Reference: Paul
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The distinguished "apostle of the Gentiles;" also called SAUL, a Hebrew name. He is first called Paul in Ac 13:12; and as some think, assumed this Roman name according to a common custom of Jews in foreign lands, or in honor of Sergius Paulus, Ac 13:7, his friend and an early convert. Both names however may have belonged to him in childhood. He was born at Tarsus in Cilicia, and inherited from his father the privileges of a Roman citizen. His parents belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, and brought up their son as "a Hebrew of the Hebrews," Php 3:5. Tarsus was highly distinguished for learning and culture, and the opportunities for improvement it afforded were no doubt diligently improved by Paul. At a suitable age he was sent to Jerusalem to complete his education in the school of Gamaliel, the most distinguished and right-minded of the Rabbis of that age. It does not appear that he was in Jerusalem during the ministry of Christ; and it was perhaps after his return to Tarsus that he learned the art of tent-making, in accordance with a general practice among the Jews, and their maxim, "He that does not teach his son a useful handicraft, teaches him to steal," Ac 18:3; 20:34; 2Th 3:8.
We next find him at Jerusalem, apparently about thirty years of age, high in the confidence of the leading men of the nation. He had profited by the instructions of Gamaliel, and became learned in the law; yielding himself to the strictest discipline of the sect of the Pharisees, he had become a fierce defender of Judaism and a bitter enemy of Christianity, Ac 8:3; 26:9-11. After his miraculous conversion, of which we have three accounts, Ac 9:22,26, Christ was all in all to him. It was Christ who revealed himself to his soul at Damascus, Ac 26:15; 1Co 15:8; to Christ he gave his whole heart, and soul, mind, might, and strength; and thenceforth, living or dying, he was "the servant of Jesus Christ." He devoted all the powers of his ardent and energetic mind to the defense and propagation of the gospel of Christ, more particularly among the Gentiles. His views of the pure and lofty spirit of Christianity, in its worship and in its practical influence, appear to have been peculiarly clear and strong; and the opposition which he was thus led to make to the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish worship, exposed him everywhere to the hatred and malice of his countrymen. On their accusation, he was at length put in confinement by the Roman officers and after being detained for two years or more at Caesarea, he was sent to Rome for trial, having himself appealed to the emperor. There is less certainty in respect to the accounts, which are given of Paul afterwards by the early ecclesiastical writers. Still it was a very generally received opinion in the earlier centuries, that the apostle was acquitted and discharged from his imprisonment at the end of two years; and that he afterwards returned to Rome, where he was again imprisoned and put to death by Nero.
Paul appears to have possessed all the learning which was then current among the Jews, and also to have been acquainted with Greek literature; as appears from his mastery of the Greek language, his frequent discussions with their philosophers, and his quotations from their poets-Aratus, Ac 17:28; Meander, 1Co 15:33; and Epimenides, Tit 1:12. Probably, however a learned Greek education cannot with propriety be ascribed to him. But the most striking trait in his character is his enlarged view of the universal design and the spiritual nature of the religion of Christ, and of its purifying and ennobling influence upon the heart and character of those who sincerely profess it. From the Savior himself he had caught the flame of universal love, and the idea of salvation for all mankind, Ga 1:12. Most of the other apostles and teachers appear to have clung to Judaism, to the rites, ceremonies, and dogmas of the religion in which they had been educated, and to have regarded Christianity as intended to be engrafted upon the ancient stock, which was yet to remain as the trunk to support the new branches. Paul seems to have been among the first to rise above this narrow view, and to regard Christianity in its light, as a universal religion. While others were for Judaizing all those who embraced the new religion by imposing on them the yoke of Mosaic observances, it was Paul's endeavor to break down the middle wall of separation between Jews and Gentiles, and show them that they were all "one in Christ." To this end all his labors tended; and, ardent in the pursuit of this great object, he did not hesitate to censure the time-serving Peter, and to expose his own life in resisting the prejudices of is countrymen. Indeed, his five years' imprisonment as Jerusalem, Caesarea, and Rome arose chiefly from this cause.
These various journeys of St. Paul, many of them made on foot, should be studied through on a map; in connection with the inspired narrative, in Acts, and with his own pathetic description of his labors, 2Co 11:23-29, wherein nevertheless the half is not told. When we review the many regions he traversed and evangelized, the converts he gathered, and the churches he founded, the toils, perils, and trials he endured, the miracles he wrought, and the revelations he received, the discourses, orations, and letters in which he so ably defends and unfolds Christianity, the immeasurable good which God by him accomplished, his heroic life, and his martyr death, he appears to us the most extraordinary of men.
The character of Paul is most fully portrayed in his epistles, by which, as Chrysostom says he, "still lives in the mouths of men throughout the whole world. By them, not only is own converts, but all the faithful even unto this day, yea, and all the saints who are yet to be born until Christ's coming again, both have been and shall be blessed." In them we observe the transforming and elevating power of grace in one originally turbulent and passionate-making him a model of many and Christian excellence; fearless and firm, yet considerate, courteous, and gentle; magnanimous, patriotic, and self-sacrificing; rich in all noble sentiments and affections.
EPISTLES OF PAUL. -There are fourteen epistles in the New Testament usually ascribed to Paul, beginning with that to the Romans, and ending with that to the Hebrews. Of these the first thirteen have never been contested; as to the latter, many good men have doubted whether Paul was the author, although the current of criticism is in favor of this opinion. These epistles, in which the principles of Christianity are developed for all periods, characters, and circumstances, are among the most important of the primitive documents of the Christian religion, even apart from their inspired character; and although they seem to have been written without special premeditation, and have reference mostly to transient circumstances and temporary relations, yet they everywhere bear the stamp of the great and original mind of the apostle, as purified, elevated, and sustained by the influences of the Holy Spirit.
It is worthy of mention here, that an expression of Peter respecting "our beloved brother Paul" is often a little misunderstood. The words "in which" in 2Pe 3:16, are erroneously applied to the "epistles" of Paul; and not to "these things" immediately preceding, that is, the subjects of which Peter was writing, as the Greek shows they should be. Peter finds no fault, either with Paul, or with the doctrines of revelation.
The arrangement of Hug is somewhat different; and some critics who find evidence that Paul was released from his first imprisonment and lived until the spring of A. D. 68, assign the epistles Hebrews, 1Timothy, Titus, and 2Timothy to the last year of his life. See TIMOTHY.
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But Saul was burning with hate against the church, going into every house and taking men and women and putting them in prison.
But Saul went on increasing in power, and the Jews in Damascus were not able to give answers to the arguments by which he made it clear that Jesus was the Christ.
And when he came to Jerusalem, he made an attempt to be joined to the disciples, but they were all in fear of him, not taking him for a disciple.
Who was with the ruler, Sergius Paulus, an able man. This man sent for Barnabas and Saul, desiring to have knowledge of the word of God.
Then the ruler, when he saw what was done, had faith, being full of wonder at the teaching of the Lord.
For in him we have life and motion and existence; as certain of your verse writers have said, For we are his offspring.
And because he was of the same trade, he was living with them, and they did their work together; for by trade they were tent-makers.
You yourselves have seen that with these hands I got what was necessary for me and those who were with me.
For I, truly, was of the opinion that it was right for me to do a number of things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And this I did in Jerusalem: and numbers of the saints I put in prison, having had authority given to me from the chief priests, and when they were put to death, I gave my decision against them. read more. And I gave them punishment frequently, in all the Synagogues, forcing them to say things against God; and burning with passion against them, I went after them even into far-away towns.
And I said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking.
Do not be tricked by false words: evil company does damage to good behaviour.
Are they servants of Christ? (I am talking foolishly) I am more so; I have had more experience of hard work, of prisons, of blows more than measure, of death. Five times the Jews gave me forty blows but one. read more. Three times I was whipped with rods, once I was stoned, three times the ship I was in came to destruction at sea, a night and a day I have been in the water; In frequent travels, in dangers on rivers, in dangers from outlaws, in dangers from my countrymen, in dangers from the Gentiles, in dangers in the town, in dangers in the waste land, in dangers at sea, in dangers among false brothers; In hard work and weariness, in frequent watchings, going without food and drink, cold and in need of clothing. In addition to all the other things, there is that which comes on me every day, the care of all the churches. Who is feeble and I am not feeble? who is in danger of falling, and I am not angry?
For I did not get it from man, and I was not given teaching in it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ.
Being given circumcision on the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in relation to the law, a Pharisee:
One of their prophets has said, The men of Crete are ever false, evil beasts, lovers of food, hating work.
And as he said in all his letters, which had to do with these things; in which are some hard sayings, so that, like the rest of the holy Writings, they are twisted by those who are uncertain and without knowledge, to the destruction of their souls.
Easton
Saul (q.v.) was born about the same time as our Lord. His circumcision-name was Saul, and probably the name Paul was also given to him in infancy "for use in the Gentile world," as "Saul" would be his Hebrew home-name. He was a native of Tarsus, the capi
Tarsus was also the seat of a famous university, higher in reputation even than the universities of Athens and Alexandria, the only others that then existed. Here Saul was born, and here he spent his youth, doubtless enjoying the best education his native city could afford. His father was of the straitest sect of the Jews, a Pharisee, of the tribe of Benjamin, of pure and unmixed Jewish blood (Ac 23:6; Php 3:5). We learn nothing regarding his mother; but there is reason to conclude that she was a pious woman, and that, like-minded with her husband, she exercised all a mother influence in moulding the character of her son, so that he could afterwards speak of himself as being, from his youth up, "touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless" (Php 3:6).
We read of his sister and his sister's son (Ac 23:16), and of other relatives (Ro 16:7,11-12). Though a Jew, his father was a Roman citizen. How he obtained this privilege we are not informed. "It might be bought, or won by distinguished service to the state, or acquired in several other ways; at all events, his son was freeborn. It was a valuable privilege, and one that was to prove of great use to Paul, although not in the way in which his father might have been expected to desire him to make use of it." Perhaps the most natural career for the youth to follow was that of a merchant. "But it was decided that...he should go to college and become a rabbi, that is, a minister, a teacher, and a lawyer all in one."
According to Jewish custom, however, he learned a trade before entering on the more direct preparation for the sacred profession. The trade he acquired was the making of tents from goats' hair cloth, a trade which was one of the commonest in Tarsus.
His preliminary education having been completed, Saul was sent, when about thirteen years of age probably, to the great Jewish school of sacred learning at Jerusalem as a student of the law. Here he became a pupil of the celebrated rabbi Gamaliel, and here he spent many years in an elaborate study of the Scriptures and of the many questions concerning them with which the rabbis exercised themselves. During these years of diligent study he lived "in all good conscience," unstained by the vices of that great city.
After the period of his student-life expired, he probably left Jerusalem for Tarsus, where he may have been engaged in connection with some synagogue for some years. But we find him back again at Jerusalem very soon after the death of our Lord. Here he now learned the particulars regarding the crucifixion, and the rise of the new sect of the "Nazarenes."
For some two years after Pentecost, Christianity was quietly spreading its influence in Jerusalem. At length Stephen, one of the seven deacons, gave forth more public and aggressive testimony that Jesus was the Messiah, and this led to much excitement among the Jews and much disputation in their synagogues. Persecution arose against Stephen and the followers of Christ generally, in which Saul of Tarsus took a prominent part. He was at this time probably a member of the great Sanhedrin, and became the active leader in the furious persecution by which the rulers then sought to exterminate Christianity.
But the object of this persecution also failed. "They that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word." The anger of the persecutor was thereby kindled into a fiercer flame. Hearing that fugitives had taken refuge in Damascus, he obtained from the chief priest letters authorizing him to proceed thither on his persecuting career. This was a long journey of about 130 miles, which would occupy perhaps six days, during which, with his few attendants, he steadily went onward, "breathing out threatenings and slaughter." But the crisis of his life was at hand. He had reached the last stage of his journey, and was within sight of Damascus. As he and his companions rode on, suddenly at mid-day a brilliant light shone round them, and Saul was laid prostrate in terror on the ground, a voice sounding in his ears, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" The risen Saviour was there, clothed in the vesture of his glorified humanity. In answer to the anxious inquiry of the stricken persecutor, "Who art thou, Lord?" he said, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest" (Ac 9:5; 22:8; 26:15).
This was the moment of his conversion, the most solemn in all his life. Blinded by the dazzling light (Ac 9:8), his companions led him into the city, where, absorbed in deep thought for three days, he neither ate nor drank (Ac 9:11). Ananias, a disciple living in Damascus, was informed by a vision of the change that had happened to Saul, and was sent to him to open his eyes and admit him by baptism into the Christian church (Ac 9:11-16). The whole purpose of his life was now permanently changed.
