"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus."
What a great verse to think about. As always when doing a Bible Study, one should observe the text. Notice right away that the verse has 4 sections: An...by...according to...that. The first section is fairly easy to observe. Christ Jesus describes the word apostle by narrowing down to whose apostle. The Greek text is without a definite article before apostle. Which could mean either "an" or "the" apostle. The Bible shows that Paul was not the only apostle of Jesus so "an" is a better fit.
The next section starts with "by." The word "by" is a representation of dia in the Greek. The main action of the conjunction is through. It was through God's will that Paul would become an apostle. The New Living Translation has a better phrase to understand this. It says, "chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus." Also "will" is defined as God's will which sets it apart from Paul's will. This shows that God had ordained Paul for apostleship before it happened because was part of His plan.
The 3rd section talks about the promise. The promise is more defined by “the life.” Paul’s calling to an apostle was to fulfill the promise by proclaiming it. This is found in the conjunction “according to.” Commentartors mention that according to should be viewed as the purpose of Paul’s ministry. So Paul’s purpose is to fulfill or proclaim the promise of life. In other words, Paul is telling Timothy that God selected Paul to proclaim the promise of life. The promise of life is not this present life by the life that God gives in eternity, which proclaimed through the gospel. Paul’s whole ministry was to proclaim the gospel to lost souls. Giving the lost souls an opportunity to be saved by God to have life for eternity. This life was lived out by Paul when Luke describes the travel of Paul through Acts.
The 4th section is about where that promise of the life is. The verse tells us that the promise of life is in Christ Jesus. The promise of the life is given to those who have repented and trusted in Christ. The promise of the life is heard through the gospel which is centered around the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. That is why the promise is in Christ. It was Christ that defeated death so those who believe will have eternal life.
I know that I could go deeper and I might edit and go but here is the point. Paul’s life as a Christian was ordain by God for the furthering of the gospel. He did not choose to be a apostle but God selected him. The same is true for us today. God select us for our ministry to further the gospel of Christ by His will. This does not mean to be an apostle but through other gifts that He gives. Our task though is to become obedient to the call of being faithful witnesses. This is done by denying our own will and accepting God’s plan.
An example in my life of this is street witnessing. God has given me an able to teach and overcome a fear of man (sometimes) to proclaim Christ on the street. I do not like talking to strangers but for some reason God has given me the gift When I do witness to people, I do not stumble when preaching the gospel and I am able to defend to gospel. This is totally based on God’s grace.
To Him to be Glory:
Solus Christus!
