Painting of Paul the Apostle by Rembrandt - 1657. NIV, Holy Bible, Larger Print, Paperback. And instead of lording this status over everyone, he preached about a citizenship which everyone could choose to claim by accepting Jesus as Lord: “But our citizenship is in heaven. Tertullian (c. 155–240 AD) proposed that it was written by Barnabas. Bible Story: Paul Preached In Athens… Read More ⇨ Join our email list, and we’ll send you some of our best free resources—plus we’ll tell you whenever we make something new. Meanwhile, Ephesus was in uproar, because Christianity’s explosive growth had stifled businesses that relied on idol worship. I would love to sit down with Paul and hear all his stories, find out all those things not recorded in Scripture. Scholars believe this is likely when he wrote his letter to the Philippians, because he references being in chains (Philippians 1:12–13). Paul goes on to say that “if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:21). Thank you for such an informative piece of writing and breaking down of scriptures, with supporting ref’s. Love the name clarification:Paul and Saul. Not a fun fact: Even though Paul argued that Christians didn’t need to be circumcised in Acts 15, he circumcised Timothy in the very next chapter “because of the Jews who lived in that area” (Acts 16:1–3). For this reason, Saint Paul is often considered one of the most influential people in history. Watch the video above and talk about it with a group or mentor. He played a crucial role in spreading the gospel to the Gentiles (non-Jews) during the first century, and his missionary journeys took him all throughout the Roman empire. Acts records that “all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord” (Acts 19:10). Before Jesus ascended to heaven, he promised his followers they would receive power through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). Although the information on her is sketchy, Bible scholars have concluded she was an exceptional person in the ancient world. During his Roman imprisonment, he also felt alone with no other person to support or defend him. They got everyone riled up against Paul and Silas and managed to convince the local authorities to have them beaten and imprisoned. Maybe some will be new to you too. The assassins planned to attack Paul during the transfer. Of all the ways Paul affected Christianity, the biggest was arguably his role in spreading the gospel to non-Jewish communities. Overview: An educated man with a burning zeal for what he believes to be true is responsible for the persecution and slaughter of Christian believers. The Story of Paul 0. STORY 113 Paul in Rome PART 8 What the Bible Foretells Comes True Show more. I was born in the city of Tarsus in the country of … Follow. Moses is Saved from The Pharaoh I Stories of Moses I Animated Children's Bible Stories. From Derbe, Paul and Barnabas looped back through the cities they’d already preached to, encouraging the new believers there and appointing elders for each church. Kids bible stories. He had an elite education. It would take time for Paul’s reputation as a Christian preacher to outgrow his reputation as a persecutor of Christians. Glad you like the maps! During their time in Philippi, a spirit that possessed a local slave girl was bothering Paul, so he cast it out of her (Acts 16:18). It is quite possible that Saul was present for the trial of Stephen —a trial that resulted in Stephen becoming the first Christian martyr (Acts 7:54–60). https://www.biblica.com/articles/7-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-apostle-paul Runtime: 101 minutes. Paul established numerous churches throughout Europe and Asia Minor, and was typically driven toward regions no one had evangelised to before: “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation” —Romans 15:20, The Book of Acts and Paul’s letters specifically record three missionary journeys to various cities throughout Europe and Asia, each lasting for several years. 22 Paul said, “Brothers and fathers, listen to what I have to say to you.” 2 When they heard him speak to them in their own language, they stopped making noise. (Similar to how “James” is the Greek form of “Jacob,” and “Judas” is the Greek form of “Judah.”) As Paul began to evangelize Greek communities (and since most of the New Testament was written in Greek), it makes sense that we see the Greek version of his name most after his conversion. The New Testament books of the Bible mention several women who happen to appear in Paul’s ministry, Lydia being one of them. Those who opposed Paul and Barnabas started a plot to stone them, but they caught wind of it and fled to the Lycaonian city of Lystra. For my part, I’m not surprised that it would take some time to go from “breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples” (Acts 9:1) to risking your own murder for the sake of making disciples. (We’ll discuss these more later, or you can read more about them now.). And in 200 AD, Tertullian wrote that Paul’s death was like John the Baptist’s (decapitation). Paul’s zeal for persecuting the church led him to travel to Damascus. . Paul remained in Ephesus for more than two years, and during that time he transitioned from teaching in the synagogue to discussing the gospel in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. Still, scholars can’t be sure that Paul did make this fourth journey, as the primary sources for his other three journeys (Acts and the epistles) don’t give us an explicit account of it. Paul told him he would heal him in the name of Jesus Christ. May their lives and walks with God strengthen your faith and encourage your soul.4 Things You May Not Know About Abraham in the Bible5 Things to Know About Luke from the BibleThe Life of Ruth - 5 Essential Faith LessonsJohn the Baptist: 6 Powerful Truths from His LifeWho was Peter in the Bible & Why Was He So Important? Paul the Apostle, previously known as Saul of Tarsus and now often called St Paul (2BC–67), was a Messianic Jewish - Roman writer and rabbi. Acts 15:36 | View whole chapter | See verse in context And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. The Story of Paul Lesson. And there was the king that sent his friend and general of the king's army to the front line in hopes that he would be killed so he could have his friends wife. kids bible story of the apostle paul. NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, Red Letter Edition: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture. There is no book of Paul just his letters, however it is very clear that God used him as a post disciple of Christ Jesus to solidify the truth. 1 Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. His exegesis of the Old Testament bears testimony to his rabbinic training. But there’s no verse that says that. But before he was known as a tireless champion of Christianity, Paul was actually known for persecuting Christians. 