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….