Paul

PAUL

Scripture References
Acts 9; 13–28; Paul’s epistles

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To some, the apostle Paul seems the corrupter of Christianity, a man who took the “simple” religion of Jesus and made it something entirely different. To the student of Scripture, however, the apostle Paul is history’s premier theologian and missionary, the man God chose to reveal the deepest significance of the new covenant instituted in Christ’s death, and the nature of the life to be lived “in Christ.” As the writer of thirteen of the twenty-one New Testament letters, Paul is undoubtedly the most influential Christian of our era.

PAUL’S LIFE AND TIMES

Paul, the zealous (Acts 9:1–2).The apostle Paul was a Jew from the city of Tarsus. As a young man, he came to Jerusalem to study under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3), perhaps the most notable of first-century sages. Paul, known then as Saul, was totally committed to the Law as interpreted and understood by the rabbis, and was a member of the sect of the Pharisees. When Stephen, the bold Christian evangelist, was stoned to death in Jerusalem by a mob, Saul stood watch over the cloaks of the killers, fully supporting their action (Acts 7:58). Later, when official persecution developed, Saul took a leading role in rounding up Jesus’ followers. To this young persecutor, the followers of Christ were heretics, and their faith an affront to the God he served, an aberration that must be purged from Judaism.

Saul’s conversion(Acts 9:3–30). Saul was on his way to Damascus with a commission from the high priest charging him to return Christian Jews to Jerusalem when his conversion took place. This event was so significant that the story is repeated three times in the New Testament (Acts 9; 22; 26).

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SAUL’S COMMISSION

In the Roman Empire each national and ethnic group was granted the privilege of living under its own laws. This meant that the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem had authority over Jews living anywhere in the Roman Empire insofar as Jewish law was concerned. Pairs of rabbis from Jerusalem typically traveled to Jewish communities in foreign lands to adjudicate difficult cases according to Mosaic and rabbinic law. Saul’s commission, which allowed him to capture Jews who followed Christ and return them to Jerusalem, was an extension of this legal principle.

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As the party traveled, Saul was blinded by a flash of brilliant light and heard the voice of Jesus speaking to him from heaven. Saul was totally stunned, and realized that those he had been persecuting were right: Jesus was the Son of God!

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Before his conversion, Saul—later the apostle Paul—showed his zeal for God by binding Christians and bringing them before the court at Jerusalem.

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Saul, still blind, was led to a house in Damascus. The Lord sent a Christian named Ananias, who prayed for Saul and restored his sight. Immediately, Saul became as bold and zealous in preaching Christ as he had been in persecuting Christians! Saul’s aggressive preaching soon aroused so much hostility that the believers in Damascus were able to save his life only by lowering him over the wall of the city in a basket. Apparently, angry Jews lay in wait at every exit to the city, eager to kill Saul.

Saul returned to Jerusalem, where at first the believers were fearful of approaching him. Although they had heard of Saul’s conversion, they feared he had simply gone “undercover” to identify them. Even when the Christian community accepted Saul, he was a problem for them. Saul remained totally zealous and bold. He so outspokenly preached Christ that he further aroused hostility in Jerusalem too. Finally, Paul had stirred up such opposition that a delegation of Christians took Saul to Caesarea and put him on a boat for Tarsus. He was simply too contentious to keep around!

Saul’s maturing (Gal. 1:17).Later, in reference to Saul’s years after leaving Jerusalem, he spoke of spending his time in Arabia. Whether the apostle was speaking literally or using “Arabia” as symbolic of a desert experience, the years Saul spent isolated from the church in Jerusalem were critical ones. It was during these years that Paul, immersing himself in the Old Testament and open to the teaching of the Holy Spirit, began to work out the overwhelming significance of Christ’s death and resurrection. Later, Paul asserted that the gospel he proclaimed, while the same gospel as that preached by Peter and the other apostles, he had “neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Gal. 1:12).

Some years later, Barnabas, who had befriended Saul in Jerusalem and was then a leader of a predominantly Gentile church in Antioch, looked for Saul and recruited him to join the Antioch leadership team.

