BOOK REVIEW: Paul the Missionary by Eckhard J. Schnabel

By James Jeffery

Author: Eckhard J. Schnabel

Publisher: IVP Academic

Year: 2008


One of the groundbreaking works on Christian missions was published in 1912 by English missionary to China, Roland Allen. Disillusioned with the worldliness, compromise, and paternalism he witnessed in many missionary organisations and activities, Allen challenged the church to return to first principles in Missionary Methods: St Paul’s or Ours? Ultimately, this book was a plea to return to the Word of God, and to trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ. Allen was convinced that God has provided us with the answers we need in His Word, and that our primary issue has to do with trusting in God’s revealed truth.

In 2025, over a century has passed since Allen’s book, and yet we find ourselves in a similar predicament. Across denominations, there is little consensus on what it means to be a missionary or what God calls a missionary to do. To illustrate the point, many organisations now treat ‘creation care’ and efforts to achieve racial reconciliation as Christian missionary activity. Equally concerning, others minimise the Bible’s teaching on penal substitutionary atonement, arguing that it is not comprehensible in honour-shame contexts. All this is to say that there is a great need for clarity and conviction in our age of confusion.

Eckhard J. Schnabel speaks into our context and addresses these questions with his monumental work Paul the Missionary: Realities, Strategies, and Methods (2008). Schnabel’s work is a summary of the second volume of Early Christian Mission (2004), his magnum opus which spans nearly 2,000 pages. Although it was published nearly two decades ago, the truths contained within are relevant and timely for the church today. He argues that the Apostle Paul is an important model for understanding the way God advances the gospel, and how we can see it go forth today.

Breaking Down ‘Paul the Missionary’

Introducing the book, Schnabel highlights the goal of this work is ‘to provide a close reading of the relevant New Testament texts that help us understand Paul’s missionary work — proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ and establishing communities of believers—in terms of the goals that he had and in terms of the methods that he used’ (p. 30). In this sense, it is an immensely theological, and yet greatly practical, treatise. It touches on real-life issues that affect the life of the church and the way we undertake missionary work today.

At 458 pages long, Paul the Missionary is divided into seven major sections:

  1. Introduction — key definitions, terms, and hermeneutics and laid out.
  2. The Missionary Work of the Apostle Paul — an extensive overview of the Apostle Paul’s missionary work is provided, ranging from his conversion on the Damascus Road, to his final days imprisoned in Rome.
  3. The Missionary Task According to Paul’s Letters — a survey of Paul’s Epistles focusing on the gospel he preached, and the practical way it was advanced.
  4. The Missionary Message of the Apostle Paul — consideration of the different ways Paul presented the gospel, with a particular focus on the sermon summaries provided in Acts (13:16-41; 14:15-17; 17:22-31).
  5. The Missionary Goals of the Apostle Paul — Schnabel argues that Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 3:5-17 are the clearest ‘missionary goal’ in his Epistles. For this reason, it is exposited and considered in relation to his other Epistles.
  6. The Missionary Methods of the Apostle Paul — consideration of the particular strategies, techniques, and means Paul used to advance the gospel.
  7. The Task of Missionary Work in the Twenty-First Century — theological and practical applications for the church today.

Gleaning from the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul, Schnabel considers theological and practical questions such as these:

  • Did Paul have a particular mission strategy?
  • What are the non-negotiable elements of missionary work?
  • What made the Apostle Paul so effective?
  • How did Paul deal with the training and appointing of leaders in newly formed churches?

Schnabel delves into the historical context and circumstances of the Apostle Paul in great depth, including the lives of both Jewish and Gentile audiences. This includes the state of first century Judaism, and the prevailing pagan religions that dominated the Roman Empire. This helps to understand the tone and message of Paul’s messages to different audiences, and why he cited and referenced particular texts and Scriptures.   

Gospel Proclamation is the Heart of Missions

What every reader will appreciate is the heart of Schnabel’s work, which is the gospel. Schnabel explains how the gospel was the crux of Paul’s mission activity, because he was a man consumed with making Christ known through the proclamation of the crucified, risen, and ascended Lord. While Paul’s ‘strategy’ differed depending on the context and audience, the core message and focus remained the same: Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Since Paul’s aim was to see Christ proclaimed, he used every opportunity provided him to make Christ known. Whether he was in synagogues (Acts 17:2-3; 13:14-16), pagan temples (Acts 17:22-23), before magistrates (Acts 24:24-25; 26:28-29), or privileged to speak in venues such as the Hall of Tyrannus (Acts 19:9-10), Paul actively sought out opportunities to preach Christ.

When one door closed, he would look and pray that other doors might be opened (Colossians 4:3). This proactive evangelism inevitably led to the conversion of many saints. These new believers needed to be edified and instructed in their new faith in Christ, which naturally led to the forming of local churches.

