Monday, July 19th, 2010

No Idle Greeting

Why would Paul waste ink telling Timothy, who was so close to him, who was like a son to him, about his apostleship? Did the great apostle think Timothy was so young he didn’t grasp the importance of Paul’s apostleship and so he’d forgotten it? Or did he think that Timothy suspected Paul was getting senile, and he had to write and let Timothy know that he still knew that God had made him an apostle? Ludicrous. But then why did he write about it in a personal letter to his beloved son in the faith? Actually the answer involves a fundamental doctrine of Scripture!

And then what did it mean to be an apostle? And weren’t there only twelve? Don’t the scriptures themselves teach that one of the qualifications for being an apostle is that you had to be with Christ and taught by Him during His ministry on earth (around three to three and a half years)? If so, then wouldn’t you have to count Paul out?

If you listen closely to this morning’s message you will not only get a better understanding of apostleship and some of its ramifications but you will find out about an important application of an apostle to yourself!