Illustration: Scene of Paul's Journeys and of the Early Churches
Immediately after his conversion he retired into the solitudes of Arabia (Ga 1:17), perhaps of "Sinai in Arabia," for the purpose, probably, of devout study and meditation on the marvellous revelation that had been made to him. "A veil of thick darkness hangs over this visit to Arabia. Of the scenes among which he moved, of the thoughts and occupations which engaged him while there, of all the circumstances of a crisis which must have shaped the whole tenor of his after-life, absolutely nothing is known. 'Immediately,' says St. Paul, 'I went away into Arabia.' The historian passes over the incident (comp. Ac 9:23; 1Ki 11:38-39). It is a mysterious pause, a moment of suspense, in the apostle's history, a breathless calm, which ushers in the tumultuous storm of his active missionary life." Coming back, after three years, to Damascus, he began to preach the gospel "boldly in the name of Jesus" (Ac 9:27), but was soon obliged to flee (Ac 9:25; 2Co 11:33) from the Jews and betake himself to Jerusalem. Here he tarried for three weeks, but was again forced to flee (Ac 9:28-29) from persecution. He now returned to his native Tarsus (Ga 1:21), where, for probably about three years, we lose sight of him. The time had not yet come for his entering on his great life-work of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles.
At length the city of Antioch, the capital of Syria, became the scene of great Christian activity. There the gospel gained a firm footing, and the cause of Christ prospered. Barnabas (q.v.), who had been sent from Jerusalem to superintend the work at Antioch, found it too much for him, and remembering Saul, he set out to Tarsus to seek for him. He readily responded to the call thus addressed to him, and came down to Antioch, which for "a whole year" became the scene of his labours, which were crowned with great success. The disciples now, for the first time, were called "Christians" (Ac 11:26).
The church at Antioch now proposed to send out missionaries to the Gentiles, and Saul and Barnabas, with John Mark as their attendant, were chosen for this work. This was a great epoch in the history of the church. Now the disciples began to give effect to the Master's command: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."
The three missionaries went forth on the first missionary tour. They sailed from Seleucia, the seaport of Antioch, across to Cyprus, some 80 miles to the south-west. Here at Paphos, Sergius Paulus, the Roman proconsul, was converted, and now Saul took the lead, and was ever afterwards called Paul. The missionaries now crossed to the mainland, and then proceeded 6 or 7 miles up the river Cestrus to Perga (Ac 13:13), where John Mark deserted the work and returned to Jerusalem. The two then proceeded about 100 miles inland, passing through Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia. The towns mentioned in this tour are the Pisidian Antioch, where Paul delivered his first address of which we have any record (Ac 13:16-51; comp. Ac 10:30-43), Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. They returned by the same r
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And he said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking:
And Saul got up from the earth, and when his eyes were open, he saw nothing; and he was guided by the hand into Damascus.
And the Lord said to him, Get up, and go to the street which is named Straight, and make search at the house of Judas for one named Saul of Tarsus: for he is at prayer;
And the Lord said to him, Get up, and go to the street which is named Straight, and make search at the house of Judas for one named Saul of Tarsus: for he is at prayer; And he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hands on him, so that he may be able to see. read more. But Ananias said, Lord, I have had accounts of this man from a number of people, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem: And here he has authority from the chief priests to make prisoners all who give worship to your name. But the Lord said, Go without fear: for he is a special vessel for me, to give to the Gentiles and kings and to the children of Israel the knowledge of my name: For I will make clear to him what troubles he will have to undergo for me.
Then, after some days, the Jews made an agreement together to put him to death:
But his disciples took him by night and let him down from the wall in a basket.
But Barnabas took him to the Apostles and gave them an account of how he had seen the Lord on the road, and had given hearing to his words, and how at Damascus he had been preaching in the name of Jesus without fear. And he was with them, going in and out at Jerusalem, read more. Preaching in the name of the Lord without fear; and he had discussions with the Greek Jews; but they were working for his death.
And Cornelius said, Four days from now I was in my house in prayer at the ninth hour; and I saw before me a man in shining clothing, Who said, Cornelius, your prayer has come to the ears of God, and your offerings are kept in his memory. read more. Send, then, to Joppa, and get Simon, named Peter, to come to you; he is living in the house of Simon, a leather-worker, by the sea. So, straight away, I sent for you; and you have done well to come. And now, we are all present before God, ready to give attention to all the things which the Lord has given you to say. Then Peter said, Truly, I see clearly that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation, the man who has fear of him and does righteousness is pleasing to him. The word which he sent to the children of Israel, giving the good news of peace through Jesus Christ (who is Lord of all)-- That word you yourselves have knowledge of, which was made public through all Judaea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism of which John was the preacher, About Jesus of Nazareth, how God gave the Holy Spirit to him, with power: and how he went about doing good and making well all who were troubled by evil spirits, for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all the things which he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem; whom they put to death, hanging him on a tree. On the third day God gave him back to life, and let him be seen, Not by all the people, but by witnesses marked out before by God, even by us, who took food and drink with him after he came back from the dead. And he gave us orders to give news of this to the people, and to give public witness that this is he whom God has made judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets give witness, that through his name everyone who has faith in him will have forgiveness of sins.
And when he had come across him, he took him to Antioch. And they were with the church there for a year, teaching the people; and the disciples were first given the name of Christians in Antioch.
Then Paul and those who were with him went by ship from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia: and there John went away from them and came back to Jerusalem.
And Paul, getting up and making a sign with his hand, said, Men of Israel, and you who have the fear of God, give ear. The God of this people Israel made selection of our fathers, lifting the people up from their low condition when they were living in the land of Egypt, and with a strong arm took them out of it. read more. And for about forty years he put up with their ways in the waste land. And having put to destruction seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them the land for their heritage for about four hundred and fifty years. And after these things he gave them judges, till the time of Samuel the prophet. Then at their request for a king, God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, a man of the family of Benjamin, who was their king for forty years. And having put him on one side, he made David their king, to whom he gave witness, saying, I have taken David, the son of Jesse, a man dear to my heart, who will do all my pleasure. From this man's seed has God given to Israel a Saviour, even Jesus, as he gave his word; For whose coming John made ready the way by preaching to all the people of Israel the baptism which goes with a change of heart. And when John was completing his work, he said, What do I seem to you to be? I am not he; but one is coming after me, whose shoes I am not good enough to undo. My brothers, children of the family of Abraham, and those among you who have the fear of God, to us the word of this salvation is sent. For the men of Jerusalem and their rulers, having no knowledge of him, or of the sayings of the prophets which come to their ears every Sabbath day, gave effect to them by judging him. And though no cause of death was seen in him, they made a request to Pilate that he might be put to death. And when they had done all the things said in the Writings about him, they took him down from the tree, and put him in the place of the dead. But God gave him back from the dead: And for a number of days he was seen by those who came with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses before the people. And we are giving you the good news of the undertaking made to the fathers, Which God has now put into effect for our children, by sending Jesus; as it says in the second Psalm, You are my Son; this day I have given you being. And about his coming back from the dead, never again to go to destruction, he has said these words, I will give you the holy and certain mercies of David. Because he says in another Psalm, You will not let your Holy One see destruction. Now David, having done God's work for his generation, went to sleep, and was put with his fathers, and his body came to destruction: But he, who was lifted up by God, did not see destruction. And so, let it be clear to you, my brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is offered to you: And through him everyone who has faith is made free from all those things, from which the law of Moses was not able to make you free. So take care that these words of the prophets do not come true for you; See, you doubters, have wonder and come to your end; for I will do a thing in your days to which you will not give belief, even if it is made clear to you. And when they went out, they made a request that these words might be said to them again on the Sabbath after. Now when the meeting was ended, a number of the Jews and of the God-fearing Gentiles who had become Jews, went after Paul and Barnabas: who put before them how important it was to keep on in the grace of God. And on the Sabbath after, almost all the town came together to give hearing to the word of God. But when the Jews saw such a great number of people, they were full of envy and said evil words against Paul's preaching. Then Paul and Barnabas without fear said, It was necessary for the word of God to be given to you first; but because you will have nothing to do with it, and have no desire for eternal life, it will now be offered to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has given us orders, saying, I have given you for a light to the Gentiles so that you may be for salvation to the ends of the earth. And the Gentiles, hearing this, were glad and gave glory to the word of God: and those marked out by God for eternal life had faith. And the word of the Lord went through all the country. But the Jews, working up the feelings of the God-fearing women of high position and of the chief men of the town, got an attack started against Paul and Barnabas, driving them out of those parts. But they, shaking off the dust of that place from their feet, came to Iconium.
And after they had gone through the land of Phrygia and Galatia, the Holy Spirit did not let them take the word into Asia;
And going past Mysia, they came down to Troas. And Paul had a vision in the night; a man of Macedonia came, requesting him, and saying, Come over into Macedonia and give us help.
So he had discussions in the Synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles, and every day in the market-place with those who were there. And some of those who were supporters of the theories of the Epicureans and the Stoics, had a meeting with him. And some said, What is this talker of foolish words saying? And others, He seems to be a preacher of strange gods: because he was preaching of Jesus and his coming back from the dead. read more. And they took him to Mars' Hill, saying, Will you make clear to us what is this new teaching of yours? For you seem to us to say strange things, and we have a desire to get the sense of them. (Now all the Athenians and the men from other lands who come there were giving all their time to talking or hearing of anything new.) And Paul got to his feet on Mars' Hill and said, O men of Athens, I see that you are overmuch given to fear of the gods. For when I came by, I was looking at the things to which you give worship, and I saw an altar with this writing on it, TO THE GOD OF WHOM THERE IS NO KNOWLEDGE. Now, what you, without knowledge, give worship to, I make clear to you. The God who made the earth and everything in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, is not housed in buildings made with hands; And he is not dependent on the work of men's hands, as if he had need of anything, for he himself gives to all life and breath and all things; And he has made of one blood all the nations of men living on all the face of the earth, ordering their times and the limits of their lands, So that they might make search for God, in order, if possible, to get knowledge of him and make discovery of him, though he is not far from every one of us: For in him we have life and motion and existence; as certain of your verse writers have said, For we are his offspring. If then we are the offspring of God, it is not right for us to have the idea that God is like gold or silver or stone, formed by the art or design of man. Those times when men had no knowledge were overlooked by God; but now he gives orders to all men in every place to undergo a change of heart: Because a day has been fixed in which all the world will be judged in righteousness by the man who has been marked out by him for this work; of which he has given a sign to all men by giving him back from the dead.
And being requested by them to be there for a longer time, he said, No; And went from them, saying, I will come back to you if God lets me; and he took ship from Ephesus. read more. And when he had come to land at Caesarea, he went to see the church, and then went down to Antioch. And having been there for some time, he went through the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, making the disciples strong in the faith.
And when he had gone through those parts and given them much teaching, he came into Greece.
And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus for the rulers of the church.
And I, answering, said, Who are you; Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are attacking.
But when Paul saw that half of them were Sadducees and the rest Pharisees, he said in the Sanhedrin, Brothers, I am a Pharisee, and the son of Pharisees: I am here to be judged on the question of the hope of the coming back from the dead.
But Paul's sister's son had word of their design, and he came into the army building and gave news of it to Paul.
I will give hearing to your cause, he said, when those who are against you have come. And he gave orders for him to be kept in Herod's Praetorium.
If, then, I am a wrongdoer and there is a cause of death in me, I am ready for death: if it is not as they say against me, no man may give me up to them. Let my cause come before Caesar.
And I said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking.
And when a day had been fixed, they came to his house in great numbers; and he gave them teaching, giving witness to the kingdom of God, and having discussions with them about Jesus, from the law of Moses and from the prophets, from morning till evening.
And for the space of two years, Paul was living in the house of which he had the use, and had talk with all those who went in to see him, Preaching the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ without fear, and no orders were given that he was not to do so.
By signs and wonders, in the power of the Holy Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have given all the good news of Christ;
Give my love to Andronicus and Junia, my relations, who were in prison with me, who are noted among the Apostles, and who were in Christ before me.
Give my love to Herodion, my relation. Say a kind word to those of the house of Narcissus, who are in the Lord. Give my love to Tryphaena and Tryphosa, workers in the Lord. Give my love to my dear Persis, who did much work in the Lord.