Central to Paul’s mission philosophy was the gathering of believers into Christian community in the context of the local church. Paul taught that to be a Christian is to be a member of the body of Christ, which is expressed by membership in the body of a local church. Not only is this clear from Paul’s life as recounted in the Book of Acts, but it is self-evident in the fact that the Pauline Epistles were written to local churches. These churches were led by godly men, appointed to proclaim the gospel, defend the faith, and shepherd the saints.

Paul was a man committed to reaching anyone and everyone with the life-transforming truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether the Apostle Paul was establishing elders in local churches, or developing partnerships between believers, Schnabel shows that it was all for the sake of magnifying the beauty of the gospel.

For Paul, reaching people with the gospel, and seeing them grow in Christ, was at the heart of what it meant to be a missionary. These are truths which must continue to shape and influence the way we approach missions in the contemporary church.

Applications for the Church Today

While I did not agree with all his conclusions, Schnabel’s final chapter, ‘The Task of Missionary Work in the Twenty-First Century’ offers seven helpful and practical applications for missionaries and churches today. I will offer three points of reflection on this closing chapter.

  1. The Calling and Sending of Missionaries
  2. The Content of Missionary Proclamation
  3. The Proclamation of the Gospel and Church Planting
  4. The Teaching of the Followers of Jesus
  5. The Purpose and Work of the Local Church
  6. The Challenge of Culture
  7. The Power of God

First, I agree with Schnabel’s argument, that those ‘who have engaged in a close reading of the relevant New Testament texts will produce more compelling results than those who read the texts only casually or who refer to biblical texts only as proof-texts’ (p. 376). It is not enough for churches and missionaries to claim proof-texts to justify what we do. Proper application depends upon accurate interpretation, which demands a right understanding of the exegetical, grammatical, and historical context of biblical truth. This requires thoughtful and rigorous study of God’s Word, assisted by the wisdom and insights of saints throughout the ages (pp. 377-382).

Second, Schnabel offers some helpful reflections on the nature of calling to Christian ministry. Calling is synonymous with vocation, whereby an individual is set apart for a particular work or activity.Oftentimes, Christians are led to believe that calling is a mystical and individualistic experience whereby one is told by God to fulfil a particular mission. On the other hand, there is a common view that all Christians are capable of serving as missionaries, and therefore everyone should consider serving as a gospel worker. In Schnabel’s view, both perspectives are deficient.

Schnabel argues there is no singular paradigm for calling in the New Testament. Nevertheless, it is clear that in every case, it is God who calls. According to Schnabel, a calling may occur in a variety of different ways:

‘We can thus conclude that the church should expect that leaders who commit themselves to a life of full-time ministry in proclaiming the news of Jesus and in teaching the followers of Jesus to be specifically called by Jesus Christ to this task. But we also conclude that this call can come in different ways: through direct spiritual encounters with Jesus Christ (through vision-dreams, through the still, small voice speaking in the heart, through a growing conviction) or through the initiative of the leaders of a local church who commission an experienced colleague for a ministry of preaching and teaching (p. 387).’

In this section, it would have been profitable for Schnabel to underscore the qualifications of elders outlined in 1 Timothy and Titus as a paradigm for the men God calls to ministry work. Furthermore, I consider the Apostle Paul’s injunction in 2 Timothy 2:2 to be the very paradigm for training and appointing new missionaries that Schnabel suggests is not provided in Acts nor the other Pauline Epistles. Though it is not exhaustive, this instruction is given in the context of the intergenerational propagation of the gospel through God’s chosen instrument: the local church.

Finally, Schnabel’s insistence that we trust in the power of God was a timely reminder. As we proclaim Christ, there are two perennial dangers: 1) to question whether God will bring people to Christ, and 2) whether we need to employ humanistic strategies to reach people with the gospel. These approaches are doomed to lead us either to despair or pride, rather than faithful dependence upon the power of the Holy Spirit. Schnabel reminds us that it is God who gives the growth, and therefore faithful missionary work is undertaken in the expectation that God will bring about fruit in His timing.

Schnabel’s words are worth reflecting upon:

‘Paul insists that [it] is the power of God alone that convicts people of sin, brings them to repentance and unites them in their weekly gatherings. Neither methods nor miracles guarantee the success of missionary preaching. Only God himself can cause Jews and Greeks to accept and believe a message that seems scandalous and nonsensical. Only God’s Spirit can create righteousness, holiness and redemption (p. 453).’

The Bottom Line

While the extensive nature of Schnabel’s work may appeal to some, others will find his academic rigour and meticulous approach laborious to read. As they say, the greatest strength of a work is its greatest weakness, and this volume is no exception! Those who appreciate attention to detail will find this book a goldmine. Others who are less so (like me) will really struggle to read through to the end.

I imagine that seminary students and scholars will be the primary beneficiaries of Schnabel’s study into the Apostle Paul. It is rich with references, thoughtful in exegesis, and provides a wealth of information to glean from.

If you are interested in the topic of missions, but want a more digestible and accessible book, I would recommend one of the following works:

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James Jeffery