The outstanding missionary and writer of the early church. Paul the
apostle and his theology are important in the New Testament not only
because thirteen Epistles bear his name but also because of the
extended biographical information given in the Book of Acts. From
the information in these two sources, we piece together a reasonable
picture of one of the major personalities of early Christianity. The
letters of Paul as listed in the New Testament include Romans
through Philemon. (Dates given below are approximate.)
Early Life and Training (A.D. 1-35) Paul's Jewish name was Saul,
given at birth after his father or some near kin, or even after the
famous Old Testament King Saul, who like Paul was from the tribe of
Benjamin. Being born in a Roman city and claiming
Roman citizenship, Paul (Paulos) was his official Roman name.
Normally, a citizen would have three names similar to our first,
middle, and last names. The New Testament records only the name Paul
which would have been the middle or last name, since the first name
was usually indicated only by the initial. See Rome; Roman Empire;
Roman Law. Tarsus, the place of Paul's birth (Acts
22:3), is still a bustling city a few miles inland from the
Mediteranean on Turkey's southern shore. By Paul's day it was a
self-governing city, loyal to the Roman Empire. We do not know how
Paul's parents or forebearers came to live in Tarsus. Many Jewish
families emigrated from their homeland willingly or as a result of
foreign intervention in the centuries before Christ. A nonbiblical
story says that Paul's parents migrated from a village in Galilee,
but this cannot be verified. See Tarsus. Growing up in a
Jewish family meant that Paul was well trained in the Jewish
Scriptures and tradition (Acts 26:4-8; Philippians 3:5-6) beginning
in the home with the celebration of the Jewish holy days: Passover,
Yom kippur, Hanukkah, and others. At an early age he entered the
synagogue day school. Here he learned to read and write by copying
select passages of Scripture. He learned the ancient Hebrew language
from Old Testament texts. At home his parents probably spoke the
current dialect—Aramaic. As Paul related to the larger community, he
learned the Greek language. Every Jewish boy also learned a trade.
Paul learned the art of tentmaking which he later used as a means of
sustenance (Acts 18:3). Paul eventually went to
Jerusalem to study under the famous rabbi, Gamaliel. He was probably
13 to 18 years old. See Gamaliel. Paul had been well trained by the
best Jewish teacher of that day (Acts 22:3). Paul became very
zealous for the traditions, that is teachings, of his people
(Galatians 1:14). He was a Pharisee (Philippians 3:5).
This zealous commitment to the study of the Old Testament laws and
traditions is the background of Paul's persecution of his Jewish
brothers who believed Jesus was the Messiah. Luke introduced Paul in
the Book of Acts at the execution of Stephen. Now Stephen was
executed because he placed Jesus (1) superior to the law and (2)
superior to the Temple. Furthermore he claimed (3) that the fathers
of the Jewish nation had always been rebellious. Paul, from his
training, vigorously disagreed with Stephen's point of view. Stephen
opposed the very foundations of Judaism since the days of Moses.
Stephen's sermon apparently stimulated Paul's persecution of the
church (Acts 8:1-3, Acts 9:1-2; Acts 26:9-11; Philippians 3:6;
Galatians 1:13). To be an effective persecutor, Paul would need to
know as much as possible about Jesus and the church. He knew the
message of Christianity: Jesus' resurrection, His messiahship, and
His availability to all humankind. He simply rejected the gospel.
