THE L.I.F.E. PLAN PAUL, THE APOSTLE TO THE GENTILES THEME 6 - THE ACTS LESSON 4 (96 of 216)
THEME 6: THE ACTS LESSON 4 (96 OF 216): PAUL, THE APOSTLE TO THE GENTILES LESSON AIM: Briefly present the life and ministry of the apostle, Paul. SCRIPTURE: (Romans 11:13) For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: Many people have made a great impact in the world for Christ. History is filled with person after person who stood as a giant of the faith to champion the cause of Christ. We think of men like John Wyclife, John Calvin, John Bunyan, Martin Luther, and John Wesley. Some of them are living in the world of our day; Billy Graham comes to mind. In the New Testament, great men lived their lives in giant ways as the new church was standing on young legs and learning how to walk with Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul, the apostle to the gentiles, was one of those men. We often use his testimony before King Agrippa as a model for telling our own story with Christ. Paul began with his life before Christ, how he came to meet Christ, and the difference Christ made in his life. We will follow Paul s own pattern in this lesson as we briefly present the life and ministry of Paul, the apostle to the gentiles. Paul had been groomed from the very start in view of a high standing in the Jewish religion. From the tribe of Benjamin, bearing the name of the first king of Israel, and trained at the feet of Gamaliel, a noted rabbi, Paul became a Pharisee in Judaism. He referred to himself as a Pharisee of the Pharisees, noting his pride in the keeping of the law. As a high ranking religionist, Paul had a great zeal for Israel, for its religion, and for its God which he considered one and the same. To Paul, to defend Judaism was to defend God. So, he went about persecuting the new opposition to Judaism which came from this new group on the scene, the Christians. With authorization from the chief priests, Paul went about arresting, beating, and arresting those who followed Christ in every place in which he went. His notoriety as a persecutor of Christians was well known, making Paul feared among those who followed Christ. One day, as Paul went about his business of persecuting Christians, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him and arrested him for the very cause which Paul opposed. A bright light from heaven blinded Paul and a voice spoke to him saying he had been chosen to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the gentiles. For three days Paul was without sight until God sent a man to speak with him. His sight was restored and he was baptized as a follower of Christ. What a humbling experience this must have been for Paul. He was now everything that he had previously stood against. Paul began his ministry for Christ with the same zeal that he had persecuted the church. He boldly confronted the Jews and used their own Scriptures to prove that this Jesus whom they crucified was indeed the Messiah for whom they had waited. This was not good news to the Jews. They did not receive the message very well. Every time and in every place Paul preached this message, the Jews opposed him to the point of plotting to ambush him and take his life. In Damascus, the disciples even had to lower him in a basket over the city wall to escape for his life under the cover of
darkness. Paul caused such a stir, even among the apostles, that they felt it best to put him on a boat back to Tarsus where he came from. If he was out of the way, he could not continue to make such trouble for everyone. That which happened to Paul is the story of most believers in Christ. They believe and know that they must join in the work in a ministry of their own to take the message of Christ to the nations. However, just because they are now believers does not mean that they are prepared automatically for the work they have to do. After salvation, there must come a time of training, or discipling, which prepares us for the work and sets our bearing in the direction we must go. The apostles failed to do this with Paul. They sent him back to Tarsus and for the next ten years or so, Paul is sitting there saved, but doing nothing to fulfill the commission he had been given by Christ. Meanwhile, the gospel had spread as far as Antioch and the church had sent Barnabas up there to survey the situation. He saw many new believers and much discipling that needed to be done in the city. Knowing that he needed help in doing this work, he remembered Paul and went to Tarsus to try to find him. He found him, told him about Antioch, and invited him to go to the city with him to be trained in the work and to help train others. Paul went with Barnabas and for a period of one year, Barnabas invested his