As a writer, I know how deeply perspective matters. The way
a person sees someone tells you just as much about them as it does the one they
are describing. When I read the Pauline Epistles, I am not just reading
theology. I am reading Paul’s heart. And when he writes about Jesus?
It is everything.
Paul did not walk with Jesus during His earthly ministry. He
was not there for the feeding of the five thousand. He was not at the Last
Supper. He did not witness the crucifixion. But when Jesus met him on that
Damascus road, Paul saw enough light and glory to shape the rest of his
life—and to spend every letter writing about Jesus in His fullness.
Crucified.
Resurrected.
Exalted.
Reigning.
Personal.
From a writer’s lens, Paul’s portrayal of Jesus is layered
and complete. He is not telling stories—he is building a theological
portrait. And every piece matters.
Jesus as the Crucified and Resurrected Lord
Paul never softened the cross. He always started with death.
Christ crucified was the cornerstone of his message. Not as a tragic
ending—but as a victorious beginning. Paul said it clearly: “We preach
Christ crucified…”
But he never stopped at death. He moved quickly to the resurrection—the
rising, the conquering, the new life. Romans, Corinthians, Galatians—they all
declare the same truth: Jesus did not stay in the grave. And because He lives, we
live.
Paul’s Jesus was always both—the Lamb and the Lord.
Bleeding and reigning.
Dead and alive.
Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God
Paul wrote like a man who had seen glory. He called Jesus
the image of the invisible God. The firstborn over all creation. The One in
whom all things hold together. He was not guessing. He was convinced.
Jesus, in Paul’s letters, is not just the Jewish
Messiah—He is the Eternal Son. Divine. Preexistent. Sovereign. He is the
One who was promised, but also the One who transcends time.
Paul’s Christ is not small.
He is not just personal—He is cosmic.
Jesus as the Source of Salvation and Justification
If there is one thing Paul made clear—it is this: salvation
is by grace through faith in Jesus. Period.
No additions. No performance. No earning.
In Romans, Paul walks us step by step through sin, wrath,
mercy, righteousness, and redemption—and then points to Jesus as the only Way.
He used courtroom language: we are guilty, but Jesus justifies. We are distant,
but Jesus reconciles. We are dead, but Jesus makes us alive.
Paul’s writing here is not casual. It is deliberate. He lays
out the why of salvation and then shows us the how—Jesus did it
all.
Jesus and the Christian Life
Paul never separated belief from behavior.
If Jesus saved you, it should change you.
He told the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ…”
He told the Philippians, “To live is Christ…”
He told the Ephesians, “Be imitators of God…”
And in every letter, the pattern was clear: Know who Jesus is. Know who you
are in Him. Now live like it.
From a writing perspective, this movement from doctrine to
discipleship was masterful. Paul did not just tell us about Jesus. He
showed us what it means to walk with Him, to put on Christ, to bear
His image.
Jesus and the Church
Paul’s letters show us that Jesus is not just for
individuals—He is the head of the church. The body. The bride. The
family of faith.
He says in Ephesians that Christ loved the church and gave
Himself for her. In Colossians, he reminds us that all things are held together
in Him. And in 1 Corinthians, he makes it clear: we are many parts, but one
body—and Christ is the head.
Paul’s Jesus is never just personal.
He is communal.
He is collective.
He is the One who holds us together.
When I read Paul’s letters through my writer’s eye, I see
more than theology. I see a man transformed by grace. A man who encountered
Jesus and never recovered. A man who wrote because he had to—because
this Jesus had become his everything.
And Paul shows us that Jesus can be our everything
too.
My favorite line comes from Colossians:
“Christ is all, and in all.”
That sums it up.
Reading Jesus through Paul’s eyes reminded me that we do not
just need a Savior—we need a Lord. A brother. A justifier. A teacher. A model.
A reason. A Redeemer.
Paul gives us that Jesus.
Not in fragments—but in fullness.
Not in theory—but in power.
Jesus, through Paul’s eyes, is not distant.
He is near.
He is present.
And He is everything.