This is the first part of a three part series.  Paul was trained up and then sent forth by the risen and ascended Christ Jesus as apostle of the Gentiles.  He was sent out and empowered to communicate the essence of what he was doing during the dispensation of the grace of God.  This may be considered from three perspectives:

• - The Fullness of the Word of God Given to Paul for Our Edification
• - The Fullness of Christ’s Suffering Given to Paul for Our Example
• - The Fullness of Christ’s Supply Given to Us for Our Empowering

This message is part one of that series.  So to summarize, it is through Paul and through Paul alone that the word of God for us today has been communicated.  That does not mean that the rest of the Bible is not important for us.  It is.  In Rom. 15:4 Paul writes that it is for our encouragement.  It is not for our obedience, but is for our faith and encouragement while the Pauline revelation is for both out faith and our obedience.  It is there that the walk of the believer is found.  We truly are not under the law but are under grace.  That is profound.

We continue today to consider what happened when Stephen was stoned and Saul stood nearby as his official accuser.  The rulers in Israel (the Sanhedrin) had given Saul this authority and the result was Stephen’s martyrdom after he had preached one of the most powerful sermons ever.  

But now the tables for Israel begin to turn.  Though many were saved through Stephen’s preaching, his stoning seals their fate for now as God saves his chief enemy on earth, Saul.  Saul is saved miraculously while in the height of his rebellion and is then sent forth as the apostle of the Gentiles with a message of completed redemption through the death and glorious resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and simple faith in him apart from works in any sense.  He was as he said later “the chief [or first] of sinners” saved by grace through faith.  He was set forth for all to see as an archetype of what it means today to be a believer.  But the most profound teaching of all is in the area of the new life that this apostle demonstrated before all.  That is our main focus today in our fellowship around some truly glorious and exceedingly powerful scriptures, all focusing on Paul’s sufferings and their example for us.

Today we consider again the special working of the Holy Spirit after Pentecost as God continues to foreshadow the coming Kingdom in Israel’s midst.  The “final opportunity” for God’s nation is lost as  the Jewish leaders fail to repent and believe the gospel that Stephen preaches.   Stephen’s stoning seals their fate for now as God will not save his chief enemy on earth, Saul, and send him forth as apostle of the Gentiles.

We are continuing our studies on The Long War Against God.  In these messages we are focused on Satan's failed attempts to thwart the redemptive plan of Almighty God beginning with his heavenly rebellion and ending with the final chapter in the book of Revelation.  This Satanic warfare is all about the promise of the Seed of the Woman first written on in Gen. 3:15.

We are continuing our studies on The Long War Against God.  In these messages we are focused on Satan's failed attempts to thwart the redemptive plan of Almighty God beginning with his heavenly rebellion and ending with the final chapter in the book of Revelation.  This Satanic warfare is all about the promise of the Seed of the Woman first written on in Gen. 3:15.