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Philippians
1:1,2; 1Paul and Timothy,
bond-servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in
Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons: 2Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
A. Saul of Tarsus the Hebrew
Saul was born as a contemporary of our
Lord. Saul was his Jewish
name. He may have been given the name Paul to equip him for the Gentile
world in Tarsus, the capitol of Cilicia a Roman Province.
Its location in Southeast Asia Minor on a river made it a port city
distinguished by the wealth of its trade. We learn a lot about him from
his own account.
& A
Pharisee from the tribe of Benjamin
Philippians 3:4b,5; If anyone else has a mind
to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth
day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of
Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee;
& Educated
in Jerusalem in Jewish Law
Acts 22:3 “I am a Jew, born in
Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel,
strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just
as you all are today.
& A
Roman Citizen
Acts
22:37 But Paul said to them,
“They have beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, and
have thrown us into prison; and now are they sending us away secretly? No
indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out.”
& A
Persecutor of the Churches
Acts 7:59 They went on stoning
Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus,
receive my spirit!” Acts
8:1-3;1Saul was in hearty
agreement with putting him to death.
And on that day a great
persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all
scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the
apostles. 2Some devout men buried
Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him. 3But Saul began ravaging the church,
entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put
them in prison. Acts 9:1,2; 1Now Saul, still breathing
threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high
priest, 2and asked for letters from
him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to
the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
Who
would ever think this man would become such a treasure?
B.
Saul’s Encounter with Christ
& His
Conversion; Acts 9:3-7 & 9 As he was traveling, it
happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from
heaven flashed around him; 4and he fell to the ground
and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you
persecuting Me?” 5And he said, “Who are
You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are
persecuting, 6but get up and enter the
city, and it will be told you what you must do.” 7The men who traveled with
him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. . . . 9And he was three days
without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Talk
about a dramatic change! God certainly got his attention.
& His
Call;
Ananias was told to
go to Paul. Acts
9:13-16; 13But Ananias answered,
“Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to
Your saints at Jerusalem; 14and here he has authority
from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” 15But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument
of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of
Israel; 16for I will show him how much
he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
Paul later recounts
his call of God. Galatians 1:15-17; 15But when God, who had set
me apart even from my mother’s womb
and called me through His grace, was pleased 16to reveal His Son in me so
that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult
with flesh and blood, 17nor did I go up to
Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia,
and returned once more to Damascus.
As He did Paul, God in
magnificent grace calls sinners to Himself!
Paul called himself a chief of sinners.
His testimony: 1st
Timothy 1:15, 16 15This is a faithful saying, and
worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners; of whom I am chief. 16Howbeit for this cause I
obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all
longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him
to life everlasting. |
