Answer: Even though Paul wrote all those letters, he never exalted or testified about the Lord Jesus. Even when he mentioned the Lord Jesus, he was only using Jesus Christ’s name to testify about himself. For example, in his letters, he often said, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.” What Paul meant was he was serving as the Lord Jesus’ apostle by God’s will, not by the Lord Jesus’ will. Did God up in heaven call him? No!
The Lord Jesus called him. The Lord Jesus did not call him in the identity of God; He called Paul in the identity of Christ. However, Paul said, “by the will of God.” He didn’t acknowledge that the Lord Jesus Christ and God were one and the same. In Paul’s letters, he always separated God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. He thought that God was God and Christ was Christ, that God is above Christ, and only the heavenly Father is the highest. We can see that Paul believed in the God of heaven, not Christ incarnate. Because Paul didn’t know the Lord Jesus, he never exalted the Lord Jesus Christ as God. He never exalted Jesus Christ’s words or testified to the fact that His words were the words of God, nor did he make people magnify the Lord Jesus. Therefore, did Paul really believe in Christ? Was he following Christ and bearing witness to Him? No! The true nature of what Paul did is very serious! According to the words of the apostle, John, “Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist …” (1Jn 4:2–3). This passage tells us that all that fail to acknowledge God’s incarnation are antichrists. Considering the fact that Paul only believed in the God of heaven and therefore did not really believe in Christ, as far as Jesus Christ’s work is concerned, Paul was a non-believer! Paul flew the “an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God” flag, and exalted and established himself in all that he did. He always wanted equal standing with the Lord Jesus Christ. This fully shows that Paul was too ambitious. He did not revere or obey the Lord Jesus in the slightest. His true nature, the nature of hatred of the truth and resistance to God, never changed. This is even more proof of how Paul never really repented.
Paul did work and spread the gospel for many years, but he never preached or bore witness to Jesus Christ’s words. We also never saw Paul talk about the truths expressed by the Lord Jesus, despite the many churches he traveled to. We really doubt how many of the Lord Jesus’ words were in Paul’s heart. Therefore, we are sure that Paul did not pursue the truth because he did not focus on experiencing the Lord Jesus Christ’s words, nor did he practice the Lord Jesus’ words. Instead, he spread the gospel based on his gifts, human efforts, human knowledge and human ability. How was he someone that pursued the truth? No wonder he never truly knew, loved or obeyed the Lord Jesus. Even after working for many years, his old nature never changed. Instead, he became more and more arrogant and mercenary. He established himself through labor to make others follow and adore him. Then he tried to use that as capital for making a deal with God. It is just as Paul himself once said, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: From now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness” (2Ti 4:7–8). This sentence clearly explains Paul’s motive for his many years of work: rewards and the crown. From the beginning to the end, Paul never pursued the truth; he never sought to change his disposition. His objectives and satanic nature never changed at all. The path he traveled was that of the Pharisees. All these prove that he never truly repented. The Lord Jesus called Paul to give him a chance to repent and to use him to spread the gospel. The fact that the Lord Jesus was able to conquer Paul, someone with a demonic nature, proves that He is almighty and shows us that He can get anyone to serve His work.
from the movie script of Stinging Memories
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