by Joseph Edwin Pineda

Created on: October 27, 2008

Life of the Apostle Paul

Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God (Romans 1:1). He further states in 1 Timothy 1: 12-15, "And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man: but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief".

This most remarkable, humble man who almost wrote the entire history of the New Covenant apostolic church (Acts 9-28) is ascribed as the greatest of the apostles. He was the vessel God chose to write almost one-third of the entire New Testament.

Paul was born and raised in Tarsus, the leading city of Cilicia and one of the greatest educational centers of the Eastern World. His parents were Jews, who possessed Roman citizenship, which Paul inherited uniquely, the status: He was both a Roman and a Jew. His Jewish history was unblemished, in fact: "Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews" (Phil. 3:5). Saul, Paul's other name that is less familiar to New Testament audiences, was most likely named after Israel's first mortal king. The majority of Romans purchased rights of citizenship, however not the case with Paul. He was privileged, in that he was born into civil liberties of residency (Acts 22:25-29). Some bible scholars believe Paul's Roman name was given to him by his loving parents in order to live claim to the legal rights that was bestowed by birth, rightly having two legal citizenships (Jewish, Roman). R.C. Sproul and Robert Wolgemuth in their book What's In The Bible (page 330), says this, "This was the defining experience in Saul's life. Never having been one to hide his passion, Saul, who became "Paul," went straight to the temple." Now this posses a question, did Saul become Paul after his unique encounter with the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus? Did Saul take the name "Paul" after his conversion, or was it after his first soul winning mission recorded in (Acts 13:7-12)? What was the thought or significance behind Luke's account in this name change? Could it have been the true salvation experience? Can this be paralleled with Genesis 17, God

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>