MISSIONARY PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF THE APOSTLE PAUL

Sep 3, 2024

12 min read

MISSIONARY PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF THE APOSTLE PAUL

Daniel McMillin

THE MAN WHO TURNED THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN

The apostle Paul was a man who walked the earth like none other. His story is unique and inspirational. The legacy he left is truly remarkable. Paul was a man that when he left this earth, the world was never the same. He exited into the next life leaving the world a better place. N.T. Wright notes his humility in the opening pages of his biography of Paul, in saying that, “Paul might dispute the suggestion that he himself changed the world; Jesus, he would have said, had already done that. But what he said about Jesus, and about God, the world, and what it meant to be genuinely human, was creative and compelling—and controversial, in his own day and ever after. Nothing would ever be quite the same again.”[1] This paper will focus on the impact that the Savior’s suffering servant had in his ministry of servitude and evangelism. We will begin with his calling from the Master, then the content of his message, and finally his commitment to the Church with his missions.

AN UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER ON THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS: PAUL’S CALLING

The most significant event that transpired in his life was his encounter with the Lord (Acts 9). This was a crucial moment in his life. “The incident, narrated three times (with interesting variations) in the book of Acts, is clearly vital: from Paul’s own brief autobiographical remarks in his letters it is obvious that something fairly cataclysmic happened to him that day.”[2] Paul saw Christ in the resurrected form in which He will return in the last days and he was never the same again. He saw Him in His glory as the risen and exalted Christ and was blinded.

Paul’s interaction with the risen Christ, while it is a momentous scene, it was not the moment of his conversion. This does not diminish how special this moment was, in fact, it marks its true nature as his calling. His calling on the road of Damascus was only the beginning. As Köstenberger and O’Brien note, “Paul’s amazing missionary career began with the most decisive event in his life — his confrontation with the risen Christ on the Damascus road… From that day on, the gospel became the determinative focus on his whole life. Paul’s encounter with the risen Lord let to a paradigm shift in his thinking: he came to understand that Jesus is at the centre of God’s saving purposes, and that he is Israel’s Messiah, the Son of God and Lord of all.”[3] It is for that reason, that ever since he witnessed, was rebuked by, blinded by, and saved by the risen Lord that he would travel all the known world and proclaim His majesty.

PAUL’S CONTENT: AN OVERVIEW OF PAULINE CHRISTOLOGY

Among students of the Bible, a popular way of exegesis is to read the Scripture and discover what the text means to the individual. This also translates to the pulpit, where the preacher skims over the text and moves suddenly to our context at the expense of the Bible’s context. When I look at the Bible and I see how preachers during the first-century, especially the apostle Paul, I, personally, become very uncomfortable by this trend. I start to question; do we rush to application and neglect the gems that are found in preaching Christ’s personhood? With this in mind, as we analyze the success that the first-century Christians had in spreading the gospel to all the known world (Col. 1:23), I recognize that what they did worked. We should do what they did! But I think it is important to understand that it was not the strategies alone that made them successful. It was not the programs alone that allowed them to grow. It was not their example that made the greatest influence on their lives. It was the message. It has always been the message! It is important to remember what missions is all about. “Mission refers to God’s redemptive, historical initiative on behalf of His creation. Mission is first and foremost about God and His redemptive purposes and initiatives in the world, quite apart from any actions or tasks or strategies or initiatives the church may undertake. To put it plainly, mission is far more about God and who he is than about us and what we do.”[4] In the book of Acts, it was not the Apostles alone, the preachers alone, the Christians alone, nor Paul alone that brought the increase. It was the Holy Spirit. It continues to be the Holy Spirit.

“Magnifying God in Christ was the animating principle of Paul’s life and the foundational principle of his theology.”[5] Paul was a Christocentric orator. He was a herald of God’s Son. His greatest interest is in the Lord. As Ben Witherington III said, “the universe of Paul’s thought revolved around the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Paul’s christology illumined his thought in its entirety, sometimes shedding its light on aspects of his thought that one might have expected would have gone relatively untouched by christology.”[6] Christ was at the forefront of his thought. F.F. Bruce said that “Paul was a God-intoxicated man, and he spoke constantly about the One who was central in his thinking. Everything he dealt with the related to God.”[7] This is why the majority of his writings are an exposition of Christ’s personhood and work, His divinity and humanity, His resurrection and reign.

Paul’s Christology played a significant role in his ministry. “Paul was undoubtedly the outstanding missionary and theological thinker of earliest Christianity.”[8] His message focused upon the divinity and humanity of Christ, the incarnation. He was concerned with Christ and everything that relates to Him. His Christology was a distinctive contribution to the first-century Church that has made a difference throughout the centuries into the present era for twenty-first century Christians. His writings have been among the greatest theological treatise on Christ of all time. Of course, with a man that has been transformed by the life of Christ and has been inspired by the Holy Spirit, would be one of the most prolific writers of the subject.

