Are Paul's Epistles Inspired By God

By Donald Werner

Can two people speak contrary to each to other and each speak the truth? Can anyone speak contrary to YHVH and still speak truth? Paul was a self-proclaimed Pharisee and Jesus told us to be cautious of the teachings (doctrines) of the Pharisee. Why? Jesus also told us that they were "lawless hypocrites". And Paul himself was often accused of being a liar. Can we trust what he said? In the same book that has Paul's epistles, we also find the words of YHVH's anointed Prophet (Messiah). If we compare their words it will be evident if Paul spoke truth, or error.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jan 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781678185145

Book preview

Donald Werner

1/18/2022

Copyright

Are Paul’s Epistles Inspired By God?

Copyright © 2022 DONALD WERNER. All rights reserved.

Published by DONALD WERNER

ISBN: 978-1-6781-8514-5

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.  All Scriptures, unless otherwise marked are from the NKJV.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version® ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 

Scriptures taken from the New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

All bolding, highlighting, underlining, italics, parenthetical inserts or other emphasizing of the Scriptures is mine.  And it should be noted, that in Old Testament scriptures, even when they are quoted in the New Testament, I have restored YHVH (Yahoveh) where the translators have substituted, the LORD.

THE PREFACE

Preachers, teachers and religious leaders will tell us that we can trust the words of the Bible because it is God’s inspired word to us.  In the Old Testament we read about how the prophets who got God’s message and spoke and (or) wrote God’s words for His target audience. In the Old Testament we hear YHVH speaking through His prophets so we accept them as the words of YHVH.  But, were all of the writers of the New Testament also God’s true prophets? Were they all inspired? How do we know?  Fortunately God give us tests to determine if someone is a true prophet or a false prophet. Isaiah 8:20 for example; "To the law (Torah) and to the testimony (Prophets)! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."  God’s word is eternal and never changing, if anyone writes something that is contrary to the ‘law and the testimony’ they are a false prophet – and we must reject their message.

Using Jesus’ analogy; The words of a true prophet are the words of YHVH (Yahoveh) God and they are solid and trustworthy, when we accept His words it is like building our spiritual house on a solid rock.  The words of a false prophet are like shifting sand, building our spiritual house on shifting sand will cause it to collapse in the end.

Fortunately. there is a solid Rock on which we can build, that is, we have a Teacher who is God’s anointed Prophet, and his words are completely true and trustworthy.  When we need answers or direction, we need to go to that teacher to get the answers we need.  Jesus said that his is to be our only teacher (Matthew 23:10).  It’s from his words that we will get all the true and trustworthy answers we need for salvation.  Don’t listen to anyone who speaks contrary to Jesus.

THE INTRODUCTION

All Christians and Jews believe that Moses was a great prophet of God.  Moses wrote the first five book of the Bible and that is the foundation for all we believe. Jesus said to the Pharisees (John 5:46), For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.  What Old Testament passage was Jesus referring to that Moses wrote about Jesus? Since John also referred to Jesus as the ‘living word of God’ (John 1:14), Jesus was most likely referring to what Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 18:18-19, "I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. 19 And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him." We read that Jesus was anointed in Matthew 3:16 and Luke 3:22 where the ‘spirit of YHVH’ descended onto Jesus. (The Greek and Hebrew word translated as ‘spirit’ can also be translated as ‘breath’. When we speak our words are carried out with our breath.  God’s spirit is His breath, which carries His words, wisdom and knowledge, that’s why Jesus spoke YHVH’s words with His authority (John 12:49 and 14:10)).  So, in John 5:46 Jesus was telling the Pharisee, that if they believed Moses they would have known that he was speaking YHVH’s words with YHVH’s authority, and if they understood that, then they would have listen to him.

So, since I believe what Moses wrote, and so did Peter and Stephen, according to Acts 3:22 and 7:37, for they acknowledged that Jesus was the anointed Prophet of Deuteronomy 18.  Therefore Jesus, in the Gospels and the Book of the Revelation, spoke YHVH’s words with YHVH’s authority. So regardless of all else, Jesus’ words are YHVH’s words and they are beyond any scrutiny or questioning – they are the rock we must build on.  Whatever else we might question in the New Testament, we can’t question