 16:16-18; Romans 15:19.
Apostles
could lay hands on others and bestow on them the power to do miracles.
*****************************************************
Other apostles had this power.
Acts
8:14-21 - Apostles went from Jerusalem to Samaria to lay hands on Christians
there and give them the Holy Spirit. Philip, though he could preach the gospel
and do miracles, was not an apostle and did not bestow these powers on others
(vv 5-13).
Paul could lay hands on others and bestow miraculous powers on
them.
Acts
19:6,7 - He laid hands on twelve disciples so the Holy Spirit came on them and
they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
2 Timothy 1:6 - He gave Timothy a gift through the laying on of
his hands. [Rom. 1:11]
2
Corinthians 11:5; 12:11 - For all the reasons we have listed, Paul claimed
apostleship fully and equally with the other apostles. [1 Corinthians 9:1-5]
Note
that much of the evidence for Paul's apostleship comes from other men besides
Paul. It is clear that his teachings possess as much authority as those of any
other apostle.
II. The
Source of Apostles' Teaching
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
If the
apostles taught their own human opinions, then of course their teachings would
be inferior to those of Jesus. But what was the source of the teachings the
apostles revealed, as compared to the source of Jesus' teaching?
A. The Source of Jesus' Teaching
====================
Jesus received His teachings from God.
Hebrews
1:1,2 - Before Jesus came to earth, God spoke through Old Testament prophets,
but now God speaks through His Son.
John 12:49,50 - Jesus spoke exactly what the Father commanded to
be spoken.
[John
7:16; 8:28; Acts 3:20-23; 10:38; Luke 4:1,14,17-21]
B. The
Source of the Apostles' Teaching
========================
Their teachings were also from God, given them through the Holy
Spirit.
John
14:26; 16:13 - Jesus promised the apostles that the Holy Spirit would come and
teach them all things, guide them into all truth, and remind them of Jesus'
teachings.
Matthew
10:19,20 - When they taught, they were not teaching from themselves, but the
Spirit of the Father spoke through them.
[2
Timothy 3:16,17; Acts 1:5,8; 2:1-4,33; Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Peter 3:2;
Revelation 1:1]
So the
apostles' teachings came from the same source as did Jesus' teaching. All of
them spoke the will of God as revealed to them by the Holy Spirit. The
apostles' teaching was as accurate and as authoritative as was Jesus' teaching.
All spoke with the infallible authority of God.
If this
is not so, then in fact we do not even really know what Jesus Himself taught,
since He never wrote any of the Bible. All we have are records which apostles
and prophets wrote of what He said and did. If we accept what they record of
Jesus' teachings, why not accept the other teaching that the Spirit guided them
to write?
C. The
Source of Paul's Teaching
====================
What
about Paul? Did His teaching come from the same source as did the teaching of
Jesus and other apostles?
1
Corinthians 2:10-13,16 - The Holy Spirit revealed the things of God to Paul, so
He taught in words the Spirit gave Him, just like the other apostles did. As a
result, he knew the mind of Christ. [2:1-5]
1 Corinthians 14:37 - What Paul taught, therefore, were the
commands of the Lord.
1
Thessalonians 2:13 - The teaching people received from Paul was, in truth, the
Word of God, not the word of men.
2 Peter
3:15,16 - The apostle Peter classified Paul's epistles as
"Scripture," right along with "other scripture." But
"Scripture" is inspired by God and provides to all good works - 2
Timothy 3:16,17. Hence, Peter here confirms Paul's claim to be an inspired
author of God's word.
The
teachings of Paul came from the same source as did those of Jesus and of the
other apostles. Therefore, they were equally as authoritative.
[Galatians
1:11,12; Ephesians 3:3-5; 1 Thessalonians 4:15; Romans 1:15,16; 15:15-19; 1
Cor. 15:1-4; Acts 13:12; 16:32; 1 Cor. 11:23; 2 Corinthians 5:20; 1
Thessalonians 1:5; 5:27; 4:8]
III.
The Importance of Accepting and Obeying Apostles' Teaching
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Many
people realize that great blessings come from accepting and obeying Jesus'
teaching, and serious consequences follow from rejecting it. Do the same
consequences accompany the apostles' teaching?
A. The Importance of Accepting and Obeying Jesus' Teaching
=====================================
John 14:6 - No one can come to the Father except through Jesus.
John 6:63,68 - His words give eternal life. [Acts 4:12]
John 12:48 - We will be judged by His words at the last day.
Acts 3:20-23 - We must hearken to all things He speaks or be
destroyed.
[John
14:15,21-24; 12:50; Matthew 7:24-27; 28:18]
The
only way to please God and have eternal life is by believing and obeying Jesus'
teaching. If we reject His teachings, we do so at the peril of destruction.
This is true, because His teachings are the will of God. We can please God only
by accepting those teachings, and we reject the will of God Himself if we
reject His teachings.
B. The
Importance of Accepting and Obeying the Apostles' Teaching
==========================================
Acts
2:42 - The first disciples "continued steadfastly in the apostles'
doctrine." The teaching of the apostles was their standard of authority,
because it was the word of God.
