Saint Paul the Apostle The Greatest of the Apostles
Saint Paul the Apostle — The Greatest of the Apostles
His Epistles and Preaching
Saint Paul the Apostle is the one who wrote the most in the New Testament.
He wrote 14 epistles containing 109 chapters, while the four Gospels together contain 89 chapters — meaning his epistles exceed the four Gospels by 20 chapters. The rest of the apostles together wrote 21 chapters.
Paul the Apostle is thus considered the second greatest writer in all of Scripture, surpassed only by the Prophet David, who left us the Psalms.
He was not one of the Twelve Apostles, nor one of the Seventy, yet once he began, he surpassed them all.
He preached in Jerusalem, Antioch, Cyprus, parts of Asia Minor, Macedonia, Greece, and even Rome itself — being the one who established the Church of Rome, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 28:16, 30–31).
His Greatness
The Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him — after His Ascension — more than four times.
He appeared to him on the road to Damascus and appointed him Apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9).
He appeared to him in a night vision in Corinth and said:
“Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.” So he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them (Acts 18:9–11).
He appeared again and said: “Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles” (Acts 22:21).
The Lord appeared to him at night and said: “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome” (Acts 23:11).
We do not know to which vision or appearance Saint Paul referred when he said to the Corinthians:
“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper…” (1 Corinthians 11:23–26).
No other apostle received so many appearances from the Lord after His Ascension as Saint Paul did.
He alone was caught up to the third heaven, to Paradise, and heard inexpressible words which it is not lawful for a man to utter (2 Corinthians 12:2–4).
Concerning this rapture he said: “Whether in the body or out of the body I do not know — God knows” (2 Corinthians 12:2).
Regarding his superiority in ministry over the other apostles, he said:
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).
He prefaced these words with humility: “Because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Corinthians 15:9).
About his gifts, he said to the Corinthians:
“I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all; yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue” (1 Corinthians 14:18–19).
And regarding the abundance of revelations granted to him, he said:
“Lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me” (2 Corinthians 12:7), which some say was malarial fever, or weak eyesight, or sores on his body.
His Miracles
They were many indeed!
It is written: “Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits went out of them” (Acts 19:11–12).
In Philippi he cast out an unclean spirit from a slave girl who had a spirit of divination; he turned to the spirit and said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour (Acts 16:16–18). Because of this he and Silas suffered beatings and imprisonment.
Eutychus, sitting in a window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul prolonged his speech, fell from the third story, and was taken up dead. But Paul went down, embraced him, and raised him (Acts 20:7–12).
He also struck Elymas the sorcerer with blindness because he opposed the word of God: “And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand” (Acts 13:6–11).
Among his miracles was also the punishment of the sinner of Corinth (1 Corinthians 5), followed later by mercy when the man repented.
His Disciples and Teachings
Saint Paul had many disciples — among them Luke the Evangelist and Mark the Evangelist, both of whom were with him even in his last days (2 Timothy 4:11).
His disciples also included Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, to whom he wrote epistles, and Phoebe, who carried some of his letters. Others were Tychicus, Aristarchus, Aquila and Priscilla, whose house became a church (Romans 16:3–4), and Nymphas, whose house also became a church (Colossians 4:15).
Among his companions were Barnabas at first, then Silas, and also Apollos (1 Corinthians 3).
Paul the Apostle was known for his many teachings in doctrine and theology.
Among his most famous were those concerning “Law and Grace” (in Romans and Galatians), spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12), speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 14), and worthy participation in the Eucharist (1 Corinthians 11).
He opposed Judaizing tendencies (Colossians 2).
He spoke of baptism as dying with Christ (Romans 6; Colossians 2:12); of the resurrection and spiritual bodies (1 Corinthians 15); of the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4); and of the Antichrist and his coming before the great apostasy (2 Thessalonians 2).
He described the Church as the Bride of Christ (Ephesians 5).
He also wrote on pastoral and spiritual matters — concerning the offices of bishop, priest, and deacon (1 Timothy 3, 5; Titus 1), about widows (1 Timothy 5), about love and its excellence (1 Corinthians 13), and about various spiritual topics (Romans 12; 1 Thessalonians 5; Philippians 3–4; Ephesians 6).
He wrote against sexual immorality (Romans 1; 1 Corinthians 6), praised virginity (1 Corinthians 7), and spoke of the sanctification of the body as a temple of God’s Spirit (1 Corinthians 3; 1 Corinthians 6).
