A Small Reflection on the Life and Work of Paul the Apostle

Introduction

The apostle Paul is one of the most influential and most controversial leaders in church history. Much of what scholars know of him stems from the Book of Acts and his own writings. He is one of the few biblical figures who can be studied firsthand thanks to his letters.[1] Paul is introduced as a young man guarding the robes of those who stoned Stephen (Acts 7:58). The reader then steps into Paul’s shoes to travel with him through three missionary journeys, meeting the churches dear to his heart, interacting with the crowds, and learning about Jesus through his ministry. Anyone can see that Paul’s life was all but mundane.

Paul’s Life

The Jew

Paul was born and raised as a citizen of Tarsus in Cilicia (Acts 21:39) and a Roman citizen (Acts 16:35-39; 22:25-29; 25:10-12). Paul would have been immersed in the differing cultures and customs of the Roman Empire, making him the perfect candidate as the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15). Although Paul had a Hellenistic influence, he was first and foremost an Orthodox Jew who grew up in Jerusalem and studied under Gamaliel. He mentions his Jewish heritage by writing that he was “of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews” (Phil. 3:5).[2] His devotion to the law directed his path to become a Pharisee like his father (Phil. 3:5), a sect of Judaism dedicated to rigid legalism and ceremonial purity regarding the Mosaic law.

The Commissioned

After the stoning of Stephen, there was great persecution towards the early church with Paul as its leader (Acts 8:1-3). However, all that came to a standstill when Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:31). Paul’s conversion is detailed in three separate accounts, each in the context of the persecution of the church (Acts 9:1-19; 22:3-16; 26:9-18).

Paul’s zeal and devotion to his religion pushed the surge of persecution throughout Judea and beyond, with Damascus probably being the farthest city for him to visit at this time. When traveling to Damascus, the resurrected Jesus appeared to him in a blinding light to confront this onslaught of persecution. Jesus made clear that He was the one Paul was persecuting. He mentions that he witnessed the resurrected Christ “as one untimely born” (1 Cor. 15:8), depicting an image of an infant being ripped out of the womb and brought into the light.[3]

Jesus instructed him to go into the city of Damascus, where a blinded Paul fasted and prayed in anticipation of the Lord’s instructions (Acts 9:9, 11). It is at this time, Ananias went to Paul under the Lord’s direction and carried out three main functions: restored Paul’s sight (Acts 9:17), baptized Paul (Acts 9:18; 22:16), and delivered Paul’s commission from the Lord (Acts 9:15-16; 22:14-15). Paul had been called as a chosen vessel to deliver the gospel to the Gentiles. This event crucified Saul the Pharisee and gave birth to Paul the Apostle.[4]

The Apostle

Soon after his conversion, he witnessed for Christ in Damascus and Arabia (Acts 9:19-25; Gal. 1:15-17). The people’s reaction was shock and bewilderment, knowing that the same man that wanted to eradicate the church was preaching Jesus as Messiah. When hostile Jews plotted to kill him during a return trip to Damascus (2 Cor. 11:32-33), Paul escaped from the city and traveled to Jerusalem, which would have been at least three years after his conversion.[5] During this first return to Jerusalem, Barnabas befriended Paul and helped him gain acceptance among the brethren. When the Jews became more hostile towards his preaching, Paul left Jerusalem and stayed in his hometown of Tarsus.

During this silent six to eight years in Tarsus, Paul’s fame had spread through Judea (Gal. 1:21-24).[6] As persecution came back to the church, believers started to scatter throughout the Roman Empire. One of the foremost churches was Antioch, with believers witnessing to both Jews and Gentiles. Barnabas was sent to the church to encourage them in the faith and reached out to Paul in Tarsus to aid in the effort. Antioch is where the term “Christian” was first coined to distinguish between Jews and Jewish believers in Jesus. After a year in Antioch, Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem to aid in famine relief (Acts 11:27-30; 12:25) and then returned to Antioch.

