By Henry Nawl Thang Bik
________________________________________________________________
Introduction
 |
| Saint Paul |
Paul was born in a Jewish family
of Pharisees [Acts 23: 6] of the tribe of Benjamin [Phi 3:5] in Tarsus of
Cilicia [act 9:11; 21:39; 22:3], which was a commercial center. It was a city
of which he could be proud for [Act 21:39] his parents named him Saul after the
first king of Israel who was also a Benjaminate [I Sam 11:15; Act 13:21] but
Acts 13:9 notes that he was also called Paul [NIV] he used his Roman name
through out his letters.[2] From
religious parents, Paul received knowledge of the Law, Prophets and the Hebrew
and Aramaic languages (Acts 21:40; 22:2-3; 23:6; Gal.1: 4; Phil. 3: 56). Paul
inherited form his father both Tarsisan and roman citizenship, which would
prove to be of great value to Paul in his later life as he traveled with the
gospel through the roman empire (Acts16: 37; 22:25-29) Paul might had several
brothers and sisters but acts 23:16 mention only one sister whose son performed
a life saving act for his uncle. His education was under the feet of Gamaliel
(Acts 22:3). It is likely that sometime between the ages of thirteen and twenty
he began his formal rabbinical studies. On the way of Damascus, when Paul was
going to arrest the believers and bring them to Jerusalem for trial, at
outskirts of the city the persecutor saw Jesus Christ. This event turned the
blasphemous destroyer of the infant church into the chief propagator of the
gospel of grace and master builder of the church of God. Paul’s conversion took
place around 34/35 CE.[3] He
began to preach after his conversion and continued his ministry among the
gentiles. He was a greater voyager and sailed to many parts of Roman Empire and
proclaimed the gospel, because of his hard work the gospel reached to many
parts of Europe.
While at his last visit to
Jerusalem he was caught up by the Jews and later handed over to the Romans. He
sailed to Rome in chain and had two hearing before Caesar Nero. At his defense
only Lord stood by him [II Tim 4:16]. Tradition says that he was beheaded. Thus
he was martyred.[4] By any
definition the apostle Paul was an unusual person. He would stand out in any
crowd not because of his physical stature but because of his intellectual,
moral and spiritual qualities. He did for Christianity what Moses did for
Judaism. Paul had the heart of the evangelist, the discipline of a soldier, the
devotion of a lover, the vision of a seer, the zeal of a reformer, and the mind
of a scholar and the passion of a prophet.
People who know anything at all about the New Testament
tend to know at least three things about Paul: (1) that he was a persecutor of
Christians; (2) that he experienced a conversion on the road to Damascus; and
(3) that he became an apostle to the Gentiles. Paul’s mission had a greater
influence to the theological community even today than any one else. But Paul
has been misappropriated by those theologians who discuss his “letters to young
churches” as merely theological treatises divorced from their missionary
context.[5]
Therefore, in this section, the researcher would like to explain about why
Paul, a zealous persecutor of the church became a very committed Gentiles
missionary? And here, the researcher will mainly focus to explain and bring out
the various strategies used by Paul in order to be a successful missionary.
There are at least four major views that Paul was very
much concerned about the Gentiles Mission.
A number of other scholars have posited that the most
significant factor leading to Paul’s Gentile mission is to be found in various
attitudes and convictions already present in his Jewish experience. This does
not mean that the significance of his Damascus experience is ignored or
undervalued. One instance of such a stance, which is encountered frequently in
older writings on the subject, is that view that prior to his conversion Paul
had been a frustrated Jew, overwhelmed by his inability to live up to the
demands of the Law. The substance of his conversion, then, was the process by
which he found the solution to his dilemma in Christ—in particular, in the
doctrine of justification by faith. His conversion, therefore, was at the same
time an abandonment of Torah religion and a corresponding universalizing of his
apostolic vision. Other approaches, equally negative with respect to Paul’s
“former life in Judaism”, center instead on Judaism’s exclusiveness. In the
older history-of-religions approach there was a tendency to see Paul as having
been drawn to Hellenism—or, perhaps, as torn between Judaism and Hellenism—and
his conversion as representing a decision in favor of the wider Hellenistic,
and therefore Gentile, world. There has been a readiness to understand the
pre-Damascus Paul as troubled by the exclusion of the Gentiles form salvation,
with his conversion serving to resolve, in one way or another, his ‘Uneasy
conscience” (Davies, Paul and Rabbinic
Judaism, 63) or his “secret dissatisfaction” (Saders, Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People, 152) or his own personal
‘quandary’ concerning their fate. [6]
2. Paul Gentile Concern as Part of His
Conversion Experience
Other scholars see Paul’s Gentile mission as an integral
part of the Damascus experience itself. Most of those who take this view
perceive Paul’s concern for Gentiles as being derivative—that is, as a kind of
outcome of some more fundamental new conviction. In his conversion experience,
so this line of interpretation runs, Paul abandon the belief that the Torah is
the way to salvation, or at least that it is necessary for salvation. Since one
or the roles of Torah was to differentiate Jews form Gentiles, the abandonment
of Torah brought with it the eradication of the distinction between Jews and
Gentiles—and so, in turn, the rise of the Gentiles mission. But why did Paul’s
conversion experience require an abandonment of Torah? For some interpreters,
even before his conversion Paul had experienced the Torah as being inadequate.