See Acts of the Apostles; Stephen. Paul's Conversion
(A.D. 35) Three accounts tell of Paul's Damascus Road experience:
Acts 9:3-19; Acts 22:6-21; Acts 26:13-23. The variations in details
are accounted for by recognizing that each story is told to a
different audience on a different occasion. Paul was traveling to
Damascus to arrest Jewish people who had accepted Jesus as the
Messiah. This was legally possible since city governments were known
to permit the Jewish sector of the city a reasonable degree of
self-government. The journey would take at least a week using
donkeys or mules to ride and carry provisions. See Damascus;
Messiah. As Paul neared Damascus, a startling light
forced him to the ground. The voice asked: “Why persecutest thou
me,” and identified the speaker as Jesus—the very one whom Stephen
had seen at the right hand of God when Paul witnessed Stephen's
stoning. Paul was struck blind and was led into the city. Ananias
met Paul and told him that he had been chosen by God as a messenger
for the Gentiles (Acts 9:17). After Paul received his sight, like
other believers before him, he was baptized. In this
conversion experience, Paul accepted the claims of Jesus and the
church, the very thing he was seeking to destroy. Jesus was truly
the Messiah and took priority over the Temple and the law. The
experience was also Paul's call to carry the gospel to the Gentile
world (Acts 9:15; Acts 22:21). Both his conversion and
call are reflected in Paul's letters. He wrote that Jesus had
appeared to him (1 Corinthians 15:8-10; 1 Corinthians 9:1); the
gospel Paul preached had come by revelation (Galatians 1:12); he had
been called by God (Galatians 1:1; Ephesians 3:2-12). His conversion
brought a complete change in the inner controlling power of his
life. It was like dying and receiving a new life (Galatians 2:20) or
being created anew (2 Corinthians 5:17-20). This experience of
radical change and call to the Gentiles provided the motivation to
travel throughout the Roman world. See Conversion.
Paul's Missionary Journeys (A.D. 46-61) (1) The first missionary
journey (A.D. 46-48) began at Antioch (Acts 13-14). The church at
Antioch had been founded by Hellenistic Christian believers like
Stephen (Acts 11:19-26). Barnabas became its prominent leader, and
Paul was his associate. Acts makes it clear that the entire church
was involved in the world mission project, and the church chose Paul
and Barnabas to be their representatives. John Mark went along as an
important assistant. Their itinerary took them from Antioch (Antakya
of modern Turkey) to the seaport of Seleucia. By ship they traveled
to Cyprus. They landed at Salamis and traveled the length of the
island to Paphos, from whence they set sail to Perga on Turkey's
southern shore. Entering the highlands, they came into the province
of Galatia where they concentrated their efforts in the southern
cities of Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. Their typical
procedure was to enter a new town, seek out the synagogue, and share
the gospel on the sabbath day. Usually Paul's message caused a
division in the synagogue, and Paul and Barnabas would seek a
Gentile audience. From Paul's earliest activities, it became evident
that the gospel he preached caused tension between believers and the
synagogue. This first journey produced results. In each city many
turned to the new way (Acts 13:44,Acts 13:52; Acts 14:1-4,Acts
14:20-28); and a minimal organization was established in each
locality (Acts 14:23). He later addressed an epistle to this
district—Galatians. See Asia Minor. (2) Paul's second
journey (A.D. 49-52) departed from Antioch with Silas as his
associate (Acts 15:36-18:18). They traveled overland through what is
now modern Turkey to the Aegean part of Troas. A vision directed
Paul to go to Philippi in the province of Macedonia. Philippi was a
Roman city with no synagogue and a minimal Jewish population. Paul
established a church there as further attested by his letter to the
Philippians. From there he traveled to Thessalonica and Berea. His
preaching in Athens met with meager results. His work in Corinth
(the province of —Achaia) was well received and even approved, in an
oblique fashion, by the Roman governor, Gallio. From Corinth, Paul
returned to Caesarea, visited Jerusalem, and then Antioch (Acts
18:22). (3) Paul's third missionary venture (A.D. 52-57)
centered in the city of Ephesus from which the gospel probably
spread into the surrounding cities such as the seven churches in
Revelation (Acts 18:23-20:6; Revelation 2-3). From Ephesus he
carried on a correspondence with the Corinthian church and possibly
other churches. While in Corinth at the end of this journey, he
wrote the Epistle to the Romans. See Revelation 2-3; Revelation 2-3.