The Missionary

There are three missionary journeys recorded. The first was Paul’s tour of Galatia in AD 47 to 49 with Barnabas and John Mark (Acts 13-14).[7] This journey started after a special time of prayer and fasting, where Paul and Barnabas were set apart by the Holy Spirit.

The first miracle highlighted is the blinding of Elymas the sorcerer in Paphos (Acts 13:8-12), which led the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, to believe the words spoken by Paul. The first recorded sermon of Paul’s is also recorded on this trip in Pisidian Antioch in the synagogue (Acts 13:14-52). This sermon on the first Sabbath led many Jews and proselytes to believe Paul’s witness of Jesus. On the second Sabbath, Paul turned to the Gentiles after rejection from the synagogue. This rejection started a new pattern in Paul’s ministry: first to the Jews, then to the Gentiles.

The second miracle recorded is that of a crippled man in Lystra (Acts 14:6-20). After his healing, Paul and Barnabas had difficulty controlling the crowds that believed Hermes and Zeus had come in human form. However, the hostile Jews caused the group to turn and stone Paul to leave him for dead outside the city. After some believers gathered around him, Paul was healed, walked back into the city, and left the following day for the next town.

During his first missionary journey, a basic pattern developed. First, he would utilize the synagogue and witness to Jews and proselytes. He would then turn to the Gentiles after expulsion from the synagogue. Lastly, Paul would suffer persecution from hostile Jews fueled by jealousy and move on to the next city.

The Jerusalem Council sets the stage for Paul’s second missionary journey (Acts 15:1-35). The Council established that both Jews and Gentiles are saved by grace through faith and not the law. Jewish believers should live as Jews, while Gentile believers do not need to adopt a Jewish lifestyle.

Paul’s second missionary journey lasted approximately three years from AD 50 to 53, resulting in the churches of Philippi, Berea, Thessalonica, and Corinth (Acts 15:36-18:22).[8] In this journey, Paul and Barnabas parted ways, and Silas and Timothy come to Paul’s side.

While in Lystra, Paul welcomes Timothy to the team and eliminates a potential dispute by circumcising the young half-Jew (Acts 16:1-3). The team later moves on to Troas, where Paul received the Macedonian call and traveled to Philippi. It is there that Luke joined Paul on his journey, indicated by the first use of the pronoun “we” in the book of Acts (16:10-40).

There are two notable salvations and one deliverance recorded during this second journey. The first salvation mentioned is of Lydia, a devout proselyte from Thyatira and businesswoman who sold purple fabric (Acts 16:14-15). In the same city of Philippi, Paul delivers a slave girl from a demon of divination, which in turn lands him and Silas in prison (Acts 16:16-24). While singing and praising in prison, an earthquake shakes the prison doors open around midnight. The guard, fearing that the prisoners had escaped, was about to take his own life until Paul cried out to him. He then asked Paul about salvation and was later baptized with his household (Acts 16:25-36).

Later in this journey, Paul traveled to Athens, where he delivered the address on the Areopagus (Acts 17:22-31). The inscription, “To an Unknown God,” was the inspiration of this great monologue. Utilizing his usual approach and a hint of Greek poetry, Paul testifies to God as Creator and humanity’s obligation to seek Him.[9] He goes on to describe how God bypassed judgment regarding ignorance in the past. However, now that Jesus had come, God commanded that all should repent and believe in the resurrected Jesus or face coming judgment.

Paul then travels to Corinth, where the reader is introduced to Aquila and Priscilla, who had recently been expelled from Rome by the edict of Claudius Caesar (Acts 18:2). The couple had the same tentmaking profession as Paul. After ministering in Ephesus, Caesarea, and Jerusalem, Paul traveled back to his home base in Antioch.

