If you have your Bibles please turn with me to 1 Timothy 1. We’ll be looking at verses 12-16 together.
Jacob Koshy grew up in Singapore with one driving ambition: to be a success in life, to gain all the money and possessions he could.
That led him into the world of drugs and gambling, and eventually he became the lord of an international smuggling network. In 1980, he was arrested and placed in a government drug rehabilitation prison in Singapore. He was frustrated beyond endurance. All his goals, purposes, dreams, and ambitions were locked up with him in a tiny cell, and his heart was full of a cold emptiness.
He was a smoker, and cigarettes weren’t allowed in the center. So he smuggled in tobacco and rolled it in the pages of a Gideon Bible.
One day he fell asleep while smoking. He awoke to find that the cigarette had burned out, and all that remained was a scrap of charred paper.
He unrolled it and read what was written: “Saul, Saul, Why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”
Jacob asked for another Bible and read the entire story of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. He suddenly realized that if God could save someone like Saul, God could save him too. There in his cell he knelt and prayed, and trusted Christ as his personal Savior.
And He asked Christ to change him. After which, he began crying and couldn’t stop. They were tears of a wasted life he said. He started sharing his story with the other prisoners, and some of them accepted Christ as well.
As soon as he was released from prison he became involved in a Bible church. He met a Christian woman, married, and is now a preacher and a missionary in the Far East where he shares the gospel and tells people far and wide, “Who would have believed that I could find the truth by smoking the Word of God?”
Stories of the power of the grace of God to save and transform a life are fascinating to all of us. And we see it in the life of Paul.
He is the pattern for salvation today under the dispensation of grace. Like Paul, any person who is saved their sins and hell today is saved by grace through faith in Christ alone, all because of the longsuffering, mercy, and love of God.
We are living in the dispensation of grace. The dispensation of grace began with grace and it ends with grace. It began with an appearance of Christ and ends with one.
It began with the salvation of the Apostle Paul, the chief of sinners, on the Damascus Road with God showing grace to the one leading the charge in man’s rebellion against Jesus Christ.
And the dispensation of grace will end with the coming and appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ in the air, who in His grace, is coming for His Church, to deliver us by His grace from the wrath to come in the horrific 7 year Tribulation period.
And it is at that time that the age of grace will end for the world. But until then the Church finds its direct instruction for how to live today in the dispensation of grace from the Apostle of grace, the Apostle Paul.
1 Timothy 1:12-16 says, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
“Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
“Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting.”
In the Word of God the conversion of Saul of Tarsus is given a very prominent place. Paul’s conversion is spoken of more and explained in more detail than any other conversion in the entire Word of God.
The better part of 3 chapters in Acts are devoted to it, in Acts 9,22,26. And so conscious was Paul himself of the importance of it in connection with God’s dealings with men in this dispensation, that he refers to it throughout his epistles, such as here in 1 Timothy 1, and in Galatians 1, I Cor. 15, and Phil. 3.
God is trying to get our attention with this and to show that this event was of paramount importance, because Paul’s conversion marked a change in God’s plans, as He set aside Israel for a time and brought in the dispensation of Grace.
Paul’s conversion marked the beginning of the unfolding of the revelation of the mystery, which was “kept secret since the world began” as Rom. 16:25 says.
To Paul God revealed a change in His dealings with man, as He saved Paul by His grace, and then revealed to him the dispensation of grace.
And Paul’s conversion gives testimony to the riches of God’s grace, and the power of the cross, and the power of Christ to save, all things revealed in Paul’s gospel.
Paul never sugarcoated his past. He painted the canvas of his life realistically and truthfully for all to ponder. The story is told of a politician who, after receiving the proofs of a portrait, was angry with the photographer. He stormed back to the photographer and angrily told him: “This picture does not do me justice!” The photographer replied, “Sir, with a face like yours, you don’t need justice, you need mercy!” Paul knew that with a life like his he needed God’s mercy!
