Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Paul » Called to be an apostle
Paul, called to be an Apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God--and our brother Sosthenes:
Paul, an Apostle sent not from men nor by any man, but by Jesus Christ and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from among the dead--
But when He who set me apart even from my birth, and called me by His grace, saw fit to reveal His Son within me in order that I might tell among the Gentiles the Good News concerning Him, at once I did not confer with any human being,
Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an Apostle, set apart to proclaim God's Good News,
Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God: To God's people who are in Ephesus--believers in Christ Jesus.
Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God our Saviour and Christ Jesus our hope:
Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, for proclaiming the promise of the Life which is in Christ Jesus:
and of which I have been appointed a herald and an Apostle (I am speaking the truth: it is not a fiction)
Paul, a bondservant of God and an Apostle of Jesus Christ for building up the faith of God's own people and spreading a full knowledge of the truths of religion,
For I am the least of the Apostles, and am not fit to be called an Apostle--because I persecuted the Church of God.
And at the appointed time He clearly made known His Message in the preaching with which I was entrusted by the command of God our Saviour:
of which I have been appointed a preacher, Apostle and teacher, to the Gentiles.
Then he said, 'The God of our forefathers has appointed you to know His will, and to see the righteous One and hear Him speak. For you shall be a witness for Him, to all men, of what you have seen and heard. And now why delay? Rise, get yourself baptized, and wash off your sins, calling upon His name.' read more.
"After my return to Jerusalem, and while praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance. I saw Jesus, and He said to me, "'Make haste and leave Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.' "'Lord,' I replied, 'they themselves well know how active I was in imprisoning, and in flogging in synagogue after synagogue those who believe in Thee; and when they were shedding the blood of Stephen, Thy witness, I was standing by, fully approving of it, and I held the clothes of those who were killing him.' "'Go,' He replied; 'I will send you as an Apostle to nations far away.'"
"After my return to Jerusalem, and while praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance. I saw Jesus, and He said to me, "'Make haste and leave Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.' "'Lord,' I replied, 'they themselves well know how active I was in imprisoning, and in flogging in synagogue after synagogue those who believe in Thee; and when they were shedding the blood of Stephen, Thy witness, I was standing by, fully approving of it, and I held the clothes of those who were killing him.' "'Go,' He replied; 'I will send you as an Apostle to nations far away.'"
But rise, and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for the very purpose of appointing you My servant and My witness both as to the things you have already seen and as to those in which I will appear to you. I will save you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the obedience to Satan to God, in order to receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified through faith in Me.'
Am I not free? Am I not an Apostle? Can it be denied that I have seen Jesus, our Lord? Are not you yourselves my work in the Lord? If to other men I am not an Apostle, yet at any rate I am one to you; for your very existence as a Christian Church is the seal of my Apostleship.
Paul » Sent to the gentiles
While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me, now at once, Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I have called them." So, after fasting and prayer and the laying on of hands, they let them go.
that I should be a minister of Christ Jesus among the Gentiles, doing priestly duties in connexion with God's Good News so that the sacrifice--namely the Gentiles--may be acceptable to Him, being (as it is)
But when He who set me apart even from my birth, and called me by His grace, saw fit to reveal His Son within me in order that I might tell among the Gentiles the Good News concerning Him, at once I did not confer with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were my seniors in the Apostleship, but I went away into Arabia, and afterwards came back to Damascus. read more.
Then, three years later, I went up to Jerusalem to inquire for Peter, and I spent a fortnight with him. I saw none of the other Apostles, except James, the Lord's brother. In making these assertions I am speaking the truth, as in the sight of God. Afterwards I visited Syria and Cilicia. But to the Christian Churches in Judaea I was personally unknown. They only heard it said, "He who was once our persecutor is now telling the Good News of the faith of which he formerly made havoc." And they gave glory to God on my account.
Then, three years later, I went up to Jerusalem to inquire for Peter, and I spent a fortnight with him. I saw none of the other Apostles, except James, the Lord's brother. In making these assertions I am speaking the truth, as in the sight of God. Afterwards I visited Syria and Cilicia. But to the Christian Churches in Judaea I was personally unknown. They only heard it said, "He who was once our persecutor is now telling the Good News of the faith of which he formerly made havoc." And they gave glory to God on my account.
But to you Gentiles I say that, since I am an Apostle specially sent to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry,
For such is the Lord's command to us. "'I have placed Thee,' He says of Christ, 'as a light to the Gentiles, in order that Thou mayest be a Saviour as far as the remotest parts of the earth.'" The Gentiles listened with delight and extolled the Lord's Message; and all who were pre-destined to the Life of the Ages believed.
