Life and works of Apostle Paul.

Saint Paul, carrying at first his Hebrew name Saul, belonged to the tribe of Benjamin and

was born in the Cilician town of Tarsus (in Asia Minor), which was then renowned for its

Greek academy and for the scholarship of its citizens. Because he was a native of this city

and descended from Jews freed from Roman slavery, Paul had the rights of a Roman citizen.

Paul received his initial education in Tarsus, and probably became familiar with the pagan

culture, since his acquaintance with gentile writers is clearly shown in his speeches and

writings (Acts 17:28; 1 Cor. 15:33; Titus 1:12). He received his final education in Jerusalem

from the famous teacher Gamaliel in the acclaimed rabbinical school. Gamaliel was considered

an expert on the law and despite belonging to the party of Pharisees, was a freethinking

person (Acts 5:34) and an admirer of Greek wisdom. Here, according to the accepted custom

of the Jews, young Saul learned the art of tent-making, which later provided him with the

means to live from his own labors (Acts 18:3; 2 Cor. 11:8; 2 Thes. 3:8.).

Evidently young Saul was preparing for a rabbinical career, since directly after finishing

his education and training he emerged as a strong zealot of pharisaic traditions and persecutor

of the Christian faith. Perhaps by the appointment of the Sanhedrin, he was a witness to the

death of the first martyr Stephan (Acts 7:58, 8:1) and then received official authority to

persecute the Christians beyond the borders of Palestine in Damascus (Acts 9:1-2.).

The Lord, seeing in him a “chosen vessel,” called him to Apostolic service by miraculous

means on the road to Damascus. During his journey, a bright light enveloped Saul, from

which he fell to the ground blind. A voice resounded from the light, “Saul, Saul, why do you

persecute me?” Saul asked, “Who are you?” Jesus answered, “I am Jesus, Who you are

persecuting.” The Lord commanded Saul to go to Damascus, where he would be instructed

on what to do further. Saul’s companions heard the voice of Christ, but they did not see the

light. After being led by the arm to Damascus, Paul was taught the faith and on the third day

was baptized by Ananias. The moment Saul was submerged in the baptismal water, he

regained his sight. From that point on, he became a zealous preacher of the teachings he had

formerly persecuted. He went to Arabia for a short period and then returned to Damascus to

preach about Christ.

In 38AD, angered by his conversion to Christ, the vehemence of the Jews forced him to

flee to Jerusalem (Acts 9:23), where he joined the community of believers and was introduced

to the Apostles. Because of an attempt on his life by the Hellenists, he left for his

native Tarsus. From there, around 43 AD, he was called by Barnabas to preach in Antioch,

followed by a journey together to Jerusalem, bringing aid to the needy (Acts 11:30.).

Soon after his return from Jerusalem, by the direction of the Holy Spirit, Saul and

Barnabas left on their first missionary journey, lasting from 45 to 51 AD. The Apostles

traveled throughout the entire island of Cyprus, and by the time Saul converted the proconsul

Sergius Paulus, he was already known as Paul. During the time of Paul and Barnabas’s

missionary journey, Christian communities were founded in the Asia Minor cities of Pisidian,

Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. In 51 AD, Saint Paul took part in the Apostolic Council

in Jerusalem where he heatedly opposed the necessity for gentile Christians to follow the

traditions of Mosaic law.

Returning to Antioch, Saint Paul in the company of Silas undertook his second missionary

journey. At first he visited the churches that he had founded earlier in Asia Minor, and

then crossed over to Macedonia, where he founded congregations in Philippi, Thessalonica,

and Berea. In Lystra, Saint Paul gained his favorite pupil Timothy, and from Troas he continued

the journey with the recently joined Apostle Luke. From Macedonia saint Paul crossed

over into Greece, where he preached in Athens and Corinth, remaining in the latter city for

one and a half years. His 2 Epistles to the Thessalonians was sent from here. The second

journey lasted from 51 to 54 AD. In 55 AD Saint Paul left for Jerusalem, visiting Ephesus

and Caeseria on the way and from Jerusalem, went to Antioch (Acts 17 and 18.).