The last missionary journey lasted from AD 53 to 57 and centered around an extended stay in Ephesus and a sweep through Macedonia (Acts 18-21).[10] At the beginning of this journey, Apollos is introduced, an excellent orator who knows the baptism of John but is further instructed in the ways of Christ by Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:24-28). Paul later encounters twelve of Apollos’s converts who were only baptized into John’s baptism but were wonderfully filled with the Holy Spirit after Paul prayed for them (Acts 19:1-7).

Extraordinary miracles were witnessed while Paul was in Ephesus, including handkerchiefs and aprons being laid on the sick and afflicted so that they recovered (Acts 19:11-12). Paul’s authority in Christ was also asserted during this time, as evidenced by the sons of Sceva (Acts 19:13-17). Paul’s word and witness had so taken effect that even a book burning was observed to destroy their witchcraft and charms (Acts 19:18-20).

Later during this third journey in Miletus, Paul confesses to the church that he was “bound by the Spirit” to go to Jerusalem where persecution awaited him (Acts 20:22-23). However, he was urged by the disciples through the Spirit not to go to Jerusalem (Acts 21:4). This seeming inconsistency may very well indicate both compulsion and warning in the Holy Spirit’s direction.[11] Agabus then prophesied in Caesarea that Paul would be arrested in Jerusalem (Acts 21:10-11).

The Prisoner

A quick arrest followed Paul’s arrival in Jerusalem, brought on by a false charge of bringing a Gentile into the Temple (Acts 21:27-28). An outburst by hostile Jews from Asia caused a stir in the crowd who dragged Paul to the outer court. Word of the uproar came to Claudius Lysias, the captain of the Roman garrison in Jerusalem, and he took Paul out of the riot into custody after his address to the crowd (Acts 22:1-30). He later addressed the Sanhedrin, who was divided about Paul due to his statement about the resurrection (Acts 23:1-10). The Lord then appeared in a vision assuring him that he would bear witness in Rome, setting Paul’s new course (Acts 23:11).

After Claudius Lysias heard about an ambush to kill Paul, he moved the apostle to Caesarea Maritima under the procurator Felix (Acts 23:12-24:26). Following a fruitless hearing, Paul was confined to prison in Caesarea for two years (Acts 24:27). Festus succeeded Felix as Judea’s procurator. Paul was soon brought back on trial and appealed to Caesar, this time with Herod Agrippa and Bernice in the audience. It was then that Paul was set on a course to Rome (Acts 25:1-26:32).

The ship sailed rocky and stormy seas on its way to Rome. The captain eventually ended up in the open seas for fourteen days due to a severe storm until the ship struck a reef off the shore of Malta (Acts 27:14-28:1). It is on this island that two major miracles occurred. The first was when Paul shook off the deadly serpent from his hand and did not suffer any harm (Acts 28:3-6). The second miracle was the healing of the island’s governor’s father of fever and dysentery (Acts 28:7-10). After Paul ministered in Malta, the group soon headed toward Rome.

Paul was given private quarters while in Rome, perhaps on the captain’s recommendation (Acts 28:16, 30). He was granted house arrest under the watchful eye of one guard but could have many visitors. During his two-year stay in Rome, Paul witnessed to Jews and Gentiles about Jesus (Acts 28:17-31).

The Martyr

Little is known about Paul’s last days after the abrupt ending of the Book of Acts. A more traditional view of Paul states that he was released from his first house arrest in Rome mentioned in Acts 28. What is known for sure is that Paul went back as far as Crete, Ephesus, and Greece. He might have also gone to Spain, as he alludes to his itinerary in the Epistle to the Romans (Rom. 15:24, 28).

One can only assume that Paul was caught in the middle of the persecution that followed the great fire of the Circus Maximus in AD 64, which resulted in an outrageous number of Christian deaths because of Nero’s claims.[12] It was probably at this time that Paul was again arrested and awaited his execution in the dungeons. In AD 67, Paul was beheaded outside the city walls of Rome under the rule of the emperor Nero.[13]

Paul’s Letters

Paul’s letters have been the most significant influence in shaping the theology of Christianity. The church often calls Paul’s writings epistles, which sound more formal and authoritative. However, in reality, they were letters to those dear to his heart. The abrupt changes in thought, or anacolutha, show that Paul’s letters were not revised or polished essays.[14] Most of Paul’s writings were specific to a church’s everyday matters and were occasional.

