*Author’s Note: Paul’s encounter with Christ led him to a greater understanding of the faith, and from that encounter, Paul developed a theology of mission that affected everything about him, specifically in four areas:
- The nature of his call and conversion, and his role as an apostle to the Gentiles,
- Paul’s gospel-centered preaching, building on Old Testament promises, fulfilled in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ,
- Paul’s practice of contextualization, in both church planting and disciple making, and
- Paul’s experience of persecution and suffering for the sake of Christ, in which he chose to boast.
Each of these contributes to the missiology of Paul, and from them, we can learn much about God’s missio Dei, his desire to reach all nations with the good news of Jesus Christ, and the offer of salvation he extends to each of us. In this article, we’ll explore Paul’s practice of contextualization, and how this formed Paul’s theology of mission.
Contextualization is the means of presenting the message in such a way that it is culturally relevant and understandable, without compromising the truth of the message (syncretism) or watering it down so much that it no longer matters (irrelevance). “In order for the Christian message to be meaningful to people it must come to them in language and categories that make sense within their particular culture and life situation. It must be contextualized.”[1]
Paul’s efforts to spread the gospel took him into numerous different cultural, ethnic, and religious settings. In order to bridge such diverse differences effectively, Paul had to pay attention to three key areas: culture, language and communication, and worldview.
All Things to All People
In 1 Corinthians 9:22, Paul states, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.”[2] This may be the statement that best reflects Paul’s missiological approach in effectively communicating the message of the gospel in so many diverse cultural settings. This process is called contextualization.
Working across various cultures, Paul was sensitive to the differences between them, including his own Jewish background. In Pisidian Antioch, Paul addressed the Jewish population by beginning with the history of the Hebrew people, showing how it ultimately leads to Jesus (Acts 13:13-41). However, in Lystra (Acts 14:8-18), he begins by healing a lame man and contrasting God’s power with that of their own local, false deities. In fact, Paul may have been speaking in the native Lycaonian language while there.[3]
Another example of cultural engagement can be seen in Paul’s circumcision of Timothy (Acts 16:3). This was not because Paul thought that this was required; in fact, he had previously refused to perform such a procedure on Titus.[4] Rather, this was done as a practical way to remove any barrier that might prevent Timothy from engaging with Jewish culture. It was a way to create common ground to allow more opportunities to share the gospel.
“I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.”
Paul also utilized language and communication to help the gospel message be heard clearly. As mentioned, he may have used native dialects, such as in Lystra, but he also “spoke their language” by speaking about the things of which they are most familiar. This can be seen clearly in Acts 17, when Paul quotes Greek poets and philosophers while engaging with the intellectual community of Athens (Acts 17:22-31). He used familiar terms to describe new concepts to his hearers.
Acts 17 also provides an example of how Paul utilized worldviews when engaging with the cultural and religious beliefs of his hearers. Upon finding an altar “to the unknown god” (Acts 17:23), Paul used it as a starting point to make known the true God.
Planting Local Churches
Contextualization is inherent to the missio Dei.[5] As Paul worked to present the message of the gospel in so many various cultures, the natural end result is that churches would be planted all over. That is exactly what we see in Acts 14-19, as Luke traces Paul’s journeys around the world. In Luke’s account, we see how contextualization factors into the creation of local churches.
Such a process was strategic for the expansion of the gospel, and was a core piece of Paul’s strategy to spread the Good News.[6] Instead of focusing only on individual believers,[7] Paul invested his efforts into communities of believers who could continue to grow in their faith, to build up one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 3:13, 10:24), and to create more disciple-making disciples (Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Timothy 2:1-2). In Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas returned to the places they had previously been, for the purpose of strengthening the churches and appointing elders (Acts 14:21-23). Such an approach helped the gospel to thrive where they had planted it, and to operate as a “beachhead” for the surrounding areas.[8]
Planting churches in a wide variety of locations also helped the church as a whole to adapt to the multitude of differences between cultures. As discussed above, Lystra was a rural pagan community, Athens was more intellectual and home to several schools of philosophy.[9] Ephesus was home to the cult of Artemis (Acts 19:21-34). Antioch had a large Jewish population. Each of these locations needed a contextualized approach to Christianity. A church that fit Athens would have failed in Lystra.
“Planting churches in a wide variety of locations also helped the church as a whole to adapt to the multitude of differences between cultures.”
