The Least Apostle

Posted on by korgrocker

“For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church. But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favour on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace. So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.”
1 Corinthians 15:9-11 NLT

Having listed all the people who had seen the risen Jesus, Paul added his name as the last one who had experienced that wonderful privilege. But the way he had persecuted those early believers still disturbed Paul. His actions were indelibly recorded in his mind and were going to be there until the day he died. Will memories of bad things survive a believer’s grave? Although we will be made holy and perfect (1 John 3:2 and Hebrews 10:14) once we reach Heaven, we nevertheless expect that memories will survive death. Still, they will be transformed, cleansed of pain and sin, allowing for deeper, perfect relationships and understanding, not just a simple recall of earthly life, as the new reality in God’s presence overshadows former sorrows. This is good news, not just for Paul but for every believer still racked and tormented by memories of the sins they once committed, memories often referred to as the stain of sin. But here in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul still remembered those dark days when he got things so wrong. 

But, rightly, Paul looked to God and his grace for the outcome in his life. He gave credit to God for turning his life around, helping him refocus his zeal from persecuting and destroying the church to building it up instead. A total U-turn if there ever was one. Paul was a driven man who would spend the rest of his life enduring privations, beatings, stonings, and more just to spread the Gospel, the Good News about Jesus. And all because “God poured out his special favour on [him]”. Paul wrote that he was “the least of all the apostles”, even questioning if he was worthy of the title “Apostle”. 

Apostle – one who is sent out.

What does the word “Apostle” mean? Literally, the Greek word means “one who is sent out”. He is a messenger, envoy, or ambassador commissioned with the authority to spread the Gospel, the Good News about Jesus. But who commissioned Paul? In modern times, an apostle is a man (or woman) sent out by their denomination or church (if large enough) as a missionary to break new ground for Jesus. They could also serve as an overseer over a church or group of churches, giving them spiritual accountability for their teaching and direction, as well as for their vision for the future. Paul, however, was commissioned by Jesus Himself to spread the Gospel, just as the other twelve disciples were. We read in Acts 9:4-6, “He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do””. Ananias, a believer in Damascus, received a message, “But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake”” (Acts 9:15-16). That experience profoundly turned Paul’s life around, as Jesus Himself commissioned him to be an apostle to the Gentiles.

“The master said,
‘Well done, my good and
faithful servant“.

Paul considered himself to be the “least apostle” because he was the only one who had not spent time with Jesus. He was also the only one among the apostles who had done so much damage to the early church. Perhaps he also intuitively knew that his future would not be on the same level as the Twelve. In Revelation 21:14 we read, “The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb”. Paul would have been number thirteen. But Paul would not have been disturbed by this, because he would have heard the words that really mattered to him, “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. … ’” (Matthew 25:23a). Paul also had a priceless crown awaiting him. 2 Timothy 4:8, “And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing“.

Paul did indeed seem to have worked harder than the other Apostles. He not only undertook three recorded missionary journeys, according to the Acts accounts, but he also wrote thirteen or fourteen of the New Testament books, in the process providing us with much important theology. The least of all the Apostles? That might have been his self-assessment, but in hindsight, we pilgrims have much to thank Paul for. We remember that Paul was chosen “because God poured out his special favour on [him]”. What an endorsement!

Dear Father God. We thank You for Paul, the least of the Apostles. Please help us to be clear on what You have commissioned us to do, so that we too will one day hear those wonderful words, “well done”. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Eternal Life

Posted on by korgrocker

“You welcomed him back with success and prosperity. You placed a crown of finest gold on his head. He asked you to preserve his life, and you granted his request. The days of his life stretch on forever.”
Psalm 21:3-4 NLT

These verses today are rich with several themes interwoven but all coming together in acknowledging God and giving Him the glory for all He had done for David. David had returned victorious from a battle, or had won an important political argument, and he and his followers, his people, were celebrating. The crown signified that he was the undisputed king and the fact that it was of the finest gold represented the quality of his kingship. David was a royal appointee, successful in all that he put his hand to, and prosperous through his receipt of taxes from the subservient foreign nations and his own people, and through his own activities in Israel. 

