PAULS LETTERS: THE WORD OF GOD OR THE WORDS OF PAUL?

Introduction: God Has Spoken

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son…” (Hebrews 1:1–2).[1]I open our discussion today with full disclosure: I believe according to the scriptures that God has spoken to mankind, and we find His will and thoughts in the Bible. I will end our discussion with the idea that the New Testament writer Paul gave us God’s Word for today in his epistles or letters. But how did Paul’s word become God’s word? We will explore this transmutation of words and the force of a revealed message from God.

Just how was the God’s Word which we have in our Bibles given to mankind? We know the prophets of the Old Testament (as noted in the opening scripture used) spoke with the ‘word of the Lord came to me’ formula.[2]This was one of nine ways[3]God’s word became written down. The others:

1. The audible voice of God speaking to man

2. Through angels

3. Jesus Christ

4. Apostles

5. Visions

6. Dreams

7. Revelations

8. By inspiration

One cannot read the Bible without coming across these nine items rather quickly. In the book of Genesis we see in the garden of beginnings God walking and talking to His man. When we get to the start of the New Testament with the Christmas story, we see angels speaking to Mary and Joseph, visions and revelations to Simeon in the temple, in dreams (Herod and Joseph), and an audible voice in the sky to announce the coming of the Son, “who spoke to us in these last days.” Yet all the great ways God communicated to man were secondary to His great arrival. John in the very beginning of his gospel called Jesus the ‘Logos’ of God. By calling Jesus the Word, “John calls him the embodiment of all God’s revelation”[4]. Jesus is also the Light of the world, and Malachi’s promised ‘Messenger’ of the Covenant (John 8:12 and Malachi 3:1). Indeed Jesus entrance in our world brought about a new era of God’s dealing and speaking to mankind.

When God became Man

The Church has held the doctrine of the incarnation of Jesus as absolute since early New Testament times. John 1:14 neatly summarized the essence of what the term ‘incarnation’ actually means. This verse will also show the necessity of God actually entering our world in a physical way to reach mankind with His message – a message that man could not have ascertained on his own. The verse states “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John goes on to say in his epistle “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—” (1 John 1:1). The disciples actually saw and heard Jesus with their bodies. He was in the flesh: Emmanuel: ‘God with us’. Dunn states “ Jesus incarnates the Word, embodies what can be known of God, is God in his knowability. Such was the impact made by Jesus, of the revelation and salvation experienced through this Jesus, that the earliest Christian thought could not be content to speak in lesser terms or categories.”[5]

The revelation, which Dunn mentions, experienced through the word of God that Paul would later receive and preach, is a message that transformed those who received it. “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God”

(1 Corinthians 1:21–24). Jesus ushered in God’s final message to man, and Paul would preach and later write the great revelation of this salvation message.

With mankind in a fallen state of sin through Adam, such a revelation was needed. Like I stated earlier, man had no way to know the truth or ascertain it on his own. By the five physical senses, we reach the physical world only. We cannot find out about the spirit world. Indeed, religion is man’s attempt to reach God, but the Bible shows us God reaching out to man. And He revealsHimself and His thoughts through His word. That is called revelation knowledge. We see this in an exchange between Jesus and Peter. “He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:14–17). The Father revealed this truth of the Living Word to Peter. Jesus is the Living Word, the Logos- the sum total of all God’s message.

Inspired Revelation

The view or doctrine of the inspiration of this revelation is an important tenant of faith to Protestant believers today. Brueggemann states, “A key dimension of the post-Reformation Protestant theologians’ approach to biblical authority was the doctrine of inspiration. The Bible gained its authority because it was divinely inspired by God. Scripture is God’s Word, and as God’s self-communication, Scripture can be expected to share in God’s own characteristics…In particular, these theologians wished to affirm that Scripture’s inspiration was completely under God’s control and that biblical writers wrote under God’s specific, definite command and impulse; that the complete contents of Scripture were the product of God’s “breath” or “inspiration” (theopneustos), so there is a “plenary inspiration” of Scripture; and therefore, the words of Scripture themselves are directly inspired by God (verbal inspiration). If the inspiration of Scripture is established in this way, these theologians believed Scripture then carried with it God’s own truthfulness, power, and authority.”[6] We are starting to see how Paul’s message was really God’s Word. This idea was not quickly accepted in the world of Paul’s day. He suffered greatly for this claim, and the fact that the message endured in that Greek and Roman culture is proof of its divine origins.

