I found this icon when I googled "Super Apostles." It was linked to a Super Apostle Detector. Some fun. Knock yourself out.
Nowadays, Paul is just an accepted, even revered, apostle and major contributor to the cannon. It's hard to imagine how controversial he must have been in his day -- a killer of Christians now proclaimed to be an Apostle. The first century was far from perfect. How long did perfection on Earth and in the church last? There never was a perfect moment -- Christ's followers doubted till the end and then even at the beginning with Christ raised.
There will always be human imperfection in the church, in marriage and in life. Acknowledging the imperfection can transform church, marriage and self.
So Paul feels obligated to spend several chapters defending himself from the "Super Apostles." How did that make him feel? But even as he defends, he leaves us with words that centuries later we find comfort in:
"...There was give me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. [ah, my earlier question is answered. There is perfection in this weakness. The weakness of the church is not exclusive of its perfection. It is part of it.]"
For all of the humbling and sorrowful moments he experienced on this earth, I'm confident that Paul has seen more than recompense in heaven and with his Lord.
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