Who was Paul ?, Sunday messege - 3-6-22

 

Before continuing on I’d like to address a couple of things that may give us more strength of understanding as we go forward. Last week we left off with the day of Pentecost as the Apostles gave testimony, Peter spoke and people who attended from all over the world heard and understood in their own language. This was a gift given to them through the power of God. A gift of the Holy Spirit…

Lets Pray ,

Lord,

We treasure all of the gifts that you have given us. Help us to use them wisely as would be pleasing to you. Open our hearts and minds this morning to receive your word and understand more fully the guidance that you have put before us…

We ask in Jesus’ name,

Amen

     So talking in tongues was a gift from the Holy Spirit but it was understood by everyone from all over the world. This was a miracle in and of itself but it was not an unintelligible tongue. Just the opposite.. We also made reference to Corinthians 12, 13,14 regarding speaking in tongues.. And we find that this was addressed by Paul in letters to the Corinthian Church advising them on this subject.. This direction was outlined by Paul.. The subject was not addressed by Jesus before or after his assentation in any way.. Except we can reason that Pauls opinion on this matter was inspired by God..

So as we needed to lay a foundation for our study of the Book of Acts, it now is reasonable that we lay more of this foundation to proceed forward by understanding who Paul was..

2 questions arise from our study so far and both concern Paul.

1.-      What is the reality today, for us, about speaking in tongues… We know what Luke identified for us at Pentecost but how does that contrast with the writings of Paul. And

2. –      Paul is called an Apostle but he was not part of the original 12.. Why is that ? and where was Paul after the resurrection for 40 days. Why was he not at Pentecost ? What was he doing?

Lets tackle the latter first..

Overview…

According to biblical sources, Saul/Paul was not a follower of Jesus and did not know him before his crucifixion. The narrative of the Book of Acts suggests Paul's conversion occurred 4-7 years after the crucifixion of Jesus, when he Appeared to St. Paul on the road to Damascus.

How long after the resurrection did Jesus appear to Paul? It seems somewhere between 4 and 7 years..

So this accounts for why he wasn’t with the Apostles and why Judas was replaced by Matthias not Paul at the council in Jerusalem….

As we established Paul was not one of the original 12. He was a devout Jew, learning at the feet of a very great educators/masters of OT law. He does not appear on the scene until the terrible persecutions of the disciples and the Christians .. Stephen was an ardent follower of the teachings of Jesus. , even though Jesus had already been crucified and ascended. Stephen was stoned by the Jews, and Paul, then Saul, stood by, holding the coats of those who stoned him. Paul was what we might call a radically devout Jew....by that I mean that he believed, at that time, that anyone who followed Jesus' teachings were traitors to the law and should die.

On his way to Damascus to persecute the Christians, he was physically overcome by a bright light. He fell to the ground, and was blinded several days by the light and had to be led by the hand by those who travelled with him. He believed God did this to him. Jesus said, "Saul, why dost thou kick against the pricks." Saul said, "Lord what wilt thou have me to do?" So, he was directed to meet a disciple, Anninias, who would tell Paul, Saul, what he should do. Annnas was afraid of Paul because he was set out to seek out other Christians and put them in prison or have them killed.

However, Anninias was told by God to meet with Saul who would shortly present himself to him for direction from God. The Lord said, "He is a chosen vessel unto me; He will see what great things he must suffer for my sake."

That was the beginning of Saul's, Paul's conversion and ministered to the Jews first about his conversion and the rightness of Jesus' teachings. The Jews in authority hated him for this change in him.

Jerusalem seemed to be the centre of the apostles/disciples at that time and they were all rather mistrusting of Paul because his reputation preceded him far and wide.. However, he was eventually introduced to them all, and they came to see that God had chosen him to preach the Gospel, at first to the Jews in synagogues but then to the Gentiles. His travels have blank spots in them; such as, when he spent what seemed like a few years in the "wilderness" or desert areas like Arabia. But then returned to be sent out to preach to the Gentiles by those in Jerusalem; i.e., like our workers or ministers in other churches , in charge of choosing which companions workers should have and where they could be the most helpful.

