“For this I was appointed a herald, an apostle (I am telling the truth; I am not lying), and a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”
Paul ends this section on prayer by saying, “For this I was appointed…” He lists three things. He writes that he was appointed a herald, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. We will address each of these titles in today’s post.
Paul starts by saying he was appointed a herald. He uses the same word in his second letter to Timothy. “For this gospel I was appointed a herald, apostle, and teacher…” (2 Timothy 1:11). That is the only other time that this word is found in the New Testament. But it can be found several times in the Old Testament. My favorite is this verse. “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the herald, who proclaims peace, who brings news of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” (Isaiah 52:7). I wonder if this is what Paul had in mind when he chose this word? According to John Berry, in the Faithlife Study Bible, “The Greek word used here keryx, refers to a person with authority to preach the gospel message.”
Next Paul writes that he was appointed an apostle. He writes, “I am telling the truth; I am not lying.” He started his letter with, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope…” (1:1). Just as a refresher of Paul’s conversion, this is what the Lord said to Ananias about him after his conversion. “But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name” (Acts 9:15-16).
Paul was God’s chosen instrument. But there were many who opposed him, including the false teachers he warned Timothy about at the beginning of this letter. I am sure that Paul was confident of his calling as an apostle, but he had many occasions where he was challenged in his authority. He wrote in several other letters that he was not lying. Andreas J. Köstenberger writes in 1-2 Timothy and Titus, “The phrase ‘I am telling you the truth, I am not lying’ (…virtually identical to Paul’s solemn affirmation in Rom 9:1…cf. 2 Cor 11:31; Gal 1:20) add further solemnity to Paul’s summary of his own calling.”
The last thing that Paul writes is that he is “…a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.” David Guzik writes, “Paul began his ministry with an equal emphasis to both Jew and Gentile (Acts 13), but because of continued rejection by Jews, Paul began to emphasize his ministry to the Gentiles.” We can see that transition in his letters. His letter to the church at Rome was written first, and he wrote this. “Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Insofar as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if I might somehow make my own people jealous and save some of them” (Romans 11:13-14). His letter to the church at Ephesus was written several years later. This is what he writes. “I was made a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of his power. This grace was given to me—the least of all the saints—to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable riches of Christ, and to shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things” (Ephesians 3:7-9). Timothy is now serving this church in Ephesus and Paul is writing to give instructions on how the church should conduct itself.
Lastly, I want to address what Paul taught. He wrote that he was appointed a herald, and apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. This is to counter what the false teachers were teaching from the first chapter. Remember, these false teachers paid attention to myths, endless genealogies, empty speculations, and fruitless discussions. They also insisted on the law without knowing what it was. Paul, on the other hand, writes that he was entrusted with the gospel. The gospel means good news. The good news is that Jesus paid the price for our sins. Paul lays out the gospel in the book of Romans. We are all sinners. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;” (3:23) Sin separates us from a holy God and ultimately leads to death. “For the wages of sin is death…) But the second part of this verse states, “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (6:23). This is the gospel message that Paul preached to the Gentiles. “But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (5:8). Paul also writes this in Romans. “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (10:9). And “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (10:13).
This gospel message that Paul was a herald of is still good news today! If you have never admitted that you are a sinner in need of a Savior, and have never accepted Jesus as your Savior, today is the day. As I am writing this, it is Holy Week. Resurrection Sunday is coming and there is no better time to make the most important decision that you will ever make!
Grace be with you!
Abundant Joy 