"After my return to Jerusalem, and while praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance. I saw Jesus, and He said to me, "'Make haste and leave Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.' "'Lord,' I replied, 'they themselves well know how active I was in imprisoning, and in flogging in synagogue after synagogue those who believe in Thee; read more.
and when they were shedding the blood of Stephen, Thy witness, I was standing by, fully approving of it, and I held the clothes of those who were killing him.' "'Go,' He replied; 'I will send you as an Apostle to nations far away.'"
and when they were shedding the blood of Stephen, Thy witness, I was standing by, fully approving of it, and I held the clothes of those who were killing him.' "'Go,' He replied; 'I will send you as an Apostle to nations far away.'"
Paul » His defense
Then the Tribune, making his way to him, arrested him, and, having ordered him to be secured with two chains, proceeded to ask who he was and what he had been doing. Some of the crowd shouted one accusation against Paul and some another, until, as the uproar made it impossible for the truth to be ascertained with certainty, the Tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks. When Paul was going up the steps, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob; read more.
for the whole mass of the people pressed on in the rear, shouting, "Away with him!" When he was about to be taken into the barracks, Paul said to the Tribune, "May I speak to you?" "Do you know Greek?" the Tribune asked. "Are you not the Egyptian who some years ago excited the riot of the 4,000 cut-throats, and led them out into the Desert?" "I am a Jew," replied Paul, "belonging to Tarsus in Cilicia, and am a citizen of no unimportant city. Give me leave, I pray you, to speak to the people." So with his permission Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand to the people to be quiet; and when there was perfect silence he addressed them in Hebrew.
for the whole mass of the people pressed on in the rear, shouting, "Away with him!" When he was about to be taken into the barracks, Paul said to the Tribune, "May I speak to you?" "Do you know Greek?" the Tribune asked. "Are you not the Egyptian who some years ago excited the riot of the 4,000 cut-throats, and led them out into the Desert?" "I am a Jew," replied Paul, "belonging to Tarsus in Cilicia, and am a citizen of no unimportant city. Give me leave, I pray you, to speak to the people." So with his permission Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand to the people to be quiet; and when there was perfect silence he addressed them in Hebrew.
"Brethren and fathers," he said, "listen to my defence which I now make before you." And on hearing him address them in Hebrew, they kept all the more quiet; and he said, "I am a Jew, born at Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I was carefully trained at the feet of Gamaliel in the Law of our forefathers, and, like all of you to-day, was zealous for God. read more.
I persecuted to death this new faith, continually binding both men and women and throwing them into prison; as the High Priest also and all the Elders can bear me witness. It was, too, from them that I received letters to the brethren in Damascus, and I was already on my way to Damascus, intending to bring those also who had fled there, in chains to Jerusalem, to be punished. "But on my way, when I was now not far from Damascus, about noon a sudden blaze of light from Heaven shone round me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, "'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?' "'Who art thou, Lord?' I asked. "'I am Jesus, the Nazarene,' He replied, 'whom you are persecuting.' "Now the men who were with me, though they saw the light, did not hear the words of Him who spoke to me. And I asked, "'What am I to do, Lord?' "And the Lord said to me, "'Rise, and go into Damascus. There you shall be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.' "And as I could not see because the light had been so dazzling, those who were with me had to lead me by the arm, and so I came to Damascus. "And a certain Ananias, a pious man who obeyed the Law and bore a good character with all the Jews of the city, came to me and standing at my side said, "'Brother Saul, recover your sight.' "I instantly regained my sight and looked up at him. Then he said, 'The God of our forefathers has appointed you to know His will, and to see the righteous One and hear Him speak. For you shall be a witness for Him, to all men, of what you have seen and heard. And now why delay? Rise, get yourself baptized, and wash off your sins, calling upon His name.' "After my return to Jerusalem, and while praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance. I saw Jesus, and He said to me, "'Make haste and leave Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.' "'Lord,' I replied, 'they themselves well know how active I was in imprisoning, and in flogging in synagogue after synagogue those who believe in Thee; and when they were shedding the blood of Stephen, Thy witness, I was standing by, fully approving of it, and I held the clothes of those who were killing him.' "'Go,' He replied; 'I will send you as an Apostle to nations far away.'"
