Introduction
Paul ‘S LIFE PRIOR TO HIS CONVERSION
Paul a Pharisee spent the early old ages of his life analyzing in Jerusalem, and oppressing Christians. He took portion in the lapidation of Stephen who was the church ‘s first sufferer.
However, he met with Jesus on his manner to Damascus where he was converted from oppressing Christians to a great sermonizer of the Gospel. In one of his missive to the Galatian Christians he wrote: ‘you have heard of my earlier life in Judaism, how I violently persecuted the church of God, and was seeking to destruct it. I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people, for I was more avid for the tradition of my ascendants ( Galations 1:13-14 ) . He besides discusses his pre-conversion in one of his missive to the Philippians where he states: ‘If anyone else have ground to be assurance in the flesh I have more: circumcised the eight twenty-four hours, of the stock of Israel, of the folk of Benjamin, a Hebrew Born of Israelitess: as to the jurisprudence, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a tormentor of the church, as to righteousness under the jurisprudence blameless. “ ( Philippians 3:4-6 )
There's a specialist from your university waiting to help you with that essay.
Tell us what you need to have done now!
order now
THE DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS OF PAUL ‘S Conversion
Acts of the Apostles written by Luke the physician discusses Paul ‘s transition experiences at three different points in the text, comparison with the histories in Paul ‘s missive. Harmonizing to the histories in Acts ( 9: 1-19 ) , Paul ‘s transition occurred as he was going to Damascus, featured a blinded visible radiation, and Paul pass oning straight with a godly voice. Acts 2nd relation of Paul ‘s transition occurs in a address he gave when he was arrested in Jerusalem. Paul addresses the crowd and told them of his transition ( Acts 22:1-21 ) . Acts 3rd treatment of Paul ‘s transition occurs when Paul addresses king Agrippa supporting himself against the accusals of prophesying contrary to the Judaic jurisprudence that have been made against him ( Act 26:12-18 ) .
There are three chief differences in between the histories of Paul ‘s transition. In ( Acts 9:7 ) Paul ‘s comrade heard the voice of the risen Christ, but saw no 1. They might hold seen the bright visible radiation. However, in ( Acts 22: v.9 ) Paul provinces: ‘they saw the visible radiation and were afraid, but they did non hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. ” What they heard was presumptively a sound, but non something they could understand. While the history in ( chapter 26 ) does non refers to the comrades either seeing or hearing. In ( Acts 9:4 and 22: 7 ) the lone individual mentioned falling to the land was Paul who was the cardinal figure in the play, though this demand non except the possibility that the others fell to the land as in chapter ( 26 v. 14 ) .
In ( Acts 9:6 and 22:10 ) Paul was told to travel Damascus, where he will be instructed what to make, whereas, in ( chapter 26:16 ) his committee to be an apostle was given to him on Damascus route. Paul subsequently confirmed this in one of his letters to the brethren at Galatia, ( Galatians 1:11-12 ) .
Drane, in his book entitled presenting the New Testament
provinces: ‘like most noteworthy events, Paul ‘s transition did non spring from nowhere.
He farther states that unquestionable, he already knew a great trade about the life
and instructions of Jesus of Nazareth so, on the footing of what he subsequently wrote in ( 2
Playboies 5: -16 ) . Said besides that some have concluded that he might hold been
Personally acquainted with Jesus during His life-time. ”[ 1 ]
In response to the last citation in Drane ‘s statement, that seems really much improbable, but what is certain is that he must hold taken a considerable sum of involvement in the sort of reading placed on the Bibles by Judaic Christians like Stephen. The ulterior instructions of Paul on Old Testament jurisprudence and compacts in the Christian life in Galatians 3: v.1-25 was an extension of the Jews who were Christians before him.
