Saint Paul is the most influential teacher of Christianity. Paul's was given the opportunity to set forth and explain the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because Paul was called to proclaim the Good News to the Gentiles as well as the Jews, he was in the unique position of confronting and answering problems which could be presented by those completely unfamiliar with Jewish traditions. Several themes come through in his writings. "Christ, the Son of God" Apostle Paul knew that the one who appeared to him on the Damascus Road was the risen Christ, counting this as the last of Christ's appearances.

Well then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; and that he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died; then he appeared to James and then to all apostles; and last of all he appeared to me too; it was as though I was born when no one expected it.

I am the least of the apostles; in fact, since I persecuted the Church of God, I hardly deserve the name apostle; but by God's grace that is what I am and the grace that he gave me has not been fruitless. On the contrary, I, or rather the grace of God that is with me, have worked harder than any of the others; but what matter is that I preach what they preach and this is what you all believed. - 1Cor. 15:3-11 -

Paul seems to have entertained no doubt of the validity of the appearance or the words "I am Jesus", and you are persecuting me. - Acts 9:5 - Both the appearance and the words validated themselves in his later life. His whole Christian outlook on the world, like the Gospel which he preached stemmed from that revelation of Jesus Christ.

The fact is, brothers, and I want you to realise this, the Good News I preached is not a human message that I was given by men, it is something I learnt through a revelation of Jesus Christ. - Gal. 1:11-12 -

In the New Testament, Saint Paul writes and speaks of the Church as a body. The members of the Church, he said, are as interdependent as the various parts of the human body, each making its contribution in harmony with the others for the good of the whole. Just as a body functions best when all the parts follow the direction of the head, the Church best fulfills its purpose on earth when all the members are subject to the direction of Christ. He is, by divine appointment, 'head over all things to the Church which is His body'. The Spirit of Christ not only dwells within each member but also dwells within the Church as a whole, continually giving His life to the entire body together. The body cannot be thought of without the Spirit.

He has put all things under his feet, and made him, as a ruler of everything, the Head of the Church; which is his body, the fullness of him who fills the whole creation. - Eph. 1:22-23 -

Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all. - Eph. 4:3-6 -

One of the source of Paul's concept of the Church may have been the Old Testament principle of regarding a community, nation or tribe as a person to the point where it is named and described as if it were an individual. - Ex. 4:22-23 - Perhaps, the most satisfactory of Paul's concept can be found in the words of the risen Christ who appeared to him on the Damascus Road. "Why are you persecuting me" When any part of the body is hurt, it is the head that complains. Jesus' words may have sown the seed of that doctrine in Paul's mind.

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -