Saint Paul's life from birth through conversion to apostleship

Paul's Early Life (birth, Upbringing, And Early Education)

Paul's early life can be dated back from 1-33 A.D. His upbringing comprised of being born in Tarsus of Cilicia, where he was raised under another name, Saul. He was raised in a Jewish, strict household. Because Paul was Jewish, he received Rabbinic training in Jerusalem from Rabbi Gamaliel. As he received his training, he also learned the traditions of the Pharisees. Later on in this period, Paul worked with the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem as well as adopting the Sanhedrin policies. The Sanhedrin were in opposition of the church and so was Paul. Including Jewish culture, Paul received immersion into Hellenistic culture of the era, which meant he went to the gymnasium, attended Greek dramas at the Amphitheatre, and was knowledge on the various schools of Greek Philosophy. Gamaliel taught Paul the Scriptures including the traditional lessons of the Pharisees. This meant Paul knew how to interpret and apply the Scripture. An additional possible bit of information on Paul's background, Paul's family could have been involved in the textile trade. "The Jewish rabbinic writings record that there was extensive commerce in textiles between Judea and Cilicia. Paul's family may have had connections with this trade" (Polhill, 1999, p. 9).

2. Paul's rabbinic training

Rabbis were teachers of the law. In order to be a Rabbi, one had to be self-supporting. This is probably why Paul might have acquired the skill of tent making in Jerusalem to conform to this ideal. A part of rabbinic training meant going on a regular basis to the Synagogue, Scripture readings, and praying every Sabbath. For young Jewish boys like Paul, in rabbinic training, Paul had to learn big sections of the Pentateuch. He cited Scripture from the Septuagint, or the Greek version of the Scripture.

3. Paul's persecution of the church

In Acts 9:1, (Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest), the Scripture points to Saul's clear attitudes towards the church. Saul approved of Stephen's death and when the day of persecution befell the church in Jerusalem, Saul showed his joy. The Scripture states Saul set off to destroy the church by arresting men and women, putting them in prison. This was before his conversion as written by Luke. Paul admitted before his conversion, he sought violently to end God's church as described in Galatians 1:13.

4. Paul conversion and commission

The path of Saul to apostleship first began on the road to Damascus. Here is where Saul encountered the exalted and risen Jesus. This meeting made Paul become a follower in which he renamed himself apostle to the Gentiles as described in Romans 11:13. In Acts 22:21, ("And he said to me. 'Go for I will send you far away to the Genties") one can see how Saul was on the path of becoming Apostle to the Gentiles. Some of the timeline for Saul's apostleship includes his call to apostleship, which was 33 A.D., and mission in the country of Arabia. In 35 A.D., Saul had a short stint in Jerusalem as described in Gal. 1:18-20, and in 35-45 A.D. Saul visited Syria, Antioch, and Cilicia.

5. Paul's early Christian training and ministry

When Saul converted to Christianity, he spoke of himself as a slave of Christ, a doulous. He took seriously and literally, the Lordship of Jesus Christ. He also expected this level of worship from his followers. When he received the call to ministry, he carried the Gospel to the numerous peoples in the Roman Empire. Paul's ministry depicted through Letters, shows some of his methods, which included preaching at the synagogue, healing the weak, and arguing theology with civic leaders.

6. Paul's missionary journeys

Paul made several missionary Journeys. He first started in Damascus from 37-40 A.D. His first missionary journey lasted two years, from 45-47 A.D. His second lasted another two years from 51-53 A.D. His third journey lasted four years, from 54-58 A.D. Then after his third journey, he was imprisoned in Judea for two years, 58-60 A.D. He had a quick trip to Rome and then was imprisoned in Rome from 61-63 A.D. After his imprisonment in Rome, he went another four years on other missionary journeys.

7. Paul's arrest, trials, and imprisonment

There is not much in way of Paul's imprisonment in the New Testament except for his two-year house arrest while in Rome. "Some scholars believe Paul's career ended at that point, that his trial went badly and that he was martyred at that time" (Polhill, 1999, p. 426). The first imprisonment happened because the Palestinian Jews brought about accusations on Paul. The case as implied in Acts 28:17-31, never went to trial. He was released and then at the second trial, the Romans accused him. This trial did not go well for Paul due to the Roman emperor's attitude towards Christians at the time. Paul's association with the Christians was most likely the reason for his second imprisonment and martyrdom in 68 A.D.

8. The last years of Paul's life (after the first Roman imprisonment)

Paul's life after imprisonment, after he was freed, began with wanting to send Timothy to Philippi as explained in Philippians. Paul met Timothy there, and then left for Macedonia. He could have visited Crete, while on his way to Ephesus. He wanted to preach in Spain of Jesus and the Gospel and some suggest he actually did. His final imprisonment in Rome involved decapitation.

Essay 1: Writing in the style of a 1st century letter

"When composing his letters, Paul had preformed material he wished to insert. Often the material was brief and he incorporated it directly into what he was saying" (Richards, 2004, p. 109).

Fowler, a servant of the Lord and of Jesus Christ, to our sister, Helen.

May grace and peace from God and the Lord Jesus Christ, fall unto you.

Recently, our church received news of possible renovations from the church of Boston. It is our concern to raise enough funds for this renovation as this church is in partnership with ours. Our hope is that you, sister, among the other members of the church, will help in fundraising. In the past, we have noticed the fundraising efforts you made for your daughter's school and saw your success in running several bake sales; we wish to do some bake sales with you.

First, we believe we can accomplish many things with the churches united. Secondly, we feel you would be a great leader amongst the membership. As is said in the Bible, "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves"; (Philippians 2:3) as we wholeheartedly believe your efforts will bring success to our objective.

I know you may have other matters to attend to in your own personal life, but we can help you and guide you through the words of God and prayer; "So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them with his skillful hand" (Psalms 78:72).

Difficult times are felt currently, as the economy proves to be on a continual decline, but we believe and have faith in your abilities as a leader to lead a successful fundraiser. The church in Boston needs this renovation, as it will help many children in need.

The renovations will specifically be for the improvement, upgrade of the teaching facilities in the church as well as the part of church that helps with job applications, and resume building for those in search of employment. Better facilities means more books and additional space and resources for those in need.

We know you told us of your recent troubles with your health. How you have been dealing with a recent cancer scare. We are here for you and want to let you know, you have our full support and faith in your good health. We know you will overcome any obstacle before you. "Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary" (Galatians 6:9).

Your strength grows much as the strength of our church grows. At first, it began with a small group of five individuals, fifty years ago. Now, it has grown to over one hundred and fifty members strong. As just as you have gone through your trials and tribulations, so has our Lord Jesus Christ. You cannot give up your fight as we cannot give up ours nor can we ignore the request for help from our partners in Boston.

Just as they have supported us in our time of need, it is time for us to return the favor. We will help you and hopefully, you can help us. We have faith in God's work and the work of the church and believe if we can raise enough for the renovations; we will be able to help those in need, fulfilling one of the missions of our church and the Gospel.

You are a bright, brave, and respected member of our community. We know the other members of the church will follow you and assist in our fundraising efforts. We hope that all is well with you and if you would like to join us, please let us know. We will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

Again, you have our full support and we wish you many blessings.

The love -- and the grace! -- of God and our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, sister