Lesson 4 - Paul The Apostle
Lesson 4
PAUL THE APOSTLE
Portion: Act. 7:58, 9:31, 22:1-24
Memory verse: Gal. 2:19,20
For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Objective: To understand that Jesus can transfer His enemy, to make him His friend.
Introduction: Paul, who is known as the great apostles of the Gentiles, is the most important character in the New Testament, after Jesus Christ. We see him in the bible with 2 names - Saul, his Hebrew name, and Paul, his Roman name (Greek name). Paul means 'the small.' The epistles of Paul are the backbone of the Christian doctrine. The speeches of Paul silenced the philosophers, Polytheists, atheists, etc.. of his time and led many to Christ.
Christianity was limited to Palestine during the conversion of Paul. At the time of Paul's death, Christianity spread in all the regions around the Mediterranean Sea. How did Saul, who persecuted the church, become the most zealous advocate of Christianity? It was the transforming power of Christ. The same power of Christ is available today, also, without any measure.
Birth and Childhood
Paul was born in the first part of the first century AD, as a Roman citizen, in Tarsus, which is in Cilicia, which is a Greek city in the Asia Minor. Even though he was born in a Greek city, he was a pure Jew, his father belonged to the tribe of Benjamin and was a Pharisee. Paul was brought up in the same tradition. After primary education, he was sent to Jerusalem for higher studies at the age of 13. Gamaliel was a great scholar and administrator at the time.
Paul's conversion ( Act. 7:58, 9:1-18, Chapter 22,24)
The church multiplied daily, after the ascension of Christ to heaven, due to the witnessing of the disciples, which was followed by signs and wonders. The church selected 7 men, full of the spirit and wisdom, to look after the internal problems in the church. One of them was Stephen, he was full of power and grace and did many wonders among the people. Stephen means crown.
Jews arose against him and tied him, and brought him before the council for trial. None of the Jews could stand before his wisdom and spirit. Paul was a witness to his trial, and later, when he was killed, he had the clothes of the murderers with him. Paul was around 30 years old then. He decided to completely destroy the followers of this new religion. After the death of Stephen, the believers scattered and went to neighboring nations. Saul started to hunt the Christians.
Soul heard that there were some Christians in Damascus, the capital of Syria, which was 133 miles away from Jerusalem. Saul went to Damascus with his friends, to arrest the Christians, with an authorization letter from the government to the governor of Damascus. The Jewish priest was given the authority to provide consent for such a thing in territories under the Roman Empire.
Saul reached the gate of Damascus, but there Jesus miraculously appeared to him. He fell from his horse and went blind. This incident occurred when he was 32 years old. From there, he went to Ananias, a servant of God, and he led him to salvation.
Thus Saul, who was the enemy of the cross, became the greatest witness of the cross of Christ. What pains God the most? It is the suffering of the Saints. A person of any religion can become a Christian. There is no tradition in Christ. Everyone should recognize Jesus as his or her own Saviour.
The converted Saul: (Galatians 1:17,18, Acts 9: 19-31)
After his conversion, Saul started to preach in the Jewish synagogues of Damascus, that Jesus is the Messiah. The Jews plotted to kill him. But the disciples took him by night and let him down through the city wall in a large basket.
Later paul lived a solitary life for 3 years in Arabia ( Gala. 1:17). There he thought about the vision. He has his future plans. Some think that he was preparing himself for doing God's will. After that, he came back to Jerusalem. In the third year of his journey to destroy the Christians, Paul himself became a Christian. He stayed there for 2 weeks, first with Peter and then with James, the brother of the Lord. Barnabas, belonging to Cyprus Island, introduced Paul to the apostles. From then onwards, Paul and Barnabas became co-workers. Saul preached in synagogues that Jesus was the Christ. The opposition from the Jews grew stronger. They were waiting for an opportunity to kill him. When the brethren found out the plot, they brought him down to Caesarea; and send him to his hometown Tarsus. Thus the church in Jerusalem had peace. It is believed that in Tarsus Saul lead many of his friends to Jesus
Saul at Antioch : ( Acts 11:20-30)
Some of the Christian who scattered, fearing Jews came to Antioch and preached the gospel to the Hellenists ( Greek). Many of them believed and turned to God. The news of these things came to the apostles in the church of Jerusalem, about 300 miles away from Antioch. Apostles sent Barnabas to Antioch and he encouraged the believers in Antioch and established the believers in Antioch and established them in the doctrine. 
From Antioch, Barnabas went to Taurus, in search of Saul. From Tarsus, he brought Saul along with him to Antioch. They stayed in Antioch for one year and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called the Christians in Antioch during this time. Whoever believes in Jesus, whether a Jew or a gentile, has only one name the greatest of all name for us the Christian. The church in Antioch sent material help to the church in Jerusalem, in the hands of Paul and Barnabas. In the early days of the Church, the believers in Jerusalem sold all things they had and divided it among themselves. This led to many difficulties for them in the future. Paul is seen during his journeys gathering money for the help of the church in Jerusalem. From Jerusalem, they returned to Antioch, along with Mark, a cousin of Barnabas.
Comments
Post a Comment