Paul had been “a blasphemer, a persecutor and injurious.” He himself had blasphemed and vehemently denied the name of Christ, denying who He was, rejecting His resurrection, and he tortured and compelled others to blaspheme the name of Christ.
He’d been a brutal persecutor, dragging people from their homes, arresting people for their faith in Christ, having them imprisoned, tried, then voted for their death.
He was the ring-leader of the persecution of the kingdom church from the death of Stephen. In Acts 7, He held the coats of his countrymen so they could throw the rocks as hard as they could as the stoned Stephen, a man full of the Holy Spirit, and killed him.
Acts 9:21 speaks of how Paul “destroyed them which called on [Christ’s] name in Jerusalem.”
Paul then says that his statement in verse 15 is a “faithful saying,” or that it is a trustworthy statement, one that can be wholly relied upon as absolute truth.
It is a statement of such significance it is worthy to be repeated over and over again, and it is as “faithful” today as it was in Paul’s day and as “worthy of all acceptation,” today as then, and should repeatedly called to the attention of people.
The statement is: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and Paul was the great demonstration of this fact, for he, the “chief” of sinners, the one leading the world in rebellion against Christ, had been saved from his sins by the grace of God.
Christ had showed all longsuffering to him as a pattern of the longsuffering and grace He has been showing ever since to sinners who trust Christ for salvation from their sins.
Paul’s salvation was an exhibition, a demonstration of the “exceeding abundant” grace of God. And Paul’s conversion was a “pattern” to them which hereafter in this dispensation of grace should believe on [Christ] “to life everlasting.”
In using the word “pattern” Paul isn’t referring, to the circumstances surrounding his conversion in being saved on the Damascus Road. We did not see a light, fall to the ground, and hear Christ speak to us from heaven when we were saved.
But we do each follow the pattern of the conversion itself, that we too are saved by God’s “exceeding abundant” grace, and by the “love which is in Christ Jesus,” that it was by His “mercy,” and demonstrated Christ’s “longsuffering.”
And so our salvation and everyone who is saved in this dispensation of grace follows the pattern of Paul’s and demonstrates the same, that though none of us deserve it, yet when we trust Christ alone, out of Christ’s exceeding abundant grace, because of Christ’s faithfulness and love, out of His mercy and longsuffering He saves us completely.
Paul’s conversion proves that this is indeed “a faithful [trustworthy] saying,” and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ saves sinners, because the chief of sinners was saved & is now in heaven with Christ. And his salvation shows that no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace, anyone can be saved, Christ saves anyone who believes in Him.
Romans 11:13 says this, “For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office.”
Paul was gloriously saved by the grace of God as a pattern for all who are saved in this dispensation. His salvation marked the beginning of the dispensation of grace, and he became the first member of the Church, the Body of Christ. At his conversion, he was then called as an apostle by Christ Himself, for a specific purpose.
Paul says in Ephesians 3:2,3: “If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: how that by revelation [Christ] made known unto me the mystery.”
Paul was called as an apostle that Christ might reveal “the dispensation of grace” to him, that Paul might be given the instructions and rule of life for this dispensation. And he was called for the purpose of being “the apostle of the Gentiles.”
You see this throughout Paul’s letters. In I Timothy 2:7, he says “I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle…a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.”
II Timothy 1:11 says, “I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.”
Romans 15:15,16, Paul says, “I have written…because of the grace that is given to me of God, that I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles.”
Paul was specially chosen by God for the specific purpose that he might be the Apostle to the Gentiles, to the nations, and to reveal the dispensation of grace to him.
So when Paul is writing or teaching in God’s Word, he’s instructing, not Israel under the law, but instead the Gentiles, the nations, under grace. And that’s us!
We are not under the law, and we are not Israel. We are Gentiles, and we are under grace, and as believers, we are the Body of Christ today. No one but Paul ever mentions the Body of Christ. It’s found nowhere outside of Paul’s writings.
