Beloved,
Holy Spirit tells me that I am not Paul. I am me. God the Father made me, Jesus Christ saved me from my sins, and Holy Spirit helps me live like Jesus.
Paul was a man who lived about two thousand years ago. He was created by God the Father, saved from his sins by Jesus Christ, and lived like Jesus through the Holy Spirit -- like me. We know about Paul because early church leaders took a number of his writings and put them into a book. Paul had gone to Rome because his walk took him before rulers who needed to hear about Jesus. Apparently a number of his writings ended up in Italy, which is where the Roman Catholic Church was instituted. Holy Spirit dwelt in Paul, so Paul's works were full of "spirit and truth." People apparently recognized that and found them useful, so those works survived the early persecutions.
Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon are all attributed to Paul. Colossians 4:16 implies he also wrote something to the Laodiceans, but that is apparently lost. Some think Paul may have written Hebrews, but it doesn't really fit his style, so we won't count that one. So, Paul wrote 13 of the works included in the New Testament.
Peter is credited with writing 1 Peter and 2 Peter. Somebody named James wrote James, and somebody named Jude wrote Jude. John, the "disciple that Jesus loved" wrote the Gospel of John, and he is credited with writing 1 John, 2 John, 3 John and Revelation. Somebody named Luke wrote Luke and Acts, which together were "an orderly account" written for "most excellent Theophilus," who was probably Paul's lawyer in Rome. Mark and Matthew are attributed to people with those names. So, of the 27 works included in the New Testament, 14 were not written by Paul, although two of them (Luke and Acts) were written about him, or in support of his cause.
So, associating Luke and Acts together with the 13 works written by Paul, over half (56%) of the New Testament was either written by Paul, about Paul, or in support of Paul's cause1. That's a lot of Paul.
And that's fine. Paul was an interesting guy, and he was passionate about Jesus Christ and sharing him with others. That is what all disciples of Jesus are called to do and be. Does that mean I should do everything Paul did, and try to imitate Paul in everything I do? No.
I am called to imitate Jesus, not Paul. Paul did great things because the power of the Holy Spirit worked through him, but Jesus said everyone who believes would do that. It seems the other authors and the other persons mentioned in the writings are like supporting actors and bit-players in a movie about a guy named Paul. Even the gospels sometimes seem like prequels to the action-adventure movie about Paul. That may be a bit of a stretch, but sometimes it seems that way.
The book of Acts, which is about Paul, says about 3000 souls were baptized on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:41), and every one of them had a story, but we don't have their stories in writing. Surely none of their experiences were the same as Paul's, but their lives would have been just as amazing because the Holy Spirit was involved. He is amazing.
For example, the man God used to baptize Paul, and get him started in his new life, was a guy called Ananias. He is a bit-player in the Paul movie, and his part of the script is Acts 9:10-19, ten verses in total. Ananias was a disciple and had a life, and in that script he: had a vision from the Lord, conversed with the Lord, was sent by the Lord to do something, did what the Lord told him to do, healed Paul (Saul at that point), baptized him in the Holy Spirit, baptized him in water, and served him to meet his needs. Was that the first time Ananias ever did those things? Unlikely. Was it the last? Probably not. Ananias was a disciple of Jesus, and he could have been the star of his own movie, but we have no more records about him.
We all have our own "movies" to live, and if we receive the gospel by repenting and being baptized in water and spirit, as Jesus commands us, we can experience our own "blockbuster" movie. That is why God created us, to experience Him.
I am me, and you are you. We are all called to live by the Holy Spirit, as Paul did. But we are not to be Paul.
When I was in college, an Iranian friend showed me how to handle a volleyball, and I fell in love with the game. A different friend and I started practicing volleyball during "open gym" on Saturday mornings. He always wanted to spike the ball so I had to "set" him. He wasn't very good, and neither was I. If I managed to give him an absolutely perfect "set," he was able to pound the ball to the floor and we both got a thrill. We played intramural volleyball together with some guys from the dormitory in the spring, and we had fun, but the following year we decided it was time to find some better competition.
The next year we went to play with the Volleyball Club. They knew what they were doing. It wasn't very long before they realized they had "found their new setter." Me. I had worked so hard the year before to give my friend perfect sets that I became quite good at handling the ball, and when I found some guys who could actually jump and had proper technique, they hit anything I put up there. My friend got better as we played with them, and volleyball ended up being one of my favorite things to do when I was not studying and going to class.
After I finished school and started working, I joined a local group of guys to play volleyball. We played in a league in town, but also traveled to other cities to play in tournaments. Most of the guys were bigger than me and could jump higher, and that was okay. I liked being a team player and being part of something better than I could do on my own. At times, I was content to play in the back row and sit the bench while the rest of the guys took on competition that stretched our capabilities. My best memories are the times when I was able to come into the game and play well to contribute at that level.
Later in life, while living overseas, I got to play with a traveling team in Britain, and we played in the English Volleyball League. In that situation, I got to be one of the two setters, and I got to set a young man who could "jump out of the gym." He taught me to shoot the ball to wherever he was in the middle, and he would blast it straight down. Oh, that was fun.