For many others, the displacement of the Torah was the result of Paul’s new
conviction about Christ—that is, that salvation is provided through Christ, and
so does not come through the Torah. While the logic leading from “Christ” to
“not Torah” is understood in a variety of ways, the logic of the step is
common: “Not Torah” means “the eradication of the traditional distinction
between Jews and Gentiles; therefore, a Gentile mission is necessary.”[7]
And there is the approach advocated by Heikki Raisamnen and others, in which
Paul is understood to have converted into a Christian community that was
already involved in a mission to the Gentiles, a mission in which Paul himself
became engaged. When Paul converted into this community, he simply adopted the
community’s unreflective liberalism and accepted the validity of a Gentile
mission without having worked through the theological implications of his shift
of position.
3.Paul’s
Gentile Concern as Later Development
Some scholars have viewed Paul’s interest Gentiles as a
later development in his thinking—in particular, as the result of an initial,
failed mission to Jews. Important in this reconstruction is the argument of Rm.
11, where Paul identifies the ‘rejection’ of Israel as that which made Gentile
salvation possible (v. 15; also vv. 11-12, 28). Francis Watson states that Paul
began his missionary activity by preaching to Jews; only when this was a
failure was he forced to reconsider things, resulting in a turn to the
Gentiles. But most scholars have tended to see Paul’s interest in Gentiles as
either arising from his conversion or as having been present in his
pre-conversion experience. [8]
4.The “New Perspective” and Paul’s Gentile
Mission
These criticisms have suggested that Paul misunderstood Judaism. Others
have been prompted to ask, instead, whether modern interpreters have not
misunderstood Paul. Such questioning has resulted in the so-called “new
perspective,” which is now commonly associated with the work of E.P. Sanders.
For Sanders, the various arguments that Paul mounts in defense of his law-free
Gentile mission do not necessarily reflect the fundamental reasons for his
commitment to such a mission in the first place. Paul’s arguments follow a line
moving “from plight to solution” that is, from a perceived deficiency with
Torah religion to the discovery of a solution in Christ. Paul’s various
arguments against the law must be seen not as fundamental reasons for his
commitment to a law-free Gentile mission, but as attempts in specific
situations to defend his more basic conviction about Christ.[9]
There has been
much scholarly debate regarding Paul’s missionary vocation, which focuses on
his encounter with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus. Paul is convinced
that he has been called by God and given a particular mission to be a light to
the nations. Thus the Damascus experience was not merely a call to Christian
discipleship, but also a commissioning to be a missionary to the Gentiles. In
fact, “his concept of apostleship is characterized by the fact of his being
simultaneously converted, entrusted with the Gospel and sent to the Gentles.”[10]
Paul calls himself an apostle to the Gentiles when he addresses the communities
of Galatia and Rome (Gal. 2:8; Rom. 11:13). In these passages Paul reveals his
identity as an apostle and conveys to his readers that his mission is primarily
directed towards the Gentiles. He is aware that his mission was entrusted to
him directly from God. The text of the Acts of the Apostles describes in detail
how Paul carried out this mission to the ends of the earth (Acts. 9:1-31; 11:
19-26; 12:25-28:31). In this he remained true to the call that he had received
on the way to Damascus. Annias was commissioned to receive Paul because he was
God’s chosen instrument “to bring my name before Gentiles and Kings and before
the people of Israel” (Acts. 9: 15).[11]
The missionary strategy that Paul evolved and practiced is of perennial value. [12]
B. Paul’s
Missionary Journeys
There are three missionary
journeys of Paul. The researcher will try to explain them briefly.
- Paul’s First Missionary Journey: - Acts. 13-14 give record of this journey. His companions were Barnabas and John Mark. They were led by the Holy Spirit and did miracles and faced persecution. He preached to Jews at Antioch and Gentiles at Lystra. But in between of their missionary journey, John Mark left them.
