Of the many themes and topics the apostle Paul addresses throughout his 13 epistles, the five perhaps most prominent that come to mind are:
- The Lordship of Christ
- Resurrection
- Justification
- Grace
- Faith
1. The Lordship of Christ is the underlying premise for the entirety of Paul’s ministry, and is evident throughout his letters, perhaps no better summarised than when Paul said, “If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed.” (I Corinthians 16:22) In fact, the term “Lord” is cited almost some 300 times throughout Paul’s writings.
Paul anchored every part of his teaching on the Lord Jesus Christ, emphasised, for example in his averting of personal focus when he said, “For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.” (2 Corinthians 4:5)
A study of the frequency and placing of the term “Lord” throughout Paul’s epistles leaves no question what occupied Paul’s thinking. If we go back to the Gospel accounts, we hear the resurrected Jesus confirming his Lordship when he said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” (Matthew 28:18)
2. Paul’s training as a Pharisee gave him the added advantage of believing in the Resurrection, identically as Jesus taught and demonstrated. Paul’s insight into the resurrection is remarkable, and possibly attributed to no other source than the revelations apparently given to him. (2 Corinthians 12:7) Jesus said that, “all who are in their graves would hear his voice and come out, those who lived righteously to a resurrection of life and those who have done evil to a resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:28-29)
Paul further develops Jesus’ resurrection teaching, hinging his entire preaching ministry on the Resurrection of Jesus, saying in effect that if Jesus’ wasn’t resurrected, we’re all believing a myth. (1 Corinthians 12:15-23) In verse 20 Paul asserts what the gospel accounts tell, that: “But now Christ is risen from the dead…” Paul does not, however, retell what Mark, Matthew, John and Luke record on this, nor does he quote Jesus’ verbatim. This conspicuous absence nonetheless doesn’t detract from Paul’s intensity – Paul is hesitant, even evasive, in detailing the “revelations” he apparently experienced that apparently gave him insight into the resurrection.
3. Justification recurs throughout Paul’s writings, with “justified” and “justification” occurring some 24 times in his epistles. No better is this illustrated than when Paul said, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Romans 5:1) Paul showed that of and by ourselves we are as good as dead; only through Jesus’ sacrifice are we “justified” in the eyes of God. The penalty of sin has been paid our stead. John 3:16 states that no one who believes “shall perish“, because of what God did to demonstrate His love. Paul asserts that no one is justified by their works or law keeping. (Romans 3:20) John further supports justification by belief when, in writing of Jesus, said, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” (John 1:20) This is echoed in Paul’s statement, when he wrote, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
4. Although Jesus never used the word “grace”, John did when he wrote of Jesus, “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 1:14) Paul is renown for his “grace and peace” greetings from the Lord Jesus Christ that appear in practically all his salutations and some of his benedictions. In fact, the word “grace” appears some 90 times throughout Paul’s epistles.
Perhaps best known is Paul’s assertion that, “For by grace you have been saved through faith...” (Ephesians 2:8) Here, grace, salvation/justification and faith are interwoven. Another related passage in this sense is Paul’s assurance of, “being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:24) The reader will note that many of Paul’s themes are interwoven and inter-related, and one cannot be isolated from the other.
5. Faith here comes to mind. Faith is believing God, and showing the evidence of that belief through action. If Paul is the author of Hebrews (as many scholars believe), then no where is this better demonstrated than in the words: “Without faith it is impossible to please Him…” (Hebrews 11:6) Hebrews 11 is known as the faith chapter, and like classic Paul (as in Romans), leans heavily on the Old Testament scriptures to make his point. Jesus often illustrated the need for faith (Luke 18:8), and spoke movingly favourably to those who demonstrated it. To the woman who was healed, Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well.” (Matthew 9:23)
The word “faith” occurs some 169 times in Paul’s writings, thrice in one verse: “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” (Romans 1:17)
There is no discordance between Jesus and Paul. Some scholars have suggested that the Pauline influence and contribution to the New Testament canon undermines not only the other apostles, but also Jesus. Yet, in the above few examples, we see that Paul submitted entirely to the Lordship of Christ; his Christ theology must not be confused with the complexity and method of Paul’s writing and person.
Written by John Classic
For LifeSpring BIS104
