Monthly Archives: October 2024

GLIMPSES OF PAUL – 5

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PAUL AT PEACE

Now follows a series of “we know” or “I have learned”, not in order of priority but meaningfully contributing to the grandeur of Paul’s legacy as believer and teacher.

The most important and essential ingredient in this life of submission and obedience is trust. Every adversity we encounter on our journey is designed to test the strength of our confidence in the one who has promised and given us everything we need.

When tough times come, do I trust Him, absolutely…unconditionally? With no solution in sight, will He do as He has promised?

How many times Paul had his back to the wall! How did he find security and peace of mind in these tests?

In this life of faith, what we believe produces what we feel. Feelings are never random. Feelings always confirm our behaviour and thinking. We can trust our emotions in this that they tell us what’s going on inside.

One of Jesus’s greatest gifts is His peace. Oh, how the world longs for peace! But, God said, “There is no peace for the wicked.” Peace is the legacy Jesus left for those who believe in Him.

John 14:27 NLT
[27] “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

Well, that’s great, but what do we do when we are troubled or afraid?

Paul found his answer so infallible that he could pass it on with full confidence. When we read what he wrote, it’s clear that this prescription must have come from his own experience.

What disturbs our peace?

Something happens in our thinking when we face seemingly insoluble situations. Doubts replace trust; uncertainty replaces confidence, and our feelings confirm the change. We lose our peace. We feel unhappy, disturbed, insecure.

Paul says, “Come back to the place where your peace left. Give all the thoughts and beliefs that have robbed you of peace to God.” How can I do that? Simple!

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
[6] “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, WITH THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God. [7] And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6-7 NLT
[6]” Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, AND THANK HIM for all he has done. [7] Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Do you get the key?

It is impossible to be doubtful and thankful at the same time. Thanksgiving is the language of faith. When we choose to dump our issues on God and deliberately give Him thanks for who He is, faithful, reliable, and always good…God’s peace takes charge, acting as a military garrison around our innermost beings.

Connecting God’s peace with who we are, sons of God, we now have two great truths to secure our faith and two courses of action to confirm our relationship with God. We confirm we are His sons and daughters by our submission and obedience to His supreme authority. We confirm our confidence in Him by our grateful hearts, that keeps His peace in place.

Sons of God, His peace standing guard…what can be better than that!

GLIMPSES OF PAUL – 4

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PAUL – THE APOSTLE

Phase four of Paul’s journey had begun. Called, equipped, sent…were behind him. Now it was time for real learning in “the school of hard knocks”. God told Ananias, in Damascus, at the commencement of Paul’s new life,

Acts of the Apostles 9:15-16 NLT
[15] “But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. [16] And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

But, did Paul know that a big part of his journey would be suffering?

Not likely, since the Holy Spirit told Ananias, “I will show him…”, not “tell him.” Paul would encounter suffering and learn about overcoming, one day at a time. In school, learning comes first, then testing. In the school of life, testing first, then the lesson follows.

There is a recurring theme running through Paul’s letters, sometimes not stated but still evident in the things he wrote. “We know…”, or “I have learned…” revealing how autobiogahical his letters were. Woven into his theology is a treasure trove of personal experience which made his teaching and counsel authentic.

It was Paul’s theology, hammered out in his daily life, that made him the man he was. In Arabia, he was given the gospel, a precious deposit, like the deposit of valuables entrusted to the vault of a bank, to guard against corruption, to live out in his daily life, and to pass on to the world. It was a commitment he took seriously until the end of his days.

Paul learned much through his unfolding understanding of the gospel, too much to include here. Let’s examine a few of the most valuable lessons he passed on to us.

Paul learned to be a son.

Why do I mention this lesson first in order of priority?

Before Paul could pass on anything about the gospel, he had to know who he was in Christ. He had to be absolutely secure in his own identity to live it out and to teach it to others.

To understand sonship, Paul had to study Jesus to discover sonship’s meaning from Him, the one true son of God. Jesus is the blueprint of sonship for all who believe in Him because the Father’s goal is to create a family of sons and daughters who perfectly replicate the blueprint.

Romans 8:29 NLT
[29] “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn (Greek “prototokos”, meaning prototype) among many brothers and sisters.”

The learning process became increasingly clear to him through…guess what! The “all things” of his daily life, including what he suffered!

