Paul's apostleship was significant because God set him apart as the unique apostle of the Gentiles, giving divine authority to the grace message he preached.
Les Feldick teaches that Paul had to defend this apostleship in all his letters because people considered him an imposter who had never walked with Jesus during His earthly ministry. Paul's authority came from the ascended Lord after the cross, and his office as apostle of the Gentiles made him God's channel for the revelation of the doctrines of grace.
Romans 11:13 — Paul explicitly identifies himself as 'the apostle of the Gentiles' and says he magnifies his office, establishing the very significance of his apostleship.
Scripture records Paul's own testimony in Romans 11:13 (KJV): 'For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office.' Paul did not describe his apostleship as a secondary or passive role. He called it his office, pointed to the Gentiles as the objects of his ministry, and said he magnified—exalted—that office. This is what Scripture itself says about the significance of Paul's apostleship.
Les Feldick explains that Paul's apostleship is the reason Paul's words carry divine authority. Paul was the man God designated to take salvation to the Gentiles, yet because he had not walked with the Lord Jesus during His earthly ministry like Peter, James, and John, the people of his day called him an imposter and accused him of heresy. That is why Paul continually defended his apostleship in every letter. Les also points out that Paul received his revelations from the ascended Lord and claimed that it was to him and him alone that God revealed these great doctrines of grace. Paul called himself 'the apostle of the Gentiles' and 'magnified his office,' meaning he would never back down from being God's man for the Gentile world. Because Paul's letters alone were written to the Church, Les concludes that, so far as the writing of this Book is concerned, there is only one apostle of the Gentiles—Paul.
Les Feldick says Paul defends his apostleship in all of his letters because the people of his day accused him of heresy and of being an imposter. His critics reasoned that he had not actually walked with the Lord Jesus during His three years of earthly ministry like Peter, James, and John had. Paul also had a unique background—he had been like a 'raging bull' fighting against everything that spoke of Jesus of Nazareth. Because of that, people found it hard to recognize his apostleship, and Les says even today people have trouble accepting that Paul's letters belong in the Bible.
Les teaches that Paul claimed it was to him and him alone that God revealed the great doctrines of grace. If he were just another apostle, his letters would present him as a liar. God saved Paul out of Judaism and commissioned him to be the apostle of the Gentiles. So far as the writing of this Book is concerned, there is only one apostle of the Gentiles, and his letters alone are written to the Church. Paul's message came from his three years alone with the ascended Lord, and he went to the Gentiles not with Judaism or Law but with Grace—the Gospel that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, who died, shed His blood, was buried, and rose again.
In Romans 11:13 Paul writes, 'For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office.' Les comments that Paul would never take a back seat to anybody concerning his apostleship. He was never going to back down from his role as God's man for the Gentile world.
What Most Christians Miss About Grace — 1 Corinthians Explained
Christ, and consequently there's going to be failures. We know that no infant comes into this world trained to go to the bathroom, and so it's also the same with infant believers. We can't expect them to all of a sudden be mature and to have the same spiritual apprehensions or not apprehensions, but the spiritual discoveries or whatever that we have had as longer and older Christians.
God's Man for the Gentiles
Les teaches that Paul was God's designated man to take salvation to the Gentiles and that he defended his apostleship because people accused him of being an imposter who had not walked with Jesus.
The Unique Recipient of Revelation
Les explains that Paul claimed to be the one to whom God revealed the great doctrines of grace, and that to call Paul merely another apostle would make his own claims a lie. Paul declared, 'I am the apostle of the Gentiles. I magnify my office.'
Never Taking a Back Seat
Les says Paul would never take a back seat to anyone concerning his apostleship, and that while people readily accepted the Twelve, they struggled to accept this former persecutor of Jesus.
One Apostle of the Gentiles
Les teaches that as far as the writing of the Bible is concerned, Paul alone is the apostle of the Gentiles, and that his letters alone are written to the Church.
A Unique Background
Les says no one but Saul of Tarsus could have fulfilled this apostolic role, and that even today some people believe Paul's letters don't belong in the Bible.
Sent With Grace, Not Law
Les teaches that Paul spent three years alone with the ascended Lord and was sent to the Gentiles with grace, not law, and with the Gospel of grace rather than just the Gospel of the Kingdom.
Still Defending His Apostleship
Les says Paul would still have to defend his apostleship today because even many conservative Christians won't give him the time of day, and he again directs attention to Romans 11.
Romans 11:13: For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:
Paul's direct, first-person identification of his office as apostle to the Gentiles is the key biblical basis for the significance of his apostleship.
Les Feldick says people in Paul's day accused him of heresy and called him an imposter because he had not walked with Jesus during His earthly ministry like Peter, James, and John. Paul had to keep saying, 'But I AM an Apostle. I AM the one who has received all these revelations.'
Les Feldick teaches that so far as the writing of this Book is concerned, there is only one apostle of the Gentiles, and that is Paul. Other men such as Barnabas and Silas were considered apostles by Paul, but only Paul's letters are written to the Church.
Paul meant he was never going to take a back seat to anybody concerning his apostleship. Les Feldick explains that Paul was never going to back down from his role as God's man for the Gentile world.
Watch the Teaching: What Most Christians Miss About Grace — 1 Corinthians Explained