Now when I came to Troas for the good news of Christ, and there was an open door for me in the Lord,
And I went not up to Jerusalem to those who were Apostles before me; but I went away into Arabia, and again I came back to Damascus.
But you have knowledge that with a feeble body I was preaching the good news to you the first time;
But you have knowledge that with a feeble body I was preaching the good news to you the first time; And you did not have a poor opinion of me because of the trouble in my flesh, or put shame on it; but you took me to your hearts as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
So that it became clear through all the Praetorium, and to all the rest, that I was a prisoner on account of Christ;
Being given circumcision on the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in relation to the law, a Pharisee: In bitter hate I was cruel to the church; I kept all the righteousness of the law to the last detail.
Aristarchus, my brother-prisoner, sends his love to you, and Mark, a relation of Barnabas (about whom you have been given orders: if he comes to you, be kind to him),
Fausets
(See ACTS.) The leading facts of his life which appear in that history, subsidiary to its design of sketching the great epochs in the commencement and development of Christ's kingdom, are: his conversion (Acts 9), his labours at Antioch (Acts 11), his first missionary journey (Acts 13; 14), the visit to Jerusalem at the council on circumcision (Acts 15), introduction of the gospel to Europe at Philippi (Acts 16),: visit to Athens (Acts 17), to Corinth (Acts 18), stay at Ephesus (Acts 19), parting address to the Ephesian elders at Miletus (Acts 20), apprehension at Jerusalem, imprisonment at Casesarea, and voyage to Rome (Acts 21-27). Though of purest Hebrew blood (Php 3:5), "circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, (bearing the name of the eminent man of that tribe, king Saul), an Hebrew of the Hebrew," yet his birthplace was the Gentile Tarsus. (Ac 21:39, "I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city.") His father, as himself, was a Pharisee (Ac 23:6). Tarsus was celebrated as a school of Greek literature (Strabo, Geogr. 1:14).
Here he acquired that knowledge of Greek authors and philosophy which qualified him for dealing with learned Gentiles and appealing to their own writers (Ac 17:18-28. Aratus; 1Co 15:33, Menander; Tit 1:12, Epimenides). Here too he learned the Cilician trade of making tents of the goats' hair cloth called "cilicium" (Ac 18:3); not that his father was in straitened circumstances, but Jewish custom required each child, however wealthy the parents might be, to learn a trade. He possessed the Roman citizenship from birth (Ac 22:28), and hence, when he commenced ministering among Gentiles, he preferred to be known by his Roman name Paul rather than by his Hebrew name Saul. His main education (probably after passing his first 12 years at Tarsus, Ac 26:4-5, "among his own nation." Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Sinaiticus manuscripts read "and" before "at Jerusalem") was at Jerusalem "at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers" (Ac 22:3). (See GAMALIEL.)
Thus the three elements of the world's culture met in him: Roman citizenship, Grecian culture, Hebrew religion. Gamaliel had counseled toleration (Ac 5:34-39); but his teaching of strict pharisaic legalism produced in Saul's ardent spirit persecuting zeal against opponents, "concerning zeal persecuting the church" (Php 3:6). Among the synagogue disputants with Stephen were men "of Cilcia" (Ac 6:9), probably including Saul; at all events it was at his feet, while be was yet "a young man," that the witnesses, stoning the martyr, laid down their clothes (Ac 6:9; 7:58; De 17:7). "Saul was consenting unto his death" (Acts 6; 7); but we can hardly doubt that his better feelings must have had some misgiving in witnessing Stephen's countenance beaming as an angel's, and in hearing his loving prayer for his murderers. But stern bigotry stifled all such doubts by increased zeal; "he made havock of (elumaineto, 'ravaged as a wild beast') the church, entering into the houses (severally, or worship rooms), and haling men and women committed them to prison" (Ac 8:3).
But God's grace arrested Paul in his career of blind fanaticism; "I obtained mercy upon, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief" (1Ti 1:12-16). His ignorance was culpable, for he might have known if he had sought aright; but it was less guilty than sinning against light and knowledge. There is a wide difference between mistaken zeal for the law and willful striving against God's Spirit. His ignorance gave him no claim on, but put him within the range of, God's mercy (Lu 23:34; Ac 3:17; Ro 10:2). The positive ground of mercy is solely God's compassion (Tit 3:5). We have three accounts of his conversion, one by Luke (Acts 9), the others by himself (Acts 22; 26), mutually supplementing one another. Following the adherents of "the (Christian) way ... unto strange cities," and "breathing out threatenings and slaughter," he was on his journey to Damascus with authoritative letters from the high priest empowering him to arrest and bring to Jerusalem all such, trusting doubtless that the pagan governor would not interpose in their behalf.
At midday a light shone upon him and his company, exceeding the brightness of the sun; he and all with him fell to the earth (Ac 26:14; in Ac 9:7 "stood speechless," namely, they soon rose, and when he at length rose they were standing speechless with wonder), "hearing" the sound of a "voice," but not understanding (compare 1Co 14:2 margin) the articulate speech which Paul heard (Ac 22:9, "they heard not the voice of Him that spoke") in Hebrew (Ac 26:14), "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?" (in the person of My brethren, Mt 25:40). "It is hard for thee to kick against the goads" (not in Ac 9:5 the Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Alexandrinus manuscripts, but only in Ac 26:14), which, as in the case of oxen being driven, only makes the goad pierce the deeper (Mt 21:44; Pr 8:36). Saul trembling (as the jailer afterward before him, Ac 16:30-31) said, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" the usual question at first awakening (Lu 3:10), but here with the additional sense of unreserved surrender of himself to the Lord's guidance (Isa 6:1-8).
The Lord might act directly, but He chooses to employ ministerial instruments; such was Ananias whom He sent to Saul, after he had been three days without sight and neither eating nor drinking, in the house of Judas (probably a Christian to whose house he had himself led, rather than to his former co-religionists). Ananias, whom he would have seized for prison and death, is the instrument of giving him light and life. God had prepared Ananias for his visitor by announcing the one sure mark of his conversion, "behold he prayeth" (Ro 8:15). Ananias had heard of him as a notorious persecutor, but obeyed the Lord's direction. In Ac 26:16-18 Paul condenses in one account, and connects with Christ's first appearing, subsequent revelations of Jesus to him as to the purpose of his call;" to make thee a minister and witness of these things ... delivering thee from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee." Like Jonah, the outcast runaway, when penitent, was made the messenger of repentance to guilty Nineveh.
The time of his call was just when the gospel was being opened to the Gentiles by Peter (Acts 10). An apostle, severed from legalism, and determined unbelief by an extraordinary revulsion, was better fitted for carrying forward the work among unbelieving Gentiles, which had been begun by the apostle of the circumcision. He who was the most learned and at the same time humblest (Eph 3:8; 1Co 15:9) of the apostles was the one whose pen was most used in the New Testament Scriptures. He"saw" the Lord in actual person (Ac 9:17; 22:14; 23:11; 26:16; 1Co 15:8; 9:1), which was a necessary qualification for apostleship, so as to be witness of the resurrection. The light that flashed on his eyes was the sign of the spiritual light that broke in upon his soul; and Jesus' words to him (Ac 26:18), "to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light" (which commission was symbolized in the opening of his own eyes through Ananias, Ac 9:17-18), are by undesigned coincidence reproduced naturally in his epistles (Col 1:12-14; 2Co 4:4; Eph 1:18, contrast Eph 4:18; 6:12).
He calls himself "the one untimely born" in the family of the apostles (1Co 15:8). Such a child, though born alive, is yet not of proper size and scarcely worthy of the name of man; so Paul calls himself" least of the apostles, not meet to be called an apostle" (compare 1Pe 1:3). He says, God's "choice" (Ac 9:15; 22:14), "separating me (in contrast to his having been once a "Pharisee", from pharash, i.e. a separatist, but now 'separated' unto something infinitely higher) from my mother's womb (therefore without any merit of mine), and calling me by His grace (which carried into effect His 'good pleasure,' eudokia), revealed His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the pagan," independent of Mosaic ceremonialism (Ga 1:11-20). Ananias, being "a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews there," was the suitable instrum
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The hands of the witnesses will be the first to put him to death, and after them the hands of all the people. So you are to put away the evil from among you.
And Shimei said to the king, Very well! as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do. And for a long time Shimei went on living in Jerusalem. But after three years, two of the servants of Shimei went in flight to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. And word was given to Shimei that his servants had gone to Gath.
And when he saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, Is it you, you troubler of Israel?
But no one has said, Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night;
For you will not let my soul be prisoned in the underworld; you will not let your loved one see the place of death.
But the Lord will send his mercy in the daytime, and in the night his song will be with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
But he who does evil to me, does wrong to his soul: all my haters are in love with death.
The fear of man is a cause of danger: but whoever puts his faith in the Lord will have a safe place on high.
In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord seated in his place, high and lifted up, and the Temple was full of the wide skirts of his robe. Over him were the winged ones: every one had six wings; two for covering his face, two for covering his feed, and two for flight. read more. And one said in a loud voice to another, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of armies: all the earth is full of his glory. And the bases of the door-pillars were shaking at the sound of his cry, and the house was full of smoke. Then I said, The curse is on me, and my fate is destruction; for I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of armies. Then a winged one came to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from off the altar with the fire-spoon. And after touching my mouth with it, he said, See, your lips have been touched with this; and your evil is taken away, and you are made clean from sin. And the voice of the Lord came to my ears, saying, Whom am I to send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I, send me.
I the Lord have made you the vessel of my purpose, I have taken you by the hand, and kept you safe, and I have given you to be an agreement to the people, and a light to the nations:
It is not enough for one who is my servant to put the tribes of Jacob again in their place, and to get back those of Israel who have been sent away: my purpose is to give you as a light to the nations, so that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth.
In that day I will put up the tent of David which has come down, and make good its broken places; and I will put up again his damaged walls, building it up as in the past; So that the rest of Edom may be their heritage, and all the nations who have been named by my name, says the Lord, who is doing this.
And if your right eye is a cause of trouble to you, take it out and put it away from you; because it is better to undergo the loss of one part, than for all your body to go into hell.
But when he saw the wind he was in fear and, starting to go down, he gave a cry, saying, Help, Lord.
And will give him up to the Gentiles to be made sport of and to be whipped and to be put to death on the cross: and the third day he will come back again from the dead.
Any man falling on this stone will be broken, but he on whom it comes down will be crushed to dust.
Then he said to his servants, The feast is ready but the guests were not good enough.
I had no clothing, and you gave it to me: when I was ill, or in prison, you came to me.
And the King will make answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, Because you did it to the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.
And the people put questions to him, saying, What have we to do?
And Jesus said, Father, let them have forgiveness, for they have no knowledge of what they are doing. And they made division of his clothing among them by the decision of chance.
And so the Word became flesh and took a place among us for a time; and we saw his glory--such glory as is given to an only son by his father--saw it to be true and full of grace.
From his full measure we have all been given grace on grace.
You give worship, but without knowledge of what you are worshipping: we give worship to what we have knowledge of: for salvation comes from the Jews.
If then I, the Lord and the Master, have made your feet clean, it is right for you to make one another's feet clean.
Then Pilate went back into the Praetorium and sent for Jesus and said to him, Are you the King of the Jews? Jesus made answer, Do you say this of yourself, or did others say it about me? read more. Pilate said, Am I a Jew? Your nation and the chief priests have given you into my hands: what have you done? Jesus said in answer, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom was of this world, my disciples would have made a good fight to keep me out of the hands of the Jews: but my kingdom is not here. Then Pilate said to him, Are you then a king? Jesus made answer, You say that I am a king. For this purpose was I given birth, and for this purpose I came into the world, that I might give witness to what is true. Every lover of what is true gives ear to my voice.
Hearing this, Pilate had a desire to let him go free, but the Jews said in a loud voice, If you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend: everyone who makes himself a king goes against Caesar.
And, jumping up, he got on to his feet and went into the Temple with them, walking and jumping and giving praise to God.
And now, my brothers, I am conscious that you did this, as did your rulers, without knowledge.
But in the night an angel of the Lord, opening the doors of the prison, took them out and said,
But one of the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a man of learning in the law, of whom all the people had a high opinion, got up and made a suggestion for the men to be put outside for a little time. And he said to them, Men of Israel, take care what you do about these men. read more. For before this there was Theudas, who said he was someone important, to whom about four hundred men gave their support: he was put to death, and his band was broken up and came to nothing. After this man, there was Judas of Galilee, at the time of the numbering, and some of the people went after him: he was put to death, and all his supporters were put to flight. And now I say to you, Do nothing to these men, but let them be: for if this teaching or this work is of men, it will come to nothing: But if it is of God, you will not be able to overcome them, and you are in danger of fighting against God.
