Paul: Apostle to the Gentiles

Paul: Apostle to the Gentiles

Larry R Evans

A Few Introductory Reflections

Some time ago I found the following quote etched on the American pavilion at Epcot in Orlando, Florida: “Throughout the centuries there were men who took the first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision.” This was certainly the case with Saul who became the Apostle Paul. The encounter with the risen Christ changed everything. He saw Christ, himself and others differently. The temporary blindness revealed a spiritual blindness he had never “seen” before. What a difference the new understanding brought to his life and to the life of others. Nothing, not persecution nor sufferings of any kind, could erode away his new found hope. He had a new lease on life. His zeal did not decrease but it had a new focus. The persecutor had a new vision. The passion with which he sought to capture and persecute others now changed. He had a new story to tell. Despite a frightful past, he was a man chosen to be a medium through whom the risen Christ would change the world and the destiny of multitudes in generations to come. Not only do we today benefit from Paul’s ministry but we are also called to share the hope he found on that Damascus road. We too can have a part in changing the world but it all begins with our own encounter with Christ.

Reflective Quiz

1. Theology can be hazardous to one’s health. (Acts 6:9-15, John 16:2, Rev. 13:15) True or False?

2. Some of the greatest spiritual insights come to us when we are at our lowest. (Acts 9:3-8) True or False?

3. The devout Paul, when confronted by the risen Christ, asked, “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 9:6; 22:10) True or False?

4. Paul changed religions after his conversion on the Damascus road. (Phil 3:6; Gal. 2:15; Rom. 121:1-3; Gal. 1:13) True or False?

5. Saul believed. Saul acted on his belief. Saul received grace. This shows that we are saved by belief plus obedience. True or False?

Questions and a Few Reflective Thoughts

1. Theology can be hazardous to one’s health. (Acts 6:9-15, John 16:2, Rev. 13:15) True

¹¹ Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.”

¹² So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. ¹³ They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. ¹⁴ For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

¹⁵ All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. (Acts 6:11-15)

⁵⁹ While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:59)

“All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. ² They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. ³ (Jn 16:2)

----------------------

¹⁵ He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. (Rev. 13:15)

Examples of David Koresh in Waco, Texas and the Hallsted sisters of Oregon (See Beware of Angels by Roger Morneau) – are modern day examples.

2. Some of the greatest spiritual insights come to us when we are at our lowest. (Acts 9:3-8) True

³ As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. ⁶ “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

⁷ The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. (Acts 9:3-8)

Imagine what this one encounter meant for the world! The future changed in the twinkling of the eye! Everywhere men and women huddled in groups fearing for their lives. No doubt they heard Persecutor Saul was coming. They were right about that. He did come but blinded. Never would they have thought proud Saul would be come humble Paul. Though blinded he would soon begin to see them differently and all because he saw Jesus differently! But transformation doesn’t come without some pain—some deep heart searching. Note the words of Ellen White:

In the glorious Being who stood before him he saw the Crucified One. Upon the soul of the stricken Jew the image of the Saviour's countenance was imprinted forever. The words spoken struck home to his heart with appalling force. Into the darkened chambers of his mind there poured a flood of light, revealing the ignorance and error of his former life and his present need of the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit.

Saul now saw that in persecuting the followers of Jesus he had in reality been doing the work of Satan. (AA 115)

For three days Saul was "without sight, and neither did eat nor drink." These days of soul agony were to him as years. Again and again he recalled, with anguish of spirit, the part he had taken in the martyrdom of Stephen. With horror he thought of his guilt in allowing himself to be controlled by the malice and prejudice of the priests and rulers, even when the face of Stephen had been lighted up with the radiance of heaven. In sadness and brokenness of spirit he recounted the many times he had closed his eyes and ears against the most striking evidences and had relentlessly urged on the persecution of the believers in Jesus of Nazareth. (AA 118)

God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as coworkers with Him. Not Enoch, who was translated to heaven, not Elijah, who ascended in a chariot of fire, was greater or more honored than John the Baptist, who perished alone in the dungeon. "Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake" (Philippians 1:29). And of all the gifts that Heaven can bestow upon men, fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor. {EGW in Conflict and Courage, p.278}

Stephen trusted but could not see beyond his stoning. What faith! What confidence in God. Stone after stone, bruise after bruise did not move him from the conviction that God had a plan even if he could not see it at the time. What a meeting that will be when Paul rushes up to Stephen.

Over time I have been brought to a timeless truth over and over again and it is this: We must not try to draw conclusions or try to see into the future when we or someone we know is in the midst of a crisis. The “why’s” of life will be among the very last questions answered. We must live in the present and simply place our trust in God. Some day the purpose or meaning will be known. Not everything is God’s doing but from it good can still come.

Illustration of invitation to be a colporteur.

