[MarkBsnr]

If you read through his epistles, Paul first hustled himself to the 12 in order to be accepted and constantly complained that they didn’t accept him as equals to them. If Paul was so sure, why would he complain so much?

[smvoice]

The Book of Acts answers your question. Paul is saved after the stoning of Stephen. Acts, chapter 9. Israel to this point has been given 3 opportunities to accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah. His first coming, the day of Pentecost, and just before Stephen's stoning. At this point, God saves Paul (Acts, Chapter9). Paul's first return to Jerusalem after his conversions is not met with a parade of cheering fans.The Lord commanded Paul to depart from Jerusalem because his testimony to Israel would now be futile. They were not accepting Jesus Christ as Messiah, and it was apparent they were not going to.

Paul was sent forth as another apostle, to bring another message to a world of lost sinners: "the gospel of the grace of God." That is what the book of Acts is, a transition period from law to grace, from a kingdom of believers to a body of believers, and from the nation Israel to the oneness of Jews and Gentiles in one new man, the Church the Body of Christ.

The 12 disciples were still in Jerusalem, doing exactly what they were told to do by Christ, preach the kingdom gospel to Israel first and then the rest of the nations. But they weren't getting far, Israel wasn't accepting it.

You can understand the differences between the 12 and Paul if you understand that their calling and their messages were different. One was to A NATION. And one was to THE NATIONS. One concerned prophecy. And one concerned a mystery.