The Personal Life of the Apostle Paul, Research Paper Example

Introduction

The Apostle Paul, or Saint Paul, or Paul of Tarsus, is one of the most prominent figures in the world history, one of the authors of the New Testament whose name has been rising people to fight for their faith for the two thousand years of Christianity. Adolph Hitler could not talk about him without hatred, as he was of opinion that it was Saint Paul who ruined the Roman Empire. Fridrich Nitzsche called him a priest who destroyed Jesus’ intention.

Such outstanding scholars as a Russian historian Glubokovskii and German historian Alfred Harnack emphasized that Christianity would have never gone beyond the community in which it was generated but for the will and efforts of the Apostle Paul. Albert Schweizer, a famous doctor, philosopher and musician, supposed it was Saint Paul who developed the spirit and energy which were hidden in the Gospel.

Who was Saint Paul? Paul, or Paulus in Latin, or Saul in Hebrew, was born in the first decade of the first century AD, on the territory of contemporary Turkey in the city of Tarsus (at that time the capital of the small Roman district Cilicia) where the cultural and political influences of the West and the East were acting in an intricate combination. He was brought up as a steadfast adherent of Judaism and a strict follower of Pharisee virtue. His parents were wealthy and prominent.

Paul was born a Roman citizen, he must have inherited citizenship from his father. Roman citizenship meant a number of privileges for Paul. Arrested by local authorities, Roman citizens could demand fair trial and even question the unfair outcome at the court by appealing directly to the emperor for judgment. Moreover, Roman citizens had the right to take government posts, vote, join the Roman legion, or apply for the senate membership. Roman citizens were at a great advantage compared to other dwellers of Tarsus.

The society in which Paul lived was mainly Hellenistic, which could not but be felt even by a Jew. The Book of Acts presents evidence of Paul speaking fluent Greek and using citations of Greek authors. It makes some of the researchers think that Paul attended one of  Hellenistic schools of rhetoric. Some scholars argue that Paul was quite familiar with the Greek philosophy of Stoicism that was popular in the region where he lived. An analysis of Paul’s later speeches reveals certain parallels in reasoning to the Stoic’s arguments (the use of rhetorical questions, elliptical statements, an imaginary opponent who raises questions, and examples from day-to-day life of people. Furthermore, a number of parallels between the Stoic doctrine and the Bible might have attracted Paul. Both teachings are monotheistic and tell about living in accordance with the will of God or nature.

Still, Paul’s religion was Judaism. At that time, Judaism was divided into three major streams: Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Essenes. Paul belonged to orthodox Pharisees like the majority of Jews. The teaching of the Pharisees was legalistic. The main idea was to obey the law of Moses and by doing this to follow God. In an attempt to protect the law of Moses, the Pharisees developed a set of rabbinic rules known at that time as the Oral Torah. The rules were designed to regulate daily living. Later they evolved into the Talmud consisting of oral laws and rabbinical comments. The Oral Torah suggested numerous details of how the law of Moses should be observed.

The evidence about Paul’s life before conversion can be directly obtained from his writing. For instance, in his epistle to Philippians he wrote: “If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.” (Paul’s Letter to the Philippians 3:4-6).

Paul’s relatives hoped that he would become a teacher and a theologian and consequently sent him to Jerusalem where he was a disciple of Rabbi Gamaliel – a celebrated Pharisee scholar and a leading authority in the Sanhedrin. The author of Acts of the Apostles speaks about Rabbi Gamaliel with great respect and describes Gamaliel protecting the apostles who were accused of continuing to preach the Gospel and sentenced by the Sanhedrin to death.  He also pleaded the Sanhedrin not to repress Christians. Rabbi Gamaliel remained the example of a virtuous person and a careful observer of the traditions of the Old Testament.

Saul, or Paul, recollects that he was the most zealous disciple among the young people who were studying Scripture together. In his Letter to Galatians Paul describes: “You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.” (Paul’s Letter to the Galatians 1:13-14). He was so ardent that to show his approval of Saint Stephen’s cruel execution he would guard the clothes of executioners while they were casting stones in one of the first Christian martyrs.

However, when he was witnessing Stephan’s death, a doubt rose to confuse Saul. Why are the followers of Jesus of Nazareth so steadfast in the face of death and humiliation? In an attempt to stifle his doubts, Saul headed for Damascus to help nip the new movement of Nazarethians (as early adherents of Christianity were called) in the bud.