Though they were personal, one cannot deny that the Holy Spirit inspired Paul’s writings to be in a way that they reveal God’s truth to His church then and now. They show the inspiration of the Spirit while addressing personal matters, thus making outlines a weak expression of the flow of thought. His letters can be likened to windows into his world rather than just deposits of theology.[15] Paul authored thirteen letters during his ministry to different churches and individuals who had various needs and problems. Some are very personal (Philemon, Philippians), others given to sound doctrine (Romans, Ephesians), and still others for ethical and practical teaching (1 Corinthians).

Romans

The Apostle Paul penned Romans around AD 57 during his three-month stay in Greece on his third missionary journey. [16] It has been said that the letter to the Romans deserves to be called “The Gospel according to Paul.”[17] Written more as a doctrinal essay, Romans is the most formal of Paul’s writings. The purpose of this letter was to lay the foundation of fundamental doctrines of the faith. The theme of the letter leans toward the righteousness of God apart from the law that comes to both Jew and Gentile through faith.

1 & 2 Corinthians

The letters to the Corinthians were written during Paul’s third missionary journey while in Ephesus around AD 55-56.[18] The Corinthian letters were part of a two-sided conversation with Paul responding to what the church in Corinth was doing. The church at Corinth was known as being the most confused congregation, having difficulty with a consistent pattern of lifestyle.[19]

Paul wrote 1 Corinthians in response to several problems he had learned, such as division, sexual immorality, marriage and divorce, food offered to idols, the order in worship, and the doctrine of the resurrection. Paul makes clear that the Corinthians’ lives must emulate Christ. The theme of the first letter deals with the unity of the Christian community.[20] Second Corinthians was written to express his joy over the Corinthians’ repentance and defend himself against growing accusations. The theme of this second letter is a call to obedience on the part of the Corinthian church.[21]

Galatians

The letter to the Galatians, written in late AD 56, establishes that justification is by faith in the finished work of Christ Jesus.[22] Judaizers had flooded the Galatian church with their teaching, which attacked the gospel of justification by faith and Paul’s authority as an apostle. Paul’s central thesis of Galatians is justification by faith without works of the law, detailing how the law was only temporary until Christ completely fulfilled the law.[23]

Ephesians

Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesian church around AD 61 during his first Roman imprisonment.[24] The primary purposes of Paul’s writing were to teach on the believers’ standing in Christ, the Spirit-controlled walk, and the need to stand firm in the spiritual battle. This trifold purpose has been summarized as the “wealth, walk, and warfare of the believers.”[25] The themes that arise in Ephesians are the position of believers “in heavenly places” (Eph. 2:6), the Holy Spirit, and the body of Christ.

Philippians

With the joyful undertones of this letter, it could be that Paul wrote to the Philippians towards the end of his imprisonment in the early AD 60s.[26] This letter was primarily to give thanksgiving, joy, and encouragement to the church in Philippi. Paul includes reassurance of his circumstances, encouragement to stand fast during opposition, exhorting concerning Christian living, and warns against Judaizers’ influence. Joy is the pervading theme of the letter. Paul also touches on the Christian mind and fellowship.

Colossians

Paul wrote the letter to the Colossians around AD 61 as one of his prison letters.[27] The purpose in writing seems to stem from false teaching circulating, involving the notion that Christ was a lesser deity, worshiping angelic beings, practicing Jewish ceremonialism, and teaching self-denial. Paul seems to mainly counter Jewish mystics or Hellenists who were propagating Judaism and embedding religious beliefs common to the area.[28] The theme of Colossians revolves around the preeminence of Christ and how He is the center of sound doctrine.

