The Lord Speaks to Paul

How many times did Paul claim the Lord spoke to him directly?

The answer might surprise you.

In his thirteen New Testament letters, Paul only says the Lord spoke to him once.

After pleading with the Lord to remove his thorn in the flesh, Paul writes, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’” (2 Cor 12:9).

One sentence. That’s it.

Every other time Paul talks about the Lord’s word, he is referring to the Scriptures or a saying of Jesus during his earthly ministry.

Why does this matter?

Because some claim to hear directly from the Lord all the time. For example, I’ve seen a pastor read pages and pages of his so-called prophecies. How does that not raise his words to the level of Scripture?

Granted, the book of Acts recounts seven episodes of the Lord speaking to Paul, but Acts was not written by Paul. Here’s the point: In his correspondence, Paul doesn’t act like he receives personal messages from the Lord on a regular basis.

The Book of Acts

Now let’s explore the seven episodes in Acts:

• Near Damascus: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? . . . I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do” (9:5-6). An expanded version is found in Acts 26: “Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” (vv. 16-18)

• Antioch: “Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.” (13:1-3)

• Troas: “During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” (16:9-10)

• Corinth: “One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.’” (18:9-10)

• Miletus: “I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.” (20:23)

• Jerusalem: “When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance and saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’ . . . “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’” (22:17-21)

• Sailing to Rome: “Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’” (27:23-24)

Purpose

What do you notice about these divine messages? What is their focus or purpose?

They are focused on Paul spreading the gospel.

• “I am sending you to them [the Gentiles] to open their eyes. . . ” (26:17)

• “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (13:2)

• “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (16:9). This vision led them to conclude that God had called them to preach the gospel in Macedonia. 

• “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.” (18:9)

• Paul can expect prison and hardship in very city because of his message. (See the context of Acts 20.)

• “Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’ . . . Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.” (22:18-21)

• “Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar” (27:24). This fulfills the Lord’s word to Ananias: “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.” (9:15)

Was the Lord telling Paul where to buy his groceries?

Was he telling Paul what to wear?

Was he telling Paul how to get rich?

The Lord’s personal messages to Paul were focused on the advance of the gospel.

Frequency

Moreover, Acts narrates a thirty-year period so we have no evidence that Paul heard from God on a daily or weekly basis. Trying to receive direct and personal messages from God every day outside of Scripture is unbiblical.

Clarity

Notice also that God’s communications to Paul were clear. We have no evidence to suggest that he had to wonder whether or not God had spoken to him. In the one case where deliberation could have happened—the vision at Troas—Luke writes, “we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” When God speaks to his people, they are not confused about the speaker’s identity.   

Reflection

Why are some modern-day preachers claiming to hear from the Lord all the time and promising health and wealth to their audiences? How does that match with the Lord’s messages to Paul? Has the Lord’s goal for our lives changed? If his priority was the gospel in the first century, has it shifted to material blessings in the twenty-first century?

False teachers are delivering up a corrupt message—a complete twisting of the revelation given to us in the New Testament. And in the process they are acting like they are hearing from God.

Both Paul and false teachers claim to hear from God (although Paul does so much less frequently).

Who do you trust?

Who has actually heard from God?

A man preaching prosperity and boasting in his material wealth or Paul with bruises and scars all over his body who worked a manual job to provide for the needy. This was how Paul boasted:

Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. (2 Cor 12:24-27)

Watch out for people who claim to receive private messages from the Lord. If the content and frequency doesn’t match the New Testament, stop listening to them.