So, Paul could write, with conviction,

Romans 8:28 NLT
[28] “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

How did Paul learn this precious truth? By looking back! “Life is lived forwards but understood backwards,” so I read once on a fridge magnet. How true this is! It’s only when we look back and honestly process the tough times we encounter, that we begin to see the good that has come out of each experience. It’s this realisation that hones our trust in God.

I don’t know when this truth dawned on Paul’s mind, perhaps months, even years into his Christian experience. However, for Paul, and for us, this is the foundation lesson for life, our faith in God that sets us on the path to knowing God as our Father. All of life is about destination and the way. We either don’t know where we are going, i.e., the purpose of life… and how we will get there, i.e., trust in ourselves… or we know and believe what God has told us in His Word…our destination to become true sons in God’s forever family, and the way to get there… Jesus.

It was Jesus’s implicit trust in God as His Father that set Him on course and steadied Him throughout His journey to the cross. Even with His final breath, His faith never wavered.

Luke 23:46 NLT
[46] “Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last.”

Who better, then, to follow if we are to reach “Father’s house”?

John 14:6 NIV
[6] “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

When we learn what trust is…taking our hands off and leaning our full weight on Jesus, all other lessons are thrown in for good measure and worth learning. Trusting God as His sons and daughters requires two important steps and takes suffering to teach us. You see, suffering keeps our feet on the ground and our eyes on Jesus.

Again we look at Jesus, our blueprint.

Hebrews 5:7-9 NIV
[7] “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent SUBMISSION. [8] SON though he was, he learned OBEDIENCE from what he suffered [9] and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him… “

Did you get the sequence? Submission and obedience, the hallmarks of every true son of God, are the lessons of suffering. Get these and your security as a son is established.

Paul learned this lesson the hard way too.

2 Corinthians 12:7b -10 NIV
[7]”… Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. [8] Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. [9] But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. [10] That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Paul learned to lean his weight on God! He learned, through suffering, how inadequate he was for the task.

This first and most significant lesson, is the foundation of our fellowship and interaction with God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our faith will wobble until we are secure in our indentity and in our attitude… submission and obedience as sons and daughters of God…

GLIMPSES OF PAUL – 3

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SAUL BECOMES PAUL

Why was Saul’s name changed to Paul? What did his name change have to do with his identity and calling?

“The answer is that Saul’s name was also Paul. The custom of dual names was common in those days. Acts 13:9 describes the apostle as “Saul, who was also called Paul.” From that verse on, Saul is always referred to in Scripture as “Paul.”

Paul was a Jew, born in the Roman city of Tarsus. He was proud of his Jewish heritage, as he describes in Philippians 3:5: “Circumcised on the eighth day, of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage, in observance of the law, a Pharisee.” So zealous and devout was he that persecuting Christians was the natural way for him to show his devotion. He chose to use his Hebrew name, Saul, until sometime after he began to believe in and preach Christ. After that time, as “the apostle to the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13), he used his Roman name, Paul. It would make sense for Paul to use his Roman name as he traveled farther and farther into the Gentile world.

It is interesting that Paul began using his Roman name on Cyprus when the Roman proconsul on that island was converted (Acts 13:12). This was during Paul’s first missionary journey and involved a high-ranking, idolatrous Gentile coming to faith in Christ. The fact that the proconsul’s name was Sergius Paulus has led some to think that Saul took the name Paulus/Paul as a reminder of this event, but the apostle’s name being the same as the proconsul’s is most likely a coincidence.

Using his Roman name was fitting for the man who proclaimed that he would become “all things to all people,” a Jew to the Jews in order to win the Jews, weak to the weak in order to win the weak, etc., all for the sake of the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:19–23). Adopting his Roman name would allow Paul to approach the Gentiles to whom he was sent, and speak to them in their own language, becoming as one of them and setting them at ease. It is also possible that Paul gave up the use of his Hebrew name, Saul, with its regal connotation and chose to use his Roman name, Paul, meaning “little” or “small,” because he desired to became smaller in order to present Christ as greater (cf. John 3:30).

Unlike the changing of Simon’s name to Peter (Matthew 16:18–19), which Jesus did for a specific purpose, there is no reference in the Bible to Jesus’ changing Saul’s name to Paul.”
(https://www.gotquestions.org
When and why was Saul’s name changed to Paul?)

Sometimes, zeal without knowledge does more harm than good. Saul’s unruly passion needing taming by the Holy Spirit. Time in the church in the company of mature leaders would give Saul the example he needed to hone him into the great apostle he became.

