The Gospels in Correlation with the Epistles - Essay Example

Full The Gospels in Correlation with the Epistles Paul, an apostle who considers himself to have been abnormally born inthe faith, shared the gospel to his fellow Jews and the Gentiles through the power of the Holy Spirit, revealing the mysteries of the good news that have become controversial, especially so that he was a former Pharisee who was passionate in fighting for Judaism. In his quest to preserve the religion of his people, he killed many early Christians and took orders from the officials to go to Damascus to capture all those who were serving ‘The Way’.

There he encountered Jesus Christ. The dramatic turn in the life of Paul made him a strong believer and advocate of the gospel of Jesus so that leaving his former status as a Pharisee and joining the disciples, he became a fugitive. This background of the apostle sometimes puts him into question especially with the things that he taught because he was not trained by Jesus like the other disciples and was even questioned by believers because of the persecution they endured under his leadership.

Would his teachings be trust-worthy? Putting the epistles or letters of Paul to his students or church members in juxtaposition with the gospels which were authored by the disciples who spent three years with the man called the Savior, is but one of the manners the modern man can verify if his message was indeed Holy Spirit-inspired as the apostle claimed. The main themes of the gospels are about Jesus Christ being traced as the promised Messiah of the Jews from the prophets of the Old Testament who lived in different eras, the manner He was to die for the forgiveness of sins and His second coming after all the prophecies about the times and seasons are fulfilled.

In addition, there are also the records in the gospel of His teachings not only to the twelve disciples but to the people as well, and the examples of how one should live on this earth making one’s life an offering acceptable before God. Probably one of the most famous and also the greatest teaching of Jesus is living by the golden rule which says, ‘Do unto others what you want others do unto you’, found in Matthew 7:12 encourages man to follow the two greatest commandments he mentioned in Matthew 22:37-40.

Paul taught this theme in his own manner in his first letter to the Thessalonians 4:9, encouraging the brethren to love one another. In addition to this, he challenged them to keep in mind that whatever they do to their brothers, they do it to Jesus Christ as he exhorted in his first letter to the Corinthians 8:12, backed by the very words of Jesus in Mt. 25:40. The apostle is a strong advocate of the summary of the law and the prophets, that is, loving one’s neighbor as exemplified by Jesus in His story of the Good Samaritan in Lk. 10:25-37. Paul echoed this in his letter to the Galatians in chapter 5:14.

Paul also acknowledged that Jesus came to die for the forgiveness of sins so that even if high ranking officials and educated authorities did not understand this message, he was still bold to proclaim it to the Corinthians (1Cor 2:8) claiming the aforementioned groups did not know what they were doing (Lk. 23:34) when they crucified Jesus (Mt. 27:33-50). He saluted Jesus for His way of leadership, coming to serve and not be served, saving sinners from their bondages (Gal. 1:4) showing he learned well from Mt. 20:28. In 1 Corinthians 15:3-7, Paul retold the reason why Jesus had to die on the cross and about his resurrection as witnessed by the apostles called before him.

He did not just believe the records in the last chapter of Luke to be a fact but was one with the witnesses and was in humble submission to their authority as someone coming before him. One of the reasons why the disciples preached the Word of God was that they believed in the second coming of Jesus Christ, calling all those who have been faithful in the tasks assigned them, to Himself and reigning with Him in glory. Paul preached to the gentiles the resurrection of the dead and the hope of a life that is far different from this earthly life.

A life full of joy and bliss in the kingdom of God as Jesus, the slain Lamb of God reigns on the right hand of the Father. He believed the teachings of Jesus as recorded in Mt. 24:30-31 and 25:31 that a time will come when the angels will sound their trumpets from heaven and Jesus will appear to meet His faithful servants and raise them up from their graves, given imperishable bodies that will be able to live with Jesus. The apostle mentioned this in several of his letters including 1Thessalonians 4:16, 2Thessalonians 1:10, and 1 Corinthians 15:52.

With this hope that Paul presented to the gentiles, he echoed to them the encouragements of Jesus in Matthew 24:42 to keep watch and be vigilant in their services for no one knows the schedule of Christ’s second coming (2Cor. 16:13). Following the gospel is acknowledged by Paul as a difficult task and he knew the struggles his followers can meet in their service as he experienced himself, being imprisoned, enduring the pains of being in want, and being ship-wrecked. However, through all these, he gave the same encouragements Jesus told His disciples in Mt.

5:12, telling every follower to rejoice because they are not alone but their persecutions can be overcome as the prophets of old have done (1Thes. 2:15). With the few lines from the aforementioned epistles of Paul referred to the teachings of Jesus, it has been proven that they are in conformity with each other. This can prove the authority of Jesus in the life of the apostle, the work of the Holy Spirit as his teacher and counselor as well as the testimony of Paul himself.