When Man became God’s Voice

Continuing with the premise of the Bible as God’s inspired, infallible word, we are still faced with this often-stated dilemma: “but man wrote the bible”. It is acceptable to take Jesus words as ‘inspired’ since many believe he came from God, but what about Paul? Some theologians want to return to Jesus and leave Paul as less important figure because of a significant difference in their messages. Barclay states, “ It is generally held that, if it is to merit the title of “Christian”, the Christian religion must be recognizably continuous with Jesus’ message and the impact of his activity. Yet, both at a popular and at a scholarly level, many argue that Paul, out earliest Christian witness, departed significantly from the message of Jesus and introduced an alien system of theology.”[7]

Many can accept the Old Testament as God’s message through Moses and the prophets, and hold Jesus statements as inspired, but when did Paul’s word become God’s word? Is his message an ‘alien theology’ or a continuance of God’s revelation to mankind?

Paul’s Revelation

I believe that Paul’s gospel is the latest message from God to man. It is relevant and is confirmed by God in those who receive it. “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed itnot as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe”(1 Thessalonians 2:13). Paul has reason to call his word ‘the word of God’. He received not from man but from God, as he states in his letter to the Galatians. Bruce Malina and John Pilch teach that the innovation Paul proclaimed has a divine source, and is not an invention of Paul. The change agency behind his activity is not of human origin. Paul received an apokalypsis: a revelation. That word normally refers to making public something unknown about a person. The God of Israel revealed to Paul Jesus the Messiah. [8]This is future strengthened by the Apostle Peter in his letter: “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” (2 Peter 3:15–16). Peter acknowledges Paul epistles as Scripture- just the same as the sacred writings of the Old Testament! Paul’s word is acknowledged as divine and furthered on the path of being considered God’s Word.

How Paul felt about his Gospel

“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. But I make known to you brethren that 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 camethrough the revelation of Jesus Christ”(Galatians 1:6–12).

These are strong words from Paul. This letter does not open with the usual thanksgiving to God but with strong fiery rebuke! Dieter Lührmann states: “Only in exceptional cases will one choose another opening for a letter, whether because there is no previous mutual relationship, or because one does not feel thankful in view of disturbed relations with the addressee. The latter is the case here for Paul: at the moment there is nothing to be thankful for. In turning away to another gospel, the Galatians have surrendered the mutual relationship. Instead of being able to give thanks for their growth in faith, Paul can only be amazed at their rapid falling away. Right at the beginning Paul defines the antithesis very clearly: on the one side, God, Christ, grace, gospel; on the other side, only another gospel—and immediately Paul corrects himself, saying that there can be no other gospel. There can only be those bringing confusion, who want to twist the real gospel.[9]

Paul had bitter rebuke for those who preached a different message than the one God gave him. This is either a man with an immature attitude or a true prophet of God speaking. I recommend the latter. Paul had a heartfelt love of ‘his’ gospel, and suffered greatly for the sake of that good news. Why would a learned man of Paul’s stature take on the responsibility of such a new message to both Jew and Gentile if it were not God’s message to mankind? No one in his or her right mind would have made this message up- especially in the religious world of Judaism at that time. But Paul did, and we have that message today in our New Testament, correspondence to young churches, which we hail as God’s Word.

From Flesh to Spirit: Letter writing

Why would God choose a letter to a church to be the vehicle of revelation to us? D.A. Carson writes, “ Even a cursory reading of the Bible shows it is not the product of a flat divine dictation, still less something that has been handed down from heaven on golden plates. Despite its many claims to divine revelation and authority, the Bible is an astonishingly human document…because the Bible is so compellingly human, it includes not only God’s gracious self-revelation to us, but also human witness to God…simultaneously the product of human authors and the revelation of the God who talks”.[10]Paul’s epistles ring of human emotion yet exude heavenly treasure.

Letter writing in the time of Paul was well developed. Cicero who died in 43 B.C., a generation before Paul, was skilled at rhetoric, and used everyday correspondence for a vehicle of philosophical ideas and persuasion. Being a great Roman orator, he filled his letters with complex expression.[11]Capes, Reeves and Richards go on to explain how Paul’s letters were of a common ilk, similar to Seneca of his day. Letter such as we have in our New Testament were costly to produce and deliver. They were going to be read by many people, and at times passed around to others of the Jesus group. Although similar to the Greco-Roman wording and phraseology of everyday letters unearthed in the ruins, the length and complexity of Paul’s writings immediately speak of a higher purpose. This purpose was to persuade men to trust in Christ (2Cor. 5:11,Gal.1:10). It was the means that God used to spread the good news of the new and better way of the salvation offer. Many of the literary devices that Paul’s used were for this godly purpose. One such device that Paul used is chiasm. David R. Bauer defines chiasm as “also called chiasmus, a Latin transliteration of the Greek chiasma, referring to the Greek letter X (chi). Chiasm is the repetition of the same elements in inverted order: a-b-b’-a’; or if the middle element is present: a-b-c-b’-a’ chiastic arrangement. Conceived graphically, resembles the letter X”. [12] It is enlightening that Paul would use this structure in the book of Romans at the main point of his thesis. A Chiasm of Phrases in Romans 10:9-10 looks as follows:

