Introduction

Introduction

In the some six thousand years or more of human history various and sundry voices clamor for our attention and consideration, both secular and religious. The majority of these men and women of destiny; famous or infamous, have been given a niche in history’s “hall of fame” and other voices have arisen to cry forth, by written word or verbally, their fame or infamy. It would be extremely difficult; almost impossible, to determine which one of these men or women, apart from the Lord Jesus Christ himself, rose to the greatest height in the story of “man’s inhumanity to man”.

Beyond question one of the greatest of these voices which the world had ever heard was that of the Apostle Paul. It is a well established fact that he became by far the dominant figure of the Apostolic Age. Peter was great; John was great; most of the Disciples and many of the Christians of that day achieved greatness uncommon to the average individual, but Paul was greater. Even a hap-hazard perusal of New Testament history will confirm this truth.

This exceeding greatness of Paul was realized as the direct result of his utter abandonment to the command of Christ which states that he who loses his life “for My sake” shall “find it”. That is to say, Paul achieved his greatness “the hard way”. From nearly every city and town which he visited, he was violently driven out, only to reappear in due course of time, intrepid, unafraid, unflinchingly sure of the cause he espoused. These many painful and often heartbreaking sufferings only made him the stronger.

His ultimate success was, therefore, the working out of one of the phenomena of Christian experience. That is, to those who trust their life is immortal and their success assured until their earthly activities, as purposed and planned by God, are completed; however, such success as that attained by Paul requires the “Pauline spirit”. Saul of Tarsus was an individual possessed of such vehemence and power that he quickly became the leading force in whatever circle of humanity he moved, whether as Saul the persecuting Pharisee or Paul the laboring, mistreated missionary. Such was his determination and driving force that, if as he said he was the “chief of sinners”, he became the “chief of saints”.

Becoming the “chief of saints” was the success achieved by Paul because of his pursuance of two vitally important avenues of Christian experience

(1) He became the interpreter of Christ, speaking the words that Christ himself would have said under the circumstances.

(2) By following that doctrinal and theological school of thought which, in a word, was nothing more than the explanation of his own, personal conversion. These two truths explain the reasons for Paul’s outstanding success in Christian living, preaching, and teaching.

In the process of this Christian living, preaching, and teaching Divine Providence brought Paul to the civilizations of the West rather than those of the Eastern, Oriental world. The fate of the Western world, it may be said in regards to its whole religious and secular history, was decided the moment Paul crossed the Aegean Sea and journeyed over into Greece and Rome. Thus, in bringing Paul West, Divine Providence gave to Europe, and eventually to the Americas and the whole world, a blessed priority.

But the bringing and establishment of this blessed priority could never have been achieved had there been no Paul. The secret of the successful planting of the Gospel Seed in Western Europe depended upon an individual such as the Apostle Paul, who possessed the sense of having the world’s most vital mission and, as well, a freedom alike from the bondage of bigotry and the bondage of liberty with which bondage the world of his day was terribly cursed.

As the eyes of God ran to and fro over the sons of men it was obvious that Saul of Tarsus was the man for the hour and one of whom He said “He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear My name before the Gentiles, and kings and the children of Israel; for I will shew him how great things he must suffer for My name’s sake” (Acts 9:15-16)

Bearing His name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel became the life ambition of Saul of Tarsus, being reborn as Paul the Apostle.