In 2 Timothy 2:2 the apostle Paul says to his disciple and helper Timothy:
And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2:2)
This shows that the apostle Paul’s teaching is the standard New Testament teaching. In 2 Timothy 3:10-11 the apostle Paul adds:
You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. (2 Timothy 3:10-11)
For us the apostle Paul is an example to imitate. He himself says of his own life in 1 Corinthians 11:1:
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1)
What was the relationship between Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul? What kind of relationship should we have with our Lord? These are the questions we will try to answer today.
JESUS CHRIST — PAUL’S SAVIOR
During the reign of Nicholas II in Russia, a father enrolled his son in the army, hoping to bring some order and discipline into his spoiled life. Among other things, the young man had a weakness for gambling. The atmosphere of the army did him more harm than good. In the army he served as an accountant. When his debts began to grow, he started borrowing money from the military treasury to pay off what he owed. He kept losing, and so he sank ever deeper into debt. One night, as he pondered his situation, he added up his debts. When he saw the enormous sum, he wrote across the ledger: “Who can pay so great a debt?” Taking his weapon in his hand, he sat back down in his chair to think a little more. Without noticing, as he mused about life and death, he drifted off to sleep. That very night Nicholas II was inspecting the front posts. Entering the accountant’s tent, he saw the sleeping man, the loaded weapon, and the note upon the ledger. When the soldier woke, he looked again into the book and read what he had written before falling asleep: “Who can pay so great a debt?” And beneath that question was now written: “Paid in full, Tsar Nicholas II.”
Our debt to God is so enormous that we are utterly unable to pay it. It is like owing someone ten million and earning only one a day. There is no way to pay off such a debt. You need someone who has both the ability and the willingness to pay your debt. This is why God the Son became man, lived a perfect life, without sin. He had no debt of His own. What God did with the debt of your sins was to lay it upon Jesus. Out of love for you, He paid your debt by dying in your place. So if you accept this sacrifice of His and believe in His incarnation and resurrection, you will be saved.
In 1 Timothy 1:15-16 the apostle Paul says:
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. (1 Timothy 1:15-16)
If Jesus Christ became Paul’s Savior, then He has the patience needed to become yours as well, no matter how great a sinner you are—provided, of course, that you repent of your sins and rely on Him as your High Priest and sacrifice.
JESUS CHRIST — PAUL’S OWNER
In Galatians 6:17 the apostle Paul closes his letter to the Galatian churches with these words:
From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. (Galatians 6:17)
This is not a plea that no one should trouble him any longer with the problems that had arisen in the Galatian churches. On the contrary, as God’s apostle, Paul is bold enough, and willing, to deal with everything that threatens the work of God. But his appeal to the churches is that they should no longer give way to the legalistic heresies preached by the false teachers.
The apostle Paul does not want anyone to dispute his “credentials” or the authority he holds as an apostle of Christ. The marks of persecution and suffering for Jesus’ sake are his undeniable badge of legitimacy. The word for “marks” in this verse is, in Greek, “stigmata.” This word was used for the brand marks that were burned onto slaves to indicate who their master was and to whom they belonged. The list of experiences that could have caused such marks on the apostle Paul is found in 2 Corinthians 6:4-6 and 11:23-30. These real and honorable “signs” upon his body stand in striking contrast to the ritual and now meaningless mark of circumcision, which the legalistic false teachers wanted to impose on the Galatians.
We too belong to the Lord. And the mark He has given us for this is the Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts. In Romans 8:9 it says:
You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. (Romans 8:9)
God is our owner. So if Satan troubles us, we can say to him: “Get away from me! I no longer belong to you, but to God!”
JESUS CHRIST — THE ONE LIVING IN PAUL
This was true to such a degree that in Galatians 2:20 the apostle Paul could say:
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
This is exactly how we too ought to live.