But some of those who were of the Synagogue named that of the Libertines, and some of the men of Cyrene and of Alexandria and those from Cilicia and Asia, had arguments with Stephen.
But some of those who were of the Synagogue named that of the Libertines, and some of the men of Cyrene and of Alexandria and those from Cilicia and Asia, had arguments with Stephen.
At which time Moses came to birth, and he was very beautiful; and he was kept for three months in his father's house:
And Moses was trained in all the wisdom of Egypt, and was great in his words and works.
Driving him out of the town and stoning him: and the witnesses put their clothing at the feet of a young man named Saul.
But Saul was burning with hate against the church, going into every house and taking men and women and putting them in prison.
And he said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking:
And the men who were with him were not able to say anything; hearing the voice, but seeing no one.
But the Lord said, Go without fear: for he is a special vessel for me, to give to the Gentiles and kings and to the children of Israel the knowledge of my name:
And Ananias went out and came to the house, and putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, whom you saw when you were on your journey, has sent me, so that you may be able to see, and be full of the Holy Spirit.
And Ananias went out and came to the house, and putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, whom you saw when you were on your journey, has sent me, so that you may be able to see, and be full of the Holy Spirit. And straight away it seemed as if a veil was taken from his eyes, and he was able to see; and he got up, and had baptism;
And straight away, in the Synagogues, he was preaching Jesus as the Son of God. And all those hearing him were full of wonder and said, Is not this the man who in Jerusalem was attacking all the worshippers of this name? and he had come here so that he might take them as prisoners before the chief priests. read more. But Saul went on increasing in power, and the Jews in Damascus were not able to give answers to the arguments by which he made it clear that Jesus was the Christ. Then, after some days, the Jews made an agreement together to put him to death:
And when he came to Jerusalem, he made an attempt to be joined to the disciples, but they were all in fear of him, not taking him for a disciple.
And when he came to Jerusalem, he made an attempt to be joined to the disciples, but they were all in fear of him, not taking him for a disciple. But Barnabas took him to the Apostles and gave them an account of how he had seen the Lord on the road, and had given hearing to his words, and how at Damascus he had been preaching in the name of Jesus without fear. read more. And he was with them, going in and out at Jerusalem, Preaching in the name of the Lord without fear; and he had discussions with the Greek Jews; but they were working for his death.
Preaching in the name of the Lord without fear; and he had discussions with the Greek Jews; but they were working for his death. And when the brothers had knowledge of it, they took him to Caesarea and sent him to Tarsus.
And when Peter came to Jerusalem, those who kept the rule of circumcision had an argument with him, Saying, You went to men without circumcision, and took food with them. read more. But Peter gave them an account of it all in order, saying to them, I was in the town of Joppa, at prayer: and falling into a deep sleep, I saw in a vision a vessel like a great cloth let down from heaven, and it came down to me: And looking on it with attention I saw in it all sorts of beasts and birds. And a voice came to my ears saying, Come, Peter; take them for food. But I said, No, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever come into my mouth. But the voice, coming a second time from heaven, said, What God has made clean, do not you make common. And this was done three times, and they were all taken up again into heaven. And at that minute, three men, sent from Caesarea, came to the house where we were. And the Spirit gave me orders to go with them, doubting nothing. And these six brothers came with me; and we went into that man's house: And he gave us an account of how he had seen the angel in his house, saying, Send to Joppa, and get Simon, named Peter, to come to you; Who will say words to you through which you and all your family may get salvation. And, while I was talking to them, the Holy Spirit came on them, as on us at first. And the words of the Lord came into my mind, how he said, The baptism of John was with water, but you will have baptism with the Holy Spirit. If then God gave them, when they had faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the same as he gave to us, who was I to go against God?
But some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, when they came to Antioch, gave the good news about the Lord Jesus to the Greeks.
And news of them came to the ears of the church at Jerusalem: and they sent Barnabas as far as Antioch: Who, when he came and saw the grace of God, was glad; and he made clear to them the need of keeping near the Lord with all the strength of their hearts: read more. For he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith: and a great number were joined to the Lord. Then he went on to Tarsus, looking for Saul; And when he had come across him, he took him to Antioch. And they were with the church there for a year, teaching the people; and the disciples were first given the name of Christians in Antioch. Now in those days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them, named Agabus, said publicly through the Spirit that there would be serious need of food all over the earth: which came about in the time of Claudius. And the disciples, everyone as he was able, made a decision to send help to the brothers living in Judaea: Which they did, sending it to the rulers of the church by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
Which they did, sending it to the rulers of the church by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
And when Herod was about to take him out, the same night Peter was sleeping in chains between two armed men, and the watchmen were keeping watch before the door of the prison. And a great light was seen shining in the room, and an angel of the Lord came to Peter and, touching him on his side so that he came out of his sleep, said, Get up quickly. And his chains came off his hands. read more. Then the angel said, Put on your shoes and get ready to go. And he did so. And he said, Put your coat round you and come with me. And he went out after him; and he was not certain if what was done by the angel was a fact, for it seemed to him that he was seeing a vision. And when they had gone past the first and second watchmen they came to the iron door into the town, which came open by itself: and they went out and down one street; and then the angel went away.
And Barnabas and Saul came back from Jerusalem, when their work was ended, taking with them John named Mark.
And Barnabas and Saul came back from Jerusalem, when their work was ended, taking with them John named Mark.
So they kept there for a long time, taking heart in the Lord, who gave witness to the word of his grace by causing signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
Said in a loud voice, Get up on your feet. And, jumping up, he went walking about.
And when there had been much discussion, Peter got up and said to them, My brothers, you have knowledge that some time back it was God's pleasure that by my mouth the good news might be given to the Gentiles so that they might have faith. And God, the searcher of hearts, was a witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit even as he did to us; read more. Making no division between them and us, but making clean their hearts by faith. Why then are you testing God, by putting on the neck of the disciples a yoke so hard that not even our fathers or we were strong enough for it? But we have faith that we will get salvation through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way as they.
And he came to Derbe and Lystra: and there was a certain disciple there named Timothy, whose mother was one of the Jews of the faith, but his father was a Greek; Of whom the brothers at Lystra and Iconium had a high opinion. read more. Paul had a desire for him to go with him, and he gave him circumcision because of the Jews who were in those parts: for they all had knowledge that his father was a Greek.
And after they had gone through the land of Phrygia and Galatia, the Holy Spirit did not let them take the word into Asia; And having come to Mysia, they made an attempt to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not let them;
And when he had seen the vision, straight away we made the decision to go into Macedonia, for it seemed certain to us that God had sent us to give the good news to them.
And took them out and said, Sirs, what have I to do to get salvation? And they said, Have faith in the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will have salvation.
But the Jews, being moved with envy, took with them certain low persons from among the common people, and getting together a great number of people, made an outcry in the town, attacking the house of Jason with the purpose of taking them out to the people.
And some of those who were supporters of the theories of the Epicureans and the Stoics, had a meeting with him. And some said, What is this talker of foolish words saying? And others, He seems to be a preacher of strange gods: because he was preaching of Jesus and his coming back from the dead. And they took him to Mars' Hill, saying, Will you make clear to us what is this new teaching of yours? read more. For you seem to us to say strange things, and we have a desire to get the sense of them. (Now all the Athenians and the men from other lands who come there were giving all their time to talking or hearing of anything new.) And Paul got to his feet on Mars' Hill and said, O men of Athens, I see that you are overmuch given to fear of the gods. For when I came by, I was looking at the things to which you give worship, and I saw an altar with this writing on it, TO THE GOD OF WHOM THERE IS NO KNOWLEDGE. Now, what you, without knowledge, give worship to, I make clear to you. The God who made the earth and everything in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, is not housed in buildings made with hands;
The God who made the earth and everything in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, is not housed in buildings made with hands;
The God who made the earth and everything in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, is not housed in buildings made with hands; And he is not dependent on the work of men's hands, as if he had need of anything, for he himself gives to all life and breath and all things;
And he is not dependent on the work of men's hands, as if he had need of anything, for he himself gives to all life and breath and all things; And he has made of one blood all the nations of men living on all the face of the earth, ordering their times and the limits of their lands,
And he has made of one blood all the nations of men living on all the face of the earth, ordering their times and the limits of their lands, So that they might make search for God, in order, if possible, to get knowledge of him and make discovery of him, though he is not far from every one of us:
So that they might make search for God, in order, if possible, to get knowledge of him and make discovery of him, though he is not far from every one of us: For in him we have life and motion and existence; as certain of your verse writers have said, For we are his offspring.
For in him we have life and motion and existence; as certain of your verse writers have said, For we are his offspring. If then we are the offspring of God, it is not right for us to have the idea that God is like gold or silver or stone, formed by the art or design of man.
Because a day has been fixed in which all the world will be judged in righteousness by the man who has been marked out by him for this work; of which he has given a sign to all men by giving him back from the dead.
And because he was of the same trade, he was living with them, and they did their work together; for by trade they were tent-makers.
But Paul said, I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, which is not an unimportant town: I make a request to you to let me say a word to the people.
I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia by birth, but I had my education in this town at the feet of Gamaliel, being trained in the keeping of every detail of the law of our fathers; given up to the cause of God with all my heart, as you are today.
And those who were with me saw the light, but the voice of him who was talking to me came not to their ears.
And because I was unable to see because of the glory of that light, those who were with me took me by the hand, and so I came to Damascus.
And he said, You have been marked out by the God of our fathers to have knowledge of his purpose, and to see the Upright One and to give ear to the words of his mouth.
And he said, You have been marked out by the God of our fathers to have knowledge of his purpose, and to see the Upright One and to give ear to the words of his mouth.
And it came about that when I had come back to Jerusalem, while I was at prayer in the Temple, my senses became more than naturally clear,
And it came about that when I had come back to Jerusalem, while I was at prayer in the Temple, my senses became more than naturally clear, And I saw him saying to me, Go out of Jerusalem straight away because they will not give hearing to your witness about me.
And I saw him saying to me, Go out of Jerusalem straight away because they will not give hearing to your witness about me.
And I saw him saying to me, Go out of Jerusalem straight away because they will not give hearing to your witness about me. And I said, Lord, they themselves have knowledge that I went through the Synagogues putting in prison and whipping all those who had faith in you:
And the chief captain said, I got Roman rights for myself at a great price. And Paul said, But I had them by birth.
But when Paul saw that half of them were Sadducees and the rest Pharisees, he said in the Sanhedrin, Brothers, I am a Pharisee, and the son of Pharisees: I am here to be judged on the question of the hope of the coming back from the dead.
And the night after, the Lord came to his side and said, Be of good heart, for as you have been witnessing for me in Jerusalem, so will you be my witness in Rome.
All the Jews have knowledge of my way of life from my early years, as it was from the start among my nation, and at Jerusalem; And they are able to say, if they would give witness, that I was living as a Pharisee, in that division of our religion which is most regular in the keeping of the law.
And when we had all gone down on the earth, a voice came to me, saying in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? It is hard for you to go against the impulse which is driving you.
And when we had all gone down on the earth, a voice came to me, saying in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? It is hard for you to go against the impulse which is driving you.
And when we had all gone down on the earth, a voice came to me, saying in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? It is hard for you to go against the impulse which is driving you.
But get up on your feet: for I have come to you for this purpose, to make you a servant and a witness of the things in which you have seen me, and of those in which you will see me;
But get up on your feet: for I have come to you for this purpose, to make you a servant and a witness of the things in which you have seen me, and of those in which you will see me; And I will keep you safe from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you, read more. To make their eyes open, turning them from the dark to the light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may have forgiveness of sins and a heritage among those who are made holy by faith in me.
To make their eyes open, turning them from the dark to the light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may have forgiveness of sins and a heritage among those who are made holy by faith in me.
Whom God has put forward as the sign of his mercy, through faith, by his blood, to make clear his righteousness when, in his pity, God let the sins of earlier times go without punishment;
Whom God has put forward as the sign of his mercy, through faith, by his blood, to make clear his righteousness when, in his pity, God let the sins of earlier times go without punishment;
For you did not get the spirit of servants again to put you in fear, but the spirit of sons was given to you, by which we say, Abba, Father.
For I give witness of them that they have a strong desire for God, but not with knowledge.