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Paul founded churches in each of these New Testament cities, and quite probably in Spain as well.

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Paul’s missionary ministry(Acts 13–28). Around ad. 46, approximately a decade after his conversion, Saul set out with Barnabas to carry the gospel to the major cities of the Roman Empire. For the rest of his life, Saul, soon to be known by his Roman name of Paul, would plant churches throughout Asia Minor and Europe.

Paul developed a simple but effective missions strategy. He would go to one of the major population centers located along established travel routes. He would first go to the Jewish synagogue and present Christ as the Messiah. Not only Jews would hear his message, but also many Gentile “God fearers” who had been attracted to Judaism’s high vision of God and of morality and who attended synagogue services heard him. From this group of listeners, a core of converts would be won. At times, this core represented a mixture of Jew and Gentile, but all too often it was predominantly Gentile. Paul would then instruct this core of believers in the faith, and, after a time, move on to another city where he would repeat the process.

Paul kept in touch with the congregations he founded. His associates would often visit the young churches, and Paul wrote letters of instruction to the churches. When possible Paul would return to visit the churches himself, and give official sanction to the leaders who emerged in these congregations. Paul himself, however, kept on the move, leaving the task of evangelizing the districts beyond central cities to the Christians there.

This process is beautifully reflected in words Paul wrote to the Christians at Thessalonica:

And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place (1 Thess. 1:6–8).

In Paul, God had chosen not only a man who was totally committed to sharing the gospel, but a man who was a true innovator and missions strategist.

Paul, the theologian (the Epistles).Paul, while a profound theologian. was essentially a practical theologian. He wrote his letters to real men and women struggling with real-life issues. Thus, Paul’s challenge was to explain the great truths about God and His relationship to humankind in such a way that their implications for daily life would be clearly understood.

In Romans, which has rightly been called the greatest theological treatise of all times, Paul took the theme of righteousness. He pointed out that human beings are sinners who lack righteousness, but that God has chosen to give human beings righteousness as a gift, made possible by Jesus Christ in His death on Calvary. Cloaked in a righteousness that God provides, human beings now have peace with God. But the righteousness God provides is no mere legal fiction. It has dramatic and life-changing potential. For God gives believers the Holy Spirit who works within to enable Christians to live righteous lives here and now. Paul explains how this is possible, and in the last chapters of his letter describes how a people of God infused with the righteousness of God will live in society and in the faith community.

In each of his letters, Paul taught truths that shape lives—realities about knowing and walking with God that put every relationship in fresh, transforming perspective. As a theologian and a pastor Paul was without peer.

EXPLORING PAUL’S RELATIONSHIPS

Paul was a complex individual. His complexities are clearly seen in the various relationships he maintained.

Paul’s relationship with young Christians (1 Thess. 2; 2 Cor.).In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul recalls the time he spent with his converts and speaks of the relationship he had with these new Christians.

But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe; as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children (1 Thess. 2:7–11).

Clearly the best way to describe Paul’s relationship with young Christians is “nurturing.” Taking the role of both mother and father, the apostle totally invested himself and his love in new believers.

The New Testament book that best displays this investment throughout is 2 Corinthians. There we see Paul’s willingness to be open and sharing (chap. 1), his heartbreak over misunderstandings (chap. 2), his commitment despite disappointments (chap. 4), and his deeply rooted confidence that God will keep working in the believers’ lives until they mature in righteousness (chap. 5).

While some have miscast the great apostle as a legalistic and harsh man, his own words, written to those who know him well and could not be deceived, reveal a man with a great and tender heart. He loved and kept on loving, nurtured and kept on nurturing, however his loved ones might respond to him.

Paul’s relationship with his coworkers. Despite the fact that we tend to view Paul as a towering individual, he was in the best sense of the phrase a “team player.” From his first missionary journey through the end of his life, Paul traveled with a team of believers. While Paul was the acknowledged leader, he was never without companions whom he valued as fellow-workers and partners in ministry.