Paul is the Apostle of the Gentiles with the teachings of grace for the Church, the Body of Christ. This being so, Paul is our apostle. His writings are for us today.
And if we desire to walk well-pleasing to the Lord in the dispensation of grace, we must follow the instructions of Christ found in Paul’s epistles. Paul’s letters are Christ’s manual of grace for the Church today to follow.
Paul’s epistles are God’s Word from the resurrected, exalted Christ revealed to Paul about this dispensation of grace, and they are our authority to live by for today.
And to submit to the authority of Christ over our life for today, is to submit to the instructions of Christ as revealed through Paul’s letters, in Romans thru Philemon.
We have been accused of making way too much of the Apostle Paul. “Paul, Paul, Paul, all you talk about is Paul.” When we refer to Paul, we do not do so in worship or reverence.
We are simply recognizing his God-given place as the Apostle of the Gentiles, as our apostle.
Who we worship, exalt, & lift up is the Lord Jesus Christ. But by teaching and preaching the Word in light of Paul’s writings for the Church today, we are exalting Christ, according to what Christ is doing today under grace, as the Head of the Body of Christ.
And we are magnifying what God says is to be magnified today. By divine inspiration in Romans 11:13, Paul magnifies, not himself, but his office.
Today God has magnified Paul’s office. And like Pastor C. R. Stam has said that “we should not be guilty of minimizing of what God has magnified.”
The Holy Spirit magnifies Paul’s office and emphasizes Paul’s apostleship to us Gentiles under grace, and therefore we should and it is right to magnify and emphasize it too.
But instead so many today want to magnify the apostleship of the Twelve. Their apostleship was magnified and authoritative at one time, over those saved under and living under the earthly kingdom program and hope for Israel. But Israel fell and has been temporarily set aside today.
And God raised up Paul and has magnified His apostleship today, which is distinct and separate from the Twelve, and is to be authoritative over us today, the Church the Body of Christ, living under the present dispensation of Grace.
British Railways was looking for a way to test locomotive windshields when they heard about an unusual test cannon at British Airways.
Airways used the cannon to fire birds at great force into the windshields of passenger jets to insure designs and materials were up to par. They gladly let the railway borrow it.
Just before the test run, British Railways sent someone out to buy a dead chicken for ammunition. The cannon was then loaded, aimed, and fired at the windshield.
The bird smashed through the windshield, broke the engineer’s chair, and made a large dent in the rear wall. Railways was furious. They called Airways demanding an explanation. Airways checked it out.
“No problem,” they reported. “Next time you buy a chicken, just make sure it isn’t frozen.”
Just like this was a pretty serious mistake, it’s a mistake to lump Paul in with the 12 and say they all taught the same thing and all were all under the same program.
We find numerous comparisons and contrasts between the ministries of the Twelve and Paul which highlight the uniqueness of Paul’s apostleship to us today, and demonstrate and show a difference between Paul and the Twelve.
The following is a list of contrasts:
The Apostle Paul was chosen to be an apostle by Christ from heaven (Acts 26:16). This is in accordance with the heavenly ministry of Christ taking place today.
In comparison, we find that the Twelve apostles were chosen by Christ from earth. This was in accordance with His earthly ministry taking place then (Luke 6:12,13).
Paul preached the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24). The Twelve preached the gospel of the kingdom and that the kingdom was at hand (Matt. 10:1-8).
The gospel proclaimed by Paul offers a heavenly hope and citizenship (Col. 1:5). The gospel proclaimed by the Twelve offered an earthly hope (Acts 1:6).
Paul spoke about Christ’s return to catch away the Body of Christ to heaven (Col. 3:4). The Twelve spoke about Christ’s return to the earth to establish His kingdom where Christ would reign as King (Acts 2:30).
The number “one” is stamped throughout and consistently associated with the Mystery program. Ephesians 4:4-6 says that there is one Body, one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.
