Thank you for the question about the integrity of the Apostle Paul, “How do we know that Paul the Apostle was in reality an apostle and not a con?”
As I pondered this question, Is the question that you are asking is about the trustworthiness of the New Testament writings about Paul or is the question that you are asking about whether the contemporaries of the Paul thought he was a genuine apostle and not a con?
Here are some thoughts for one’s consideration about the genuineness or the integrity of Paul:
A. Saul of Tarsus was trained to be Pharisee who would strictly obey the Old Testament Laws even to the letter of the Law.
The Sixth Commandment prohibits any Jewish person to bear false witness against another person. With his background being a Pharisee, he would not lie or be deceitful for that would violate the Sixth Commandment.
B. Saul of Tarsus’ vision was confirmed by Ananias.
Although one can fake having a vision from God, one can’t forge a testimony of another person who never met Saul and was afraid to meet him. There was no collusion between Ananias and Saul of Tarsus. It was Ananias who thought that Saul might be pretending to have met the Lord or is a Christian.
Acts 9 says this, “In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. 11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength” (NIV).
Ananias confirms to Saul of Tarsus that the Lord has chosen him to be his instrument to bring his name to the Gentiles, to their rulers and even to his people. Without the confirmation by Ananias, one can question Saul’s claim to be an apostle, a sent one from the Lord. Two witnesses are required to affirm one’s testimony.
C. Saul of Tarsus received very little remuneration for being an Apostle of Jesus Christ.
Saul of Tarsus was not seeking an ego trip. He could have that while remaining as a Pharisee, perhaps being one of the premier teachers of Israel. He sat under the revered Gamaliel.
What did Saul of Tarsus received for an apostle? In Corinthians 6, he lists what he received for being an apostle: “We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. 4 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5 in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6 in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7 in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; 8 through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9 known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10 sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything” (NIV).
He goes on to describe his beatings and stoning, his ship wrecks, his illnesses just to have the title, “Apostle” attached to his name. There were other Christians who called themselves “super apostles” elevating themselves to a higher than just an apostle.
Saul of Tarsus didn’t inherit any land or possessions from other. He worked as a tentmaker to cover his own expenses and those of his companion. He relied on the generosity of Christians or churches if they remembered him at all.
D. The person who is attempting to “con” someone seeks to gains something from the deceived person.
Paul didn’t asked to be bishop of Ephesus or Rome. He could have since he was renown for his labor for the Lord. He didn’t pocket any money to buy himself a retirement home. The other Apostles saw that Judas helped himself to the purse from time to time. They didn’t see that of Paul. If Paul was attempting to con the early Christians that he was an apostle, what did he get out of his con game? He got nothing except persecution and hardship. That’s not a very smart con game. Personally, I would have given up the con game a long time ago if I was Saul of Tarsus. After 39 lashes, I would have quit, but he had that happened to five times beside the other things listed in II Corinthians 11.
E. The companions of Saul of Tarsus would have seen his fake humility or his pride in wanting to be an apostle.
In reading Acts, one does not sense that Paul wanted to assert his authority or his position as an apostle. He believed that the Lord called him and he wanted to run his race to the very end to please God. He was not interested in pleasing people. He states that if he was pleasing men, he would not be a servant of Jesus Christ.
The Ephesians believers believed Saul/Paul’s words in Acts 20, “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace” (NIV).
F. Saul of Tarsus declares that the other Apostles recognized him as the Apostle to the Gentiles.
Saul of Tarsus met the Apostles in Jerusalem. He says this in Galatians 2, “As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message. 7 On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised,[a] just as Peter had been to the circumcised.[b] 8 For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9 James, Cephas[c] and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along”(NIV).
The pillars of the early church, James, Peter, and John, didn’t challenge or rejected Saul’s declaration that he was called by God to be the messenger to the Gentiles. They accepted that he was the apostle to the Gentiles just as they were apostles to the Jews. They confirmed that Saul of Tarsus was an apostle.
One may be able to fool some people some of the time, but one can’t fool all the people none of the time. The works of miracles performed by the Saul of Tarsus further testifies that God was working in and through him. Saul or Paul of Tarsus was a genuine apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.
SUMMARY: Ananias and the early Church Leaders recognized the apostleship of Saul of Tarsus. The life that he lived and the lived he suffered for Jesus Christ bears witness that he was not a con man, but an genuine apostle of the Lord.
For more perspectives:
https://www.quora.com/How-do-we-know-that-Paul-the-Apostle-was-in-reality-an-apostle-and-not-a-con