What Did Paul Know About Jesus?

Paul’s Portrayal of Jesus in the Epistles

Following his conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul was tasked with spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles (Galatians) (Acts 9).
Prior to this, he was a hater of Christians and a murderer of Christians.
His words may be found in Acts 22:20–21: ″And when the blood of the martyr Stephen was spilt, I likewise stood by, consenting to his murder, and keeping the raiment of those who slaughtered him.″ After that, he said to me, ″Depart, because I will send thee far away to the Gentiles.″ As a result, his picture of Jesus in the Epistles (letters) that he composed is highly personal, as you might expect.

To be more specific, Paul describes Jesus in each of his letters in a unique way (with the exception of Philemon which was a personal letter of appeal to a slave owner).Take a look at Paul’s portrayal of Jesus throughout the epistles, as well as some crucial verses, in the next section.My list contains passages from the book of Hebrews because, despite the fact that it is a little known book, I think Paul penned it.

Jesus the Peacemaker

1–2 The book of Romans As a result, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through him we have also gained admission by faith into this grace in which we now stand, and we exult in the hope of the glory of God.

Jesus the Lord of Glory

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:8 that Which none of the princes of this world were aware of, for if they had been aware of it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory in the first place.

Jesus the Only Foundation

1 Corinthians 3:11 (New International Version) Because no other foundation can be placed than the one that has already been established, namely is Jesus Christ.

Jesus the Our Passover

1 Corinthians 5:7–8 (New International Version) Purge out the old leaven, so that you may be a new lump, as if you had never been leavened before. Due to the fact that Christ himself was sacrificed for us, we should observe the feast with unleavened bread, not with old leaven, not with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of honesty and truth.

Jesus the Destroyer of Death

1 Corinthians 15:24–26 is a biblical passage. Then comes the culmination, when he will have handed the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he will have abolished every rule, authority, and power on the earth. It is necessary for him to continue to reign until he has subdued all of his adversaries. To be sure, death is the final adversary that must be defeated.

Jesus the Light of the Gospel

2 Corinthians 4:4 (New International Version) Those in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe, lest the beautiful gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine upon them.

Jesus Deliverer

Galatians 5:1 is the first verse in the book of Galatians. Stand firm, therefore, in the liberty that Christ has purchased for us, and do not allow yourself to get caught again in the yoke of slavery.

Jesus the Measure of a Perfect Man

Paul writes in Ephesians 4:13 that Then, until we all come to a perfect man, until we all get to the full stature of Christ, until we all come to the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, let us pray:

Jesus the Prize

Paul writes in Philippians 3:8 that Yes, without a doubt, and I consider all things to be loss because of the excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord: for him I have suffered the loss of all things, and consider them to be trash, in order that I may gain Christ.

Jesus the Head of the Church

Colossians 1:18 is a biblical passage. The head of the body, the church, is Christ, who is the beginning of creation, the firstborn from the dead, in order that he could have the preeminence in all things.

Jesus the Advent

1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 (New International Version) After all, the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a mighty cry, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. After that, we who are alive and remain will be taken up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will be with the Lord for all of ever.

Jesus the King of Kings

Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:15, ″I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.″ Which he will demonstrate in his time, as the glorious and sole Potentate, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords; and

Jesus the Judge of All

Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:16. I therefore accuse thee in the presence of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his coming and reigning on the earth;

Jesus the Redeemer

Titus 2:14 (New International Version) And he gave himself up for us, in order that he may redeem us from all our sins and purify unto himself a particular people, eager for good deeds.

Jesus the Captain

1 Thessalonians 2:10 As a result of bringing many sons to glory, and as a result of making the captain of their salvation complete by suffering, it fell to him, for whom all things are and through whom all things are, to bring many sons to glory.

Jesus the High Priest

Hebrews 4:14 is a verse in the Bible that says Due to the fact that we have a great high priest, Jesus the Son of God, who has been raised from the dead, let us remain steadfast in our professions of faith.

Jesus the Author and Finisher of Faith

12:2 (Hebrews 12:2) Consider Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the humiliation, and has been seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Final Thoughts

Paul had a distinct viewpoint on Jesus, which you can read about here.
His Jewish religion was deeply held, and yet God chose him to be the one to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles when the Jews turned away from the message (Romans 11).
He remained steadfast in his commitment to proclaim Jesus and to create churches with the purpose of doing the same.

So thankful that God preserved Paul for this reason, and that it is because of him that the gospel has been spread to me!More information on Paul may be found here: Apostle Paul Biography and Profile – A useful resource for learning about the apostle Paul.Scripture quotes are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.Tags: Jesus, Paul’s epistles, Paul’s depiction of Jesus, The Gospel of John

Did Paul ever meet Jesus in person?

Answer to the question The issue of Jesus Christ and His atoning act was at the heart of the apostle Paul’s missionary endeavors throughout his life.
His words were ″Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!″ he said (1 Corinthians 9:16).
This outstanding apostle concentrated his evangelistic efforts on persuading people that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah of Israel as well as the rising Lord and Savior of the Gentiles on a regular basis.

Paul’s theology was centered on Jesus’ uniqueness as a person and as a Savior.But, during Christ’s three-and-a-half-year public career, had Paul ever had the opportunity to meet Jesus?Had the future apostle ever had the opportunity to see or hear Jesus in person?While we do not have any concrete proof to support this theory, there are a number of factors that point to Paul having seen Jesus before to his crucifixion.First and foremost, Paul had been a resident of Jerusalem as a boy (Acts 22:3) and had returned to the city years later to approve of Stephen’s stoning (Acts 22:4).(Acts 8:1).

According to Acts 23:16, Paul’s nephew was present in Jerusalem following Paul’s conversion, indicating that Paul and his family had been residing in the city for some time.Jesus was rumored to have paid a visit to Jerusalem (Mark 11:11; John 2:13; 5:1).On one of Jesus’ frequent travels to the area, it is extremely probable that Paul saw or heard Him speak, and it is possible that Paul did.For the second time, Paul’s adherence to the Law would have provided him with motive to be present in Jerusalem at Passover, which would have put him in close proximity to both Jesus and the rest of the disciples.Third, as a Pharisee, Paul would have been very interested in the teachings of a well-known, though unusual, rabbi like Rabbi Yochanan.