Saint Paul also emphasized pastoral care and visitation, as when he said to Barnabas:
“Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing” (Acts 15:36).
Paul’s Challenge
Some doubted his apostleship because he was not among the Twelve or the Seventy, so he was forced — humbly — to defend himself, as people considered him merely a disciple of the apostles. This doubt hindered his mission, compelling him to defend it — not out of self-glory but for the sake of the Gospel and the salvation of souls.
Thus, at the beginning of his Epistle to the Galatians, he wrote:
“Paul, an apostle — not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father” (Galatians 1:1).
He repeated in the introductions to his epistles to the Corinthians:
“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God” (1 Corinthians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1).
And in Romans:
“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God” (Romans 1:1).
When accused of being merely a disciple, he boldly showed that he had surpassed even the apostles:
He said (2 Corinthians 11):
“Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ? — I speak as a fool — I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.”
He continued to describe his sufferings:
“In journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness — besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?” (2 Corinthians 11:21–29).
He said all this not to gain human praise but to affirm his apostleship.
Paul was right to defend himself.
In Acts 16, after casting out the spirit from the slave girl, Paul and Silas were beaten and imprisoned. When ordered to be released secretly, Paul said:
“They have beaten us openly, uncondemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out.” (Acts 16:37).
When the authorities heard they were Romans, they were afraid, came to plead with them, and released them, after which they went to Lydia’s house (Acts 16).
Thus, it is not wrong for one to defend his rights when he is in the right.
In Acts 22, when the governor ordered Paul to be scourged, Paul said:
“Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?” When the centurion heard this, he informed the commander, who came and was afraid when he realized Paul was a Roman (Acts 22:25–30).
Again, when Festus, wishing to please the Jews, offered to send Paul to Jerusalem to be judged there, Paul said:
“I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you very well know… I appeal to Caesar.”
Then Festus said, “You have appealed to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go!” (Acts 25:9–12).
The Lord Jesus Himself had commanded Paul to go to Rome to testify there (Acts 23:11).
So he appealed to Caesar and was taken to Rome under guard (Acts 28:16).
When the Jews again opposed him, Paul, knowing that part were Sadducees and part Pharisees, cried out in the council:
“Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!”
Since the Sadducees denied resurrection, angels, or spirits, the council divided, and the Pharisees defended Paul, so the commander rescued him (Acts 23:6–10).
His Humility
When he went to Lystra and performed miracles, the people thought he and Barnabas were gods and wanted to offer sacrifices to them. But they tore their clothes and said:
“We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God…”
Then they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead (Acts 14:8–19).
When speaking of the appearances of Christ, he said:
“And last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Corinthians 15:8–9).
In humility he said, “I am the least of the apostles,” yet when affirming his apostleship, he defended it.
To his disciple Timothy he wrote:
“Although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man” (1 Timothy 1:13).
How humble is he who can tell his disciple, “I was a blasphemer and a persecutor”!
To the Corinthians he wrote:
“I, Paul, myself, who am lowly when present among you, but bold toward you when absent” (2 Corinthians 10:1).
He also said:
“Bear with me in a little foolishness… for I am jealous for you with godly jealousy” (2 Corinthians 11:1–2),
and again, “Accept me as a fool” (2 Corinthians 11:16).
In the introductions to some of his letters, he humbly placed his disciples’ names beside his own:
“To the church of God which is at Corinth… Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother.” Who is Sosthenes, that Paul would place him beside his name?
He began his letter to the Philippians:
“Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi” (Philippians 1:1).
He likewise included Timothy’s name in Colossians, and both Timothy and Silvanus in 1 and 2 Thessalonians.
To Philemon, regarding Onesimus, who was a slave, Paul wrote with tenderness:
“I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains… whom I wish to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. But without your consent I wanted to do nothing… But if he has wronged you or owes you anything, put that on my account. I, Paul, am writing with my own hand — I will repay” (Philemon 10–19).
He even said of Onesimus: “No longer as a slave but more than a slave — a beloved brother” (Philemon 16).
This is a brief introduction about Saint Paul the Apostle, whom many consider to have laid down the foundations of Christian doctrine. May his blessings be with us all. Amen.
(From an article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, Al-Keraza Magazine, Year 27, Issues 25–26, July 23, 1999)
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