“Paul’s view of Christ was so broad that he could conceive of him as being involved in God’s dealings with his people long before he was born and began his earthly ministry.”[9] Paul’s ambition as a missionary for God was to preach the gospel message that he had once heard and believed about Jesus Christ (Rom. 15:19-20), it was a message he was unashamed of (Rom. 1:16) and one that he was proud to proclaim. Paul would testify of his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus, he would preach the stories of the incarnate Son, He would speak of Christ as the risen and exalted Savior, and as the judge who will return in the last days to take His people with Him up in the clouds.

Paul would connect His Christology with Soteriology. Christ and the salvation He offers are incredibly inseparable because “Christ is absolutely central in the history of salvation, and God’s saving promises have been fulfilled in him.”[10] Paul would use the Old Testament to reveal Christ’s fulfillment of God’s promises in reference to Emmanuel (God among us) the Messiah (God’s Anointed One), Prophet (God’s superior Revealer), Priest (man’s Mediator), King (man’s sovereign Ruler), and Savior (man’s Redeemer from sin).

THE METHODS OF A MASTERFUL MISSIONARY: PAUL’S PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES

Paul was a man that was wholly committed to Christ and His Bride, the Church. He genuinely cared about the souls of each individual Christian because they were his brothers and sisters in Christ. His love is clear as you begin to read the words of his letters. He would see the best in others and would encourage them that what they were doing was known by him and their Lord. But he would also inevitably note the worst in others, yet with an affectionate heart, he would exhort them to do better and remind them of their commitment to Christ. His love for the Christ and the Church caused him walk on Roman roads and sail across the Mediterranean sea to seek and save the lost.

Before looking at Paul’s principles and practices, we want to see Paul, the person, as a missionary. C.H.H. Scobie said that “the importance of Paul for the subsequent missionary expansion of the Church can scarcely be overemphasized. By his own extraordinary missionary activity concentrated into a relatively few years and by the theology worked out in his letters Paul laid the foundations for the later expansion in both practice and theory.”[11] The impact that Paul left on this world was not due to his personality, charm, good looks, or ability. It was his Lord, message, love, and proactivity. Paul was a man that went to work in the mission field. He was commissioned to spread the gospel and he took the initiative to do just that until he could not any longer.

Eckhard J. Schnabel lists a threefold reality of missionary work: (1) Missionaries communicate the good news of Jesus as the Christ and Savior to those who have not heard. (2) Missionaries communicate newness of life which is a shift from the culture to a behavior that patterns Christ. (3) Missionaries integrate the new converts into a new community of disciples.[12] I have divided this into 5 categories: preach the gospel, preach the gospel to everyone, establish a community of disciples and teach new converts to develop discipleship, teach doctrine, and train up new missionaries.

PAUL’S PRINCIPLES OF MISSIONS

Preach the Gospel

A common practice I have seen, is that preachers may use the pulpit as a soap box as a way of shouting against the sins of the culture. This is not inherently wrong, but if that is all that is preached then it is not the “good news” of Christ, but a message of why the wickedness is bad. They may also focus the majority of their time in preaching against the lies that are spoken from false teachers. This is also not inherently wrong, however, if overemphasized, the Christians in the pulpits may know more about what the gospel is not rather than what it is. Preachers are to be heralds of the truth which should in part reveal and shed light on the falsehood of those that are absent of truth. The apostle Paul called out the darkness of his day and age and would rebuke and refute false teachings. However, he did so with an attitude of love while at the same time upholding the truth. He exhorted the brethren and spoke the good news of Christ to everyone he came into contact with.

Preach the Gospel to Everyone

Paul preached to Jews and Gentiles. He did not discriminate. He viewed everyone as creatures in need of Christ. When he saw Peter showing partiality to the Jews, he rebuked him in Galatians 2. Paul was chosen as a missionary to the Gentiles, who were people he had once viewed as unclean and unworthy, but now calls brethren due to the fellowship they have with God. “Paul makes it clear that his missionary calling to preach the gospel to Gentiles is integral to God’s redemptive plan.”[13] He knew that the gospel was meant for all and so he did not withhold the good news from individuals, but rather, he was the pioneer of his day in that he shared it to a people who had not previously been in relationship with the God of heaven, but now, through Christ, they have reconciliation with Him.

“A cursory glance at Paul’s letter quickly reveals that the apostle understood his missionary activity to Gentiles within the context of an Old Testament expectation in which the Gentile nations would on the final day partake of God’s ultimate blessings to Israel. He recognized that his mission was part of a larger whole.”[14] (Paul saw his mission within the parameters of God’s purposes as “the Divinely superintended eschatological ingathering of the nations of Old Testament expectation.”[15] The gospel message, as Paul saw it, was a mystery that has been revealed. It is salvation that is not exclusively available to a certain gender, race, religious background, or social standing. This is how a former persecutor of the Church became one of the greatest preachers of the Church.