A = confess with your mouth

B = believe in your heart

C = you will be saved

B’ = with the heart, ones believes

A’ = with the mouth, ones confesses

Paul used this ancient literary device for the riveting effect of the ‘zinger’ point. This clever poetry helped the readers to get the main point. Although redundant to our ears, the ancient listeners would be moved to Paul’s purposes.[13]

Paul’s letters today

The great purpose of Paul’s letters today really equals the great purposes of God. We see how God’s breathed His life into men’s words by the Holy Spirit. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work ”(2 Timothy 3:16–17). Peter goes on to say, “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit”(2 Peter 1:20–21). He goes on to caul Paul’s letters ‘scripture’. As ‘Scripture’, or God’s Word to us today, we can believe what we read and receive the benefit: Salvation.

Look again at this chiastic Pauline inspiration, spoken 2000 years ago, but alive to all people alive on planet Earth today:

A = confess with your mouth

B = believe in your heart

C = you will be saved

B’ = with the heart, ones believes

A’ = with the mouth, ones confesses

The force of Paul’s revelation is known to anyone who acts on his words or should I say God’s word. The letter of Paul the apostle to the Ephesians sums up my argument:

“For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles— if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory”(Ephesians 3:1–13). Paul suffered for our glory because he knew Jesus suffered for our benefit, and through Paul’s letters, we understand the glorious gospel which brings salvation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

New King James Version (NKJV). Oxford University Press, Inc., 2002.

Hawthorne, Gerald F. and Martin, Ralph P. editors. Dictionary of Paul and His Letters. Downers Grove , Illinois : InterVarsity Press, 1993.

Estep, Howard C. The Written Word. Colton, California: WPM Inc., 1978.

Malina, Bruce J. and Pilch, John J. Social-Science Commentary on the Letters of Paul. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2006.

Carson, D. A. Collected Writings on Scripture. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2010.

Sakenfeld, Katharine Doob, General ed. The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of The Bible, Vol. 1 and Vol. 3. Nashville : Abingdon Press, 2006.

Keener, Craig S. The IVP Bible Background Commentary. Downers Grove, IL:InterVarsity Press 1993.

Lührmann, D. A Continental Commentary: Galatians. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press 1992.

Capes, David B. , Reeves, Rodney and Richards, E. Randolph. Rediscovering Paul: An Introduction to His World, Letters and Theology. Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2007.

Electronic Sources

Freedman, David Noel, ed. The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary. Accordance electronic ed., version 3.7. New Haven : Yale University Press, 2008.

[1] Unless otherwise indicated all Bible references in this paper are to the New King James Version (Oxford University Press, Inc., 2002). [2] For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding (Proverbs 2:6). The Old Testament claims to have God’s Word spoken from God’s Mouth. [3] Howard C. Estep. The Written Word. (Colton: WPM Inc.,1978), 8. [4] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary. (Downers Grove, IL:InterVarsity Press, 1993), 264. [5] James G.D. Dunn, “Incarnation”. The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of The Bible, Vol. 3, General ed. Katharine Doob Sakenfeld (Nashville: Abingdon Press), 37. [6] AYBD, s.v. “scriptural authority,” 5:1,034. [7] J.M.G. Barclay, “Jesus and Paul.” Dictionary of Paul and His Letters. Editors: Gerald F. Hawthorne and Ralph P. Martin (Downers Grove : InterVarsity Press, 1993),492. [8] Bruce J. Malina and John J. Pilch. Social-Science Commentary on the Letters of Paul. (Minneapolis : Fortress Press, 2006),185. [9] Dieter Lührmann. A Continental Commentary: Galatians. (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1992), 11-12. [10] D. A. Carson. Collected Writings on Scripture. (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2010), 27-28. [11] David B. Capes, Rodney Reeves, and E. Randolph Richards. Rediscovering Paul: An Introduction to His World, Letters and Theology. (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2007), 55. [12] David R. Bauer, “Chiasm”. The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of The Bible, Vol. 1, General ed. Katharine Doob Sakenfeld (Nashville : Abingdon Press),587. [13] Capes, Reeves, and Richards. Rediscovering Paul: An Introduction to His World, Letters and Theology, 64.