- Paul’s Second Missionary Journey: - Paul’s second missionary journey is recorded in Acts 15: 36—18:22. During his second missionary journey, his companions were Silas and Timothy. There was an argument between Paul and Barnabas concerning John Mark. Paul felt that Mark was a hindrance for Gentiles ministry. Paul visited Macedonia which Europe today because of Paul’s vision. Church planted n Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea as part of this Journey. After the visit to Ephesus, Paul went Syceriya and returned to Antioch (Acts. 18:22).[13]
- Paul’s Third Missionary Journey: -Paul begins from Antioch and ends at Jerusalem (Acts. 18: 23—21: 16). After strengthening the disciples at Galatia, Paul went to Ephesus and stayed there for two and half years and three months (Acts. 19: 8-10). The residence of Asia heard the Word of God by Paul and his disciples planted churches in Colossae, Laodicea, and Haroplis miracles assisted Paul’s ministry. He exorcized and this aroused Jewish (Acts. 19: 22-41). Exhorsister and riot took place in Ephesus. Followed by visit to Macedonia and Akia from there to Tarsus and to Caesarea. Elders from Ephesus came to Milethus to hear Paul’s living speech. The book of Acts ends with Paul’s house arrest in Rome still he continued preaching. Traditionally, he was believed to be headed in Rome.[14]
Summary
Paul’s missiology is clearly Christological[15] and his theology was derived
not so much form his past Judaism as from his experience of Christ.[16] The starting point was
Paul’s conversion –call.[17] The event caused as
radical revision of his lifestyle and world-view.[18] Hs encounter changed his
perception of Jesus and of the Law. If Jesus is the Messiah, the final age has
come, and salvation now is offered to the Gentiles—and Paul is entrusted with
this mission. According to Paul’s new understanding the fate of Israel “hinges
on the Gentile mission.” The pilgrimage of the Gentiles who will be gathered
not of Diaspora Jews “but representatives form all brought to Jerusalem.”
Paul’s role was “to usher in the first stage of the in-gathering of the nations
under the lordship of Christ.” [19]
III. PAULS’S MISSIONARY
STRATEGY
There are varieties of missionary
strategies that Paul used but they are different from one author to another.
Therefore, I would like to bring out some of the strategies that were used by
Paul for propagating the gospel both to the Jews and Gentiles. They are as the
followings:
1.Visiting the Synagogues: - Paul
sought to visit all the Jewish synagogues scattered throughout the Roman
Empire, beginning in Asia Minor. Since the gospel was ‘to the Jew first’ it was
necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to the Jews. But it was
only after he was rejected, then he turned to the Gentiles.[20]
2.Close
Contact with the Home Based:
- Paul made Antioch his headquarters during his missionary carrier. His
three missionary journeys, which lasted less than fifteen years, were ended in
Antioch. This shows the closeness he had with Antioch church.[21]Paul
was wise enough to see the importance of maintaining contact with that
influential church. This had one great advantage. After an exhausting year of
travel and turmoil, the missionary, weary in mind and body, returns to the
field with a sigh of relief.[22]
3. He Confined Himself to the Metropolises: -
“It is right to say that Paul was engaged in “Zentrumsmission” that is,
mission in certain strategic centers. He concentrates on the district or
provincial capitals, each of which stands for a whole region: Philippi for
Macedonia (Phil.4: 15), Thessalonica for Macedonia and Achaia (1 Thes. 1:7f),
Corinth for Achaia (1 Cor. 16:15; 2 Cor. 1:1) and Ephesus for Asia (Rom.16:5; 1
Cor.16:19). These “metropolises” are the main centers as far as communication,
culture, commerce, politics and religion are concerned.”[23]Modern
mission could learn from Paul at this point. Many boards, instead of placing
thirty missionaries in one country and leaving them there until the job is
done, have spread their missionaries over twenty or thirty countries, with not
enough in any one to rise up a strong indigenous church. One wonders if there
is not certain among of spiritual pride in some forms of missionary work, which
prompts a board to do what looks good on paper but what in reality, makes for
weakness rather than strength. We can easily spread ourselves so thin that
there is little or no depth to our work. Paul did not make that mistake. He was
content to confine his labors to four major regions, in all of which he did a
solid piece of work.
4. He
Preferred to Preach to Responsive Peoples: -Paul was
interested in results. Most of Paul’s preaching was done in the synagogues of
the Roman world, where he soon discovered that every congregation was divided
into two parts: those who accepted the Word and followed him, and those who
opposed the truth and fought him. To preach to responsive people must have been
an agonizing decision on Paul’s part; for he loved his own people with a
passion rare, if not unique, in missionary annals. He believed that every ethnic
group has the right to hear the gospel and he would gladly preach it to them;
but if they adamantly and consistently refused the message and persecuted the
messenger, no further purpose could be served by continuing to preach to them.