But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart: that is, the word of faith of which we are the preachers: Because, if you say with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and have faith in your heart that God has made him come back from the dead, you will have salvation:
Do not put on one side him who is feeble in faith, and do not put him in doubt by your reasonings. One man has faith to take all things as food: another who is feeble in faith takes only green food. read more. Let not him who takes food have a low opinion of him who does not: and let not him who does not take food be a judge of him who does; for he has God's approval. Who are you to make yourself a judge of another man's servant? it is to his master that he is responsible for good or bad. Yes, his place will be safe, because the Lord is able to keep him from falling. This man puts one day before another: to that man they are the same. Let every man be certain in his mind. He who keeps the day, keeps it to the Lord; and he who takes food, takes it as to the Lord, for he gives praise to God; and he who does not take food, to the Lord he takes it not, and gives praise to God. For every man's life and every man's death has a relation to others as well as to himself.
Then let us not be judges of one another any longer: but keep this in mind, that no man is to make it hard for his brother, or give him cause for doubting. I am conscious of this, and am certain in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself; but for the man in whose opinion it is unclean, for him it is unclean. read more. And if because of food your brother is troubled, then you are no longer going on in the way of love. Do not let your food be destruction to him for whom Christ went into death. Let it not be possible for men to say evil about your good: For the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. And he who in these things is Christ's servant, is pleasing to God and has the approval of men. So then, let us go after the things which make peace, and the things by which we may be a help to one another. Do not let the work of God come to nothing on account of food. All things are certainly clean; but it is evil for that man who by taking food makes it hard for another. It is better not to take meat or wine or to do anything which might be a cause of trouble to your brother. The faith which you have, have it to yourself before God. Happy is the man who is not judged by that to which he gives approval. But he who is in doubt is judged if he takes food, because he does it not in faith; and whatever is not of faith is sin.
To the feeble, I was as one who is feeble, so that they might have salvation: I have been all things to all men, so that some at least might have salvation.
What I say is that the things offered by the Gentiles are offered to evil spirits and not to God; and it is not my desire for you to have any part with evil spirits.
For it was handed down to me from the Lord, as I gave it to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when Judas was false to him, took bread,
For he who makes use of tongues is not talking to men but to God; because no one has the sense of what he is saying; but in the Spirit he is talking of secret things.
For I gave to you first of all what was handed down to me, how Christ underwent death for our sins, as it says in the Writings;
And last of all, as by one whose birth was out of the right time, he was seen by me.
Do not be tricked by false words: evil company does damage to good behaviour.
For his letters, they say, have weight and are strong; but in body he is feeble, and his way of talking has little force.
Are they servants of Christ? (I am talking foolishly) I am more so; I have had more experience of hard work, of prisons, of blows more than measure, of death. Five times the Jews gave me forty blows but one. read more. Three times I was whipped with rods, once I was stoned, three times the ship I was in came to destruction at sea, a night and a day I have been in the water; In frequent travels, in dangers on rivers, in dangers from outlaws, in dangers from my countrymen, in dangers from the Gentiles, in dangers in the town, in dangers in the waste land, in dangers at sea, in dangers among false brothers; In hard work and weariness, in frequent watchings, going without food and drink, cold and in need of clothing. In addition to all the other things, there is that which comes on me every day, the care of all the churches. Who is feeble and I am not feeble? who is in danger of falling, and I am not angry? If I have to take credit to myself, I will do so in the things in which I am feeble. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be praise for ever, is witness that the things which I say are true. In Damascus, the ruler under Aretas the king kept watch over the town of the people of Damascus, in order to take me:
In Damascus, the ruler under Aretas the king kept watch over the town of the people of Damascus, in order to take me: And being let down in a basket from the wall through a window, I got free from his hands.
As it is necessary for me to take glory to myself, though it is not a good thing, I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
And because the revelations were so very great, in order that I might not be overmuch lifted up, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, one sent from Satan to give me pain. And about this thing I made request to the Lord three times that it might be taken away from me. read more. And he said to me, My grace is enough for you, for my power is made complete in what is feeble. Most gladly, then, will I take pride in my feeble body, so that the power of Christ may be on me. So I take pleasure in being feeble, in unkind words, in needs, in cruel attacks, in troubles, on account of Christ: for when I am feeble, then am I strong.
Truly the signs of an Apostle were done among you in quiet strength, with wonders and acts of power. For what is there in which you were made less than the other churches, but in the one thing that I was not a trouble to you? Let me have forgiveness for this wrong. read more. This is now the third time that I am ready to come to you; and I will not be a trouble to you: my desire is for you, not for your property: for it is not the children's business to make store for their fathers, but the fathers for the children. And I will gladly give all I have for your souls. If I have the more love for you, am I to be loved the less? But let it be so, that I was not a trouble to you myself; but (someone may say) being false, I took you with deceit. Did I make a profit out of you by any of those whom I sent to you? I gave orders to Titus, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus make any profit out of you? were we not guided by the same Spirit, in the same ways? It may seem to you that all this time we have been attempting to put ourselves in the right; but we are saying these things before God in Christ. For all things, dear brothers, are for your profit. For I have a fear that, when I come, you may not be answering to my desire, and that I may not be answering to yours; that there may be fighting, hate, angry feeling, divisions, evil talk about others, secrets, thoughts of pride, outbursts against authority; And that when I come again, my God may put me to shame among you, and I may have grief for those who have done wrong before and have had no regret for their unclean ways, and for the evil desires of the flesh to which they have given way.
Because I say to you, my brothers, that the good news of which I was the preacher is not man's. For I did not get it from man, and I was not given teaching in it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ. read more. For news has come to you of my way of life in the past in the Jews' religion, how I was cruel without measure to the church of God, and did great damage to it: And I went farther in the Jews' religion than a number of my generation among my countrymen, having a more burning interest in the beliefs handed down from my fathers.
And I went farther in the Jews' religion than a number of my generation among my countrymen, having a more burning interest in the beliefs handed down from my fathers. But when it was the good pleasure of God, by whom I was marked out even from my mother's body, through his grace,
But when it was the good pleasure of God, by whom I was marked out even from my mother's body, through his grace, To give the revelation of his Son in me, so that I might give the news of him to the Gentiles; then I did not take the opinion of flesh and blood,
To give the revelation of his Son in me, so that I might give the news of him to the Gentiles; then I did not take the opinion of flesh and blood, And I went not up to Jerusalem to those who were Apostles before me; but I went away into Arabia, and again I came back to Damascus.
And I went not up to Jerusalem to those who were Apostles before me; but I went away into Arabia, and again I came back to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Cephas, and was there with him fifteen days.
Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Cephas, and was there with him fifteen days.
Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Cephas, and was there with him fifteen days.
Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Cephas, and was there with him fifteen days. But of the other Apostles I saw only James, the Lord's brother.
But of the other Apostles I saw only James, the Lord's brother. Now God is witness that the things which I am writing to you are true. read more. Then I came to the parts of Syria and Cilicia. And the churches of Judaea which were in Christ still had no knowledge of my face or person:
And I went up by revelation; and I put before them the good news which I was preaching among the Gentiles, but privately before those who were of good name, so that the work which I was or had been doing might not be without effect.
And I went up by revelation; and I put before them the good news which I was preaching among the Gentiles, but privately before those who were of good name, so that the work which I was or had been doing might not be without effect. But not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was made to undergo circumcision:
But not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was made to undergo circumcision: And that because of the false brothers let in secretly, who came searching out our free condition which we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might make servants of us;
And that because of the false brothers let in secretly, who came searching out our free condition which we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might make servants of us; To whom we gave way not even for an hour; so that the true words of the good news might still be with you. read more. But from those who seemed to be important (whatever they were has no weight with me: God does not take man's person into account): those who seemed to be important gave nothing new to me; But, quite the opposite, when they saw that I had been made responsible for preaching the good news to those without circumcision, even as Peter had been for those of the circumcision (Because he who was working in Peter as the Apostle of the circumcision was working no less in me among the Gentiles); When they saw the grace which was given to me, James and Cephas and John, who had the name of being pillars, gave to me and Barnabas their right hands as friends so that we might go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcision;
Are you so foolish? having made a start in the Spirit, will you now be made complete in the flesh?
But you have knowledge that with a feeble body I was preaching the good news to you the first time;
Say, you whose desire it is to be under the law, do you not give ear to the law?
Which things have a secret sense; because these women are the two agreements; one from the mountain of Sinai, giving birth to servants, which is Hagar. Now this Hagar is the mountain Sinai in Arabia, and is the image of the Jerusalem which now is: which is a servant with her children.
Now this Hagar is the mountain Sinai in Arabia, and is the image of the Jerusalem which now is: which is a servant with her children.
You are cut off from Christ, you who would have righteousness by the law; you are turned away from grace.
But I, brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still attacked? then has the shame of the cross been taken away.
See the size of the handwriting which I myself have made use of in writing to you.
Because even those who undergo circumcision do not themselves keep the law; but they would have you undergo circumcision, so that they may have glory in your flesh.
And that having the eyes of your heart full of light, you may have knowledge of what is the hope of his purpose, what is the wealth of the glory of his heritage in the saints,
To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, was this grace given, so that I might make clear to the Gentiles the good news of the unending wealth of Christ:
Whose thoughts are dark, to whom the life of God is strange because they are without knowledge, and their hearts have been made hard;
Giving praise at all times for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God, even the Father;
For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against authorities and powers, against the world-rulers of this dark night, against the spirits of evil in the heavens.
Being given circumcision on the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in relation to the law, a Pharisee: In bitter hate I was cruel to the church; I kept all the righteousness of the law to the last detail.
But I am very glad in the Lord that your care for me has come to life again; though you did in fact take thought for me, but you were not able to give effect to it.
And you have knowledge, Philippians, that when the good news first came to you, when I went away from Macedonia, no church took part with me in the business of giving to the saints, but you only; Because even in Thessalonica you sent once and again to me in my need.
I have all things and more than enough: I am made full, having had from Epaphroditus the things which came from you, a perfume of a sweet smell, an offering well pleasing to God.
Giving praise to the Father who has given us a part in the heritage of the saints in light; Who has made us free from the power of evil and given us a place in the kingdom of the Son of his love; read more. In whom we have our salvation, the forgiveness of sins:
So that I may make it clear, as it is right for me to do.
For they themselves give the news of how we came among you; and how you were turned from images to God, to the worship of a true and living God,
For they themselves give the news of how we came among you; and how you were turned from images to God, to the worship of a true and living God, Waiting for his Son from heaven, who came back from the dead, even Jesus, our Saviour from the wrath to come.
Waiting for his Son from heaven, who came back from the dead, even Jesus, our Saviour from the wrath to come.
But after we had first undergone much pain and been cruelly attacked as you saw, at Philippi, by the help of God we gave you the good news without fear, though everything was against us.
But after we had first undergone much pain and been cruelly attacked as you saw, at Philippi, by the help of God we gave you the good news without fear, though everything was against us.
For you have the memory, my brothers, of our trouble and care; how, working night and day, so that we might not be a trouble to any of you, we gave you the good news of God. You are witnesses, with God, how holy and upright and free from all evil was our way of life among you who have faith;
So that your lives might be pleasing to God, who has given you a part in his kingdom and his glory.
For you, my brothers, took as your examples the churches of God which are in Judaea in Christ Jesus; because you underwent the same things from your countrymen as they did from the Jews;
And that you may take pride in being quiet and doing your business, working with your hands as we gave you orders; That you may be respected by those who are outside, and may have need of nothing.
I give praise to him who gave me power, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he took me to be true, making me his servant, Though I had said violent words against God, and done cruel acts, causing great trouble: but I was given mercy, because I did it without knowledge, not having faith; read more. And the grace of our Lord was very great, with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. It is a true saying, in which all may put their faith, that Christ Jesus came into the world to give salvation to sinners, of whom I am the chief: But for this reason I was given mercy, so that in me, the chief of sinners, Jesus Christ might make clear all his mercy, as an example to those who in the future would have faith in him to eternal life.
Say sharp words to sinners when all are present, so that the rest may be in fear.
I give praise to God, whose servant I have been, with a heart free from sin, from the time of my fathers, because in my prayers at all times the thought of you is with me, night and day
One of their prophets has said, The men of Crete are ever false, evil beasts, lovers of food, hating work.