Christ spoke in Paul (2 Corinthians 13:3) and carried out His works through him (Romans 15:17-19):
Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done—by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. (Romans 15:17-19)
The ministry of the apostle Paul was in fact the ministry of Jesus Christ—that which He accomplished through Paul’s “word and deed.” As for his word, it is enough to read his letter to the Romans, in which he sets out the content of the gospel he preached; and the miracles that accompanied the preaching of the word were performed, just as Christ’s were, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Today the apostle Paul is with the Lord. But the Lord continues to work in the same way as in apostolic times—by seeking people who will surrender to Him so fully that He can carry out His will through their deed and word. Will you give Him your hands, so that they may be the hands of the Lord? Will you give Him your feet, so that He may walk through them? Will you give Him your tongue, so that He may speak through you? If you do, then you too, like the apostle Paul, “will have something to glory in Christ” as far as God is concerned.
Jesus Christ gave strength to Paul.
In Philippians 4:12-13 he shares:
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:12-13)
And in Colossians 1:29 he says:
To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. (Colossians 1:29)
God gave strength to Paul, and today He desires to give strength to us as well. But this will happen when we go out and begin to do His will. God gives His strength when we “go”—when we obey His Great Commission to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Jesus Christ suffered in Paul.
In Colossians 1:24 the apostle Paul says something very interesting:
Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. (Colossians 1:24)
This is how we ought to care and to ache for the church.
In 2 Corinthians 4:10-11 the apostle Paul links suffering for Christ’s sake with the glory and the life that are in Him.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. (2 Corinthians 4:10-11)
Are you ready to suffer for Christ as well? Because sooner or later, in one form or another, it will surely happen. In 2 Timothy 3:12 it says:
In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, (2 Timothy 3:12)
JESUS CHRIST — PAUL’S COMFORTER
In 2 Corinthians 1:5 he says:
For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. (2 Corinthians 1:5)
The story is told of a former world chess champion. One day a friend took him to see a painting that was on display in a well-known art gallery, where it had drawn wide public interest. The artist who had painted it had depicted a young man sitting in despair before a chessboard, while across from him sat the devil with a look of gloating triumph on his face. The title of the painting consisted of a single word: “Checkmated.” For a long time the chess champion stood before the painting and gazed at it. His brow was furrowed with concentration. Suddenly his voice filled the entire hall. “Bring me a chessboard, I can save him!” he cried out enthusiastically. And indeed, his brilliant mind had found a way out of the situation. In exactly the same way, Christ can give victory to the one who trusts Him without reserve. Humanly speaking there may seem to be no way out at all, but let us never limit God, for He is our Comforter, and with Him nothing is impossible.
JESUS CHRIST — PAUL’S JUDGE
In 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 the apostle Paul says:
I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God. (1 Corinthians 4:3-5)
The apostle Paul “stood before the Lord.” This is how we too ought to stand—with the awareness that at every single moment of our lives, in everything we do, we are answerable to Him.
It sounds paradoxical, but it is so. The same One who is our Savior and Lord, the same One who lives in us, who gives us strength, for whom we suffer, and who comforts us—He is also our Judge.
There were once two brothers. One was a good and hardworking man. The other was not good and was constantly getting into trouble in his life. Yet he always counted on his brother to pull him out of the messes and difficulties he got himself into. Whatever he did, his brother always rescued him. Years passed. The unruly brother kept on sinning, taking no example from the life of his good brother. But it came about that the good brother was chosen to be a judge. One day, as a “reward” for his crimes, the bad brother was arrested and brought before the court. When he saw that the judge was his own brother, he was genuinely overjoyed: “Don’t you know me? I am your brother! Look, get me off just this once more and I will never ask you for anything again!” The trial ran its course, and the judge pronounced the sentence over his own brother. For the first time the court saw a judge weep. And the condemned man cried out: “Am I not your brother? How could you sentence me like this?” Through his tears the judge answered: “Yes, until yesterday I was your brother, but today I am your judge!”
Does not the Word say the same thing about us as well (2 Corinthians 5:10)?
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10)