As Paul explained to Herod Agrippa, the deeds of Jesus were ″not done in a secluded place″ (Acts 26:26).For the fourth time, the apostle Paul suggests that he may have known Jesus prior to his conversion in one of his epistles, yet his statement is far from definitive (2 Corinthians 5:16).None of these arguments establishes in any way that Paul had a personal encounter with or hearing from Jesus prior to His atoning death on the cross.We don’t know whether or not Paul had ever met Jesus, therefore we can’t be certain.

Of course, following Christ’s resurrection, Paul had a chance meeting with the Lord Jesus on the Damascus Road.Paul’s traveling companions reported hearing Jesus’ voice (Acts 9:7) and seeing a bright light (Acts 22:9).While Jesus’ appearance to Paul may have been different in character from Christ’s appearances prior to his ascension, this encounter with Paul was not a purely subjective vision, as both his voice and bright light (Acts 22:9) were perceived by Paul.The Lord appointed Paul to declare His name to both Gentiles and children of Israel, and Paul did so with great success (Acts 9:15).Paul later faced severe persecution as a result of his commitment to the gospel of Christ (Acts 14:19; 2 Corinthians 11:25–26).Part of the reason why the gospel of grace spread throughout the Mediterranean realm was due to his relentless efforts.

Return to the page with the miscellaneous Bible questions.Is it possible that Paul had a face-to-face encounter with Jesus?

What Did Paul Know About Jesus? Not Much.

Paul knew relatively little about Jesus, despite the fact that he was the founder of Christianity.
Our first and, as a result, arguably our most accurate source of information about the life of Jesus is Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.
Let’s dig through Paul’s writings in search of knowledge regarding Jesus Christ.

In the case of the gospels, we would have a vast list of stories to choose from—stories like Jesus turning water into wine, walking on water and resurrecting Lazarus, the tale of the Prodigal Son, and odd occurrences like his cursing the fig tree, among others.But what specific facts does Paul provide concerning Jesus?As a starting point, we’ll look at the well-known text from 1 Corinthians 15.I handed on to you as of first importance what I had received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried according to the Scriptures, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve.After then, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, the vast majority of them are still alive, but some have passed away, according to the records.First he came to James, followed by the other apostles, and last to me, who had been born strangely, as well as to the other apostles.

(1 Corinthians 15:3–8) The fact that Jesus died ″for our sins″ reveals two things to us.2.Three days after his death, Jesus was raised from the grave in accordance with prophesy.3.Jesus made a number of public appearances after his resurrection.

Some academics believe that, despite the fact that 1 Corinthians was written about 20 years after the death of Jesus, this three-sentence section was written in a distinct manner and so represents an early credo that precedes Paul’s writing, bringing us closer to the first followers.Others, using the same logic, have come to the opposite conclusion, claiming that it was a later scribal addition to the text.(The earliest known copy of this text is found in document P46, which was written after 200.) That equates to over two centuries of partying, during which time improvements may have been implemented.) First, we’ll go over Paul’s epistles to see if any of his statements are supported by the evidence.1.

Confirmed—a number of texts record that Jesus was offered as a sacrifice (see, for example, Rom.3:25, 5:6–8, 8:3, 1 Cor.5:7).Although the paragraph above does not contain the name ″Jesus,″ many other Pauline verses do, and they are referred to as ″Jesus-Christ″ verses.2.It has been confirmed: numerous texts in the Bible state that Jesus was risen from the dead (see 1 Cor.

15:20; Rom.1:4, 4:24; 2 Cor.4:14; and more).It should be noted, however, that neither the three-day period nor the scripture prophesy have been confirmed.

3.
The Post-Resurrection Appearances in Paul’s Epistles Are Not Confirmed: I was unable to locate any evidence supporting the post-resurrection appearances in Paul’s epistles.
How many more biographical facts about Jesus can we glean from Paul’s writings?
4.
He was crucified: ″We teach the crucified Christ″ (We preach the crucified Christ) (1 Cor.
1:23; also 1 Cor.

2:2, Gal.
3:1, 2 Cor.
13:4, and more).

His ancestors were descended from David: ″his Son was a descendant of David during his earthly existence,″ the Bible says (Rom.1:3).The Lord Jesus was betrayed on the night of his death: ″The Lord Jesus, on the night of his death″ (1 Cor.11:23; also 2 Tim.2:8).Seventh, he requested that his people remember him by breaking bread and drinking wine (1 Cor.

11:23–6).8.8.Jews were responsible for Jesus’ death: ″the Jews who slaughtered the Lord Jesus″ (1 Thessalonians 2:14–15).The search can extend much farther, into texts that are nearly unanimously discredited as being written by Paul.

For example, 1 Timothy 6:13 sets the trial of Jesus under the reign of Pontius Pilate, while Heb.5:5 portrays Jesus as having been adopted by his parents (that is, Jesus was a man adopted by God).By the way, this list was compiled based on my personal investigation.Please let me know if there are any mistakes.If we adhere to the reliable Pauline writings and assume the genuineness of 1 Cor.15, we get the following version of the Pauline Gospel: According to prophesy, Jesus died on the cross for our sins and was subsequently risen from the dead three days later, at the conclusion of the story.

After the resurrection, Jesus was seen by a large number of people.In his life, he was a descendant of David who was deceived, who specified a bread and wine ritual for his followers, and who was murdered by the Jews.This is the end of the story.The Gospel of Paul is only a single paragraph in length.

Although it has the most crucial aspect of all—death as a sacrifice for our sins and resurrection—it also contains just a few other essential elements.We won’t be hearing any parables about sheep and goats, or about the prodigal son, or about the rich man and Lazarus, or about the lost sheep, or about the good Samaritan.In truth, Jesus does not serve as a teacher at all.There will be no driving out of evil spirits, healing of the sick at Bethesda, purification of the lepers, resurrection of Lazarus, or other healing miracles performed by Jesus.According to the apostle Paul, Jesus did not perform any miracles at all.

There was no virgin birth, no Sermon on the Mount, no feeding of the 5000, no public ministry, no cleansing of the temple, no concluding words, and no Great Commission in the New Testament of Jesus Christ.There is nothing in Paul’s letter that connects Jesus to historical people such as Caesar Augustus, King Herod, or Pontius Pilate.Paul even fails to position Jesus in the context of history.Perhaps everyone to whom Paul addressed his letters already understood what he was talking about?Although the crucifixion is mentioned 13 times by Paul, it is assumed that they were already aware of the event.

