The Berean Expositor
Volume 38 - Page 117 of 249
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(2)
Paul's name is repeated, together with the new title, "The prisoner of Jesus Christ", in the body
of the epistle to the Ephesians (Eph. 3: 1).
Paul's name does not occur once in the whole of the epistle to the Hebrews.
It is therefore evident that Paul's authority as an apostle did not cover this epistle to the
Hebrews, and this evidence of the withholding of his authority goes to show that the calling and
sphere of the Hebrews was outside of the dispensation entrusted to him.
(3)
Paul uses the personal pronoun, ego, three times in Ephesians; "I Paul, the prisoner", "I
therefore, the prisoner", "I speak concerning the church" (Eph. 3: 1; 4: 1; 5: 32).
Paul never uses ego of himself in the epistle to the Hebrews.
Paul uses eme once in Eph. 6: 21, "my affairs" (lit. the things as to me).
Paul never uses eme in the epistle to the Hebrews.
Paul uses emoi once in Eph. 3: 8, "Unto me, less than the least", with special reference to his
peculiar ministry.
Paul uses emoi once of himself in Hebrews, where he says "The Lord is my helper"
(Heb. 13: 6), which obviously has no special bearing upon the calling and sphere of the epistle.
Paul uses emou in Eph. 6: 19 where he asks prayer on his behalf in relation to his stewardship
of the Mystery.
Paul never uses emou of himself in the epistle to the Hebrews.
Paul uses me once in Ephesians, namely, 6: 20, where he says, "as I ought to speak".
Paul uses me once of himself in Hebrews, namely, in 11: 32, where he says, "the time would
fail me to tell, etc." which once again, has no bearing upon the theme of the epistle.
Paul uses moi four time in Ephesians, each occasion having reference to the ministry of the
Mystery, which was his peculiar trust (Eph. 3: 2, 3, 7; 6: 19).
Paul uses moi of himself once in Hebrews, namely at 13: 6, when he says that he would not
fear "what man shall do unto me", which has no ground for comparison with Eph. 3: 2, 3, 7 or
6: 19.
In Ephesians Paul uses mou "my prayers"; "my knowledge"; "my tribulations for you"; "my
brethren"; "my mouth" (Eph. 1: 16; 3: 4, 13, 14; 6: 10 and 19).
Paul never uses more of himself in the epistle to the Hebrews.
Here is internal evidence that Paul was personally and intentionally identified with the
calling which we associate with Ephesians, but that he was not an apostle or a minister of
the calling of the Hebrew Christians, to whom the epistle to the Hebrews was written.
One further piece of evidence must suffice. We learn from the second epistle to the
Thessalonians, that even at that early date, a false epistle, purporting to have been written
by Paul, was in circulation and to assure the reader on this matter the apostle concluded
the epistle with these words:
"The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle. So I
write" (II Thess. 3: 17).
Like many another of his day, Paul dictated his letters, and these were written by
slaves who were trained pen men. We know the name of the one who wrote out the
epistle to the Romans (Rom. 16: 22) who is seen to be a brother also in the Lord. When
dictating the letter to the Galatians, the apostle seems to have been so desirous of gaining
their attention, that he finished the epistle with his own hand (Gal. 6: 11). If however we
look at the close of any of Paul's epistles, we will not discover the name Paul,
consequently there must have been something written by Paul's own hand that would