Critics sometimes argue that the Apostle Paul was actually a Gnostic. However, the idea finds little support in contemporary New Testament scholarship.

Some argue that Paul frequently uses terms and phrases from the Pagan Mysteries, such as pneuma (spirit), gnosis (divine knowledge), doxa (glory), sophia (wisdom), teleioi (the initiated). The terms referred to are universals of religious language and would hardly have been barred from non-Gnostic or anti-Gnostic discussion. "Pneuma" appears over 350 times and in every book of the NT, and is no more Gnostic in specific orientation than the Hebrew ruach. "Gnosis" means any knowledge -- divine or otherwise. It was a widely used term which could be applied to nearly any body of religious teaching. The same may be said of sophia, which is no more Gnostic in orientation by itself than the Hebrew chokmah. That the Mysteries used some of the same verbiage is neither surprising nor meaningful. No one has a market cornered on metaphors in the religious world.

Romans 1:11-12: Paul's "gift" in mind here is that his presence would mutually encourage the faith of himself and the Romans. This can indeed only be transmitted in person, but it hardly requires secrecy, and this announcement in a public letter read aloud to the congregation makes no sense under a Gnostic interpretation.

Romans 14:1-5 & Colossians 2:20-22: What is distinctively "Gnostic" about preaching freedom from legalism? By itself it is a doctrine that can be inserted in any religious context. It fits just as well, indeed better, in the paradigm of the doctrine of justification by faith.

1 Corinthians 2:9: This mirrors the Septuagint versions of Isaiah 64:4 and 65:16.

2 Corinthians 3:6: The word "testament" here means a covenant or contract and has specific reference to the Mosaic covenant. As such it is no more "Gnostic" than Paul's comments that no one will be justified by the law (Rom. 3). Paul and the Gnostic recognized the same problem, but that does not make him a Gnostic anymore than cognizance that suffering is a problem makes one a Buddhist.

Galatians 1:15-16: When Paul says the Son was revealed "in" him it means no more than that it was a personal revelation. This must be read in light of the lack of an ancient category distinction between objective and subjective revelations. A revelation was both objective (because it came from God) and subjective (because it was deeply personal). This praxis existed in the OT as well with the prophets.

Galatians 3:20: In 3:19 Paul says that the Jewish law was "ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator." The "mediator" is Moses. In verse 20 Paul's point is to stress unity where the Galatian congregation has been divided over the issue of the observance of the law. Reading the idea of a Gnostic "demiurge" into this passage is anachronistic.

Ephesians 3:3: The word "mystery" (mysterion) had precedents in the Greek Old Testament that had nothing to do with Gnosticism, but rather referred to that which was revealed by God alone and could not be discovered by human means.

Philippians 3:3: "Flesh" is a metaphor for human weakness in rabbinic Judaism, and here, is followed upon by Paul's recounting of his human achievements. By this accounting, any expression of humility is a sign of Gnosticism.