PAUL PREACHES CHRIST
Nicholas King describes the narrative as an first-class one, related with elegant
economic system by Luke, pointed out that ‘Luke see it so of import that he told it
twice more, seting it as a first individual narrative on Paul ‘s lips, foremost to Jews in
( chapter22 ) and so to separate Gentiles in ( chapter26 ) . He notice the
subject of journeying, the importance of vision, and yet Luke ‘s restrain in
describing them. The reversal from collaring officer to brother Saul, that Paul
experiences are characteristic of Luke. The individuality of Jesus and the church, is
something that becomes really of import in Paul ‘s later authorship. ”[ 2 ]
Paul ‘s dramatic transition is clearly cardinal to Luke ‘s intent in Acts, because he recorded it three times. The 2nd and 3rd histories are in the context of Paul carry throughing what he has been called to make, and this is what Luke wanted us to detect.
Paul was given a new position, which made him God ‘s chosen vas ; He was given a new service. He was traveling to Damascus transporting letters of disapprobation, now his new undertaking was to transport Christ ‘s name to Gentiles and Kings. He was besides promised to travel through agony, which was non a penalty for oppressing Christians, but was a portion of the Christian life.
Bruce suggest that ‘anyone who accept Paul ‘s account of his Damascus route
transition, it would hard non to differ with the observation of an eighteen-
century author that ‘the transition and apostleship of Paul entirely, punctually considered,
was of itself a presentation sufficient to turn out Christianity to be a Godhead
disclosure. ”
Paul ‘s transition was the most fantastic event of his life, his vision of the risen Christ while on the Damascus route literally stopped him in his paths. It turned his whole life around and launched him into a wholly new way. The dual vision of Paul and Ananias is stated by Luke in ( Acts 9 v.10-16 ) , Paul had a vision in which he saw a adult male named Ananias came in and laid his custodies on him so that he might recover his sight ( Acts 9: v.12 ) . Ananias had a vision in which he was instructed to travel to the street called directly, and at the house of Judas where he would establish a adult male named Saul praying.
The two visions were connected, and besides demonstrate that a Godhead beginning was at work behind this event. Etienne suggests that ‘as a sincere Pharisee, Paul had merely one passion: to function God by scrupulous observation of the jurisprudence. ”[ 3 ]The minute he got converted he experience two things, negatively, he saw what his true province truly was before God. Positively, he saw who Jesus truly was, what he discovered on Damascus route, was that he was opposing God. He saw besides that by oppressing the Christian church, he was oppressing Jesus, whom he discovered in that minute to be God. In other words Paul came to recognize that he was non working for God as he assumed, but instead working against God. Pagels pointed out that: ‘decades before Luke, his wise man, Paul of Tarsus, so unknown to Jesus ‘ disciples- or known to them all excessively good as an enemy and a undercover agent, all of a sudden claimed that Jesus had personally appeared to him in a blaze visible radiation and take him as his particular representative.[ 4 ]“ Paul the apostle wrote in his missive to Christians at Corinth about his ain visions and disclosures of the Lord. In ( 2 Corinthians 12 v.2-3, Paul declare: ‘I know a adult male in Christ who fourteen old ages ago caught up into the 3rd Eden, whether in the organic structure or out of the organic structure, God knows. I heard things that are non to be spoken, that no person is allowed to talk. ”
Decision
The two chief elements in Paul ‘s transition was a turning from, and a turning to. He turned from oppressing the church to fall ining the church, he turned from opposing Jesus to following Jesus, and he turned from what he thought to be satan ‘s manner, to what he now learned to be God ‘s manner. There was the transmutation that flowed from Paul ‘s response to Jesus, Paul ‘s life was changed. His first response was to be baptized and preached the good intelligence about Jesus. Paul did non bury his original intent in coming to Damascus, which has been to see the Judaic Christians temples. But his message was non what they expected, for alternatively of denouncing the Christian religion, he proclaimed it, and do known his new found religion in Jesus the Messiah. His transition was non simple to give him new life, but to committee him to function God ; we are saved in order to function others.