In was on his way to Damascus that Saul had a revelation. According to Saul’s own record, God showed him His Son. Saul was ruined to ashes and revived for a new life – a transformation from persecutor of Christians to a great preacher of the word of Jesus.

The Acts of Apostles describe his revelation as a sudden light coming from heaven on Saul as he was going to Damascus. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Saul asked the Lord who He was and the Lord answered he was Jesus persecuted by Saul. Jesus ordered him to get up and go into the city where he would be told what to do next. Saul was blinded by the vision for three days and could not eat or drink.

In Damascus there lived a disciple named Ananias. The Lord came to him in a vision and ordered to go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and find a man from Tarsus called Saul who must be praying. Ananias had to come up to him and place his hands on his eyes to restore his sight. Ananias mentioned to the Lord that Saul was a severe persecutor of saint people in Jerusalem sent to Damascus with authority to arrest all followers of Christ. But the Lord told Ananias to go and help Saul because this man was His chosen instrument to carry His name before the Gentiles (non-Hebrews) and before the people of Israel. So Ananias went to Saul, laid hands on his eyes and said he had been sent by the Lord Jesus who wanted Saul to recover and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Saul immediately regained his eyesight and a little food strengthened him. This is when he was baptized.

From that time on, Paul never felt he belonged to himself completely. He knew he had a mission and wrote to people in his letter to the Galatians, “For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the Gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ […] But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being.” (Paul’s Letter to the Galatians 1:11-12, 15-16).

The first disciples of Jesus were humble people. They tended to belong to the lower classes of the society. Their role was to convey the words of Jesus through the Gospel correctly and precisely.

But when this had been accomplished, a new person was needed – someone who would have the education and eloquence of a theologian and would have God’s support. Paul was a genius, a great philosopher, the first Christian theologian, the first mystic who told people about his revelation and spiritual experience. Paul never doubted his right to belong to the apostles. In the letter to Corinthians he wrote, “Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?” (Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians 9:1).

At that time, in the city of Antioch, the first community (the parish of the first church) consisting of Hebrews, Greeks, Syrians and other dwellers of the multinational city was formed. The community needed organizational force which would offer some universal ground. Varnava, one of the founders of the church in Jerusalem, went to Tarsus to invite Saul. That is how Saul settled down in Antioch.

The Antiochns were waiting for Saul to come and, naturally, expected him to be and look extraordinary. They heard that he had been a persecutor of the church and that a miracle was responsible for his conversion. When he appeared in Antioch, it must have aroused frustration because Saul looked unremarkable and small, with his bald head.

His appearance was deceptive and a careful observer would have noticed the fire burning in his eyes. He was a staunch by nature. Despite the fact that he never saw Jesus Christ in His earthly life, he saw Him with his inner eye.

Jesus promised that when His earthly life was over, He would be invisibly present among people. He would reveal Himself through the Holy Spirit – the Sanctifier and the Comforter. And He did reveal Himself to a great number of followers who did not see Christ in His human embodiment but penetrated him with the eye of faith.

Paul was one of those who shared the experience. He told people about life in Christ and spread the news about Christ over the whole world. So acute was his and his counterparts’ feeling of Christ’s presence that it seemed to them Christ might come again on earth to see the people who are waiting for him. That is how a plan of a preacher conquering the world generated in the head of the Apostle.

First he traveled to the cities of Asia Minor, then he found himself on the coast of Europe together with his companions and preached in Macedonia, then he went southward and reached Athens and founded a church in Corinth. In fact, the whole of the eastern Mediterranean region was reached by his preaching. He went as far as the world capital of that time – Rome where he ended his days as a martyr.

Although today these distances might not seem too long, they were quite significant at the time of undeveloped transport system. Paul traveled on foot and, perhaps, made an occasional use of passing carriages. He covered hundreds of kilometers along the Roman roads which were criss-crossing the region like a colossal net. The remains of such roads can be found today in many parts of the world from Great Britain to the coasts of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The apostles followed the roads relying only on themselves and God’s help.

Paul describes himself being shipwrecked and trying to sail in the rough sea on only a piece of wood. As a traveler, he was exposed to thousands of risks when crossing mountainous crests or rivers or from robbers. Sometimes he had two or three counterparts traveling with him but overall he was only armed with his bag, his staff and the word of God.

