A heavily modified version of an old post on Hebrews 5:11. It's hard for you to learn.

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. (Hebrews 5:11, NIV)

With an opening like this, many could perceive this as an insult. The writer of Hebrews may well have meant it to be just that, a shot at this particular group of Hebrew converts that made up a portion of the early church.

“We have much to say about this,”
"What is the “this” the author is speaking of?" Obviously, by starting here, we have lost critical components of the conversation and therefore have missed the context. We find the context by returning briefly to Hebrews 5:1-10. Chapter five of Hebrews opens by speaking of Jesus as the better high priest, ordained by God. Because he achieved all this as a man, He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.

“but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.”
I, for the longest time, thought of myself as a slow learner. It turns out that I am more of a visual learner, for once I get the imagery in my head, that scriptural scene usually stays with me forever. So, when it comes to my experiences in comprehending the Bible, the understanding has come through repetition and a great deal of writing. The writing has been my opportunity to ask God my questions, no matter how awkward or embarrassing, and put forth my heartfelt challenges. (A comparison for this would be a friend of mine who feels he is comfortable enough to say, God, lied about some situation! It might be how he feels at the time, as he searches for more appropriate words to express himself; but the reality is, God cannot lie, and my friend needs to grasp that concept.)

In our journey through Hebrews, we come to recognize that the entire book is in part a discourse proclaiming the superiority of Christ and why.

The cross plays a dominant role in this affirmation and here is why:

• "His reverent submission." (Hebrews 5:7)

Jesus voluntarily became a man; set aside His glory and position with the Father; submitted to death not only in his body but in his spirit; and, he did all this as a man.

• “ yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8)

There is more to this than what the eye can see. It will require you to think it through.

J. Vernon McGee said this in his commentary on chapter 5 of Hebrews,
“What is obedience? A crowd of people asked Jesus, "… What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?" (Joh_6:28). Jesus replied, "… This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent" (Joh_6:29). Do you want to obey God? Then trust Christ. That is what He is saying.”
Maybe we should be paying attention to words like Dr. McGee's. Since so few of us trust Christ, try to imagine having to trust the Father God with your life – Jesus did.

Dr. McGee goes on to say, that in all honesty, there is something here he did not understand; “Why did the Son of God need to learn obedience by suffering? And why did He need to be made perfect when He already was perfect?” Dr. McGee proposes perhaps the best answer one can give - “Now I am well acquainted with the explanation that men gave, but none of them satisfy me. I just recognize that it is a great mystery.” 
For myself, I have learned to relax in the knowledge that He loves me, just as He loves you, and that Jesus was willing to go through horrible punishment for us.

• "and once made perfect." (Hebrews 5:9)

The NIV translates the verse right before this as, “Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered.” That obedience is one of the things that made Him perfect.

A couple of things jump out at me when I read that He was made perfect. Jesus was and is God; John chapter one spells that out for us when it says, He spoke the worlds into existence. I know that God, Jesus, Holy Spirit being God thing is hard to handle, but none the less, it is what it is. Therefore, His voluntarily stepping down to be a human disabled Him in a sense; at least momentarily. Think about that; He became a human – a defenseless baby, dependent upon Mary to nurse and change His diapers. He, like victims of trauma often do, had to learn to walk and talk all over again. Any powers associated with the Father were set aside until He learned who He was and what His powers were, just as we have to do.

This transition from heaven to earth provokes my second thought.

Because Mary, at such an early age, had enough strength of character that she was able to stand her ground and say, He is the Son of God, it did not fare well with anybody and gossip spread quickly. No one was buying Mary's story, and for a time, neither did Joseph. Jesus, once he was born, was now reliant upon the protective covering of Joseph. Without this covering, He would have been thought of and treated as nothing more than an illegitimate child of an unnamed father. Accusations like this should have prevented Him from entering a Synagogue, or being taught in a Rabbinical school; and yet, what do we see, Jesus, at the age of accountability amazing the teachers in the synagogue with His understanding and knowledge.

Where would He have learned all the things necessary to make Him who He became?
1. Joseph, we are told, was a good man. This title does not necessarily mean he fared well in the community; it says he too knew the Torah and Talmud and by repetition taught Jesus.
2. At Jesus baptism in the Jordan by John, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him. Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit leads us and guide us into all truth, and, in the case of Jesus, led Him into the wilderness for forty days. We do not see Satan enter that picture until Jesus experienced a painful hunger at the end of that forty days. So, what was Jesus doing all that time? Talking to the God He had come to understand and recognize as His own Father.

