Saint/Apostle 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." - 1 Corinthians 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." - Galatians 1:11-12 - 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.

"Yahweh said to Moses in Midian, 'Go, return to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead'. So Moses took his wife and his sons and putting them on a donkey, started back for the land of Egypt; and Moses took in his hand the staff of God. Yahweh said to Moses, 'Now that you are going back to Egypt, be prepared to perform before Pharaoh all the marvels that I have given you power to do. I myself will harden his heart, and he will not let the people go. Then you will say to Pharaoh, "This is what Yahweh says: Israel is my first-born son. I ordered you to let my son go to offer me worship. You refuse to let him go. So be it! I shall put your first-born to death". - Exodus 4:19-23 - 

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.

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." - Ephesians 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." - Ephesians 4:3-6 -

Jesus' presence with God as His people's representative provides the assurance that their requests for spiritual help are heard and granted. To know that He is there is a powerful incentive for His disciples and followers, that is, by sending of the Holy Spirit to dwell in His peoples. The fulfillment of this promise was announced by Apostle/Saint Peter on the Day of Pentecost. - Acts chapter 2 - No good thing that the Lord Jesus Christ seeks for them is withheld or hold back by the Father, the Almighty God.

The exaltation of Christ is repeatedly presented in the New Testament as the fulfillment of the Old Testament - Psalms 110:1 - "Yahweh's oracle to you, my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand and I will make your enemies a footstool for you'." - This means that Christ Jesus reigns from His present place of exaltation and must do so until all His enemies are defeated and overthrown. Those enemies belong to the spiritual realm: 'The last enemy that will be destroyed is death'

For Jesus must be king until he has put all his enemies under his feet and the last of the enemies to be destroyed is death, for everything is to be put under his feet. - 1 Corinthians 15:25-26 -

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Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

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/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -

Your generous contribution and support is profoundly cherish. I sincerely pray that: God blessing be upon you, always. Amen! Bank transfer: Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah - Public Bank Berhad account no. 4076577113 - Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.