Only in this way could the command to “make disciples of all nations” be
fulfilled.”[24]
5. Paul Aims to Reach the Region Beyond: - Paul preached the gospel to both Jews
and Gentiles, but his primary interest was ‘to in the Gentiles.’ He aims to
reach ‘the region beyond’ (II Cor. 10: 15-16). Even after preaching from
Jerusalem to Illycicum, he still planned to visit Rome and Spain. He pressed on
to preach in the areas where Christ was not known (Rom. 10: 14; 15:20-21).[25]
6. Planting Churches: -One of the main Paul’s missionary
strategies was to plant messianic synagogues or local congregations wherever he
found people responsive to the gospel.[26]
7. Appointing Leaders in the Churches: -Whenever Paul establishes the Church,
he appointed leaders to look after it. He then expected them to take
responsibility for it, and did not allow them to become dependent upon him. The
church was to be a sign of the presence of Christ and an instrument of
fulfilling God’s purpose. In evangelism, conversion is not enough; converts
must be put together as a church for their mutual and ongoing growth.[27]
This method of equipping local leaders and trusting the Holy Spirit to
instruct, empower and guide them continues to be vital key to successful
mission.[28]
8.Paul and
His Colleagues: - Ollrong has argued for the view
that these men (and women such as Priscilla) were not just Paul’s assistants or
subordinates but truly his colleagues.”[29]Paul’s
preference for fellow workers was not dictated solely by his desire for
companionship. Also, he remembered that Jesus sent out His disciples two by
two. In any event, Paul was a confirmed believer in teamwork, and by
temperament and training he was marked for leadership.[30]
Paul’s companions were similarly diverse and are so describe: a Levite
(Barnabas, Acts: 4: 36), a half- Jews( Tim, Acts 16: 1); a Greek (Titus, Gal.
2: 3: a non-Jewish physician (Lk. Col: 4: 1`4); a several women, such as Phoebe
(Rom: 16: 1) and Priscilla (Rom: 16: 3); a lawyer (Zenas, Titus 3: 13); an
Alexandrian Jew (Apollo’s, Acts: 18: 24); Macedonian (Gaius and Aristrachus,
Acts; 19: 29); and Asians (Tychicus and
Trophimus, Acts: 20: 4).[31]
9. His
Fearless Presentation of the Gospel: -The world of Paul’s day
was divided into three major groups: Jews, Greeks, and Romans. Paul preached to
all three groups, and they all found his message offensive. The Jews demanded
signs, the Greeks sought after wisdom; the Romans were interested only in
power.”[32]Regardless
of who was in his audience – Jews, Greeks, Romans, or all three – he never
failed to declare the whole counsel of God. He always began with what familiar
to his audience and from there was preceded to the new and unfamiliar truths of
the gospel, knowing that some of those truths were totally unacceptable to
them. This took both faith and courage, but Paul had his full share of both. He
really believed in both the truly (Col 1:5) and the power (Rom 1:16) of the
gospel. He likewise believed in the ability of the Holy Spirit to apply the
gospel to the minds and hearts of the hearers (Jn 16:8).”[33]
10. His Wise
Policy Regarding Money: -Paul’s policy with regard to
money was threefold. (1) He supported himself and his colleagues by working
with his own hands.[34](2)
He expected the churches founded by him to be self-supporting from the
beginning. (3) He encouraged those churches, poor though they were, to
contribute to the needs of others.[35]
Paul reminded the Thessalonians that he worked “night and day” that he might
not be a “burden” to any of them, and he reminded the Ephesians elders that he
had “coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel”[36](Acts
20:33). Poverty was no hindrance to progress. They were to live within their
means and support the local work, including works of charity. They bought no land,
erected no buildings, and endowed no institutions. Hence their annual budget
was modest enough to be sustained by local means.”[37]On
the other hand Paul did not refuse to accept personal gifts when they were an
expression of Christian love (Phil 4:17).
11.The Strategy of Prayer: -We
have earlier noted that in the Old Testament all significant intimations of the
librating Kingdom that the Messiah would later inaugurate were preceded by the
fervent prayer of the people of God.
Paul never forgot this. Paul
prayer for both the present extension of the Kingdom among the unconverted and
for its eschatological consummation, as Jesus had instructed for he was equally
burdened for the physical, social and spiritual needs of the peoples of his own
generation.[38]How
else can we understand his classic linkage of prayer and God’s redemptive
purpose in I Timothy 2: 1-5)? In this
passage he urges “first of all” that “requests, prayers, intercession and
thanksgiving be mad for everyone” (2: 1). Then he calls for prayer “for kings
and all those in authority” (2:2). Paul asked his converts specifically to
focus their prayers on the extension of the gospel witness (2 Thes: 3: 1; Rom:
15: 31). But he did not stop there. Their prayers were also needed “that we may
be delivered from wicked and evil men, fro not everyone has faith” (I Thess: 3:
2; 1: 11).
12. The
Strategy of Obligation:
-Paul gloried in the grace God of that had overtaken him on
the road to Damascus and confronted him with the risen and glorified Christ ( I
Cor: 15: 8-10). This grace brought entrustments with the gospel and the calling
to proclaim a universal faith to the Gentiles (Gal: 1: 11-2: 10). From that time onward he knows that he was
Christ’s bond slave, “obligated both to Greeks and non- Greeks, both to the
wise and the foolish” (Rom: 1: 1).