Luke 10:16
- If we accept the teaching of inspired prophets, we are listening to Jesus
(because they taught His will). If we reject them, we reject Jesus and His
Father, because Jesus and the Father guided them in what they taught. [This
refers in context to the teaching of the 70, but the same would be true of the
apostles' teaching.]
1 John
4:6 - Jesus called and sent the apostles to teach. They taught what God through
the Holy Spirit guided them to teach. If we hear what they say, we are of God.
Otherwise, we are not.
2
Corinthians 5:18-20 - Apostles and prophets were "ambassadors for
Christ." They carried His message to the world instructing and urging men
to be reconciled to God. As when a country sends an ambassador to another
country, insulting an officially commissioned ambassador is insulting the one
who sent him.
So the
consequences that follow from accepting or rejecting the apostles' teaching are
the same consequences as follow from accepting or rejecting Jesus' teaching,
because they are the same teachings from the same source. Hence, we must
respect the teachings of the apostles just as we do those of Jesus.
[2
Peter 3:2; James 2:10; Revelation 22:18,19; 2 Timothy 3:16,17]
C. The
Importance of Accepting and Obeying Paul's Teaching
=====================================
What
about Paul's teaching? Are the same consequences associated with accepting or
rejecting his teaching as compared to the teaching of Jesus and other apostles?
Galatians
1:6-12 - The gospel Paul preached came from Jesus, not from man. Therefore,
anyone who preaches a different gospel is accursed.
2
Thessalonians 2:13-15 - Men must hold fast the gospel as preached by Paul,
because it is the means by which God calls people to salvation and to the glory
Jesus offers. This includes holding fast Paul's written epistles.
2 Peter
3:15,16 - Paul's epistles are classified by Peter as "Scripture,"
right along with "other scripture." Those who twist and pervert it,
do so to their own destruction. But we have already seen that
"Scripture" is inspired by God and provides to all good works - 2
Timothy 3:16,17.
Again,
the teachings of Paul carry as much weight as those of other apostles and as
those of Jesus, because they are the teachings of Jesus. To reject them is to
be lost. We can be saved only if we accept and obey them.
[2
Thessalonians 3:4,6,12,14; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 2:16]
IV.
Love and Rebuke Expressed in Apostles' Teaching
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Were the apostles less loving and more condemning in their
teachings than Jesus was?
A. Love and Rebuke in Jesus' Teaching
========================
Jesus
taught the importance of love, and that love requires obedience.
*****************************************************
Matthew 22:36-40 - Loving God and our fellowman are the greatest
two commands.
John 14:15 - If we love Him, we will keep his commands.
[Matthew
7:12; John 13:34,35; 14:21-14]
Jesus
plainly rebuked those who rebelled against the truth He taught from God.
*****************************************************
John 8:24 - He said those who did not believe in Him would die in
sin.
Matthew 22:29 - He said the Sadducees were in error for rejecting
the resurrection.
Matthew 23 (esp. vv 14,15,25-28,33) - He plainly rebuked Pharisees
for hypocrisy.
[Matthew
7:24-27; 15:1-14; Mark 16:16; 8:33,38; 12:27; John 5:42; 8:24,41-55; Matthew
21:12,13]
B. Love
and Rebuke in the Apostles' Teaching
============================
The
apostles also taught the importance of love and that love requires obedience.
*****************************************************
1 John
3:14-18 - Some people call John the "apostle of love," because he
showed our need to love like Jesus loved. [4:7-5:2]
1 John 5:3 - But John taught that this is the love of God, that we
keep his commands. [2 John 6]
The
apostles also plainly rebuked people who rebelled against the truth they taught
from God.
*****************************************************
Acts
8:20-23 - Peter plainly rebuked a member of the church (Simon) for trying to
purchase a power that he had no right to have.
2 John
9-11 - The apostle of love said anyone who would not abide in Jesus' teaching
(which the apostles delivered), did not have God.
[2
Peter 2:1-22; 1 John 2:18-22; 4:6; James 2:10; Revelation 22:18,19]
C. Love
and Rebuke in the Teaching of Paul
===========================
Did he show less love or more condemnation than did Jesus or the
other apostles?
Paul
also taught the importance of love and that love requires obedience.
*****************************************************
1 Corinthians 13 - The chapter on love was written by Paul.
Galatians 5:6 - But what avails in Christ is faith working through
love.
[Ephesians
5:25-33; Romans 8:35-39; 13:8-10]
Paul
also plainly rebuked people who rebelled against truth he taught.
*****************************************************
Acts 13:6-11 - He called Elymas a son of the Devil and an enemy of
righteousness.
Galatians 1:6-9 - Those who preach a different gospel are
accursed.
[2
Thessalonians 3:6-14; 1:7-9; Romans 16:17; Galatians 2:4,5,11]
Conclusion
=======
The
real lesson to be learned from a study such as this is, not the contrast
between the teaching of Jesus and that of the apostles, but rather the harmony
that exists. Regardless of what inspired man taught the message, it was
consistent with and equally authoritative as other inspired teaching, because
it all came from the same source.
The
only real question that remains to be answered is whether or not we are willing
to submit ourselves to the teaching. We receive the blessings the message
offers and avoid the consequences it warns us about, only if we believe the
message and obey it.
*****************************************************
Hillcrest Church of Christ, Utica, Ohio