Establish a Community of Disciples and Teach New Converts to Develop Discipleship

The goal of every missionary is not to baptize as many individuals as possible. It is to bring as many people as possible to Christ that will become followers of Christ. They will convert to Christ and commit to Him. When discipleship is the missionaries aim, then they will find more success when we pattern Paul and the first-century Church. The missionary will seek to establish a community of Christians that is able to function independently, that is, they should not be wholly dependent upon the missionary. The missionary should seek to train up leaders within the Church that they may become elders, deacons, or preachers.

Teach Doctrine

Doctrine is the core of our belief. Christians are nothing without doctrine; they have no identifying characters. Jonathan Edwards said, “He that has doctrinal knowledge and speculation only, without affection, never is engaged in the business of religion.”[16] From this, we see that doctrine is important in reference to our identities in Christ. Every Christian needs to know what they believe and why they believe it. The missionary has the responsibility to instruct every Christian with the Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

Train New Missionaries

When we look at the example of Paul, we recognize that he was a man that was not only a missionary but also a mentor. He would take Titus and Timothy under his wings and give some advice and encouragement. His example as a loving metaphorical father is one worthy of imitation. Titus and Timothy were his “sons in the faith” (1 Tim 1:2; Titus 1:4). Every missionary should seek to find young men that will be their children in the faith. They should take in interest in their lives, care for them, provide some instruction, and train them up to become effective missionaries.

Paul’s Practices

Paul’s desire in ministry was to “win as many as possible” (1 Cor. 9:19). To do this, he would have to select a particular city, region, or province. There can be a lot of speculation as to how or why he would select a certain location. However, it should be noted, that his selection was not controlled by a grand strategy, in fact, “the evidence indicates that Paul moved to geographically adjacent areas that were open for missionary work.”[17] But as a missionary to the Gentiles, he would be aware of what provinces he ought to target for his next location to preach. And so, he would move to major population where he would find a place such as a synagogue, marketplace, lecture hall, workshop, or even an individual’s home to where he could communicate in a public or private manner.

THE MAN EVERY MISSIONARY SHOULD ASPIRE TO BE

Paul is a man that every Christian hopes to partially resemble. He was the missionary of missionaries. Everyone who aspires to proclaim the gospel whether afar off or near, should look to the example of the apostle Paul. They should closely study his methods and analyze his character to see what it means to be a missionary. Let us practice his methodology and preach his Christology that we may be successful in endeavor to share the gospel to the world (Matt. 28:18-20).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bowers, W.P. Studies in Paul’s Understanding of his Mission. PhD. thesis. Cambridge, 1976.

Bruce, F.F. Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free. Grand Rapids, MI. Eerdmans, 1977.

Edwards, Jonathan. Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 1. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1998.

Köstenberger, Andreas J. and Peter T. O’Brien. Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A biblical theology of mission. New Studies in Biblical Theology. ed. D.A. Carson. Downers Grove, IL. InterVarsity Press, 2001.

Schnabel, Eckhard J. Paul the Missionary: Realities, Strategies and Methods. Downers Grove, IL. IVP Academic, 2008

Schnelle, Udo. Apostle Paul: His Life and Theology. trans. M. Eugene Boring. Grand Rapids, MI. Baker Academic, 2003.

Scobie, C.H.H. “Jesus or Paul? The Origin of the Universal Mission of the Christian Church.” From Jesus to Paul: Studies in Honour of F.W. Beare. ed. P. Richardson and J.C. Hurd. Waterloo, ON. Wilfred Laurier University Press, 1984

Schreiner, Thomas R. Paul: Apostle of God’s Glory in Christ. Downers, IL. InterVarsity Press, 2001.

Tennent, Timothy C. Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century. Invitation to Theological Studies Series. Grand Rapids, MI. Kregel Publications, 2010.

Thielman, Frank. Theology of the New Testament: A Canonical and Synthetic Approach. Grand Rapids, MI. Zondervan, 2005.

Witherington III, B. “Christology” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters. ed. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Marin, Daniel G. Reid. Downers Grove, IL. InterVarsity Press, 1993. (100-115)

Wright, N.T. Paul and the Faithfulness of God. Parts I & II. Minneapolis, MN. Fortress Press, 2013.

Wright, N.T. Paul and the Faithfulness of God. Parts III & IV. Minneapolis, MN. Fortress Press, 2013.

END NOTES

[1] Wright Paul a Biography, 1.

[2] Wright Paul a Biography, 41.

[3] Köstenberger and O’Brien, Salvation to the Ends of the Earth, 199.

[4] Tennent, Invitation to World Missions, 54-55.

[5] Schreiner, Paul: Apostle of God’s Glory in Christ, 37.

[6] Witherington, “Christology,” 103.

[7] Bruce, Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free, 25.

[8] Schnelle, Apostle Paul: His Life and Theology, 203.

[9] Witherington, “Christology,” 103.