Without
a doubt, the apostle Paul was one of the most influential people of world
history. His indefatigable energy in evangelism and church planting during the
1st Century AD changed the face of Europe and the world. He was part of the
company who ‘turned the world upside down’ (Acts 17:6). He also wrote up
to half of the New Testament. Every day of the year for the last 2,000 years,
his legacy continues to pay rich dividends to the church and the world.
Born
with the Hebrew name Saul in the city of Tarsus, Cilicia in south central Asia
Minor (Turkey), he may have been given the Roman name Paul at birth. In the
natural, he was a gifted man: multi-lingual, a Roman citizen from birth, from
the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews. Like Moses and Daniel, Paul had a
solid education in classical things and of the empire of the day. Despite his
Diaspora-birth, he was fully orientated to Jewish theology and practice as one
trained by the respected Rabbi Gamaliel (Acts 5) in Jerusalem. Paul could be
forgiven for thinking he was destined for great things.
Yet,
Paul’s personal earthly ambitions and strengths evaporate in the light of what
God had planned for him. For those who want to make a difference in this world,
who are more interested in being significant than merely successful, and want
to leave a legacy that blesses the world, then Paul is your role-model.
How
did Paul succeed in changing the world? His method is more valuable than the
multi-billion dollar 11 herbs and spices KFC recipe. Unlike KFC’s recipe, which
is a secret, Paul’s ‘recipe’ is open for all to see.
You
can find it in the words of Philippians 3:7-12:
But what things were gain to me, those I
counted loss for Christ. 8Yea doubtless, and
I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but
dung, that I may win Christ,9And be found in
him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is
through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10That I may know him, and the
power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made
conformable unto his death; 11If by any means I
might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 12Not as though I had already
attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may
apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
At
first glance, Paul’s principles might appear to be ‘radical discipleship’ but
in reality he is offering a blueprint for the normal Christian living. Let’s
look at a few of them here.
Principle One: Don’t let your natural gifts get in the way of God’s
grace. Be willing to surrender them all to God in order to live by grace and
truth (John 1:14,17).
The
apostle affirms that his assets - pedigree, education, nationality - were
dispensable. In terms of obtaining the ‘excellency of knowledge of Christ
Jesus my Lord,’ he was willing to ‘lose’ his assets and counts them a dung
in order to win Christ.
Is
knowing Christ of far greater value than your natural gifting? Without a doubt!
Remember that even gifted people have faults, failings, and deficiencies. When
you ‘win Christ,’ He becomes your sufficiency (II Corinthians 3:5). All the
potholes in your life are filled by Him, regardless of how numerous and deep
they may be. Regarding your gifting, surrender it to Christ. If He chooses, the
Lord will return your gift to you, anointed by the Holy Spirit, ‘renewed and
improved,’ so that your impact will be far greater than you could imagine.
Another
way of looking at this is that Paul became a world changer by letting go of
everything - his assets, sin, pride, blindness, everything - in order to be
‘hands’ free’ to take hold of Christ (v. 12).
You
cannot change the world until you are willing to be changed yourself. In fact,
change is not enough - you should be willing to be transformed. Paul’s
principles guarantee that will happen. To be continued.
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