And then there’s the resurrection, which Paul mentions a total of 14 times.Paul implies that he was unaware of any miracles performed by Jesus.Rather than preaching signs to Jews and knowledge to Greeks, we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles (see 1 Corinthians 1:22–3).What is the significance of ″a stumbling block″?Why didn’t Paul use these miraculous ″signs″ to persuade the Jews?

Jesus performed several miraculous ″signs.″ Paul, on the other hand, didn’t seem to know any.
The Jesus of Paul is not the same as the Jesus of the gospels, who is a healer and miracle worker.
However, it is possible that the difficulty stems from Jews’ desire to witness genuine miracles done in front of them, rather than only hearing stories of miracles.
That shouldn’t pose any difficulties either.
″Whoever believes in me will perform the deeds I have been doing, and they will accomplish even greater things than these,″ Jesus stated (John 14:12).

It was said that this occurred by Luke (that is, by the author of both Luke and Acts).A lame man was healed by Peter (Acts 3:1–8), and a lady was resurrected from the dead by Philip (Acts 8:5–8).″The apostles did numerous signs and wonders,″ according to Acts 10:36–42.(Acts 5:12).Once again, the Jesus of Paul is not the same Jesus as the Jesus of the gospels.Paul’s vision of an earthly Jesus is called into doubt by Robert Price (Bible Geek podcast for October 3, 2012, at 1:15:10).

More information on the development of the Jesus tale may be found here.
I’m curious what Paul would have said regarding the philosophical questions that have split the church for hundreds of years.
For the most part, these don’t matter much to us now because they’ve been settled, but they were contentious back in the day: whether Jesus was subordinate to God or not, whether Jesus had a human body or not, whether Jesus had a human nature or not, whether Jesus was born with two wills or not, whether the Holy Spirit was a member of the Godhead or not, and so on.
No one knows how Paul would have dealt with them, or even whether they were even on his mind at the time.

The Gospel of Paul provides more proof that the Jesus tale is a mythology that has grown in popularity through time.
Reason must be fooled, blinded, and destroyed in order to achieve victory.
For faith to triumph above all logic, reason, and knowledge is necessary.
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

What Did Paul Want To Know About Jesus?

Everything new |
A-Z |
Discuss & Blog |

A-Z |What’s new |What’s new |What’s new |What was it that Paul was interested in learning about Jesus?

Written by Bassam Zawadi Paul appears to have been quite steadfast in his belief that he only knew one side of the tale concerning Jesus Christ.Paul was adamant about not learning the truth about Jesus Christ’s teachings.Obviously, if he did, their teachings would not be in conflict with one another.Paul says one thing about something (Romans 4:2, 6:15, 7:4, Galatians 2:16, 21; Ephesians 2:8-9) while Jesus says another thing about it (Mark 10:17-19).

The Apostle James likewise goes against Paul and stands with Jesus on issues such as how to inherit eternal life (Ephesians 2:8-9).(James 2:20-26).It appears to me that Paul did not care to inquire about the nature of Jesus’ teachings or what they were actually all about.This is especially true when I consider the following verse.Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:2 that For I made a pact with myself that I would know nothing while I was with you except about Jesus Christ and his death on the cross.It appears that this was all Paul was interested in learning.

He only desired to be informed that there existed a person named Jesus Christ, and that he had been crucified.For his part, he was uninterested in learning that Jesus had directed the fulfillment of the Law (Matthew 5:17-20), or anything else on the subject.According to one observer, the death of Jesus on the cross was the essence of Paul’s teachings: We may also understand this by reading at this verse: 1 Corinthians 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, as the apostle Paul explains it.Some Bible scholars have attempted to resolve the problem of 1 Corinthians 2:2.

″Not knowing anything″ ″does not imply that he set aside all other knowledge, but rather that he had the gospel, with its crucified Messiah, as his undivided concentration and passion while he was among them,″ says the author.
Adapted from We all know, however, that the Gospels were written after the first book of Corinthians was completed.
(See What was the second Gospel that Paul was quoting?
What happened to that Gospel?
We see Paul quoting from the Bible.
Acts 20:35 (NIV) In all I did, I demonstrated to you that we must help the weak by putting in the same amount of effort, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, who stated, ″It is more blessed to give than to receive.″ That comment was said by Jesus at no point in the four Gospels that we have available today.

Was Paul quoting from a different Gospel?
Was he inventing this whole thing?
Did he have a thorough understanding of the Gospel and Jesus’ teachings?

Or did he simply stick to what he was interested in learning, which was that Jesus was being crucified?Recommendations for Further Reading Returning to My Rebuttals, and exposing the falsehoods of the Answering Islam team in the next part.Bassam Zawadi’s rebuttals are included.Islam and the Noble Quran – Frequently Asked Questions & Answers Answering Trinity’s question.In the Bible, there are contradictions and a history of corruption.Several questions regarding Jesus have been raised for which trinitarian Christians do not have logical solutions.

What portions of the Bible do Muslims feel are the most accurate representations of the truth?What is the reason behind this?According to Hebrew and Aramaic sources, the name ″Allah″ was GOD Almighty’s original name in the Bible before it was changed.In Islam and the Noble Quran, there are scientific miracles.The vast majority of the Bible’s books and gospels were penned by unidentified authors!

In the Bible, Jesus referred to Muhammad by his given name.What does Isaiah 53 say about Jesus’ crucifixion?Is it a genuine prophecy?That Jesus, peace be upon him, never killed on the cross lends credence to Islam’s claims about him.The Bible’s John 19:36-37 passage was also addressed, and I demonstrated that Jesus was never crucified, since GOD Almighty vowed that he would safeguard Jesus’ body and would not allow even a single bone to be shattered.The following question I have for all Christians: How is it possible for the feet to be nailed to the cross without the nails penetrating the bones and, as a result, fracturing part of the foot’s bones?!

Aside from that, I added refutations to the biblical passages Exodus 12:46, Numbers 9;12; Zechariah 12:10; and Psalm 34:20, all of which are claimed to show Christian belief in Jesus’ crucifixion.I demonstrated that this doctrine has no reality at all, and I disclosed the incorrect Trinitarian English translation of Zechariah 12:10 that has been circulated.Please send in your comments.Return to the Home Page.

