Paul was NOT esteemed over. His commission was different than that of the twelve. Otherwise, why not make him the 12th Apostle in Acts 1? He says the gospel preached by him was not after man, neither was it taught by a man, but was given to him by revelation of Jesus Christ. Gal. 1:11. Meaning he did NOT receive it from Peter and the 11. Why did Jesus not just send him to Jerusalem to learn what the gospel was, so he could take it to the Gentiles? Because IT WASN’T THE SAME GOSPEL. IT WAS THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD..
The Gospel of the Grace of God is the gospel of Christ Jesus, and so far, it appears that you reject Christ's gospel for Paul, except when you don't.
I appreciate your understanding of this, but I have a completely different one from you regarding this.
I do not believe that Paul was given a different gospel, I believe wholeheartedly it was the same.
The point I think as to why Paul stresses that he was not given the gospel by men is to show that Paul was given the gospel in the same way as the other Apostles and illustrates what God had often done in the OT, i.e. used the most unlikely of men as one of His greatest messengers.
Consider that Saul was a persecutor of Christians, one who was feared, who stood approvingly as Stephen was killed for the faith. Now, all of a sudden, this man who was their persecutor claimed to be a follower, in fact was preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many were suspicious of him and rightly so.
Paul has to convince them that he has had a change of heart, one that came through a revelation from Jesus. It is important that those who feared him now know that he was sent by Jesus, just as the others had been sent albeit after the resurrection and not before. Peter and the original Apostles accept Paul and accept that he has received the true gospel from Jesus and because they believed in Paul, so did the others. Paul needed their approval.
Now, I see a correlation between Judas and Paul. Judas was one of the twelve who was chosen by Jesus and walked with him and in the end betrayed Him. Even being with Jesus was not enough for Judas to trust in Him and Judas did what he did because of that lack of trust.
Saul, on the other hand is first heard of as one who is persecuting Christians, persecuting Christ as we learn from the conversion story. “Saul, why do you persecute me?” And yet Jesus uses Paul as one of His greatest evangelists.
It is a striking contrast when one thinks of it.
So, why wasn’t Paul chosen as the 12th Apostle. The Apostles filled the place of Judas before Paul’s conversion because they believed it was what they were supposed to do.
Scripture says Peter declared that Judas had to be replaced and they did so before the Holy Spirit came to them in Pentecost, in other words very soon after Christ’s ascension.
On the other hand, we know that what happened after Pentecost was Stephen’s death and Peter and John’s arrest and the community beginning to establish a way of life. All before Saul’s conversion. In other words, we aren’t sure how much time has passed, before Saul’s conversion, but it was some time after they had chosen Matthias.
So, why is this important? Because we see four theological developments in the early church. One, the beginning of Apostolic succession, and two, that Jesus has called men to serve Him and preach His gospel after His ascension. Third, the man that Jesus called had to have the approval of the leaders of the church, and four, the gospel had to be the same for unity in the church.
I maintain that Paul was not given a different gospel. He never makes this claim, only the claim that he has been commissioned to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. He is given revelations from Jesus, I do not dispute that, but the revelations he is given he brings before the leaders, namely Peter, James and John for approval, lest he be teaching wrongly. He tells us this himself, it is not speculation on my part.
In Romans, Paul says this....
16 For I am not ashamed at all of this Good News; it is God’s power saving those who believe, first the Jews, and then the Greeks. 17 This Good News shows us the saving justice of God; a justice that saves exclusively by faith, as the Scripture says: The upright one shall live by faith.
So the good news, the Gospel is first to the Jews and then the Greeks who were the Gentiles.
And in Ephesians this....
11 Remember that you were pagans even in your flesh and the Jews, who call themselves Circumcised (because of a sur gical circumcision), called you Un circumcised. 12 At that time you were with out Christ, you did not belong to the community of Israel; the covenants of God and his promises were not for you; you had no hope and were without God in this world. 13 But now, in Christ Jesus and by his blood, you who were once far off have come near.
14 For Christ is our peace, he who has made the two peoples one, 15 destroying in his own flesh the wall—the hatred—which separated us. He abolished the Law with its commands and precepts. He made peace in uniting the two peoples in him, creating out of the two one New Man. 16 He destroyed hatred and reconciled us both to God through the cross, making the two one body.
And in Galatians....
26 Now, in Christ Jesus, all of you are sons and daughters of God through faith. 27 All of you who were given to Christ through baptism, have put on Christ. 28 Here there is no longer any difference between Jew or Greek, or between slave or freed, or between man and woman: but all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And because you belong to Christ, you are of Abra ham’s race and you are to inherit God’s promise.
Paul preached the one gospel of Jesus Christ. To the Gentiles, he had to speak differently as they were not of the Judaic covenant and did not have the same knowledge and understanding of God that the Jews did. And his letters were to people who already believed, written as letters of instruction and encouragement and even admonishment.