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Paul and his Traducers.
#1.
"Christ or Paul?"
pp. 79, 80
The opposition and misrepresentation which marked the course of the Apostle Paul's
ministry has never died down and to-day among Christian people many hard, biased and
untrue things are said against this servant of Christ.
Our sub-title "Christ or Paul?" is the quintessence of prejudice and ignorance, we only
use it in order to show its untruth. The words "Christ OR Paul?" imply that Paul set
himself up in opposition to Christ and that his doctrine is a substitute for the doctrine of
Christ. Let the apostle speak for himself, and upon the testimony of his own words let
both the apostle and his traducers be judged:--
"Was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized into the name of Paul? I thank God
that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius, lest any should say that I had baptized
in mine own name" (I Cor. 1: 13-15).
"But we preach Christ crucified" (I Cor. 1: 23).
"Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed?"
(I Cor. 3: 5).
"I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he
that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase"
(I Cor. 3: 6, 7).
"Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the
mysteries of God" (I Cor. 4: 1).
"Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (I Cor. 11: 1).
"The Head of every man is Christ" (I Cor. 11: 3).
"We preach NOT OURSELVES, but Christ Jesus the Lord" (II Cor. 4: 5).
"We have this treasure in earthen vessels" (II Cor. 4: 7).
"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ" (II Cor. 5: 20).
"Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ
may rest upon me" (II Cor. 12: 9).
"Since ye seek a proof of CHRIST speaking in me" (II Cor. 13: 3).
We have limited ourselves for the time being to a few passages in I & II Corinthians.
If we quoted nothing further, these statements of the apostle in his letters to one church
only would be sufficient to set aside as biased and untruthful the insinuation contained in
the words "Christ or Paul?" In the epistles Christ speaks through Paul, the latter being
His ambassador, His minister.
We hope to return to this subject again.