Discuss & Blog

Monotheism

Paul, like all Jews, was a monotheist who thought that the God of Israel was the sole genuine God, as did the majority of the world’s population.
Then there’s the fact that he believed there were several layers to the cosmos and that it was filled with spiritual creatures.
Among Paul’s universe’s features were places underneath the surface of the earth (Philippians 2:10), ″the third heaven,″ sometimes known as ″Paradise,″ (2 Corinthians 12:1–4), and entities he referred to as ″angels,″ ″principals,″ ″rulers,″ ″powers,″ and ″demons″ (Romans 8:38; 1 Corinthians 15:24).

Furthermore, he acknowledged the head of the powers of evil, whom the apostle Paul referred to as ″Satan″ (1 Corinthians 5:5; 7:5) and ″the god of this world″ (1 Corinthians 10:12).(2 Corinthians 4:4).According to 1 Corinthians 8:5, ″there are many gods and many lords″ (though he meant ″so-called gods″), and in Romans 6–7, he portrayed sin as though it were a personified or semipersonified force.Despite all of this, Paul believed that the God of Israel will send his Son to vanquish the forces of evil at the appropriate moment (1 Corinthians 15:24–26; Philippians 2:9–11; Romans 8:28–29).Frequently Asked Questions

What influences did St. Paul have on Christianity?

How many books of the Bible did St. Paul write?

How did St. Paul the Apostle die?

Christology

When greater accuracy was required, Jesus was referred to as ″Jesus from Nazareth″ (Matthew 21:11), ″Joseph’s son″ (Luke 4:22), or ″Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth″ (John 1:45) when it was not possible to use the single name ″Jesus.″ The Messiah (″Christ″ in the Greek translation) is the anointed one who would restore the fortunes of Israel, and it is possible that throughout his lifetime his disciples began to conceive of him as such.
The Messiah was frequently alluded to by his disciples after his death and resurrection (Acts 2:36: ″God made him both Lord and Messiah,″ as well as other passages).
Following a period of time, his disciples began to refer to him as the ″Son of God.″ Paul freely used the terms ″Christ″ and ″Son of God,″ and he is also responsible for the widespread usage of the term ″Christ″ as if it were Jesus’ given name rather than his title in the New Testament.

Even though Paul recognized that ″the Christ″ was a term rather than an actual person, he most frequently addressed Jesus as ″Jesus Christ,″ ″Christ Jesus″ or even just ″Christ,″ as in Romans 6:4 when he writes, ″Christ has been risen from the dead.″ In all of these instances, the word ″Christ″ is employed as if it were a part of the name of Jesus.In contrast, separate Jewish sects expected different rulers or messiahs, or none at all, and thus when the Christians began to use these names, they didn’t have exact connotations attached.The term ″Son of God″ is used symbolically in the Hebrew Bible (God is the father, and human people are his offspring), and this use was carried over into postbiblical Jewish literature as well.It was possible to refer to the Jewish people as ″sons of God″ in general, and the term ″son of God″ may refer to individuals who were particularly close to God in the singular form.Because neither the phrases ″messiah″ nor ″son of God″ are immediately associated with a definite meaning, the importance of these terms must be discovered by examining how each author employs these terms in his or her work.It is impossible to determine with confidence what Paul meant by the terms ″Christ″ and ″Son of God.″ He does not appear to have defined the person of Jesus in terms of metaphysics (for example, that he was half human and half divine).

Paul writes in Philippians 2:6–11 that Christ Jesus was preexistent and came to earth in the following manner: he ″emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, and was born in the likeness of man.″ This gives the impression that Jesus was a celestial entity who just looked to be a human creature.But in Romans 1:1–6, Paul argues that God declared Jesus to be the ″Son of God″ by raising him from the dead, and that this declaration was made by God.This gives the impression that Jesus was a human person who had been ″adopted.″ Despite the fact that both views—that Jesus was not truly human and that he was not truly god—would have a lengthy life in Christianity, the church eventually came to the conclusion by the middle of the 5th century that Jesus was both totally divine and entirely human.It appears that Paul did not envision this solution, and it required decades of dispute for it to be discovered and implemented.It is far easier to understand Paul’s thoughts on Jesus’ work, as opposed to his thoughts on Jesus himself.

God, according to Paul, sent Jesus to rescue the entire world via his death and resurrection.As previously said, Paul devoted a great deal of time and attention to Jesus’ death and resurrection.First and foremost, his death served as a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the entire world.Christians in the early centuries were inspired by the old belief that one death might be used to substitute for others, and they thought that Jesus died on the cross in order for followers to be saved from eternal doom.

For Paul, on the other hand, Jesus’ death provided Christians with the opportunity to escape not just the penalties of transgression but also the force of sin that causes transgression to begin with.According to Galatians 3:27–28, the believer was baptized ″into Christ,″ thereby becoming ″one″ with him.To put it another way, via Christ’s death, the believer has mystically or symbolically died, therefore succumbing to the power of sin that had previously reigned in the world (Romans 6:3–4).Having died with Christ provided ″newness of life″ in the present and ensured that we would be risen with him in the future (6:4–5), respectively.Christ’s death, then, destroyed sin in both senses: his blood atoned for transgression, and his death enabled those who were ″joined with him″ to be free of the power of sin in their lives.It was also necessary to liberate the physical cosmos from its ″bondage to disintegration.″ The fact that individual believers may be delivered from sin did not result in the liberation of the entire world.

God would bring Christ back to save the cosmos by destroying all of the residual powers of sin and to liberate all of creation when the time was ripe.In order for God to be ″all in all,″ when Christ has vanquished all of his adversaries, including death (see 1 Corinthians 15:20–28; Romans 8:18–25), he will turn all creation to God, so that God will be ″all in all.″ Paul demonstrates how strongly he believed in one God, the creator of heaven and earth, as well as in the cosmic significance of his Son, Jesus Christ, in this vast vision of the redemption of the created order.

Faith in Christ

Everyone, no matter how hard they try, is a slave to sin, according to Paul (Romans 7:14–21; Galatians 5:12–13).
Paul’s letters are filled with references to sin, which explains why the traditional Jewish perspective of sin, which holds that transgression should be followed by confession and that confession ends in forgiveness, is only given a passing mention.
The words ″forgiveness″ and ″repentance″ appear only three times in the seven undisputed letters (Romans 2:4; 2 Corinthians 7:9–10), while the word ″forgive″ appears six times (Romans 4:7; 2 Corinthians 2:5–10) and the words ″repent″ and ″repentance″ appear only three times (Romans 2:4; 2 Corinthians 7:9–10).

