77 Bible Verses about Paul, Apostle To Gentiles

But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood,

Now as he journeyed he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,read more.
but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do." The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul got up from the ground; and when his eyes were opened, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." And the Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight." But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints at Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name." But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." So Ananias departed and entered the house. And after laying his hands on him said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight. And he got up and was baptized, and he took food and was strengthened. Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus.

"As I made my journey and drew near to Damascus, about noon a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' And I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.'read more.
And those who were with me saw the light, but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. And I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.' But since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus. "A certain Ananias, a devout man according to the Law, and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me, and standing near said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very time I looked up at him. Then he said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard. Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.'

"On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'read more.
And I said, 'Who are you, Lord?' And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness to the things which you have seen of me, and also to the things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?

and when they perceived the grace that was given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.

And he said to me, 'Go; for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'"

For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit, so that from Jerusalem and as far round as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. And so I have made it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on another man's foundation,read more.
but as it is written: "They shall see who have not been told of him, and those who have not heard shall understand."

But we will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field God has apportioned to us, a field that reaches even to you. For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we did not reach to you; we were the first to come even as far as you with the gospel of Christ. We do not go beyond limits by boasting in other men's labors, but our hope is that as your faith grows, our sphere among you may be greatly enlarged,read more.
so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast of work already done in another man's territory.

Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things;

For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion. For woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!

I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish: so I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men; but what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not again commending ourselves to you, but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you may have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.read more.
For the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died.

nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a mother nursing her little children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.read more.
For you remember our labor and toil, brethren; we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we preached to you the gospel of God.

This is my defense to those who would examine me. Do we not have the right to food and drink? Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?read more.
Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Does not the Law say the same thing? For it is written in the Law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Or is he speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others share this right of support from you, do not we all the more? Nevertheless, we did not make use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living from the gospel. But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion. For woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if it is not of my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me. What then is my reward? Just this: that in my preaching I may offer the gospel free of charge, and so not make full use of my right in the gospel.

For in what respect were you inferior to the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not become a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!

For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.

I am speaking the truth in Christ, I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.

For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews; to those under the law I became as one under the lawthough not being myself under the lawso that I might win those under the law. To those who are without law, I became as one without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without the law.read more.
To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, so that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Now I want you to know, brethren, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that my imprisonment for Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have been encouraged to speak the word of God without fear.read more.
Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, but thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be ashamed in anything, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I do not know. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.

And to keep me from being too elated because of the abundance of revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should depart from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.read more.
That is why, for Christ's sake, I am content in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;read more.
always carrying about in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. But as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, distresses, in beatings, imprisonments, tumults, labors, sleeplessness, hunger,read more.
in purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in truthful speech, and in the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through glory and dishonor, evil report and good report; true, yet regarded as impostors; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

To my shame, I must say that we were too weak for that! But whatever anyone else dares to boast aboutI am speaking as a foolI also dare to boast about. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better oneI am talking like a madmanin far more labors, in far more imprisonments, with more beatings, and often in danger of death.read more.
Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the open sea. I have been on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, in danger from robbers, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the wilderness, in danger at sea, and in danger from false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Besides such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I do not inwardly burn?

I have been a fool! You forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you. For I was not in the least inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing. The signs of a true apostle were performed among you in all perseverance, with signs and wonders and mighty works.

When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet, named Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.read more.
But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, "You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not stop making crooked the straight ways of the Lord? Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time." And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking someone to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had happened, for he was amazed at the teaching of the Lord.

God did extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and diseases left them and the evil spirits went out.

For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit, so that from Jerusalem and as far round as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

For we know, brethren beloved by God, that he has chosen you; for our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.

that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Therefore we are always of good courage; and we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.read more.
So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be ashamed in anything, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I do not know.read more.
I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that through his poverty you might become rich.

We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me."

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.read more.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to deatheven death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him, and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

I do not write this to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you, be imitators of me.read more.
For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church.

Not that I have already obtained this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brethren, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.read more.
Let those of us who are mature have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who live according to the pattern you have in us.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who is living in idleness and not according to the tradition which you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you.read more.
We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves an example for you to follow.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share for the sake of his body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions.

For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings that we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.read more.
For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;read more.
always carrying about in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is at work in us, but life in you.

From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

For our boast is this: the testimony of our conscience, that with holiness and godly sincerity, not in worldly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and still more toward you.

From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. And when they came to him, he said to them: "You yourselves know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews;read more.
how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

For we are not, like so many, peddling the word of God; but as men of sincerity, as from God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless we behaved toward you believers; for you know how, as a father with his own children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to live a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge? I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so.read more.
As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia. Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!

Here for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden to you, for I seek not what is yours but you; for children ought not to lay up for their parents, but parents for their children. I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you the more, am I to be loved the less?

and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we do for you,

We give thanks to God always for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers;

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last find the way to come to you.

For this reason, ever since I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him.read more.
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of his might

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and may fulfill every good resolve and work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Brethren, pray for us.

Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God's will I may come to you with joy, and together with you be refreshed.

and also pray for me, that in the opening of my mouth, utterance may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

We are therefore ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his appeal through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

And so I have made it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on another man's foundation,

According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it.

What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord assigned to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.read more.
Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

for you know how, as a father with his own children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to live a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you

nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a mother nursing her little children.

For, I think that God has exhibited us apostles last of all, like men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to the one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. And who is sufficient for these things?

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth which leads to godliness,

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

Follow the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure that has been entrusted to you.