Jesus Christ & The Apostle Paul

Abbotsford

Encountering page 244.

ELWELL, WALTER AND YARBROUGH, ROBERT W., Third Edition (2013) Encountering The New Testament, Grand Rapids, Baker Academic.

Within my academic studies and personal reading, I have understood that there is a theological consistency between the theology of the Lord Jesus Christ and the theology of the Apostle Paul.

Those within scholarship that attempt to draw a theological wedge between the two, as in two separate contradictory gospels and theologies are presented, in my opinion, misrepresent the New Testament in context.

This misrepresentation can occur in belief and disbelief.

In belief, in the context of an assumed different theology, or theological emphasis, but not a different Gospel:

At Columbia Bible College, in moderate conservative, sometimes moderate liberal, contexts, some of the Professor's stated in lectures (paraphrased) that the words of Jesus Christ took precedence over the words of the Apostle Paul.

This was in particular in order to support Biblical non-resistance which they viewed as referenced more by 'red letter' Jesus Christ than by the Apostle Paul.

I disagreed with this theology, viewing that even though Jesus Christ was and is incarnate God and the Apostle Paul was a mere man, that if all Scripture was inspired by God (2 Timothy 3: 16,  2 Peter 3: 16) then all Scripture is inspired by God the Holy Spirit.

In a sense:

The Holy Spirit is the primary cause or source of Scripture (Yes, we can also state the triune God.).

The secondary cause or source either the Lord Jesus Christ or the Apostle Paul (and their scribes) would not necessarily determine the greater importance of a verse or passage from Scripture. (And indeed in the Gospels, Jesus Christ submitted to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, even as he later sent God the Holy Spirit.).

I also opined, that on some issues, for example, non-resistance; Paul's writing in Romans 13 actually amplified Jesus Christ's earlier teaching in Matthew 5-7, in regard to turning the other cheek and not seeking vengeance for self. Law and order is under the power of the State (Romans 13).