Constrained by the love of Christ, he felt himself shut off to but one
course: preaching this gospel to all peoples and tongues and nations (Eph: 3:
9). [39]
13.
The Unity of the Church: -However, despite his primary focus on
the Gentiles, Paul always wanted to reach his own people. His strategy was to
provoke the Jews to jealousy through his mission to the Gentiles. Furthermore,
he was deeply concerned about the unity between the Jewish and Gentile
Christian communities. The collection from the Gentiles churches for the
believers in Jerusalem was a means to affirm and strengthen the unity and
commitment to one another.[40]
14.
Encouraging the Believers: - Paul was concerned for the health of
the churches, their establishment in fait in Christ, their godly life and unity
in brotherly love. Thus he constantly prayed for them, sent his representatives,
and wrote those letters to help them to grow strong in Christ as individual
believers and as churches. Paul was committed to provide pastoral care to his
converts. By his own example he
authenticated what he taught. Yet he did not depend on financial support from
his converts, but he worked hard to support himself and his team.
15.
Paul
confronted people with the savourhood and Lordship of Christ and urged them to
submit their hearts and lives to Him: - this based on the conversion
experience of Paul himself (Acts. 9:1-9). So Paul insisted that those who
wanted to come to Christ repent form sin and every form of idolatry. They had
to change their whole way of thinking about religion, as Paul did when Christ
took hold of him (Phil. 3: 7-9). They also had to submit completely to the
Lordship of Christ over their daily lives.
16.
Paul focused on families and households both
in evangelism and outreach into society: -Paul focused mainly on families and family relationships. He
assumed that once the gospel took root in a home and among family members it
would eventually make an impact on the entire community. The ‘families’ and
‘households’ of the time of Paul were similar to the ‘extended’ families that
are common in many parts of the world today. When the New Testament speaks of a
family or household (I Cor. 1:16; Gal. 6:10), it includes everyone living
together and related to one another, plus friends, servants, and even neighbors
and guests in their homes.[41]
The strategy of Paul was to teach the first and basic lessons in the context of
the extended family when he preached the gospel and won converts. These lessons
were concerned with the nature of the church as the family of God and of the
transforming life of the kingdom.
17.
Paul stressed the importance of planting and
nurturing churches, and communities of faith, worship, fellowship and service:
- Paul never satisfied with merely making individual disciples. He gathered and
organizes disciples into churches with local spiritual leaders wherever he
could (I Tim. 3; Titus. 1:5-9). [42]
18.
Paul used the natural ‘bridges’ of family
relatives, friends and other contacts in spreading the gospel: -Paul
used human bridges to carry the gospel to the Jews who lived in many cities,
and beyond the Jews to the Gentiles. This insight into how he carried out the
commission that God had given him was one of the secrets of the success of Paul
as a missionary. This method has great potential for mission work today.
Cities, towns and villages are filled with natural human bridges. The gospel
can pass over these bridges form person to person and form family to family.[43]
19.
Paul started ‘house churches’ everywhere he
went. These house churches become living cells of the body of Christ. Paul used
a large number of ‘fellow workers’ (called ‘lay people’ today) to spread the
gospel and minister in the house churches: -when Paul said, “I am
obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish,”
(Rom. 1:14), he was stating a principle that applied not only to himself but to
every believer. Paul enlisted a wide circle of co-workers, ‘lay’ men and women,
in the planting of churches where believers could gather for worship,
fellowship, instruction and service to persons in need. Missionaries today can
learn a great deal about how the early apostles passed on their own zeal for
mission to others by examining Romans 16.[44]
20.
Paul taught believers to promote justice,
truth and mercy in society, and to care for the earth of the Lord:
-Paul could hardly mention Jesus Christ without calling him, “Lord.” He meant
by this a lordship that affects the whole way that Christians live. Christ is
Lord now, as well as at the end of the age. Since Christ is Lord and truth,
love and righteousness characterize His rule, and His people must practice and
promote justice, mercy and truth in every area of the Apostle Paul 75 stewards
of the earth. One of the failures of some missionaries in the past was caused
by their limited understanding of the place of the local church in society.
Missionaries established churches, but often the churches were indifferent to
corruption and injustice in society. Churches failed in their calling to be
light, salt and leaven in a sinful world (Mt. 5:13-16). As a result many people
today are disappointed with the gospel. They condemn it for doing so title to
transform society, and therefore they turn away.[45] The
world needs churches whose members are agents of transformation in every area
of life. Multitudes need to hear that Christ
is Savior, and He is Lord! Churches must teach the whole Word of God and a
kingdom perspective on life. Christians should learn in the churches about the
kingdom of truth and righteousness in which Christ reigns and about their
responsibility to bear witness to truth and righteousness in the community, the
markets and the centers of power. Such
churches are the only hope of the world!