1 & 2 Thessalonians

The writing of the letters to the Thessalonians was during Paul’s second missionary journey during his stay in Corinth around AD 50.[29] These two letters are often known for their greater eschatological themes. The purpose of 1 Thessalonians was to encourage the church in the face of adversity and quicken their enthusiasm for the Day of the Lord.[30] This letter was also a chance to exhort the church to live in a way pleasing to God. He challenges the Thessalonians to live blameless and holy lives because the Lord is near. The second letter to the Thessalonians continues Paul’s thoughts, which clarified any misunderstandings from the first letter. The main purposes of this follow-up letter are to encourage the Thessalonians in their persecutions and give specific instruction concerning the coming of the Lord.

1 & 2 Timothy

Paul’s two letters to Timothy are pastoral while the young pastor was serving in Ephesus. First Timothy was written around AD 64.[31] The first letter addressed how Timothy should conduct himself and strengthen him in his resistance to false teaching. Paul also included instructions on church affairs. Second Timothy is the most heartbreaking of Paul’s letters since he reflects on his life and ministry while awaiting his execution. Paul wrote this letter in approximately AD 66 to encourage Timothy to remain steadfast and prepare him for Paul’s death.[32]

Titus

Paul’s letter to Titus is another pastoral letter, written in about AD 64 or 65.[33] Titus was a young pastor over a group of fledgling churches on the island of Crete. Paul even points out that he left Titus in Crete to straighten out the church and appoint qualified elders.[34] This letter greatly resembles the first letter to Timothy. Paul wrote concerning church affairs, encouraged the development of Titus’s personal character, and warned about false teachers.

Philemon

The shortest of all Paul’s letters is more like a letter between friends. This letter was most likely written during Paul’s two-year imprisonment in Rome in the early AD 60s.[35] The primary purpose of the letter was to restore Onesimus to his master Philemon. Paul wanted Philemon to forgive his slave and welcome him back as a brother in Christ.[36]

Paul’s Theology

Throughout Paul’s letters, a foundation of theology is set in stone. Martin Hengel writes that “Pauline theology rests on the radical reversal of former values and aims which came about through the encounter with the crucified and risen Jesus of Nazareth.”[37] Paul’s earliest letters show that his theology and doctrine were settled and stemmed from the roots of Judaism. One can see how his theology grows when reading Paul’s writing chronologically, giving way to the emergence of the basics in response to issues.[38] His writings reveal a theology that grows into a richer and fuller description of the meaning of life in Christ Jesus.[39]

A significant theme in Paul’s theology is the reality of God as the Creator and the one who brings His purpose to completion.[40] Paul’s Christology revealed that Jesus was the crucified, risen, and exalted Son of God that came as Savior and Liberator. His soteriology comes from the fact that salvation comes by grace through faith in Christ alone, making the present time one of grace and salvation (2 Cor. 6:2).[41]

Paul has a strong stance concerning pneumatology, regarding the Holy Spirit as the power of the Godhead that binds believers to God.[42] His belief about ecclesiology roots itself in the Lord as the church’s founder and the church as a fellowship of believers and the “body of Christ” (1 Cor. 12:12-13). Paul’s nomology changed from his former Jewish perspective to where he believed that faith in Jesus brought about righteousness (Gal. 3:23-24), but believers are to obey the law of the Spirit and be slaves of righteousness (Rom. 6:18). Concerning eschatology, Christ brought about the end of the age (1 Cor. 10:11) and gave the Holy Spirit as the seal and guarantor of God’s faithfulness (Rom. 8:29).