I persecuted to death this new faith, continually binding both men and women and throwing them into prison; as the High Priest also and all the Elders can bear me witness. It was, too, from them that I received letters to the brethren in Damascus, and I was already on my way to Damascus, intending to bring those also who had fled there, in chains to Jerusalem, to be punished. "But on my way, when I was now not far from Damascus, about noon a sudden blaze of light from Heaven shone round me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, "'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?' "'Who art thou, Lord?' I asked. "'I am Jesus, the Nazarene,' He replied, 'whom you are persecuting.' "Now the men who were with me, though they saw the light, did not hear the words of Him who spoke to me. And I asked, "'What am I to do, Lord?' "And the Lord said to me, "'Rise, and go into Damascus. There you shall be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.' "And as I could not see because the light had been so dazzling, those who were with me had to lead me by the arm, and so I came to Damascus. "And a certain Ananias, a pious man who obeyed the Law and bore a good character with all the Jews of the city, came to me and standing at my side said, "'Brother Saul, recover your sight.' "I instantly regained my sight and looked up at him. Then he said, 'The God of our forefathers has appointed you to know His will, and to see the righteous One and hear Him speak. For you shall be a witness for Him, to all men, of what you have seen and heard. And now why delay? Rise, get yourself baptized, and wash off your sins, calling upon His name.' "After my return to Jerusalem, and while praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance. I saw Jesus, and He said to me, "'Make haste and leave Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.' "'Lord,' I replied, 'they themselves well know how active I was in imprisoning, and in flogging in synagogue after synagogue those who believe in Thee; and when they were shedding the blood of Stephen, Thy witness, I was standing by, fully approving of it, and I held the clothes of those who were killing him.' "'Go,' He replied; 'I will send you as an Apostle to nations far away.'"
Stephen » Stoned
And Saul fully approved of his murder. At this time a great persecution broke out against the Church in Jerusalem, and all except the Apostles were scattered throughout Judaea and Samaria.
As they listened to these words, they became infuriated and gnashed their teeth at him. But, full of the Holy Spirit and looking up to Heaven, Stephen saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God's right hand. "I can see Heaven wide open," he said, "and the Son of Man standing at God's right hand." read more.
Upon this, with a loud outcry they stopped their ears, rushed upon Stephen in a body, dragged him out of the city, and stoned him, the witnesses throwing off their outer garments and giving them into the care of a young man called Saul. So they stoned Stephen, while he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then, rising on his knees, he cried aloud, "Lord, do not reckon this sin against them." And with these words he fell asleep.
Upon this, with a loud outcry they stopped their ears, rushed upon Stephen in a body, dragged him out of the city, and stoned him, the witnesses throwing off their outer garments and giving them into the care of a young man called Saul. So they stoned Stephen, while he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then, rising on his knees, he cried aloud, "Lord, do not reckon this sin against them." And with these words he fell asleep.
and when they were shedding the blood of Stephen, Thy witness, I was standing by, fully approving of it, and I held the clothes of those who were killing him.'
Temple » Herod the great's temple » Paul's vision in
"After my return to Jerusalem, and while praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance. I saw Jesus, and He said to me, "'Make haste and leave Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.' "'Lord,' I replied, 'they themselves well know how active I was in imprisoning, and in flogging in synagogue after synagogue those who believe in Thee; read more.
and when they were shedding the blood of Stephen, Thy witness, I was standing by, fully approving of it, and I held the clothes of those who were killing him.' "'Go,' He replied; 'I will send you as an Apostle to nations far away.'"
and when they were shedding the blood of Stephen, Thy witness, I was standing by, fully approving of it, and I held the clothes of those who were killing him.' "'Go,' He replied; 'I will send you as an Apostle to nations far away.'"
Vision » Of balaam » In a trance
"After my return to Jerusalem, and while praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance. I saw Jesus, and He said to me, "'Make haste and leave Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.' "'Lord,' I replied, 'they themselves well know how active I was in imprisoning, and in flogging in synagogue after synagogue those who believe in Thee; read more.
and when they were shedding the blood of Stephen, Thy witness, I was standing by, fully approving of it, and I held the clothes of those who were killing him.' "'Go,' He replied; 'I will send you as an Apostle to nations far away.'"
and when they were shedding the blood of Stephen, Thy witness, I was standing by, fully approving of it, and I held the clothes of those who were killing him.' "'Go,' He replied; 'I will send you as an Apostle to nations far away.'"
Vision » Of paul » In a trance
"After my return to Jerusalem, and while praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance. I saw Jesus, and He said to me, "'Make haste and leave Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.' "'Lord,' I replied, 'they themselves well know how active I was in imprisoning, and in flogging in synagogue after synagogue those who believe in Thee; read more.
and when they were shedding the blood of Stephen, Thy witness, I was standing by, fully approving of it, and I held the clothes of those who were killing him.' "'Go,' He replied; 'I will send you as an Apostle to nations far away.'"
and when they were shedding the blood of Stephen, Thy witness, I was standing by, fully approving of it, and I held the clothes of those who were killing him.' "'Go,' He replied; 'I will send you as an Apostle to nations far away.'"