Thursday, April 1, 2021

Paul the Apostle

Paul's Jewish name was in Hebrew "Saul", perhaps after the biblical king Saul,
a fellow Benjamite and the first king of Israel (Rom 11:1, Acts 13:21). He also bore the Latin name "Paul" (essentially a Latin approximation of Saul). It was typical for the Jews of that time to have two names: one Hebrew, the other Latin or Greek. 

Paul was a Jew, born in Tarsus, which was the capital of the province of Cilicia on
the southern coast of Turkey, but he grew up in Jerusalem (Acts 22:3a). He was a Roman citizen (Acts 16:37, 22:25). Paul probably lived between 5 AD and 67 AD.

Paul was a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees (Acts 23:6a, 26:5), educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the Mosaic Laws (Acts 22:3b). He was extremely zealous for the traditions of his fathers before his conversion (Gal 1:14).
Paul worked as a tentmaker when he became a follower of Christ. He became partners in tentmaking with Priscilla and Aquila who later become very important teammates as fellow missionaries (Acts 18:1–3, Rom 16:3–4).

When Stephen was stoned, Paul was there as a young man. Paul approved Stephen's
execution. (Acts 7:54–8:1a (7:54–60 in some translations)). Paul began to destroy the church. He went from house to house and dragged away both men and women and put them in prison. (Acts 8:3). He persecuted God's church and tried to destroy it (Gal 1:13). He persecuted the followers of "The Way" to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, as the high priest and all the Council could testify (Acts 22:4–5a). Paul was convinced that he would do anything
to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is exactly what he did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests he put many of the Lord’s people in prison, and when they were put to death, he cast his vote against them. Many times he went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and he tried to force them to blaspheme. He was so obsessed with persecuting them that he even hunted them down in foreign cities. (Acts 26:9–11).

He himself said he was a blasphemer, persecutor, and a violent man, but was shown mercy because he acted in ignorance and unbelief (1 Tim 1:13).
Paul hated the Christians of that time, but believed he was serving God by eliminating them from the face of the Earth. 

Believers of Jesus Christ were referred to as followers of "The Way" (Acts 9:2) before they were referred to as Christians, which basically means followers of Christ (Acts 11:26b), see Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life. 

Paul still breathed out death threats against the Lord’s disciples. He therefore went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he should find there any belonging to "The Way", whether men or women, he might bring them captive to Jerusalem. (Acts 9:1–2). He received letters from them to their associates in Damascus and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished (Acts 22:5b).

As he approached Damascus on his journey, suddenly at noon, in the middle of the day, he saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around him and his companions. They all fell to the ground and Paul heard a voice saying to him in Hebrew: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads" (it's foolish to fight a battle that you can't win). Paul asked: 
"Who are you, Lord?" He answered: "I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting." Paul asked: "What shall I do, Lord?" Jesus answered: "Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. Go into Damascus, there you will be told all that you have been assigned to do." (Acts 9:3–6, 22:6–8, 10, 26:12–18).

Paul was at this moment when he called Jesus the Lord a convert to Christianity.
He had become a saved person.

Paul's companions stood there speechless. They heard the sound but but saw no one. They saw the light, but didn't understand the voice of him who spoke to Paul.
The companions could therefore both see the light and hear the sound, but couldn't discern the figure of Jesus or what he said. Paul understood and could speak Greek (Acts 21:37), Hebrew (Acts 21:40, 22:2, 26:14), and most likely Aramaic. After Jesus had appeared to Mary Magdalene and some other women, to Peter, to the Twelve, to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, to James, Jesus' half brother, to all the apostles, Jesus also appeared to Paul (1 Cor 15:5–8), see The Resurrection of Jesus. Paul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes, he couldn't see anything. So they led him by the hand into Damascus, because the brightness of the light had blinded him. Paul was blind for three days, and during that time he didn't eat or drink anything. 
(Acts 9:7–9, 22:9, 11).

When we are Christians, we are part of a body made up of different parts. The most important part of the body is the head, and Jesus is the head of the body. The rest of us are members of this body. We as believers are all connected to Jesus.

(Col 1:18a, 1 Cor 12:12–27). The persecution of the Body of Christ is felt by the head of the body, Jesus Christ. Therefore, Jesus asked Paul why he persecuted him when he persecuted the Christian believers.

