Is paul an apostle or disciple
Home / Religious & Spiritual Figures / Is paul an apostle or disciple
The council, including key figures like Peter and James, acknowledged Paul's ministry and affirmed that God had indeed chosen him to bring the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 15:7-9).
Paul's Defense of His Apostleship
Throughout his letters, Paul often defends his apostleship against those who questioned his authority.
These days, some might consider a disciple a follower of any charismatic leader. The church in Rome, for example, welcomed Paul when he was sent to be tried by Caesar (Act 28:15).
• Ananias and Barnabas, two church leaders, recognized Paul’s calling to the Gentiles as the vision dictated.
“But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight ” (Acts 9:10-17).
• Perhaps, the most important proof of Paul’s apostleship is that the other apostles accepted him.
“But Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how at Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus” (Acts 9:27).
• Signs and wonders, the salvation of many, the development of churches, and the training of godly leaders seeking God’s ways all confirm his apostleship.
Furthermore, in Galatians 1:15-16, Paul describes how God set him apart from birth and called him by grace to reveal His Son in him, so that he might preach among the Gentiles.
Recognition by the Early Church
The early church's recognition of Paul's apostleship is evident in several key events and writings. Later Christian writings from outside the Bible indicate an even deeper rift between Paul and Peter, so why does Acts paint them as best friends?
Instead, he lived day to day with his teacher, following the teacher’s example and, in some ways, actually trying to become a living reflection of that teacher.
This seems appropriate when we look at Jesus’ disciples. In 1 Corinthians 9:1-2, he writes, "Am I not free? For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord." Here, Paul points to the Corinthian believers as evidence of his genuine apostolic work.
In 2 Corinthians 12:12, Paul further defends his apostleship by highlighting the "signs of a true apostle" performed among the Corinthians, including signs, wonders, and miracles.
A little later in Galatians 1:15-17 he elaborates on what Jesus sent him to do:
But when the one who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the gentiles, I did not confer with any human, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me…”
Paul says that the risen Jesus called him directly to preach the gospel of Jesus to the gentiles, which is why he travels throughout the Roman empire starting Jesus-following communities and writing letters to them addressing their problems and questions.
This is why Paul calls himself an apostle and not a disciple.
Then I’ll discuss which term defined Paul’s role and by what authority he got it.
First Things First: Definition of Disciple
The term disciple has become so common after two thousand years of Christian history that many never think about what it actually meant in Jesus’ time. Did Paul have these?
This is Christ working powerfully within him.
“The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.” (2 Corinthians 12:12)
- Why would you or others be troubled with Saul/Paul being an apostle?
- Did Paul do miracles?
He started churches faithful to Jesus’ Great Commission (Mat 28:18-20).
• God powerfully worked many supernatural miracles through Paul.
• If one questions Paul’s claim to have done such miracles, turn to Revelation 2-3 or church history to affirm that churches were planted in those areas where Paul healed, taught, and preached, despite much persecution.
• Apostle means ‘sent one.’ Paul was sent to the Gentiles and went!
Why? He makes this clear in 1 Corinthians 9:1-2:
Am I not free? I am talking like a madman—I am a better one: with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often near death.
Whatever the merits of Paul’s argument, it’s clear that some Jewish apostles claimed that Paul was not a valid apostle?
In fact, he says in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 that he’s not even sure whether it was a physical experience or not.
However, his real feelings about his mission are often encapsulated in the greetings of his undisputed letters like this one in Galatians 1:1:
Paul an apostle—sent neither by human commission nor from human authorities but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead.
Note that Paul says he was “sent” not by humans but by the risen Jesus directly.
Paul, for example, started the church in Ephesus and returned there to train leaders. It was a public event in Antioch and required healing from Ananias, another instance of God speaking to His people from heaven (Acts 9:10).
• Lastly, Peter’s testimony of Paul confirms that his letters were considered Scripture.
14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, 15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, 16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.
Paul is blinded after this scene, but then recovers and believes Jesus has commissioned him to preach to the gentiles.
pop Quiz!