The Great Apostle Paul

October 6th, 2026
by Lance Waldie

1 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother…

The writer of 1 Corinthians is “Paul,” originally known as “Saul” (Acts 7:58; 13:9). If anyone has ever had a radical transformation of their lives, it was Paul. His own testimony of his life prior to becoming a follower of Jesus Christ in Acts 22:3 speaks for itself, for he was “a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia” meaning he was a Diaspora Jew (born outside of Israel). Yet he was raised in Jerusalem and “educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers”—the Jewish Law and traditions. As such, Paul was extremely “zealous for God” (cf. Gal. 1:13-14).
Though zeal for God consumed Paul, not knowing who Jesus truly was, he hated Jesus and especially His followers. Calling the Christian faith “the Way” (cf. John 14:6), Paul wrote, “I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons… I also received letters to the brethren, and started off for Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners to be punished” (Acts 22:4-5).

Paul was no atheist but a Jew who believed strongly in the God of creation, passionate for the Law of Moses. Anyone whom Paul felt was a threat to Judaism was literally in danger of losing his life, for Paul had it in his heart to hurt all who opposed his version of Judaism (cf. Acts 7:58). Though his zeal was admirable, his spiritual eyes were blind to the truth, that is, until Jesus confronted him. Paul’s testimony was, “It happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, and I fell to the ground” (Acts 22:6-7a). Once Jesus appeared to him, Paul was never the same.

Paul responded to Jesus by asking, “What shall I do, Lord?” (Acts 22:10). Jesus replied by telling him that he had been appointed as a minister and a witness to the things he had seen and that he was being sent to preach the Christian gospel to the Gentiles—people not of Israel; non-Jews. Though all who are “sent” are apostles, Paul, along with some select others held the office of apostle. The term refers to a “herald,” or “envoy.” Literally, it means one sent to perform a specific task. This commission was a unique honor given to only 13 men in the NT— Jesus’ 12 disciples (Matt. 10:2-5), minus Judas, plus Matthias (Acts 1:26). Paul, who was also “called” to the office of apostle, became number 13. Theologically, “called” (klētos) refers to an elect child of God, summoned by God to believe in and serve the risen Lord Jesus (cf. Rom. 8:28-30).

Although Judas Iscariot was replaced by Matthias after his death, once those 13 apostles died, the office died when them. Those who held the office had not only seen the risen Lord Jesus (1 Cor. 9:1), they performed specific, apostolic works (2 Cor. 12:12). Paul later wrote that Christ “gave some as apostles…some as prophets…some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers” (Eph. 4:11). Christ did this “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (4:12). That foundation of truth laid down by the apostles is what evangelists and pastors build upon today. Christ is the cornerstone of that foundation, and believers are “living stones…being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5).

With Paul was “Sosthenes,” mentioned only twice in the NT, here and in Acts 18:17 when Paul was in Corinth. There, Sosthenes was the “synagogue ruler” who was beaten by the Jews when the Roman proconsul Gallio refused to hear their complaint against Paul. If this is the same man, then perhaps he was converted to Christ by the time of the writing of 1 Corinthians. What role he might have played in the writing of 1 Corinthians is never stated.

Food For Thought
Since the Church’s foundation equates to the words of Christ and His apostles (Eph. 2:11-22), there is no need for apostles like Paul, Peter, or John today to lay another foundation. With their words in Scripture preserved for us, we don’t need new revelation from an apostle. We simply need to read their words in the New Testament and build upon that foundation one convert after another, for the structure is built upon the foundation. So, when someone gives themselves the title today of “apostle,” you should run the other way. All we need today are pastors, teachers, and evangelists to teach and exhort us in the apostolic word—the Bible. Paul still speaks today because, as an apostle of Jesus Christ, he spoke for Jesus Christ. His words, along with every word in the New Testament, should thus be written in red. It’s all from Jesus!