Was what Jesus spoke to Paul given before or after the cross and ascension?
The revelation Jesus gave to Paul came after the cross and after His ascension into glory. Scripture shows no direct communication between the ascended Christ and sinful men except Paul, who saw the Lord face to face and received these revelations from the ascended glory following the completed work of the cross.
Les explains that what Jesus said to the apostle Paul was from the ascended glory after the work of the cross, which makes all the difference. There is no direct communication between Jesus and sinful men once He ascended back to glory, except this man, Paul. Paul claims over and over that he saw the Lord face to face and that the Lord revealed these things. Paul never had a face-to-face confrontation with Christ during His earthly ministry, but he had quite a few after the work of the cross. The gospels are before Christ is crucified, with nothing of the shed blood of Christ because it had not yet happened, but Paul knows Christ crucified.