Who Was Paul the Apostle — Meaning Explained

Originally named Saul, Paul was 'a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee' (Acts 23:6), trained under Gamaliel (22:3), and zealously persecuted the church: 'I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it' (Galatians 1:13). He approved Stephen's stoning (Acts 8:1). On the road to Damascus to arrest Christians, 'suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?' (Acts 9:3-4). Blinded, then healed by Ananias, Paul was baptized and immediately began preaching (9:20). He undertook three missionary journeys establishing churches throughout the Roman Empire — in Galatia, Philippi, Thessalonica, Corinth, Ephesus, and Rome. He wrote 13 New Testament epistles (possibly 14), shaping Christian theology on justification by faith, grace, the church as Christ's body, and the Spirit-filled life. He endured extraordinary suffering: shipwrecks, beatings, imprisonments, and stoning (2 Corinthians 11:23-28). He declared, 'I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith' (2 Timothy 4:7). Tradition says he was beheaded in Rome under Nero. Paul's transformation from chief persecutor to chief apostle is among the strongest evidences for the resurrection.