From Acts 10, Luke’s record changes direction for a while, shining the light on the doings of the early Church and Peter until persecution drove Peter into the wider field of evangelism outside of Jerusalem.

Saul’s enthusiastic attack on the unbelief of his fellow Jews and their antagonism drove him underground. God’s ways are not our ways. If Saul/Paul was to become God’s man for the moment, he had to have theological training…according to the dictates of twentieth century practice.

So, where did he go, and who would train him in the message he was to deliver to the nations? The Holy Spirit left nothing to chance. In Paul’s own words…

Galatians 1:15-16, 11-12, 17 NIV
[15] “But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased [16] to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being….
[11] Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. [12] I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.
[17] Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus.”

Bible School in Arabia! The Holy Spirit his personal tutor! What a combination! What could be more powerful and effective than a training like that?

Phase two of Saul’s preparation took years but it was divinely supervised and thorough. Not many believers have a theological training as intense as his. In the solitude of the desert, Saul had three years to reflect on his knowledge of the Tanach and to match the many Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament with the life and ministry of Jesus. It all made sense to him at last. His passion for the truth became white hot and never left him to the day of his death.

Luke’s record in Acts isn’t chronologically clear. However, we pick up Paul’s story from his home in Tarsus. Under the Holy Spirit’s supervision, enter Barnabas again. This time, Barnabas was on a rescue mission. The gospel message had taken root outside Jerusalem. Syrian Antioch became the centre of the Gentile Church. It was humming with spiritual life. The new believers needed help to anchor them in the truth of the Scriptures. Who was qualified to do the teaching?

Let  Luke tell the story.

Acts of the Apostles 11:19-26 NLT
[19] “Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews. [20] However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. [21] The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord. [22] When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. [23] When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. [24] Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord. [25] Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. [26] When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)”

It was here, in Syrian Antioch that Saul finally received his marching orders. Who better than Barnabas, the one man who recognised his worth, to accompany him?

Acts of the Apostles 13:1-3 NLT
[1]”Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man”), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul. [2] One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” [3] So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.”

God’s calling was specific, “Go to the Gentiles.” Saul had done his best to share the good news with his own countrymen but their reaction was clear. “No, thank you,”  they snarled and tried to silence him permanently.

So, to the Gentiles they went, under the personal supervision of the Holy Spirit, to shine the light of truth into the hearts of the citizens of the pagan world. It was an impossible commission but for one thing, the power of the gospel which they would discover and prove as they went.

Romans 1:16 NLT
[16] “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.”

Phase three was about to begin….

GLIMPSES OF PAUL – 2

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SAUL, THE ROOKIE…

Saul, proud Jew, dedicated Pharisee, committed to preserving the purity of his religious faith, on a mission to cleanse the outside world of this pernicious belief in a man who was executed on a Roman torture stake to appease the Jewish leaders.

This man, Jesus, had offended Jews by claiming to be God and Gentiles by declaring Himself to be a king. It was fitting to rid the earth of such blasphemy and treason, so they thought.

Neither group, Jew or Gentile, reckoned on what would happen next. Jesus said that He would rise again…and He did! Try as they might, the opposition could not disprove His resurrection, silence His followers, or put a lid on their testimony. The next best thing was to exterminate them!

Saul set about his task with gusto. Believing that he was helping God, he ranged far and wide, even beyond Israel, to flush out these indomitable believers and return them to Jerusalem for trial.

Then something unimaginable happened! He came face-to-face with the risen Jesus he was trying to obliterate. The proud Saul was dashed to the ground….face down in the dust before the one he was trying so hard to destroy. Jesus was not only real, He was alive…and He was in charge!

Acts of the Apostles 9:1-5 NLT
[1] “Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest. [2] He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains. [3] As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. [4] He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” [5] “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting!”

Saul had to bend before Him, his blind prejudice and bitter hatred smashed before this majesty. The old Saul was done for, and a new Saul, reeling from the blows to his ego, rose from the dust.

Those with him were confused. Oblivious of this exchange in the spirit realm, they could not figure out why this anti-Jesus, fire-breathing antagonist of believers, was suddenly deflated, meekly entering the city of Damascus to seek out one of the hated followers of the Way.

For three days, this intense encounter continued. No light in his eyes, no food in his belly, Saul thought…and thought…and prayed. Then enter Ananias, sent by Jesus to gather Saul into the fold.

