Pauline Epistles

There are reasons for this consideration that emerge from the text of the New Testament itself. For example, if we remove Paul’s letters from the New Testament as a thought experiment, then there is no longer a “body of Christ”. Only Paul speaks of it. There is also no longer a church from all nations if we remove Paul, as the apostle to the nations, from the Bible. Many are used to hearing a sermon from the Gospels every Sunday, but what is left of today’s church if we remove Paul from the New Testament? Then you would have the Gospels, but no more Pauline letters. It is assumed for the church that Paul is communicating essential insights. The letter to the Romans, for example, is seen as a pillar for the doctrine of the church. The same applies to his other letters. If we think them away, if only as a mental game, what remains of this church doctrine?

Israel’s expectation

Before Paul came on the scene, we had the gospels in which Jesus fulfills a task for Israel (Mt 15:24; Rom 15:8). Only Paul extends this to a church from all nations, both as a target group and in terms of the message itself. These are revolutionary innovations. With Jesus, however, the nations only received the crumbs that fell from the table (Mt 15:26-27). Here is a thought for further consideration:

1. In the Gospels, the Messianic kingdom expected by Israel, the “kingdom of heaven” (Dan 2:44; Dan 7:27) is described as “near” and proclaimed (Mt 4:17)
2. The Acts of the Apostles as a whole show that the kingdom for Israel is not abolished, but postponed (Acts 1:6-8; Acts 28:28)
3. (Letters of Paul hidden)
4. The remaining letters show how to behave while the kingdom is postponed for Israel. The 12 apostles write to the Jewish churches with a “gospel of the circumcision” (Gal 2:7-9). James, for example, writes to the 12 tribes in the dispersion (Jas 1,1), Peter addresses the strangers in the dispersion (1Pet 1,1) and repeats the idea of a “royal priesthood, a holy nation” (1Pet 2,9), as Israel already received this task in the Tenach (Ex 19,6). The focus of the 12 apostles remains the fulfillment of the promises to Israel. We read nothing there about the church from all nations.
5. In the book of Revelation, the messianic kingdom is established.

When you read this for the first time, it seems like a crazy idea. However, if one examines the development, the target groups and the words used in these books outside of Paul, then it quickly becomes clear that it is always about Israel and that there is no (!) development towards a church from all nations. Peter even had to be persuaded with 3 visions to be well-disposed towards a proselyte who was in no way comparable to other people from the nations (Acts 10). This was by no means well received by the other apostles and brothers in Jerusalem (Acts 11:1-3). Peter had to report at length until they calmed down (Acts 11:18). Isn’t the defense strange, yet they were supervised with a “Great Commission” and now there was already trouble with a proselyte who is very close to Israel and Israel’s expectation? This is for consideration: If we remove Paul from the New Testament, the foundation for the church is missing. Only Paul was called to be an apostle to the nations (Rom 11:13). He did not receive the gospel from the 12 apostles, but was taught it directly by Jesus Christ (Gal 1:11-12). They therefore do not necessarily tell the same story. Paul even had to clarify this once in Jerusalem (Gal 2:2). It became known to him through revelation because it had been hidden until then (Rom 16:25-26). If we remove Paul from the New Testament, we are not simply removing more of the same, but we are removing mysteries that are not explained and revealed anywhere else. We are removing today’s community.

Worksheet

Here you can download a worksheet listing the 27 books of the New Testament. Download, print out and use in conversation with others! There are fold lines before and after the letters of the Apostle Paul. This makes it easy to “hide” the letters of St. Paul. The idea is: Use the sheet as a conversation starter. The interpretation seems crazy at first, because it is usually tacitly assumed that “wherever it says Jesus on it, today’s church is in it”. However, the text itself does not suggest this. On the contrary, there is a clear trend. Recognizing that Paul came with a gospel of his own (Rom 2:16; Rom 16:25), which he calls the “gospel of the foreskin (uncircumcision)” (Gal 2:7-9), can open our eyes to a significant development. If you recognize this, it is easier to explain many biblical passages in your own context. If this is still unfamiliar, use the idea as a working hypothesis that can be tested on an ongoing basis. It is something like a key to a better understanding of the New Testament.