We can clearly see, as we read through most of the New Testament, that
the Apostle Paul had one great passion in his life from the moment he
was apprehended by the Savior on the road to Damascus, and that passion,
of course, was Jesus Christ Himself.
He lived the remainder of his life
indebted to his Lord, and openly referred to himself, time and time
again, as the servant, or slave, of Jesus....
What though, was his great
desire for those among whom he ministered and interacted? As I look
at his epistles and ponder this, I'm amazed at the consistency and
tenacity of this remarkable man of God.
He knew his unique position of
authority among his peers, as one to whom Christ appeared and spoke
personally, yet he never 'lorded' it over either those who were
believers before he was, or even his own converts. He exercised that
authority with the grace God had given him, and his love for God- and
for humanity- Jew and Gentile alike, governed everything he did....
Paul
was always seeking to impart the things of God to the people of God-
Some fruit of the Holy Spirit, something of the mind of Christ,
something to further their usefulness, their maturity, their own
selfless love toward others.
Paul was neither selfish nor vain, as he
sought to not only minister the grace of God to others, but to receive
grace from others, as well- "I long to see you, that I may impart unto
you some spiritual gift, to the end you may be established; that is,
that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of
you and me Romans 1:11 - 12.
No vainglory here, no 'I'm up here and you're down
there' attitude, just a man grateful to his Lord and eager to see God's
grace moving in the lives of his converts. "That I may come unto you
with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed Romans 15:32....
Paul
was grieved when he heard that some of his converts were drifting away
from the truth- "I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have
espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin
to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve
through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the
simplicity that is in Christ...2 Corinthians 11: 2-3.
He would
strongly exhort his Gentile converts to give of their finances to help
the poor saints in Jerusalem, a work they had started, but not yet
completed, "Now therefore perform the doing of it, that as there was a
readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which
you have 2 Cor. 8:11.
He would strongly denounce the false teachers who would come in after
him, and try to undo his work, and this happened a number of times- and
through all of it, you can see and feel Paul's love and concern for his
people, and his great desire that they walk with the same passion that
he himself had for his Lord.
This is what he was all about, and even
when he wanted to depart and be with Jesus, he felt that his converts
would benefit from his staying on, "I am in a strait betwixt two, having
a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for
you...Philippians 1:23- 24...
Now, we could easily go much deeper into this look at
the Apostle, (and you will no doubt want to study his life more
fully) but I hope you have a little better idea of where Paul's heart
was, both in terms of his relationship to God, and in this little
study, his great desire for his people.
God bless you-
Jim Ewing
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