Paul, his name being changed, considered himself an apostle because he spoke with Jesus directly....through the blinding light, but I believe on other occasions that seem less clear. He eventually seemed to have greater authority. He wrote many epistles. Some tell of how much he loved the Jewish nation and the Law. He came to believe and preach that he counted all of these precious things as "loss" that he might "gain Christ". A wonderful sentiment ….



https://hbu.edu/news-and-events/2016/07/01/paul-witness-r-esurrection-jesus/\

Did the Apostles Accept Paul?

Actually, none of the apostles accepted and trusted Paul. We knew about this from the Acts when the author try to reconcile Peter with Paul's teaching. Peter later went on to preach to the Jews while Paul preached to the Gentiles…

What happened to Paul ……………….Bible?

Paul's death is unknown, but tradition holds that he was beheaded in Rome and thus died as a martyr for his faith. His death was perhaps part of the executions of Christians ordered by the Roman emperor Nero following the great fire in the city in 64 CE. Paul was not only a citizen of Tarsus, he was a citizen of Rome, with an hereditary citizenship. Citizenship is probably an indicator that his family was well-to-do. We do know that Paul was a tent-maker by trade, probably a family trade learned from his father before him.

Citizenship was of high value in the Roman Empire. When Paul is about to be flogged in Jerusalem,

"The commander went to Paul and asked, 'Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?'

'Yes, I am,' he answered.

Then the commander said, 'I had to pay a big price for my citizenship.'

'But I was born a citizen,' Paul replied." (Acts 22:27-28)

As we'll see, Roman citizenship entitles Paul to special legal considerations when he is in trouble with the authorities in various cities (Acts 16:37-39; 22:25-29; 25:7-12; 26:32).

The Stoning of Stephen (Acts 6:8-8:1)

Now, with that background, let's get into the narrative of the Book of Acts at the point where Paul emerges as a major character. The story begins with a man who, like Paul, is a Greek-speaking Jew.

Stephen, whom we mentioned earlier, is one of the Grecian Jews selected by the apostles to make sure that the Greek widows aren't neglected in the daily distribution of food (Acts 6:1-5). Stephen's name, Stephanos, isn't a Hebrew name, but one which goes way back to ancient Greece. Stephen is a man "full of grace and power," preaching in Jerusalem with "great wonders and signs" (Acts 6:8). He threatens the status quo of the Hellenist Jewish community in Jerusalem, and therefore cannot be tolerated.

Notice that the group that attacks Stephen are themselves Grecian Jews, just as he is:

"Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen." (Acts 6:9)

Sparking Intense Persecution of the Church (8:1, 3)

While Saul doesn't stone Stephen himself, that illegal, brutal act is the trigger that unleashes a wave of intense persecution against the Church, which had, until then, been growing rapidly in Jerusalem (Acts 6:7).

" On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.... But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison." (Acts 8:1b, 3)

Notice how God uses the persecution to spread the gospel farther into Judea and Samaria! Satan attacks; God counter-attacks.

"Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went." (Acts 8:4)

Saul himself is personally caught up in the persecution. In fact, he seems to be one of the prime movers. We catch hints of his hatred elsewhere in the New Testament.

"... How intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy[32] it." (Galatians 1:13)

"I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man."[33] (1 Timothy 1:13a)

"Isn't he the man who raised havoc[34] in Jerusalem among those who call on this name?" (Acts 9:21)

"I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession[35] against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them." (Acts 26:9-11)

From these passages we get a picture of Saul as an intense, violent, angry man, who will stop at nothing. And yet, he is self-righteous, imagining that he is doing God's will. Paul's zeal will be redirected by God, but his all-out passion continues throughout his life.

The Synagogue of the Freedmen isn't "Hellenized," that is to say, it doesn't soften Judaism to conform to Greek ways. Rather, it seems to be a center of strong Judaism, responsible for "policing" its own members when they get out of line.

