Act VII - Acts and the Pauline Epistles, Scene 5
Script by Bob Allen
For four voices
Scene 5
3 4 1 2
VOICE TWO: Some epistles, like Romans, reveal
the mind of the Apostle Paul—logical, astute, and persuasive.
VOICE THREE: Some epistles, like I Corinthians,
reveal the heart of the Apostle Paul—passionate, fervent and loving.
VOICE FOUR: II Corinthians reveals the character
of the man Paul.
VOICE ONE: Plagued by physical weakness,
struggling with the effects of anguish of heart, forced to defend himself and
his ministry against the attacks of the various factions within the church at
Corinth—Paul’s character shines clearly through what it takes to NOT stop him.
VOICE TWO: The most dangerous faction within
the Corinthian church turned out to be the group which said, “I am of Christ.”
VOICE THREE: They forced Paul to defend his conduct.
VOICE FOUR: For our proud confidence is this, the
testimony of our conscience that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in
fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the
world and especially toward you.
VOICE ONE: They forced Paul to defend his
ministry.
VOICE FOUR: Make room for us in your hearts; we
wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one. We have renounced the things hidden because
of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the
manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the
sight of God.
VOICE TWO: They forced him to explain the
collection he had taken for the needy saints in Jerusalem.
VOICE FOUR: Taking precaution that no one should
discredit us in our administration of this generous gift; for we have regard
for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight
of men.
VOICE THREE: They even forced Paul to defend his
apostleship because he could not trace his heritage back to the original
disciples of Christ.
VOICE FOUR: For I consider myself not in the least
inferior to the most eminent apostles.
The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all
perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.
VOICE ONE: Yet even in the midst of this
self-defense Paul’s character shines through, because He is able to see the
hand of God at work in spite of the personal attacks on him.
VOICE TWO: In his affliction he sees the God of
all comfort who uses Paul’s affliction as a means of preparing him to provide
comfort for others because he has received Christ’s comfort in his suffering.
VOICE THREE: In the criticism of his ministry he met
the dying Jesus and learned to rejoice in being constantly delivered over to
death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also might be manifested in his
mortal flesh.
VOICE FOUR: The rumors and accusations concerning
his fund-raising caused him to remember the Christ who became poor that others
through His poverty might become rich.
VOICE ONE: The attacks on his apostleship
reminded him of the Commissioning Christ who caught him up to the third heaven
and gave to him a revelation of glory so great that from that time on he became
content with insults, distresses, persecutions and difficulties because when he
was weak in himself he grew strong in Christ.
VOICE TWO: “I am a nobody,” Paul could say with
complete candor, “because Christ is all in all.”