As D. Senior has rightly pointed
out, “Paul’s missionary strategy and style directly related to his mission
theology”[46] and
addition to this, it is important for modern missionaries, too, to do their
mission work rooted in theological understanding, and for theologians to do
their theology integrated with its mission perspective. Paul wrote his letters
in mission and for mission. Therefore, without grasping his missionary
perspective, it is impossible adequately to understand either him or his
theology.
Evaluation
and Conclusion
The mission of Apostle Paul must not
be used as an exclusive norm for appropriate Christian outreach. The biblical
understanding of mission encompasses of the Pauline model. Yet within the large
scope of the biblical witness Paul does constitute a principal representative
of evangelical outreach. And for these prepared to find in his mission a
guiding point of reference for appropriate Christian witness in our own day.
Paul can serve as an effective reminder of basic components of the biblical
perspective on mission. This would include convictions such as:
1) That
Christian mission should be understood and implemented within a theological
frame of reference, and that the theological reflection may in turn discover a
needed relevance balance orientation and dynamic if pursued within a missiological
frame of reference.
2)That
within the eschatological structuring of God’s redemptive purpose, the primal
mandate for the time between Christ’s first and second advents is gospel
proclamation to the nations that within the larger divine economy the core intension
for the present interim period is the effecting of this mandate.
3)That
from among the recipients of redemption God may commission selected individuals
to a singularly disciplined, proactive and sustained collaboration in the
proclamation to the nations.
4)That
the proclamation of the gospel is meant to be implemented and its achievement
measured in part by geographical attainment, that a deliberately cross-cultural
mission to the unreached peoples and the nations of one’s world functions under
first biblical warrant.
5)That
through and beyond missionary proclamation and evangelism, the planting of
believers communities and their nature to settled maturity in Christ must
remain a primary focus of any biblically validated missionary outreach.
6) As
W. Paul Bowers says, “God’s redemptive
purposes will assuredly be achieved, that he remains sovereign in the course of
the missionary proclamation to the nations and that he will triumphantly
accomplish his intension to sum up all things.”[47]
Note: According
to Barnes Mawrie, SDB, “the success of his mission among the
Gentiles was due to his innovative approach, his openness to their cultures. He
was, in fact, the one who vehemently defended the non-Jewish Christians form
Jewish domination. Paul argued with Peter of the non-necessity of circumcision
for the non-Jewish Christians. Paul upheld that Jewish culture is not superior
to the pagan cultures as it was thought then. Thus at Athens he adapted himself
to the Greek culture of addressing in Areopagus in order to expose to them the
richness of the Gospel of Christ” (Acts. 17:22-31).[48]
*All articles, in this blog, are allowed to copy by any mean with giving reference of the author's name.
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Chae, D.J. S. Paul as Apostle the Gentiles: His Apostle Self-awareness and Its
Influence on the Stereological Argument in Romans. Carlisle: Paternoster,
1997.
Donaldson, Terence L. “Israelite,
Convert, Apostle to the Gentiles: The Origin of Paul’s Gentile Mission,” The Road From
Damascus. (ed.) by Richard N. Longenecker. Grand Rapids: Eermans Publishing
Book House, 1997.
Glasser, Arthur F. “The Apostle
Paul and the Missionary Task,” Perspective
World Missions. (ed.,) Bangalore: New Life Literature, 1984.
Glasser, Arthur F. “The Apostle and Missionary Task,” Perspectives on the World Christian Movement
(ed.) by Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne. California: William Carey
Library, 1986.
Goldworthy, G. “Biblical Theology
and the Shape of Paul’s Mission,” The
Gospel to the Nations: Perspectives on Paul’s Mission. (eds.) by Peter Bolt
and Mark Thompson. Apollos: ISMC Press, 2000.
Greenway, Roger S. “The Missionary Methods of the Apostle Paul,” God and Make Disciples: A Challenging Introduction to Missions. Secunderabad,:
OM Books, 2001.
Hahn, Ferdinand. Mission in the New
Testament. London: SCM, 1965.
Kanagraj, Jay. The Stagiest Of Paul The Missionary In Integral Mission.
Thiruvalla: C.S.S, 2006.
Kane, J. Herbert. Christian
Missions in Biblical Perspective. Michigan: Baker Book House, 1976.
Kawn Kal, Jacob and F. Krangkhuma, Bible and Mission in India Today.
Bombay: St. Paul’s Press, 1993.
Mawrie, SDB, Barnes. “Paul the Apostle A Great Missionary Catechist,” Mission Today. Vol. XI, No. 1, Jan-March
2009.
Partner, D. Paul, the Apostle in Who’s in Christian
History. (ed.) J.D. Douglas and others. Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers,
1992.
