ANSWERS: 7
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Yes. Not only was his counsel on spiritual matters accurate, he asserts at various times that he is speaking the direct commandments of the Lord (see I Corinthians 14:37). He also asserted that he was speaking by revelation of the Lord (see II Corinthians 12:7, Galatians 1:12, 2:2, Ephesians 3:3). See the previous question for the scriptures which establish him as an apostle.
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I would add to this that before he was an apostle, Paul was a Pharisee - an expert on Judaic religion. Even before he knew Jesus, he would have known God and God's ways very well. He called himself a "Pharisee of Pharisees". They were well educated, and knew their scripture by rote. Paul's teachings are harmonious with other apostolic writings, and also harmonious with God's nature as extrapolated from the old testament. I'd say that he would have gotten some awesome revelations of the knowledge he already had. He spent a while with the other apostles, and so would have picked up on much of their experience with Jesus, which he would have been able to discern as true or false through his prior knowledge. I would say that while all of the Apostles were accurate in their counsel, Paul definitely stands tall amongst them.
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Peter thought so: 2 Peter 3:15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
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Paul was definitely a Jew , persecuting Christians, until Jesus appeared to him and asked, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me.?" See, Paul was a well educated Jew and thought he was doing the right thing, even when he condoned stoning Stephen to death. Everyone knew Paul and knew of his conversion.. God picked Paul for a reason.{he was not among the 12} He plays an important part letting people know you can change and God forgives. God helped him write the most books of anyone in the Bible. I'd say he was ACCURATE.
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Paul was indeed an apostle; most of 2 Corinthians he spends defending his apostleship to the Corinthians, who had fallen prey to people claiming Paul was not an apostle. His writings are indeed accurate; he backs himself up with Old Testament writings, uses himself as an example of sanctified (thankful) living, and knew what he was talking about.
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*If* he was an apostle, then yes. If he wasn't, then maybe. The brightest minds of the first millenium generally seem to have agreed that Paul was a genuine apostle, and I have not personally seen any evidence that the other apostles disagreed with him. As persuasive as tradition is, though, I personally believe that the Bible can stand up to textual criticism, and nothing should necessarily be taken for granted. I think that it is our obligation to intelligently explore what we believe so that we thoroughly understand it. I say all that to mitigate that big *if* above. I do believe that Paul was an apostle, and I place my full trust in what he has written.
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Paul WAS NOT of the 12 that Christ chose... He did NOT walk with the Lord... Christ had already been CRUCIFIED... Jesus appeared to him and asked him, WHY are you persecuting Me"? He CONVERTED... God Chose Paul... His COUNCEL was from the inspiration of the HOLY SPIRIT, which IS GOD HIMSELF.....SO, I'D say it was DEAD ON!
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