LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
Sentences of Sanity
Paul came quite late to the Lord, compared to the twelve apostles. In his resume there were some pretty good things on the human level, but also some very bad things on the spiritual level.
He possessed a broad culture, and was a citizen of three worlds: Hebrew, Greek and Roman. Gamaliel had taught him the secrets of the Torah and of the chosen people; and by himself he had immersed himself in the classical Greek authors, of which his epistles give some account (there are quotations from Epimenides in Acts 17:28 and Titus 1:12; from Aratus in Acts 17:28, and from Menander in 1 Corinthians 15:33). Moreover, he was well versed in Roman law, the privileges of which he quite often availed himself.
On the spiritual plane, however, he had greatly mistaken the way. Much of his best days he had spent very badly, for "he ravaged the church ... entering house to house, dragging men and women, and delivering them to prison". Perhaps that is why, when he came to faith, his conversion was so radical. His zeal for the gospel became as great or greater than that which he showed in Judaism. One senses in him a sense of urgency to make up for lost time and to make up for what he had hurt.
And he becomes tireless in his service to the Lord. "From Jerusalem, and round about as far as Illyricum, I have filled everything with the gospel of Christ", he was able to say not long after. Paul preaches, teaches, exhorts, rebukes and comforts, without pause.
Therefore, he could exhibit such a long list of merits. And so the comparison with the Twelve inevitably arises. And then Paul, the indefatigable, the bold, appears in full force, and says: "I have labored more than they all..." (1 Cor. 15:10). "In nothing have I been less than those great apostles..." (2 Cor. 12:11). "In labors more abundant; in stripes without number; in bonds more; in perils of death many times..." (2 Cor. 11:23). These words, if they did not come from whom they come from, might seem mere boasting. And above all, considering with whom he compares himself, how could Paul do so?
Imitating this boldness of Paul, some servants of God often feel authorized to speak in the same way. They, too, display their merits and tell of their labors. However, they do not always accompany their speech with the phrases that complete Paul's ideas: "I have labored more than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God with me", and "In nothing have I been less than those great apostles, though I am nothing". These phrases put the note of sanity, and make the difference between vainglory and glory to God. These phrases are worth more before God than all the merits that can be exhibited.
Oh, wonderful grace, how efficiently you are, how silently and how beautifully you work, but, alas, so little remembered in our lists of merits and services!