Paul as a team player (Acts 13; Rom. 16). The team that set out from Antioch on the first missionary journey (Acts 13) was initially led by Barnabas, since his name was mentioned first (Acts 13:2). Soon, however, Paul’s great gifts made him the accepted leader of the team (13:46), which included Barnabas and several others. Along the way, Paul was quick to recruit others to travel with him, notably Timothy (Acts 16:1) and Luke, who wrote Acts as well as the Gospel that bears his name.

What is particularly notable is that as new churches were planted, Paul drew others into his inner circle to share his ministry. Romans 16, in which Paul mentioned a number of individuals by name, makes it clear that Paul saw both men and women as “fellow workers in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 16:3).

Paul as a demanding leader (Acts 15:36–41).While Paul was a nurturing individual, he was also a demanding leader. Paul never spared himself in his commitment to reach, win, and equip men and women for Christ. Paul had little sympathy with others who were unwilling to make a similar commitment. This trait was illustrated when Barnabas wished to bring John Mark along on their second missionary journey. Paul refused. John Mark had abandoned them on their first missionary venture, and Paul had no room on his team for a quitter. The disagreement between the two long-time friends and teammates was so great that Paul and Barnabas parted, with Barnabas taking John Mark along on a missionary journey of his own.

History proved Barnabas wiser than Paul. Years later, Paul wrote from prison asking that Mark be sent to him, “for he is useful to me for ministry” (2 Tim. 4:11).

Paul’s relationship with those he mentored(Acts 16:1; 1, 2 Timothy). While Paul had little sympathy with quitters, he had infinite patience with those who were willing to keep trying. Paul had recruited Timothy in Lystra on his second missionary journey and invested years in training Timothy to be among the next generation of church leaders. Paul’s mentoring style followed a classic pattern: Timothy spent years traveling with Paul and learning from him; Timothy was then given assignments to carry out on his own under Paul’s tutelage. In time and after Paul’s death, Timothy would himself follow the same pattern with others, as described in 2 Timothy 2:2: “The things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

Paul’s two letters to Timothy reflected Paul’s deep affection for his “beloved son” (2 Tim. 1:2) whom he urged to “be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Tim. 4:5). While the letters suggest that Timothy was far from being bold and in some instances had been ineffective, Timothy was a committed Christian. Paul was willing to invest whatever it took to shape Timothy into the leader Paul was sure he could become.

Paul’s relationship with the Roman Empire (Acts 16; 22–28; Rom. 13).The apostle Paul was a complex individual. Although a Jew and a Pharisee, Paul was also thoroughly trained in secular philosophy and was a Roman citizen.

In the first century, Roman citizenship was not common outside of Italy. Wherever the various peoples in the empire might travel, they retained citizenship in their homeland. They were subject to its laws and its courts. Roman citizens were subject to Roman laws and might bring civil and criminal cases to Roman courts. Roman citizens also enjoyed many other privileges. For instance, Roman citizens could not be examined by torture or condemned without trial.

In Paul’s travels, he never hesitated to identify himself as a Roman citizen or to claim the rights of a citizen when brought before Roman authorities. When the Jews accused Paul in the court of the Roman governor of Judea, Paul exercised his right as a citizen and appealed to the emperor’s court in Rome to avoid being taken back to Jerusalem, where Paul knew he would be assassinated (Acts 28:17–19).

While Paul never hesitated to assert his rights as a Roman citizen, he also fully accepted a citizen’s responsibilities. Paul taught and urged Christians to be good citizens, “subject to the governing authorities” (Rom. 13:1). Paul saw government officials as God’s servants who had been placed in office to maintain an orderly society. Paul was deeply concerned that Christians live as good citizens, for they were to represent Christ and carry His message to all. Paul agreed wholeheartedly with Peter, who also urged submission to “every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake,” that through the Christian’s honorable conduct “they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:12).

During most of Paul’s lifetime, the Roman government viewed Christianity as a sect of Judaism, and thus as alicit (approved) religion. Later, Christians would come under persecution for no other reason than their commitment to Jesus Christ. Even then, for conscience sake, most Christians sought to live as good citizens under oppressive regimes. Like Christ Himself, they chose to suffer for doing right rather than for doing wrong.