Not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but in the measure of his mercy, he gave us salvation, through the washing of the new birth and the giving of new life in the Holy Spirit,
You have not come to a mountain which may be touched, and is burning with fire, and to a black cloud, and a dark smoke, and a violent wind,
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who through his great mercy has given us a new birth and a living hope by the coming again of Jesus Christ from the dead,
And be certain that the long waiting of the Lord is for salvation; even as our brother Paul has said in his letters to you, from the wisdom which was given to him;
That which was from the first, which has come to our ears, and which we have seen with our eyes, looking on it and touching it with our hands, about the Word of life
Morish
This apostle was of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of pure descent, born at Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, a fact which gave to him the privilege of Roman citizenship. He was a disciple of Gamaliel and a strict Pharisee. He is first introduced to us as a young man, by name SAUL, at whose feet the witnesses who stoned Stephen laid their clothes. He became afterwards a violent persecutor of the saints, both of men and women, acting with great zeal, thinking he was doing God's service. His conversion as the effect of the Lord appearing to him was unique, and he was so completely changed that he became at once as bold for Christ as before he had been a persecutor of Christ in the persons of His saints. He immediately preached in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God. This was the distinctive point of his testimony. As the Jews sought his life at Damascus, he departed into Arabia, where doubtless he had deep exercise of heart and learnt more of the Lord.
After three years he went up to see Peter at Jerusalem, where he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus. The Jews again seeking his life, he was conducted to Caesarea, and sent to Tarsus, his native place. From thence he was fetched by Barnabas to go to Antioch, where the gospel had been effectual, and there they both laboured. After having, in company with Barnabas, taken supplies to Jerusalem (his second visit), on occasion of a dearth, he commenced his first missionary journey to Cyprus and Asia Minor. He and Barnabas returned to Antioch, where he remained 'a long time.' On a dispute arising as to Gentile converts being circumcised, he went with Barnabas to Jerusalem concerning that question, and returned to Antioch. This city had become a sort of centre of the activity of the Spirit. Being far from Jerusalem it was less influenced by Judaising tendencies, though communion with the saints there was maintained.
Asia Minor, Macedonia and Greece were the sphere of Paul's second missionary journey. Having differed from Barnabas, because the latter wished to take John with them (who had left them on the first journey), Paul selected Silas for his companion, and departed with the full fellowship of the brethren. During part of this journey Timothy was one of the company. He abode a year and a half at Corinth, where he wrote the two EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS. He now visited Jerusalem at the feast, and returned to Antioch. He took his third missionary journey through Galatia and Phrygia. When he visited Ephesus he separated the disciples from the synagogue, and they met in the school of Tyrannus. At Ephesus he wrote the FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS, and probably the EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. After the tumult raised by Demetrius he went to Macedonia, and there wrote the SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. He again visited Corinth and wrote the EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.
The Jews seeking his life, Paul went through Macedonia, sailed from Philippi, and preached at Troas. At Miletus he gave a solemn parting address to the elders of Ephesus, and took his leave of the disciples at Tyre, where he was cautioned not to go to Jerusalem. At Caesarea also he was warned of what awaited him at Jerusalem, but he avowed that he was ready not only to be bound, but also to die for the name of the Lord Jesus.
Paul arrived at Jerusalem just before Pentecost. In order to prove himself a good Jew he was advised by the brethren to associate himself with four men who had a vow on them, and to be at charges with them. But while carrying this out he was seized by some Asiatic Jews, and beaten, but was rescued by Lysias, the Roman chief captain. After appearing before the council, and again being rescued by him, he was for safety sent off by night to Caesarea. There his cause was heard by Felix, who kept him prisoner, hoping to be bribed to release him. Two years later, when superseded by Festus, Felix, to please the Jews, left Paul in bonds. On appearing before Festus, to save himself from being sent to Jerusalem, there being a plot to waylay and murder him, Paul appealed to the emperor. His case having been heard by Agrippa and Festus, he was finally remitted to Rome. The ship, however, was wrecked at Malta, where they wintered, all on board having been saved.
On his arrival at Rome, Paul sent for the chief men of the Jews and preached to them: some of them believed, though the majority rejected God's grace (thus fulfilling Isa 6:9-10), which should henceforth go to the Gentiles. He, though still a prisoner, abode two years in his own hired house. There he wrote the EPISTLES TO THE COLOSSIANS, the EPHESIANS, the PHILIPPIANS, and also to PHILEMON.
The history of Paul is thus far given in the Acts of the Apostles, but there are intimations in the later epistles that after the two years at Rome he was liberated. His movements from that time are not definitely recorded; apparently he visited Ephesus and Macedonia, 1Ti 1:3; wrote the FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY; visited Crete, Tit 1:5; and Nicopolis, Tit 3:12; wrote the EPISTLE TO TITUS (the early writers say that he went to Spain, which we know he desired to do, Ro 15:24,28); visited Troas and Miletus, 2Ti 4:13,20; wrote the EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS; and when a prisoner at Rome the second time, wrote the SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY, when expecting his death. Early writers say that he was beheaded with the sword, which is probable, as he was a Roman citizen.
Paul received his commission directly from Christ who appeared to him in glory, and this source of his apostleship he carefully insists on in the Epistle to the Galatians. New light as to the church in its heavenly character came out by Paul, who was God's special apostle for that purpose. To him was revealed the truth that the assembly was the body of Christ, and the doctrine of new creation in Christ Jesus, in which evidently there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile. This caused great persecution from the Jews and from Judaising teachers, who could not readily give up the law, nor endure the thought of Gentiles having an equal place with themselves. This Paul insisted on: it was his mission as apostle to the Gentiles. To Paul also was committed what he calls "my gospel:" this was 'the gospel of the glory' (Christ in glory who put away the Christian's sins being presented in it as the last Adam, the Son of God). 2Co 4:4. It not only brings salvation, great as that is, but it separates the believer from earth, and conforms him to Christ as He is in glory.
Paul was an eminent and faithful servant of Christ. As such he was content to be nothing, that Christ might be glorified. To the Thessalonians he was gentle 'as a nurse cherisheth her children.' 1Th 2:7. He was severe however to the Corinthians when they were allowing sin in their midst, and to them he had to assert his apostolic authority when traducers were seeking to nullify his influence among them. To the Galatians he was still more severe: they were in danger of being shipwrecked as to faith by false Judaising teachers, who were undermining the truth of the gospel.
In the epistles we get a few glimpses of the inner life of Paul. After having been caught up into the third heavens, he prayed for the removal of the thorn in the flesh which had been given him lest he should be puffed up, and was told that Christ's grace was sufficient for him, he could say, "most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.'' 2Co 12:9-10. He also could say, "To me to live is Christ;" and "This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus." Php 3:13-14. As a martyr he reached that goal. The catalogue he gives of his privations and sufferings in 2Co 11:23-28 discloses the fact that but a small part of his gigantic labours is recounted in the Acts of the Apostles.
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And he said, Go, and say to this people, You will go on hearing, but learning nothing; you will go on seeing, but without getting wiser. Make the hearts of this people fat, and let their ears be stopped, and their eyes shut; for fear that they may see with their eyes, and be hearing with their ears, and their heart may become wise, and they may be turned to me and made well.
Whenever I go to Spain (for it is my hope to see you on my way, and to be sent on there by you, if first I may in some measure have been comforted by your company)--
So when I have done this, and have given them this fruit of love, I will go on by you into Spain.
Because the god of this world has made blind the minds of those who have not faith, so that the light of the good news of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, might not be shining on them.
Are they servants of Christ? (I am talking foolishly) I am more so; I have had more experience of hard work, of prisons, of blows more than measure, of death. Five times the Jews gave me forty blows but one. read more. Three times I was whipped with rods, once I was stoned, three times the ship I was in came to destruction at sea, a night and a day I have been in the water; In frequent travels, in dangers on rivers, in dangers from outlaws, in dangers from my countrymen, in dangers from the Gentiles, in dangers in the town, in dangers in the waste land, in dangers at sea, in dangers among false brothers; In hard work and weariness, in frequent watchings, going without food and drink, cold and in need of clothing. In addition to all the other things, there is that which comes on me every day, the care of all the churches.
And he said to me, My grace is enough for you, for my power is made complete in what is feeble. Most gladly, then, will I take pride in my feeble body, so that the power of Christ may be on me. So I take pleasure in being feeble, in unkind words, in needs, in cruel attacks, in troubles, on account of Christ: for when I am feeble, then am I strong.
Brothers, it is clear to me that I have not come to that knowledge; but one thing I do, letting go those things which are past, and stretching out to the things which are before, I go forward to the mark, even the reward of the high purpose of God in Christ Jesus.
But we were gentle among you, like a woman caring for her little ones:
It was my desire, when I went on into Macedonia, that you might make a stop at Ephesus, to give orders to certain men not to put forward a different teaching,
The coat which I did not take from Troas and which is with Carpus, get when you come, and the books, specially the papers.
Erastus was stopping at Corinth; but Trophimus, when I last saw him was at Miletus, ill.
I did not take you with me when I went away from Crete, so that you might do what was necessary to put things in order there, placing men in authority over the churches in every town, as I said to you;
When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis: for it is my purpose to be there for the winter.
Smith
(small, little). Nearly all the original materials for the life St. Paul are contained in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Pauline epistles. Paul was born in Tarsus, a city of Cilicia. (It is not improbable that he was born between A.D. 0 and A.D. 5.) Up to the time of his going forth as an avowed preacher of Christ to the Gentiles, the apostle was known by the name of Saul. This was the Jewish name which he received from his Jewish parents. But though a Hebrew of the Hebrews, he was born in a Gentile city. Of his parents we know nothing, except that his father was of the tribe of Benjamin,
and a Pharisee,
that Paul had acquired by some means the Roman franchise ("I was free born,")
and that he was settled in Tarsus. At Tarsus he must have learned to use the Greek language with freedom and mastery in both speaking and writing. At Tarsus also he learned that trade of "tent-maker,"
at which he afterward occasionally wrought with his own hands. There was a goat's-hair cloth called cilicium manufactured in Cilicia, and largely used for tents, Saul's trade was probably that of making tents of this hair cloth. When St. Paul makes his defence before his countrymen at Jerusalem,
... he tells them that, though born in Tarsus he had been "brought up" in Jerusalem. He must therefore, have been yet a boy when was removed, in all probability for the sake of his education, to the holy city of his fathers. He learned, he says, at the feet of Gamaliel." He who was to resist so stoutly the usurpations of the law had for his teacher one of the most eminent of all the doctors of the law. Saul was yet "a young man,"
when the Church experienced that sudden expansion which was connected with the ordaining of the seven appointed to serve tables, and with the special power and inspiration of Stephen. Among those who disputed with Stephen were some "of them of Cilicia." We naturally think of Saul as having been one of these, when we find him afterward keeping the clothes of those suborned witnesses who, according to the law,
De 17:7
were the first to cast stones at Stephen. "Saul," says the sacred writer significantly "was consenting unto his death." Saul's conversion. A.D. 37.--The persecutor was to be converted. Having undertaken to follow up the believers "unto strange cities." Saul naturally turned his thoughts to Damascus. What befell him as he journeyed thither is related in detail three times in the Acts, first by the historian in his own person, then in the two addresses made by St. Paul at Jerusalem and before Agrippa. St. Luke's statement is to be read in
where, however, the words "it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks," included in the English version, ought to be omitted (as is done in the Revised Version). The sudden light from heaven; the voice of Jesus speaking with authority to his persecutor; Saul struck to the ground, blinded, overcome; the three-days suspense; the coming of Ananias as a messenger of the Lord and Saul's baptism, --these were the leading features at the great event, and in these we must look for the chief significance of the conversion. It was in Damascus that he was received into the church by Ananias, and here to the astonishment of all his hearers, he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, declaring him to be the Son of God. The narrative in the Acts tells us simply that he was occupied in this work, with increasing vigor, for "many days," up to the time when imminent danger drove him from Damascus. From the Epistle to the Galatians,
we learn that the many days were at least a good part of "three years," A.D. 37-40, and that Saul, not thinking it necessary to procure authority to teach from the apostles that were before him, went after his conversion to Arabia, and returned from thence to us. We know nothing whatever of this visit to Arabia; but upon his departure from Damascus we are again on a historical ground, and have the double evidence of St. Luke in the Acts of the apostle in his Second Epistle the Corinthians. According to the former, the Jews lay in wait for Saul, intending to kill him, and watched the gates of the city that he might not escape from them. Knowing this, the disciples took him by night and let him down in a basket from the wall. Having escaped from Damascus, Saul betook himself to Jerusalem (A.D. 40), and there "assayed to join himself to the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and believed not he was a disciple." Barnabas' introduction removed the fears of the apostles, and Saul "was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem." But it is not strange that the former persecutor was soon singled out from the other believers as the object of a murderous hostility. He was,therefore, again urged to flee; and by way of Caesarea betook himself to his native city, Tarsus. Barnabas was sent on a special mission to Antioch. As the work grew under his hands, he felt the need of help, went himself to Tarsus to seek Saul, and succeeded in bringing him to Antioch. There they labored together unremittingly for a whole year." All this time Saul was subordinate to Barnabas. Antioch was in constant communication with Cilicia, with Cyprus, with all the neighboring countries. The Church was pregnant with a great movement, and time of her delivery was at hand. Something of direct expectation seems to be implied in what is said of the leaders of the Church at Antioch, that they were "ministering to the Lord and fasting," when the Holy Ghost spoke to them: "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." Everything was done with orderly gravity in the sending forth of the two missionaries. Their brethren after fasting and prayer, laid their hands on them, and so they departed. The first missionary journey. A.D. 45-49. --As soon as Barnabas and Saul reached Cyprus they began to "announce the word of God," but at first they delivered their message in the synagogues of the Jews only. When they had gone through the island, from Salamis to Paphos, they were called upon to explain their doctrine to an eminent Gentile, Sergius Paulus, the proconsul, who was converted. Saul's name was now changed to Paul, and he began to take precedence of Barnabas. From Paphos "Paul and his company" set sail for the mainland, and arrived at Perga in Pamphylia. Here the heart of their companion John failed him, and he returned to Jerusalem. From Perga they travelled on to a place obscure in secular history, but most memorable in the history of the Kingdom of Christ --Antioch in Pisidia. Rejected by the Jews, they became bold and outspoken, and turned from them to the Gentiles. At Antioch now, as in every city afterward, the unbelieving Jews used their influence with their own adherents among the Gentiles to persuade the authorities or the populace to persecute the apostles and to drive them from the place. Paul and Barnabas now travelled on to Iconium where the occurrences at Antioch were repeated, and from thence to the Lycaonian country which contained the cities Lystra and Derbe. Here they had to deal with uncivilized heathen. At Lystra the healing of a cripple took place. Thereupon these pagans took the apostles for gods, calling Barnabas, who was of the more imposing presence, Jupiter, and Paul, who was the chief speaker, Mercurius. Although the people of Lystra had been so ready to worship Paul and Barnabas, the repulse of their idolatrous instincts appears to have provoked them, and they allowed themselves to be persuaded into hostility be Jews who came from Antioch and Iconium, so that they attacked Paul with stones, and thought they had killed him. He recovered, however as the disciples were standing around him, and went again into the city. The next day he left it with Barnabas, and went to Derbe, and thence they returned once more to Lystra, and so to Iconium and Antioch. In order to establish the churches after their departure they solemnly appointed "elders" in every city. Then they came down to the coast, and from Attalia, they sailed; home to Antioch in Syria, where they related the successes which had been granted to them, and
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The hands of the witnesses will be the first to put him to death, and after them the hands of all the people. So you are to put away the evil from among you.