Simple repentance will not be sufficient to free oneself from the grip of sin’s enormous power.The only way out is to be ″buried with″ Christ, which can only be accomplished by baptism.While the expressions ″buried with″ and ″baptized into″ are the most vivid terms used to describe an individual’s deliverance from sin, the most commonly used word to describe this conversion is ″faith″—that is, faith in Jesus Christ.The language of faith is prevalent throughout Paul’s texts, and it conveys a wide spectrum of meaning.The verb ″to have faith in″ or ″to believe″ (which is the same Greek word, pisteuein, which may be rendered both ways) appears 49 times in the uncontested letters, whereas the noun ″faith″ (or ″belief″) appears 93 times in the undisputed letters.When used to describe something as true, the word might signify ″to believe in your heart that God resurrected him from the dead,″ as in Romans 10:9, but when used to describe steadfastness, it is used in 1 Thessalonians.

Paul was concerned that the Thessalonians were losing their faith in the face of adversity, so he dispatched Timothy to encourage them.It was Timothy who reported back to the church that their faith was strong (1 Thessalonians 3:1–13).As in Galatians 2:20, the word most usually implies ″to place one’s whole reliance and trust in Christ,″ as in ″the life I now live in the body I am living by faith in the Son of God.″ The statement ″be justified by faith in Christ, not by deeds of the law″ is found in Galatians and Romans, and it is used to counter the belief held by certain Christian missionaries that Paul’s Gentile converts should become Jewish by adopting circumcision and Jewish law.As a sign of the covenant between God and Abraham, the first of Israel’s patriarchs, circumcision was originally required of any Gentiles who sought to serve the God of Israel.It is still necessary today.

As a result, Paul’s opponents claimed that his followers had not yet been accepted into the kingdom of God.In contrast, Paul believed that Gentile converts may join God’s people in the end days without having to become Jewish, and he argued passionately that trust in Jesus Christ was the sole condition for Gentiles.This is the meaning of the words ″justification″ and ″righteousness″ in Galatians and Romans, which means ″justification by faith, not by law.″ dikaiosyn is a Greek word that means ″righteousness″ and ″justification.″ Many people in later Christianity believed that ″works of the law″ are synonymous with ″good acts,″ and that Paul was attempting to put faith in opposition to good deeds.This, however, is not the meaning of the dispute concerning ″works of the law″ that occurs in Paul’s writings.

As his focus on flawless behavior demonstrates, he was a firm believer in the importance of good acts, and he did not consider good works to be in opposition to ″faith.″ Faith, on the other hand, resulted in good acts, which are referred to as ″fruit of the Spirit″ (Galatians 5:22).The dispute was whether or not his Gentile converts would be required to adopt those portions of Jewish law that distinguished between Jew and Gentile.Having certain portions of the law made necessary for his Gentile converts was something Paul strongly opposed.The terminology of ″righteousness by faith″ gives way to the language of ″being in Christ″ in the books of Galatians and Romans.As an example, Galatians 3:24–28 says, ″Therefore, the law served as our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith″; ″in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith″; those who have been baptized into Christ have ″clothed yourselves with Christ″; and the conclusion, ″There is no longer a distinction between Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.″ ″Righteousness by faith″ is not in fact any different from being baptized into Christ and being one with him in terms of its meaning and application.When Paul used the tale of Abraham to argue that circumcision was no longer essential, he used the language of righteousness and faith to make his point.

When he wanted to explain a believer’s transition from the power of sin to the power of Christ, he used language that was more natural to him: dying with Christ, being baptized into him, and becoming one person with him were all phrases that came to him naturally.

The body of Christ

His converts were not only individuals who had been delivered from sin, but they were also organic members of the collective body of Christ, according to Paul.
He believes the concept of the body of Christ helps to explain why it is difficult to transgress so severely that one’s place in the people of God is forfeited, according to him.
Only the most extreme manifestations of denial of Christ have the ability to expel a biological member from the body of Christ.

In Paul’s considerations of behavior, the body of Christ plays a significant role as well.For example, a member of the body of Christ should not be associated with a prostitute (1 Corinthians 6:15).It follows that individuals who partake of the Lord’s Supper join in the flesh and blood of Christ and cannot partake of the meat and wine served at an idol’s table (1 Corinthians 10:14–22), as stated in the Bible.Along with abstaining from the actions of the flesh, members of Christ’s body receive love as the greatest spiritual gift they can receive (1 Corinthians 13).Even while those who are in Christ will be turned into a spiritual body similar to Christ’s when he comes back, they are already being ″transformed″ and ″renewed″ (2 Corinthians 3:18; 4:16); the ″life of Jesus″ is already being made evident in their mortal flesh (2 Corinthians 3:18; 4:16).(4:11).

Paul believed that being a member of the body of Christ truly transformed people, causing them to live in accordance with their newfound knowledge.He believed that his converts were dead to sin and alive to God, and that people’s behavior flowed naturally from their true selves, with variations depending on who they truly were.While people in sin naturally commit sins—″those who are in the flesh cannot please God″ (Romans 8:8)—those who are in Christ create ″the fruit of the Spirit″ (Galatians 5:22; see also Philippians 1:11; Romans 8:2–11; Galatians 5:22).However, in practice, this absolutist ethical viewpoint—those who are in Christ are to be morally perfect, while those who are not in Christ are to be extremely sinful—was not always true, and Paul was frequently alarmed and offended when he discovered that the behavior of his converts did not match what he expected.His predictions of suffering, even death or postmortem retribution for offenses (see 1 Corinthians 11:30–32; 3:15; 5:4–5) were made in this context.

Paul’s fervent fanaticism, on the other hand, was undoubtedly at times both seductive and convincing.He must have persuaded a lot of people that they could actually change for the better, and this must have happened rather frequently.

Paul as a Witness to the Resurrection of Jesus

Submitted by Charles L.
Quarles When people think of the witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection, they think of people like Peter, John, the surviving members of the Eleven, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome, Cleopas, and his companion, to name a few.
Paul may possibly receive an honorable mention at the very most.