20 Uplifting Bible Verses to Encourage Your Daily Walk, Lavish Grace: Poured Out, Poured Through, and Overflowing, 4 Things You May Not Know About Abraham in the Bible, 5 Things to Know About Luke from the Bible, The Life of Ruth - 5 Essential Faith Lessons, John the Baptist: 6 Powerful Truths from His Life. The story of Paul is a story of redemption in Jesus Christ and a testimony that no one is beyond the saving grace of the Lord. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. Other early Christian writers support these claims and provide some additional details like where it happened (Rome) and where he was buried (the Ostian Way at Rome). When Paul preached at the Areopagus in Athens, he told his hearers that the God of the Bible was the Creator of all things and that He had raised Jesus from the dead. Instead, they essentially instructed Gentiles be culturally sensitive to their Jewish brothers and sisters, because the Law was respected and observed by Jews everywhere. He goes on to say that he considers this righteousness “garbage” next to the righteousness that comes from faith in Christ (Philippians 3:8–9). Clement of Rome provided the earliest surviving record of Paul’s death in his letter to the Corinthians (known as 1 Clement), where he mentions that Paul and Peter were martyred. But Christianity was radically different from Judaism, and while many early Christians followed the Law, it wasn’t a prerequisite for believing in Jesus. Article Images Copyright ©, 6 Things You Didn't Know about Paul in the Bible. Being a “Hebrew of Hebrews” lent him credibility and expertise when speaking to Jewish audiences, and helped him speak into the Law’s inability to make people righteous. In his letter to the Galatians, he builds the case that the Galatians can trust the gospel he presented them because it came directly from God, and the first apostles supported his message (Galatians 2:6–9). While he was proud of his Jewish heritage, Paul saw that the gospel was for the Gentiles as well. Bible Characters: Paul. In the last century, scholars have come to appreciate Paul as the actual founder of the religious movement that would become Christianity. He saw no way out of the life-threatening situation. Paul's exact date of birth is unknown. Introduction to The Book of Philemon. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.’, ‘Lord,’ Ananias answered, ‘I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. Silas and Timothy stayed behind, but would catch up later. They spent “considerable time there” (Acts 14:3), and the city became increasingly divided: some Jews and Gentiles supported them, and others reviled them. Only counting the times the Bible explicitly says they planned to kill him, not just attack or harm him, here they in sequential order. Paul and his companions suffered such extreme pressure during a particular situation in Asia they “despaired even of life.” Scholars aren’t sure what event Paul referred to in these verses, but it was a situation so dire Paul believed he and his companions might die. Despite never witnessing Jesus’ ministry, Paul arguably contributed more to the growth of the Christian movement than any other apostle. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. 2 The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. The story of Paul's experiences reads like those tales of adventure which are so full of absorbing interest that when once they have been taken up, we do not feel like laying them down again until they are finished. Paul’s first journey began in Antioch with a calling from the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:2–3). Then they sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John Mark parted ways with Paul and Barnabas (this became a point of tension between Paul and Barnabas later). He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. There (see Acts 28) he apparently wrote his so-called prison letters: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. It's likely Paul learned the Scripture from his family and from the local synagogue. It’s Sunday morning and my grandson Paul is on his honeymoon. The Beginner’s Guide to the Bible gives you an overview of what the Bible is, what it’s for, and what it’s all about. Paul had been imprisoned at Rome sends the church at Philippi a love letter of thanks, commending them for their liberal giving. . But not everyone agrees that Paul wrote all of these letters. Brief Summary. We have two sources of information pertaining to Paul’s biography. If you read the book of Esther, you may wonder why in the world is this in the Bible? Retail: $49.99 . In 2002, archaeologists found a large marble sarcophagus near the location Jerome and Caius described. To Caesar you will go!” —Acts 25:10–12. In Philippians 3, he explains why if anyone ever had reason to believe that they could be saved by their adherence to Judaism, it was him: “If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.” —Philippians 3:4–6. Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, preaching in the synagogues and gaining both Jewish and Gentile followers from a range of social statuses, forming the group of believers he would later write to in 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians. But that’s not what happened here. His letters frequently address problems and questions these churches wrote to him about. Then he got up and went back in. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. These pictures are the copyright of John Paul Stanley who has granted FreeBibleimages permission to distribute them using a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. There, he met Hermocrates, who had dropsy and asked for healing. The people who saw this thought Paul and Barnabas were gods, and attempted to make sacrifices to them even as Paul and Barnabas tried to convince them not to. It was Jesus — to Paul's chagrin not a dead troublemaker but the risen Lord. Over the last two millennia, countless books have been written about Paul and his teachings. Saul’s transition to Paul actually takes place in Acts 13:9. “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. His followers smuggled him in and out of the city in a basket (Acts 9:23–25). In Acts 26, he shared the gospel with King Herod Agrippa II while he was on trial in Caesarea. Cancel. You may also like to read, Zacchaeus Story. This status gave him special privileges, and in some cases saved him from abuse (Acts 22:25–29). This was contested as early as the second and third centuries, but for more than a millennia the church largely believed Paul wrote it. He healed a man who had been lame since birth (Acts 14:8–10). Then he and Barnabas left (Acts 14:8–20). Thereafter he was shipped to Rome on appeal to the imperial court of Nero. Find an empty jar or box. According to the Bible, the Apostle Paul had great success in Ephesus doing God's work, using Jesus' name for healings and exorcisms. Even included it in early collections of his Jewish heritage, Paul was a student of Scripture Priscilla. The centurion in Acts 23 we have mention of … this is the book... 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