Calling and Purpose 7—The Apostle Paul
When we meet the future Apostle Paul, he goes by the name of Saul, and he is fully opposed to those who believe that Jesus as the Messiah. Saul is present at the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:57-58). Acts 8 details the “great persecution” that then began against the Jerusalem believers—scattering the church throughout the surrounding region. A lead figure in that persecution is Saul—whose obsessive goal (Acts 26:11) was to “destroy the church” by “going from house to house,” arresting and imprisoning both men and women (Acts 8:1-3), “breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples,” and obtaining official permission from the high priest to do the same in Damascus (Acts 9:1-2). Saul is a strict “Pharisee, descended from Pharisees” (Acts 23:6; 26:5), a Roman citizen (23:27), “a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia” (21:39), “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” (Phil. 3:5-6).
Then, Saul has his dramatic encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9) and is baptized (by Ananias). When the Lord appears to Ananias to tell him to go minister to the newly-converted Saul, we get a clue as to Jesus’ purpose for the rest of Saul’s life: “But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’” (Acts 9:15-16). When Paul tells King Agrippa of his conversion, Paul describes his calling this way: “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me’” (Acts 26:15-18).
In his letter to the Roman church, Paul says “I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them.” (Romans 11:13-14). When Paul visits the church in Jerusalem, he reports to the elders “in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry” (Acts 21:19). Paul’s unique ministry is officially accepted and blessed by the other apostles—the early church leadership. As Paul says in Galatians 2:2: “I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles.” The result? “…they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles…They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised” (Galatians 2:1-9).
We all are part of the universal call of God—to be in service to Jesus and set apart as witnesses to His Good News--one that Paul also recognized: “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God” (Romans 1:1). We each also have a unique calling and purpose from God—Paul knew his to be “Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake.” (Romans 1:5). Again, in Romans, Paul says “Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”
“Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done—by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. 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 15:15-20).
It is clear from the outset that Saul is zealous for God. After his conversion, Paul is zealous for Jesus. In fact, he says in his letter to the church in Philippi that his credentials (Pharisee, Benjamite, obsessed with the law, Roman citizen) are now worthless—the only thing of import is Jesus, and Paul is fully committed to completing his calling: “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:7-14)
Paul’s calling is to proclaim the message of Jesus to the Gentiles, inviting them into full adoption by God the Father. He is clear that part of his purpose to reach the unreached was to go into new territory where Christ was not yet known. Paul’s hope is that his own people, the Jews, will also come to faith in Jesus, but he is determined to stay focused on the task Jesus set out for him on the road to Damascus. As a result of Paul’s clarity of mission and his steadfastness of purpose, countless generations of people have heard and responded to the Gospel message.
It is worth noting that early on in Paul’s ministry, he and his companions embark on various missionary journeys, covering the territory from Jerusalem to Rome (Acts). During this season of his life, Paul appears to exhibit the spiritual gifts of apostleship, leadership, evangelism, tongues, and miracles. After his final arrest and imprisonment, Paul is no longer able to travel, plant churches, select and raise up new leaders, and preach in new towns. However, he has a deep and abiding ministry—then and now—through his letters—Philemon, Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus. During this season, Paul seems to have or demonstrate a different set of spiritual gifts: shepherding, exhortation, intercession, wisdom, and teaching—primarily through writing. Throughout his ministry, Paul seems to have had faith, and, perhaps, knowledge—but his other gifts may have changed or reordered in the final season of his life. [For definitions of each of these gifts, refer to Spiritual Gifts Definitions. For more detail on the life of Paul, study the Book of Acts of the Apostles and/or look closely at Acts 7, 8, 9. 11, 12. 23; Romans 1, 15; Philippians 3.]
As you think about your own calling and purpose—as distinct from that of others—where is the story of Paul helpful?
Reflect on your life seasons so far. Does it appear that your gifts have shifted over time to reflect a change in call or emphasis? In what ways?
How might your current mix of gifts help define your purpose?
If you are unfamiliar with your gifts, take a quick free online Spiritual Gifts Assessment.
For more on these subjects, see the Gifts-Calling-Purpose blog. Check out other resources and a six-week workbook at GodGiftsYou.com.
Shirley Giles Davis, author of the God. Gifts. You. Your Unique Calling and Design workbook, is a consultant, coach, facilitator who has worked with faith-based organizations, nonprofit agencies, and law enforcement leadership for over 30 years. Shirley has been EquipConnectServe Director at her church in Boulder since 1999. She has worked with leaders and organizations across the United States as well as having international clients. Contact Shirley.
Photo (c) Marjorie H. Irvine, all rights reserved.