So when Stephen begins preaching about Jesus and seeing conversions to the Way (Acts 6:7), members of this synagogue take issue with him. They have him dragged before the Sanhedrin, the body of 70 leaders which the Romans allow to rule Jerusalem.

Stephen's speech before the Sanhedrin begins with a very Jewish story, that of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David. But then Stephen chides them for rebelling against God-given leaders, just as they had against Moses.

"You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!" (Acts 7:51)

Stephen's enemies are enraged, and -- contrary to Roman prohibitions against the Jews exercising the death penalty -- they drag him outside the city and stone him in a kind of frenzied mob. Luke tells us of Saul's involvement.

"The witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.... And Saul was there, giving approval to his death." (Acts 7:58; 8:1a)

It is likely that Saul himself is a member of the Synagogue of the Freedmen, since it includes members from Cilicia, where Paul's hometown of Taurus is located (Acts 6:9; 22:3).

http://www.jesuswalk.com/paul/01_saul.htm

Even historians debate the exact date or manner in which Paul died, but it is almost universally accepted that he was martyred. Based on historical events of the day, it is likely that Paul was beheaded, possibly around the same time that Peter was crucified. Given the political turmoil of the day, both apostles could have been caught up in a wave of attacks on Christians following a great fire in Rome.

Because Paul was a Roman citizen, unlike Peter, he was protected from the brutal death of crucifixion. Therefore, it is likely that he was executed by beheading.

Further, there is no definitive proof of what happened to Paul’s body. Today, a church, St. Paul’s Outside-the-Walls, stands at the spot where many believe Paul was killed.

Luke’s source for the 3 accounts, in Acts, was likely Paul himself. Luke’s Prologue to his two -volume work clearly states that the author engaged in careful investigation that included interviews of eyewitnesses (Luke 1:1–4). Both Acts and Paul’s letters demonstrate that Luke had frequent and direct access to Paul’s testimony. The first-person plural pronouns in travel narratives in Acts show that Luke was often a traveling companion of Paul. Luke was present with Paul during the time that he wrote his Prison Epistles (Col 4:14) and the two had grown so close that Paul referred to him as “the loved physician.” Furthermore, Luke’s reports of Paul’s experience are confirmed by references in Paul’s letters (1 Cor 9:1; 15:8).

Righteousness through Faith (Philippians 3:9)

Now we come to one of Paul's passions, one of the key theological insights that upended his world and can upend ours too:

"... Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ -- the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith." (Philippians 3:9b)

The following is a breakdown of the letters Paul wrote and the possible timeframes in which he wrote them:

Galatians (AD 47)

1 and 2 Thessalonians (AD 49—51)

1 and 2 Corinthians and Romans (AD 52—56)

Ephesians, Philemon, Colossians, and Philippians (AD 60—62, during Paul’s first Roman imprisonment)

1 Timothy and Titus (AD 62)

2 Timothy (AD 63—64, during Paul’s second Roman imprisonment)

Although Paul penned or dictated these letters, he makes it clear that he is speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The other apostles, as well as the early church, accepted these letters as words from God (2 Peter 1:20–21; 3:15–16). Jesus Himself told Paul that he was sending him as a witness of all God would teach him (Acts 26:16–18). Therefore, we can rest assured that Paul’s words to the churches are inspired by the Holy Spirit and relevant for us today.

Next week we will answer the first question as we address speaking in tongues….

To do this we will refer to the day of the Pentecost as recorded by Luke and letters to the Corinthians written by Paul…

Lets close with a prayer and then begin communion….

Lord thank you for prompting us with questions and giving us answers as we continue to study and learn your word. We are thankful for the records of men like Paul who inspire us even to this day. We ask for your blessing upon this fellowship. Be with those who struggle spiritually as well as physically.. Guide us all and show us the way to live a life of righteousness…

We ask these things in Jesus’ name,

Amen