Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Jesus Creed

Home
Evangelical
Annoying Apostle Paul

Annoying Apostle Paul

Last updated on: March 28, 2017 at 12:05 am by Scot McKnight

Annoying Apostle Paul 2017-03-26T09:08:27-05:00 Scot McKnight

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

When our children were teenagers they would sometimes say someone was “annoying.” When we probed for a little details it was often not forthcoming. It was an existentialist response one person to another, a response in which one person and the other person were unable to dwell in peace. Many respond to the apostle Paul the same way. In fact, in Randy Richards and Brandon O’Brien’s book, Paul Behaving Badly, they ask if Paul was not in fact a jerk.

But some get nervous here because they fear that one is getting near irreverence toward Scripture. Again we must say, to affirm Scripture is not to affirm everything said or done by the people in Scripture. To affirm the inspiration of Paul’s letters is not to affirm the example of Paul in every instance.

Consider, for example, the following verses, and I offer — following their lead — a brief word of jerkiness-interpretation.

First, who do you know — other than some fairly arrogant megachurch pastors and small church control-freak pastors, small group leaders who think they’ve now got a group in need of some submission, and cult-like teachers — who go around urging you to follow them?

Phil. 3:17 Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.

To make the following claim is to contend you have a special place in history:

Gal. 1:15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased

I don’t care for those who curse others.

Gal. 1:8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!

And we all get annoyed when someone brags about how profoundly spiritual and competitively moral they are.

Gal. 1:14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

1Cor. 14:18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.

1Cor. 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

Who, seriously, thinks they have a one-and-only revelation from God and that no matter how important the apostles were this man believes he got his message straight from God — and the apostles can confirm it or not, he’s still independent of them?

Gal. 1:12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

Gal. 1:16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being.

Gal. 2:6 As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message.

Peter was there from the beginning with Jesus himself: he was called by Jesus, ate with Jesus, walked on the water a bit with Jesus, suffered for Jesus, heard Jesus, watched Jesus, preached Jesus, preached the Day of Pentecost into a few thousand converts… over and over and this Johnny-come-lately called Paul turns against him in public!

Gal. 2:11 When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.

Gal. 2:14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

Paul thinks we are not to grieve or quench the Spirit; we are to listen to the Spirit; when the Spirit speaks Paul presses on with his plan anyway.

Acts 21:4 We sought out the disciples there and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.

Acts 21:14 When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”

How does all this fit with this?

Eph. 5:21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Whew. A complex figure that Paul is. The authors put it this way on the The Spirit: To Listen or Not to Listen?

The moral of the story is if you think the Holy Spirit is saying one thing and everyone else disagrees—particularly if everyone else includes famous prophets, the Twelve, and all the Christians along the Mediterranean coast—you should at least consider the possibility that you might have misunderstood the Spirit. But Paul, it seems, sometimes trusted his own instincts and interpretations more than those of others. Luke had no problem pointing out Paul’s stubbornness and misdirected certainty. We shouldn’t gloss over it either (31).

Complex is the word. This is the same man who submitted to the wisdom of James in Jerusalem to pay for and take a vow in the temple in order to conform to Jewish expectations. Perhaps most significantly, this is the same man who in a culture that encouraged folks to boast about their accomplishments, which Paul did a bit of in madness, turned it all around and boasted in his sufferings!

2 Cor 12:7 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

All those revelations and he speaks of himself in Third Person. Many — still today — are not convinced this is Paul himself. (It is.) He’d rather brag about his sufferings, so he does:

12:21 Whatever anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about.

22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?

Jerk? No. Complex? Yes. Human? For sure. Inconsistent? Yes.

Paul

Previous Post

March 27, 2017

White Middle-Class Death Rates on the Incline: Why?

Next Post

March 28, 2017 Jesus as Redeemer of Israel (RJS)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Acts of the Apostles Adam Advent Anabaptism Angels Anglican Apologetics Atonement Baptism BCP Prayers Bible Biblical Studies Birds Blogging Bloglossary Bonhoeffer Books Calvinism Christianity Church Church History Coffee Colossians Commentary Recs Conversion Creation Creeds Culture Death Ecclesiastes Economics Education Embracing Grace Emergent Emerging Movement Eschatology Essays Ethics Eucharist Evangelicalism Family Fasting Fathers Fellowship of Differents Footsteps Tour Fun and Whimsical Gospel Grace Happiness Heaven Hell Holy Spirit Irenaeus James Jesus Jesus Creed Job Justification Kingdom of God Law Lectures Lent Liberalism Love and Marriage Mabanteneni Manhood Mary Miracles Missio Alliance MissioLife Missional Missional Jesus Movies and Film New Perspective Northern Seminary OneLife Origins Project Orthodox Parables Pastor's Spouse Pastoring and Leading Pastoring and Preaching Patristics Paul Paul-John Tour Pharisees Pietism Political Theology Prayer and Formation Preaching Problems for Faith Psalm 119 Psalms Public Issues Purgatory Religions Resurrection Revelation Romans Rule of JCreed Science and Faith Sermon on the Mount Sports Ten Commandments Theology Third Way Top Ten Lists Translations Uncategorized Universalism University Ministry Way Out Weekly Meanderings Wisdom Women and Ministry Work Worship Writing & Blogging Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2021 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did God create on the first day?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Land Animals Plants Light