After all, he did not see the stone that had been rolled away from the path.When the angel announced, ″He is not here, for he has risen!″ He did not hear it because his ears were closed.It’s possible that he never looked into the empty tomb.Paul was, without a doubt, absent throughout the forty days following the resurrection, during which Jesus gave his followers with several indisputable evidence of his divinity.Paul, on the other hand, believes that he is a witness to the resurrection on an equal footing with the other two witnesses.Jesus’ appearance to Paul after his resurrection is described in length three times in the Book of Acts, and it is also referenced to several times by Paul himself in his letters.

The consistency and timeliness of these many stories and references is remarkable.As a result, Paul is not only a credible witness to the resurrection of Jesus, at least according to the canons of history, but he is also one of the most important of all of these witnesses to the resurrection.

THE POST-RESURRECTION APPEARANCE TO PAUL

Acts 9:1–19, 22:6–16, and 26:12–23 provide detailed accounts of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances to Paul and the apostles.
After Paul’s initial narration of the encounter, Luke could have saved a great deal of time and space by simply writing, ″And Paul told to the crowd/Agrippa how Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus,″ or anything along those lines, instead of going into great detail.
The fact that Luke insisted on documenting the episode in detail three times in Acts demonstrates how significant the incident was in Luke’s thinking at the time.

Scholars sometimes become overly focused on the discrepancies between the three stories, and lose sight of the fact that they are quite similar.When two or more accounts agree on something, it is called consensus.

The circumstances (9:2, 22:5, and 26:12) — Paul was heading to Damascus in order to extradite incarcerated Christians to Jerusalem for trial. When did the event occur? (22:6
26:13) — It happened around noon or midday. The event took place on the route from Jerusalem to Damascus, near Damascus, according to the Scriptures (9:2–3, 22:6, 26:13). An angelic light shone around Paul on three separate occasions (9:3, 22:6, and 26:13). Reaction (9:4, 22:7, and 26:14) — Paul (and his friends) dropped to the ground, seemingly out of awe for what they had seen
Throughout the book of Samuel, a voice calls out, ″Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?″ (9:4–5, 22:7–8, 26:14–15). ″Who are you, Lord?″ Paul asks in response. When asked who he is, the Lord responds, ″I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.″ There is just a tiny difference between the three summaries of the dialogue. The term ″the Nazarene″ is included in the 22:8 story. ″It is difficult for you to kick against the goads,″ the narrative from 26:14 continues. (″Verses in this article are taken from the HCSB translation unless otherwise specified.″)
Paul received two commands from the Lord: ″Get up and go into the city, and you will be informed what you must do.″ (9:6) and ″Get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.″ (22:00) Result (9:8—9
22:11) – Paul is blinded by the brilliance of the light, and he must be carried into Damascus by hand. He also fasts for three days after the incident.

There are significant discrepancies between the two accounts, particularly in terms of the experience of spectators and Paul’s call to the Gentile mission.
In 9:3, bystanders heard a voice but did not see anyone as the story progressed.
The passersby in 22:9 were able to see the light, but they were unable to hear it.

There is no substantial conflict between the two reports of the bystander’s visual experience in the two narratives.Luke merely stated that they were able to see the dazzling light, but not the person (Jesus) who spoke from the light as Luke had previously stated.The seeming inconsistency between the two reports of what the spectators heard is only a matter of perception.Despite the fact that the companions were aware of a voice in 9:3, the story in 22:9 reveals that only Paul was able to comprehend the words uttered by the voice.Since 26:14 says that the voice spoke in the Hebrew (or Aramaic) language, it is reasonable to speculate that Paul’s companions were Hellenists who were unable to communicate effectively in the language of Jesus.The stoning of Stephen, as recorded in Acts 6:9 and 7:58, demonstrates that Paul collaborated with the leaders of the Synagogue of the Freedmen.

Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia were among the cities represented by these Jews (and perhaps Gentile proselytes).Because of the linguistic barrier that prevented Hellenists from participating in traditional synagogue service, this particular congregation was most likely founded………………………………………………….When Paul returned to Jerusalem after his conversion, he concentrated his preaching on Hellenistic Jews (9:29), who were almost certainly from the same group as before his conversion.If any of their own number had seen the light and heard the commotion on the Damascus Road, they would have been an especially suited group for Paul’s message.But they did not.

Although the evidence is insufficient to identify why the spectators heard but did not comprehend the voice that spoke to Paul, this theory is at the very least reasonable given the circumstances.The first two narratives imply that Ananias received and then conveyed to Paul his divine summons to take Christ’s name into the Gentile world.The third version indicates that Paul received and then transmitted to Ananias Paul’s divine call to take Christ’s name into the Gentile world (Acts 9:6,15; 22:10, 15).The last report, on the other hand, has Christ explicitly commission Paul: For I have come to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and a witness of what you have seen and of what I shall reveal to you.

I will deliver you from the hands of the people and the Gentiles.I now send you to them to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, and that by faith in Me they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who have been sanctified (Acts 26:16b –18).I now send you to them to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.It would be impossible to argue that this account contradicts the earlier accounts without assuming that Luke had forgotten the content of the previous accounts, despite the fact that the same essential account had been recorded twice and despite the fact that the last account only occurred four chapters before the episode of Paul’s appearance before Agrippa.On the other hand, if Jesus had given Paul a direct command in order to prepare the way for Paul’s Gentile mission, Luke would very certainly have addressed it in at least the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke, if not the entire tale.As a result, the most likely explanation for the discrepancy between the first two stories and the final story is that Luke retrojected the commission given by Jesus through the prophet Ananias into the Damascus Road incident in order to strategically shorten the tale.

It would have been legitimate to engage in such ″telescoping″ given that the two earlier accounts laid out the events in their original historical sequence so that readers would be prepared to spot the telescoping and since Jesus’s statement ″Get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do″ (9:6; 22:10) verified that the charge given through Ananias did indeed bear the Lord’s authority.Most likely, Paul himself served as Luke’s source for these reports.It is stated explicitly in Luke’s Prologue to his two-volume book (Luke 1:1–4) that the author conducted a thorough study that included interviews with eyewitnesses (Luke 1:1–4).Luke had regular and direct access to Paul’s witness, as evidenced by both the Book of Acts and Paul’s writings to the Corinthians.

