What is the gospel of Paul?

In my candid opinion, aside Jesus Christ the greatest person that ever walked on the surface of the earth was apostle Paul. Let me give you a brief history about him, he was an Israelite from the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law, he was a Pharisee (Philippians 3; 5).

However, he was very legalistic and he thought the teachings of the Christians about Jesus Christ was in contradiction to the law. He hated the "people of the way" with passion to the extent that with the consent of the religious leaders, he went about persecuting and arresting them. He continued with his persecution of the Church until that faithful day he had an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ on his way to Damascus, and that encounter led to his conversion, see (Acts 9).

After his salvation, the Lord ordained him as an apostle to the Gentiles and as a faith minister of the gospel (Galatians 2; 7-8). Paul was also a prolific writer, for he wrote more than half of the new testament and his books are inspired by God himself, contrary to the opinion of certain folks.

I know for a fact that there are some religious groups like the Muslims who deny the authenticity of the writings of the apostle. Some claim Paul was a false teacher who has deceived many and led them on the path of hell. Accusations like this towards the apostle did not begin in our generation, it began in his days that he had to defend his ministry and apostleship at some point, see (2 Corinthians 11). But of a truth, all the cavils and accusations leveled against Paul's ministry are all baseless, they do not hold water. The apostle was a true Man of God who received his apostleship from the resurrected Christ himself.

Parts of the scriptures where Paul referred to the gospel as "my gospel"

Romans 2; 16

On the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.

Romans 16:25

Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past

2 Timothy 2:8

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel

Paul's gospel 

Many people claim Paul uses "my gospel" simply because he invented his own gospel, and he preached a gospel which was foreign to what apostle Peter, James and John preached. But is this assertion true? 

Let us dive deeper into the scriptures to see the kind of gospel Paul Preached.

This is the gospel message Paul received from the risen Christ, and Preached it  faithfully, "Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15; 1-4).

Paul's preaching was centered on the death, burial and bodily resurrection of Christ. He expounded in great details the meaning of Christ death, burial and literal resurrection and the benefits we receive thereby throughout his entire ministry.

If Jesus did not condescend to take on flesh and die as our substitute, and also rise from the dead, what would have become of us? We are eternally grateful to Him for his death, burial and subsequent resurrection on our behalf.

Is the passage from the apostle consistent with the teachings of the rest of the apostles?

This is the message Paul Preached: 

Romans 1:1-4

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,

Paul here asserted his apostleship, and that he was sanctified for the gospel of God. According to the apostle, the gospel he is preaching is not something new, but it was a message which God promised through his prophets of Old like Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah and the rest about his Son Jesus Christ. It means Paul's message was in unison to the revelation which the prophets of Old had about Jesus Christ. 

He continued by saying that Jesus was from the tribe of David in relation to his human nature, and was declared, not made, but was declared to be the Son of God with power by virtue of his resurrection from the dead. His resurrection also affirm the truth of his divine nature. This means that Jesus divine and human nature is united in One single hypostasis. So the emphasis of the ministry of apostle Paul was Jesus Christ and none else. Is this passage from the first chapter of the book of Romans in antithesis to what apostle Peter preached?

This is what apostle Paul taught: 

Ephesians 2:1-10

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Paul knew how great a sinner he was, until Christ rescued him from his wretched estate and made him his very own child at rebirth. He had an in-depth understanding of the grace of God and that translated into his preaching of the gospel of the grace of God. Is this message from Paul not in agreement with the epistles of apostle John?

This is what Paul preached: 

Galatians 3:11-13

Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, "The righteous man shall live by faith."

However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, "He who practices them shall live by them." Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us-for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"-

Acts 13:38-39

Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.

Paul wax confident in God in the face of oppositions and yet preached that justification was not by the law, but only through saving faith in Christ Jesus. Is this teaching from Paul not in line with the teachings of the rest of the apostles?

Understand this, whenever Paul used the phrase "my gospel" he meant the gospel he received by revelation from the Lord Jesus Christ, and not that he concocted his own gospel. 

Apostle Paul was a genuine minister of the gospel and you can attest to the fact that you cannot teach and preach the gospel into details, without making reference to his inspired writings. His teachings I must confess is very consistent with the teachings of our Lord himself and with that of the apostles. God bless you 

A thought to ponder 🤔 

Jesus divine and human nature is united in One single hypostasis. 

We defend and exposit the truth of the gospel