Title: Paul of Tarsus: The Man, The Teacher, and The Apostle
1Paul of Tarsus The Man, The Teacher, and The
Apostle
- John Mayo
- Theology II
- Kenrick-Glennon Seminary
2Where are we Going?
- The Man- Who was St. Paul
- The Teacher- What did he teach?
- The Apostle- What did he write?
Another St. Paul From http//www.twin-cities.com
/pics/st-paul.jpg
3St. Paul- The Early Years
- Paul was born sometime in the first decade AD
- A Jew by birth, Paul traced his lineage to
Benjamin. - In Acts, Luke presents Paul as being born in
Tarsus, which was a Greek town, but Paul never
says in his letters where he was born.
The City Gate of Tarsus, Dating to Paul From
http//www.livingtravel.com/europe/turkey/turkey_4
.htm
4The Names of Paul
- Saul
- Probably his Hebrew name
- This means Asked of God or Asked of Yahweh
- Name of Israels first King (1 Sam. 1021).
- Paul
- A Roman name from his birth
- No one knows how he got this name, since it is of
a well to do Roman family. - Name means small or little
- Very common to have two names one Jewish and
another Gentile name.
5Paul, the Early Years (Concluded)
- As we have seen, Paul was both a Jewish Greek
- He appears to have received a classical Greek
education. - Paul also says he studied under Gamaliel I, a
great teacher, in Jerusalem.
Gamaliel I
From http//www.7eevangile.com/page88.htm
6Paul, Before Conversion
- Paul tells us that he was a Pharisee before his
conversion. - Teachers of the Law.
- Clashed many times with Jesus over ritual.
- Was present at the stoning of St. Stephen (Acts
81) - Received letters to arrest followers of The Way
in Damascus
Stoning of St. Stephen, by Unknown From
http//www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/artmuseum/collect
ions/italpaint/1988_29.html
7Pauls Conversion
- 3 Accounts (Acts 93-30, 226-21, and 2612-18)
- What is Common
- Light
- Voice from the sky
- What is Uncommon
- Who sees the light
- Who hears the voice
- Blindness
- Horse is not mentioned
- Bottom Line Paul had a life-changing experience
8Paul, the Seminarian?!
- Paul was not an immediate hit.
- Paul began to preach to the Jews in Damascus and
had to fled - He then fled to Arabia to pray and meditate
- After this, goes to Jerusalem for 15 days, but
never sees Peter or is truly accepted. - He then has to escape again and ends up back in
Tarsus for 5-6 years, before Barnabas comes to
get him to come to Antioch and preach to the
Church there.
St. Paul by El Greco Fromhttp//en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/ImageStPaul_ElGreco.jpg
9Paul, the Teacher
- Pauls Central Point
- For since in the wisdom of God the world did not
come to know God through wisdom, it was the will
of God through the foolishness of the
proclamation to save those who have faith. For
Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but
we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block
to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those
who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the
power of God and the wisdom of God. For the
foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,
and the weakness of God is stronger than human
strength. (1 Cor. 121-25) - Pauls preaching is centered on the cross and
faith in Christs death and resurrection.
10Paul, the Teacher (2)
- Paul sees that after Adams sin, all humans, both
Jews and Greeks are under the sway of sin. - God gives Moses the Law (Ten Commandments) as a
way of life to shepherd us until the coming of
Christ. - God fully tells man how to live rightly, but man
cannot because of the reign of sin. - This shows us how much we are dependant on God
and need Him to save us.
11Paul, the Teacher (3)
- God, in the fullness of time, sends His son to
redeem us. - Through Christ, we are freed from the reign of
sin. - This freedom comes through faith in Christ
through the word of the gospel. - This faith in the gospel is not the same as in a
history book, but is a full acceptance, as one
fully accepts a friend.
Fromhttp//www.fwepiscopal.org/graphics/farrercro
sswhiteground.gif
12Paul, the Teacher (4)
- Through faith, we are given grace, which makes us
sons and daughters of the Father. - This is a free gift of God, and thus we cannot
boast of it selfishly. - God also gives us the gift of Love.
- This is to be in all of our actions.
- This unites all believers in a communion of love.
- This is done by the Holy Spirit.
13Paul and Martin Luther
- Martin Luther read a great deal of St. Paul, and
is partially why Paul gets a bad hearing by many.
- However, as we have seen, Paul does not teach
that we are saved by faith alone we need to
respond to Gods grace and live in love. - Martin Luther got his idea by adding alone to
Romans 328 - NAB For we consider that a person is justified
by faith apart from works of the law. - Martin Luther defended this change by saying that
Paul would have said this himself.
14Paul, the Apostle
- Now that we know St. Paul better, lets discuss
- Be subordinate to one another out of reverence
for Christ. Wives should be subordinate to their
husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is head
of his wife just as Christ is head of the church,
he himself the savior of the body. As the church
is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be
subordinate to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved
the church and handed himself over for her to
sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water
with the word, that he might present to himself
the church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle
or any such thing, that she might be holy and
without blemish. So (also) husbands should love
their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his
wife loves himself. (Eph. 522-28).
15Benedict XVI on Paul (10/25/06)
- Paul was a devout follower of the law, whose
initial hostility to the Gospel suddenly melted
when he encountered the risen Lord on the road to
Damascus. His own accounts of this dramatic
conversion speak not only about his vision of
Jesus, but also his call to be an apostle. From
that moment on, Paul's life was completely
dedicated to the service of Christ. From Paul we
learn to make Christ the center of our lives and
to see all things in the light of God's
universal, reconciling love. - Fromhttp//www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml
?sid97167
16Thank You!