Is there any doubt that He was perfect?

He was born through a woman who merely carried God's fertilized egg. This course of action is the way it had to be done to bypass the inherent brokenness that came to every human through Adam; this course action, on God's part, made Him sinless (that means, like us, He was not driven to satisfy personal desires.) And, we learn that He followed the will of the Father precisely; and yet, Jesus the Son is being made perfect again. John's gospel tells us that he is God, was with God, created all things by his word, and upholds all things by the word of his power; and yet, Hebrews has God restoring him to power. Why? Because God was restoring His firstborn Son, given to be sin, back to His rightful position of authority, seated next to the Father in heaven.

• "he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him." (Hebrews 5:9)

God alone has the power to give life. However, Jesus told the Jews that he was God, and they very clearly understood that because they immediately tried to kill for making that claim. There was nothing veiled about what Jesus said, and yet, here again, we have a description of Jesus becoming the source of eternal salvation. To and for whom did He become the source of eternal salvation? All who obey him. (None of us do that entirely, but His grace is sufficient enough to ensure the salvation of all who believe.)

• "designated by God to be High Priest." (Hebrews 5:10)

Pay attention to the patterns for this is what the Jewish mind is accustomed to when analyzing prophecy. Aaron was a man, and God chose him. Look for patterns (this is what the Jewish mind is accustomed to when examining prophecy) Aaron was a pattern, but there is another clue here. Not after the order of Man but after the order or example of Melchizedek. A man who had no beginning and no end, appointed by God to be High Priest. Why? Because humankind had a limited lifespan and would have to have been replaced. Jesus, like Melchizedek, now continues because He was raised from the dead. Those who serve in the priesthood are born with a broken nature and must offer sacrifices for their failings before offering a sacrifice for others. It is true, that Jesus was born without sin, but could have given himself over to the desires of the flesh, as Satan pushed opportunities at Him, and yet He did not.

The explanations for why Jesus is superior is cloaked in references to the cross and his death.

There are two forms of death: Physical and spiritual. To be spiritually dead is to be separated from God, and Christ, for the first time experienced a separation from the Father. We call it his death, and no doubt the body was killed, but when John talks about death in Revelation 20, he refers to the second death. Christ's body was not the only thing that died on the cross that day. Jesus, himself, attests to that by saying "my God, why have you forsaken me."

Everything in scripture is a pattern, and we have Abraham for a model.
When Isaac asked where is the sacrifice, Abraham answers "God will provide himself a sacrifice," and that is precisely what happened that day on the cross.

Adam was the pattern for the man Jesus would become, and neither had experienced what it was like to be separated from God. Look at our Genesis account for the pattern. God made it clear to Adam what would happen on the day He ate from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil – death; and yet, did Adam die that day? Not to the physical eye, but he did spiritually, as he lost his connection to God. Try to keep in mind that God is not a liar and He did say that day. Some will look at this as the eventual death of Adam, which came almost nine-hundred years later. Still, if Adam's physical death was all that was implied, then that would make God a liar, for it did not occur that day. I believe that Adam understood what God meant when God explained what would happen; that is what made Adam's act of disobedience such a critical, treasonous error.

It would seem only a few have experienced anything close to that kind of intimacy: Adam, who relinquished his relationship; Enoch, who walked off this earth, and Jesus, who was killed because he proclaimed his relationship with the Father. Of those moments that I feel separated from Him, I think I can equate it to being underwater, and not being able to breathe. Your spirit, much like your lungs need air, desperately seeks a relationship with the creator.

So, here we are back at Hebrews 5:11 where it says, "We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn."

Why would the writer of this letter to the Hebrews know the recipient's spiritual state?
     Perhaps the writer had been one of their teachers.

With the Law and the prophets only written on scrolls - the majority of which were held within the communities Synagogue because of rarity and expense, there were no books to enlighten the new converts about the latest theories on how grace and spiritual laws work; and, surely there was no New Testament, for it was being written as they spoke.

Another safe assumption is that these were exclusively Jewish believers considering that the entire book is a letter to the Hebrews.

