{"id":5556,"date":"2018-01-02T20:02:00","date_gmt":"2018-01-03T02:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/?p=5556"},"modified":"2018-01-02T20:02:00","modified_gmt":"2018-01-03T02:02:00","slug":"paul-was-commissioned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/02\/paul-was-commissioned\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul was Commissioned"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Johnny O. Trail<\/strong>
\nCommissioned<\/em> is defined as the authority granted to a person or organization to act as an agent for another. A military definition of commissioned<\/em> is an appointment to the rank of officer in the armed forces, or a document conferring such a rank. Paul uses this term in 2 Corinthians 2:17 to describe his work on behalf of Christ. \u201cFor we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s Word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God<\/strong>, in the sight of God we speak in Christ\u201d (ESV). Paul understood the heavy burden of proclaiming the Word to lost humanity. He was not a mere seller of token Christianity. He spoke sincerely with a view of eternity in mind.
\nWith a commission, an obligation is implied. Paul was obligated to preach the Word to everyone but especially to the Gentiles. In Romans 1:14-16 he says, \u201cI am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the Gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek\u201d (ESV). The pattern that Paul followed as he traveled in various cities throughout the book of Acts was to approach the Jewish population first and then preach to the Gentiles. His primary mission was to the Gentiles, but he endeavored to preach Christ to every creature under the sun.
\nPaul was obligated by the Lord Himself to preach the Gospel to the Gentile nation. Upon the eve of Paul\u2019s conversion to Christianity, Jesus tells Ananias in Acts 9:15, \u201cGo, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry My name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.\u201d Paul understood and embraced his role as an emissary to the Gentile nation. Ephesians 3:7-8 says, \u201cOf this Gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ\u201d (ESV).
\nPaul was appointed for the task of proclaiming the Gospel to the Gentiles. 1 Timothy 2:7 says, \u201cFor this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth\u201d (ESV). Even though Paul was formerly a Pharisee zealous over the traditions of his forefathers, he evangelized a race that he probably believed was unclean at one time.
\nIn consideration of the military usage of the term commissioned<\/em>, Paul was commissioned as an apostle in the Lord\u2019s army. Paul uses military language at times in his epistles. Ephesians 6:12-13 says, \u201cFor we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm\u201d (ESV). Paul engaged in battle with various false teachers and distorters of the Truth during his missionary journeys. We, too, must be willing to defend the Truth in the wake of prevaricators.
\nPaul took his commission seriously. He was willing to be eternally lost so that his kinsmen according to the flesh, the Jews, might be saved. Paul says in Romans 9:2-3, \u201cThat I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh\u201d (ESV). The Christian\u2019s devotion to converting the souls of lost humanity should be taken just as seriously.
\nNew Testament Christians are also commissioned members of the Lord\u2019s army. The \u201cgreat commission\u201d is for every person who is a child of God. Jesus gave us our marching orders in Matthew 28:19-20 when He said, \u201cGo therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age\u201d (ESV).
\nSince Paul was commissioned by God, he did not seek any man\u2019s wisdom or permission to preach the Word of God. In Galatians 1:16 Paul says God \u201cwas pleased to reveal His Son to me, in order that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone\u201d (ESV). As a soldier in God\u2019s army, Paul had his orders and he sought to obey. He did not seek permission to do what God had commanded him to do!
\nPaul did not follow the contemporary philosophies of his day in proclaiming Christ. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:23-25, \u201cBut we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men\u201d (ESV).
\nThe apostle Paul was a commissioned member of the Lord\u2019s army and so is every New Testament Christian. We are not called in the same direct sense that Paul was called, but God\u2019s Word beckons Christians to reach out to the lost. 1 Peter 2:9 says, \u201cBut you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light\u201d (ESV).
\nChristians are commissioned in many of the same ways in which Paul was commissioned. Christ\u2019s entire purpose was to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). His mission is ours also.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Johnny O. Trail Commissioned is defined as the authority granted to a person or organization to act as an agent for another. A military definition of commissioned is an appointment to the rank of officer in the armed forces, or a document conferring such a rank. Paul uses this term in 2 Corinthians 2:17 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[1229,930,161,854,1215,171],"class_list":["post-5556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-think-excerpts","tag-commission","tag-daily-walk","tag-great-commission","tag-johnny-trail","tag-october-2012","tag-paul","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nPaul was Commissioned - Focus Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/02\/paul-was-commissioned\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Paul was Commissioned - Focus Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Johnny O. Trail Commissioned is defined as the authority granted to a person or organization to act as an agent for another. A military definition of commissioned is an appointment to the rank of officer in the armed forces, or a document conferring such a rank. 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