Do We Worship Paul?
When we do an intensive study of the book of Romans or any of Paul’s thirteen epistles and the revelation Christ gave to him, people sometimes accuse us of “worshipping Paul”. They say, “You follow Paul more than Jesus!”
That is completely false.
The only way to truly worship and glorify God is to follow the instructions He gives through His chosen messengers. We do not worship Paul. Paul is not God. But God sent Paul as His apostle to the Gentiles and to the Body of Christ (Romans 11:13), and our instructions for today come through him.
This pattern is not new. God has always used messengers — and His people honoured God by obeying those messengers, not by worshipping them.
The Prophets Were Not Worshipped
“God… spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets.” — Hebrews 1:1
In the past, God sent prophets to Israel. Israel was required to listen to them, but never to worship them.
The first commandment forbids worshipping anyone but God, as we see in Exodus 34:14.
Obeying the prophets was obedience to God — not worship of the prophets.
John the Baptist Was Not Worshipped
John the Baptist was a great prophet.
Jesus said in Luke 7:28 that no prophet was greater than John.
But John openly declared:
“I am not the Christ.” — John 1:20
John’s office was important, but he was still only a messenger. Israel worshipped God by obeying John’s call to repentance and water baptism (Matthew 3:11), not by worshipping John himself.
Even today, some groups elevate John’s ministry beyond what God intended, ignoring the further revelation that came afterwards.
Peter Was Not Worshipped
Peter’s message was greater than John’s.
He preached the risen Messiah and the kingdom. He had miraculous power from the Holy Ghost. Some people even tried to worship him.
“Cornelius… fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.” — Acts 10:25
But Peter refused:
“Stand up; I myself also am a man.” — Acts 10:26
Peter was God’s messenger, not God Himself.
To worship God at that time meant to follow Peter’s message about Christ and the kingdom.
Paul Was Not Worshipped
Paul received even further revelation — the mystery of Christ, kept secret since the world began.
He was sent with a new message, to a new audience, with a new destiny: the dispensation of God’s grace.
Some tried to worship Paul as well:
“They called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius…” — Acts 14:12
Paul immediately rejected this:
“We also are men of like passions with you…” — Acts 14:15
Paul was not to be worshipped.
But in this present dispensation, we worship God by obeying the message Christ gave through Paul.
Paul’s message is Jesus Christ and Him crucified, revealed according to the mystery. Studying Paul’s epistles magnifies Christ’s work, not Paul himself.
Worshipping God Today
Magnifying the office of a messenger is not worshipping the messenger. It is simply recognising the authority God gave them.
Paul said:
“I magnify mine office.” — Romans 11:13
We do not worship Paul.
We worship God through Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery (Romans 16:25–27).
To worship God today is to follow the instructions He gave through the apostle He sent to us — Paul.