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. He was a devoted observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews who lived there. The Lord called to him in a vision: "Ananias!" He answered: "Yes, Lord"  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. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight." Ananias answered: "Lord, I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name." 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. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." 
Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. He laid his hands on Paul and said:
"Brother Saul, receive your sight!" Immediately something like scales fell from Paul’s eyes, and he could see again. Then Ananias said: "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name." He got up and was baptized, and after eating
some food he regained his strength. Paul then spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. (Acts 9:10–19, 22:12–16).

The meaning of being filled with the Holy Spirit is that Paul was baptized with the Holy Spirit, see The Gift of Tongues. It occurred after he had been saved.

As a Pharisee, Paul prayed a lot. But as a broken man, a new man, he prays in a different way, and God sees it (Psalm 51:17 (19 in some translations)). From now on, God can use him as a leader and apostle in the early church. He was appointed by God as preacher, apostle, and teacher (2 Tim 1:11, Acts 15:35). Paul had become a chosen instrument of God to bear his name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel (Acts 9:15). This can be compared to the apostle Peter who also had to be broken and restored so that he could be used as a leader in the
Body of Christ.

Paul immediately began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the 
Son of God. All who heard him were amazed and asked: "Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?" Nevertheless, Paul became more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is Messiah. After many days had passed there arose a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, but Paul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept a close watch on the city gates to kill him. But his followers took him at night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall. (Acts 9:20–25). 

It was the governor under King Aretas who had Damascus guarded to arrest Paul at that time (2 Cor 11:32–33). 

Paul himself said that the gospel he preached wasn't of human origin. He didn't receive it from any man, nor was he taught it; rather, he received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. Paul was set apart by God before he was born, and was called by God by his grace, see The Predestination Theory. When God revealed his Son to him so that he could preach him among the Gentiles, his immediate response wasn't to consult any man. He didn't go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before him, but he went to Arabia. Later he returned to Damascus.
(Eph 3:2–6, Gal 1:11–12, 15–17, 2:7–9, Rom 15:16–19).

Paul may have possibly visited Mount Sinai (Gal 4:21–26) in Arabia where the Mosaic Laws were given, a place recently located in the northwestern part of present-day Saudi Arabia, see Moses; Part 4: God Calling Moses.

Paul went up to Jerusalem three years after his conversion. When he arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him and didn't believe that he was really a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. Paul became acquainted with the apostle Peter and stayed with him for fifteen days. He then saw none of the other apostles, only James, the Lord’s half-brother. Barnabas told them how on his journey Paul had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. So Paul stayed with them and moved freely in Jerusalem and spoke boldly in the name of the Lord. He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. When Paul was praying in the temple, he fell into a trance and saw the Lord speaking to him: "Quick! Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me."
Paul replied: "Lord, these people know that I went from one synagogue to another
to imprison and beat those who believe in you. And when the blood of your martyr
Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him." Then the Lord said to Paul: "Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles." When the believers heard about this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him to Tarsus in Cilicia. Paul was personally unknown to the churches in Judea at that time. (Acts 9:26–30, 22:17–21, Gal 1:18–23).

Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had a time of peace and was strengthened. By living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in number. (Acts 9:31), see To Fear the Lord in Fear of Man.

Paul wasn't disobedient to his heavenly vision. He first explained to those inside
Damascus, then in Jerusalem, and in all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they might repent and turn to God and do works according to their repentance. For this reason the Jews seized him in the temple and tried to kill him. Paul received the help that comes from God, so that he could testify both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would happen:
that the Christ must suffer and that he, being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to the Jews and to the Gentiles. (Acts 26:19–23).

Later, Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Paul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met the Christian church in Antioch
and taught a large number of people. The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. 
(Acts 11:19–26).

It was possible to spread Christianity to the known world at this time,
see time 19:34–20:32 in Lecture: Intertestamental Period pt. 2.

Paul made three separate journeys: 

  1. Paul's First Missionary Journey, see Acts 13:1–14:28.
  2. Paul's Second Missionary Journey, see Acts 15:36–18:22.
  3. Paul's Third Missionary Journey, see Acts 18:23–21:16.
Afterwards when he came back to Jerusalem he was sent as a prisoner to Rome, see Apostle Paul's Journey to Rome as Prisoner.

Some chronology in year AD based on the Bible Timeline:

Paul wrote the following letters:
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