And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said, Take your account straight away and put down fifty.
Driving him out of the town and stoning him: and the witnesses put their clothing at the feet of a young man named Saul.
And one of them, named Agabus, said publicly through the Spirit that there would be serious need of food all over the earth: which came about in the time of Claudius.
Now certain men came down from Judaea, teaching the brothers and saying that without circumcision, after the rule of Moses, there is no salvation. And after Paul and Barnabas had had no little argument and discussion with them, the brothers made a decision to send Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them to the Apostles and the rulers of the church at Jerusalem about this question. read more. So they, being sent on their way by the church, went through Phoenicia and Samaria, giving news of the salvation of the Gentiles, to the great joy of all the brothers. And when they came to Jerusalem, they had a meeting with the church and the Apostles and the rulers, and they gave an account of all the things which God had done through them. But some of the Pharisees, who were of the faith, got up and said, It is necessary for these to have circumcision and to keep the law of Moses. And the Apostles and the rulers of the church came together and gave thought to the question. And when there had been much discussion, Peter got up and said to them, My brothers, you have knowledge that some time back it was God's pleasure that by my mouth the good news might be given to the Gentiles so that they might have faith. And God, the searcher of hearts, was a witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit even as he did to us; Making no division between them and us, but making clean their hearts by faith. Why then are you testing God, by putting on the neck of the disciples a yoke so hard that not even our fathers or we were strong enough for it? But we have faith that we will get salvation through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way as they. And all the people were quiet while Barnabas and Paul gave an account of the signs and wonders which God had done among the Gentiles by them. And when they had come to an end, James, answering, said, My brothers, give ear to me: Symeon has given an account of how God was first pleased to take from among the Gentiles a people for himself. And this is in agreement with the words of the prophets, as it is said, After these things I will come back, and will put up the tent of David which has been broken down, building up again its broken parts and making it complete: So that the rest of men may make search for the Lord, and all the Gentiles on whom my name is named, Says the Lord, who has made these things clear from the earliest times. For this reason my decision is, that we do not put trouble in the way of those who from among the Gentiles are turned to God; But that we give them orders to keep themselves from things offered to false gods, and from the evil desires of the body, and from the flesh of animals put to death in ways against the law, and from blood. For Moses, from times long past, has his preachers in every town, reading his law in the Synagogues every Sabbath. Then it seemed good to the Apostles and the rulers and all the church, to send men from among them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; Judas, named Barsabbas, and Silas, chief men among the brothers: And they sent a letter by them, saying, The Apostles and the older brothers, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, may joy be with you: Because we have knowledge that some who went from us have been troubling you with their words, putting your souls in doubt; to whom we gave no such order; It seemed good to us, having come to an agreement together, to send these men to you, with our well loved Barnabas and Paul, Men who have given up their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so we have sent Judas and Silas, who will say the same things to you themselves, by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us, to put on you nothing more than these necessary things; To keep from things offered to false gods, and from blood, and from things put to death in ways which are against the law, and from the evil desires of the body; if you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. May you be happy.
But Paul and Barnabas kept on in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of God, with a number of others. And after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, Let us go back and see the brothers in every town where we have given the word of God, and see how they are. read more. And Barnabas had a desire to take with them John, named Mark. But Paul was of the opinion that it was not right to take with them one who had gone away from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone on with the work. And there was a sharp argument between them, so that they were parted from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and went by ship to Cyprus; But Paul took Silas and went away with the blessing of the brothers.
And suddenly there was an earth-shock, so that the base of the prison was moved: and all the doors came open, and everyone's chains came off. And the keeper, coming out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, took his sword and was about to put himself to death, fearing that the prisoners had got away. read more. But Paul said in a loud voice, Do yourself no damage, for we are all here. And he sent for lights and came rushing in and, shaking with fear, went down on his face before Paul and Silas, And took them out and said, Sirs, what have I to do to get salvation? And they said, Have faith in the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will have salvation. And they gave the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And that same hour of the night, he took them, and when he had given attention to their wounds, he and all his family had baptism straight away. And he took them into his house and gave them food, and he was full of joy, having faith in God with all his family.
After these things, he went away from Athens, and came to Corinth.
And because he was of the same trade, he was living with them, and they did their work together; for by trade they were tent-makers.
Saying, This man is teaching the people to give worship to God in a way which is against the law. But when Paul was about to say something, Gallio said to the Jews, If this was anything to do with wrongdoing or crime, there would be a reason for me to give you a hearing:
And Paul, after waiting some days, went away from the brothers and went by ship to Syria, Priscilla and Aquila being with him; and he had had his hair cut off in Cenchrea, for he had taken an oath.
And having been there for some time, he went through the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, making the disciples strong in the faith.
And when he had gone through those parts and given them much teaching, he came into Greece. And when he had been there three months, because the Jews had made a secret design against him when he was about to take ship for Syria, he made a decision to go back through Macedonia.
And when they had come, he said to them, You yourselves have seen what my life has been like all the time from the day when I first came into Asia, Doing the Lord's work without pride, through all the sorrow and troubles which came on me because of the evil designs of the Jews: read more. And how I kept back nothing which might be of profit to you, teaching you publicly and privately, Preaching to Jews and to Greeks the need for a turning of the heart to God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And now, as you see, I am going to Jerusalem, a prisoner in spirit, having no knowledge of what will come to me there: Only that the Holy Spirit makes clear to me in every town that prison and pains are waiting for me. But I put no value on my life, if only at the end of it I may see the work complete which was given to me by the Lord Jesus, to be a witness of the good news of the grace of God. And now I am conscious that you, among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom, will not see my face again. And so I say to you this day that I am clean from the blood of all men. For I have not kept back from you anything of the purpose of God. Give attention to yourselves, and to all the flock which the Holy Spirit has given into your care, to give food to the church of God, for which he gave his blood. I am conscious that after I am gone, evil wolves will come in among you, doing damage to the flock; And from among yourselves will come men who will give wrong teaching, turning away the disciples after them. So keep watch, having in mind that for three years without resting I was teaching every one of you, day and night, with weeping. And now, I give you into the care of God and the word of his grace, which is able to make you strong and to give you your heritage among all the saints. I have had no desire for any man's silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves have seen that with these hands I got what was necessary for me and those who were with me. In all things I was an example to you of how, in your lives, you are to give help to the feeble, and keep in memory the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, There is a greater blessing in giving than in getting.
And when we came to Jerusalem, the brothers were pleased to see us.
And some said one thing and some another, among the people: and as he was not able to get a knowledge of the facts because of the noise, he gave orders for Paul to be taken into the army building. And when he came on to the steps, he was lifted up by the armed men, because of the force of the people; read more. For a great mass of people came after them, crying out, Away with him! And when Paul was about to be taken into the building, he said to the chief captain, May I say something to you? And he said, Have you a knowledge of Greek? Are you by chance the Egyptian who, before this, got the people worked up against the government and took four thousand men of the Assassins out into the waste land? But Paul said, I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, which is not an unimportant town: I make a request to you to let me say a word to the people. And when he let him do so, Paul, from the steps, made a sign with his hand to the people, and when they were all quiet, he said to them in the Hebrew language,
My brothers and fathers, give ear to the story of my life which I now put before you.
And while they were crying out, and pulling off their clothing, and sending dust into the air,
But when Paul saw that half of them were Sadducees and the rest Pharisees, he said in the Sanhedrin, Brothers, I am a Pharisee, and the son of Pharisees: I am here to be judged on the question of the hope of the coming back from the dead.
By signs and wonders, in the power of the Holy Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have given all the good news of Christ;
My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. So be it.
And all the brothers who are with me, to the churches of Galatia:
And I went not up to Jerusalem to those who were Apostles before me; but I went away into Arabia, and again I came back to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Cephas, and was there with him fifteen days.
But you have knowledge that with a feeble body I was preaching the good news to you the first time; And you did not have a poor opinion of me because of the trouble in my flesh, or put shame on it; but you took me to your hearts as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. read more. Where then is that happy condition of yours? because I give you witness, that, if possible, you would have taken out your eyes and given them to me.
In which I put up with the hardest conditions, even prison chains, like one who has done a crime; but the word of God is not in chains.
Watsons
PAUL was born at Tarsus, the principal city of Cilicia, and was by birth both a Jew and a citizen of Rome, Ac 21:39; 22:25. He was of the tribe of Benjamin, and of the sect of the Pharisees, Php 3:5. In his youth he appears to have been taught the art of tent making, Ac 18:3; but we must remember that among the Jews of those days a liberal education was often, accompanied by instruction in some mechanical trade. It is probable that St. Paul laid the foundation of those literary attainments, for which he was so eminent in the future part of his life, at his native city of Tarsus; and he afterward studied the law of Moses, and the traditions of the elders, at Jerusalem, under Gamaliel, a celebrated rabbi, Ac 22:4. St. Paul is not mentioned in the Gospels; nor is it known whether he ever heard our Saviour preach, or saw him perform any miracle. His name first occurs in the account given in the Acts of the martyrdom of St. Stephen, A.D. 34, to which he is said to have consented, Ac 8:1: he is upon that occasion called a young man; but we are no where informed what was then his precise age. The death of St. Stephen was followed by a severe persecution of the church at Jerusalem, and St. Paul became distinguished among its enemies by his activity and violence, Ac 8:3. Not contented with displaying his hatred to the Gospel in Judea, he obtained authority from the high priest to go to Damascus, and to bring back with him bound any Christians whom he might find in that city. As he was upon his journey thither, A.D. 35, his miraculous conversion took place, the circumstances of which are recorded in Acts ix, and are frequently alluded to in his epistles, 1Co 15:9; Ga 1:13; 1Ti 1:12-13.
