Cheryl

Hi Don,

” The lot was an accepted way to make decisions and besides being random it might mean they voted.”

While the “lot” was an accepted way to make decisions in the OT, it is not shown to be an accepted way for decision making in the NT. It is only shown one time and in the disputed area of Matthias as an apostle. The other thing you have not dealt with is that the apostles were the ones who picked the candidates. It wasn’t until they had the candidates that they prayed and asked God which choice he wanted. The problem with that is that if neither one of these choices was God’s choice (i.e. if Paul was the choice and neither one of the other men) then they were forcing the lot to be God’s decision. If you notice the decisions made by “lot” in the OT were not the same as the decision over the twelfth apostle. For example in each case all were brought forward and the lot “chose” the one that was to be picked. In the apostles case, not all were brought forward so the “lot” was skewed. It would have been similar to bringing only a couple of the tribes up front and casting the lot over them while ignoring all of the other tribes. If all are available for the choice, then the “lot” is skewed. When all are there, then the “lot” is in the hands of the Lord. Do you see the difference?

As far as Paul claiming the same thing as the eleven, consider this:

Acts 1:22 “beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us–one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.

Acts 4:33 And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.

Acts 2:43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.

Acts 5:12 At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people…

Acts 19:11 God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,
Acts 19:12 so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out.

John 15:26 When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,
John 15:27 and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

Acts 10:39 We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross.
Acts 10:40 God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible,
Acts 10:41 not to all people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.
Acts 10:42 And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.

Acts 5:29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
Acts 5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross.
Acts 5:31 He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Acts 5:32 And we are witnesses of these things….

Paul writes:

1 Cor. 4:9 For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.

2 Cor. 12:11 I have become foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually I should have been commended by you, for in no respect was I inferior to the most eminent apostles, even though I am a nobody.
2 Cor. 12:12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.

Romans 15:18 For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me…
Romans 15:19 in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

1 Cor. 9:1 Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?

In 1 Cor. 9:1 Paul equates his seeing the risen Christ with his apostleship which is a direct connection to the requirement of being a witness to the resurrection of Jesus.

1 Cor. 15:8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
1 Cor. 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
1 Cor. 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Paul compares himself to the other apostles who have seen Jesus and he says that he is what he is (an apostle) by the grace of God. That grace of God caused him to work even harder than all of the others.

Again the requirement of seeing the risen Christ was the requirement for being a true apostle of Jesus Christ. Paul considers himself the least of this group who are to testify of the resurrection.

1 Cor. 15:15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up – if in fact the dead do not rise.

Here Paul includes himself in those who are are to testify of the resurrection of Christ.

Paul claims to have authority from Christ:

2 Cor. 13:10 For this reason I am writing these things while absent, so that when present I need not use severity, in accordance with the authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not tearing down.

Gal. 1:1 Paul, an apostle not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead

Gal. 1:11 But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man,
Gal 1:12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:1 Paul a servant of Jesus Christ called to be an apostle, separate to the gospel of God
Romans 1:4 and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead,
Romans 1:5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship….

Paul received his call by Jesus Christ himself to be an apostle of the resurrection.

So the questions that you need to answer is:

1. Why does Paul appeal to the fact that he saw the resurrected Christ as necessary for him being an apostle?

2. Why does Paul appeal to the fact that he had the necessary “signs and wonders” of a true apostle?

If Paul was an ordinary apostle who was like those who went out and started churches, then why did he need to appeal to the signs of a true apostle? None of the other secondary apostles ever appealed to these signs nor did they ever claim that they were witnesses to the resurrected Jesus. These are questions that must be answered.