The use of first-person plural pronouns in Paul’s journey tales in Acts demonstrates that Luke was frequently Paul’s traveling companion.
During the time that Paul was writing his Prison Epistles (Col 4:14), Luke was present with him, and the two had become so close that Paul referred to him as ″the beloved physician.″ Furthermore, allusions in Paul’s letters to Luke’s accounts of Paul’s experiences corroborate Luke’s accounts (1 Cor 9:1; 15:8).

THE NATURE OF THIS APPEARANCE

Whether the apparition of the risen Jesus to Paul was an objective or subjective event is a point of contention among scholars.The Acts’ accounts lend weight to the idea that the experience was objective in nature.Even though they did not see Jesus, onlookers noticed the light from heaven and fell to the ground with Paul.They were also aware of the presence of the voice (albeit, for reasons that were not clearly stated, they were unable to comprehend the words said by the voice).

In light of these considerations, it is reasonable to conclude that Jesus’ apparition to Paul was more than a figment of his imagination.The evidence in Acts, according to some academics, is at conflict with claims made by Paul himself in his own writings.In conclusion, Bruce Chilton determined that Paul’s experience was not an objective occurrence that other people observed (or might have witnessed) alongside him, but rather a ″personal moment of revelation,″ a ″mystical breakthrough,″ based on the words ″uncover his Son in me″ (Gal 1:16).1 This reading of the Greek preposition en, which appears in the phrase ″in me″ in Galatians 1:16, has been widely accepted throughout time.

Those who support this point of view appear to believe that the Greek preposition en is the equivalent of the common English gloss ″in,″ which is incorrect.This idea is supported by the glosses that are utilized in many current translations of the Bible.″was happy to expose his Son in me…″ NASB ″was glad to disclose His Son in me…″ NIV ″was pleased to reveal His Son in me…″ HCSB ″was pleased to reveal His Son in me…″ Although the NRSV and the ESV both translate the sentence ″was happy to reveal his son to me″ (italics mine) as ″was pleased to reveal his son to me,″ both versions make reference to marginal notes that indicate ″Gk.in me″ and ″Gk.in″ respectively.Because the translators chose a different translation for religious reasons rather than grammatical grounds, it appears that the Greek preposition ″in″ is equal to the English preposition ″in.″ This translation has been embraced by a surprising number of evangelical commentators, but they do so with certain qualifications on the meaning.

While F.
F.
Bruce and colleagues (Gordon Fee, Don Garlington, William Hendriksen, Bruce Longenecker, and Leon Morris) agreed that Paul had had an objective Damascus Road experience, they argued that the prepositional phrase en emoi meant ″in me″ and emphasized the internal revelation that occurred as a result of the event, as opposed to the external revelation that occurred as a result of the event.
Despite the fact that this interpretation is more generally accepted than contested, the arguments that are occasionally advanced in favor of the interpretation are unsatisfactory.
Theologians like as Longenecker, for example, claim that the ″in our hearts″ in 4:6 relates to the ″Christ lives in me″ en emoi of 2:20 (″Christ lives in me″), which is equal to the ″in our hearts″ in 1:16 and so underlines the interior reality of the Christian experience.
But this reasoning fails to take into consideration the fact that the grammatical circumstances of each of these statements are significantly distinct from one another.

In order for the prepositional phrase ″God delighted to disclose″ to operate properly with ″God was pleased to reveal,″ one must consider how it functions with the statements ″Christ lives″ (2:20) and ″God sent the Spirit of his Son″ (John 16:13).
(4:6).
It is more hermeneutically sound to examine the use of the preposition in conjunction with the verb apokalupt (″reveal″) or synonymous formulations in other contexts rather than just studying instances of the preposition in isolation without regard to the grammatical context.

Preposition en is capable of taking on an astonishing number of diverse meanings, as evidenced by the main Greek lexical and grammatical works on the subject.
Occasionally, the preposition might be used in place of the conventional dative of indirect object or dative of benefit.
The passage Galatians 1:16 is cited as an example of this use in a number of these resources (Nigel Turner; BDAG; BDF).
If this is right, Paul’s autobiographical remark would simply indicate that ″God was delighted to show his Son to me,″ which would be the simplest interpretation.

If the preposition has a personal object, this usage of the preposition is common, and it is employed in conjunction with verbs from the semantic domain ″reveal″ or ″make known,″ as in the example above.
The LXX contains 13 instances of verbal constructions belonging to this semantic domain (apokalupta, gnoriza, phanero, or phaneros with various copula) being modified by en phrases, according to a computer search using Accordance (Judg 5:2, 1 Sam 6:2, 2 Sam 6:20, 22:16, 1 Kgs 8:53, 1 Chr 16:8, 1 Macc 15:9, Ps 76:15, Pro The preposition indicates a place (1 Kgs 8:53; 1 Chron 16:8; Ps 76:15; Prov 3:6; Ezek 22:10; 1 Macc 15:9), defines the means or cause (1 Sam 6:2; 2 Sam 22:16; Ezek 16:36), or acts as a marker for the indirect object (1 Kgs 8:53; 1 Chron 16:8; Ps 76:15; Prov 3:6; (Judg 5:2; 2 Sam 6:20; Prov 11:13; Isa 64:1).
This construction appears 19 times in the New Testament, with the majority of occurrences being in Pauline writing.
Time (2 Cor 11:6; 2 Thess 2:6; 1 Pet 1:5), place (John 9:3; 2 Cor 2:14; 4:10, 11); 1 Tim 3:16 (Col 3:4), instrument or means (Rom 1:17; 1 Cor 3:13; 2 Cor 11:6; 1 John 3:10; 4:9), method (Eph 6:19), and indirect object (Rom 1:17; 1 Cor 3:13; 2 Cor 11:6; 1 John 3: (Rom 1:19; 1 Cor 11:19; 2 Cor 5:11).
Two en phrases that change the verbal structure are found in the verses that are cited twice (2 Cor 11:6 and 1 John 4:9).

It is important to note that the employment of the en phrase in conjunction with linguistic constructs relating to revelation in the LXX, the NT, and notably elsewhere in Paul severely limits the interpretative alternatives.The preposition en is never used with similar constructs anywhere else in the LXX or the New Testament to denote a purely internal, subjective experience, as is the case here.Chilton’s handling of the preposition incorporates a mechanical approach to exegesis that simply equates en with ″in″ and overlooks the complexities of Greek grammar in order to simplify the exegetical task.Based on earlier biblical examples, it is most likely that the en phrase serves as a substitute for the indirect object in this context.According to J.

