Did Paul Incriminate Himself?

As an introduction to our study, read John 15:12-27. These are the words of Christ talking to His disciples. Note that chapters 13-17 of John are the last chapters before the death of our Lord. Before we begin our lesson on Paul, read one other passage—John 8. This was the greatest debate ever held. It was between Jesus Christ and the Pharisees—the religionists of that day. There were ten parts to the debate: (1) Verses 13-18—In verse 13, Christ was called a liar by the Pharisees; (2) Verses 19-21—In verse 19, they said He had no Father; (3) Verses 22-24—In verse 22, they accused Him of speaking words about killing himself; (4) Verses 25-32—In verse 25, they questioned who He was; (5) Verses 33-38—In verse 33, they said they were enslaved to no one; (6) Verses 39-40—In verse 39, they claimed to be Abraham’s children; (7) Verses 41-47—In verse 41, they accused Christ of being born out of wedlock; (8) Verses 48-52—In verse 48, they accused Him of being possessed by a demon; (9) Verses 53-56—In verse 53, they disputed Christ’s relationship to Abraham and who He is; (10) Verses 57-59—In verse 57, they questioned the fact that Christ had seen Abraham. Christians are in a terrible conflict from the time they are born of God until they step out of time into eternity.

Paul was not afraid to use self-incriminating language when he said, “Wretched (Talaiporos, Greek adjective meaning wretched, miserable, or afflicted) man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” (Rom. 7:24 NASB UPDATE). This adjective is also used in the words to the Laodiceans in Revelation 3:17—“Because you say, I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing, and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked” (NASB UPDATE). Do not overlook the fact that Paul knew who had delivered him and who would continue to deliver him. Do not compare Paul with the Laodiceans. Wretched Paul had this reminder for the Corinthians: “who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us” (II Cor. 1:10 NASB UPDATE).

There is a threefold deliverance in II Corinthians 1:10. Also, in Colossians 1:13, Paul said, “For He rescued [delivered] us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (NASB UPDATE). The Greek verb used here is hruomai and means to rescue or save, to drag out of danger, or to deliver. In this verse, is the kingdom to be equated with the assembly that Jesus Christ is continuing to build? Most Biblical scholars believe that the assembly and the kingdom are one and the same. My question is, what about James 2:5? James said, “Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” (NASB UPDATE). Christians are “heirs” of the kingdom and are not in it now. You cannot refer to the church (assembly) as being God’s kingdom. Is the kingdom present or future? If it is not the church (assembly)/kingdom, in what sense have saints of all ages been transferred into the kingdom? How can we be transferred into a kingdom of which we are only heirs?

It is not unusual for Scripture, on behalf of believers, to assert ownership regarding certain spiritual blessings before they are possessed in Christian experience. Paul said to the Corinthians, “So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come, all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God” (I Cor. 3:21-23 NASB UPDATE). To the Romans, Paul said, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified” (Rom. 8:29-30 NASB UPDATE). According to these verses, ownership is legally certain, although the actual experience of possession may be future—de jure (legally, legitimately, lawfully in the eyes of the Law) before de facto (really, in reality, in actuality, in effect, as a matter of fact).

Confusion of the different aspects of Christ’s rule leads to serious consequences. (1) It makes the present age the period of the kingdom. (2) It has the assembly in her present, imperfect state “thinking” she is performing things which cannot be done until the assembly is perfected. (3) It terminates the covenanted purpose of Israel. (4) It makes the assembly (ekklesia) age the final period of historical redemption. (5) It seats mortal and sinful men on the throne with the risen and glorified Savior and Lord. (6) It confuses being ruled over now in time and ruling with Christ in the kingdom. (7) Its system of philosophy cannot distinguish between imperfection and perfection and mortality and immortality.

We must not leave our comments on “deliver” in II Corinthians 1:10 until we have looked at all three references to the different tenses of the same verb, hruomai. First, “who delivered us” is an aorist middle indicative of hruomai, meaning “rescued us from danger.” The aorist tense is a snapshot of past action.

Second, “will deliver us” is a future middle indicative of hruomai, meaning “will deliver us.” There will be a spiritual struggle in all Christians until their earthly journey has been fulfilled. Paul said to the Corinthians, “No temptation [trial] [peirasmos, process of testing or temptation] has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted [tried] beyond what you are able, but with the temptation [trial] will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it” (I Cor. 10:13 NASB UPDATE). As Job’s “hedge” was God’s protection for him (Job 1:10-12), so Christ’s “prayer” was Peter’s preservation (Luke 22:31-32); and I Corinthians 10:12-14 should be our security. Testing should drive us to consider Job’s trial. During the trial, we should be led to diagnose the purpose of the testing; and subsequent to the trial, we should be in a position to help other Christians who are being tried. Such help is almost extinct today.

The trial of Christianity is absolutely necessary. Grace always appears better in trial because trials manifest the genuineness of grace. The valor and worth of a soldier are not known in the time of peace. Trials humble us because we find out that we are not as strong and spiritual as we thought. Spiritual evils need a spiritual cure. Trials are for the purpose of discovery, not to God, but to ourselves. Temptations come from the devil. James said, “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death” (James 1:12-15 NASB UPDATE).

Third, Paul concludes his short discourse on our “deliverance” by Jesus Christ. He closed by saying, “…He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver [another future middle indicative of the verb hruomai] us, you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many” (II Cor. 1:10c, 11 NASB).

Instead of the apostle Paul incriminating himself before his enemies, he manifested his humility before God and the sheep of Christ. He said to the Corinthians, “For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (I Cor. 15:9 NASB UPDATE). No one should leave the context of Paul’s statement until it has been fully explored. The apostle could never forget the deep guilt of his former life. Therefore, he said in his first Epistle to Timothy, “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life” (I Tim. 1:15-16 NASB UPDATE).

Although there are only two references to the Greek adjective talaiporos (meaning miserable or wretched), there is a great difference between the ideal of a thing which may be perfect and its realization which may be imperfect. For example, a crime argues nothing against the excellence of the law by which it is condemned and punished. Therefore, the assembly Christ is building is not responsible for the perversion of an assembly by false teachers and assembly members, anymore than the Law is responsible for the criminals who perverted it. Apostasy causes the true character of Christ’s assembly, which He is building, to shine with greater brilliance.

Observe the difference between I John 2:19, where false believers left the true believers, and Revelation 3:14-21, where Christ had been driven out of the assembly. The assembly at the beginning excluded both those who were doctrinally and morally corrupt. However, Laodicea had apostatized; and her apostate condition had caused the Lord Jesus to withdraw His sensible presence from the Laodicean assembly, although His essential presence (omnipresence) is everywhere. The lampstand had been removed. To the Ephesian church (assembly), Christ said, “Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you, and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent” (Rev. 2:5 NASB UPDATE). The Bible teaches separation by covenant (John 17:6), by calling (I Pet. 2:9), and by dedication (Rom. 12:1-21).

It has been said that such language as Romans 7 could never be spoken by anyone but an inspired writer. The apostle Paul was the writer. Contrast Paul’s statements: “For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death” (Rom. 7:5 NASB UPDATE); “I was once alive apart from the Law…” (Rom. 7:9a NASB UPDATE); and “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh…” (Rom. 8:5a NASB UPDATE). Observe the change of the tense between 7:5, 9a (imperfect), and 14-25 (present). The person in 7:14-25 is no longer unregenerate as in 7:5 and 9a, but is the struggling believer in the last part of Romans 7.