It’s crucial to give this question some thought. Muslims frequently bring up the argument that the teachings of Jesus and Paul disagree, particularly when it comes to Paul’s teaching that Jesus is the eternal Son of God (see, for example, Philippians 2:6–11 and Colossians 1:15–20). Does this mean that Paul and Jesus gave two distinct stories of salvation found in the Bible?
The comparison
To be clear from the outset, the response is a resounding NO! Let’s examine the reasons.
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- Jesus as the Son of God is identified throughout the gospel accounts (Matthew 3:17; 4:3, 6; 14:33; 26:63; Mark 1:1, 11; 15:39; Luke 1:35; 3:22; John 1:34, 49; 19:7; 20:23, to name a few). The same message is delivered by Paul, who starts by declaring that Jesus is the Son of God in their synagogues right away (Acts 9:20).
- John the Baptist appeared preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near,” before Jesus began His mission (Matthew 3:2). Jesus also preached that “the kingdom of God is near.” Turn from your sins and accept the gospel (Mark 1:15, also see Matthew 4:17; Acts 1:3). Acts 28:31–23 states that Paul “preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ” once again.
- We learn more about this repentance that John preached in both Mark and Luke. “Repentance for the forgiveness of sins” is what it is, according to Mark 1:4, Luke 3:3, and Matthew 3:6. The idea that the King is coming is conveyed in each of these gospel chapters (the passage from Isaiah 40 indicates this), and as such, you should prepare for him by turning from your sins. Paul also conveys this message in 1 Thessalonians 1:9, saying, “They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the true and living God.”
- As we’ve seen from Mark 1:4, Luke 3:3, and Matthew 3:6, Jesus and Paul both preached against sin. What then did Paul and Jesus teach about sin? According to what Jesus said, sin is what makes us slaves (John 8:34) and what kills us (John 8:21). Similar teachings are found in Ephesians 2:1–3, where Paul describes the Ephesians as “dead in their transgressions and sins,” and Roman Christians as “you used to be slaves to sin” (Romans 6:17).
- Therefore, how may sin be addressed? Together with His companions, Jesus celebrated the Passover dinner on the final evening before He was betrayed. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins,” Jesus stated as he passed the wine to them during the meal (Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20). According to Jesus’ view, guilt is forgiven by the power of His own blood (which the wine symbolizes; see “this is my blood”). Where was the blood of Jesus shed? He was hanging on the cross. This is also consistent with the teachings of Paul, who states that “[Jesus] was delivered over to death for our sins” in Romans 4:25 and quotes Jesus from Matthew 26:28 in 1 Corinthians 11:25.
As we’ve seen, Jesus and Paul both teach the same things regarding: (1) the existence of God’s kingdom; (2) the Son of God; (3) the need for repentance; (4) the reality of sin; and (5) the way in which sins are forgiven as a result of Jesus’ death.
Paul delivered the gospel
It is important to note that in 1 Corinthians 15:3–8, Paul provides an overview of the gospel he preaches:
“I have given you the greatest importance of all that I have received: that Christ died on the cross for our sins in line with the scriptures, that He was buried, that He rose from the dead in line with the scriptures on the third day, and that He appeared to Cephas before the twelve.”
There are two things in particular that stand out. Paul first claims to have “delivered” what he had received to the Corinthians. This is a technical phrase used by the rabbis to indicate that they faithfully transmitted to others what they had been given (the term was also applied to passwords; it is clear how important it is to do so). Paul is thus stating that he dutifully transmitted what he had been given; in other words, the message he teaches is not his own, but rather what he was given by others. Second, Paul’s message is consistent with what Jesus taught. Jesus mentions this multiple times in the gospel narratives:
“He then started teaching them that the Son of Man had to go through a lot, be rejected by the chief priests, elders, and teachers of the law, be killed, and then rise again after three days.” (Matt 16:21; Luke 9:22; Mark 8:31)
Therefore, three days from now, both Jesus and Paul predict that Jesus will die and rise. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15 that Jesus would die in order to atone for sins, but as we have already seen, Jesus states the same thing at the Last Supper (see, for example, Matthew 26:28).
Complete agreement
Finally, it’s important to think about why the gospels and Paul’s letters appear to be distinct—not that they teach incompatible or different ideas, mind you. The only reason they differ is that they are engaged in different activities. While Paul wrote after Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, the gospels present us with Jesus as He was, what He accomplished, and who He was. Paul frequently relates the gospel to particular problems that the church was confronting in his writings (e.g., 1 Corinthians, Galatians). This does not imply that he is teaching something distinct from Jesus; rather, it indicates that he is applying the Gospel, which is what Jesus taught, to particular circumstances that Jesus did not need to address because the church was not yet constituted.
You can rest confident that there is a complete alignment between the teachings of Paul in his letters and Jesus in the gospels, providing us with more assurance and certainty regarding the path to salvation.