Jews in the compulsory Rabbinical schools were trained in the Torah and Talmud.
Now, not everyone was a scholar like Saul/Paul, but within the Jewish community has a firm grasp of history and high Holy days was mandatory. Therefore, the knowledge of God's grace had to come through the same documents that the religious leadership used to control people with its many burdensome laws. The most significant input the new church had, would have been oral tradition and inspiration given through the Holy Spirit. Paul was a perfect example of one of those people, as he and a handful of others began to grasp the grace that God was trying to tell us.

Look at Hebrews 6:1-2 to get an idea of what the basics were/are; not one of these can be taught in 10 minutes.

• Basic teachings about Christ.
• The fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds.
• Placing our faith in God.
• Instructions about baptisms.
• Instructions about the laying on of hands.
• The resurrection of the dead.
• Eternal Judgment.

What would make this hard to explain?

I would not think that it is the telling of the story of Jesus that is difficult; although the trip to the cross can be graphic and gory. Perhaps the visualization of cross sets many people at odds with the cross. Having heard angry arguments against Jesus descending to hell and taking the keys away from Satan, I can presume that many others with their religious mindset fight against the cross. We also know that many have a cloak over their eyes, and therefore their physical mind cannot grasp the impact of the cross. And then, there are those who are not willing to spend any time looking into God's word, and therefore, will not find freedom.


What happened from the cross to the throne is what makes those of us who follow Him who we are. It is what made Jesus who He is, and it is what prompted God to call him our great High Priest, and the one who mediates for us continually.

God so desperately wanted to restore that relationship with you that he allowed his Son to die for you, and Jesus voluntarily set aside the glory he had with the Father to be the required sacrifice so that you might live. All that Christ did was done for you.

Paul's acceptance? Galatians 2:1-5,

The NASB entitles chapter two as Paul's acceptance by the Apostles.

A short side trip.

Is there a difference between the Apostles and disciples? Our mind quickly draws a picture of the twelve that Jesus picked out. Of course, there was Judas who had to be replaced, but effectively we are talking about the twelve disciples. Told to gather in Jerusalem, and wait there until the Holy Spirit came upon them, we see this:

Acts 1:14-15 NASB These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. 15) At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together), and said,”

What we see here is a collection of what was loosely known as the disciples. But notice the quantity – about one hundred and twenty persons. Since women were not high on the priority list, they, except for Mary the mother of Jesus, were probably not counted.

This varied group became the church in Jerusalem. They owned no buildings, obtained no tax exemptions, and still found themselves threatened by the likes of Saul in a very short time. The early church, meeting in small numbers, in homes were very Jewish inhabit and tradition. And, they were many days distant from any of the church bodies that the new disciple Saul, would have established.

We learned, from Saul/Paul's mouth, that:

• For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. Galatians 1:12 NASB
• Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus. Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord's brother. Galatians 1:17-19 NASB

The information (the grace, mercy, and freedom) that Paul preached came straight from God. Mind you, there was that small interaction with James, but that did not account for much. And, I stayed with Peter for fifteen days.

What do we know about Peter?

• Peter was the first one we see being sent to the Gentiles. However, Peter did not grasp what God was telling him and the Gentile evangelistic move on Peter's part died.
• There was the vision of the blanket coming down with clean and unclean animals in it. The voice Peter heard, he identified as Jehovah, told him to eat anything on the blanket. Of course, being a Jew, he could never eat anything unclean. The object lesson was yet to come, as God pointed out that Peter was never to call anything unclean that He had made clean.
• As quickly as the vision came to an end, there was a knock at the door. The visitor pleaded with Peter to come to the house of this man's master, one Cornelius, a Roman centurion, and yet a devout man. The implications show the centurion's devotion to the Jewish way of life. (As Roman, he would have been considered a Gentile and therefore a worshiper of pagan gods. These attributes would have caused the centurion to be deemed unclean and untouchable by a Jew.)

Peter arrives at the Centurion's home and begins to deliver his best message, but right in the middle of if the entire family receives the Holy Spirit and begins speaking in other tongues. Peter is baffled and says, well, I guess the Holy Spirit of God is not exclusive to the Jews. And with that, Peter disappears into the church council in Jerusalem, and we hear little else of Cornelius.

Back to Paul.

Galatians 2:1 NASB Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also.

A short stay with Peter, and a brief conversation with James. Paul's stay in Damascus, we assume, lasted three years. Now fourteen years later Paul takes Barnabas, a Jewish convert, and Titus as well. And where do they go? To the council in Jerusalem.

