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This paper will examine a limited number of significant factors relating to how both

Paul of Tarsus and John Wesley partnered with God in Ministry. The factors that have
been chosen related to their ‘calling’ ‘commission’ and their ‘epistemological sources
of interaction with God. ‘Calling’ assumes an interaction from God, and the
commission must come after the initial call. For this reason the paper will build
around the crux of the ‘call’ in the life of Paul and how that relates to Wesley.

In order to effectively compare and contrast Paul as a Biblical leader and Wesley as a
Historical leader there are a number of challenges that one comes across. Looking at
the life of Wesley is relatively simple as he kept an incredibly robust journal, and
there is a suitable amount of secondary sources to help piece together his commission
with God. One of the major concerns for this paper when discussing Paul is the
historicity of Acts and how to effectively uncover a historical Paul. Scholars are
divided on the historical authenticity of Acts (Harding 1993; Sanders 2015). While
there is not enough space in this paper to fully delve into the arguments and nuances
surrounding the reliability of Acts as a historical document, a general difficulty is that
some scholars have noted that Acts paints a more triumphant picture of Paul then he
paints of himself (Harding 1993). This is not necessarily a huge issue but because it is
the aim of this paper to look at the historical Paul, his personal letters will be the first
point of reference. There is no reason to discount the volume of information that is
given in Acts, and Porter (2016) actually argues that overall Scholarship repeatedly
shows Acts as a reliable historical source (p. 79).

There are however clear biases and perspectives that are visible by the Author of
Acts. The purpose of Acts was not to give a day to day history of the early church,
instead it was used as to describe and prove to it’s readers’ that God was spreading
the Christian message throughout the Gentiles, with Elliot (1978) even calling it
‘propaganda for the pro-Gentile branch of the Church led by Paul’ (p. 496). Wright
(2013) is not overly surprised by the differing perspectives on Acts, stating that
conservative scholars traditionally defend the historicity of Acts, while more radical
scholars question it (p. 194). In an earlier paper Wright (1978) does however discuss
that our traditional Pauline interpretation has produced a false Paul by producing a
false Judaism that he is opposed to (p. 78). This note is of significance because
although Acts will not be a primary source for this paper, it has been instrumental in
building a presupposition of the sort of man that Paul was.

The call
Both Paul and Wesley received very distinct calls to ministry in partnering with God.
Both had been involved in ministry, Wesley in religious academic work moving on to
pastoral and overseas mission; Paul states himself as a ‘zealous pharisee’ who was
‘advancing in Judaism’ beyond many others (Gal. 1:13-14). There are some clear
similarities between their call to commission, the two most notable moments are the
Aldersgate conversion for Wesley and the Road to Damascus for Paul. Both of these
were defining moments in their life and ministry, and without them, both may have
disappeared in to obscurity.
Paul was an accomplished academic of his time. Seesengood (2010) said that Paul
was ‘a consummate ancient intellectual, a brilliant and innovative scholar of the
Bible.’ (p. 3). One difficulty when looking at Paul’s journey to becoming a follower
of Christ lies in the limited materials and resources left of his life. Scholars make
certain assumptions of his upbringing informed by his training in rhetoric and his
pharisaical background. Sanders’ (1977) confronts these issues and raises some
interesting questions and fresh perspectives on first century Judaism. His claims are
helpful in understanding that Judaism has more grace than has been traditionally
thought. Wright (1978) agrees that Paul should be understood as Jewish in nature, but
there is still a significant change in his worldview that happens as he moves to be a
follower of Christ. Paul discusses his calling in Galatians 1:15-17 and 1 Corinthians
15:3-8, he does not go into detail but confirms that Christ appeared to him and he
responded by immediately following him. Acts 9 gives more detail to the call and
shares the story of Paul on the road to Damascus. Regardless of the detail, the ‘call’
places God as the initiator of the transformation of Paul’s mission. Paul’s part to play
in the call is his response, and while he has previously shown himself to be zealous
and violent towards followers of Christ, as far as we can tell when he receives a call
from God he is instantly responsive.