Peter,
George W. Biblical Theology of Mission. Chicago: Moody Press, 1972.
Senior, Donald and Carroll Stuhlmueller. The Biblical Fondations for Mission. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1983.
[1] Jews were brought to Tursusthe capital city
of Roman province of Cilicia in 171 C.E. to promote business in the region. At
that time Paul’s ancestor were probably given the Roman citizenship.
[2] D. Partner, Paul,
the Apostle in Who’s in Christian History (ed.) J.D. Douglas and others (Illinois:
Tyndale House Publishers, 1992), 536.
[3] Biju Chacko, Class lectures for M.Div. III
(Kuttapuzha: GFAB Seminary, 2006).
[4] D. Partner, Paul,
the Apostle in Who’s in Christian History (ed.) J.D. Douglas and others., 536.
[5] In
similar fashion, as Boer remarks, the Book of Acts “has been viewed as a
dramatic and interesting piece of Church history that could be conveniently
appealed to justify this and that form of church government while its
profoundly missionary character was hardly recognized.” See Harry R. Boberg, “The Missionary Mandate in the Twentieth
Century,” The Gospel and Frontier
People (ed.) by R.P. Beaver (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1973), 209.
[6]
Terence L. Donaldson, “Israelite, Convert, Apostle to the Gentiles: The Origin
of Paul’s Gentile Mission,” The Road From
Damascus (ed.) by Richard N. Longenecker (Grand Rapids: Eermans Publishing
Book House, 1997), 68-69.
[7] As
Phil. 2: 9-11 demonstrates, the early confession “Jesus is Lord” can easily be
taken to imply “Jesus is Lord of all”—which leads, quite naturally, to the
inclusion of the Gentiles. In Seyoon Kim’s reconstruction, for example, Paul’s
Damascus christophany led him to equate Christ with the exalted figure found in
Jewish visions of the heavenly throne room, such as in Ezekiel 1 and Daniel 7.
Consequently, Paul perceived Christ to be invested with universal significance,
which led—via the intermediate, but not fully necessary, step of Adam
Christology –to Gentile mission. Krister Stendahl’s insistence that Paul’s
experience must be seen as a ‘call’ rather than a ‘conversion’ represents the
most prominent example of this position. In this way of reading Paul, the call
to be an apostle to the gentiles is what the Damascus experience was all about.
See Terence L. Donaldson, “Israelite, Convert, Apostle to the Gentiles: The
Origin of Paul’s Gentile Mission,” The
Road From Damascus.,66-67.
[8]
Terence L. Donaldson, “Israelite, Convert, Apostle to the Gentiles: The Origin
of Paul’s Gentile Mission,” The Road From
Damascus., 62ff.
[9] Approaches to Paul carried out within this “new
perspective” have had considerable successes in making sense of his thought.
One of the appeals of this new perspective is that it frees us from having to
conclude that Paul misunderstood Judaism. A coherent picture can be constructed
of a Paul who began as a covenantal nomist, but who came to believe that Jesus
was Messiah and Savior and who, as a result, found himself looking at his native
convictional world from a different angle of perception. Why should the
Gentiles become visible so large in Paul’s new field of vision? In a few cases
within “new perspective” scholarship, Paul’s rejection of Torah-centered
particularism is taken to be axiomatic not as a consequence of his new
Christian convictions, but as something inherent in the logic of Jewish
eschatological expectation.
[10]
See Joseph Anilkuzhikattil, “The Missionary Strategy of Apostle Paul,” Mission Today, Vol. XI, No. 2,
April-June 2009; Cf; Ferdinand Hahn, Mission
in the New Testament (London: SCM, 1965), 68.
[11]
G. Goldworthy, “Biblical Theology and the Shape of Paul’s Mission,” The Gospel to the Nations: Perspectives on
Paul’s Mission (eds.) by Peter Bolt and Mark Thompson (Apollos: ISMC Press,
2000), 16.
[12]
Dr. Joseph Anilkuzhikattil teaches Missiology at Sacred Heart College, Shillong.
[13] Siga Arles, Transforming
Mission (Bangalore: Center for Contemporary Christianity, 2006), 160.
[14]
George W. Peter, Biblical Theology of
Mission (Chicago: Moody Press, 1972), 165-168.
[15]
Donald Senior and Carroll Stuhlmueller, The
Biblical Fondations for Mission (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1983), 187.
[16]
Donald Senior and Carroll Stuhlmueller, The
Biblical Fondations for Mission., 173.
[17]
Donald Senior and Carroll Stuhlmueller., 167.
[18]
David J. Bosch, “Church Unity Amidst Cultural Diversity,” Missionalia, Vol. X, No. XXIII, 1982), 127.
[19]
David J. Bosch, “Church Unity Amidst Cultural Diversity,” Missionalia., 153.