Galatians 2:2 NASB It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain.

“It was because of a revelation that I went up”, this revelation is a mystery to us. We only know that it was a motivation for Paul to run this message that he preached to the Gentiles, past the church elders. This entire idea is a bit of a problem, for what did Jewish followers know of the Gentiles aside from the prejudice that was integrated into their thought life from their youth.

“I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles”; I can read several layers of meaning into this statement.

• To a degree, he is submitting to the church leadership.
• He is doing a validation check. An underlying tone here could be the belief that they don't get what Paul is teaching, nor do they teach it. Since we can understand that the church elders focused almost strictly on the Jewish community, Paul's message may be heresy as far as they are concerned.
• He is preaching that same message to them. Is it possible that his motives included having church elders expand their target audience?

“but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain.” Rarely do you hear anyone speak of Paul as a fearful man, and yet, there is that word, fear. An obvious aspect of this is that Paul had been preaching this gospel to Gentiles already, but wait a minute; having read a rather chronological record of Paul's activities in the book of Acts, we know that Paul spent a tremendous amount of time in the Synagogues. Paul did not take his message to the Gentiles until he had his fill of beatings and attempts on his life at the hands of Jewish zealots. This fourteen year period of time then included the abuse and eventual migration to the Gentile community. Almost all of the new believers/followers of Christ were Jewish. In a moment we will see Barnabas and Titus. Note how Paul tells us that Titus was not compelled to become circumcised, indicating that he was not born Jewish, but says nothing about Barnabas. The implications are that Barnabas was a Jewish convert.

Galatians 2:3 NASB But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.

Now, here comes the real reason Paul is in Jerusalem, and it has little to do with acceptance.

So Paul, is in Jerusalem, having secret talks – if you will, with the church elders, because of the next few verses.

Galatians 2:4-5 NASB But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage. 5) But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

“But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus.” How would you make these determinations?

• False brethren
  Are you aware that witch covens have people planted in churches for the express purpose of bringing curses against your pastor and your church body? You might think that would be obvious, especially if they wore a long pointed hat. But you realize that they look like anybody. Unfortunately, most of our false brethren have submitted themselves to Satan's work unwittingly. In being false they slip in quietly and once accepted to some degree, they espouse vehemently, things that are in opposition to the nature and character of God and His word.
• secretly brought in,
  To be secretly brought in implies something intentional. Isn't Satan intentional in his disdain and methods? We are not on a proverbial witch hunt, but what other groups might want to see our groups and churches disrupted? Surprisingly, our governments, with their Antichrist attitudes and laws could fit that description. What about other religious ideologies such as Islam? Islam has stated goals of killing off everyone that is not of their beliefs, and yet the Quran gives them the liberty to lie and deceive in order to infiltrate for the purpose of taking you down and putting you in submission.
• to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus,
  This aspect becomes important went put in the context of Jew converting and becoming followers of the way. Really, they were and still are, adding the richness found in the Messiah; the same Messiah they have spent their lives waiting for. Traditional Jews (Paul was one,) despise this “Gentile” messiah, as they choose to believe we created Him. What they are doing is ignoring chapters like Isaiah 53, which speak of the tortures He endured to bring us this freedom called grace and mercy.
• in order to bring us into bondage.
  Bondage, look the word up and you might find this: See Slave. The dictionary tells us that it is: Slavery or involuntary servitude; captivity; imprisonment; restraint of a person's liberty by compulsion.
  So, Paul, in the course of teaching freedom, occasionally found people, integrated into their groups, that had the express goal of restraining, restoring traditions over freedom, and recapturing those who had been set free.

“But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.” Because we know that Paul went to the council in Jerusalem, we have to assume that here too he sustained some pressure to change. If you read about Paul's trials and tribulations, then you know that this was one of his major arguments. In reply, the council asked no demands of the Gentiles except that they stay away from eating animals with the blood still in them.

Galatians 2:6 MSG As for those who were considered important in the church, their reputation doesn't concern me. God isn't impressed with mere appearances, and neither am I. And of course, these leaders were able to add nothing to the message I had been preaching.