When I was in my forties, I got to play with a league team in a "5-1" system, which means I was the setter all the time and never came out of the game. I had dreamed of doing that, and I finally got to do it. It was fun. Then, one day I realized I was going to get hurt, and decided to "hang up my shoes." I was 49 years old, but was diving around on the floor like I was 23. It had been fun, but I had better things to do, like follow Jesus Christ.
I'm telling you this because it gives a little insight into who I am and what God made me to be, although it is much more complex than "volleyball player." How I fit into those teams, what motivated me, and the things I learned while playing that game has helped me to understand myself, and who God wants me to be. I've done other things, too. I curled, played soccer, worked as a chemical engineer, lived in the United Kingdom, helped design a world-scale chemical plant, led people in building multi-million-dollar projects and exhorted people at a large chemical manufacturing site to follow government safety regulations they were required to follow by law. As a kid, I tried to organize sand-lot or back-yard football (American) or baseball games on an almost daily basis. If I only could find one person to play catch with, that was fine, but my desire was to play with partial, or even full, teams. I was successful once or twice in doing the latter, and it gave me great satisfaction. I wasn't interested in playing for a school-sponsored team because I preferred to be with those I loved. It wasn't about me; it was about playing the game and having fun.
I have my own story, and there are new chapters every day. Holy Spirit is leading me, and I do what he wants me to do, as best as I can. I do not have to "compete for the prize" that Paul was talking about, and I do not have to "win the race." I do not need to understand all of the theological intricacies that Paul discusses in Romans, or worry about being stoned or killed for being a jerk towards nonbelievers. That was Paul's job, but it is not mine. We have turned the term "apostle" into some high and mighty title reserved for people of long ago we cannot dream of imitating, but the term actually means "worthless slave," someone who is sent out during war to carry messages because they are expendable. Paul went out and got in trouble, because that was his job. He saw great things and he was persecuted for what he did, and some people are called to do that. I am called to do different "great things" that Jesus did, and I will be persecuted for that. I will be ridiculed and persecuted for writing this blog post, if anybody even reads it, and that is okay, because that is what I am called to do.
I cannot be Paul, my wife cannot be Paul, and the young woman with Cerebral Palsy2 who lives across town cannot be Paul. But, we can all be Jesus, and that is what we are all called to do.
Oh, Jesus, help us to be what you want us to be, what the Father made us to be, and what your Holy Spirit is trying to help us to be. Let us not be distracted by what others say, or what people who lived 2000 years ago say, or what the demons say. Help us to hear only you, and do what you have called us to do.
All glory to God!!!
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UPDATE November 19, 2021...
1Of the 270 pages in the New Testament of my ESV Classic Reference Bible (© 2001, Crossway Bibles), 141 of them are in the books I classified as the "Paul" category. That is 52%, which is still over half.
2UPDATED, March 28, 2022.
UPDATE, September 4, 2022...
...although, I think the character and I have the same personality type (Scientist, INTJ).
As I said elsewhere, Star Trek is Illuminati propaganda, and the "Mr. Spock" character is probably the trademark of the franchise.
Spock is a critical thinker, and he is logical. He is so logical he is irritating. And he does not care. He is cold. He never laughs. He puts people off.
On top of that, he has pointed ears and weird eyebrows. He looks like the Devil.
Why would they create a character like that?
It suddenly hit me this morning that the "Spock" character subliminally demonizes those who are critical thinkers. People like me. Why would they want to do that?
Are critical thinkers a threat to the Illuminati agenda? Do they see through lies? Do they figure out what is really going on? Can they warn others about deceptions and dangers?
Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4 ESV)
I do not want these things to happen, but it is not my Project. If I am to lose my head for Jesus, then so be it...
And to quote Arnold Schwartzenegger's "Terminator" character, .......
UPDATE, September 8, 2022...
According to the TypeLogic website, ENTJ and INTJ personalities are "Pals," which means they, "work and play well together: minimal natural type conflict."
And that is what the Kirk and Spock characters do in the program. They are pals.
This explains why I get along well with leaders, since my personality is INTJ, like Spock's.
Interesting...
UPDATE, November 4, 2022...
The image of Spock with the "triangle hands" is from the Star Trek Episode The Way to Eden, Season 3, episode 20, 1969.
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| https://www.pinterest.com/pin/298152437833362281/ |
The IMDB website shows 33 photos for this episode, but does not include the photo of Spock returning the triangle gesture. (Note the number: 33.)
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| Click to enlarge. |
...But the guest actors all show it.
When I search for the image of Spock doing it, very few examples show up.
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| Click to enlarge. |
There seems to be a reluctance by those in control of IMDB and the Internet to provide evidence of the most recognizable character of the Star Trek franchise showing an Illuminati symbol. I wonder why that is... 🤔
By the way, the spaceship in the Star Trek series is number: "NCC-1701."
N = 14, C = 3
NCC-1701 --> 14 + 3 + 3 + 1 + 7 + 0 + 1 = 2929 --> 2 + 9 = 11
11
Yup. There's a seventeen (17) in it, too.