[20]
Arthur F. Glasser, “The Apostle Paul and the Missionary Task,” Perspective World Missions (ed.,)
(Bangalore: New Life Literature, 1984), 51-52.
[21] Antioch was one of the three important cities
of the Roman Empire, which had a large community of Jews, Greek, Macedonians
and local Syrians. Here only the believers were first called as Christians
[22]
J. Herbert Kane, Christian Missions in
Biblical Perspective (Michigan: Baker Book House, 1976), 74
[23] Siga Arles, Transforming
Mission ., 160. Paul’s active missionary career lasted twelve to fifteen
years; yet in that comparatively short time he succeeded in planting strong,
thriving, autonomous churches in all four of the provinces mentioned. So
thorough was his work that at the end of this period he could write to the
Christians in Rome (Rom 15:19-24 read), See J. Herbert Kane, Christian Missions in Biblical Perspective
(Michigan: Baker Book House, 1976), 75.
[24]
J. Herbert Kane, Christian Missions in
Biblical Perspective., 75.
[26]
Arthur F. Glasser, “The Apostle Paul and the Missionary Task,” Perspective World Missions., 52; see
also Arthur F. Glasser, “The Apostle and Missionary Task,” Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (ed.) by Ralph D.
Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne (California: William Carey Library, 1986),
108-109. See also Roland Allen, “Strategic Pints,” Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours? (Grand Rapids: World
Dominion Press, 1962), 12-17.
[27] D.
Chae, “Paul,” Dictionary of Mission
Theology: Evangelical Foundations., 278; See also D.J. S. Chae, Paul as Apostle the Gentiles: His Apostle
Self-awareness and Its Influence on the Stereological Argument in Romans (Carlisle:
Paternoster, 1997), 44.
[28]
Roger S. Greenway, “The Missionary Methods of the Apostle Paul,” God and Make Disciples: A Challenging Introduction to Missions (Secunderabad,:
OM Books, 2001), 70-74.
[29]
Siga Arles, Transforming Mission.,
160.
[30]
J. Herbert Kane, Christian Missions in
Biblical Perspective., 75.
[31]
J. Kanagraj, The Stagiest Of Paul The Missionary In Integral Mission
(Thiruvalla: C.S.S, 2006), 162.
[32]
J. Herbert Kane, Christian Missions in
Biblical Perspective., 75.
[33]
J. Herbert Kane., 75.
[34] Paul was Tentmaker (Acts 18:3). He has learned this
trade from his father or he may have selected it as a means of self-support as
was the custom of those in rabbinic training.
[35]
J. Herbert Kane, Christian Missions in
Biblical Perspective., 75.
[36]
J. Herbert Kane., 75.
[37] .
Herbert Kane., 75.
[38]
Jacob Kawn Kal and F. Krangkhuma, Bible and Mission in India Today
(Bombay: St. Paul’s Press, 1993), 156.
[39]
P.T.O Brien, Gospel and Mission In the Writings of Paul an Exegetical and
Theological Analysis (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996), 62.
[40]
D. Chae, “Paul,” Dictionary of Mission
Theology: Evangelical Foundations., 278.
[41]
The converts were baptized together and shared the Holy Communion together. The
first blows against racial and social discrimination, and against slavery and
mistreatment of women, were struck at the Communion table where Jew and
Gentile, master and slave, men and women sat together around the same table and
confessed their dependence on the same Savior.
[42]
Paul did this because he believed that Christ established the church for an
important purpose. Every church was to be a lighthouse and a showcase of the
kingdom of God. Paul established churches in the four Roman provinces of
Galatia, Macedonia, Achaia and Asia within a period of ten years. He hoped to
go to Spain, the farthest western side of the empire (Rom. 15: 24, 28). It is
even possible that he got there. Everywhere Paul went he preached, gathered
converts and organized them into local, self-governing churches. His approach
was based on the kingdom vision of communities of people who worshipped the one
true God and served Him in their lives. Such communities were agents of
spiritual and social change in towns, cities and nations.
[43] This makes human networks as important in spreading
the gospel today as they were in the first century.
[44]
Paul mentions a great number of his ‘fellow workers’ by name, both men and
women. We find a key to the early spread of the gospel in this list of workers.
[45]
Roger S. Greenway, “The Missionary Methods of the Apostle Paul,” Go and Make Disciples: A Challenging Introduction to Missions., 74.
[46]
D. Senior and C. Stuhlmueller, The
Biblical Foundation for Mission ., 192.
[47] W. Paul Bowers, Paul and Mission in Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions,
(ed.), by A. Scott Moreadu (Michigan: Baker Books, 2000), 734.
[48] Barnes
Mawrie, SDB, “Paul the Apostle A Great Missionary Catechist,” Mission Today, Vol. XI, No. 1, Jan-March
2009, 54.
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