But the Psalm records that “the days of [David’s] life stretch on forever”. We know of course that David died at the age of 70 so it could not mean that he was going to be immortal on this earth.  We could assume that David was referring to eternal life, as we read in Psalm 16, another of his Psalms. “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever” (Psalm 16:11). Or this could have been referring to his dynasty, as we read in 2 Samuel 7: 11b-13, “ … Furthermore, the Lord declares that he will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings! For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever”. This was of course a reference to the coming Messiah, and we see the fulfilment of that in the angel’s message to Mary, recorded in Luke 1:31-33, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

Returning to the royal implication in these verses, we know of course that we pilgrims are also of royal stock. Peter wrote, “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). We may not have crowns of gold in this life, but Paul wrote, “And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8). We pilgrims will be supplied with a “crown of righteousness” when we cross the Great Divide into God’s presence, a crown of far more worth than something made with a commodity used to pave the streets of the New Jerusalem.

So, in a sense, our lives will also “stretch on forever” but without all the hassles of human life. Again, a verse from Paul’s epistle to the Romans, “And because you belong to [Christ], the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death” (Romans 8:2). Jesus said, “So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free” (John 8:36), and one day we will experience that freedom, as though a huge weight has been lifted from us. No more sickness. No more death. And eternal life spent in God’s presence. David asked God to “preserve his life, and [He] granted his request”. We too come to the Cross and ask Jesus to preserve our life, and as we  ” … confess our sins to him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” (1 John 1:9). This was the moment when we passed from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light, enabling us to commence our eternal lives at a time when we are also human beings on Planet Earth. Is that a “Hallelujah” or whoop of praises expressed to God I can hear in the distance? 

Father God. David knew that he would live forever in Your presence, as will we pilgrims. Please help us complete our journey, giving You all the praise and all the glory. Amen.

A Strong Angel

Posted on by korgrocker

“And I saw a strong angel, who shouted with a loud voice: “Who is worthy to break the seals on this scroll and open it?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll and read it.”
Revelation‬ ‭5:2-3‬ ‭NLT

I wonder who the strong angel was. The experts in Biblical analysis think it might have been the angel Gabriel, a name that means “God is my strength”. There is also a reference to Gabriel in Daniel 9, when he brought an answer to Daniel’s prayers. But whoever it was, the strong angel (some versions say mighty angel) shouted out a challenging request, “Who is worthy to break the seals on this scroll and open it”?

Why would a worthy person, or being, be required to open this scroll, breaking the seven seals in the process? Obviously it couldn’t just be anyone, because the scroll was still in the right hand of God. And John continued, pointing out that there was no-one worthy enough to “open the scroll and read it”. The search for a worthy person covered everywhere in creation – Heaven, the earth, and Sheol, the place under the earth. There was no other place where a worthy person could reside. But what was so important about this scroll that was going to require a worthy person to open it? It was obviously something of much consequence never seen before, and all those in Heaven were in a cliff-hanging position awaiting to discover what was written.

What is a worthy person? Worthy of what? We see the UK Honours List, that comes out periodically, awarding “worthy” people an honour, encapsulated in a medal, for people deemed “worthy” by their work perhaps for charity or some other good cause. In the workplace, we perhaps notice someone who is “worthy” of a pay rise because of their hard working ethic. But none of these “worthy” people got anywhere near what the strong angel was looking for. 

We pilgrims achieve a certain amount of worthiness by default. Because of our unstinting faith in God through our journeys in life, we will one day receive our Heavenly reward, our crowns of righteousness. Perhaps this is a mention on the Heaven Honours List. We will hear the words of our Saviour, saying to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23). But we don’t aspire to becoming “worthy”. That is the road to pride. We seek to please God through our faith. Hebrews 11:6 reads, “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him“.

In the rest of this chapter in Revelation we will find out more about the real “Worthy”, and what happened when the scroll was opened. The writings on the scroll will shock us. But hopefully inspire us as well.

Dear God. We thank You for Your loving care and kindness. For Your grace and mercy. For Your guidance on our walk through life. You pick us up when we fall and bring us back to earth when we become too full of ourselves. What a loving Father You are. We praise You today. Amen.