The Life and Letters of the Apostle Paul: An Introduction

It is impossible to imagine what Christianity would look like today if the Apostle Paul had not lived and died in the first century. As important as they were, if we suddenly had no James or perhaps even no Peter the jolt would not be nearly as sharp as removing Paul. His mission to the Gentiles was definitive for the shape of Christianity for centuries to come. Even more than that, it was his letters that largely defined the discussions, theologies and church councils for the First Millenium and beyond. Christianity is fundamentally about Jesus Christ—and Paul is the first one to remind us of that—yet Christianity without Paul is hard to imagine. Paul would never have believed that his letters would be given equal weight with the Jewish Torah by later Christians. He would have been appalled by such an idea. But today we treasure these writings not just for their devotional, theological and homiletical value but as self-revelations of a man who was passionately in love with God, who was enthralled by the truth of salvation through Jesus Christ, and who constantly lived what he preached.

Michael Inyang currently lives in Kentucky, USA, as he embarks on his PhD journey at the Asbury Theological Seminary. Most recently he served as Associate Director of Graduate Studies at the West African Theological Seminary (WATS), Lagos, an affiliate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He obtained an M.A. in Biblical Studies and M.Div. from WATS, where he taught New Testament courses. Michael Inyang is also an Elder with The Apostolic Church, Nigeria. His wife, Mrs Miriam Inyang, has served as Academic Secretary at WATS.