life into Paul, preparing him for his ministry as the apostle to the gentiles. This is the kind of relationship every Christian needs to have and the kind we must provide for those who follow in our footsteps. It made all the difference in the life of Paul. He was now in a position to begin his own work and ministry for the Lord. As a discipled believer in Christ, Paul now had become a contender for the faith. His ministry is overviewed for us in the book of Acts, beginning with the first mention of his name in chapter seven and continuing to the end of the book. As we look at the life of Paul, we see a full and comprehensive, many-faceted ministry taking place all at the same time. In addition to the year Barnabas spent training him in Antioch, he also took him on a short-term mission trip to Jerusalem. Shortly after this experience, the missionary journeys of Paul began, and his ministry flourished as he went. Along with partners in the ministry, Paul took the gospel to many cities, preaching to the Jew first then to the gentiles. Remember, at this time, God was still offering the kingdom to the Jews. This is the reason for preaching to the Jews first. Upon the rejection by the Jews to the message of the gospel of the kingdom, Paul turned to the gentiles who gladly received the Lord and became his followers. Paul made three of these missionary journeys on which he experienced many hardships, persecutions, and responses to the gospel message. While Paul journeyed from place to place, churches were planted and established along the way. Paul stayed with some of them for extended periods of time to get them grounded in the faith and to prepare and appoint pastors to oversee them. He also wrote letters to them, explaining the gospel as God had revealed it directly to him. These letters are now part of the New Testament as inspired Scriptures from God to us through the pen of Paul. In addition to these works, Paul also engaged in the work of disciple-making as he had learned it first hand from Barnabas and even Gamaliel. He invested his life into men such as Luke, Timothy, Mark, Titus, and many others. His writings should be studied as a means of learning the disciple-making process in order that we might continue to do it today. Paul s life was just like the life of any other person. He was lost, God saved him, and God used him to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. His life stands as an example of what God wants to do in our life, too. May we submit to God s work in us.
LESSON OUTLINE THEME 6: THE ACTS LESSON 4 (96 OF 216): PAUL, THE APOSTLE TO THE GENTILES I PAUL S LIFE BEFORE CHRIST A. A Pharisee B. A persecutor of Christians II HOW PAUL MET CHRIST A. His conversion B. His discipling III PAUL AS A CONTENDER FOR THE FAITH A. Preacher of the gospel B. Church planter C. Scripture writer D. Disciple-maker SCRIPTURES TO BROADEN YOUR UNDERSTANDING 1. Paul s conversion Acts 9:1-31 2. Paul s missionary journeys Training trip - Acts 11:27-30; 12:25 First - Acts 13-14 Second - Acts 15:36-18:22 Third - Acts 18:23-21:17 3. A commentary on the ministry environment of Paul 2 Corinthians 11:16-12:15 4. All of Paul s letters in the New Testament
LINES OF THEOLOGICAL CONNECTION 1. ECCLESIOLOGY Church planting Witnessing for Christ Sharing your personal testimony Dealing with adversity in the ministry 2. DISCIPLE-MAKING Disciple-makers of the New Testament QUESTIONS ANSWER KEY 1. What did Paul do before he became a believer on Christ? He persecuted the church 2. Who was instrumental in preparing Paul for his personal ministry? Barnabas 3. In what city did Barnabas and Paul work together? Antioch 4. List the things Paul did as a contender for the faith. Preaching, church planting, wrote Scripture, made disciples 5. Paul went on three missionary journeys. Read about them in the book of Acts and trace them in the maps in the back of your Bible. Student activity 6. Have you been discipled by another Christian? Student response 7. Are you discipling another believer in Christ? Student response 8. Are you developing your personal ministry for Christ? Student response
THEME 6: THE ACTS LESSON 4 (96 OF 216): PAUL, THE APOSTLE TO THE GENTILES QUESTIONS TO INSPIRE THOUGHT 1. What did Paul do before he became a believer on Christ? 2. Who was instrumental in preparing Paul for his personal ministry? 3. In what city did Barnabas and Paul work together? 4. List the things Paul did as a contender for the faith. 5. Paul went on three missionary journeys. Read about them in the book of Acts and trace them in the maps in the back of your Bible. 6. Have you been discipled by another Christian? 7. Are you discipling another believer in Christ? 8. Are you developing your personal ministry for Christ?