The contribution tries to understand an important, although mostly implicit aspect of the Lukan and the deutero-Pauline rereading of the figure of Paul, i.e. the question of authority. The comparative approach treats five major elements: (1) "Paul" and his authority is no longer contested, without necessarily becoming an ethically idealised figure; (2) the construction of the authority of "Paul" - in the epistolary (Col, Eph), but also in the historiographical (Luke-Acts) reception - is linked to the dialectical relationship of presence and absence; (3) "Paul" becomes a quasi-soteriological figure (esp. in Col and Eph), his authority being founded in and maintained exclusively by God; (4) the authority of "Paul" is essentially based on teaching and argumentation; (5) "Paul" becomes a figure which includes both unique and paradigmatic dimensions.