After a short stay in Antioch Saint Paul undertook his third missionary journey (56-58

AD), at first visiting, according to his custom, churches that were founded earlier in Asia

Minor, and then stopping at Ephesus, where he preached daily for two years in the school of

Tyrannus. He wrote his letter to the Galatians (because of the insurgence of a faction of

Judaists there) and his first letter to the Corinthians (because of the upsurge of agitators and

also to respond to a letter to him from the Corinthians). A local riot, stirred up against Paul by

a master silversmith named Demetrius, forced the Apostle to abandon Ephesus and leave for

Macedonia (Acts 19). On the way he received news from Titus about the state of the Corinthian

church and about the favorable reaction to his Epistle. Consequently, he sent a second

Epistle to the Corinthians from Macedonia with Titus. Shortly after, he came to Corinth

himself where he wrote a letter to the Romans, intending to later leave for Rome and further

west, after going to Jerusalem.

Bidding farewell to the Ephesian elders in Miletus, he arrived in Jerusalem. Because of a

riot that sprung up against him, Paul was taken under guard by the Roman authorities and

ended up in prison, at first under Proconsul Felix and then under his successor, Proconsul

Festus. This happened in 59 AD. In 61 AD Paul, as a Roman citizen, was granted his request

to be sent to Rome to the court of Caesar. Enduring a shipwreck in Malta, the Apostle arrived

in Rome only in the summer of 62 AD. Because the Roman authorities held Paul in such a

high esteem, he was able to preach freely. Thus end the details of his life in the Acts of the

Apostles (Acts 27 and 28). In Rome Saint Paul wrote his letters to the Philippians (with

gratitude for the financial aid sent to him with Epaphroditus), to the Colossians, to the

Ephesians, and to Philemon, a citizen of Colossus (concerning his slave Onesimus, who had

run away). All three of these Epistles were written in 63 AD and were sent with Tychicus.

Here too, the Epistle to the Palestinian Hebrews was written in 64 AD.

The further fate of Apostle Paul is not known with any certainty. Some think that he

stayed in Rome and by the orders of Nero died a martyr’s death in 64 AD. But there is

evidence that suggests that after a two year imprisonment, Paul was given his freedom and he

took on a fourth missionary journey, which was indicated by his “Pastoral Epistles” to

Timothy and Titus. After defending his actions before the Senate and the Emperor, Saint Paul

was freed from bondage so he could again travel to the east. Spending a long time on the

island of Crete, he left his pupil Titus to ordain elders throughout all the cities (Titus 1:5),

which shows that Titus was ordained by Paul to be the bishop of the church in Crete. Later in

his letter Paul instructs Titus on how to go about his duties as a bishop. From this letter it is

clear that Paul intended to spend that winter of 64 in Nicopolis (Titus 3:12), near his native

Tarsus.

During the spring of 65 AD, he visited the rest of the churches in Asia Minor and in

Miletus, he left the sick Trophimus. Earlier, the people in Jerusalem rioted against Paul

because of Trophimus, bringing about Paul’s first imprisonment (2 Tim. 4:20). Whether Saint

Paul went through Ephesus is not known. He said that the Ephesian elders would not see his

face again (Acts 20:25), although at the time, it appears that he ordained Timothy as bishop

of the Ephesian church. Later the Apostle went through Troas, where he left his bishop’s

mantle (the outer layer of liturgical clothing) and books (probably also liturgical books, 2

Tim. 4:13) with a certain Carpus, and then left for Macedonia. Upon hearing about the

strengthening of false teachings in Ephesus, he wrote his first letter to Timothy from there.

After spending some time in Corinth (2 Tim. 4:20) and meeting Peter on the way, they

continued their journey together through Dalmatia (2 Tim. 4:10) and Italy. They arrived in

Rome where in 66 AD, Peter remained while Paul continued further to the west, probably

reaching Spain.

After his return to Rome, he was imprisoned (for the second time), where he remained

until his death. There is a tradition that upon his return to Rome, he preached at the very door

of the emperor Nero and converted his favorite concubine to Christ. For this he was condemned

and even though by God’s mercy — in his own words — he was “delivered from the

lion’s mouth,” that is from being devoured by animals in the circus (1 Tim. 4:16-17,), he was

yet again in prison. During this second imprisonment he wrote his second letter to Timothy in

Ephesus, inviting him to Rome for a last meeting, sensing death was at hand. Tradition

doesn’t say whether Timothy managed to find his teacher alive, but it does say that the

Apostle did not have to wait long for his martyr’s crown. After a nine-month imprisonment

he was beheaded as a Roman citizen, not far from Rome. This happened in 67 AD during the

12th year of Nero’s reign.