Soon after St. Paul was baptized at Damascus, he went into Arabia; but we are not informed how long he remained there. He returned to Damascus; and being supernaturally qualified to be a preacher of the Gospel, he immediately entered upon his ministry in that city. The boldness and success with which he enforced the truths of Christianity so irritated the unbelieving Jews, that they resolved to put him to death, Ac 9:23; but, this design being known, the disciples conveyed him privately out of Damascus, and he went to Jerusalem, A.D. 38. The Christians of Jerusalem, remembering St. Paul's former hostility to the Gospel, and having no authentic account of any change in his sentiments or conduct, at first refused to receive him; but being assured by Barnabas of St. Paul's real conversion, and of his exertions at Damascus, they acknowledged him as a disciple, Ac 9:27. He remained only fifteen days among them, Ga 1:18; and he saw none of the Apostles except St. Peter and St. James. It is probable that the other Apostles were at this time absent from Jerusalem, exercising their ministry at different places. The zeal with which St. Paul preached at Jerusalem had the same effect as at Damascus: he became so obnoxious to the Hellenistic Jews, that they began to consider how they might kill him, Ac 9:29; which when the brethren knew, they thought it right that he should leave the city. They accompanied him to Caesarea, and thence he went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, where he preached the faith which once he destroyed, Ga 1:21,23.
Hitherto the preaching of St. Paul, as well as of the other Apostles and teachers, had been confined to the Jews; but the conversion of Cornelius, the first Gentile convert, A.D. 40, having convinced all the Apostles that "to the Gentiles, also, God had granted repentance unto life," St. Paul was soon after conducted by Barnabas from Tarsus, which had probably been the principal place of his residence since he left Jerusalem, and they both began to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles at Antioch, A.D. 42, Ac 11:25. Their preaching was attended with great success. The first Gentile church was now established at Antioch; and in that city, and at this time, the disciples were first called Christians, Ac 11:26. When these two Apostles had been thus employed about a year, a prophet called Agabus predicted an approaching famine, which would affect the whole land of Judea. Upon the prospect of this calamity, the Christians of Antioch made a contribution for their brethren in Judea, and sent the money to the elders at Jerusalem by St. Paul and Barnabas, A.D. 44, Ac 11:28, &c. This famine happened soon after in the fourth or fifth year of the Emperor Claudius. It is supposed that St. Paul had the vision, mentioned in Ac 22:17, while he was now at Jerusalem this second time after his conversion.
St. Paul and Barnabas, having executed their commission, returned to Antioch; and soon after their arrival in that city they were separated, by the express direction of the Holy Ghost, from the other Christian teachers and prophets, for the purpose of carrying the glad tidings of the Gospel to the Gentiles of various countries, Ac 13:1. Thus divinely appointed to this important office, they set out from Antioch, A.D. 45, and preached the Gospel successively at Salamis and Paphos, two cities of the isle of Cyprus, at Perga in Pamphylia, Antioch in Pisidia, and at Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, three cities of Lycaonia. They returned to Antioch in Syria, A.D. 47, nearly by the same route. This first apostolical journey of St. Paul, in which he was accompanied and assisted by Barnabas, is supposed to have occupied about two years; and in the course of it many, both Jews and Gentiles, were converted to the Gospel.
Paul and Barnabas continued at Antioch a considerable time; and while they were there, a dispute arose between them and some Jewish Christians of Judea. These men asserted, that the Gentile converts could not obtain salvation through the Gospel, unless they were circumcised; Paul and Barnabas maintained the contrary opinion, Ac 15:1-2. This dispute was carried on for some time with great earnestness; and it being a question in which not only the present but all future Gentile converts were concerned, it was thought right that St. Paul and Barnabas, with some others, should go up to Jerusalem to consult the Apostles and elders concerning it. They passed through Phenicia and Samaria, and upon their arrival at Jerusalem, A.D. 49, a council was assembled for the purpose of discussing this important point, Ga 2:1. St. Peter and St. James the less were present, and delivered their sentiments, which coincided with those of St. Paul and Barnabas; and after much deliberation it was agreed, that neither circumcision, nor conformity to any part of the ritual law of Moses, was necessary in Gentile converts; but that it should be recommended to them to abstain from certain specified things prohibited by that law, lest their indulgence in them should give offence to their brethren of the circumcision, who were still very zealous for the observance of the ceremonial part of their ancient religion. This decision, which was declared to have the sanction of the Holy Ghost, was communicated to the Gentile Christians of Syria and Cilicia, by a letter written in the name of the Apostles, elders, and whole church at Jerusalem, and conveyed by Judas and Silas, who accompanied St. Paul and Barnabas to Antioch for that purpose.
St. Paul, having preached a short time at Antioch, proposed to Barnabas that they should visit the churches which they had founded in different cities, Ac 15:36. Barnabas readily consented; but while they were preparing for the journey, there arose a disagreement between them, which ended in their separation. In consequence of this dispute with Barnabas, St. Paul chose Silas for his companion, and they set out together from Antioch, A.D. 50. They travelled through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches, and then came to Derbe and Lystra, Acts 16. Thence they went through Phrygia and Galatia; and, being desirous of going into Asia Propria, or the Proconsular Asia, they were forbidden by the Holy Ghost. They therefore went into Mysia; and, not being permitted by the Holy Ghost to go into Bithynia as they had intended, they went to Troas. While St. Paul was there, a vision appeared to him in the night: "There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Ma
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And Saul gave approval to his death. Now at that time a violent attack was started against the church in Jerusalem; and all but the Apostles went away into all parts of Judaea and Samaria.
But Saul was burning with hate against the church, going into every house and taking men and women and putting them in prison.
But Saul, still burning with desire to put to death the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest,
Then, after some days, the Jews made an agreement together to put him to death:
But Barnabas took him to the Apostles and gave them an account of how he had seen the Lord on the road, and had given hearing to his words, and how at Damascus he had been preaching in the name of Jesus without fear.
Preaching in the name of the Lord without fear; and he had discussions with the Greek Jews; but they were working for his death.
Then he went on to Tarsus, looking for Saul; And when he had come across him, he took him to Antioch. And they were with the church there for a year, teaching the people; and the disciples were first given the name of Christians in Antioch.
And one of them, named Agabus, said publicly through the Spirit that there would be serious need of food all over the earth: which came about in the time of Claudius.
Now there were at Antioch, in the church there, prophets and teachers, Barnabas, and Symeon who was named Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, a relation of Herod the king, and Saul.
Now certain men came down from Judaea, teaching the brothers and saying that without circumcision, after the rule of Moses, there is no salvation. And after Paul and Barnabas had had no little argument and discussion with them, the brothers made a decision to send Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them to the Apostles and the rulers of the church at Jerusalem about this question.
And after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, Let us go back and see the brothers in every town where we have given the word of God, and see how they are.
And because he was of the same trade, he was living with them, and they did their work together; for by trade they were tent-makers.
But Paul said, I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, which is not an unimportant town: I make a request to you to let me say a word to the people.
And I made attacks on this Way, even to death, taking men and women and putting them in prison.
And it came about that when I had come back to Jerusalem, while I was at prayer in the Temple, my senses became more than naturally clear,
And when they had put leather bands round him, Paul said to the captain who was present, Is it the law for you to give blows to a man who is a Roman and has not been judged?
For this reason God gave them up to evil passions, and their women were changing the natural use into one which is unnatural: And in the same way the men gave up the natural use of the woman and were burning in their desire for one another, men doing shame with men, and getting in their bodies the right reward of their evil-doing. read more. And because they had not the mind to keep God in their knowledge, God gave them up to an evil mind, to do those things which are not right; Being full of all wrongdoing, evil, desire for the goods of others, hate, envy, putting to death, fighting, deceit, cruel ways, evil talk, and false statements about others; Hated by God, full of pride, without respect, full of loud talk, given to evil inventions, not honouring father or mother, Without knowledge, not true to their undertakings, unkind, having no mercy: Who, though they have knowledge of the law of God, that the fate of those who do these things is death, not only go on doing these things themselves, but give approval to those who do them.
You who give teaching to others, do you give it to yourself? you who say that a man may not take what is not his, do you take what is not yours? You who say that a man may not be untrue to his wife, are you true to yours? you who are a hater of images, do you do wrong to the house of God? read more. You who take pride in the law, are you doing wrong to the honour of God by behaviour which is against the law? For the name of God is shamed among the Gentiles because of you, as it is said in the holy Writings.
Because those of whom he had knowledge before they came into existence, were marked out by him to be made like his Son, so that he might be the first among a band of brothers: And those who were marked out by him were named; and those who were named were given righteousness; and to those to whom he gave righteousness, in the same way he gave glory.
If I make use of the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am like sounding brass, or a loud-tongued bell. And if I have a prophet's power, and have knowledge of all secret things; and if I have all faith, by which mountains may be moved from their place, but have not love, I am nothing. read more. And if I give all my goods to the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it is of no profit to me. Love is never tired of waiting; love is kind; love has no envy; love has no high opinion of itself, love has no pride; Love's ways are ever fair, it takes no thought for itself; it is not quickly made angry, it takes no account of evil; It takes no pleasure in wrongdoing, but has joy in what is true; Love has the power of undergoing all things, having faith in all things, hoping all things. Though the prophet's word may come to an end, tongues come to nothing, and knowledge have no more value, love has no end. For our knowledge is only in part, and the prophet's word gives only a part of what is true: But when that which is complete is come, then that which is in part will be no longer necessary.
For I am the least of the Apostles, having no right to be named an Apostle, because of my cruel attacks on the church of God.
Now when I came to Troas for the good news of Christ, and there was an open door for me in the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit because Titus my brother was not there: so I went away from them, and came into Macedonia.
And now we give you news, brothers, about the grace of God which has been given to the churches of Macedonia;
I gave orders to Titus, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus make any profit out of you? were we not guided by the same Spirit, in the same ways?
For news has come to you of my way of life in the past in the Jews' religion, how I was cruel without measure to the church of God, and did great damage to it:
Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Cephas, and was there with him fifteen days.
Only it came to their ears that he who at one time was cruel to us is now preaching the faith which before had been attacked by him;
Then after the space of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus with me.
There is one body and one Spirit, even as you have been marked out by God in the one hope of his purpose for you; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, read more. One God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all. But to every one of us has grace been given in the measure of the giving of Christ.
But evil acts of the flesh and all unclean things, or desire for others' property, let it not even be named among you, as is right for saints; And let there be no low behaviour, or foolish talk, or words said in sport, which are not right, but in place of them the giving of praise. read more. Being certain of this, that no man who gives way to the passions of the flesh, no unclean person, or one who has desire for the property of others, or who gives worship to images, has any heritage in the kingdom of Christ and God. Do not be turned from the right way by foolish words; for because of these things the punishment of God comes on those who do not put themselves under him.
Being given circumcision on the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in relation to the law, a Pharisee:
All the saints send their love to you, specially those who are of Caesar's house.
And I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may have news of how we are, and so that he may give your hearts comfort; And with him I have sent Onesimus, the true and well-loved brother, who is one of you. They will give you word of everything which is taking place here. read more. Aristarchus, my brother-prisoner, sends his love to you, and Mark, a relation of Barnabas (about whom you have been given orders: if he comes to you, be kind to him), And Jesus, whose other name is Justus; these are of the circumcision: they are my only brother-workers for the kingdom of God, who have been a comfort to me. Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his love, ever taking thought for you in his prayers, that you may be complete and fully certain of all the purpose of God.
One of their prophets has said, The men of Crete are ever false, evil beasts, lovers of food, hating work. This witness is true. So say sharp words to them so that they may come to the right faith,
Make clear to them that they are to put themselves under rulers and authorities, to do what they are ordered, to be ready for every good work, To say no evil of any man, not to be fighters, to give way to others, to be gentle in behaviour to all men. read more. For in the past we were foolish, hard in heart, turned from the true way, servants of evil desires and pleasures, living in bad feeling and envy, hated and hating one another.
For in the past we were foolish, hard in heart, turned from the true way, servants of evil desires and pleasures, living in bad feeling and envy, hated and hating one another. But when the mercy of God our Saviour, and his love to man was seen,
But when the mercy of God our Saviour, and his love to man was seen, Not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but in the measure of his mercy, he gave us salvation, through the washing of the new birth and the giving of new life in the Holy Spirit,