Credentials

#2 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope, (1 Tim 1:1) We don't write many letters these days. Everything is typically done through instant communication. We post, we tweet, we message, we text, many times leaving whole words and grammar in the dust. Not so in biblical times, and therefore we can garner much from the Holy Spirit inspired words we find on the pages of Scripture. In this letter to Timothy, Paul begins with the typical practice of the day. He starts out by identifying himself and giving his credentials, then he makes note of who the letter is addressed to, and then follows with the body of the letter. His credentials are important lest anyone question young Timothy about the authority of his teaching. “Who are you young Timothy to tell us how to live and do church?” And Timothy simply has to produce the letter and say, “This is who I am, this is where my authority comes from!” So Paul begins the letter by identifying himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ. What is an apostle? An apostle is two things. He is either an ambassador for the Gospel or a commissioner of Christ. There is a difference. In the sense of ambassador, an apostle is a representative sent out by a church as we read in 2Co 8:23 “If anyone inquires about Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker concerning you. Or if our brethren are inquired about, they are messengers (apostles) of the churches, the glory of Christ.” But Paul uses the word here in a higher sense. He is a messenger to be sure, but he is one of 13 that have been appointed directly by Jesus Christ. His words and the words of the other twelve have clout because they received their authority to speak directly from a person to person encounter with Christ. These words are part of the foundation of the church as stated in Eph 2:20, “ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,” and that's why we read of the early church that they, “continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, and not just the doctrine of Christ! They are one and the same! (Acts 2:42) Shouldn't we do the same. There is just as much red r-e-d, in the words of the Apostles as in the words of Jesus. Therefore let us heed all of the Bible, not just that portion written in red.