The Apostle Paul’s preaching was based on the Old Testament; he was telling people about the God who revealed Himself to his forefather Abraham. When Jesus called for him, it never occurred to Paul that he was converted to a new religion. For him it was the same God, the same Testament now revealed through the Messiah, Jesus. He could never forget the words that he had heard near Damascus: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” That was the voice of Jesus. Beforehand Saul had not known Jesus, he only knew His community, His church. It dawned on Saul that Jesus did not separate Himself from His church and that was the route of Saul’s teaching: the church is the Body of Christ in which sisters and brothers should live in complete unity.

Paul was the apostle of freedom. He taught that the time when religion meant abiding by the Law was passing by and that a human could not be saved by following the regulations only. Of course, the Law was sacred, especially the God’s Law presented in the Old Testament. It contains fundamental yet major commandments: do not kill, do not steal, do not commit adultery. Paul sums it all up in the words: love your neighbor like yourself.

Paul did not dismiss religious ceremonies as pointless. But he explained that people only needed them as a preliminary preparation method because no matter how virtuous a person may be and no matter how strictly he / she abides by the law, he / she cannot unite with God and receive the supreme spiritual gift – the joy of full unity with God.

Can a humble and meek person acquire unity with God? Of course, not. But to help the person, God comes to people and embodies Himself in a person to make a bridge from humanity to eternity. Everyone who addresses Christ can hear the voice of Silence and see the face of the Invisible. An attempt to turn to Christ means an attempt to unite with Him through Love.

Exhausted from his work, the Apostle Paul would say: “It is not me who lives, but Christ who lives in me. I  carry His wounds on myself”. The crucifixion of Christ was felt by him as his own death and every Christian is capable of such compassion. That is why the Passion week for each Christian is not simply the time to remember the everything that happened to Jesus in Jerusalem but the time for identifying oneself with His sufferings.

A person who dies with Christ will resurrect with Him. The Apostle Paul told people they were called for freedom. Freedom is the gift of God. Paul said he was ready to die and unite with Christ but his duty was to tell people, no matter whether they were Hebrew, Greeks or barbarians, about Christ. Paul dedicated his life to serving God.

Not only did he preach, but he was also one of the first founders of Christian communities and churches. They were called ecclesiae, which meant public rallies. During the first century when Paul lived they quickly spread in the region. As he was baptizing people and telling them about Christ, Paul also paid great attention to the church.

One of the crucial moments in the history of the church was Paul’s meeting with the Council of Jerusalem which took place in 49 or 50 AD. The meeting is described by Luke in Acts and mentioned by Paul in the letter to Galatians. The key issue discussed by the Council was whether Gentiles (non-Hebrews who usually were polytheistic) could be circumcised and deserved hearing the word of God. Peter, James, and John finally accepted Paul’s idea of the universal nature of faith which had to be made accessible to everyone. According to Paul’s own record of the outcomes of the meeting, “they recognized that I had been entrusted with the good-news for the un-circumcised”.

However, after the Council of Jerusalem, Peter went to Antioch to see Paul and had a dispute with them. Peter expressed his concern about Gentiles and the reasonability of converting them. Paul described the event in his epistle to Galatians: “When Peter came to Antioch, I stood against him face-to-face because he had condemned himself: previously he had been regularly eating with Gentiles until associates of James came. Fearing the circumcised ones, he separated from the Gentiles. The rest of the Jews joined in this charade and even Barnabas was drawn into the hypocrisy.

When I saw they were not walking in the Gospel truth, I said to Peter in front of the others, “You are a Jew who lives as a Gentile. How, then, can you pressure the Gentiles to live as Jews?” (Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians, Galatians 2:11-14, Free Bible).

A great number of the Jewish Christians in Antioch supported Peter in the conflict, including Paul’s longtime friend and supporter Barnabas.

The outcomes of the event remain uncertain. According to some historians, Paul accepted the rebuke, while others argue that he did not change his views but had to leave Antioch as persona non grata never to return.

As Paul proceeded with his traveling and preaching, he continued to influence the community sending newly-converted Christians in it and exchanging letters with it. He also wrote to Christians in different cities. These letters formed the main part of the second volume of the New Testament – The Epistles of the Apostles. Fourteen of the epistles are ascribed to the Apostle Paul. The fourteenth, however, is commonly thought to have been written by one of Paul’s disciples, but his influence is obvious in it.

