Paul's message was not the same in scope or content as Peter's — it was a distinct, revealed gospel of grace for the Gentiles that went beyond what Peter and the eleven preached to Israel.
Les Feldick says Paul's gospel was 'something totally different' and an 'advance' on what the Jerusalem believers knew. Peter and the others had not preached Paul's gospel, especially not to Gentiles. Paul received these truths by direct revelation from the ascended Lord, and his message centered on Christ's death, burial, and resurrection for sins as the gospel of grace.
Galatians 2:2 — Paul says he went to Jerusalem by revelation and communicated 'that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles,' directly distinguishing his message by audience.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 — Paul defines the gospel he delivered as Christ died for our sins, buried, and risen — the content of the message that saves.
Acts 22:21 — The Lord's commission 'I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles' marks the Gentile direction of Paul's distinctive message.
Galatians 2:2 records Paul explaining that he went up to Jerusalem by revelation and 'communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles.' This identifies the message Paul presented to the Jerusalem leaders by its audience — the Gentiles. In 1 Corinthians 15:1–4 Paul declares the gospel by which believers are saved: 'how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.' Scripture also records the Lord's commission to Paul in Acts 22:21: 'Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.' These passages establish both the content and the Gentile scope of the gospel Paul preached.
Les Feldick says Paul's gospel was 'something totally different' from what Peter and the eleven preached to the Jew (Clip 4). It was an 'advance' on what the Jerusalem believers knew, and it was so outside their understanding that it was 'incomprehensible' to them (Clip 1). The gospel Paul preached 'among the Gentiles' was unique; Peter and the others had not preached it, and Peter's only Gentile ministry was a one-time visit to Cornelius (Clip 2).
Les says the message Peter and the eleven preached was the Gospel of the Kingdom — that Christ was who He said He was. It was directed to Israel under the law and under the kingdom economy. The Judean churches, Les observes, had only heard that Paul was now preaching the faith he once destroyed, which they understood as the announcement that Christ was who He said He was.
According to Les, Paul's gospel was unique because it was preached among the Gentiles. Paul communicated 'that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles' to the Jerusalem leaders, and that gospel was something 'totally different' from what they knew. Les defines its content in 1 Corinthians 15: Christ died for our sins, shed His blood, was buried, and rose from the dead. Its scope also marked a change: God was now going to the Gentile, pagan, idolatrous world to bring people to reconciliation outside of Judaism.
Les emphasizes that Paul did not get his message from the Twelve. After his conversion, God did not send him back to Jerusalem to join their ministry; instead, He separated him and revealed these doctrines to him. Paul spent three years in what Les calls 'isolated seminary training' at Sinai and later described himself as unknown by face to the Judean churches. When he finally went to Jerusalem, he met Peter for fifteen days and James, but other apostles he never saw. Paul's gospel was a revelation from the ascended Lord — truths never revealed elsewhere in Scripture.
The reaction to the word 'Gentile' shows how different Paul's message was. In Acts 22, when Paul quoted the ascended Lord saying, 'Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles,' the Jewish crowd went into an uproar. Les says the thought that God would go to the Gentile, pagan, idolatrous world outside Judaism was 'incomprehensible' to the Jerusalem believers. Paul's declaration that there is 'no difference' between Jew and Gentile was a radical break from the Jewish thinking of his day.
Paul's earlier reputation among Judean churches
Les says the believers in Judea knew Paul only as the former persecutor who now preached the faith he once destroyed — in their eyes, that Christ was who He said He was, not yet the fuller message Paul would proclaim.
An advance on the Jerusalem gospel
The gospel Paul communicated to the Jerusalem leaders was something totally different from what they knew; it was an advance, featuring God's reconciliation of Gentiles outside Judaism, which was incomprehensible.
The gospel Paul preached among Gentiles was unique
Paul went to Jerusalem and communicated the gospel he preached among the Gentiles; Les stresses that gospel was unique and that Peter and the others hadn't preached it or to Gentiles, except Cornelius once.
Gospel of the Kingdom vs Gospel of Grace
Paul was prepared to go with grace, not law, and with the gospel of grace, not just the gospel of the kingdom; his gospel was that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who died for sins, shed blood, was buried, and rose.
Totally different from Peter and the eleven
Les says Paul's gospel among the Gentiles was something totally different from what Peter and the eleven preached to the Jew — same God, but now God goes to the Gentile world with the gospel of grace.
The explosive 'Gentile' word
When Paul repeated the Lord's words, 'I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles,' the Jewish crowd went into an uproar, showing how revolutionary the Gentile direction of Paul's message was.
Separated from the Twelve at conversion
God didn't send Paul back to Jerusalem to join the Twelve; He separated him, revealed the doctrines to him, and Paul later saw only Peter for fifteen days.
New truths never revealed before
Paul delivered a gospel that he had received from the ascended Lord — new truths revealed nowhere else in Scripture, defined as Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again.
Galatians 2:2: And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.
Paul identifies the message he communicated to the Jerusalem leaders as the gospel he preached among the Gentiles.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4: For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
Paul defines the saving gospel he delivered — Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.
Acts 22:21: And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
The Lord's words to Paul reveal the Gentile mission that made his message different.
Galatians 1:18: Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.
Paul's first post-conversion visit to Jerusalem was limited to seeing Peter for fifteen days.
Galatians 1:23: But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.
The Judean churches knew Paul only as a former persecutor now preaching the faith he once destroyed.
Les says no, except Cornelius, and that was a one-time thing. Paul's gospel was preached among the Gentiles, which Peter and the others had not done.
No. Les says it was 'something totally different' and unique. It was an advance and included God's purpose to reconcile Gentiles outside Judaism.
Paul's gospel of grace declared that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who died for sins, shed His blood, was buried, and rose. Peter's message was the Gospel of the Kingdom — that Christ was who He said He was.
The Jewish crowd went into an uproar at the word 'Gentile.' They could not comprehend God going to the Gentile, pagan, idolatrous world outside Judaism.
Watch the Teaching: Why Paul's Gospel to Gentiles Is Different From Peter's