John Wesley achieved his early accomplishments through love of study. He intended
to spend his life ‘seeking truth within academia’ (Headly 2010; Heitznreater 1984, p.
43). Wesley had a great value for law, systems, and structures. He believed it was the
individual’s duty and responsibility to uphold God’s rules to perfection. It is
remarkable when reading Wesley’s early writings how impersonal they are towards
God. It is clear that Wesley believes and trusts God but there is no sense of a
closeness or relationship between them. Wesley received a similar call to Paul,
because we have a more complete record from Wesley we know that he wrestled with
the call for a considerable amount of time (Jay 1987). Wesley was intrigued by the
Moravian’s and their simple faith but said that he was too proud, ‘learned’, and ‘wise’
(Pollock, 1989 p. 65). After some time Wesley encountered God in his famous
Aldersgate Conversion, he noted that while hearing Luther’s preface to Romans, he
felt his heart ‘strangely warmed’, and that he trusted in Christ alone for his salvation
(Jay 1987, p. 35). This was a profound conversion for Wesley as he previously had no
faith in his salvation through Christ and had placed his trust in his own works and
abilities to uphold the law.

Traditional thinking would quickly assumed that Paul’s ‘call’ was entirely similar to
Wesley’s where he converted to the Christian faith and was finally released of the
guilt he felt due to his inability to live up to the law. A closer examination of Paul in
the New Testament shows that this is not the case. NT Wright (2013) notes the
Damascus road experience a ‘fresh and surprising call’ for Paul, but notes that
nowhere do we read of the remorse and change of heart, nor a change from trust in
works to faith (p. 4197). Some of Wright’s work is built upon Stendahl’s, Stendahl
(1962) notes that Paul’s statements were written in relation to quite a different
problem than the modern man’s struggle with ‘introspective conscience’ (p. 262).
Wright believes that Paul’s change towards ‘faith alone’ in Jesus was actually as a
rebuttal to the national pride that the Israelites felt that they alone held the law. As far
as Paul was concerned, he was serving the same God all along (Coutsoumpos, p. 42).
There is more continuity in Paul’s life and transformation than we might imagine.
One of the major transformations that can be seen in Paul’s ministry was that he went
from persecuting Christians for God, to proclaiming the Gospel with God.

Comission
Paul was commissioned to be the apostle to the Gentiles. While he was not one of
Jesus’ Earthly disciples, he considered himself as carrying as much authority and
purpose as them (Gal 1:22-2:2). Paul’s mission had its ontos placed firmly in his
‘calling’ from God and indeed in Christ’s mission. While Peter was given the
commission of spreading the gospel among the Jews, Paul received the surprising call
to proclaim the Gospel among the Gentile nations.

It is also apparent for Wesley that his aim and mission never changed. He felt that he
had been called of God to spread the Gospel, quite similarly to Paul, and used the rest
of his life to carry out this calling:
‘We all aim at one point, (as we did from the hour when we first engaged in
the work,) not at profit, any more than at ease, or at pleasure, or the praise of
men; but to spread true religion through London, Dublin, Edinburgh, and, as
we are able, through the three kingdoms’ (Wesley & Jackson, 1831 p. 343)
It is clear that the mission Wesley was on was not something that began in himself,
but rather flowed from God’s mission. The outworking of his mission was firmly
based in the response to the grace and call he had received from God during his
Aldersgate experience. To understand the richness and the depth of the missio Dei
when discussing the co-missional paradigm, one must understand that being on
mission is far more than completing a job on behalf of God. In John 20:21-22 Jesus
brings us in to be apart of the ongoing mission that he has been given by the Father.
Hartenstein (cited in Engelsviken 2003) captures this thought brilliantly, and says the
following on mission:

‘Mission is not just the conversion of the individual, nor just obedience to the
word of the Lord, not just the obligation to gather the church. It is the taking
part in the sending of the Son, the missio Dei, with the holistic aim of
establishing Christ’s rule over all redeemed creation’ (p. 482).