B.
Lightfoot, the preposition here means ″through,″ and it serves to identify Paul as the agent through whom God revealed the Son to others in the New Testament.
Nigel Turner recognized the plausibility of such a scenario (though he affirmed the indirect object view).
Lightfoot’s view has been embraced by a few contemporary commentators, such as Timothy George.
This viewpoint, on the other hand, is not supported by biblical analogies.

Despite the fact that the en was employed to convey means or instrument in the formulations studied above, there are no obvious examples of the en being used to express human agency.
Several grammarians, such as Daniel Wallace, have suggested that the preposition may never be used in the New Testament to convey human activity.
As a result, experts such as Udo Schnelle are accurate in asserting that the Greek phrase en emoi in Galatians 1:16 ″should be rendered in the simple dative.″ 2 Even if the use of the preposition en to denote an internal and subjective experience were a viable syntactical choice, unequivocal assertions elsewhere in Pauline literature would rule out such a position as well.

In one instance, Paul claimed he was as much of an apostle as the Twelve and the Lord’s brothers: ″Am I not an apostle?″ he asked.
Is it possible that I have not seen Jesus our Lord?″ (1 Corinthians 9:1).
The Greek language of both questions suggests that a positive response is appropriate.
As stated in his defense of himself, Paul’s standing is similar to that of Jesus’ disciples (the Twelve) and the Lord’s brothers since the post-resurrection appearance of Jesus in Paul’s presence was equivalent to the appearance of Jesus to the other disciples.
In addition, Paul included himself on the list with Cephas, the Twelve, the Five Hundred, James and the other apostles, implying that he was one of those who saw the risen Jesus for the first time.
″He also appeared to me,″ Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:8, and this remark provides a more comprehensive picture of the nature of the Damascus Road encounter than the casual reader might expect.

A similar word, ″appeared,″ is employed by the author of John 15:5, 6, and 7 to describe those who discovered Jesus’ empty tomb, witnessed him raised in the upper chamber, and had a meal with him on the beaches of the Sea of Galilee.
The conjunction ″also″ establishes a strong connection between Paul’s experience and the experiences previously mentioned, and it further emphasizes that Paul’s experience was extremely similar to theirs.
We must emphasize that both of these comments are featured in one of Paul’s letters that is universally accepted as authentic, even by skeptical critical scholars, and that was written relatively early in his ministry (probably mid-50s).

CONCLUSION

Paul saw Jesus’ death as vital to the gospel (Rom 1:1–8; 1 Cor 15:3–4), and hence as needed for the forgiveness of sinners (Rom 1:1–8; 1 Cor 15:3).(1 Cor 15:17).According to him, Jesus’ resurrection provided the foundation for believers’ hope in the resurrection (1 Cor 15:20–28) as well as their bravery in the face of severe persecution (1 Cor 15:29b–34).The apostle Paul did not have to depend solely on the witness of others when he proclaimed about the resurrection of Jesus.

Paul appears to have referred to his own firsthand account of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearance in order to support his claims.Because ″For I have appeared to you for this purpose,″ the charge implies that ″you will serve as a servant and witness to what you have seen and will testify to what I shall reveal to you″ will take place (Acts 26:16).When Paul went to Jerusalem, he made a point of emphasizing the fact that he ″had seen the Lord on the way and that he had talked to him,″ and it was on this premise that Barnabas and eventually the disciples in Jerusalem welcomed Paul (Acts 9:26–28).The apostle Paul taught the resurrection of Jesus on his first missionary voyage, and he relied on the eyewitness evidence of the Galilean disciples to verify his claims.

Acts 13:32 states that Paul is identifying himself as an equally trustworthy witness to the resurrection, as evidenced by the words ″And we ourselves proclaim to you the good news of the promise that was promised to our forefathers.″ The resurrection of Jesus was a major theme in Paul’s sermon at Thessalonica (Acts 17:3), Athens (17:31), and most likely in Corinth as well (Acts 17:4).Even though there are no references to Paul’s Damascus Road experience in the extant letters to the Corinthian church, Paul’s question in 1 Corinthians 9:1 assumes that the church is familiar with his Damascus Road experience, and this implies that testimony to Jesus’ post-resurrection appearance to Paul was standard fare in his preaching.Taking all of the evidence into consideration, Paul should be considered to be one of the most prominent witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.About the Author CHARLES L.QUARLES, PhD, is a Professor of New Testament Studies and Biblical Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, as well as the Director of PhD Studies at the institution.He is the author of various works on Jesus, Paul, and other New Testament subjects.

1 Rabbi Paul: An Intellectual Biography (New York: Doubleday Religion, 2004), p.
51.
2 Bruce Chilton, Rabbi Paul: An Intellectual Biography (New York: Doubleday Religion, 2004), p.
51.
According to Udo Schnelle’s Apostle Paul: His Life and Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005), chapter 90 is a good place to start.

Paul the Apostle

Known for his conversion to Christianity on the road to Damascus after persecuting others who were already members of the society that he had joined, Paul was one of the most prominent disciples of Jesus Christ.We will see, however, that rather than being a conversion to Christianity, Paul is more accurately defined as one of the religion’s founders.Paul is credited with writing seven books of the New Testament; he was a well-known teacher and missionary who traveled across Asia Minor and present-day Greece during his lifetime.

A Founder of Christianity

As recent as the twentieth century, historians have come to see Paul as the true founder of the religious movement that would eventually become Christianity.Paul was a Diaspora Jew who belonged to the party of the Pharisees.He had a vision of the resurrected Jesus and was inspired to write the book of Acts.When he returned from this experience, he went widely across the eastern Roman Empire, bringing the ″good news″ that Jesus would soon return from heaven and usher in the dominion of God (the kingdom) on earth.

Instead of forming a new religion, Paul felt that his generation was the last to live before the end of time, when this age will be converted into something else.However, as time passed and Jesus did not appear, the Church Fathers of the second century turned to Paul’s writings for confirmation of what would eventually become known as Christian orthodoxy.As a result, Paul may be considered the creator of Christianity as a