Establishing churches in different cities also helped to build leadership, to mature believers, and to create more disciples. Paul spent a significant amount of time in the city of Corinth, instructing and equipping them, and then wrote at least two letters to them later,[10] helping to deepen their spiritual maturity even more (Acts 18:8-11). He spent as much as two years in Ephesus (Acts 19:8-10). While there, he focused on discipleship and spiritual growth. The letter he wrote to the Ephesian church is filled with encouragement and insight in being “rooted and grounded” in Christ (Ephesians 3:17-19). Paul’s stay in Thessalonica was shorter, but his letters to that church are also filled with the depth and maturity of a growing church (1 Thessalonians 1:2-10), one marked by the characteristics of faith, love, and hope.[11] Such qualities are both outgoing and productive, qualities needed for a church to grow and produce more disciples, spreading the message of the gospel.[12]
Paul’s missiological strategy of planting churches was an important aspect of both spreading the gospel and nurturing the communities of believers. Varying cultures required such efforts to be contextualized, engaging with local beliefs and worldviews, thus establishing a base for Christianity to grow and spread to new and diverse communities, in addition to building up the spiritual life of believers, and educating those new to the faith.[13]
Paul’s work provides a consistent example even still. In the various cultures around the world, the gospel is desperately needed, and churches are the means by which it still spreads. But it can never be a “one size fits all” approach. Different cultures require different strategies. A timeless message must be communicated in a timely fashion.[14] “If we would learn from Paul, we must seek forms of expressing the gospel, guided by the Spirit, that draw upon our own stories and cultural resources while remaining faithful to the witness of Scripture.”[15]
“Different cultures require different strategies.”
Individual Discipleship and Spiritual Growth
Paul’s work was not only focused on the community aspect of church planting, however. He was also intentional about individual lives being changed. He viewed the church as the necessary incubator where discipleship and spiritual growth could take place. This can be seen in his letters to the churches he planted, but it can also be seen clearly in his individual correspondence to Timothy and Titus.
The church, which is the Body of Christ, is the place where the transformative work of spiritual maturity can take place. Paul saw this as an essential part of his purpose and mission: “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Colossians 1:28-29). Maturity meant being conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).
Within his letters to the churches, Paul encourages believers to be transformed, which leads to spiritual growth, aligning their lives with the will of God (Romans 12:1-2). He encourages the Galatian Christians to develop the fruit of the Spirit, characteristics that must be developed as a believer grows in maturity (Galatians 5:22-23). He encourages the Colossian Christians to be rooted and established, growing in their steadfast commitment to Christ (Colossians 2:6-7), stressing the critical nature of spiritual maturity.[16] This was nothing to be taken lightly, and could only take place by being “established in the faith,” which is to be “consolidated in the truth.”[17] By this, Paul means to be firmly entrenched in sound doctrine, “just as you were taught” (Colossians 2:7).
“The church, which is the Body of Christ, is the place where the transformative work of spiritual maturity can take place.”
In his letters to Timothy, Paul instructs his young protégé to “keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching” (1 Timothy 4:16), and “what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). Paul recognized that spiritual maturity came through sound teaching, and that was found in Scripture and in his own teachings.
It is critically important to understand that contextualization is not just something that missionaries or churches do.[18] Every single believer needs to be a student of both Scripture and culture: Scripture, so that we can grow in our own maturity and in our readiness to share with others (2 Timothy 4:2; 1 Peter 3:15), and culture, so that we can do so with wisdom and respect.
[1] Dean Flemming, Contextualization in the New Testament: Patterns for Theology and Mission, (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 13-14.
[2] All Scripture references are from the English Standard Version, unless otherwise noted.
[3] Eckhard J. Schnabel, Paul the Missionary: Realities, Strategies and Methods (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2008), 86.
[4] See Galatians 2:3, and Paul’s further teaching in 5:2-4. Gareth L. Reese, New Testament History: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Acts, The Bible Study Textbook Series (Joplin: College Press, 1980), 565-566.
[5] Flemming, Contextualization in the New Testament, 26. Dean Flemming actually states, “Contextualizing the gospel is inherent to the mission of the church.” I agree, but feel that his terminology doesn’t express the fullness of God’s mission as clearly as it could.
[6] Gilliland, Pauline Theology and Mission Practice, 188-189.
[7] Paul does in fact focus on strengthening individuals, as can be seen in the lives of Timothy, Titus, and others. This is addressed below.
[8] Wade Landers, “New Testament Missiology, Part Three” (Lecture, Ozark Christian College, Joplin, MO, July 7, 2023).
[9] Schnabel, Paul the Missionary, 98.
[10] The two letters we have mention at least one more piece of correspondence, possibly two, which no longer exist.
[11] John R. W. Stott, The Message of 1 & 2 Thessalonians: The Gospel and the End of Time, ed. John R. W. Stott, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 29. This is likely Paul’s first mention of these three characteristics together, upon which he will elaborate in more depth in 1 Corinthians 13.
[12] Stott, The Message of 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 29-30.
[13] Theodore Gerald Soares, “Paul’s Missionary Methods,” The Biblical World 34, no. 5 (November 1909): 330.
[14] I am indebted to Mark Scott and J.K. Jones for this expression, used frequently in my Homiletics and Advanced Biblical Preaching courses at Ozark Christian College.
[15] Flemming, Contextualization in the New Testament, 117.
[16] Lucas, The Message of Colossians and Philemon, 90.
[17] Lucas, The Message of Colossians and Philemon, 92.
[18] Jackson Wu, One Gospel for All Nations: A Practical Approach to Biblical Contextualization, (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 2015), 108.
