I got some bread for everyone served hot and fresh from Paul’s bakery. As we all know, Paul became a Christian on the road to Damascus and took off running with the gospel. He was perhaps the most influential man in the history of the early church and wrote most of the New Testament. Recently, three verses from three of Paul’s letters have opened up my eyes to what true growth in a relationship with the King really looks like. Check this out:
Early in Paul’s ministry, he makes the following statement in his letter to the Corinthians. "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 Cor. 15:9
Paul humbly considered himself the least of the 12 great disciples. Here’s the formula: Paul is less than 12
Later in Paul’s ministry, he makes the following statement in his letter to the church in Ephesus. "To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." - Eph. 3:8. Now Paul considers himself the least of all the believers which at this time was probably around 10,000 or so. Paul is less than 10,000
Towards the end of Paul’s ministry, he makes the following statement in his first letter to Timothy. "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." - 1 Tim. 1:15. Paul now considers himself the worst of all the sinners.
Paul is less than All
What a tremendous example of what growth in a relationship with the King really looks like. As our relationship with Jesus grows so should our humility. Paul’s growth is clearly seen in the scriptures:
Paul is less than 12
Paul is less than 10,000
Paul is less than All
What’s your formula look like?
- TEvans
4 comments:
I'm not sure I fully remember this post but wow, I needed that. That is such a deep understanding of what growth truly looks like... humility. I still haven't fully embraced the idea of true humility. Luke 14:11 "those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who are humble will be exalted." Thank you Jesus for constantly bringing back to the drawing board, how gracious You are.
All I got out of that post is that you think Paul is "less than or equal to" something. Whats with all the "<>"??
oh wait, I see now. Maybe I should have read the post before commenting. I think that is my new formula, read the post first then post. I hope it works out
I don't know what the "<>" was all about. I wanted the less than symbol in there each time and didn't realize that when I posted this that blogger thought I was using some kind of computer code and threw a bunch of "<>"'s in there. I corrected the problem which now helps this post make more sense. From now on maybe i should proof read my posts.
-Terry
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