In part one of “The Apostle Paul: A Unique Gift from God,” we highlighted Paul’s exemplary service to Christ noting five of his distinctive commitments in ministry. Here we look at five more traits, (six through ten), that set Paul apart as a servant for Christ beginning with the sixth point:

Balancing Grace and Discipline

Sixth, Paul balanced grace with discipline. He knew the two always go together. Discipline without grace is punitive authoritarianism and loveless tyranny; grace with no discipline is antinomian. Paul begins all thirteen of his epistles with the words, “grace and peace to you” as he writes to fellow believers, whether individuals or entire congregations. He even began with this positive greeting when he was writing to rebuke people for their sin, such as the Corinthian and the Galatian Christians (cf. Gal 3:1). The Corinthian church was tolerating gross immorality, divisive behavior, drunkenness during corporate worship, lawsuits against each other, and more. And yet pastor Paul tempers his letter of rebuke by first greeting them with the grace that is in Christ, and only later specifically rebukes them for their sins. Their main problem was that they were “arrogant” (1 Cor 4:6, 18; 8:1). Out of love, Paul rebukes their arrogance. He consistently spoke the truth in love, even when the truth hurt. He was simply following Jesus’ model who, when confronting believers, spoke grace first, then rebuke. This is how Jesus addressed the seven churches of Asia Minor: grace, then correction in truth (Rev 2-3).

A Gifted Teacher (Sometimes Hard to Understand)

Seventh, Paul was unique as a preacher, teacher, and apostle in that he was at times hard to understand. Some of the truths he presented in his epistles were difficult to comprehend. Peter stated this plainly:

And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures (2 Pet 3:15-16).

Peter, a lead apostle, admits that some of Paul’s epistles were challenging. A key reason Paul was difficult to understand is because much of his doctrine was new information. The gospel was not new, but much information relayed to Paul about the new age of the Church, updated details about the Incarnation, eschatology, and the new program that would incorporate the Gentiles was undisclosed in the Old Testament and revealed for the first time to Paul. There was much that the glorified Christ revealed to Paul that He did not reveal to the twelve while He was on earth.

Entrusted with the Mysteries of the Church

Eighth, Paul was entrusted with the “mysteries” of the church. In Paul’s epistles, a “mystery” is a new truth revealed to an apostle by God that was hidden in the Old Testament. Mysteries were a mode of progressive revelation, divine truths advancing and augmenting the collective body of doctrine previously revealed to the saints. Jesus revealed some mysteries about the kingdom in Matthew 13 and John spoke of mysteries in Revelation related to the end times. But it was left to Paul to unveil divine several mysteries about the Church program (Eph 3:1-5); information not revealed to prophets of the past or even to the twelve apostles. This new information at times confused Peter, and that is why he said Paul could be “hard to understand.” Paul introduced several new mysteries, all related in some manner to the Church. For example, Paul was the only one who spoke of the Church as “the Body of Christ,” a mystery revealed to Him by Christ.

Grounding Imperatives in Glorious Indicatives

Ninth, Paul’s writing is distinctive as he begins with indicatives and then moves on to imperatives. This is the pattern in the majority of his thirteen epistles. In grammar, an indicative is a “mood” expressing an assertion or statement of reality as opposed to a wish or something potential. In contrast to an indicative statement, an imperative was a command. A verb in the indicative mood simply states the way things are. The implication of Paul’s pattern of stating first a truth about the Christian life in the indicative and then followed by the imperative is that God commands us to do things only after He has empowered us to obey. We can’t obey in a vacuum or in our own strength through sheer will power. Ephesians is the classic epistle modeling Paul’s indicative-imperative pattern. The first half of the epistle is strung together with dozens of indicative verbs, reminding Christians what Christ has already done on their behalf. The last half of the epistle is replete with imperative verbs, commanding Christians to live in light of the truths they possess because of Christ’s work on the cross. God expects us to do only what He has enabled, equipped and empowered us to do in light of the person and work of Christ.

For example, in chapters 1-4 of Ephesians Paul reminds believers (through indicative statements)  what Christ has already done for them through His death and resurrection and the indwelling Holy Spirit. Only after they understand their legal position in Christ and the accompanying divine resources He provides to all believers as a result of salvation does Paul call them to live distinctly as God’s holy people. God expects, and requires, Christians to obey because they can. Christ has made it possible.

The Hardest Worker Among the Apostles

Tenth, Paul was unique among Christian servants in that he worked the hardest. Yes, I said that right. That can be a surprising statement. But Paul said as much when comparing himself with the twelve apostles and other early church leaders. He stated plainly, “I worked harder than any of them” (1 Cor 15: 10). Paul was not being arrogant when he said this, for just prior to this statement he said he “was the least of the apostles” and not even worthy to be an apostle. That he worked the hardest was really God’s assessment of Paul. He makes it clear that his unique calling would be possible only by God’s divine grace. Paul’s comparison to the other apostles was not a qualitative assertion, but more of a quantitative one: the nature of his practical ministry would require more fortitude and stamina than the apostles of Jerusalem needed. Paul was commissioned to take the gospel to the Gentiles who were dispersed abroad (Gal 2:7). Peter was the apostle to the Jews, localized in Israel. Paul would travel thousands of miles, non-stop, for years, moving from town to town, region to region, country to country, by foot and boat, over land and sea. The twelve apostles would remain mostly around Jerusalem. Paul had a cosmopolitan ministry (2 Cor 10:14); Peter a parochial one. Paul details the unique ardor that typified his ministry of “suffering” most specifically in Second Corinthians. See especially 1:8-11; 7:5; 11:21-33. Paul’s intense twenty-year-plus ministry is one of the greatest examples of what it means to toil for the Lord with blood, sweat, and tears at the highest level, all with a humble, contented, godly attitude (1 Cor 10:31).

The book of James reminds Christians that “every gift is from above,” from the God of Heaven (James 1:17). Ephesians 4 reminds believers that godly leaders are gifts from God to His people (4:11-12). As such, the Apostle Paul was one of the greatest treasures God ever gave to sinful humanity. Those of us who are non-Jewish Christians can thank God for sending Paul to get the gospel out to the Gentiles all over the world. Because of his unique ministry, God has reserved a special heavenly reward for Paul’s faithfulness while he labored for Christ on earth (2 Timothy 4:8). And even that reward will point not so much to Paul’s efforts, but rather to God’s grace enabling grace (1 Cor 15:10).