Have you ever experienced what Paul experienced: developing a deeper spiritual experience because of a crisis you’ve gone through?

3. The devout Paul, when confronted by the risen Christ, asked, “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 9:6; 22:10) False

When Paul met the risen Christ on the way to Damascus Paul does not ask “What must I do to be saved?” but rather “Lord, what would you have me to do?” (Acts 9:6

¹⁰ “ ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ (Acts 22:10)

What becomes clear is that by meeting Christ Paul did not just become a Christian. He became one sent on a mission. What that mission was eventually became clear in time. Paul

When you were baptized did you experience both repentance as well as a call to serve?

4. Paul changed religions after his conversion on the Damascus road. (Phil 3:6; Gal. 2:15; Rom. 121:1-3; Gal. 1:13) True and False

What really happened on the road to Damascus? What was it that changed? He changed from a persecutor to an apostle but there was more to it than that. Years later when Paul reflected upon his experience when Christ’s identity was revealed to him it became clear that he did not change his religion; he changed his mission.

“As Paul saw it years after, when the Son was revealed to him, he did not change his religion; he changed his mission and his understanding of the divine timetable. The one who had been persecuting the church under the authority of the chief priests now became the one preaching the Son to the Gentiles under the authority of God himself. . . . It would seem that for Paul having become a Christian and having become an apostle were one and the same thing. Becoming both of these, however he did not cease being a Jew.” (Harold Weiss in Paul of Tarsus, pp. 18-19)

Paul never found anything intrinsically wrong with life in Judaism but he did clarify what a “true Jew” was. (Rom 8:28,29; Gal. 3:29, 2 Cor. 11:22)

In regards to the “church” Ellen White provides key insights:

“In the record of the conversion of Saul important principles are given us, which we should ever bear in mind. Saul was brought directly into the presence of Christ. He was one whom Christ intended for a most important work, one who was to be a "chosen vessel" unto Him; yet the Lord did not at once tell him of the work that had been assigned him. He arrested him in his course and convicted him of sin; but when Saul asked, "What wilt Thou have me to do?" the Saviour placed the inquiring Jew in connection with His church, there to obtain a knowledge of God's will concerning him.” ( AA 120)

“The marvelous light that illumined the darkness of Saul was the work of the Lord; but there was also a work that was to be done for him by the disciples. Christ had performed the work of revelation and conviction; and now the penitent was in a condition to learn from those whom God had ordained to teach His truth.” (AA 121)

“Many have an idea that they are responsible to Christ alone for their light and experience, independent of His recognized followers on earth. Jesus is the friend of sinners, and His heart is touched with their woe. He has all power, both in heaven and on earth; but He respects the means that He has ordained for the enlightenment and salvation of men; He directs sinners to the church, which He has made a channel of light to the world.” (AA 122)

So did Paul change churches? What changed? Is it ever necessary to change churches? Why or why not?

5. Saul believed. Saul acted on his belief. Saul received grace. This shows that we are saved by belief plus obedience. False

In some ways this question really misses Paul’s point and experience. Paul wasn’t so much anti-law as he was opposed to anything that would obscure the face of Christ as the Redeemer. Paul discovered the secret to living a free life. That freedom from sin and death had to have a source beyond the world of sin and death. That hope, that reality is found in the risen Christ.

We see this is such biblical passages as Eph 3: 8,9

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

And then again in Titus 3:8

⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. ⁸ This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

Christianity is as Charles Colson points out not just a relationship with Christ but a whole new worldview. I like the way Harold Weiss puts it:

“The different degrees of glory to which Christians attain as they are being changed from glory to glory are not stations on the road to heavenly glorification but stations on the road of self-giving to others in service for the Gospel of the cross. (2 Cor.4:5)” (Harold Weiss in Paul of Tarsus, p. 150).

Which is harder –to be saved or to be lost?

Some Concluding Reflections

I have found the following an insightful summary for this week’s summary.

“As an ambassador for Christ (2 Cor.5:20) Paul sees his task as that of declaring what God had done in Christ. But as such he is not primarily revealing God’s work. He is not the one through whom God’s glory is revealed, as Moses was said to have been. He does communicate knowledge of the glory of God, but he does this only to the degree that by the Spirit of the living God he conducts himself as a faithful slave who is constrained by the love of his Lord (2 Cor.5:14). God’s glory, however, does not shine now in him; it shines in the face of Christ (2Cor. 4:6). Conducting his service under the constraints of love, he has found freedom wherever the Spirit of the Lord is present (2 Cor. 3:17). This freedom in his Lord is neither a psychological nor a social way of escaping responsibility. It is rather a vision of God that transcends the limitations of creatures of flesh since it is based on God’s action in Christ. There is where the eschatological kingdom is established (2 Cor. 5:18).” (Harold Weiss in Paul of Tarsus, p. 151