Today under Grace, there is one Apostle to the Church, and the one Apostle, Paul, represents the one Body of Christ, which is made up of enemies reconciled to God through the Cross, saved by grace alone. And Paul is a perfect example and illustration of this.
In the kingdom on earth, the twelve apostles would “sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matt. 19:28).
The 12 apostles represented the nation Israel. And the number 12 is stamped throughout Israel’s prophetic program. From the 12 sons of Jacob came the 12 tribes of Israel. The Promised Land was divided into 12 portions.
The New Jerusalem would have 12 gates with 12 angels at those gates and 12 foundations with the names of the 12 apostles inscribed on them (Rev. 21:12-14).
The message of Paul was based on the grace of God and was a mystery, “kept secret since the world began” (Rom. 16:25). The message of the Twelve was based on Israel’s covenants and was revealed by the prophets “since the world began” (Acts 3:21).
The message of Paul was “salvation by grace through faith” alone in Christ. The message of the Twelve is “salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22), and salvation through repentance, believing Jesus was the Messiah, and being water baptized.
Paul says we are “not under the law, but under grace” (Rom. 6:14). The Twelve ministered under the law and kept the law (Matt. 23:2,3; Acts 10:14).
Paul had authority within and gave instruction to the Church, the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22,23). The Twelve had authority within and gave instruction to Israel and the Kingdom Church (Matt. 16:15-19; 18:18; Gal. 2:1,2; Acts 1:13-2:47; 15:4).
Galatians 1:1 says this, “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead;).”
We see here that Paul’s apostleship was “not of men, neither by man.” In other words, Paul’s apostleship did not originate with men. He was not appointed an apostle by any human instrumentality.
In other words, the Twelve, or any other group or church, did not assemble themselves together to elect Paul to his office as an apostle. And the phrase, “neither by man” most likely refers to Peter and that Peter also did not appoint him an apostle.
So Paul firmly sets forth the truth that he was not appointed an apostle by Peter, by the Twelve, by a church, or any other group, not by any man or men.
Instead Paul was appointed an apostle directly “by Jesus Christ.” Paul was called to be an apostle by the resurrected, glorified Lord who appeared to him personally from heaven to call him to be an apostle. No one else could make this claim!
The reason the Lord didn’t allow men to appoint him to his office as an apostle was because He had something new to reveal to Paul, and his apostleship was not according to and based on Israel’s program like the 12, but according to the revelation of the mystery, which was something God had kept secret and not revealed until Paul.
There are some who teach that Paul was supposed to be the twelfth apostle and that Peter was out of the will of God in appointing Matthias after Judas’ betrayal and death. Or some say Paul was simply the thirteenth apostle of the kingdom.
Both of these are wrong. In accordance with the qualifications for being a kingdom apostle, Paul could not have possibly been the twelfth apostle or the thirteenth.
The qualifications when Matthias was appointed were that it had to be someone who’d been with Christ and the 12 during the entire course of Christ’s earthly ministry.
Acts 1:21,22 says, “Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that He was taken up from us.”
The time frame is given as “Beginning from [Christ’s] baptism of John” to Christ’s ascension, “unto that same day that He was taken up from us” (1:22).
To be a qualified candidate then, that person had to be a personal witness and one who could speak from their own experience of the ministry, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. And Paul did not qualify to be an apostle under these terms.
First, he could not be considered because he was not even saved at the time of the Lord’s earthly ministry or even at the time the 12th apostle was chosen to replace Judas.
Second, even if they would have waited for Paul, he would not have been eligible at any time, because he was not with Christ during His earthly ministry.
Paul didn’t qualify to be a kingdom apostle and he was never meant to be one, because the Lord chose him for a special purpose and ministry, to be the one apostle for this dispensation of grace, the Apostle of the Gentiles, the apostle of grace.
For our lives to be transformed by grace, we need to follow and grow in the grace instruction given to Paul, and allow Christ, by His Word, to change our hearts and lives.