Ephesians Meet the Author ~ Part 3 Various Passages

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1 Ephesians Meet the Author ~ Part 3 Various Passages O ne of the things that frustrates me about so much of contemporary Christianity, especially the seeker-sensitive movement, is the frequent lack of reality about what the Christian life is. The issue of sin and the related necessity of salvation often moves way down the list of what is important in marketing Christianity. Instead the focus is on Jesus as a buddy. Become a Christian and see life get easier. If you have enough faith, all your problems will be solved. God wants you to be healthy, wealthy, and wise. And then when reality hits, people become discouraged, and if they were professors rather than possessors, they lose their faith. How can anyone look at the life of Paul and not realize that great blessings often come at great cost? These costs are the source of many of these blessings and we do people a disservice by not telling them the opportunities that come with salvation. Life isn t about our comfort levels, it s about the opportunities to build for eternity. I II III IV I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:10-13). Introduction Who Was Saul? Who Was Saul/Paul? Who Was Paul? A. The Call to Apostleship B. A Time of Transition C. Journey s Beginnings Introduction: After his conversion Saul spent some time in seclusion or at least, preparation. This entailed two to three years in Arabia. As we noted last week, we don t know what this included, but clearly the zealot for persecution became a zealot for Christ. As with the case with Christ, we don t need to know what goes on during these silent years, because we see the results. At this point Paul is probably somewhere in his early to mid-thirties. The two to three years in Arabia comprise the first silent period. Only a short time later, we find a more extended period, estimated by some as long as ten years, when Saul remained in

2 seclusion back at home in Tarsus. Based on the timing, some speculate that two events reported in Corinthians took place during this time. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know God knows. And I know that this man whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell. To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. (2 Corinthians 12:2-4, 7). Some also speculate, again based on the timing, that as Saul was striving to reach his fellow Jews, he went from synagogue to synagogue along the coastline of Tarsus, and as a consequence experienced the events of 2 Corinthians 11. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move (vs ). Saul s real work began with his initial involvement with the Apostles and the early church. This was followed by his missionary journeys and then the years of imprisonment, during which he wrote the prison epistles and provided the doctrinal foundation for Christianity. But first IV Who Was Paul?: A. The Call to Apostleship: While Paul is clearly identified as an Apostle, his qualifications are significantly different that the others. It also should be noted that because he was an Apostle doesn t mean he filled the twelfth spot vacated by Judas. His role was unique from the others. Getz discusses Paul s apostleship this way: his calling to be an apostle differed greatly from the other men outlined in Scripture as apostles of Jesus Christ. These twelve men spent three and a half years following Jesus Christ while He traveled throughout Galilee and Judea. They heard Jesus teach that He was the true Messiah and Savior of the world and that this salvation came through faith, not the law (John 3:16). They saw Him work miracles to prove His deity (John 20:31) and witnessed His death and resurrection. Before He ascended, they heard Jesus proclaim the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations (Matt 28:19-20). They then witnessed and the powerful coming of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem and experienced the spectacular birth of the church (Acts 2:1-11). 1 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:31). Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything 1 Getz, Gene A., Paul, Living for the Call of Christ, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, TN, 2000, p ) 22 (

3 I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:19). When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them (Acts 2:1-4). Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues! (Acts 2:5-11). Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day (Acts 2:41) But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand (Acts 4:4). Paul, on the other hand, received his divine call to be an apostle after Christ had returned to heaven and after the Holy Spirit had come on the Day of Pentecost. In fact, the church had multiplied phenomenally, involving thousands of believers (Acts 2:41; 4:4). 2 B. A Time of Transition: There a number of factors in the transitions of Saul s life. Keep in mind this was an individual who exercised great power in Israel. He represented the government in its persecution of the Christians. Now he begins the process of becoming what may well be the greatest spokesmen for that faith. And where he was once the persecutor, he now becomes the persecuted. First, he is persecuted immediately in his return to Damascus. Prior to leaving, he was testifying about Jesus. Now he is proving that Jesus is the Messiah. This didn t go over too big. Where he come into town recognized and appreciated for the work he was going to do in ending the dangers of the Way, now he has to flee in humiliation. After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him, but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall (Acts 9:23-25). So Saul flees Damascus for Jerusalem where he will meet the young church and the believers who are his brothers and sisters. But that welcome was not with open arms. But even when 2 Ibid, p. 46. ) 23 (