Acts 9:17-19 NIV
[17] “Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” [18] Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, [19] and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.”

Saul’s enthusiasm for Jesus knew no boundaries. The light in his soul shone so brightly that he could not keep quiet. He set Damascus alight with the truths of the Tanach that has burst upon him.

So fierce was his onslaught on the dominion of darkness in Damascus that he became a threat to the very people he was now representing. Saul, the rookie, had some hard lessons to learn.

Acts 9:20, 22-23, 25 NIV
[20] “At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God…
[22] Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. [23] After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him…
[25] But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.”

Next stop, Jerusalem. The gentle Barnabas was the only believer in Jerusalem who gave credit to Saul’s testimony. The other leaders of the church thought that Saul was setting up an ambush. However, Barnabas introduced Saul to the apostles, reassuring them of his credibility.

Acts 9:28-29 NIV
[28] “So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. [29] He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him.”

Once again, Saul’s new-found passion for Jesus sent him into a flurry of preaching in Jerusalem, taking on the Greek-infused Jews in the hopes of persuading them to believe in Jesus as he did.

At this point, Saul was driven by passion and enthusiasm, making him a dangerous ally to the Jerusalem church. He had yet to learn the lessons of wisdom and experience. Once again, the church had to cool him down by sending him home to Tarsus to spend time processing his new-found faith.

Acts 9:30-31 NIV
[30] “When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. [31] Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.”

With Saul out of the way, the church in Jerusalem could enjoy a season of peace and growth without interference.

How often new believers become would-be evangelists without a calling, or without the equipping that would prepare them for fruitful service. Saul’s experience as a young believer should caution us to follow God’s pattern, call… equip… send…which is a far wiser pattern for ministry than our way….call…and, very often, burn out!

GLIMPSES OF PAUL – 1

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SAUL – THE PHARISEE…

… Such a prominent character in the New Testament, yet we know very little about him, Saul who became Paul, the man. Now and again, he reveals titbits about his early life, but only as they relate to his ministry as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Take, for example, his pre-Christian history. We know that he was a native of Tarsus, a city outside of Israel. This meant that he was raised as a Jew in a Gentile community.

What impression did this environment make on him as a young Jew? Did his Gentile associations give him a better understanding of their culture and lifestyle, or did he develop a deep prejudice towards them for their pagan and idolatrous ways?

It seems that his parents must have been devout Jews because Saul grew up strictly Jewish and even studied in Jerusalem under Gamaliel to be a Jewish rabbi.

In his defense before the Jewish leaders and people in Jerusalem, he told them…

Acts of the Apostles 22:3 NLT
[3] “Then Paul said, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. As his student, I was carefully trained in our Jewish laws and customs. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did, just like all of you today.”

How did Paul’s education and training influence his understanding of the gospel? We must never dismiss this part of Paul’s early life as irrelevent, even detrimental to his grasp of the message he was to take to the world. Without his thorough knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures, the Tanach, the gospel would have had no solid foundation in the history of the Jews or in the prophetic preparation in the Tanach for the coming of Messiah.

It took the divine intervention of Jesus on the Damascus outskirts and Paul’s spiritual transformation from a fanatical Pharisee to a humble servant of the Lord, to enable him to understand what he already knew. Paul had the foundation of truth firmly embedded in his mind from early days. The Holy Spirit brought this knowledge to life in him as the supreme Teacher taught him the truth of the gospel.

If Paul spent his youth in Jerusalem under Gamaliel’s tutelage, he must have either encountered or heard of Jesus and His teaching and works. His initial reaction was just like the reaction of his fellow Pharisees. They were enraged by a mere human claiming to be God. Worse than that, He did things impossible to explain, like raising a dead man after four days in the grave!

Saul may not have been present in the crowd who yelled for Jesus’ death, but he certainly approved of the unjust condemnation and execution of Stephen, the first martyr to die for Jesus.

Acts of the Apostles 8:1 NLT
[1] “Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen….”

So, despite his violent opposition to Jesus, and his hatred for Christians since they represented the opposite of what he was taught and believed, God thoroughly prepared this man for His calling to take the gospel to the Gentiles.

So, we leave Saul, the Pharisee, the hater and persecutor of Jesus’ followers, to follow his chosen path with vigour and fervour, not knowing what lay just around the corner for him…