A general observation of Apostle Paul’s life shows that it is sharply divided into two

halves. Before his conversion to Christ, Saint Paul (then Saul) was a strict Pharisee, fulfiller

of the law of Moses and the traditions of his fathers, thinking that he could be justified by the

works of the law and his zeal for the faith of his fathers, reaching even fanaticism. After his

conversion, he became an Apostle of Christ, totally committed to the task of spreading the

gospel, fortunate in his calling, yet recognizing his own impotence for fulfilling this eminent

ministry and attributing all of his deeds and merits to the grace of God. All of Paul’s life

before his conversion was driven by a deep conviction toward deviation and sin, which led

him towards condemnation instead of justification, and only the mercy of God saved him

from this destructive delinquency. From that moment on, Saint Paul tries to be worthy of

God’s grace and not turn away from his calling. Therefore there cannot be any talk of personal

merit — all of it was God’s doing.

All of Saint Paul’s teachings revealed in his Epistles, being a full reflection of his life,

carry this very fundamental thought: man is justified by faith, independent of deeds of the law

(Romans 3:28). However, it cannot be concluded from this that Apostle Paul rejects any

significance of good deeds (See for example Gal. 6:4, Eph. 2:10 or 1 Tim 2:10 and others).

According to his Epistles, the understanding of “works of the law” does not mean “good

deeds” in general, but ritualistic observance of the Mosaic Law. It must be remembered that

during the time of his evangelistic work, Paul needed to carry out a bitter struggle against the

opposition of the Judaists and Judean Christians.

Upon becoming Christians, many of the Judaists held the view that it too was necessary

for Christians to strictly observe all the ceremonial instructions of Mosaic Law. They deluded

themselves with conceited notions that Christ came to earth to save the Jews only, and

therefore gentiles wanting to be saved, needed to undertake circumcision and observe all of

the Jewish rituals. This delusion impeded the spread of Christianity among the gentiles so

strongly, that the Apostles were obliged to convene in 51 AD the Jerusalem Council, which

removed the requirements of the ceremonial decrees of the law of Moses for Christians.

However, even after this Council, many Judean Christians continued to stubbornly hold to

their former views and as a consequence, split from the Church by establishing their own

heretical society. These heretics opposed Apostle Paul personally and injected disturbances

into the life of any church, where Paul was absent. That’s why Saint Paul needed to continu-

ally underline in his Epistles that Christ was the Savior of all humanity — for Jews just as

well as for gentiles — and that a person was not saved by fulfilling the ceremonial deeds of

the law, but only through faith in Christ. Unfortunately, Luther and his successors — the

Protestants — distorted these thoughts of Apostle Paul, because to them Paul had repudiated

the importance of every good deed for salvation. If this were so, then he would not have

written in his first Epistle to the Corinthians in the 13th chapter that “if I have a faith that can

move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Cor. 13:2, NIV), because this love

would immediately manifest itself in good deeds.

List of Apostle Paul’s epistles.

On the basis of credible witnesses, the common voice of the Church attributes fourteen

Epistles to Apostle Paul’s authorship, which appear in the Bible in the following order:

Epistle to the Romans,

First Epistle to the Corinthians,

Second Epistle to the Corinthians,

Epistle to the Galatians,

Epistle to the Ephesians,

Epistle to the Philippians,

Epistle to the Colossians,

First Epistle to the Thessalonians,

Second Epistle to the Thessalonians,

First Epistle to Timothy,

Second Epistle to Timothy,

Epistle to Titus,

Epistle to Philemon,

Epistle to the Hebrews.

The Epistles are not in any chronological order, but are arranged according to their significance

and magnitude of their circulation, and by the relative importance of the Church and its

people to whom they are addressed. The Epistles to the three individuals follow those Epistles

to the seven Churches. The Epistle to the Hebrews is last because it was the last to be

authenticated. Usually, Apostle Paul’s Epistles are separated into two uneven groups: 1)

Epistles of a general Christian nature and 2) Pastoral Epistles. The Epistles to Timothy and

Titus belong to the second category, because they indicate the basis and rules of good pastorship.

Certain sections of Apostle Paul’s Epistles gave rise to thoughts that he had written

other Epistles that have not reached us eg. 1 Cor. 5:9, also Col. 4:16. While the correspondence

with an unknown philosopher Seneka, brother of pro-consul Gallio (as mentioned in

Acts 18:12) was attributed to Paul, this could not be authenticated.