4 he s finally accepted and has the opportunity to preach, once again he has to flee. So it isn t surprising he went back home and disappeared from the scene for a decade. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days (Galatians 1:18). When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him. When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus (Acts 9:26-30). So it seems that Saul spent over 13 years after his conversion sitting on the shelf, or at least not being actively involved in spreading the gospel. Frustrating, isn t it? Swindoll notes: Wait a minute. Wasn t this man commissioned by the Lord Jesus to reach the kings and rulers of the world? Isn t he the one who was to open the door of the Gospel to the Gentiles? Now he s back in Tarsus and being asked to wait. What gives? That goes against all the rules of success, right? We don t like to wait, even for red lights that take forever to turn green. If you re gifted and the need is great, waiting makes no sense at all. We want progress now, before we get older, or before people decide to go somewhere else to find truth. I mean, C mon, Lord the people need us now! No they don t. Notice the very next sentence in the biblical narrative. So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being build up; and, going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase (Acts 9:31). You mean without Saul? Yes, without Saul. The church not only went on, it flourished without his help. That s hard for most folks to accept, especially those who are called and gifted, starting out in the work of ministry. But, accept it we must. The secret of the church then and now is not a remarkably gifted individual like Saul (or someone uniquely gifted and talented as you). The secret to the blessing and health of any church is Almighty God. Period. It s not you, it s certainly not me, or anyone else we may be tempted to think it is indispensable to the cause. 3 C. Journey s Beginnings: So now another ten years have past and Saul is in his mid-forties. So far he has not seen the great opportunities God was going to present to him. The church Saul returned to was one of prejudice. It was still essentially a Jewish church. The attitude was that Gentiles had to in effect convert to Judaism in order to become Christians. They had not yet understood the significance of God s call to offer the gospel to all men. And so Saul is reunited with Barnabas, the one who stood up for him before Christian leaders in Jerusalem so many years before. For the church, it becomes clear there is a call to a ministry to the Gentiles, and that God has sent aside Saul and Barnabas to this specific task. In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have 3 Swindoll, Charles R., Paul, W Publishing Group, Nashville, TN, 2002, p ) 24 (

5 called them. So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus (Acts 13:1-4). One other change should be noted here. Saul, who was also called Paul (Acts 13:9). as a Jew of the Diaspora, who must necessarily rub shoulders with the Gentile world at large, he also bore the Greek name Paul (Paulos, meaning little ), which became his cognomen in the empire and was used in Gentile contexts. So at this point in his narrative Luke speaks of Saul, who was also called Paul, and hereafter refers to him only by this name. 4 All this reflects God s purpose for Paul, that he, being a Jew among Jews, was nevertheless, uniquely called to be God s minister to the Gentile peoples. And though he would still stop first in synagogues, always being concerned for the salvation of his people, his responsibility was to minister to the Gentiles. One last point should be made here. While we tend to think of Paul as functioning separately from the church at large, he was by no means a lone ranger. He was sent out under the authorization of the elders of the church. So Paul and Barnabas leave on their first missionary journey, the true beginning of Paul s work. And it is here we will pickup in two weeks. Conclusion: We started this morning by noting that Paul was rejected by those who had previously accepted him. Because he was a turncoat, this should not be seen as surprising. But there is a broader principle, which is the rejection by the ones who know us best. Jesus certainly experienced this. Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, He is out of his mind. (Mark 3:20-21). Jesus said to them, Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor. (Mark 6:4). This was also Paul s experience as he had been warned. If his parents were alive, can you imagine what their response would have been to Paul s conversion? Certainly not good! And by the way, Getz takes the position that Paul may well have been married and that his wife left him because of his conversion. 5 The point is, to be a believer may mean loss of family, friends, jobs, all that the world tells us is of importance. Remember it was Christ who said: Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter 4 Longnecker, Richard N., The Expositor s Bible Commentary, Acts, Zondervan Interactive Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, Getz, p. 78. ) 25 (

6 against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law a man s enemies will be the members of his own household. (Matthew 10:34-36). But with every negative comes a positive. And the positive is being part of the body of Christ where we can care for one another. This is seen early on in the life of Paul with his relationship to Barnabas. In his study on Paul, Gene Getz gives the following application directly related to this subject. And I will close with this application. When Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, he stated two times that we are to encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thess. 4:18; 5:11). Barnabas definitely illustrated how we can do this: We encourage others when we share our material possessions generously and unselfishly. We encourage others when we use our talents and abilities to build up other members of the body of Jesus Christ. We encourage others when we are available, using our time, to get to know others and to meet needs in their lives. 6 Therefore encourage each other with these words. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. So, this week, let us pray for and take the opportunity to encourage others. I m so glad I m a part of the family of God I ve been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood! Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod, For I m part of the family, the family of God. 7 6 Getz, p Gaither, Gloria and William J. Gaither, The Hymnal for Worship & Celebration, The Family of God, Word Music, Waco, TX, 1986, #282. ) 26 (

7 Ephesians Meet the Author ~ Part 3 Various Passages I II III IV Introduction Who Was Saul? Who Was Saul/Paul? Who Was Paul? A. The Call to Apostleship B. A Time of Transition C. Journey s Beginnings I Introduction: (Philippians 4:10-13; 2 Corinthians 12:2-4, 7, 11:24-26) IV Who Was Paul?: A. The Call to Apostleship: (John 3:16, 20:31; Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:1-4, 5-11, 41, 4:4) B. A Time of Transition: (Acts 9:23-25; Galatians 1:18; Acts 9:26-30)

8 C. Journey s Beginnings: (Acts 13:1-4, 13:9) Conclusion: (Mark 3:20-21, 6:4 Matthew 10:34-36; 1 Thessalonians 4:18, 5:11) Personal Application: Ask the Lord for ways we can encourage the discouraged and allow ourselves to be encouraged by others. Prayer for the Week: Lord, make us sensitive to the needs of those around us so we can be an encouragement to them. Especially let us be aware of those You have placed over us as October is pastor appreciation month. In Jesus name, amen.