Based upon this statement, “these leaders were able to add nothing to the message I had been preaching.” we can assume that to some degree they understood the message, although they may not have preached it themselves. The Jerusalem council may have been apprehensive about letting the Gentiles into the synagogues, but that was not the issue, nor the question; the real question had more to do with economics, for example:

• If they were Jewish converts, who then would buy the lambs for sacrifice? This is important if they all come to the understanding that Yeshua the Messiah became the sacrificial lamb. This question is not so important if they were merely Gentile believers.
• And what becomes of the important rituals, rituals that probably required some temple fee? In scripture we see a man coming to Jesus and saying, if you will you can make me clean. Well, surely Jesus could and he did make the man clean, but, there is the demand of the law to go and show yourself to the priests. They, in turn, would decree you clean before the community and restore your rights. Jesus helped the man and gave him a stern warning which he ignored, and that was that he tell no one. Did any of you ever question why he would do such a thing? It was because the man was asking Jesus to circumvent the system; a procedure which could have got him prematurely killed.
• And should these converts decide to leave the temple congregation, then the tithing collections will surely drop.

No, Paul stood his ground with these elders. His words surely rang true with them, as they also saw and heard things that were new and controversial. Having nothing they could add the conference was over and the three returned home.

Related articles

• The return of the king: Sunday reflection

A study on Galatians, chapter 1:1. Now the truth, I have to ask myself? Am I doing this for me, or for some vindictive pastor who can see no good in me?

At our Monday morning Bible Study, we have been going through the leader's end times teachings and thoughts for the last three years. I conservatively tell people that it was a solid two year period, just to be on the safe side. Several of us formed a spin-off group and would meet on Wednesdays for coffee with the intent of discussing some of the fallacies we had encountered the previous Monday.

Because of the fallacies, I found myself buried in end-times teachings almost continuously. Now that is not a bad thing, and my local group deemed me the expert. Expert was hardly the case, but I would answer questions as best I could, and thanks to the Holy Spirit, they were usually correct answers. There is a distinct satisfaction when you see the impact as the Holy Spirit is the teacher (and yes, he uses people.) I suppose what I noticed the most was that I was missing my journeys through the letters of Paul, Peter, James, and John.

One of those topics became evident as I began to read through Paul's letter to the believers in the region of Galatia (We call it the book of Galatians.)

Galatians 1:6-9 KJV I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7) Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8) But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9) As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

As you can see, there is an emphasis on a gospel message. Since the word gospel the Greek word for good news, then you have to ask, what was the good news to these people Paul preached to? If we were to trek through the book of Acts, we would find that for years, the first place Paul went when he came into a village, was the synagogue. It is easy to presume and correctly so, that Paul preached this good news to the Jews he found there. Since the Jews were the holders of the promises of God, you would think that they already had the good news, and they did, but they also had the law; a collection of laws that were enhanced by the addition of man-made laws designed to control the people.

To a people who may have realized they were entrapped by man's laws, this message of grace and mercy was a Godsend. If you heard Paul's words and allowed them to change you, how could you, or would you go back to the bondage that man and his hierarchy bring? Truth be known, you wouldn't have, unless, you had been deceived in some way. And that seems to be the basis of this letter.

Galatians 1:1 NASB Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead),

"Paul an apostle - See the note at Rom_1:1. This is the usual form in which he commences his epistles, and it was of special importance to commence the Epistle in this manner because it was one design to vindicate his apostleship, or to show that he had received his commission directly from the Lord Jesus." [Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible]

Romans 1:1 NASB Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

From John Gill's commentary on Romans 1:1 - “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,... The name of the author of this epistle is Paul, who formerly was called Saul. Some think his name was changed upon his own conversion; others, upon the conversion of the Roman deputy Sergius Paulus, Act_13:7; others, that he was so called from the littleness of his stature; but rather it should seem that he had two names, which was usual with the Jews; one by which they went among the Gentiles, and another by they were called in their own land; See Gill on Act_13:9. " [I show you the Complete Jewish Bible translation.]

Acts 13:9 CJB Then Sha'ul, also known as Paul, filled with the Ruach HaKodesh, stared straight at him and said,

The Jewish translation took on a new meaning to me recently as I was trying to find some background information on Matthew 24:36 and I came across this website, http://www.hebroots.org/hebrootsarchive/9807/980715_c.html. In explaining about the New Moon at the beginning of the Jewish New Year, this comes up: “In Y'shua's day, the moon was so important that a Jewish festival was proclaimed at the beginning of every month (Talmud Tractate Chaggigah 17b; Shavuot 10a; Arachin 10b). This was called the New Moon Festival and in the B'rit Chadashah, Rabbi Sha'ul (Paul) makes note of it (Colossians 2:16).”

