Jesus in the Gospel of Paul - Essay Example

Jesus Came Preaching the Kingdom Of God, But All Paul Left Us Was the Church The teaching put forward by Jesus Christ from the Lord were in the form of conversations of Jesus and his disciples with other individuals, explanations of the miracles and deeds He performed and His pleas to the Heavenly father, which are documented in the Gospels. In contrast, Paul stated that he attained the Gospel through the direct revelation of Jesus Christ and not from an apostle. He declared almost complete liberty from the Jewish community. In his works, Paul determinedly utilized the persecutions he maintained to have gone through, in terms of verbal assaults and physical beatings, to claim union and proximity with Jesus and as a justification of his teachings (Shillington 16). This paper will look at the statement Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God, but all Paul left us was the Church and give reasons for either agreeing or disagreeing with the statement. I disagree with the statement Jesus Came Preaching the kingdom of God, but all Paul left us was the church. This is because both Jesus and Paul taught identical things. Settled, Paul concentrated more on theological concerns than Jesus did, but there is nothing that Paul said that is contradictory to Jesus Christ. Therefore, both Jesus and Paul preached the kingdom of God. As recorded in the Gospels, the basic elements in the preaching of Jesus Christ include, one, his teaching on wealth in which He asserts that it is extremely difficult for a rich individual to go to heaven, and also warns against the gathering of riches on a number of occasions. Two, Jesus gave teachings regarding violence. Finally, Jesus gave teachings regarding compassion and forgiveness (Shillington 17). On the other hand, Paul’s teachings included, one, his teachings on faith. Two, Paul taught the lordship of Christ in his letters. Finally, Paul taught justification in his letters. Jesus claimed in Mathew 5:17 that He did not come to put an end to the Prophets or Law, but He had come to fulfill them. Nonetheless, Jesus frequently re-interpreted the laws, or added to them, in various occasions in extremely radical manners. Paul marked a continuation of the message of Jesus. In Mark 10:25 Jesus claimed it was effortless for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to go into the kingdom of the Lord. Jesus continued to claim that the sole way a rich person could go to heaven was if he could sell all his wealth and give it to the less fortunate (Shillington 18). This statement meant that the Lord would only inspire a rich person to modify his way of life and voluntarily give his wealth to the less fortunate. In addition, Jesus Christ, in a number of instances, warned against the accrual of riches. In Mathew 6:19 Jesus asserted that people should not gather wealth on the universe. He also went ahead and claim that a person did not have the ability to both serve God and money. Jesus did not approve of wealth because he presumed that it was not right for a number of individuals to starve while others lived in wasteful luxury. According to Paul, the followers were to attempt to accumulate spiritual wealth, and as the command progressed, it is evident that the followers were to put their material possessions to use in this endeavor. In Paul’s view, the material wealth of the followers was to incorporate a special duty (Horrell 30). For the followers, the standard Christian life of virtuous duties should entail sensible manifestations of generosity and the eagerness to share. Paul also claimed that since all the rich had came from the Lord, they were to possess a proper opinion of their riches and utilize it to help the less privileged. Paul envisaged a stewardship of the commodities of the world, and the people blessed with these possessions were to be conscientious administrators of the wealth. On violence, Jesus taught that people should love their enemies. This statement has been interpreted in a number of ways. A number of individuals interpret it to suggest that one should attempt to assist the enemy instead of harming them. Others claim that the required punishments must be left to the Lord. In Mathew 5:38-29 Jesus emphasized the need to embrace evil people (Shillington 18). In addition, Paul’s life symbolized the Christian way of life. Initially, Paul worked for the Roman Empire as a paid hit man. Paul Tortured, harassed, and even killed the people who followed Jesus Christ, only to be transformed to Christianity. He renounced his violent behavior, lived in the society, and reacted non-violently to the acts of violence imposed on him by his brutal former partners (Horrell 30). Paul’s teaching in Roman 12 and Roman 13 adhered to the teachings of Jesus Christ flawlessly. Roman 12 is a passionate and eloquent declaration of the Sermon on the Mount which emerged from his years of existence in society with the Christian underground. The chapter concludes with a testimony of the irony of Christian non-violence. Chapter 13 directs Christians to react non-violently to state violence, claiming that the Lord eventually controls the state, and employs it to cause divine judgment on violence. Jesus was an individual of tremendous compassion. Jesus Christ possessed significantly stout feelings for the less privileged, the persecuted, the outcasts, and the downtrodden, and He was eagerly conscious of the injustice and oppression that maintained them in their situation. This is why in His teachings He criticized greedy individuals who lived in magnificence while a large number of others lived in poverty (Shillington 18). Jesus Christ also had an incredibly strong keenness to forgive. He held a belief that all individuals deserved a second opportunity in life. Paul also praised worldly compassionate love illustrated enthusiastically through actions. 1 Corinthians 13 is an inspiring section on charitable compassionate love. He uses his hardships to teach compassion and forgiveness to humans. Therefore, it may be argued that both Jesus and Paul taught identical things and Paul marked a continuation of the message of Jesus, and did not only leave us the church. Works Cited Horrell, D. G. An Introduction to the Study of Paul. New York: T&T Clark, 2006. Print. Shillington, G. Introduction to Luke-Acts. New York: T & T Clark, 2007. Print. Read More