Welcome back to Defenders Voice. I am Dr.Paul. Thank you for joining us today. Please send me your questions to info@doctorpaul.org. Visit my website http://www.doctor paul.org to subscribe to our podcast.
Today’s question: Frank Turek says that we know more about God than the apostle Paul. Is this correct?
I gave the link below and you watch the video clip in which Frank Turek says that today we know more about God than what Apostle Paul knew in his day. Let us look into this assertion today.
Now, I respect Mr.Frank Turek a lot. He is a very nice Christian apologist. I also featured him on this channel before. I have his books on my shelf. He has many great things to say about many different things. But on this thing, he completely got it wrong.
There is no way that you and I can know more about God or Lord Jesus Christ than the apostle Paul.
Even before his conversion, Paul was a great student of the Bible. You would not see him binge watching on Netflix or Amazon prime. He would binge study the Bible. He was a student under one of the greatest teacher of Torah, Gamaliel. It is like going to Cal Tech to study astrophysics. I want to study astrophysics and I want to go to the best university in the world. I am going to Cal Tech. I want to study theology. I want to go to the best teacher of Torah in the world. I am going to the school of Gamaliel.
He poured all his time over studying and meditating the word of God under Gamaliel. Then he started his violent movement to eradicate Christianity. On his way to Damascus, Lord Jesus Christ supernaturally revealed himself to Paul. He was completely blinded by that revelation and was bed ridden for a few days before Ananias healed his blindness. All the Old Testament Paul studied to that point came alive when Paul interpreted it in the light of Christ.
Later he went to Arabian desert to study under Lord Jesus Christ himself. From the feet of Gamaliel to the feet of Christ. After his resurrection we see Lord Jesus Christ expounding the scriptures to two wayward apostles on their way to Emmaus from Jerusalem. Now Paul had his Emmaus for 14 years under Christ. He did not know Jesus from his earthly experience. But during those 14 years, we can safely opine that Lord Jesus Christ told him a lot about his earthly life and teachings.
From the feet of Gamaliel to the feet of Christ. The way to Emmaus for 14 years. Paul had that wonderful exposition of the scriptures under Lord Jesus Christ himself as his teacher. I doubt any other Christian during the last two thousand years of Christendom had such training in the scriptures.
As if that was not enough, the Lord appeared to him many times during the course of Paul’s ministry. He was given a personal tour of heaven before his death. Every believer goes to heaven before his or her death. But God gave Paul a personal visit to heaven before his death. Imagine visiting heaven and coming back to earth. You will get a whole different perspective on the nature of reality and of Christ.
Based on that foundation, Paul spent his ministry studying, writing and preaching the Word of God. Most of the New Testament came through him because he was uniquely trained by Christ.
Paul explains the core mission of his existence:
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death
Philippians 3:10
That I may know him…..Apostle was driven by a zeal to experience Christ in the core of his being.
The power of his resurrection: He experienced the power of resurrection in his life in many ways. He brought thousands of people to the saving knowledge of the gospel. He performed thousands of miracles with the power of Christ. Each miracle the Lord performed in his life gave him a fresh understanding of the power of Christ.
The fellowship of his sufferings. Even through his pains and persecutions, he understood Christ. Who among us was persecuted like Paul?
Through I intensely studying the scriptures, through intimately learning from Christ, through patiently participating in the sufferings, through visiting heaven, Paul obtained a great knowledge of Christ.
We should stop kidding ourselves by saying that we know more about God than Paul.