Credentials are very important to our society. Almost any place you go to hear someone give a talk on something they are always introduced along with a slew of their accomplishments and titles. The author bio on any book or blog will read much the same. Twitter users often list their titles and positions in their bios. I am not saying this is a negative thing at all. It’s a good and fine thing. But why does this matter? Why is it so important to us to let our credentials be known, or to know those of whom we are listening to or reading? Well, rather obviously, the greater the accomplishments, the grander the titles and the higher the positions held, the more credibility we give that person. I am not saying that someone’s credentials are the infallible measure of their intelligence or credibility; or that their credentials make them greater than someone with lesser credentials.\u00a0All I am saying is that there is legitimate weight to the accomplishments and posititions someone has.<\/p>\n
With this in mind, when I read Paul’s letters, I am tickled by how he describes himself, and the credentials he claims. It makes me smile a gospel smile. Here is a list of Paul’s opening credentials in his letters:<\/p>\n
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God…” + Romans 1v1<\/em><\/p>\n “Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus…” + 1 Corinthians 1v1<\/em><\/p>\n “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God…” + 2 Corinthians 1v1<\/em><\/p>\n “Paul, an apostle – not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead…” + Galatians 1v1<\/em><\/p>\n “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God…” + Ephesians 1v1<\/em><\/p>\n “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus…” + Philippians 1v1<\/em><\/p>\n “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God…” + Colossians 1v1<\/em><\/p>\n “Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ…” + 1 Thessalonians 1v1<\/em><\/p>\n “Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father in the Lord Jesus Christ…” + 2 Thessalonians 1v1<\/em><\/p>\n “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope…” + 1 Timothy 1v1<\/em><\/p>\n “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according ot the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus…” + 2 Timothy 1v1<\/em><\/p>\n “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ…” + Titus 1v1<\/em><\/p>\n “Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus…” + Philemon 1v1<\/em><\/p>\n Paul only ever claims Christ. Jesus is Paul’s credentials. Jesus is his validation. Jesus is his accomplishment. In Christ, is his position. “Servant” and “Apostle” of Christ Jesus are his titles. And if we are in Christ, we have the same claim (except for apostle, that is). Before we gloss over this we must understand that Paul is not “Jesus-juking” us here. He isn’t doing church-talk here. He is sincere about his Jesus. We also must understand that Paul wasn’t from the bottom of the totem pole in society. The guy had impressive credentials from a worldly standpoint. Yet all he can seem to do is claim Christ as his validation. Paul was so thrilled with his position in Christ and calling from God that it was all he cared people know of him. And it’s not like Paul didn’t see the significance of his worldly acclaim; I’m sure he understood the sway he could’ve had from that standpoint. But Paul understood that the validition he had in Christ was legitmately so much greater than any other accomplishment or title one could have. He understood that having Christ as his credential could not be supplemented to in order to make it better. He understood that having Christ as his credential could not be improved upon by any other accomplishment. Christ is enough. Christ is all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Credentials are very important to our society. Almost any place you go to hear someone give a talk on something they are always introduced along with a slew of their accomplishments and titles. The author bio on any book or blog will read much the same. Twitter users often list their titles and positions in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":685,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[101,156,205,274,277,332,333,442,557,562,678,679,698,699,896,927,956,1105,1256,1303],"class_list":{"0":"post-1119","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"tag-accomplishments","8":"tag-as","9":"tag-bible","10":"tag-christ","11":"tag-christian","12":"tag-credential","13":"tag-credentials","14":"tag-ephesians","15":"tag-god","16":"tag-gospel","17":"tag-jenkins","18":"tag-jesus","19":"tag-josh","20":"tag-joshua","21":"tag-our","22":"tag-paul","23":"tag-positions","24":"tag-scripture","25":"tag-titles","26":"tag-validation","27":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2090,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/global-prayer-in-the-local-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":1119,"position":0},"title":"Global Prayer in the Local Church","author":"Joshua Mills","date":"June 9, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"We now live in a culture that is hostile to anyone claiming to know absolute truth. 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