The Epistles remind of neither a theological treatise nor a systematic layout of the principles of Christianity. Paul was writing them on the go, dictating or jotting them down. The flow of his thoughts was rapid at one time and slow at another. He posed rhetorical questions to himself, his listeners, and his addressees. He did not right about the religion only. He wrote about his feeling and sufferings. His life was no easy one.

Like many geniuses, he was a person of difficult nature. He was short-tempered but learned to control himself and exercise love and tolerance to other people. Many were fondly and sincerely attached to him, and Paul responded with tender love to them. He would often call himself a mother or a wet-nurse to the people who he was teaching. He would say he had given them a new birth in Christ.

As is often the case with outstanding people, he was not understood by everyone. The Hebrews who did not accept Christ viewed him as someone who violates and disregards the traditions and laws of their forefathers. The Roman authorities regarded him as a dangerous dissident who came to revolt and confuse the society. For pagans he was a person who was talking about things that were beyond them. For Greek and Roman philosophers he was a Hebrew and his theory was too deeply routed in the Bible which they were not familiar with. Overall, he was used to being met with criticism and arguments. Police was on him and he had to do some time in prison, be exposed to public punishment including flagellation and was finally decapitated in Rome.

Neither the Bible nor history provides us with exact information on how and where the apostle Paul died. The fact that Paul was beheaded in Rome originates from the Christian tradition which states that the execution took place around the mid 60s AD when Nero was the Roman emperor. Here is the details surrounding Paul’s death according to different traditions and commentaries.

Although there is very little certainty, it is commonly believed that the execution of Saint Paul was a part of the campaign started by Nero against Christians about 64 AD. Nero died in 68 AD, so it is presumed that Paul must have been executed before the emperor’s death. The Christians were officially accused of setting Rome on fire. Both Saint Paul and Saint Peter became the victims of the persecution. While Peter was crucified his head downward, his Roman citizenship entitled Paul to a less cruel execution – decapitation with a sword which was performed either in 64 or in 65 AD. The Apostle Paul was buried in the Via Ostiensis. According to the Book of Ecclesiastes, the tombs of the two apostles were extant (III century AD).

Other writers argue that it was not by the command of Nero that Paul was martyred but by the order of the prefects of the city as Nero was absent as the moment. These authors name the exact place of decapitation – Aquae Salviae, at a distance of three miles from Rome, and the date – February 22.

The final writings of Paul seem to be his letters addressed to Timothy. Paul wrote to him that he had spent a winter in prison and suffered greatly from the cold and did not want to spend another winter in the Mamertine (presumably) prison. It remains unknown what he was charged with exactly. Although they might have been connected with the burning of Rome, the political situation in Rome accounted for the appearance of plenty of informers willing to win the emperor’s favor. At that time Christianity ceased to be a religion which developed under the shelter of Judaism. It became independent and it became illegal. It was dangerous for Paul’s friends and disciples to stay with him and was well aware from it and suffered from the desertion. Only Luke, a doctor who Paul was tenderly fond of, stayed with him as well as a few Christians who lived in Rome in hiding.

Paul wrote to Timothy that he hoped Timothy would come and bring Mark with him. Apparently, Timothy must have come and been put into prison. Paul showed no signs of fear. He was perfectly aware that he would die soon. He had escaped being thrown to the lion but he would be executed. Paul wrote that he felt the constant presence of the Lord Jesus and perhaps even saw Him. Paul knew that according to the tradition he as a Roman citizen was to be executed on the Ostian Road just outside Rome. Luke and Timothy might have been with Paul but there is no direct evidence of this. Paul remained steadfast in the face of death. His friends said he was ready to go to be with Jesus as he had long wished to be.

Conclusion

Today’s church is widely based on the teaching of the Apostle Paul. John Chrysostom, a great religious teacher of the IV century, used to say that Paul was the greatest of the apostles who flew over the world preaching the Gospel. The Reformation in Europe began with Martin Luther opening The Epistle to the Romans  and finding out that a person could not be saved by simply abiding by the law or performing religious ceremonies.