Paul’s relationship with God.Before his conversion to Christ, Paul, then known as Saul, was both zealous and dedicated. He lived as a Pharisee, dedicated to following the most minute commandments as interpreted and defined by the rabbis. Paul, intensely hostile to all who seemed to him to violate God’s will, was undoubtedly a fiercely religious individual.

The totality of Paul’s commitment (Phil. 3). When Paul became a Christian, all his zeal was poured into his commitment to Jesus Christ. His own words perhaps best convey the totality of his dedication.

If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death (Phil. 3:3–10).

The expression of Paul’s commitment (1 Thess. 2:19). Earlier, we looked at Paul’s loving, nurturing relationship with new converts. In his early life, Paul’s expression of commitment to God was a rigorous attention to keeping the law as interpreted and expanded by generations of rabbis. After his conversion, Paul changed. While we might correctly say that his commitment was expressed in preaching the gospel, it is more accurate to say that Paul suddenly began to care about people. Paul realized that God loves all people. The Holy Spirit quickened this same love in Paul’s heart. Paul could write early in his missionary ministry: “What is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ as His coming?” (1 Thess. 2:19).

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Paul’s life as a missionary was filled with hardship and danger, as in the three shipwrecks he experienced.

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This passion for seeing people saved and growing in Christ is beautifully expressed in prayers recorded in Paul’s letters. One of the most beautiful is found in Ephesians 3:16–19, and expresses the yearning of the great apostle for his converts. Paul prayed:

that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height; to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

The cost of Paul’s commitment (2 Cor. 10). In this passage, Paul compares himself to some who had come to Corinth claiming to be apostles and contradicting his teaching. Even though Paul was the founder of the church and had lived among the Corinthians for some three years, a number of believers were deceived by the intruders who made much of their supposed credentials. In his response, Paul briefly revealed how foolish the Corinthians had been. In the process Paul mentioned some of his own credentials.

Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness; besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches (2 Cor. 11:23–28).

Paul was not so foolish as to think that such things are true credentials of an apostle (2 Cor. 3:1–3). But the terrible personal cost Paul had gladly paid to share the gospel and serve God’s people gives unmistakable witness to the sincerity and depth of Paul’s commitment.

PAUL: AN EXAMPLE FOR TODAY

Paul was a truly unique man. He possessed great intellectual gifts and an unusually strong will. Paul also was fully dedicated to God even before his conversion to Christ. The biblical text suggests that in his first years as a Christian he also possessed an abrasive personality. Yet as God worked in Paul’s life, the great apostle grew into an individual motivated by a passionate love both for Christ and for people. It is most unusual to find a person with both absolute strength of character and a capacity for tenderness and nurturing. In a significant sense, Paul may be viewed as a primary example of a “real man.”

•     Paul shows us that a real man has a commitment to God that gives direction and focus to his life.

•     Paul shows us that a real man will face opposition with courage, taking stands for what is right no matter how powerful the opposition.

•     Paul shows us that a real man can be tender and nurturing. Too often, we view nurture as a woman’s role, and picture real men as emotionally detached. Paul reveals how wrong this impression is.

•     Paul shows us that a real man is willing to pay a price to serve God and others—even when that price is personal suffering and pain.

•     Paul shows us that a real man has deep convictions and is committed to live by them. A real man will not compromise his convictions but will stand up for them when he is convinced they are right.

•     Paul shows us that real men will invest themselves in others, building a mentoring relationship with those younger than themselves.

•     Paul shows us that a real man is a team person, not a rugged individualist. A real man links his energies with others who have similar goals, builds a close relationship with them, and works together with them.

•     Paul shows us that a real man is a people person, committed to the task but ever sensitive to the concerns of others, ever encouraging to draw the best from them.

Paul shows us that a real man models what God wants all His people to become. Paul had lived the faith, becoming an example that others gladly followed.

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