Are the writings of the Apostle Paul inspired?
1 Corinthians 7:12
ESV - 12 To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her.
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Asked July 01 2013
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Anonymous (via GotQuestions)
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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
The bulk of conservative evangelical Christianity believes in what is called the verbal plenary inspiration of Scripture, meaning that every single word of the Bible is "breathed out" by God (2 Tim...
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Ezekiel Kimosop
Paul's writings recorded in the Bible are certainly inspired. There is no theological basis for doubting the divine inspiration on his writings in the same way that we cannot doubt the writings of Apostle Peter, John or indeed any other apostle who made a contribution to the cannon. Paul is credited with the largest number of volumes of the New Testament cannon and is the most outstanding teacher of Christian doctrine and conduct as well as apocalyptic teaching. He was also the most outstanding missionary who strattled across Europe and Asia Minor. He is the only apostle other than Apostle John who saw heaven opened and to whom some divine secrets were directly revealed (2 Cor.12:1-10) His works are so distinct and deeply scholarly because of his theological and religious training under Gamaliel (Acts 2:3) the great Jewish scholar. However, Paul's work was most significantly illuminated and inspired of the Spirit. There are no works or teachings by Paul that are known to contradict any passages of scripture and neither was there any doubt that he led a holy life until his death (2 Timothy 4:7-8) The risen Christ spoke to him directly in person giving him a much higher prominence in my view than even Peter in terms of New Testament church leadership and apostolic instruction (Acts 9:3-16). Paul was an apostle to the Gentiles and most of his letters were addressed to Gentile churches yet the biblical principles that these works contain are universal in scope. One of Paul's teachings that has generated controversy concerns the exclusion of women in church leadership. Some have considered these teachings as conveying instructions for local application and not of a universal scope while some view Paul as sexist and still others have questioned Paul's apostleship on the basis of his post ressurection calling. This group tries to use this uniqueness to argue that Paul does not satisfy the teachings of Acts 1:25-26 concerning the qualification for apostolic office. All these arguments try to ignore the fact that Christ personally raised Paul to reach Gentiles perhaps because the Jerusalem church had not overcome the racial stigma of Jewish exclusivism. Nothing exemplifies this constraint better than Peter's vision recorded in Acts 10:9-16. My view is that Paul's work is as divinely inspired as any other book in the 66 book canon of scripture. Without the inclusion of Paul's work, the New Testament would be incomplete.
Jyotish Mishra
In addition to what is stated above, Paul actually received direct revelation from Jesus Christ about the Lord's table (please see 1Corinthians11:13) as he claims. And we have reason to believe this because he was not present with THE LORD JESUS when He instituted the MEMORIAL FEAST which is otherwise known as Lord's Table. The gospel he preached was directly revealed to him (Please see Galatians1:12) by Jesus Christ. In fact, The Lord Jesus had told him about this soon after his encounter with Him on the road to Damascus (Please see Acts:5&6). Moreover, Peter mentions in 2Peter3:15 &16 that Paul's letters are scriptures. In other words Peter, to whom our Lord gave the keys of the Kingdom of heaven, attests that Paul's letters are inspired. The saints in Thssalonica accepted Paul's words as the WORD OF GOD as Paul mentions (1Thessalonians2:13) As such there is abundant evidence in the scriptures within and without Paul's writings that his letters are inspired. The greatest proof is that his writings have produced spiritual fruits in the life of believer through out all ages, including myself.
Mark Vestal
The apostle Peter confirms Paul's wisdom was divinely given to Paul. 2 Peter 3:15: "15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you." KJV
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