PAUL EXCLUDES HIMSELF

1 Cor 15:3-8 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

First, let me point out that in the text quoted above, we find Paul recounting a succession of events. I must say this because some have misunderstood Paul when he says "and last of all". They have taken this to mean that Paul was the LAST of the apostles, i.e. that there would be no more apostles of Christ after him. When considered in the context, we can see that Paul was saying, "the last of all these things that happened was that he was seen by me. " His "last of all" sits opposing his "first of all".

In verse 5, Paul says that Peter, and then "the twelve" saw Jesus before he himself ever saw Him. He affirms, by the Holy Ghost, that "the twelve" had already been re-established BEFORE his own conversion. What more evidence is necessary than hearing Paul's exclusion of himself from the twelve from HIS OWN MOUTH?

For some, though, this evidence is not enough. It is difficult to understand how that, in spite of the fact that all the inspired writers of the New Testament that refer to this subject, emphatically say, or imply that Matthias was counted as "among the twelve", some still insist that GOD chose Paul, whereas man chose Matthias.