by Scott Rossy
"Well, that's Paul, not Jesus. Jesus never said that!" Have you ever heard someone say this? People often say this when confronted with something in the bible that they disagree with or with something in the bible that they don’t like. It’s said in response to something the Apostle Paul said in one of the New Testament epistles. Since they don’t like what is said, they make the claim that since it was said by Paul and not Jesus, they can dismiss it. They claim that Paul’s words are not on the same level and don’t carry the same weight as Jesus words’, therefore, the words of Paul as recorded in the New Testament are not authoritative to Christians today.
"Well, that's Paul, not Jesus. Jesus never said that!" Have you ever heard someone say this? People often say this when confronted with something in the bible that they disagree with or with something in the bible that they don’t like. It’s said in response to something the Apostle Paul said in one of the New Testament epistles. Since they don’t like what is said, they make the claim that since it was said by Paul and not Jesus, they can dismiss it. They claim that Paul’s words are not on the same level and don’t carry the same weight as Jesus words’, therefore, the words of Paul as recorded in the New Testament are not authoritative to Christians today.
But is this a valid argument? Are Paul’s words as authoritative as Jesus’ words? After all, Jesus is the Lord and Paul was only a mortal man.
No, it is not valid. It is an attack on the inspiration of scripture. Paul’s words as recorded in the bible are equal with the words of Jesus. They are equally authoritative. The reason being, the words that Paul spoke are the very words given to him by Christ. Paul did not write letters to churches to give his opinion. He was a called Apostle who was given direct revelation from the Lord.
“For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:11-12)
“By revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit” (Ephesians 3:3-5)
The truth that Paul taught was not “discovered” by him, but was revealed to him by the Lord. His New Testament epistles are scripture themselves, equal with the Old Testament scriptures. The Apostle Peter refers to Paul’s letters (epistles) as scripture saying “just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.” (II Peter 3:15-16).
Paul’s letters are scripture as the “rest.” Whose writings are the “rest” that Peter is referring to? Moses, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel, Zechariah, etc., and the rest of the Old Testament prophets. Those who distort scripture are described as untaught and unstable because all scripture originates from God. He is its source. It does not originate from these men themselves “For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (II Peter 1:21)
It originates from Him and is given to His holy apostles and prophets. Scripture is as the very breath of God. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (II Timothy 3:16-17)
Jesus frequently quoted Moses and the Old Testament prophets. He referred to their prophecies as the word of God. Like Paul, these were all mortal men. But Jesus affirmed that although they were mere men, they were speaking the very words of God. God revealed truth to them. He spoke through them. The Holy Spirit moved them to speak the very words of God. In like manner, Paul was given revealed truth as he was moved by the Holy Spirit. Paul’s words are as authoritative as the “rest” of scripture (Moses and all the Old Testament prophets).
The inspiration of scripture is one of the non negotiable cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith. To attempt to find a division or disagreement between the words of Christ and the epistles of Paul is to do so to ones own destruction. To discard the words of Paul is just as equal to discarding the words of Christ. You cannot pit one against the other. As Jesus said, “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35)