When Paul returned to Jerusalem for his last visit (Acts
21:17-26:32), he was soon arrested and imprisoned—first in Jerusalem
and then later transferred to Caesarea (A.D. 57-59). At first the
charges against him were that he had brought a Gentile into the
restricted areas of the Temple. Later, he was accused of being a
pestilent fellow. The real reasons for his arrest are noted: the
crowd was enraged at his mentioning his call to the Gentiles (Acts
22:21-22), and he stated to the Sanhedrin that he was arrested
because of his belief in the resurrection. These two reasons, or
beliefs, were the controlling motivation of Paul's life from
conversion to arrest. See Resurrection; Sanhedrin. Paul
was eventually transferred to Rome (A.D. 60-61) as a prisoner of the
emperor. His story in the New Testament ends there. The tradition
outside the New Testament that tells of Paul's execution in Rome is
reasonable. The tradition that he traveled to Spain is problematic.
Paul and the churches (1) Paul did not hesitate to remind the
churches that he possessed apostolic authority from the Lord.
Galatians 1-2 is his most intensive statement of this. He blatantly
stated that his appointment was from God (Galatians 1:1), and that
he preached the authentic gospel (Galatians 1:8) because he received
it by revelation (Galatians 1:12). He had been called
by God to carry the gospel to the Gentiles (Galatians 1:16). This
call was recognized by the leaders of the Jerusalem church
(Galatians 2:7-10), the very church in which the most distinguished
of the apostles resided—Peter, James, and John. In most of his
letters, Paul identified himself from the beginning as an apostle of
Christ Jesus. His certainty of the gospel and his relationship to
Christ was the grounds of his relation to the churches. The Epistle
of Paul to the Ephesians further expresses Paul's commitment to the
Gentile mission. Again he insisted that by revelation (Ephesians
3:3) he knew the mystery of Christ which is simply that the gospel
is for the Gentiles without any restrictions (Ephesians 3:6-9). He
had been given the specific charge to carry the gospel to the
Gentiles (Acts 9:15). See Galatians, Epistle to; Gentiles.
(2) While Paul was intensely aware of his calling, he also
recognized his dependency upon others. When he was criticized for
his own willingness to accept Gentiles without their being
circumcised, he was willing to enter into dialogue with the
Christians in Jerusalem (Acts 15:1) to resolve the question. Paul
must have realized that he, as well as the young Gentile Christians,
needed the approval and support of the Christian leaders in
Jerusalem, the very place where the crucifixion, burial,
resurrection, and ascension of Jesus took place. During his travels,
he often returned to Jerusalem to visit the church, and he brought
gifts to it on more than one occasion (Acts 11:29-30; 1 Corinthians
16:1-4). (3) We must not think of Paul as an established
administrator over the churches he founded. His letters give
evidence that he did not command or dictate to his churches; rather
he persuaded them. The lengthy correspondence with the church at
Corinth was Paul's effort to persuade them to adopt the correct
attitude towards specific problems as well as toward himself. He
could only admonish the churches through the gospel.
Paul's Theology Paul's writings are the major source of Christian
theology both because of the amount of material and because of
Paul's intensively theological writing style. (1) Human beings are
alienated from God. They had the opportunity of recognizing God as
Creator and themselves as dependent creatures, but instead they have
rejected God and established themselves as the ultimate authority.
God permitted humankind to make the choice. The results of such a
choice is humankind's immorality, idolatry, and the suffering that
human beings impose upon one another. In short, our declaring our
independence from God has given sin an opportunity. While Gentiles
have made their own abilities absolute, the Jews have made the law
absolute. Each group has alienated themselves from God. This is the
bondage of sin. Unfortunately, humans do not have the ability to
solve this problem. We are hopelessly estranged from God. These
ideas are especially described in Romans 1:18-3:8. See Sin;
Anthropology. (2) Paul's answer to humankind's
alienation was that “when the fulness of time was come, God sent
forth his son” (Galatians 4:4). He further described the Son in
Colossians 1:15-20. First, Paul told his readers that Christ is the
model for all humankind. He is the image of God (Colossians 1:15).
Christ represents what God would like all human beings to be.
Second, Christ is bound up with the One who created the universe.
