Paul's Impact On Church History

Introduction Something that was really important in Church history was the spreading of the word of God. Many people have dropped everything and went out and told people about who God is and how to live in a lifestyle that is devoted to God. Jesus has told us, in Matthew 28, to go out and share what we have learned from him to all the nations. There are so many people who have taken this commandment to heart and as a result have impacted Church history and also have made an impact on how missions is portrayed today. Ulfilas and Paul are prime examples of missionaries who have impacted Church History. They have influenced the Church through people utilizing their stories and what they did as missionaries for key examples in the Christian Ministry …show more content…
Most of how we contextualize our theology today comes from Paul’s ways of thinking. Many of Paul’s writings about the Church were used for a way to organize the Church and also were used by, “numerous communities of the late 1st and early 2nd centuries preserved Paul’s letters and tried valiantly to apply aspects of his thought to the new situations in which they found themselves.” Even Augustine used Paul’s letters to help form his thoughts over the doctrine of sin. Augustine interpreted Romans 5:12-21 to mean that sin was handed down to us because of the original sin of Adam. Aquinas did the same with using Romans 1:20 as a background for his thoughts about “natural Theology” and how anyone can come to the realization of a divine being from creation alone. In the book “Approaches to Paul” E.J. Goodspeed sums up that, “Every Christian document shows acquaintance with Paul’s letters.” These are just a few examples of how impactful Paul’s letters were and how much he impacted Church History. Lastly, it is said, “Paul was the greatest, and probably the most systematic, of all the early missionaries” Paul not only has helped shape our theology, but has also influenced a lot of people to go out and make disciples of all nations. Paul is said to be one of the best missionary examples for the spreading of the Christian faith. It was because of his example and his letters to the Churches, that now can be seen and read in the New Testament, that stimulated William Carey to become a missionary himself and start the whole modern missionary movement. “Other Christian groups (including the Anglican Church) followed Carey’s lead and established their own mission-sending organizations, giving birth to the so-called modern missionary movement.” Reading over Paul’s way of Christian living and missions has influenced me, yet alone, to what I want to do with my