Almost Instantly I gained an understanding of Paul's impact on the Messianic Jewish community.

Gill's comments on Acts 13:9 - Then Saul (who also is called Paul),... He was called by both these names; as he was a Jew by birth, his parents called him Saul, that was his Jewish name, and by which he went among the Jews; and as he was a citizen of a Roman city, Tarsus in Cilicia, he went among the Romans, or Gentiles, by the name of Paul, a Roman name; and it was usual with the Jews to be called after this manner, that is, to have one name among themselves, and another among the Gentiles: it is a rule with them (n), that "the Israelites out of the land, their names are as the names of the Gentiles;'' yea, their names differed in Judea and Galilee; a woman went by one name in Judea, and another in Galilee (o): and it is observable, that Luke calls the apostle by his Jewish name Saul, whilst he was among the Jews, and only preached among them; but now he is got among the Gentiles, and was about to appear openly to be their apostle, he all along hereafter calls him by his Gentile name Paul: though some think his name was changed upon his conversion, as it was usual with Jewish penitents to do; when a man repented of his sin, he changed his name (says Maimonides) (p),”

Although we do not see the phrase, a servant of Jesus Christ, here in the first verse, the idea is there cloaked in the expression, “but through Jesus Christ and God the Father.”

More from Gill, "A servant of Jesus Christ"; not a servant of sin, nor of Satan, nor of man, nor of Moses and his law, nor of the traditions of the elders, but of Jesus Christ; and not by creation only, but by redemption, and by powerful efficacious grace in conversion; which is no ways contrary to true liberty; nor a disgraceful, but a most honourable character; and which chiefly regards him as a minister of the Gospel: Being a servant of Jesus Christ is the simplest aspect of this introduction, but Paul added another characteristic when noted that he was “an apostle, sent by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead.”

Gill explains, “called to be an apostle”: an apostle was one that was immediately sent by Christ, and had his authority and doctrine directly from him, and had a power of working miracles from him, in confirmation of the truth of his mission, authority, and doctrine; all which were to be found in the author of this epistle, who did not thrust himself into this office, or take this honour to himself, of which he always judged himself unworthy, but was "called" to it according to the will, and by the grace of God:”

In my naivete, wrote: All this introduction seems like an unusual and unnecessary proclamation, but, having spoken before large audiences, you realize it carries much weight when they have an idea of who you are and what your credentials are.

Credentials, by the way, often come through the acceptance of someone trusted who bears witness to why you should be standing before this group.

At the church I attend, we had a man come and give his testimony. The unnerving aspect of this was that he had formerly produced pornography, and not that long ago. Fortunately for him, someone vouched for him and pastor trusted that he would be alright.

Give some thought to how Jesus was received when He said things not so dissimilar to Paul's introduction. The Pharisees were willing to stone Paul and did one occasion. Jesus got comebacks like, “we know who our father is!” [John 8:39-41 KJV]. The implications of this heinous statement were quickly understood, as this, all fell back to Mary, His mother. With a backbone of steel, she stood her ground and insisted that God was His Father. How much easier it would have been to say, Joseph was the father, but he wasn't and she and Joseph both knew that. The result of her holding her ground was a hellish amount of opposition, and this caustic comeback was proof of that.

While there are few, if any, Apostles today, in spite of fact that many like to be called by that title, there are an uncountable number of people who have been sent on small, seemingly insignificant personal assignments. Without the fame and acclaim that comes with a title, we ignore them, and, in some cases ridicule them.

apostolos; from G649; a messenger, one sent on a mission, an apostle: - apostle (19), apostles (52), apostles’ (5), messenger (1), messengers (1), is sent (1).

Paul, in Romans 1, described himself as a servant. Since a servant can also be a messenger, or, one sent, then apostolos fits.

Having spent most of my life in religion I can tell that I have seen it all. At one church I attended, popular prophetic evangelists came to the church and made a big deal about our pastor, pronouncing that he was an Apostle. Apparently, because he planted a church and it happened to grow. I just thought he was a pretty cool guy that would ride motorcycles with us. Without all the accolades we too have been sent; some, too large audiences and some to individuals. It makes no difference the size of the crowd, as long as you did your job.