Some people say you can’t trust Paul, that you must reject his teachings in order to follow the true message of Jesus. If that’s true, the majority of the New Testament is a lie. So, was Paul an apostle or an imposter? Or is rejecting Paul actually rejecting Christ Himself?
On a recent video, someone commented, “Reject Pauline doctrines, and FOLLOW JESUS.” Should we ignore the teachings of Paul? Or, if we’re not going to outright ignore Paul, can we get away with treating his teachings as merely his opinion? Let’s open our Bibles, and our minds, and investigate these questions together.
Let’s begin by acknowledging the fundamental issue in question: the authority of Paul. If Paul spoke only on his own authority, his teachings may be freely ignored. But, on the other hand, if Paul spoke with divinely-given authority, then what he communicated must be followed.
What Paul Said About Paul
There are twelve books in the New Testament that bear the name of Paul. In ten of them, he specifically identified himself as an apostle of Christ. For example, the book of Ephesians opens with the words, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 1:1). By calling himself an apostle of Jesus, he is claiming to be a delegate of Jesus—one sent with Christ’s authority. The two letters that do not specifically open with claims of apostleship do contain similar claims to authority. In Philippians 1:1 Paul calls himself a bondservant of Jesus Christ, while in Philemon, he is the prisoner of Christ Jesus (Philemon 1:1). These terms reveal Paul’s commitment to following Jesus in all things (as a good servant), even if it meant suffering persecution (such as imprisonment). Paul undeniably viewed himself as speaking for Christ.
Of course, not everyone accepts that claim today. But then, not everyone accepted that claim during the life of Paul either. Thus, he often had to defend his apostleship in his writings. He asked the Corinthians:
Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?
1 Corinthians 9:1
Note that Paul phrases these questions in such a way that “yes” is the expected answer to every one of them. It is as if he asked, “Did I not see Jesus resurrected?” to which the Corinthians would have been compelled to acknowledge, “Yes, it’s true, you did.” In 2 Corinthians 12:11 Paul would remind these same brethren:
Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.
The book of Acts recounts many of Paul’s miracles, including healing a lame man in Acts 14, casting out a demon in Acts 16, and raising dead Eutychus in Acts 20. Nicodemus looked at the similar miracles of Jesus and acknowledged, “No one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him” (John 3:2). If Paul performed identical signs, is it not appropriate to draw the identical conclusion that God was with him? Unless you are willing to deny the miracles of Paul as recounted in the book of Acts, you must accept the authority of Paul.
In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul said:
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
Certainly, Paul didn’t think it was a matter of following Jesus or following Paul.
What Peter Said About Paul
While Paul wrote the majority of books that make up the New Testament, he didn’t write all of them. It is quite helpful to this study if we consider what other inspired writers said about him.
Let’s start with Peter. Remember that Peter was one of Jesus’s closest followers. Along with James and John, he made up what is sometimes referred to as Jesus’s “inner three.” He knew Jesus as well as anyone, and if an imposter were making waves in Christian communities, falsely claiming to be an apostle, Peter would have been obligated to warn the disciples about him. With that in mind, read 2 Peter 3:14–16:
Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
Did you notice what Peter says about Paul in this passage? He calls him “our beloved brother” and acknowledges that wisdom was given to him. He warns that misrepresenting Paul’s message will lead to one’s destruction. Further, Peter says that those who twist Paul’s writings also do the same with “the rest of the Scriptures.” Do not miss the significance of the word rest, for by it, Peter confirms Paul’s teachings to be as authoritative as those of the Old Testament. If Peter believed that Paul’s writings are Scripture, then who are we to think otherwise? Because Paul’s writings are Scripture, Peter encourages his readers not to ignore them, but consider them, meaning to remember them and believe in them.
Certainly, Peter didn’t think it was a matter of following Jesus or following Paul.
What Luke Said About Paul
Luke was the historian of the early church, recounting the founding and spread of the Christian religion in the book of Acts. Paul was undeniably a major contributor to Christianity’s growth (he is the central figure in Acts from chapter 13 until the end of the book). Luke was very thorough as a historian, and he did not hesitate to record the problems in the early church. He describes controversies involving the distribution of aid (Acts 6), the evangelization of the Gentiles (Acts 11), and the question of circumcision (Acts 15). Yet, Luke doesn’t record a single incident of anyone chastising Paul for his doctrine. Instead, Luke portrays Paul as preaching the same message proclaimed by Peter and the other apostles.
Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.
Acts 9:20
That would be a very strange thing to say if Christ and Paul were at odds as some claim. Keep in mind that Luke authored the gospel account that bears his name. He had meticulously researched the life of Jesus Christ. He knew what Jesus taught. If the messages of Jesus and Paul were in conflict, would Luke have recorded that Paul “preached the Christ?”
It is also telling to consider the exchange between Paul and the Jewish false prophet Elymas as recorded in Acts 13. Luke specifically records that Paul was “filled with the Holy Spirit” as he began to speak. This is another way of saying that Paul’s message was inspired. And if it was inspired, then his teaching was also truthful.
Certainly, Luke didn’t think it was a matter of following Jesus or him.
What Jesus Said About Paul
Within the pages of Acts, the Lord Jesus Himself says some very important things about Paul.
Paul changed from being a persecutor of the church to a proclaimer of Christ following his encounter with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus. As part of that appearance, Jesus Himself told Paul (then known as Saul):
I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.
Acts 26:16-18
According to Jesus, Paul was a “minister and witness.” Paul’s teachings would serve to open the eyes of many, and, as a result of Paul’s efforts, they would receive forgiveness of sins. The saving gospel of Jesus Christ was communicated by human messengers, and Paul was one of those messengers! When Jesus sent out preachers in the gospel of Luke, He warned:
The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.
Luke 10:16
Since Jesus chose Paul just as He chose Peter, Andrew, James, and John, then to reject Paul means to reject Jesus Himself.
Here’s how Paul described the authority Jesus had given him:
Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead).”
Galatians 1:1
Paul’s authority came from God. What is more, his message came from God.
The gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Galatians 1:11–12
And before we dismiss these statements as Paul tooting his own horn, remember that according to Acts, Jesus commissioned Paul, and according to Peter, he spoke divine wisdom. Thus, if I want to follow God and Christ, I should follow what Paul taught about God and Christ because both his authority and his message came from them!
Certainly, Jesus didn’t think it was a matter of following Him or following Paul.
Why Follow the Teachings of Paul?
To answer that question, we have to go back to the teachings of Jesus. On the night on which He was betrayed, our Lord said,
I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
John 16:12
In other words, Jesus (while He was on earth) did not reveal to us everything we would need to know. Rather, the Holy Spirit would continue the revelatory part of Jesus’s work.
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
John 16:13–14
Remember what we noted out of the book of Acts, that Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit and specifically chosen by Jesus as His minister and witness. Far from contradicting what Jesus taught, Paul’s writings, as well as the teachings of the other apostles and prophets of the New Testament, are the fulfillment of Jesus’s promise that more truth was yet to be revealed. Why follow the teachings of Paul? Quite simply, because Jesus said we should.But ultimately, it isn’t a matter of following Jesus or Paul. It’s always all about following Jesus. But doing so means following all Scripture, including what was written by His inspired apostle Paul.