In the Middle Ages, the Europeans forgot the essence of the New Testament and thought it was possible to earn their salvation by just doing the recommended things and say later to God: “I have been doing everything correctly, I did not commit sins, open me the way to Your Kingdom. Due to the Apostle Paul, Luther understood under what delusion they lived. He saw that no one could seek excuse in the face of God  – everyone was sinful no matter whether he / she belonged to the church or not and irrespective of the nation and faith of a person. He understood how much we needed the immediate power and support of God.

The Apostle Paul knew very well that the moral code is not powerful enough to alter our weak nature which makes us unable to resist many temptations. But what is powerful enough? According to the Apostle Paul, it is divine grace. Only someone who can find spiritual unity with Christ has the powers to revive and become a new person.

The Apostle Paul said that keeping or breaking vows was not the most important thing; what is really crucial is faith acting with love. Someone who becomes a true follower of the Christ can be a new person. Paul reminded that being a member of the church was not enough; it did not mean a new life in Christ by itself. A new life is a personal choice.

One of the greatest strengths of Paul’s teaching is its universality. He said that for Christ there was neither a Hebrew, nor a Greek, nor a barbarian, nor a Scythian, nor a slave, nor a free person, nor a man, nor a woman. Everyone is precious for God irrespective of the sex, nation, age or race. At Paul’s time, not all people appeared ready to understand this.

In this context it might seem very strange why a collection of the Apostle Paul’s epistles was included in the New Testament. Logically thinking, he had too many opponents for his writing to be easily admitted in the Scripture. Still his epistles became the basis for the New Testament doctrine.

Reading the epistles of the Apostle Paul is no easy task. Even his contemporaries remarked that Paul far from laying out his thoughts in a crystal clear way. His fervent speech was often confused and tense, he would repeat one and the same notion as if he was haunted by one thought. His epistles remind of uncontrollable fire rather than a well-carried speech or philosophical treatise and are surely indicative of a complicated mixture of feelings which were tearing him apart. It goes without saying that his texts presented great difficulty to all future translators and researches. A layman is unlikely to understand St. Paul’s texts without close attention to details and extra reading in the form of commentaries.

However, some of Paul’s sayings are really laconic and clear. For example, it was he who first formulated: He who does not work does not eat. Some of his words present powerful poetic images like the famous sting in the flesh. He suffered from a serious illness which he described as a sting in the flesh given to him by God, as an angel of Satan. We do not know exactly what illness it was. Some historians are of the opinion that like many great people (Napoleon, Julius Caesar and Mohammed) he suffered from epilepsy but no direct proof is given.

In any case, the illness did not make him weak and disabled. Only a very strong person could live the life like his which involved traveling throughout many countries on foot, debating, struggling, defending himself and his faith, being in prison, being subjected to torture and survive them to continue preaching the word of God.

The Apostle Paul appears to be tender, loving, subtle and even vulnerable and at the same time steadfast, as hard as nails, formidable, severe and arrogant. John Chrysostom said about him that although he was Paul, he was a person. The church never pictured him as a superhuman. His controversies and inner conflicts make him far from an ideal saint. Despite all his greatness, he was only a human.

Paul was well aware of his human weakness but his aspirations never went as far as preaching or founding a new religion. He always emphasized that he was sent by Jesus Christ to preach the news of His advent and His Gospel. Paul had a miraculous ability: he felt the presence of Christ and of the Holy Spirit. No matter what he was doing, he was sure that he could ask for help and counsel and get them. He lived under the permanent divine guidance.

The figure of the Apostle Paul has been a great support to a number of outstanding people up to our times. His personality reconciles Christians who find it difficult to conquer their inner demons because this saint was first of all a human and worked hard to solve his inner conflicts and keep his temper. Even today he may still be regarded as someone who distorted the initial idea of Christianity but the very passion of his opponents’ centuries ago proves his greatness.

Works Cited

Encyclopedia Britannica. St. Paul. 13 May  2009. <http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Paul>

Lashway C. How and where did the Apostle Paul die? 13 May  2009. <http://www.biblestudy.org/question/sauldie.html>

The Acts of the Apostles. 13 May, 2009. <http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/acts-asv.html>

Wallace, Qu. E. The Early Life and Background of Paul the Apostle. 13 May, 2009. <http://www.biblicaltheology.com/Research/WallaceQ01.html>