Paul’s Eagerness to Elicit Faith Through Proclamation of the Word

Paul’s passionate love for Jesus made him devote his life to the spread of the Word. He wrote to the community in Rome saying, “So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome” (Rom 1:15). He knew that in order to call upon the Lord, faith was needed; faith in its turn was the result of hearing [the result of proclamation]; hearing was made possible through the preacher; preaching became a reality when someone was sent forth. Recalling Isaiah (Isa 52:7) and Nahum (Nah 2:1), Paul declared, “(i) How beautiful are the feet of those who preach Good News?” (Rom 10:14-15). Reading the letters of Paul, one notices immediately this preoccupation and concern of Paul. We draw our attention to a few texts in the Pauline letters which highlight Paul’s keen interest in the diffusion of the Word.

Paul wrote his theologically dense letter to the Romans with the intention of gaining converts for the Lord. He wrote to them, saying: “I have intended to come to you ... in order that I may reap some harvest among you as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish: so, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome” (Rom 1:13- 15). Paul himself claimed that it was his ambition to proclaim Christ (see also Rom 15:20). (ii)In a similar tone, he wrote to the Corinthians, saying, “For if I preach the Gospel that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Cor 9:16).(iii) Paul told the Ephesians that to proclaim the Gospel was a grace: “To me, the grace was given ... to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph 3:8).

Timothy was his companion and great confidant in his missionary tours. Timothy always played the second fiddle and made Paul’s mission fruitful. Paul had high praises for him, as we shall mention on a later occasion. Eventually, Timothy was made the leader of the community in Ephesus. Among other things, Paul wrote to him, “Preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke and exhort, be unfailing in patience and teaching ... As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry” (2 Tim 4:2-5). The importance of proclamation called for a life-long mission and not a part-time activity! The proclamation is to be done whether the time is ‘convenient’ or whether it is ‘inconvenient’, and Paul is using here ‘rare words’ found in biblical literature! Paul wants Timothy to take advantage of all opportunities that come along to make the Gospel message known; the witnessing to the Gospel includes activities like teaching, encouragement, and exhortation. Timothy should follow the instructional and exhortative ministry for which Paul was himself an exemplar. (iv) Paul did not rely solely on his abilities. He wrote to the community at Thessalonica saying, “Finally brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed on and triumph, as it did among you” (2 Thes 3:1; see also Eph 6:19). (v) Paul must have been recalling the invitation of Jesus to the Twelve to pray for labourers to gather in the harvest (Mt 9:37-38; Lk 10:1-2). Therefore, Paul was making the Thessalonians aware that they are all together as a team in the work of diffusing the Word, and as such, they ought to pray so that the Word may grow.

Paul wrote to the Colossians saying that he needs the assistance of their prayers so that God may open a “door for the word” (Col 4:3). The situation is different though in Ephesus. This is to be deduced from his letter to the Corinthians. Paul wrote to them, saying that he intends to stay in Ephesus until Pentecost “for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries” (1 Cor 16:8-9). (vi) Yet another time, he spoke of the same to the Corinthians. He wrote, “When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, a door was opened for me in the Lord” (2 Cor 2:12). Paul told them: “We too believe and so we speak” (2 Cor 4:13).

There was something unique about Paul’s style of sharing the Word of God. He was prepared to relinquish all his rights when announcing the good news. He spoke extensively on this theme (see 1 Cor 9:1-18). (vii) A ‘divine compulsion or necessity’ propelled Paul to embark upon his mission of proclamation. (viii) His threefold use of “nevertheless, we have not made use of this right” or a similar expression (see 1 Cor 9:12, 15, 18) shows that he was absolutely willing to offer the Gospel without expecting a reward. (ix) He would declare to the Corinthians, “... I have become all things to all men that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings” (1 Cor 9:22-23). Paul was aware that faith is the result of proclamation. He says, “... so we preach, and so you believed” (1 Cor 15:11).

Paul set aside his time and energy for the proclamation of the Gospel since he knew the impact that it would have. He wrote to the Corinthians, “For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel” (1 Cor 4:15). One cannot but be happily shocked when he / she hears Paul saying, “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen by race” (Rom 9:3).x This hyperbole will be a mysterious statement only for those who do not know how much Paul was preoccupied about the salvation of all! In fine, it was no empty declaration when he told the Corinthians, “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls” (2 Cor 12:15). We will conclude this theme with two deep insights that flow from Paul’s writings. He wrote: “For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word; but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ” (2 Cor 2:17; see also 4:2; 1 Thes 2:3-6). And again, he says, “For what we preach is not ourselves but Jesus Christ the Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor 4:5). Thus, Paul shares his view about the dispositions that one ought to have when announcing the Word! All forms of avarice and personal glorification are to be avoided when making the Gospel known. In all humility, he used to ask for prayers so that he may proclaim with courage: “[pray] also for me, that utterance may be given in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the Gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains; that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak” (Eph 6:19-20).

(i) The original Greek that Paul uses here is hōraios. It can be rendered as “timely” (or happening at the right time). See the original Greek word hōraios, Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, Revised by William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1979). Moo suggests “timely” as a preferable alternative for “beautiful”. See Douglas J. Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996) 664.
(ii) See Chris Tilling, Paul’s Divine Christology, 178.
(iii) The original Greek here is “ouai” (9:16). It can be rendered in numerous ways: horror, woe, terrible, disaster, how greatly one will suffer, etc...
(iv) Philip H. Towner, The Letters to Timothy and Titus, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2006) 600-608.
(v) Paul asked for prayers so that he may be able to speak the Word with all boldness. The Greek here reminds the readers of Acts 4:23-31.
(vi) Here the readers are reminded of Luke’s description of Saul and Barnabas who are giving a report to the Church at Antioch that had speeded them on their missionary journey. They declared all that God had done through them, “and how he opened a door of faith to the Gentiles” (Acts 14:27).
(vii) The proclamation is a divine commission which he gladly accepts; It is a calling that is filled with joy’; there is no boredom in carrying out this mission of proclamation.
(viii) The use of anankē (necessity or compulsion in 1 Cor 9:16) reminds the readers of anankazō (to compel [them to enter] in Lk 14:24). The noun and the verb are in the same semantic field and they can explain each other mutually. See also Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, Revised Edition, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014) 462.
(ix) Paul must be having in mind the missionary discourse of Jesus, “you received without paying, give without pay” (Mt 10:8).
(x) Like Moses who was ready to have his name ‘blotted out of the book of life’ (see Exod 32:30-32), Paul is ready to sacrifice his own life for the sake of the Jewish community. See Douglas J. Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, 558-559.