Q: Was Paul the apostle the same person as the Paul who wrote the Gospel according to Paul? Praise the Lord! Thank you, Gene
A: Paul the Apostle did not write a separate gospel per se. Over the years Bible scholars have come to refer to the teaching and theology found in the Pauline epistles as ‘Paul’s Gospel’.
Also, many scholars over the years have written books exploring the teachings of Paul and have called their books something similar: ‘Paul’s Gospel’, Gospel of Paul’, Gospel According to Paul’ and etc. Go to Amazon.com and do a book search and you will see what I mean.
There are even some who claim that Paul used the Gospel of Luke and quoted from it possibly in I Tim. 5:18 (Luke 10:7) and I Cor.11:23-25 (Luke 22:19-20) –therefore have called the Gospel of Luke, ‘Paul’s Gospel’. However, most scholars believe that the Gospel of Luke-Acts was written after I Corinthians and Paul may have been quoting from oral traditions.
There is even a recent writing available on the Internet called “The Gospel of Paul” written by an anonymous fellow named Paul. It is written in scriptural style and identified as: “a true story, written by a true believer with a passion for Christ”.
Here is what the original Paul the Apostle says about the gospel he taught:
“I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 1:11-12)
“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)