Significance for the Church Today

From Pharisee to martyr, Paul was a man determined and eager to spread the gospel at any cost. It is said that Paul was “the single, most driving intellectual force in the early church, second only to Jesus.”[43] His letters still hold truths that benefit believers today, a new word from God for the modern-day church. His writings have encouraged generations of believers to live God-centered lives, being in the world but not of it. He has been the catalyst of reformation and renewal as individuals have fresh encounters with Paul and his writings.[44]

One can also be inspired by the life he lived. Paul’s life is a testimony of God’s grace that can change any heart into a lover of Christ and His people (Gal. 1:13, 23-24). His devotion overtook his entire being where it could not compare to the cost of following Christ Jesus (Acts 20:24; 2 Cor. 11:23-29). Paul understood that he was not perfect, yet he did not hide his imperfections so that he could magnify Christ through his life (Phil. 3:12; 1 Tim. 1:15-16). His ultimate goal was to emulate the greatness of Christ (Phil. 1:20). By understanding Paul, the church can better understand the Lord, His ways, and His work. Believers can discover higher heights and deeper depths to the glory of Christ and the majesty of God.

Bibliography

Bird, Michael F., ed. Four Views on the Apostle Paul. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012.

________. Introducing Paul: The Man, His Mission and His Message. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2009.

Elwell, Walter A., and Robert W. Yarbrough. Encountering the New Testament: A Historical and Theological Survey. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013.

Picirilli, Robert E. Paul the Apostle. Chicago.: Moody Publishers, 1986.

Sanders, E. P. Paul: The Apostle’s Life, Letters, and Thought. Lanham: Fortress Press, 2015.

Schnelle, Udo. Apostle Paul: His Life and Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012.

[1] E.P. Sanders, Paul: The Apostle's Life, Letters, and Thought (Lanham: Fortress Press, 2015), xix. [2] Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passage references are in the New American Standard Bible (The Lockman Foundation, 1995). [3] Michael Bird, Introducing Paul: The Man, His Mission and His Message (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2009), 34. [4] Ibid., 37. [5] Robert Picirilli, Paul the Apostle (Chicago, IL.: Moody Publishers, 1986), 45. [6] Ibid., 48. [7] Walter Elwell and Robert Yarbrough, Encountering the New Testament: A Historical and Theological Survey (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013), 238. [8] Elwell, Encountering the New Testament, 238. [9] Picirilli, Paul the Apostle, 85. [10] Elwell, Encountering the New Testament, 238. [11] Picirilli, Paul the Apostle, 104. [12] Picirilli, Paul the Apostle, 176. [13] Elwell, Encountering the New Testament, 238. [14] Sanders, Paul, 169. [15]Bird, Introducing Paul, 13. [16] Elwell, Encountering the New Testament, 258. [17] Picirilli, Paul the Apostle, 124. [18] Elwell, Encountering the New Testament, 272. [19] Elwell, Encountering the New Testament, 270. [20] Picirilli, Paul the Apostle, 109. [21] Bird, Introducing Paul, 62. [22] Picirilli, Paul the Apostle, 121. [23] Bird, Introducing Paul, 59. [24] Picirilli, Paul the Apostle, 158. [25] Picirilli, Paul the Apostle, 160. [26] Ibid., 167. [27] Ibid., 150. [28] Bird, Introducing Paul, 65. [29] Picirilli, Paul the Apostle, 92. [30] Bird, Introducing Paul, 59. [31] Picirilli, Paul the Apostle, 180. [32] Ibid., 187. [33] Picirilli, Paul the Apostle, 184. [34] Bird, Introducing Paul, 72. [35] Elwell, Encountering the New Testament, 303. [36] Bird, Introducing Paul, 66. [37] Ibid., 34. [38] Sanders, Paul, 172. [39] Ibid. [40] Udo Schnelle, Apostle Paul: His Life and Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012), 250. [41] Ibid., 303. [42] Ibid., 314. [43] Michael F. Bird, ed., Four Views on the Apostle Paul (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 9. [44] Bird, Introducing Paul, 13.

* This post was originally submitted as an assignment for NBST 520 at Liberty University on May 5, 2021.