God’s mission is a mission of reconciliation, 2 Cor 5:18-20 claims that God is


actively and dynamically involved in reconciling the world back to himself. God is
the ‘sending God’, just as the Father sent the Son, the Son also sends us (John 20:21).
The church is in co-mission with Christ by participating in his reconciliatory aim, this
means that we are not passive but active participants with God. Hastings (2012) says
‘He works and we work as he works’ (p. 248). As the Church of Christ, and
ambassadors of Christ we have now been given the invitation to join in God’s work in
reconciling humanity back to him. Both Paul and Wesley were given a very specific
mission, which flowed out of a very specific call.

Epistemological sources of interaction with God


For Wesley and Paul their defining ‘call’ moment impacted their epistemological
understandings of God profoundly. Their call took them beyond being religious
ministers, towards partaking in the divine nature and carrying out mission in
partnership with God. Paul clearly states in Galatians that his commissioning
happened by direct communication from Jesus (Galatians 1:12). And it is also clearly
apparent in Wesley’s writing that his ‘strangely warmed’ encounter left him with an
assurance of divine revelation (Jay 1987, p. 35). King (2012) states that there are two
major avenues to access knowledge of God, the first is acquired knowledge based on
evidence and logic, the second is direct communication or revelation (p. 496). It
would appear that for both of these men they began their ministry journey with an
epistemological approach based on acquired knowledge, and then a direct revelation
from God changed their approach to ministry and to life.

Wesley was a methodical modern thinker and his efforts towards theological
reflection are still in use today (Hey & Roux 2012, p. 195). there has been much
written on the ‘Wesleyan Quadrilateral’, and while this concept was not one that
Wesley himself created, it can be seen in his work that he used scripture, reason,
tradition, and experience in order to understand more of who God was (Outler 2008,
p. 17). Before his Aldersgate conversion, Wesley’s relational aspect of
communication with God was lacking. He was incredibly smart, and could reason
about God very effectively, but this was quite disconnected from a relational or
emotional sphere. The divine revelation he received during his conversion led him to
begin understanding the epistemological importance and availability of listening to
the Spirit of God, he would use Paul’s words in his messages when he said that ‘The
Spirit itself beareth witness with our Spirit, that we are children of God’ (Rom 8:16;
Jackson 1872).

Interpreting the epistemological foundations of Paul is more challenging than


interpreting Wesley. Paul was not a modern western philosopher; anything we can
discover about his epistemology of interaction with God is implicit in his letters in the
New Testament. Scott (2004) has done substantial study on Paul’s epistemological
foundations and proposes that one of the core tenets of Paul’s epistemological
approach is narrative. Paul places events and history within a grand metanarrative,
which gives meaning to the mundane (p. 116). Paul is also pliable in his thinking and
is willing to re-evaluate previously understood truths if new information becomes
available, this is apparent in Gal. 3:23-29 Where the cross of Christ gives new
meaning to a pre existing narrative. It is important to note that it is imperative to
Paul’s approach that this narrative is anchored in concrete reality (Scott 2004, p. 84).
This is in direct opposition to Bultmann’s (1984) claims that the New Testament was
Mythology, Paul’s narrative is about real events. The Holy Spirit plays an
indispensible role in Paul’s understanding of God and acquisition of new knowledge
about him. Scott (2006) states that, for Paul, ‘the Spirit’s role is one of facilitating
proper reasoning rather than displacing human intellectual activity’ (p. 4). All of the
Apostle’s knowledge is aimed towards bringing people into a strong relational
connection with God. Paul believes knowledge should be intertwined with love, not a
disconnected rationality that became common in the modern era; this is evident in 1
Cor. 8. The strong relational aspect of interaction with God further reinforces the
concept that he was co-missioning with God, rather than working out of duty.

This paper has briefly discussed three major factors relating to the co-missional
paradigm: call, commission, Epistemological sources of interaction with God. By
taking a deeper look at Paul of Tarsus, it is evident that his life and ministry took a
sharp turn towards missioning with God after his encounter on the road to Damascus.
The same thing is also true of Wesley, although his encounter was quite different, it
was the call that put him on course to having such an influential life. Both Paul and
Wesley showed strong commitment to a clear mission given by God, and both
experienced increased relational communication with God after their call. While they
are very different figures, there are some clear similarities when looking at their lives
through a lens of the co-missional paradigm. This would seem to highlight the
importance of being open to the call of God, obedient to the mission of God, and
ready to commune with God.
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