Its design and purpose centers in Christ. Whatever our question
about our place in the world might be, the ultimate answer is in
Christ. Third, based on Christ's relation to God and His place in
the universe, He is the appropriate one to reconcile us to God
(Colossians 1:20). Christ is able to reestablish the broken
relationship between God and humankind. He shows us how we can
realign our proper dependent relationship to God. “God was in Christ
reconciling the world unto himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). See
Conversion; Reconciliation. (3) The presentation of
Christ as God's reconciling gift to humankind is graphically
portrayed in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. This
event is the focal point of all that Paul preached and wrote. “For I
determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and
him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). The Death, burial, and
resurrection of Jesus must be thought of as a unit. “If Christ be
not risen, then… your faith is also vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14).
Paul could think of Christ's death as a Passover sacrifice (1
Corinthians 5:7), as a representative sacrifice (2 Corinthians
5:14), or as a ransom (1 Timothy 2:5-6). When Paul stressed the
resurrection event, he thought in terms of the doctrine of the
future which he had inherited from his Jewish background: (a) Human
history has an end which will begin a new world. (b) This will begin
with the coming of the Messiah. (c) An intense
encounter between good and evil will take place. (d) The dead will
be resurrected. Jesus' resurrection is evidence that God has already
begun the messianic era. It guarantees the hope that the complete
resurrection and the new world is sure to come (1 Corinthians
15:20-24). Jesus' death and resurrection was God's way of verifying
that Jesus is the One who brings about reconciliation between
humankind and God. See Jesus, Life and Ministry of; Christology;
Future Hope. (4) When Paul thought about the person who
accepts God's offer of reconciliation in Christ, he described
persons of faith, using Abraham as a worthy example (Romans 4:3).
Abraham had a right relation to God because of his response of faith
to God's offer. Paul further described Abraham as one who was “fully
convinced that God was able to do what he had promised” (Romans 4:21
NRSV). This is applied to Christians: “It [righteousness] will be
reckoned to us who believe [have faith] in him who raised Jesus our
Lord from the dead” (Romans 4:24 NRSV). Faith is simply accepting as
certain the promise of salvation God has made through Christ. This
response in faith is so dynamic and vital that it has transforming
power and is like creating a new person (Galatians 2:20; 2
Corinthians 5:17-19). The person of faith is a new creation with a
new motivating, energizing force, the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9-11).
The person of faith is truly “in Christ.” See Faith. (5)
The believer does not come into reconciliation in isolation. It
happens in a community of faith. Paul began his missionary
activities out of a congregation of believers. Wherever people
became believers, a community existed known by the word church. Paul
never advised a person of faith to live alone but rather to
fellowship with the church. This believing community is intimately
associated with Christ, who holds a position of dignity and
authority over the church—He is its Head (Ephesians 1:22-23). At the
same time Christ loves the church, and He gave Himself for it; the
church is subject to Christ in all matters (Ephesians 5:21-33). This
new community performs two functions: (a) It nurtures the person of
faith so that he or she may mature “unto the measure of the stature
of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). (b) It witnesses to
God's power to reconcile humankind to Himself by its example of
Christian fellowship within its walls and by evangelistic outreach
beyond itself (Ephesians 3:10). See Church. (6) The
reconciled person has a new life-style. Paul expressed a concern for
ethics. He listed vices: Galatians 5:19-21; Colossians 3:5-11;
Ephesians 4:17-19; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 2
Corinthians 12:20-21, and others. He also listed worthy qualities:
Galatians 5:22-23; Colossians 3:12-14; Philippians 4:8. He gave
advice to Christian households: Colossians 3:18-4:1; Ephesians
5:21-6:9. He offered guidance in marriage matters: 1 Corinthians
7:1. Although Paul expected worthy Christian conduct, he was not
legalistic. Legalism means keeping rules for rule's sake. Rules are
essential for Christian nurture. In an extended discussion about
Christian conduct (1 Corinthians 8:1-11:1) he emphasized that a
believer will be sensitive to the effect his conduct will have on a
fellow believer (1 Corinthians 8:9-12). The ultimate standard of
Christian conduct is Christ Himself. After exhorting believers to be
concerned about their actions toward each other, Paul gave one of
his most beautiful descriptions of the example of Jesus' giving
Himself for others (Philippians 2:1-11). So Christ gives Himself as
God's reconciling agent to bring human beings into a right relation
with God, living a life motivated by the Spirit. See Ethics.
Oscar S. Brooks
|